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Tag: jobs

  • 176,160 graduates get N-Power jobs

    176,160 graduates get N-Power jobs

    •Buhari: culture of impunity receding

    No fewer than 176,160 graduate beneficiaries have so far been deployed under the N-Power programme of Social Investment Programmes (SIPs), the Federal Government has said

    This is part of issues addressed in a book, entitled: ‘‘Making Steady, Sustainable Progress for Nigeria’s Peace and Prosperity: A Mid-Term Report Card on the Buhari Administration’’.

    The book is authored by the Presidential Media Team. It will be presented by All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwart Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Thursday. Eminent journalist and APC chieftain Prince Tony Momoh will be the reviewer.

    Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity Femi Adesina; Senior Special Assistant to the President on  Media and Publicity Garba Shehu  and Senior Special Assistant to the President, Media and Publicity, (Office of the Vice President) Laolu Akande jointly edited the book.

    It added that President Muhammadu Buhari has declared that the culture of impunity inherited at the inception of his government, two years ago, is receding.

    “Corruption, insecurity and the parlous economy were the challenges inherited at inception.

    ‘‘They have been addressed and are still being addressed boldly and honestly.

    “The task of revamping the economy remains work-in-progress,’’ President Buhari wrote in the foreword of the 348-book, which is a compendium of notable achievements of his administration since May 29, 2015.

    According to the book, the N-Power programme, which has reached 200,000 graduate beneficiaries from all 36 states, including the FCT, has deployed 176,160 beneficiaries.

    The book also reveals that Nigeria realised N212.73 billion from agricultural product exports at the end of the fourth quarter of 2016.

    It stated that the products, which contributed most to agricultural product exports in the fourth quarter, were sesame seeds with N6.46 billion, frozen shrimps and prawns with N4.4 billion.

    According to the report, flour and meals of soya beans contribute N2.59 billion; cashew nuts in shell, N0.95 billion and crude palm kernel with N0.62 billion.

    It noted that 46 per cent of the total 200,000 beneficiaries selected were female to ensure gender balance while 1,126 applicants with disabilities emerged successful.

    It also added that a centralised Project Management Unit was being set up to carry out monitoring and evaluation of the programme across the six geopolitical zones.

    “In addition to this, an MoU has been reached with the National Orientation Agency to also carry out monitoring and evaluation in all 36 states including the FCT.”

    The N-Power programme is aimed at addressing the challenge of youth unemployment by providing a structure for large scale and relevant work skills acquisition and development.

    Beneficiaries are expected to channel skills acquired to fixing inadequate public services and stimulating the larger economy.

    The N-Power programme includes the N-Power Volunteer Corps which targets 500,000 graduates, the N-Power Knowledge which targets 25,000 non-graduates and the N-Power Build which targets 75,000 non-graduates.

    “The non-graduate component to kick-off once procurement is completed; the next batch of 300,000 beneficiaries are to be selected soon.”

    More programmes under the SIPs are the Home-Grown School Feeding Programme aimed at increasing enrolment and completion rate at the primary school level.

    Others are the Conditional Cash Transfer aimed at providing targeted money transfers to poor and vulnerable households and the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme aimed at providing financial service access to traders.

    Buhari wrote the foreword of the 348-page book, which contains milestones of all the Federal ministries and some select department and agencies of government, in the last two years.

    The book also detailed how the Buhari’s administration is blocking corruption loopholes in the nation’s public institutions.

    In an excerpt of the 348-page publication, the team notes that beyond arrest and prosecution of suspects, the Buhari government is strengthening public institutions for accountability and transparency.

    The book explores measures being instituted by anti-graft agencies, especially the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), in this regard since the last two years. These include conduct of System Study and Review in ministries, departments and agencies, and Corruption Risk Assessment (CRA) in various sectors of the nation’s economy.

    t says the education, health, water and aviation sectors as well as e-governance platforms, including the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS), have benefited from the ICPC’s CRA exercise.

    The exercise, it adds, has led to the identification of weaknesses in the systems that create opportunities for corruption.

