The Nation Newspaper

Tag: reserves

  • CBN: Foreign reserves hit 30-month high at $31.6b

    CBN: Foreign reserves hit 30-month high at $31.6b

    • Apex bank injects $297m into forex market

    The nation’s foreign exchange reserves have stood at a 30-month high at $31.59 billion, as at August 18. The Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) data have shown.

    Nigeria’s dollar reserves have climbed back to a level they last reached in January 2015, shortly before the general elections. The bank, however, did not provide the reason for the increase.

    Nigerian assets, largely shunned by foreign investors over the past three years, have attracted significant amounts of capital after the CBN in April liberalised the exchange rate for investors.

    The forex buffer stood at $25.73 billion, up by 20.77 per cent from a year ago, but is still far off a peak of $64 billion hit in August 2008.

    Also, the naira was boosted as the CBN yesterday, with $297 million injection into the Retail Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) segment of the forex market raising the total intervention for the week to $547 million.

    Confirming the figures, the CBN spokesman, Isaac Okorafor, disclosed that the bank was resolute in its determination to intervene in the forex market with the aim of uplifting the naira exchange rate, boost liquidity in the forex market and ensure timely execution and settlement for eligible transactions.

    Okoroafor, an acting director in the Corporate Communication department of the apex bank, expressed confidence that the interventions would continue to guarantee stability in the market and ensure forex availability to individuals and business concerns with genuine demand.

    The CBN had earlier intervened in the Inter-Bank Foreign Exchange Market to the tune of $195 million in three segments of the market. In the wholesale segment of the inter-bank Forex market, it sold $100m and uplifted the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and invisible segments, with $50 million and $45 million respectively.

    Responding to enquiries earlier in the week, Okoroafor had hinted that the apex bank would increase liquidity in the market in the coming days, noting that the move was necessary to enhance stability in the forex market.

  • Foreign reserves drop by 11.7% to $25.72b

    Foreign reserves drop by 11.7% to $25.72b

    Foreign exchange reserves fell 11.7 per cent to $25.72 billion by December 28, from $29.13 billion a year earlier, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) data showed on Friday.

    However, the reserves showed a 4.2 per cent increase month-on-month, up from $24.69 billion on November 28 – due to a slight recovery in global oil prices and a rise in the OPEC member’s oil production levels.

    Nigeria’s oil production rose to 1.70 million barrels per day (mbpd) in November, up from 1.65 mbpd the previous month, which lifted the forex reserves.

    The foreign exchange reserves fell to $25.78 billion as of August 16, representing 2.11 per cent plunge from a month ago. The reserves position is expected to provide about five months import cover for the country.

    Previous data on the reserves showed that they increased marginally by $40 million in March on a 30-day moving average basis to $27.9 billion and have continued to record marginal decline till current position.

    The reserves were also at $28.33 billion at end-June 2015, compared with $34.24 billion at end-December 2014, representing a decrease of 17.3 per cent decline.

    The fall in reserves was due to the sharp decline in foreign exchange inflow from in the economy due to continuous decline in prices of crude oil in the international markets.

    Meanwhile, the naira is set to witness another round of decline against the dollar in the days ahead as an increase in dollar flows from Nigerians living abroad coming home for holidays fell short of expectations, traders said.

    The local currency was quoted at 490 to the dollar on Thursday from 495 against the dollar last week on the parallel market.

    In the official interbank window, the naira was quoted at 310.25 to the dollar on Thursday, but it was expected to close at around 305.5, the same level it has traded at since August.

    “We see the naira depreciating against the dollar by the time more businesses resume operations next week after the festive season as dollar liquidity remains thin in the market,” one currency dealer said.

  • Ogun warns against reserves destruction

    The Ogun State Commissio-ner for Forestry, Kolawole Lawal, has warned  those destroying its forest reserves to stop or face the music.

    He gave the warning during a visit to sand evacuators at Alakala Communal Zone of Ipake Forest Reserve in Yewa South Local Government Area.

    He warned the sand evacuators to desist from encroaching into the forest reserve, adding that they should keep to the terms of their contract with the government and avoid going beyond the demarcated areas.

    ”We do not intend to victimise or deal with anybody except those found to be economic saboteurs, who through their actions or inactions, deliberately encroach on government reserves to make money; we urge them to immediately desist from such action before government clamps down on them,” he said.

    The Commissioner also cautioned cocoa farmers at Area J4 to desist from destroying the state’s economic trees in the reserves, advising them to replace the ones they have destroyed.

