The Nation Newspaper

Tag: pledges

  • Flour Mills pledges sustained growth

    Flour Mills pledges sustained growth

    Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc yesterday outlined its growth strategy to the investing public with assurance that continuing investments and expansion of its businesses would continue to put the group on the pedestal for sustained growth in the years ahead.

    At the presentation of “Fact Behind the Figure” at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in Lagos, group managing director, Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc, Mr. Paul Gbedebo, said the group has been able to retain good margins on all its lines of businesses in spite of increased competition, thus in a better position to support its expansion.

    He noted that the group has restructured and increased investment in its sugar company, which led to successful commissioning of a 750,000 metric tons per annual sugar refinery built at a cost of $250 million in April 2013.

    According to him, in furtherance of the its long term business model and growth strategy, Flour Mills had embarked on group restructuring, strategic business acquisitions and investment in its core food business and backward integration programmes.

    He pointed out that the immediate past year was a year of transition and steady progress is expected in the years ahead as the investments kick in adding that its sugar refining subsidiary and the packaging business are well position for future progress.

    “The group is generating strong cash flow from operating activities and is comfortably positioned for future growth,” Gbedebo assured.

    According to him, Flour Mills has continued to strategically invest in large scale commercial farming to support its food processing units with locally produced raw materials.

    He outlined that the group had invested about N41 billion in capital projects in recent period including key projects such as flour capacity expansion in its Apapa mills, completion of Golden Snacks facility in Agbara, completion of Golden Sugar Refinery, establishment of new flour mill in Calabar, expansion of pasta & noodles lines and many major agro allied projects such as investments in Sunti Golden Sugar Estates and new animal feed mill and acquisition and development of large scale commercial farming.

  • FirstBank pledges support for World Economic Forum

    FirstBank of Nigeria Limited has pledged its support for the World Economic Forum on Africa (WEFA) taking place for the first time in Nigeria.

    In a statement, FirstBank’s spokesperson Folake Ani-Mumuney, said the lender is happy to be playing a leading role at the foremost economic gathering on the continent; which will bring together regional and global leaders to discuss innovative structural reforms and investments that can sustain the continent’s growth while creating jobs and prosperity for all its citizens.

    According to her, aside the countless opportunities the WEFA offers to engage attendees from different spheres of life, FirstBank will also be organising a fringe breakfast session which would bring together captains of businesses and leaders of the economy to further distill the theme of the conference, ‘Forging Inclusive Growth, Creating Jobs’.

    “At FirstBank, we remain steadfast in promoting thought leadership and driving innovative reforms through our support for fora like the WEFA, Economist Conferences and Nigeria Economic Summit Group. We highlight business opportunities for small and large scale business ventures in the country, which we hope will sustain growth, enhance local capacity building and foster collaborations for expansion through partnerships with organszations,” she said.

    Also expected at the summit are President Goodluck Jonathan, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Group and Africa’s richest man, and other top public and private sector executives. This will be the first time Nigeria will be hosting the annual conference since its inception 24 years ago.

  • Govt pledges support for agro-allied industry

    The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, has praised Notore for bringing fertiliser to rural farmers.

    He spoke during the opening of the Al-Yuma Ventures state-of-the-art warehouse in Jigawa State and launch of the Notore Small Pack Distribution Enhancement (SPaDE) project.

    The Minister said the Federal Government would continue to assist agro-allied industries to contribute to the Nigeria’s agricultural growth and economic development.

    Adesina, represented by a director in his ministry, Alhaji Yahaya Tanko, described Notore’s innovative ideas as formidable steps in moving the nation’s agriculture forward.

    He said the innovation brought about by the intervention of firms, such as Notore would remain unquantifiable, considering its role in bringing fertiliser and other farm input closer to local farmers.

    The Managing Director , Chief Executive Officer of Notore, Mr. Onajite Okoloko, said the firm was set up to develop the capacity of over two million farmers across the country and expose them to modern farming techniques between this year and 2015.

    He said Notore as an ago-allied firm committed to making its input available to grassroots farmers across the country.