  • Jobs crisis: Agric entrepreneurship to the rescue

    Jobs crisis: Agric entrepreneurship to the rescue

    Nigeria has a large economy with a  growing youth population .The bigger challenge is how to absorb the large number of unemployed youths. Experts believe agric entrepreneurship will tackle the problem. This was the focus of the 20th annual lecture of Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI) held in Ilorin, Kwara State. Daniel Essiet writes.

    For aspiring agric entrepreneurs, a new dawn is here. The 20th annual lecture of the Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI), held in Ilorin, Kwara State could not have come at a better time. The forum brought together successful entrepreneurs who are making impact uplifting and economically empowering women and men.

    It was to bolster economic renewal, job creation and innovation through agric entrepreneurship.

    Analysts at the event noted that Nigeria was a major economy with a growing youth population.  However, they believe that there is little evidence to suggest that the economy will absorb youths across the spectrum of skill levels and education.  They say the solution to youth unemployment is in the agri-food value chain.

    One of those who shared this view was the Chairman, Board of Directors, FirstBank of Nigeria, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika. She was the keynote speaker. She spoke on the topic: Promoting Agripreneurship Green Alternative: A Catalyst for National Security and Sustainable Development.

    She said the youth employment deficit left thousands of graduates produced by tertiary institutions jobless. Against this backdrop, she said agriculture has the capacity to absorb unemployed graduates.

    She described agriculture as an alternative to the much=touted economic resources derived from petroleum.

    “Nigeria is blessed with a very fertile land, but it is saddening to know that majority of its youths are jobless,” she said.

    According to her, the stability of Nigeria depends on the nation being able to sustain its citizens’ food production,  which would translate to social stability.

    Mrs. Awosika further said Nigeria has all  the fundamentals needed to grow in agriculture, saying, “we need to know the time of oil is long gone”.

    She said Nigeria has opportunities for young workers to start new businesses, create quality jobs, improve their quality of life and wellbeing, strengthen their sense of belonging and integrate themselves into the community. From cash crops to grains, fruits and vegetables, livestock and others, she noted that there are countless opportunities along the value chain.

    Currently, she said, the potential of the agric sector is highly underutilised.

    Mrs. Awosika noted that agriculture has evolved into what is now known as agribusiness, which is centred on making profit through maximised productivity.

    She called for entrepreneurial skills development for profitable agriculture and agribusiness enterprises among the youth.

    Mrs. Awosika said the time had  come for institutions to play their part in developing entrepreneurs,  adding that the society requires a re- orientation to enhance the entrepreneurial mindset to boost startups and create employment.

    To her, entrepreneurship has been widely acknowledged as an important mechanism for economic growth and employment creation.

    A motivational speaker, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, listed the characteristics of an entrepreneur to include vision, hard work and focus. For her, one must be focused to be the best in the market. With a good vision and great execution, one’s dreams can come true.

    A discussant at the lecture and Managing Director of Thelma Farms in Ijebu-Ode, Mr. Babatunde Ogunyemi, emphasised the need for Nigerian youths to embrace agriculture, “On my 350 hectares of land in Ijebu-Ode where I grow fresh indigenous vegetable for exportation, I feel depressed that not enough is done in agriculture.

    “Even with our huge production we can only meet just nine per cent of the demand.

    “When I met with Mr President some weeks ago in Abuja, I told him that though Nigeria is winning the war against insurgency, but how do we fight the war of feeding our citizens,” he said.

    The Executive Director, Agricultural and Rural Management Training Institute (ARMTI), Dr. Olufemi Oladunni, called for the overhaul of the agriculture sector to boost the economy, saying if government can overhaul the sector to bring appropriate intervention, agriculture will be a life saver for the nation.

    He said  the institute is working to empower Nigerians to explore opportunities in the agric sector.

    The aim, according to him, is to help Nigerians create jobs, combat food insecurity and poverty by expanding agribusiness, increasing  food production, and supporting entrepreneurship .

    Oladunni said through its training, the institute focuses on the key gaps inhibiting growth in agribusiness,  as it enables smallholder farmers to raise their incomes and yields, while also creating jobs for young people and raising incomes for women.