    He explained that the government has been magnanimous enough to allow Taungya farming in its forest reserves, saying that farmers should not abuse the privilege given to them through wanton destruction of economic trees and illegal activities in the reserves.

    Lawal said the government would revamp the depleted reserves.

  • Foreign reserves down to $25.78b

    Foreign reserves down to $25.78b

    •Naira closes at N348.75/$ 

    The foreign exchange reserves fell to $25.78 billion as of August 16, representing 2.11 per cent plunge from a month ago, data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) data showed.

    The reserves position is expected to provide about five months import cover for the country.

    Previous data on the reserves showed that they increased marginally by $40 million in March on a 30-day moving average basis to $27.9 billion and have continued to record marginal decline till current position.

    The reserves were also at $28.33 billion at end-June 2015, compared with $34.24 billion at end-December 2014, representing a decrease of 17.3 per cent decline.

    The fall in reserves was due to the sharp decline in foreign exchange inflow from in the economy due to continuous decline in prices of crude oil in the international markets.

    The naira yesterday touched an all-time low of N365.25 to the dollar in a single interbank market trade of $1 million, but later appreciated and closed at N348.75 against the dollar, Thomson Reuters data showed.

    However, three-month non-deliverable forward contracts climbed 4.1 per cent to 364.5 versus the greenback, heading for a record close. Contracts maturing in a year rose by 3.5 per cent to N403, also a record.

    The naira has slumped 38 per cent since the CBN ended a 16-month peg of 197-199 per dollar on June 20. The International Monetary Fund forecasts a 1.8 per cent contraction of the economy this year.

    Foreign-exchange flows have been slow to trickle in to the country since the devaluation. The dollar shortage has been exacerbated by militant attacks on oil facilities in the Niger Delta, which have sent crude production tumbling to an almost three-decade low. Nigeria relies on oil for 90 percent of export earnings.

    The CBN has been selling dollars almost daily on the interbank market to prop up the currency. The naira plunged to a record low and forwards rose, suggesting traders expect further depreciation, as the economy faces dearth of dollars.

  • Only 25% of Nigeria’s gas reserves is utilised, says Shell chief

    • ‘How to optimise resource monetisation’ 

    Only 25 per cent of the country’s gas reserves is being utilised, the Managing Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and Country Chair of Shell Companies in Nigeria, Mr. Osagie Okunbor, has said.

    He spoke at the Nigerian Gas Association’s Business Forum in Lagos.

    Okunbor, who represented  Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS) Chairman, Clay Neff listed some of the problems of the sector’s development to include gas producers debts, poor gas infrastructure, insufficient funding and lack of a conducive business environment.

    The Shell boss regretted that though Nigeria has  proven gas reserves of 181 trillion standard cubic feet (tscf) as at last year, in excess of oil, the resource is being underutilised as output of gas acreages producing, or being developed is  about 46tscf, reflecting just a quarter of available volume.

    Okunbor, who spoke on “Re-evaluating the development of the Nigerian gas industry: A prerequisite for re-energising and maximising its potential,” said as  a country that has the largest proven gas reserves in Africa, the level of exploitation is very low compared to some African nations that have much less reserves.

    He told The Nation on the sideline that the solution to the challenge, lies in “repaying outstanding gas invoice arrears,” adding: “without the assurance of repaying gas invoice arrears, investors will be reluctant to commit additional investments to grow domestic gas production.

    “It is vital to settle outstanding debts and establish bankable credit support facilities for future gas sales,” he said.

    In addition, he said: “Developing adequate gas infrastructure is critical. Infrastructure remains inadequate along the value chain. Pipelines to deliver gas to off-takers for power generation and other users are important. Therefore, there is need to attract investment in infrastructure development, unbundle the Nigeria Gas Company (NGC) into separate pipeline and gas marketing companies, and complete the critical National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) transmission lines.

    He said ensuring sufficient funding is vital, pointing out that unresolved Joint Venture (JV) funding issues limit gas development and production. He said due to the persistent shortfall in funding, viable new projects could not make progress, adding that there was need to implement sustainable solutions which will fully fund the JV budgets, including gas.

    He also noted the importance of providing an enabling commercial and fiscal terms, stating that with such terms, gas prices and fiscals must be competitive to appropriately cover development, production and transportation costs and make commercial returns possible.

    He said this would promote willing-buyers and  willing-seller market place. It would also ensure a power tariff level that provides a commercial return. Government should set globally competitive fiscals for gas, he said.

    On conducive business environment, Okunbor said such environment was essential to attract investments and have reliable operations, with efficient and effective regulatory bodies.

