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Tag: road

  • Ogbia-Nembe road ready in November, says NDDC

    Ogbia-Nembe road ready in November, says NDDC

    The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has assured leaders of Nembe Se Congress that the commission will complete the 25.7-kilometre Ogbia-Nembe Road in November.

    NDDC’s Managing Director Mr. Nsima Ekere told a delegation of Nembe leaders, who visited the commission in Port Harcourt, that the project executed by NDDC and Shell Petroleum Development Company, (SPDC), was almost ready.

    Ekere said: “Our projection is that by November, the project will be inaugurated.

    ”The Ogbia-Nembe Road is important to NDDC. It is key because it is the hallmark of our partnership with Shell. We must ensure that this project is completed to serve as a flagship for other collaborations.”

    The NDDC chief said besides this, the commission also partnered Ondo State to build the 50-kilometre Akodo-Araromi/Ibeju-Lekki Road, connecting Ondo and Lagos states.

    Ekere said the commission was discussing with SETRACO, which is handling the Ogbia-Nembe Road, to resume as soon as possible.

    “SETRACO had complained that their major concern was the weather. It doesn’t want to asphalt during the rainy season. So, it is waiting for the rains to subside before remobilising to site to complete the remaining section,” he said.

    On extension of the road from Nembe to Brass, he said NDDC was hampered by funds.

    “When our funding improves, we will take on the project,” he promised.

    Ekere noted that NDDC has  huge liabilities, with efforts to reduce the number of projects.

    He added: ”We have reduced  new projects in our budgets to enable us compete ongoing ones. We have tried to prioritise them to enable us deliver on more critical ones.”

    Earlier, Vice Chairman of Nembe Se Congress Dr. Ebinyo Young-Dede said they were awaiting completion of the Ogbia-Nembe Road and commencement of work on the Nembe-Brass section.

    Dr. Young-Dede said they were at NDDC to discuss details of making Nembe-Brass Road a reality, adding that the project will stimulate development in the remotest parts of Niger Delta.

    He said the congress had maintained a persistent and constructive engagement with NDDC, resulting in the Ogbia-Nembe Road, with extensions into Ogbolomabiri and Bassambiri.

    Dr. Young-Dede noted: “The Ogbia-Nembe road has reached an advanced stage and already serving communities.  While we have shown our gratitude, we are also concerned that a project,  contracted over 10 years ago, is yet to be completed.”

  • Ilogbo residents urge Amosun to fix road

    Ilogbo residents urge Amosun to fix road

    Residents of Ilogbo and its environs have urged Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun to fix the road from Love bus stop (Tipper Garage) on Atan-Idiroko Road, leading to Ilogbo.

    Their spokesman, Mr. Clement Ade Eleyinmi, said the road had become a death trap.

    He said: “We thank Governor Amosun for developing Ogun State. But some areas have been neglected. They don’t have good roads and other basic amenities, such as hospitals, police stations, markets, filling stations, etc.

    “Ilogbo and neighbouring towns and villages are neglected. Our road is in a deplorable condition. The Community Development Association (CDA) is appealing to our amiable and hardworking governor to send his representatives to inspect this road, in order to repair it. We pray that your tenure will end successfully.”

  • Senate seeks revocation of N3.2b Benue road contract

    The Senate Committee on Works has asked the Federal Government to revoke the N3.2 billion contract for the reconstruction of Wannue-Yadev road in Benue, citing alleged incompetence by the handler.

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 19-kilometre road contract, awarded in 2013, had a completion period of 24 months.

    Its chairman, Sen. Kabiru Gaya, told reporters in Gboko that his committee was “greatly disappointed” that not much had been achieved in the execution of the project four years after it was awarded.

    “We have gone round portions of the road; we have asked questions and made observations. Our conclusion is that the contractor lacks the capacity to handle the job.

    “We have resolved to ask the Federal Government to terminate the job and engage a competent firm. Huge monies have been paid to the contractor with nothing to show for it. We cannot continue like that,” he said.

    Gaya regretted that the contractor had failed to live up to expectations, “despite letters asking him to sit up”.

    “At some spots on the road, asphalt was being laid without leveling the affected areas; the contractor also scrapped large portions of the road last year and disappeared, making them impassable. We feel that this is being insensitive.