    He said ARMTI supports the development of a vibrant and diversified commercial agriculture as a means to move away from subsistence agriculture, often synonymous with poverty for a majority of rural households.The forum aimed at raising awareness on the importance of engaging youths in agribusiness, making a case for agribusiness as a solution to the high youth unemployment rate, and building consensus around initiatives to address unemployment, contribute to economic growth, and poverty reduction.

  • Union: 11,000 may lose jobs over Intels closure

    Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) has expressed concern over the quit notice and cancellation of Intels Nigeria Limited Vessel Pilotage Service by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA). It warned that the development may lead to loss of over 11,000 direct and indirect jobs.

    A statement signed by its President-General, Comrade Adewale Adeyanju, said most of these employees are Nigerians with families and responsibilities.

    The union said the socio-economic implications of most of losing their jobs in a volatile area like Rivers State can be better imagined than experienced.

    “As organised labour, our utmost concern is job security and welfare of our members in Intels Nigeria Limited. Today, we are aware that Intels has under its employment over 5000 direct employees and over 6000 indirect employees bringing the number of employees to over 11,000.

  • Fed Govt borrowing to save jobs, says minister

    Fed Govt borrowing to save jobs, says minister

    The Federal Government’s desire to borrow more funds from international creditors is to prevent job losses, Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun has said.

    Mrs. Adeosun, who spoke yesterday at a joint press conference with the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, at the conclusion of 2017 International Monetary Fund (IMF)/World Bank Group Annual Meetings in Washington D.C, said with Nigeria’s source of revenue dropping  by nearly 85 per cent, the country had no option but to borrow.  The option before the country was to either cut public services massively, which should have led to massive job losses, or borrow in the short-term, until it begins to generate sufficient revenues, she said.

    “We felt that laying-off thousands of persons was not the best way to stimulate growth. Also, when we came into office, about 27 states could not pay salary. If we had allowed that situation to persist, we would have been in depression by now. So, we took the view as a government  that the best thing to do was to stimulate growth and spend our way out of trouble, get the state governments to pay salaries, making  sure that the federal government pays and invests in capital infrastructure,” Mrs Adeosun said.

    Emefiele said the apex bank was trying to encourage Nigerians in Diaspora to keep remitting funds home, and also invest in the country, as they do not have any other place they can call home but Nigeria. Nigerians in Diaspora remit $21 billion annually to the local economy.

    “We will put in place policies that will continue to encourage them. We are working on how we can actually link credit bureau arrangement to the foreign borrowing arrangement so that once there is a link between Nigeria and the foreign credit system, it will be easy for them to even borrow from Nigeria,” he promised.

    The CBN boss said the apex bank was also planning to ensure that Nigerians in Diaspora get some form of attachments to the credit system that they have abroad, either in the United States or United Kingdom. That, he said, will make it easy for them to access credit and begin to build their businesses, so that when they retire, they retire back into Nigeria, and they do not retire in Diaspora.

    Mrs Adeosun said that once growth was restored, the country would begin to systematically reduce its dependence on borrowing. “Now, we are talking about tax and what we are saying is that people should be aware of their responsibilities to their nation. The solution to borrowing in Nigeria is that we must pay taxes. If you pay the taxes properly, there is no need to borrow. Of course, there is the responsibility on the part of government to be more responsible and efficient. We are really focusing on this. We are trying to find ways to cut cost. Fundamentally, we must invest. We don’t have the power we need, we don’t have the roads yet and there is a lot of money required to fund these projects,” the minister said.

    Continuing, she said that reducing Nigeria’s tax to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ration from six per cent to 10 per cent would significantly reduce the amount the country needs to borrow and that would have a wider effect on the economy and bring down interest rate.

    She added that such a move would also create some head room for the private sector to borrow, because they are being crowded out.

    On state borrowing, the minister said state governments’ get borrowing consent from the ministry, which performs Debt Sustainability Analysis and if the repayment is more than 40 per cent of their revenue, such request to borrow is turned down.

    “So, many people are talking of how many loans we are approving; they don’t talk about how many loans we are turning down. Many do not go through and we are constantly monitoring state governments to ensure that the debts that they take on are sustainable. The problem with some of the states that have debt problems are legacy loans that were there before they came in. But since we came in, we have been very strict, trying to make sure states do not borrow more than they can service,” Mrs Adeosun said.