    He said the government should maintain stable laws and policies, maintain Nigeria’s reputation for honouring contracts, and eliminate structural factors that increase costs as well as ensure security of life and property.

  • N940m for grazing reserves?

    •Federal Government should perish the thought

    Although the budget has been passed, with the N940million that the Federal Government earmarked for the development of grazing reserves for herdsmen in the country, it is doubtful if the reserves will ever see the light of day, given the resistance to the idea by a large section of the country. Mercifully, land ownership in the country is vested in state governments; and if feelers from across the country are anything to go by, then not many states will graciously release the space that the Federal Government envisaged would be released for the reserves.

    The latest such opposition has come from Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State, who has threatened to get a bill criminalising the movement of cattle in the state to the state assembly. The governor made this known during a visit to Oke-Ako in Ikole Local Government Area of the state, to commiserate with them over the killing of two residents of the community by herdsmen.

    “I have come here to commiserate with the people of Oke-Ako over the murder of two of our people by these evil Fulani herdsmen. I am also here to assure that this will be the last time your community will be invaded by Fulani herdsmen under whatever guise. I have directed that cattle rearing and grazing should stop in Ekiti State and those interested in cattle farming should henceforth do so in their own cattle ranch”.

    An enraged Fayose added, “No more movement of cattle from one location to another in the state and any cattle seen anywhere in Ekiti State apart from the ranch created for them by their owners will be confiscated by the government and their owners will be prosecuted. A bill to this effect will be sent to House of Assembly for passage into law to criminalise cattle owners whose cattle are found moving from one location to the other in the state’.

    Draconian as this might seem, Governor Fayose spoke the minds of millions of Nigerians who are opposed to the idea of grazing reserves. The herdsmen have not helped matters the way they have been going about their business, disrupting other people’s businesses in the process, raping and killing along the line. To add salt to injury, the umbrella body of the herdsmen, the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, has been speaking in an annoying manner, saying for instance, that they are protected under the law to move freely in any part of the country.

    No one is contesting that with them. But they should also understand that while the constitution guarantees them free movement; it does not give them the liberty to destroy other people’s sources of livelihood or displace them from their ancestral lands. In other words, where their own freedom stops; others’ begins. Put more succinctly, there is land sovereignty.

    While Governor Fayose’s outburst is understandable, we think there should be a timeline to put an end to the idea of cattle roaming the streets or the farms. Indeed, this has become anachronistic. The herdsmen must be told in unambiguous terms that they cannot have their way in states where the people say they do not want cattle reared or where they are averse to the idea of grazing reserves. They surely are not in a position to dictate to other Nigerians what to do with their land. They have to learn to appreciate their local environment.

    Cattle-rearing is private business; so, the herdsmen should go for ranches where the people only sanction such. That is the way it is all over the civilised world. As a matter of fact, the cattle reared in ranches look far healthier than those made to travel kilometres before getting to their destinations. We understand there are plans by some individuals to produce feeds for the cows. This is a good idea.

    So, immediate ban may not be the best way to solve the problem; but it is the ultimate way to go. We also urge the Federal Government to exercise caution in throwing public funds into private business; it is a dangerous precedence.

  • Chinese Yuan accounts for 6.7% of $27.34b forex reserves

    Chinese Yuan constitutes only 6.7 per cent of Nigeria’s $27.34 billion foreign exchange (forex) reserves, data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has shown.

    The figure indicted that the US dollar constitutes 76.6 per cent of the total, having fell from its level of $22.59 billion in September last year to $21.67 billion in December.

    Other currencies in the basket and their shares include Saudi Riyal (SDR) worth $2.32 billion; (8.2 per cent), Euro worth $1.69 billion (six per cent), and British Pound Sterling worth $688.18 million (2.4 per cent).

    The report titled: Currency Composition of Foreign Exchange Reserves indicated that forex inflows to the economy in December last year stood at $20.2 billion as against $27.3 billion recorded in September, representing a decrease of 25.76 per cent.

    While in the corresponding quarter of 2014, the recorded inflow was $37.01 billion, indicating a major decrease of 45.2 per cent. On the other hand, total outflows in the period under review amounted to $8.61 billion. This represents a decrease of 21.22 and 41.90 per cent in comparison with the levels recorded in the preceding quarter and corresponding quarter of 2014, respectively.

    Consequently, a net out-flow of $11.67 billion was recorded in December last year as against $16.39 billion in September.

    Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows declined to $501.83 million in December last year from $1.21 billion in September. Estimated portfolio investment inflows (liabilities), however, increased significantly from a reverse investment level of $387.32 million in September to $1.15 billion in December.

    The aggregate supply of forex for visible and invisible trade during the period under review stood at $8.48 billion. This represents a decrease of 18.3 and 55.5 per cent in comparison with the levels recorded in the preceding quarter and corresponding quarter of 2014, respectively.

    The total amount utilised in December last year, consists of $5.04 billion and $3.45 billion for visible and invisible trades, representing 59.4 and 40.6 per cent, respectively.

    Analysis of forex utilisation by sectors revealed that $5.03 billion was spent on the importation of various items into the country in December representing 59.4 per cent of the total foreign exchange utilised during the period. This also represents a decrease of 8.3 per cent and 44.9 per cent in comparison with the levels recorded in the preceding quarter and corresponding quarter of 2014, respectively.

  • The matter of grazing reserves

    The Federal Government is contemplating the establishment of grazing reserves and stock routes across the country to check the incessant bloody clashes between nomadic Fulani herdsmen and farmers. It is also argued that grazing reserves will boost livestock production, ease herding challenges and reduce seasonal migrations of herdsmen. The idea of grazing reserves is not new in the country. The colonial government toyed with it and a few years into independence, the Northern Regional Government took up the idea and proposed extensive grazing reserves in parts of Northern Nigeria including the Sokoto, Katsina, Zaria and Bauchi provinces. In 1965, the regional government enacted the Grazing Reserve Law whose high point included the ‘Fulani Amenities Proposal’ aimed at providing special amenities to support the pastoral Fulani. During the military era, both the World Bank and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) supported efforts at further development of grazing reserves in the country.

    Though this international support did not yield any sustainable results as most of the planned reserves failed to take off, the concept was not entirely abandoned. High level Fulani lobby led by MACBAN (formed in 1972) and Pastoral Resolve have continued to throw up the idea as a possible solution to the incessant clashes between farmers and herdsmen.

    In 1998, the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) under its Chairman, General Muhammadu Buhari perfected a blueprint to rehabilitate grazing reserves and stock routes across the country. The blueprint became stillborn after General Sani Abacha’s demise. In 2012, The Pastoral Resolve, (PARE) a non-Governmental Organization founded to champion the interest and well-being of pastoralists in Nigeria  was reportedly seeking ¦ 5 billion to establish pilot grazing reserves in Adamawa, Bauchi, Benue, Kogi and Nasarawa states.  Grazing reserves and stock routes are known to dominate Fulani demands on the country and all leading presidential candidates in previous elections in the country since 1999 have committed themselves in writing to the Fulani on the issue of grazing reserves.

    In truth, the improvements needed in livestock production in the country cannot be initiated and successfully carried out if majority of Nigerians involved in livestock production insist on a nomadic lifestyle. There is no merit in this lifestyle today; moreover, the conditions that supported nomadism in the colonial and immediate post-colonial period have also drastically changed.

    Population has increased even in areas, like the North-central zone, which were hitherto assumed to be sparsely populated. Desert encroachment has also continued to be a major challenge in the country. In 1961, Nigeria had 0.51 hectares of arable land per citizen. In 1990, the figure shrank to 0.29.  By 2010, it was 0.21 hectares per person. At current population growth rate, it will shrink to 0.17 hectares per person by 2020 and, further to 0.13 by 2030 and 0.10 by 2040. It is estimated that by 2050, it will be 0.08 hectares per person. We must take urgent steps to transparently regulate and reform livestock production in the country as a way of avoiding further bloodshed. Grazing reserves are not a transparent or efficient way of regulation and reforming livestock production in the country. Even in parts of the country with high livestock population, the idea of grazing reserves has been virtually rejected. Grazing reserves in Katsina, Sokoto, Zamfara, Bauchi, Kano and Borno have all been effectively abandoned.

    It is becoming clear to the discerning mind that the bloody push for grazing reserves outside the cattle producing states of the country is not more than a devious attempt to secure usufructuary rights to land and exploit the political opportunities that such rights may confer on the Fulani.  The Kachia Grazing Reserve as a template illustrates this point clearly.  Established in 1963, it became a strategic enclave for the Kachichera Fulani who had settled in Southern Kaduna since the Fulani Jihad of 1804. As agro-pastoralists, the Kachichera were still considered as ‘visitors’ in Southern Kaduna by the indigenous nationalities of the area. The Kachia reserve was established as a political masterstroke to give them a window of opportunity in the area.  They moved into the reserve from places like Kurmi Biri, Abet, Zagon Kataf, Zonkwa, Ungwan Rimi and Kagoro to secure usufructuary rights to the land and today, they have stepped up demands for a Ladduga chiefdom. It is noteworthy that up to this day, the indigenous people whose lands were appropriated for the Kachia reserve are yet to be compensated.