    “The point we are trying to make is simple. Since the Federal Ministry of Works has written three times threatening to revoke the contract, the job should be terminated. We shall investigate it and hand over the report to EFCC.

    “It is not right to allow contractors collect tax payers’ money and waste it,” he said.

    Sen. George Akume (APC, Benue North-West), who also spoke to reporters, decried the state of federal roads in Benue.

    He claimed that cement dealers, who plied the Gboko/Makurdi road with heavy loads, were responsible for most of the massive damage and should be made to assist in reconstruction.

  • Edo Assembly urges Fed Govt to revoke road contract

    •Lawmakers decry slow pace of Benin-Auchi highway

    The  Edo State House of Assembly yesterday called on the Federal Government to revoke  the contract awarded for  the reconstruction of  the Benin-Ekpoma-Auchi road.

    Speaker Adjoto Kabiru  made the call at Ekpoma, Esan West Local Government Area while leading members on a ‘protest inspection’ of the road.

    Kabiru decried the slow pace of work by the contracting firms.

    He said the deplorable state of the road had hampered socio-economic development of the people as well as others plying the road.

    “It is our view as an Assembly that the contract awarded to Dantata and Sawoe, Mother Cat and Reynolds Construction Company (RCC) should be revoked. Raji Fashola is a man that we respect. He is doing wonderfully well as a minister but  on this Benin-Ekpoma-Auchi-Okpella road , there is need to revisit the performance of the contractors. They are not competent.

    “We are dissatisfied with the Federal Controller of Works and we have resolved that the contractors can no longer deceive us.

    “The present condition of the road was unacceptable to residents in the state who now travel through Ondo or Delta states to get to their destination.

    “The protest on the road was to show solidarity and share in the pains experienced by travellers and motorists.

    “Our oversight functions have doubled. We are now together as a team. It is unacceptable for Edo residents to travel through Ondo State when coming from Edo North.

    “We are not satisfied with the pace of work and quality of jobs done. We are moving through that road. We know Edo people are suffering,” the Speaker said.

    He said the road was awarded to four contractors, to be completed in 36 months.

    Kabiru alleged that the level of work done by the firms is below the huge funds released to them  by the Federal Government.

    He said  the people and the Assembly were not satisfied with their performance.

    Responding, Principal Resident Engineer in charge of Ekpoma road, Mr Ishaku Mamri, said he was not in a position to tell lawmakers reasons for  the alleged delay.

    He said Dantata and Sawoe construction firm was mobilised to the Ekpoma axis for palliative works to address traffic challenges on the road.

    Also speaking, Project Site Supervisor for the firm, Malam Suleiman Nasiru, said the initial contract awarded to the firm was from Agbede in Etsako West to Ewu hill in Esan Central.

    Nasiru added that the Ekpoma axis was recently awarded to the company to address the traffic challenges in the area.

  • Road concession

    Road concession

    •South-East/South-South governors right in asking for clear-cut policy

    At its meeting on July 19, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) took the very important and commendable decision to approve the request by Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, that two federal roads, namely, Nnamdi Azikiwe and the Ahmadu Bello Expressway in Kaduna be re-designated as state roads. Rather than just repairing the roads with its funds and asking for reimbursement, ownership of the roads was conceded to Kaduna State to endow the state government with “the power, without any inhibition, to work on the roads to make them better for Kaduna indigenes”.

    It was, however, a different kettle of fish altogether when the Lagos State Government sought the authorisation of the Federal Government to take over the federal road linking the Murtala Muhammed International Airport to Oshodi in order to reconstruct and modernise the badly decayed facility. Work on the transformation of the road into a 10-lane expressway equipped with five bridges, two flyovers, two service lanes and three pedestrian bridges could only commence last week after the resolution of an avoidable and untidy public spat between the governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, and the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola (SAN), on the matter. This was despite the fact that the state government said it had already sourced the requisite funds for the project from its own resources.

    The call by the South-East/South-South Governors Forum at its last meeting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on the Federal Government to come up with a clear policy on the concession of federal roads and to fast-track the process of its implementation was, no doubt, informed by the seeming arbitrariness that currently characterises the decision on which states to cede federal roads to for repair and maintenance. Given the appalling state of federal highways in the two regions, the concern and advocacy of the governors is understandable and laudable. But they should follow up their call with a detailed proposal that could help chart the way forward in this regard.