    According to the minister, Nigeria’s debt to GDP ratio is one of the lowest. “We are at 19 per cent, but most advanced countries have over 100 per cent. I am not saying we need to move to 100 per cent, but I am saying we need to tolerate a little more debt in the short-term to deliver the rail, the roads and power so as to generate economic activities, jobs, revenue, which would be used to pay back the debts. But I assure you that this government is very prudent around debt. We don’t borrow recklessly and we have no intention of bequeathing unserviceable debts on Nigerians,” she assured.

    The minister said the Voluntary Asset and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) had so far got positive response from Nigerians. “I had discussions with some high net-worth individuals asking me to speak to the state governors to allow them time to pay. They needed to pay to the state governments. I have discussed with the governors that anyone that comes to them voluntarily for tax payment, should be given time to pay. We don’t want a situation where people willing to pay their taxes are stifling economic activities. We have told the governors, if someone comes willingly, quickly allow them plan to pay,” she said.

    Mrs Adeosun said revenues were needed to provide public services and the burden of taxation must be borne by those whose income allows them to bear it.

    “So, those with higher income should bear greater part of the burden. The problem with Nigeria is that most of our taxpayers are at the lower level. The man on the streets passing traffic, his tax is deducted at source. Why will we not allow billionaires to proportionately pay their taxes? I think we need a mindset change on taxation in Nigeria. So far, we are encouraged by the response of those companies and individuals to this tax amnesty,” she added.

    In her view, the tax amnesty policy is on track. “We’re on track. We expect that at the end of the timeline, everybody will rush and we will raise significant money. We have every reason to believe that this tax mobilisation effort will work and hopefully bring long-term money,” she said.

    “We are trying to do is create enough headroom to invest in capital projects that the country desperately needs. I do not think there is any Nigerian that will say we do not need to invest in power, do the roads, and that will not want us to fix 17 million housing deficits and build rails. These projects will generate economic activities and jobs. We do not need to continue hobbling as a poor nation. We are middle income country now. Nigeria, Angola, and South Africa are middle income countries. We do it jointly and efficiently, but the key thing really is revenue,” the minister said.

  • ALGON, 16 foreign partners to create 5.9m jobs from new agriculture scheme

    ALGON, 16 foreign partners to create 5.9m jobs from new agriculture scheme

    As part of steps to boost agriculture in the country, the Association of Local Government of Nigeria(ALGON) and 16 foreign partners and institutes are expected to float a new scheme which will create 5,959, 800 jobs nationwide.

    The scheme will lead to the generation of 7,700 jobs in each of the 774 local government areas in the country.

    But the new initiative called Comprehensive Agricultural Plans for Local Government Areas (CLAP) will begin with a seminar on October 26 and 27.

    A statement last night said ALGON has initiated the process of C-LAP at grassroots level to prepare a Comprehensive Local Agriculture Plan (C-LAP) through participatory process involving various organizations and stakeholders.

    The statement said: “The project is expected to generate direct employment of 2700 in nursery production, pack houses and integrated model farms, mega food parks processing units and indirect employment of 5000 persons per LGA is as follows: Managerial and scientific manpower (100 persons); Skilled manpower in Mega Food Park (600 persons); Unskilled manpower (2000 persons) and Indirect employment like transport, marketing etc. (5000 persons).

    The heavyweight international partners of ALGON are Global AgriSystem Pvt Ltd; Progressive Research Organization for Welfare (PROW); Ananya Seeds (P) Ltd; International Tractors Limited; Horticulture Produce Management Institute, HPMI (India); Population, Women & Environment Development Organization(Nepal); International Rice Research Institute(Philippines); Ananya Seeds (P) Ltd.; Top Greenhouses Limited; and International Tractors Limited.

    Others are Michigan State University; G.B. Pant  University of Agriculture and Technology; Carrier Point University; New Age Green Solution Pvt Limited; Afghan Agro Services; eEco Solutions Pvt Limited; Horticulture Produce Management Institute; M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation.

    The statement explained why ALGON decided to collaborate with the 16 foreign partners.