    We must redefine the Nigerian livestock challenge and disambiguate it from the Fulani challenge to be able to provide useful answers to the challenges. The Nigerian livestock challenge is about improved livestock production practices that would enhance the quantity and quality of animal protein and dairy related products to meet national needs. In tackling this challenge, the focus must be on how we can efficiently acquire and manage improved livestock breed, give the breed access to improved pasture and use herd management practices that can give us value for money. The challenge requires the permanent settlement of those involved in the livestock industry and informed economic decisions by individuals, governments and stakeholders who want to be involved in the livestock industry. In tackling this challenge, we must also appreciate the fact that not every area of the country has good potential for the livestock industry. There are also lessons to learn from history.

    In 1980, Governor Aper Aku of Benue State commissioned a study on the feasibility of grazing reserves in the state.  Findings from the study indicated that the provision of water (a basic infrastructural requirement in grazing reserves) would result in increased degradation of land around proposed water sources and in some instances boost tse–tse breeding. The study also found out that the characteristic cropping systems in the state around yam and cassava left little or no residue as supplementary feed for cattle in the dry season. More importantly, the study found out that no farmer nor community in the state was willing to allow their ancestral lands (which are their means of livelihood) to be appropriated for grazing reserves. The conclusions of the study showed that grazing reserves were not viable in Benue State.  This is one reason Governor Aper Aku  established a model cattle ranch at Ikyogen  where improved cattle breed were kept and grasses grown for them to ensure all year round  pasture. Grazing reserves in Nigeria have not reduced clashes between herdsmen and farmers. They certainly have given Fulani herdsmen usufractuary rights over land and other opportunities that come with those rights, yet they have not improved livestock production in any way. This is the sad fact.

    The Fulani challenge on the other hand is about unwavering attempts at clinging to an obsolete lifestyle in which livestock is kept for other reasons out of the economy. It involves a desperate and bloody push for ‘grazing rights’ for the Fulani of the ‘whole world’ to enable them continue a lifestyle of dire consequences. This is the explanation for the horrific massacres of farmers (including women and children) on their homesteads by well-armed Fulani gangs ready to take the law into their hands with impunity. Nigeria must face the Fulani challenge squarely and stamp out the indiscriminate migration of Fulani and their herds across the country. The Kadawa with their herds who also continue to crisscross our borders must be stopped. Allowing these cross border migrations has grave implications for national security, planning, health and the stability. The ECOWAS protocol on free movement of persons within the sub-region should not blind government from doing the needful. The protocol does not provide for free movement of livestock nor people with criminal intentions. ECOWAS countries like Ghana are increasingly turning away murderous herdsmen from their borders while other countries in the sub-region like Burkina Faso and Mali have opted to ranches.

    The grazing reserve concept is a simplistic answer to the challenge of livestock development in the country. It is an answer that is politically suspicious. It is not useful and has been overtaken by events. Grazing reserves will only continue to threaten other people and their livelihoods just as they will continue to complicate the education of the nomadic child and his future. They will open up the country to Fulani of the ‘whole world’. Nigeria has no land to contain them and no responsible modern nation state will accept such high nonsense especially when it is capable of threatening the peace.

    We must search for useful answers. These can be found in ranches, which have to be run as economic enterprises. On these, more livestock can be kept and the country can have more meat and dairy related products. Fulani leaders, politicians and businessmen must show the way in this. It is possible. While doing this, we must also recognize the rights of other people, communities and states to choose what livelihoods are appropriate to them. No group should be privileged above another here.

     

    • Gundu, PhD is of the Department of Archaeology, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

  • How to boost oil, gas reserves, by operators

    President Muhammdu Buhari has been asked to  encourage exploration and production to boost oil and gas reserves.

    Oil chiefs gave the charge at Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN) dinner/awards, night in Lagos.

    They issued robust  and continuous consultations with the government to create an all-inclusive and implementable policies that would keep the sector productive and competitive.

    PETAN Chairman Mr. Emeka Ene, who is also the managing director of  Oildata Energy Group, said the crude oil reserves might not enable the country realise its long-term economic objectives if urgent measures were not taken to boost exploration and increase oil reserves, which were being depleted.