    However, the issue of failed federal highways is a nationwide challenge that transcends the South-East and South-South regions. This is a cause that should be pursued by the Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) as a matter of urgency. There are certainly many other states that can fund the repair of federal roads within their jurisdictions, as Kaduna and Lagos are doing. The existence of a clearly stipulated concession policy will help make the process for actualising this more efficient, transparent, immune from negative extraneous considerations and thus more productive.

    Some states have expended their own resources on rehabilitating critical federal roads and have been waiting endlessly for reimbursement. While Lagos State, for instance, says it is yet to be refunded over N51 billion expended on federal roads over the years, Taraba State Governor, Mr. Darius Ishaku, recently pleaded with the Federal Government to refund over N30 billion expended on federal roads by his predecessor. These kinds of situations can be avoided with a clear road concession policy in place.

    The Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) set up by the late President Umaru MusaYar’ Adua administration as a strategy to confront the severe funding challenges in the sector has been largely comatose. It is time for the requisite authorities to look into the laws setting up the commission with a view to strengthening and making it more effective. If the ICRC had been alive to its responsibilities, for instance, the Public-Private-Partnership concession agreement between the Federal Government and Bi-Courtney consortium as regards the rehabilitation of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, which eventually failed, could have been better handled.

    The state of federal roads across the country constitutes a national emergency and the plea of the South-South/South-East Governors Forum must be treated expeditiously. This is particularly so because it has become obvious that the Federal Government lacks the capacity to solely fund the construction, repair and maintenance of federal roads nationwide.

  • Oshodi – Airport Road: The battle for new look begins

    Oshodi – Airport Road: The battle for new look begins

    After years of neglect, the Airport-Oshodi road is to get a facelift. The redevelopment of the all-important road, kicked-off penultimate Monday by Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode through his Waterfront Infrastructure Development Commissioner Ade Akinsanya, will be completed in 15 months. The Senior Special Assistant to the governor on Media & Strategy Idowu Ajanaku writes the ambitious project.

    The winning edge a leader exhibits, to stand tall, heads and shoulders above his contemporaries is predicated on his consistent capacity to translate people-oriented vision and dreams into concrete reality. Assembling a team of competent professionals, who also believe in that vision, is imperative.

    Other facilitating factors include the driving desire to prioritise the projects and scale them within a realistic financial framework and time. The other is the involvement of the beneficiaries for their proper use and sustainable maintenance.

    Interestingly, these attributes and more, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has amply demonstrated since mounting the pedestal of political power on May 29, 2015. The accountant-turned politician has to his credit several solid structures on infrastructural development that have endeared him to the hearts of millions of Lagosians over the past two and a half years.

    But one new project that will certainly mark him out as a leader with his thinking cap firmly fixed is the recent kick-off of the long-neglected road that stretches from the Murtala Muhammed Airport to the ever-bustling Oshodi. With an eye on the future, as Lagos gears up to become the third largest economy on the continent by 2020, overtaking the combined resources of 32 others in Africa,  he is fully aware that the advantages are profound, not only for Lagos but the entire country, Nigeria.

    As the busiest airport road in sub-Saharan Africa that welcomes a variety of nationals – including businessmen, investors, entrepreneurs, political bigwigs, entertainers and tourists – from across the globe, its status ought to have been restored long before now. It should have been rebranded as a national pride, with a warm, welcoming embrace signifying the Africaness that Nigeria symbolises.

    In its past state, it definitely left a sour taste in the mouth of an average first-time visitor to the country. It portrayed Nigeria as a country at war with itself! Indeed, not even the airport roads in the war-torn Syria or Beirut are as decrepit and deplorable. But, as a pragmatic leader, Ambode saw it and decided to light a candle, instead of blaming the darkness.

    To up the ante, the state government disclosed that it will not adopt the Federal Government design made decades ago for the reconstruction of 10-lane Oshodi-Murtala Muhammed International Airport Road, Instead, the road with a distance of 5.7064 kilometres will boast of two service lanes, 20 lay-bys, interlocking stones walkway and five modern bridges; bolstered with two flyovers and three pedestrian bridges. Ambode, who was represented by the Commissioner for Waterfront Infrastructure Development, Mr. Adebowale Akinsanya, specifically noted these additional structures at a stakeholders’ meeting held at the Welcome Centre Hotel, Airport Road.