    It added:  “Nigeria is an agrarian society, with agriculture contributing about 24 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). About 70 percent of the population live in rural areas and depend on agriculture for livelihood.

    “Nigeria is presently facing several challenges in Agriculture sector.  These problems can be attributed to natural and human cause, affecting overall economic development and growth.

    “This has consequently undermined socio-economic growth and thus constitutes a threat to the Federal Government of Nigeria’s “Vision 2020”. Recent assessments of the situation in the country confirm that the scale of the problem rise above what communities, Local Governments, States and Federal Government can address without help from development partners.

    Consequently, The Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) is adopting a bottom-up approach through a Comprehensive Plan for Development of Agriculture (C-LAP) at “Local Government Level” in 774 LGAs of Nigeria towards the improvement of the agricultural sector.

    “Thus C-LAP is an integrated and participatory action plan for the development of LGAs in agriculture and allied sectors. CLAP will add value to Nigeria’s agricultural raw materials and integrate Nigeria into world agricultural markets.

    “ALGON has initiated the process of C-LAP at grassroots level to prepare a Comprehensive Local Agriculture Plan (C-LAP) through participatory process involving various organizations and stakeholders.

  • Boroh: It’s duty of communities, govt, oil firms to provide jobs

    Boroh: It’s duty of communities, govt, oil firms to provide jobs

    The Coordinator Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP), Brig.-Gen. Paul Boroh (rtd), has said it is the duty of communities, the Federal Government and oil companies to provide jobs for youths in the Niger Delta.

    A statement signed by Mr Owei Lakemfa, Head of Media PAP, quoted Gen. Boroh as speaking while addressing the chiefs, elders, women and youth groups of George Town, Okrika, Rivers State at the weekend.

    Gen. Boroh, also Special Adviser to the President on the Niger Delta, said 20 ex-militants were empowered in a cluster co-operative integrated farm by the government.

    According to him, the model farm, which was fully funded by the programme has 30 ponds, one ‘Run-off Earthen Pond,’ 5000 Bird Poultry, including Broiler and Layers, Free Range, Cropping and Processing Sections, Administration and Sales Office, 2 Feed Stores, 2 Implement Stores and one Control Room.

    The Coordinator told the beneficiaries that they have once in a life time opportunity not just to make a decent living for themselves and their families but also to employ a number of the unemployed.

    Gen. Boroh said the cluster farming would impact positively on the beneficiaries and assist them to be employers of labour.

    He said the beneficiaries were introduced to the fish smoking kiln and a multipurpose seafood processor to aid their businesses.

    According to the Coordinator, the introduction to a more effective and efficient technology of fish/seafood preservation and processing had a tremendous impact on their livelihood activities.

    He said the Amnesty Office would further empower the beneficiaries by handing over to them as a start off package, 1000 fingerlings to 2000 post fingerlings,  100 Point of Lay Birds and an additional 200 broilers, 10 Piglets  and a Crop Section: with  Cucumber, Pepper, Pumpkin and Okra.

    The presidential aide said the modern cluster farm for which the Rivers State Government has given a registration as “Okrika Agro Farmers 105 Cooperative and Investment and Credit Society Limited,” would be replicated in other parts of the region.

    Gen. Boroh also visited some individual aquaculture holdings in Okrika funded by PAP.

    Also, the George Town Traditional leader, Chief Akuro George, in his response at the meeting, thanked PAP under Boroh for extending “Federal presence” to George Town.

    George said the project has established a bond between the people and the Federal Government and called for a skills acquisition centre be established by the Amnesty Office in George Town to cater for unemployed youths.

    The traditional ruler, also a former First Vice President of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), said “the problem of the Niger Delta is a collective challenge.”

    He urged other federal, state and local government agencies to collaborate for the development of the region and the country.

    The monarch appealed for the completion of roads in the town by the Federal Government intervention agency.

    The Songhai Farms, which trained the beneficiaries and helped them established the cluster farm, said it would spend the next three months to mentor the beneficiaries.

    Its General Manager, Mr Tammy Jaja, said the model farm is based on a zero-waste technology in which the use of waste materials in one section is a critical input in another section.