    “The Notore fertiliser plant is the only urea fertiliser plant in Sub-Saharan Africa. We produce urea and blended NPK fertiliser products. We are also proud to say that we operate an effective and world-class supply chain structure with over 100 distribution partners reaching 1.8 million farmers across Nigeria,” Okoloko said.

    Describing how the initiative being launched began, he said Alhaji Ali Yusuf, a well-known businessman and Notore partner in 2011, while seeking more profitable business opportunities, realised that a gap existed in the fertiliser market.

    The managing director explained that Yusuf saw how local farmers lacked quality and affordable agricultural input, especially fertiliser and seeds, and decided to register as a Notore distribution partner.

    Since joining the Notore family, his sales volume increased from about 5,000 metric tonnes in the first year to over 25,000 metric tonnes later.

  • Imoke redeems AFCON pledges

    Imoke redeems AFCON pledges

    Cross Rivers State Governor Liyel Imoke has redeemed the promise he made to players and officials of the Super Eagles for lifting the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.

    Imoke had pledged the sum of twenty four million naira and a plot of land each to the team following their exploits in South Africa earlier this year.

    The Governor, who was part of the guests at the U.J Esuene stadium during the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier between Super Eagles and Flames of Malawi on Saturday, released the money and the land on Friday evening to the team.

    The announcement of the pledge was made at the stadium during the encounter, according to the announcer, the governor fulfilled his pledge as a way to motivate the team for Saturday’s match.

    Super Eagles arrived in Calabar on Monday in preparation for the game against Malawi. Calabar has been the home ground for the Super Eagles qualifying matches.

    Super Eagles defeated ten-man Malawi 2-0 to progress to the final stage of the World Cup qualifiers.

    Emmanuel Emenike’s 45th minute and Victor Moses’ 54th minute goals gave Nigerians deserved victory.

    The African Champions had the control of the match since the blast of the whistle till the end of the game.The Malawians played to frustrate the coach Stephen keshi-tutored side but all their efforts were quashed by defenders.

     

  • PDP panel chair pledges fairness

    PDP panel chair pledges fairness

    The Governor Henry Seriake Dickson’s Ad Hoc Committee on Reconciliation of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) yesterday said it would be neutral and fair to all aggrieved members.

    It, however, banned members of the committee from inappropriate meetings or contacts with any party member whose matter is under consideration.

    A statement by the Secretary of the committee, Ambassador Umar Damagum, said it would also consult widely with the party’s founding fathers.

    The committee said it would be guided by confidentiality, strategic communication, neutrality and commitment to the principle of fairness.

    The statement said: “The Reconciliation Committee’s work shall place emphasis on utmost confidentiality of all matters brought to it.

    “Members shall, ensure strict confidentiality of all information received by them or such information that may be processed by the Committee, its leadership or any of its organs (as may be established from time to time).

    “In order to boost the level of confidence among our members nationwide while this Committee undertakes its assignment, no member shall interact with the media on any matter under consideration by the Committee, except with due approval by the Committee or its leadership.

    “The Reconciliation Committee shall be committed to the principles of neutrality. To this end, no member of the Committee shall serve in any Congress Committee in a State where such a member is an interested party.”

  • NNPC pledges to manage acquired Shell assets

    NNPC pledges to manage acquired Shell assets

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its subsidiary, the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), have expressed readiness to run some of the assets and oil mining leases transferred to them by the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).

    The Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mr. Andrew Yakubu, an engineer, said this at the weekend after the board meeting of the NNPC/NPDC in Warri, Delta State.

    NNPC’s Acting Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Tumini Green, spoke in a statement yesterday.

    She quoted Mr. Yakubu as saying that the corporation with its flagship company, NPDC, is repositioning to ensure that its acquired assets remain productive to boost the revenue inflow to the Nigerian economy.

    “With the divestment of Shell, NPDC is the top and only option for indigenous participation that will replace companies, such as SPDC and other companies that want to divest their equities. “Therefore, NPDC has taken over this obligation of value addition as the flagship operator of the upstream business of NNPC. NPDC is the gateway of capacity development and capability development of the upstream activities in Nigeria,” Yakubu said.

    He said the activities of the NNPC/NPDC in Warri have made NPDC the highest local producer of gas and this has met Federal Government’s aspiration in power generation, stressing that with the new status, NPDC remains the biggest indigenous gas supplier in Africa.