    He noted that robust oil and gas reserves form the basis for increased production, adding that exploration and drilling is best done during periods of low oil prices, which is now.

    He urged the government to follow the steps of other oil producers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), where he said that drilling rig counts have sharply risen since the fall in oil prices began resulting also in reduced cost of services.

    Ene, the immediate past Chairman of the Nigerian Council of Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), said Nigeria’s long-term economic aspirations were at stake because investments in exploration had fallen resulting in drastic reduction in fields, which gave rise to redundancy and massive staff lay-offs across the industry’s value chain.

    He said PETAN can provide leadership in the service sector by providing a model for value-added local content, which guarantees significant cost reduction, and a stimulus for increased drilling and production activities.

    He urged the government to provide stable medium to long-term economic aspirations by diligently working to actualise the planned oil reserves of 40 billion barrels, daily production of four million barrels per day, monetisation of gas resources, and increase in local content activities for the advancement of indigenous capacity and job creation.

    Managing Director Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc and former President of Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE), Mr. Austin Avuru, said low oil reserves is not good for Nigeria considering the contribution of the oil and gas sector to the economy.

    He said Nigeria is seriously feeling the impact of oil price crash because it failed to build a robust sovereign wealth fund that would have cushioned price fall shock.

    He said the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) countries were driving exploration and production with sovereign wealth funds despite the low oil prices, while Nigeria is cash constrained to carry out such activities.

    Avuru corroborated Ene’s position on the need for medium to long-term economic plans, adding that little or no exploration in the industry means the nation’s lean oil and gas reserves can no longer provide support for economic projections.

    Avuru said oil production from onshore and shallow water environments has fallen from 2.4 million barrels per day to 1.2 million barrels per day (mbpd), adding that production from the deepwater which should have increased the  production has merely ended up only stabilising output at 2.4 mbpd.

    Domestic gas demand, according to him, has jumped from the previous 300 million standard cubic feet per day (mscf/d) to 1.0 billion scf/d. He projected that demand will jump to 3.0 billion scf/d by 2017. “The projected domestic gas demand is about four times more than what the country’s estimated gas reserves can support,” he added.

    Outstanding industry players conferred with awards include the  late Dr Rilwanu Lukman, Dr Emmanuel Egbogah, Gaius Obaseki, Sanni Bello, and Mutiu Sunmonu, Mrs. Callista Azogu, Charles Ngoka and Ugo Ralph Ekezie.

    Others include Shawley Coker, Pedro Egbe, Steven Aribeana, Sam Adegboyega, Dr Diran Fawibe and Emeka Okwuosa.

    Corporate award winners include Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Neconde Limited and First bank Plc. They recognised for their contributions to the development of the oil industry in 2015.

    The event ended with meetings, conferences and other industry forums with members of PETAN, Nigerian Association of Indigenous Petroleum Companies (NAIPEC), Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) and the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), among others in attendance.

  • Appeal Court reserves judgment in Rivers governorship poll

    The Court of Appeal, Abuja, yesterday reserved judgment in an appeal filed by Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike, challenging his removal by the Election Petitions Tribunal for the state.

    The Court of Appeal’s panel, presided over by Justice Dongban Memsem, held that it would communicate the judgment date to parties in the matter.

    She said: “Ruling on motions raised by the parties and judgment is hereby reserved. The date will be communicated to parties.”

    Wike’s lawyer Emmanuel Ukala (SAN) adopted his written address and asked the court to grant the appeal.

    He urged the court to upturn the decision of the Suleiman Ambursa-led tribunal, which nullified the election of his client and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a rerun within 90 days.

    Ukala argued that the tribunal erred in law in its decision and failed to give his client fair hearing.

    He said: “Some motions we raised were never considered by the tribunal before it gave judgment. The failure to give fair hearing to our client rendered the process at the tribunal a nullity.

    “We urged the court to allow the appeal  and dismiss the objections raised by the respondents.”

    Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN), who represented the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), urged the court to uphold the appeal in the interest of justice.

    Counsel to Dakuku Peterside, the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the election, asked the court to dismiss the appeal.

    The tribunal nullified Wike’s election, following the petition filed by Peterside.

    Chief Akinlolu Olujimi (SAN), counsel to Peterside, argued that most issues raised in the appeal did not emanate from the judgment of the tribunal.

    He urged the court to examine issues raised at the tribunal and flow from the tribunal’s decision.

    Also, counsel to APC, Yusuf Ali (SAN), urged the court to dismiss the appeal for lack of merit.