    The Chairman of the beneficiaries’ cooperative society, Mr Emmanuel Promise, thanked the Federal Government for giving them the opportunity to run a business of their own.

    The Amnesty Programme said it was committed to human capacity development among youths in the Niger Delta as a deliberate step to ensure reintegrate the 30,000 ex-agitators captured under the Amnesty programme.

    The programme, which started in 2009, had sponsored beneficiaries in various skills training in the areas of education and entrepreneurship, automobile engineering, auto electrical, auto manufacturing, auto maintenance, underwater welding, aviation, agriculture, tourism & hospitality and sports, among others.

  • Anambra 2017: Chidoka promises jobs

    Anambra 2017: Chidoka promises jobs

    The flag bearer of the United Progressive Party (UPP) for the November 18, 2017 Anambra governorship election, Chief Osita Chidoka, has revealed his plans to create jobs for unemployed graduates across the state the very moment he is sworn in as governor.

    Chidoka spoke at an event during the New Yam Festival in his hometown, Obosi.

    At the event, which was graced by a large crowd of his kinsmen, supporters, volunteers and party members from other parts of the state, the UPP candidate unveiled his plans to bring governance nearer to the people and ease their cost of accessing government services, by creating Government Contact Centres in all the 171 communities the state.

    Chidoka said the contact centres will guarantee an immediate 1,710 graduate jobs, by engaging at least 10 graduates from each of the communities. He also announced other jobs openings, through a special Simultaneous Rapid Development Scheme (SRDS) for accelerated development of all communities, adding that it will ensure that no community is left behind in terms of employment opportunities.

    Speaking further, the governorship candidate noted that he is happy that Anambra people have embraced the UPP ahead of the election, adding that it is the only party that stands for the people.

    His words: “The UPP is the only party that stands for the people. It is the only party which proclaims that Igbos have the right of self-determination; the only party that have declared that Igbos are not terrorists; the party that resisted the recent unconstitutional military invasion of the Southeast and the general marginalisation of the region.”

    Giving appreciation to the Almighty for the new yam, the royal father of Obosi, Igwe Chidubem Iweka III, also supplicated for the UPP candidate. He prayed for God to grant him success in the election. Chidoka also received prayers and endorsements from others who spoke at the event.

  • Conoil commits to wealth creation, jobs

    Conoil commits to wealth creation, jobs

    As Nigeria celebrated its 57th independence anniversary yesterday, the nation’s leading indigenous downstream oil company, Conoil Plc, restated its commitment to its cardinal objectives of creating wealth and job opportunities for all Nigerians.

    In a goodwill message during the country’s 57th independence anniversary, it stated that it remains proud as a Nigerian company with world-class services to meet various energy needs.

    The company challenged Nigerians to harness their creative and productive abilities in aid of the country’s quest to self-sufficiency.

    Conoil urged Nigerians to focus more on those great qualities that bind them together as the world’s most populous black nation, and ignore the intangible things that tend to divide the people.

    It advised Nigerians to deepen their sense of patriotism to rekindle the nation’s flame of oneness and fortify its enviable position as Africa’s leading economic giant.

    While urging Nigerians to continue to work assiduously towards ensuring togetherness with a view to guaranteeing a brighter future for the country, Conoil implored them to maximise their common ideals to foster the nation’s unity despite its diversity.

    Noting that Nigeria’s journey to nationhood has been characterised by milestones that demonstrate its strengths, Conoil urged Nigerians to recommit themselves to own and live the country’s national anthem with the resolve “to serve their fatherland with all their strength as one nation, bound in freedom, peace and unity”.

  • How BUA’s $1b investment’ll stimulate economy, create jobs

    How BUA’s $1b investment’ll stimulate economy, create jobs

    The investment of $1 billion in Obu Cement Plant in Edo State by the BUA Group is seen as a boost to the Federal Government’s  drive for investments to reboot the economy. Asst Editor OKWY IROEGBU-CHIKEZIE writes that the massive investment could change the economic landscape of the state and the country.