    Yakubu noted that as a socially- responsible corporation, the NNPC/NPDC would step up its activities in the area of providing social amenities, such as classroom blocks, educational scholarship, health facilities, roads and water to communities where its operations are domiciled.

    He said by partnering the tiers of government in providing basic amenities to oil bearing communities, a conducive environment that would guarantee smooth operations of the acquired assets would be provided, adding that the NNPC/NPDC would touch the lives of Nigerians in many positive ways.

    According to him, the assurances from the Warri communities indicate that the coming of the NPDC to the communities would sustain community development efforts in line with international best practices.

    He said through the support and vision of the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, the NNPC/NPDC took over the management of some OMLs in a bid to meet the target of producing 250,000 barrels of crude per day in 2015 by NPDC.

  • FG pledges to tackle Olorunsogo power plant challenges

    The Minister for Power, Professor Chinedu Nebo, has assured that the federal government would address poor funding of the Olorunsogo Power Station (Gas turbines) phase 1 Ogun State to enable the plant stay afloat and meet its 335MW installed capacity target.

    Nebo said the plant is very critical and supplies a substantial energy to the national grid, stressing that the federal government, states and local governments would henceforth strive towards working in synergy with power distribution companies to make electricity available to citizens.

    The minister also lauded SEPCO111, a Chinese electric power construction firm not only for supplying and installing the plant, but also for its maintenance, which he said, ensured that the facility is running.

    The Olorunsogo Power Station phase 1 was completed and handed over to the federal government via PHCN in 2009 in line with the agreements, but SEPCO111 has been maintaining the turbines in the last three years

    The Managing Director and CEO of Olorunsogo Power Plc, Engr Philip Ugwu, identified insufficient maintenance tools and equipment as well as poor funding as challenges facing the facility.

    Nebo assured that the challenges would be addressed by the federal government urgently.

    He spoke at the weekend after being taken round the facility with the Vice – President of SEPCO111, Mr. Sun Qili, SEPCO111 Project Manager, Mr. Li Xianlai, and others.

    He said: “Funding has been an essential aspect of the difficulties within the power sector; we will do our best to address this situation and see what we can do to redress the very poor funding situation that Olorunsogo Power Station has been encountering.

    The minister hinted of plans to establish the National Council on Power with representatives drawn from the three tiers of government to make room for synergy with power distribution companies.

    This, he explained, would ensure harmony of efforts for effective power supply.

     

  • Govt pledges greater support for local manufacturers

    Govt pledges greater support for local manufacturers

    The Federal Government will continue to support local manufacturing initiatives, Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Samuel Ortom, he said.

    He spoke in Lagos when he led a delegation of the committee on mass transportation for Nigerians on a visit to the assembly plant of Volkswagen of Nigeria (VON) Automobiles Nigeria.

    VON Automobiles manufactures Ashok Leyland buses, light commercial vehicles and trucks at its Lagos manufacturing plants.

    A statement quoted the minister as saying this would lead to an increase in the patronage of locally-assembled vehicles and enhance mass transportation.

    Ortom said the Federal Executive Council would soon pass the National Automotive Policy a document he said would among others spell out how financial institutions would help stakeholders access the products of local assembly plants.

    The minister who expressed satisfaction about the state of affairs at the VON Automobile plant however assured that worries over local patronage would soon be a thing of the past.

    He said: “I have inspected and seen what VON Automobile Nigeria is doing and I am quite impressed with the quality of work here as well as the capacity of the plant.

    “Nigerians must rise up to the challenge. It is the responsibility of Nigerians to be patriotic and patronise made-in-Nigeria goods. Government would continue to put in place enabling environment to ensure that all operators in the economy continue to thrive.”

    The minister said government is prepared to partner with VON Automobiles as such would further reduce the level of unemployment in the economy.

    “The private sector will be supported with friendly policies for the operators to be in business and to have a healthy impact on the level of unemployment and even the vibrancy of the economy,” Ortom said.

    Describing mass transit as a major part of economic development worldwide, the minister said since Nigeria cannot be an exception, he decided to “come and see your capacity, quality and quantity of mass transit vehicles you can supply to the Nigerian market.