    In retrospect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu had made attempt to reconstruct the road during his second term tenure in 2003, but the then Minister of Works, Adeseye Ogunlewe, used the federal might to scuttle the ambitious project. He insisted that the road belonged to the Federal Government and the state had no business working on it. It was a similar situation during the Fashola years, all because the PDP (Peoples Democratic Party)-controlled the federal government while the CAN (Action Congress of Nigeria) and later the APC (All Progressives Congress) took over the mantle of leadership. What an aberration for a country in crying need of political and economic restructuring.

    However, hope rose when the former governor, Babatunde Fashola became the Minster for Power, Works and Housing. Surprisingly, deliberate efforts were made to frustrate the state government’s genuine efforts to take charge as the minster became a cog in the wheel of progress.

    His explanation then was that the Federal Government designed an eight-lane dual carriage way to be built with N2 billion in the federal budget. Governor Ambode was left with no option but to address a press conference to ventilate his shock at the turn of events. In fact, it took the prompt intervention of Vice President Yemi Osibanjo through an executive order to set the ball rolling for the project.

    The good news now is that the state government is going to execute the same project using Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). And on completion, it will be a replica of the modern road network that leads to Oliver Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa. With the advantages of changing the socio-economic landscape of Lagos metropolis, the image of Nigeria as well as easing traffic in the ever-expanding metropolis, it will eventually lead to an increase in foreign investment. Jobs will be created and the quality of life of the average Lagosian improved upon.

    This innovative approach to governance through sustained urban renewal is in tandem with what Asiwaju Tinubu has said of the governor.  He said: “Akinwunmi Ambode has reflected that he is clearly a thinker and doer. I want to say thank you because experience is a great teacher and I am experienced. I am on the spot and I have watched things in Lagos since my tenure ended.”

    In June this year, the Word Bank, represented by its Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Joaquim Vieira Levy commended the massive and impact-making infrastructural development across Lagos State, under the Ambode administration. Levy used the auspicious occasion of the visit to assure that the state’s urban renewal and infrastructure development projects would continue to receive more boost from the World Bank to assist the Government deliver more on key infrastructural.

    The World Bank chief decided to pick Lagos State as its pilot state for its sustainable development assistance scheme. The reason: because Lagos has demonstrated leadership in providing good governance catalysed by infrastructures that have direct positive impact on its citizenry. This is the truth.

    For instance, one Nathaniel Ajayi, a resident of Abesan, a sleepy community in the northern part of Lagos, said of Ambode’s magic wand in transforming Lagos with projects that have direct bearing on the lives of the residents: “I was born in 1993 here in Abesan, I had always dreamt that one day the kind of development I see in Victoria Island, Lekki and Ikeja will take place here. Today our governor has made my dream come true.” Nathaniel spoke at the inauguration of the link bridge at Abesan to ease transportation headaches in that axis.

    What more can one add, but to urge the indefatigable governor not to rest on his oars. Keep up the good job!

  • FCT minister and ongoing road projects

    IR: Earlier in the year, the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello did promise that projects that had started in line with the Abuja Masterplan and for which budgetary provisions have been made would be given priority. The minister reasoned that the present FCT Administration could not afford to continue the legacy of waste by following the trend of abandoning projects started by predecessors, amidst the harsh economic realities and for the sake of the people.

    Today, it gladdens the heart that despite the heightening recession, the FCT Minister has followed through on his words by ensuring that critical ongoing road projects he met on ground are given the desired impetus to ensure that work continues with some of them partially completed and opened to the public for use. One of the projects that readily come to mind is the gateway into and out of the capital city – the trumpet overhead bridge linking the Bill Clinton Drive with the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua Expressway (Airport Road) and Gwagwalada-Giri axis.