    With the investment of $1 billion in its cement plant in Okpella, Edo State, which, arguably, boasts Nigeria’s finest limestone depository, the BUA Group may have set the stage for the transformation of the state’s economy and, by extension Nigeria’s.

    For one, the newly-inaugurated cement plant, which has the capacity to produce three million metric tonnes of cement yearly, is seen as a big boost and a massive intervention to address the domestic deficit in cement products for construction.

    With the plant’s state-of-the-art setup seamlessly structured to facilitate the export drive, the investment is also seen as a significant boost for the nation’s cement self-sufficiency drive.

    BUA Group, according to its Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Abdul Samad Rabiu, is building the second Obu cement line.

    Rabiu, who spoke at the launch of the facility, noted that the cement plant would reposition Nigeria from a cement importer to an exporter, increase production capacity from three million tonnes to 45 million tonnes by 2018.

    He said the cement sub-sector, which accounts for over 90 per cent of Nigeria’s mining sector, has the potential to shore up the $2 billion it injects into the country as foreign exchange (forex).

    Rabiu, however, said infrastructure, particularly stable power as well as policy consistency, was necessary to achieving a significant growth in the sub-sector. He said that the investment could double the sub-sector’s current 30,000 direct employment and over two million indirect jobs.

    “These kinds of investments in important sectors of the economy are not only necessary, they are critical.

    “In order to reverse our import dependency and diversify the economy, large corporations have to engage in game-changing investment in sectors such as agriculture, mining, and infrastructure, while government at all levels ensures an enabling environment for the investments to thrive,” Rabiu said.

    He said the vision of the company was to provide Nigerians with the best quality cement, using the best technology and best hands at the most affordable price. According to him, the choice of Okpella, in Estako East Local Government Area of the state, as the site for the plant, is strategic.

    “This community has the best limestone in the whole of the country,” Rabiu said, adding that the location is very good, being in the mid-west and it is very close to the cement market in the north, with excellent road networks in the south-west and to the east. “So, this place is at a strategic location to adequately distribute cement all over Nigeria,” he added.

    Rabiu also stated that the completion of the second line in the first quarter of 2018, being handled by SINOMA CBMI of China, is expected to take the company’s production capacity to six million metric tonnes per annum.

    He expressed confidence that SINOMA, with their track record and vast expertise in deploying cement plants across the world, would deliver a world-class second line for the Obu Cement Plant. “It will also meet our stringent environmental, safety, quality and technical requirements for our plants and products,” he said.

    The Obu Cement Plant utilises 9,000 tonnes of limestone and clay daily for its large-scale operations, while it produces 32.5, 42.5 and 52.5 grade cement. And the plant is engineered to be the most-environmentally- friendly cement plant in Africa with the most advanced dust emission control systems.

    “Our technology has the latest filtration with capacity of less than 10 milligram per normal cubic meter. We use natural gas, which is a very clean energy for both our kiln as well as the power plant, in addition to having a very green environment,” Rabiu said.

    At the inauguration of the plant and the ground-breaking of the second line, the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, pledged that the Federal Government would remove all human inhibitions to encourage investors.

    Commending BUA management for the achievement, he said the project, which is a wholly Nigerian enterprise, planned and executed by a Nigerian team, is a big boost to the economy, with the opportunities it will provide for skilled and unskilled youths of the state and the country at large.

    The Vice President noted that the plant’s output would guarantee self sufficiency of cement production for the nation, especially when BUA Group is using modern and efficient facilities with local materials. He said the company’s achievement had demonstrated that the Nigerian economic growth plan must be private sector driven.

    Osinbajo assured the private sector that the Federal Government would endeavour to make policies that would remove bottlenecks. “We will continue to create the enabling business environment and will directly assist the private sector to grow, which will in turn grow the Nigerian economy,” he said.

    According to him, the only feasible means to achieve a robust and far-reaching socio-economic development is to enable active involvement of private sector players and investors. Government resources, he said, cannot independently bridge the infrastructural and technological gap without the involvement of private sector resources.

    Osinbajo noted that advanced economies attained significance by the contributions of major entrepreneurs such as the Chairman of BUA Group. He emphasised that it was imperative to build a symbiotic relationship with committed serial entrepreneurs and investors to drive economic growth and development.