    “What I found here is of international standard. We can encourage people from other African countries to import from Nigeria. The products are of the best quality and can be used in any part of the world.”

    The minister also praised the plant for transforming the defunct Volkswagen of Nigeria plant.

    He assured VON Automobiles of the President’s commitment to local manufacturing.

    The minister inspected the Ashok Leyland bus lines, VON Automobiles’ prototype medium capacity bus, brake test bay, shower test bay, spray booths, CKD stores and the refectory, among others.

    VON Automobiles Managing Director Mr. Tokunbo Aromolaran, told the team that the plant had an installed capacity of 4,000 buses per annum and planned to take delivery soon of equipment that could enable it produce 36,000 units of light duty trucks per year.

  • ICAN pledges support for students

    The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) has pledged N500,000 in aid to PhD students, who are its members and Accounting students of the University of Calabar (UNICAL).

    Its National President, Mr Owolabi Adedoyin, made the pledge when he led an ICAN delegation to visit Vice-Chancellor, Prof James Epoke.

    Adedoyin said the body observed that some students were hindered in their academic pursuit by financial challenges, a situation that made ICAN to decide to encourage the indigent students, especially those in their final years of study and postgraduate.

    The 48th president of ICAN used the occasion to disclose that there would be a scholarship scheme for students who make First Class in the discipline and other related courses, who registered as bonafide members of ICAN. He explained the rule that all Accountancy and Accounting students must have credit pass in Mathematics and English in either WAEC or NECO was to ensure proper regulation of the profession.

    He praised the management of the university for the excellent performance shown by its graduates of Accounting, while equally thanking the VC for the warm reception accorded the ICAN team.

    Responding, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration), Prof James Utsalo, who spoke on behalf of Prof Epoke, expressed appreciation to the body for its choice of UNICAL as one of the universities to benefit from ICAN’s scholarship scheme.

    Utsalo said the Accounting programme of the university was vibrant because of the demands placed before the students, which included orderliness from staff and students.

    The chairman of Calabar District of ICAN, Mr Tony Ayie, said it was the body’s pleasure to choose the university among institutions to be accorded the honour of courtesy visits by the ICAN national leaders.

    The highlights of the visit were the presentation of copies of academic journals to the Vice-Chancellor.

  • Council chief pledges more gains of democracy

    Council chief pledges more gains of democracy

    The chairman of Yaba Local Council Development Area of Lagos State Hon. Olajide Jimoh has said that his administration would provide infrastructure for people living in the area in order to make life meaningful for them.

    Some of the amenities his council would provide include hospitals. Others, he said, are education, good roads, water, electricity as well as adequate sporting facilities for the youth.

    Speaking during the clinic organised by the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Lagos chapter, the council chief revealed that his administration had provided free ambulance services for the people in the locality. This, he said, is in line with the healthcare delivery system of Lagos State government that aims at ensuring that adequate attention is paid to the people in times of emergency.

    On welfare package, he revealed that about 100 elderly people receive a monthly stipend of N10, 000 each. This, he said, would cost the council about N36m during the current administration’s period in office.

    Meanwhile, Jimoh has endorsed the merger of four political parties that engendered the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying the ruling Peoples Democratic Party had performed below expectations.

    According to him, the economic situation of the country had not improved since the present democratic dispensation, even as he added that something needed to be done to effect a change in the system.

    Recall that the APC was unveiled recently in Abuja following the merger of the major opposition parties in the country comprising the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) and the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC).

    The chairman of NIPR, Lagos State chapter Mr. Jide Ologun stressed the need for leaders to be responsive to the yearnings of the people that voted them into office.

    He further said there were visible signs of progress in Yaba council area because the council chief was able to communicate and link up with the people at the grassroots.

    This is in line with the Lagos State government’s commitment to put in place infrastructure that would give the people a sense of belonging.

    “If we don’t begin to consider that we need to develop the people and the environment in line with global benchmark, those who are alive in years to come may not enjoy the same environment,” he said.

    Mr. Ologun maintained that the local council development areas and the local government areas are the closest to the electorate and therefore needed to be given serious attention.