    Before the coming of this present administration, that segment of the airport road, including some stretch towards the Gosa Village area regarded as the Centenary, remained uncompleted. As a result, traffic coming from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport had to be redirected to go and take a U-turn around the Giri axis of the road and then the traffic coming from Gwagwalada and going to the airport, had to go through some clumsy arrangements because that portion had remained uncompleted, arising from non-payment of accrued liabilities to the contractor. As a result of these lapses, driving on that road at the time became a huge nightmare with the huge traffic buildup doubling and even tippling the time it took motorists to get into and out of the city. A lot of people also missed their flight because of the traffic holdup encountered along this road.

    Now the road has been completed, fully opened to traffic.  The man-hour hitherto being lost on that road is now a thing of the past and economic activities have also been improved.

    Beside the airport road, there is the Inner Southern Expressway (ISEX) around the Nyanya/Keffi axis of the city. Without any doubt, this is one of the major infrastructure projects of the city that during the last one year, the contractors have been able to connect the railway bridge and all the other intersections along that road and now the final portion of that road is being readied for commissioning.

    Other ongoing road projects that are nearing completion as a result of improved funding by the FCTA include the central boulevard’s B6 and B12 Roads otherwise known as Constitution and Independence Avenues respectively, which traverse the World Trade Centre and the Diplomatic Zones. There is the Kuje/Gwagwalada road which was stalled but has now been revived and the contractors are on site working daily. These are major infrastructures that hold the key to the economic and social vibrancy of the city and the FCT minister deserves kudos for giving the, adequate attention.

    All of these developments are heart-warming because if you have a hundred projects and none is completed, no matter how much the resources you commit to them, by the time you allow massive projects to start and wait for a long time before you continue, then degradation sets in and by the time you revamp the project, you may end up doing them at twice the cost.

     

    • Danladi Akilu,

    Gudu District, FCT Abuja.

  • Oil & gas fiscal strategy: still a long road

    Oil & gas fiscal strategy: still a long road

    Despite the passage of the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB), stakeholders still feel that the main issues in the industry have not be tackled. To them, the real issues in the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) and the fiscal reforms remain unaddressed, and unless something is done, the industry will not move forward. EMEKA UGWUANYI reports.

    There was a flicker of hope in the oil and gas industry when the Senate passed the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB), part of a larger industry document that has lingered in its chambers for about 17 years.

    The action of the Senate was greeted with mixed reactions by stakeholders. While some welcomed it as a positive sign for the industry, others thought the passage of the PIGB without the PIB was a waste of time and that the National Assembly was not sincere about reforms in the sector.

    To the President of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE), Mr. Abiodun Adesanya, the passage of the PIGB will refocus the oil and gas industry and boost investor confidence.

    “It is a welcome development. We appreciate them (present members of the National Assembly) for doing what they should be doing for the fact that past Assemblies lacked the courage to do it. The passage of the PIGB will strengthen and refocus the oil and gas industry – the upstream, midstream and downstream value chains. It will make room for better management because governance structure will be in place. We hope that part two and three will also be given speedy passage.

    “It will clarify a lot of issues in terms of investment decision. Investors will take decision based on reliable rules and guidelines. Strict enforcement of the regulations and structures will make the industry vibrant and attractive to investors. The passage of the Bill will create level playing ground for all players, remove ambiguities and bottlenecks that had plagued the industry,” Adesanya said.

    The Head of Energy Desk, Ecobank, Mr. Dolapo Oni,  disagreed with him in some areas. He said as much as the passage of the PIGB was welcome, the knotty part of the PIB that has kept the bill on the table has not been tackled.

    To some other stakeholders, signals from the regulatory landscape have been quite unclear given government’s inability or unwillingness to make bold reforms. Amidst the volatility of oil prices and political uncertainties, the continued delay in straightening out key policy areas in the oil and gas sector has to a large extent delayed foreign direct investment. They believe that government’s desire for growth of the oil and gas sector may remain a dream for a long time considering the delays in passing all the parts of the petroleum industry bill.

    At the fiscal level, recent moves by the government has rekindled hope in the possibility of at least short term sustainability in the oil and gas operations. The renewed effort by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources at reforming the oil and gas industry has included the launching of a roadmap tagged “7 Big Wins” for the petroleum industry last year.

    The roadmap, according to the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, is aimed at addressing specific issues of policy and regulation, business environment, investment, security, transparency and efficiency in the oil and gas sector.