    His words: “Nation building is never judged by the number of new projects or fresh ideas that we begin; we are judged by what we complete and sustain. This country will only grow on the talent and resourcefulness of people like yourself who are ready to put their resources out and invest anywhere in the country, employ the local people in that community and add real value to the lives of Nigerians.”

    Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki commended the management of the company for taking the bold steps in 2015 to initiate the process of establishing the plant. He expressed happiness that the management had made success of the company, including completely turning around the acquired moribund Edo cement factory.

    Obaseki said the vision and mission of the company were in line with the state government’s economic reform agenda, adding that “the State Government is ready to make Edo an industrial haven with friendly tax policies.

    He reassured the group of ensuring the operating environment was comfortable with the promotion of responsible and attractive tax regime. The state, he said, has reformed her land management process in a fashion that makes acquisition of land, security of approvals and building permit feasible without social harassments or uncontrolled communal land administration.

    Obaseki said: “We want to use this opportunity to invite other investors to emulate the BUA Group, come to Edo State and take advantage of the great potential in the state. Edo State is rich in limestone and other solid minerals, besides its status as an oil producing state. Government is resolute about economic diversification especially into areas where we have competitive and comparative advantage.”

    The governor also informed that his administration has created the enabling business environment for potential investors to invest in an industrial park, located in Ologbo, in Ikpoba Okha Local Government Area of Edo State, where the gas transmission line and proximity to power is expected to boost economic activities and create investments in the state.

    “We are currently designing an export processing zone with the initiative of investing in the Gelegele Port to boost production and agriculture, which is the major thrust of both the Federal and Edo State Governments’ economic diversification programme,” Obaseki added.

     

    How the BUA journey began

    The acquisition of a two million tonnes floating cement terminal labelled BUA Cement 1 in 2008 marked the company’s entry into the Nigerian integrated cement manufacturing. It was the first time the industry experienced a technology driven bulk-bagging of cement on a vessel.

    It acquired majority stake in the publicly listed Cement Company of Northern Nigeria PLC (CCNN), as well as in Edo Cement Company Limited in the same year before investing in the construction of a Greenfield three million tonnes plant in Obu.

    On the acquisition of CCNN, Rabiu said: “BUA’s investment in the cement line in Sokoto is the single largest private sector led investment in the North-Western part of Nigeria.

    “This is particularly important because Sokoto cement was the largest employer of labour in Sokoto State after the State Government, and the 60-year-old company founded by the Sardauna of Sokoto needed that investment to keep those jobs.”

    The effectiveness and efficiency of the plant in its first year of operation, which was over 90 per cent in an industry where efficiency averaged 60 per cent, led BUA to commence the construction of a second cement plant line of three million tonnes.

  • Bayelsa generates 7,000 direct, indirect jobs in five years

    Bayelsa State government has generated  over 7,000 direct and indirect jobs through the release of N1.88 billion SME loans to entrepreneurs and cooperatives.

    Speaking through his deputy, Rear Admiral Gboribiogha John Jonah at the 2017 African  SME  EXPO,  Governor Seriake Dickson said his administration partnered the Bank of Industry and other relevant agencies to enhance SMEs with direct impact on economic growth of the state.

    In furtherance with the commitment of his administration to job creation and empowerment of youths, the governor added the the state will soon  partner BoI for a N2 billion MSME loan.

    He said in 2015, the government launched Izon Microfinance Bank to provide small businesses and serious minded entrepreneurs access to funding.

    “This is important for us because funding is crucial if people are to innovate and think outside the box.  We have achieved so much since the commencement of the Microfinance Bank, especially because the bank, with backing from CBN and others, supported women groups and cooperatives in the state,” he said.

    Describing SMEs as panacea for the growth of the local economy, Dickson stressed the need for the promotion of home goods and simplifying registration processs of businesses.

    He said:  “We need to deliberate in strengthening institutions…. in Bayelsa, one per cent of the annual state budget is released to the Bayelsa State Microfinance and Enterprises Development Agency for SME development yearly.

    “We must simplify registration processes for businesses and encourage their migration from informal to the formal sector through regulation and proper monitoring.”