    Other initiatives by the government to boost growth in the industry include the renaming of the PIB to Petroleum Industry Reform Bill (PIRB). The PIRB was further broken into two to reduce its bulkiness and enable quick passage.

    The Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources in its bid to strengthen the fiscal aspects of the industry recently released the draft National Petroleum Fiscal Policy (NPFP) a document many believe if sanctioned and well implemented could spur growth in the sector.

    The Policy, according to energy analysts, covers all sectors of the petroleum industry – upstream, midstream and downstream, and includes oil and gas products.

    Economic and energy experts believe that putting the right policies (regulatory and fiscal) in place for the industry would serve as a catalyst for growth.

    According to Johnson Chukwu, an economic expert, “We have had a long period of low investment in the oil and gas because of the absence of a fiscal legal framework. So, when the government comes up with a fiscal legal framework, it will catalyse the whole system. Good a thing the Senate has passed the PIGB. When the whole bill is passed, it will create a level of certainty for investors,” he said.

    However, those familiar with the PIB believe the NPFP and the PIB are similar in many aspects. According to PricewaterCoopers (PwC), a tax and audit consulting firm, “The previous version of the PIB introduced a resource tax called the Nigerian Hydrocarbon Tax, (NHT), which was to be levied on the chargeable profits of upstream companies at the rate of 50 per cent for onshore and shallow waters, and 25 per cent for bitumen, frontier acreages and deep water areas. While the (NPFP) retains the NHT, it has tweaked the rates by amending it to 40 per cent for onshore areas, 30 per cent for shallow waters and 20 per cnet for deep water areas. Like the PIB, all upstream companies will also be liable to Companies Income Tax (CIT). For both regimes (PIB and NPFP), the Petroleum Profits Tax (PPT) currently in existence will be no more. Meaning from a maximum tax rate of 85 per cnet, the revised maximum tax rate will now be 70 per cent (40 per cent NHT plus 30 per cent CIT) of chargeable profits,” it stated.

    In addition, the proposed new legislation also seeks to increase the capital gains tax (CGT) in respect of asset based transactions from 10 per cent to 30 per cent.

    Analysts have noted that when compared to the Petroleum Profit Tax Act (PPTA), which allows exploration and production companies who have not fully expense their pre-production expenditure to be taxed at 65.75 per cent for the first five years of commencement of commercial sales of crude oil, the NPFP does not provide for such lower or preferential tax rate, suggesting that the tax burden may be relatively higher for upstream companies.

    For the extractive policy, most analysts believe the draft bill is placing too much emphasis on increasing government revenue without paying attention to the interest of investors. According to PwC, the motive of the policy is to increase government revenue especially in deep water. The firm, however, said there was need for government to strike a balance between more revenue for government and attracting or retaining investment in the sector.  Stakeholders believe while the NPFP seeks to remove or reduce incentives, there must be deliberate effort to tackle disincentives in the sector. This balance is paramount given a shrinking economy and growing need for foreign direct investment.

    The multiplicity of taxes and other operational issues have forced players to cut back on their investment. However, despite the unstable policy environment, some IOCs have continued to make significant investments in the sector.

    Last year, ExxonMobil announced a massive oil find in Owowo field, a significant morale booster for the industry, especially as Nigeria’s reserve replacement ratio has been going down. The field, which is projected to hold over onebillion barrels of crude oil reserves, has the capacity to generate over $50 billion revenue for the country, according to the oil firm.

    Also, Erha North Phase II project has delivered additional 165 million barrels per day of crude to Nigeria with a peak production of 65,000 barrels per day. There appears to be a consensus in the industry that if given the right fiscal and regulatory environment oil firms could do more.

    Similarly, Total E&P Nigeria Limited has demonstrated its commitment to developing not only the  economy but also to safeguarding its environment. The completion of the Ofon II gas flare-out project has enhanced gas utilisation. On the other hand, with its zero gas flare, the project has made considerable contribution towards a cleaner environment. These are investments that have significantly improved lives as well as government revenue.

    Analysts believe that heavy taxation of oil companies has its own demerits. It is capable of dissuading potential investors from the sector. On the other hand, existing players who are weighed down by the tax burden would seek for ways to cut cost to stay in business. One of such ways is reduction of the workforce. Alternatively oil firms may also decide to cut corners with severe consequences on lives and the environment.

    However, according to the provisions of the policy, payment of royalties will be on the same basis as taxes.The new policy says payment of royalty based on acreage depth will be replaced with royalty payments based on volume and price of crude oil. In its analysis, Deloitte, a tax consultancy firm, said: “This will nearly eliminate the payment of a minor fraction of revenue as royalty by companies operating deep offshore”.

    The draft policy provides for royalty to be paid in kind or cash. Analysts said the draft policy could be a catalyst to the development of the oil and gas sector if well implemented as it seeks to streamline hitherto contentious issues in the sector. Industry experts believe a quick passage of relevant legislation would enhance the effectiveness of the policy.

     

  • East-West Road collapse threatens $50b invesment

    East-West Road collapse threatens $50b invesment

    The collapse of a section of the East-West Road in Eleme in Rivers State has paralysed investments estimated at more than $50 billion in the Eleme-Onne axis of the industrial hub of the state. That section of the road had been virtually impassable for about two years but it became a real logistic nightmare last week following the collapse of the bridge that allows access to the two petroleum refineries in Eleme, the Onne Port complex, including Onne Free Zone; the Indorama/Eleme Petro-chemical Plant, Notore Petro-Chemical Industries and many businesses within the corridor.

    Head of Operations and Technical Services at the Oil and Gas Free Zones (OGFZA), which is the regulator of the Onne Free Zone, Mr Adekunle Ajayi said businesses cut off by the collapse of the East-West Road in Eleme are collectively worth more than $50 billion. Those businesses include Intels, which is the Onne Free Zone developer, the West African Container Terminal (WACT), Brawal Shipping Company, all the IOCs represented in the free zone.

    Among government establishments that are equally cut off by the collapsed road are OGFZA, the NPA, Nigeria Customs Service, the Nigerian Naval College, and the Nigeria Immigration Service.

    Besides these investments, there are lots of sundry businesses and government establishments along the corridor up to Ogoni that are also no longer accessible from Port Harcourt because of the failure of the road.

    Commenting on the condition of the road, the Managing Director of OGFZA, Mr Umana Okon Umana, said apart from its adverse impact on existing businesses in the axis, the logistic crisis caused by the failed section of the road constitutes a serious deterrence to foreign direct investment which the Federal Government has been campaigning for. “No foreign investor wants to stake his money where he cannot have access to,” Umana said.

    The OGFZA chief said he has drawn the attention of the Minister of the Niger Delta and the managing director, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to the condition of the road, commending the NDDC for its intervention. Umana however added that what is needed is a holistic and permanent solution to the bad state of the road.

    The terrible condition of the road attracted the attention of the Rivers State Governor, Mr Nyesom Wike in 2016, who met with investors and government establishments within the axis. On the prompting of the state governor, the investors and the Rivers State Government contributed N3 billion to assist in the repair of the failed section of the road, which measures about seven kilometres. A member of the committee that was set up to implement the intervention on the road from the N3 billion collections said the money was disbursed to RCC to carry out repairs of the road.

    However, less than two years after, the road has become impassable again. The East-West Road is a Federal Government trunk ‘A’ road, intended to link the South-South, Southeast and Western parts of the country together.

  • Almakura opens road in Karu

    Almakura opens road in Karu

    Nasarawa State Governor Tanko Almakura yesterday inaugurated a four-kilometre road in Uke, Karu Local Government Area.

    He said the project was in furtherance of his administration’s commitment to open up rural communities. The governor promised to link the road from Karshi to Apo in Abuja.

    Almakura said his administration would work with the Federal Government to ensure that the Mararaba Nyanya is decongested, saying as a policy, his government built three kilometre roads in each of the councils.

    The governor added that his administration built over 200 kilometres of asphalt roads.

    Almakura, who presented the first Staff of Office to the Emir of Karshi, Dr. Sani Muhammadu Bako III, urged communities to promote peaceful co-existence, despite ethnic, religious and political diversities.

    According to him, his administration has overhauled the infrastructural landscape of Karu, saying the government committed enormous resources to provide roads, potable water, mass housing, economic and marketing outlets, in the quest to enhance socio-economic activities.

    He said he would open roads to connect Karshi to the FCT.