The Nation Newspaper

Tag: yearly

  • Fuel import costs $15b yearly

    Nigeria is spending about $15billion yearly on fuel importation, the  Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr Maikanti Baru, has said.

    A statement titled: Green Field Refinery Initiative yesterday quoted Baru as saying the country spends between $12billion to $15billion yearly to reduce the deficit in daily domestic fuel consumption in the country.

    He said the Nigeria’s resort to fuel importation became imperative in order to improve supply and avert scarcity.

    He said the development poses serious threats to the government’s dwindling revenue, if left unchecked.

    According to him, the country’s dwindling fortune was caused by the fall in the international prices of crude oil , adding that the Federal Government is investing in additional refinery capacity alongside private investors, who have demonstrated their readiness to hold some equities in the project.

    Baru said: ‘’To reduce the huge cost expended in importing fuel into the country, especially the money that is being spent in reducing deficit in the supply of the product, the government is investing in refinery capacity, alongside companies that are holding some equities in the refinery project.  “Through this means, the government would be able to meet the country’s gasoline consumption  of 36million litres per day and 10 million litres of kerosene per day.”

    He said government is trying to establish three refineries with approximately 400-550 million barrels per day (bpd) in Lagos, Bayelsa and Kogi states, in order to boost fuel processing in the country.

    Baru said the issue of location, configuration and shareholding structure of the refineries would be determined by the government and the private investors, adding that the refineries  would be market oriented and profit motivated.

    He said the government is in the vanguard of promoting new refineries in order to increase in-country crude oil refinery capacity and further help private investors  to perform in the face of technical and financial challenges facing them.

    Baru said the refineries will boast of state-of-the-art facilities, as well as provide high percentage of white petroleum products. He stressed that the refineries would operate as import substitution plants  that would be supplying refined products to consumers in the domestic market.

    ‘’In addition, the refineries would be exporting to regional and international markets, with a view to make more money.  This means that the refineries are going to play across borders, a development that would enable them to earn  foreign exchange,’’ he added.

    He said the idea would enable Nigeria to become fuel hub in  West Africa ,  which  according to him, boasts of 18 countries, 290 million population and Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $340bilion.

    He said the establishment of new refineries would enable Nigeria to become self sufficiency, as well as encouraging economic growth.

    The refineries, Baru said, would have a multiplier effects on the economy because they would provide direct and indirect jobs for the people.

  • FIIRO plans to create 5m jobs yearly

    FIIRO plans to create 5m jobs yearly

    The Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO) has unveiled an action plan to fight unemployment. It aims to create over five million jobs yearly.

    FIIRO Director-General Prof Gloria Elemo told The Nation that the package was designed to stimulate economic activities through processing and value addition to raw materials of relative advantage in each of the 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs).

    She said the institute carried out  a comprehensive study on raw materials of relative abundance in the LGAs and came up with technologies that suit the raw material for massive economic exploitation.

    She said: “We have carried out a comprehensive survey on raw materials of relative abundance in all the 774 LGAs in Nigeria. Equally, we have identified FIIRO technologies that are suitable for processing the raw materials in these LGAs for the establishment of micro, small, medium and large enterprises.

    “FIIRO has developed over 250 technologies in its 61 years of existence and these technologies can be deployed in the 774 LGAs for massive job creation and economic stimulation through processing and value addition to raw materials of relative advantage in each of the LGA.

    “We have developed a Blueprint on how this process could create about five million jobs annually through direct and multiplier effects. This will ensure economic independence through drastic reduction in imported goods thereby saving foreign exchange.”

    She said FIIRO is more prepared to deploy its technologies in support and realisation of the objectives of the government’s Change Agenda, stressing that the institute’s total technology package include the development of both process technologies and the machinery and equipment.

    “The institute is ensuring effective technology diffusion through effective collaboration with relevant stakeholders, including Nigeria Society of Engineers, Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Agricultural Machinery and Equipment Fabricators Association of Nigeria (AMEFAN), National Association of Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (NASME), National Association of Small Scale Industrialists (NASSI), and Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN),” Elemo said.

    She noted that the institute had developed a high nutrient density biscuit and drink for the National School Feeding Programme, established industrial enzymes model plant and a  state-of-the-art molecular laboratory.

    Elemo pointed out that FIIRO had  driven the 20 per cent inclusion of cassava flour into wheat flour, which has saved the country billions in foreign exchange spent yearly on the importation of wheat flour.

  • Expert advises govt to create 3m jobs yearly

    An economist, Dr Aminu Usman, has advised the Federal Government to create at least three million jobs yearly to address the high unemployment rate in the country.

    Usman, a lecturer at the Department of Economics, Kaduna State University, gave this advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

    He said the Federal Government initially promised to create three million jobs every year but in the last two years it had only generated less than a million jobs.

    The don said the unemployment and underemployment reports for the last quarter of last year still showed the negative effects of the  recession on the citizens.

    The latest unemployment reports released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), showed that the country’s unemployment rate rose from 13.9 per cent in the third quarter to 14.2 per cent in the fourth quarter of last year.

    Usman, however, argued that a number of factors must have contributed to the reports.

    He said that one of the contributing factors was the unfriendly government policies towards managing the economy.

    “When the recession began to hit hard on the state government, it resorted to increasing taxes and imposing all kinds of charges on the citizens.

    “This is against all known principles of managing recession, which requires lowering and or eliminating taxes to boost consumption.

    “One of the first casualties of the recession is employment because  lower consumption rate, factory closure and job layoffs are the hallmarks of any economy in a recession,’’ he said.

  • Poly to hold convocation yearly

    The Federal Polytechnic, Bida (BIDA POLY) will now host its convocation yearly, its Rector, Dr Abubakar Dzukogi, has said. Dr Dzukogi said it was abnormal for the polytechnic not to hold its convocation yearly, no matter the challenges.
    He said: “When I assumed office as the rector, I was uncomfortable when I learnt that the last convocation was held in 2008. Consequently, I made a promise that the convocation will be a yearly event, even though we have challenges in terms of resources. But, as long as we graduate students every year, the convocation must hold.”
    The rector said merging many graduating sets together in a single convocation would be cumbersome and unreasonable. He assured that certificates would be ready for collection whenever graduands apply.
    He explained that early issuance of certificate would boost the Internally-Generated Revenue (IGR) of the school, adding: “My vision for this polytechnic is to make it the best in in terms of quality of graduates, who are dedicated and committed to excellence.”
    The rector promised to improve staff and students’ welfare, saying: “We want to have a situation where the welfare of students and staff will not compromise, so that the whole atmosphere will be conducive for teaching and learning.”
    He said the school was planning additional relaxation gardens for students. This, he said, would prevent students from going outside the campus to relax. Dr Dzukogi said the main challenge remained lack of resources to achieve the objectives on time, but said the task would be achieved through commitment and motivation.

     

  • ‘Nigeria can earn $500m yearly from herbs’

    The Director-General, Nigeria Natural Medicine Development Agency (NABDA), Etatuvie Samuel, has said herbal medicine is capable of contributing no less than $500million to the nation’s yearly earning if properly harnessed, managed and funded.

    He spoke during a two-day workshop organised for traditional medicine practitioners, manufacturers, small medium scale herbal medicine producers, interested members of the public and stakeholders in traditional medicine in Abuja.

    He said: “Government may not be able to discourage Nigerians from patronising Chinese and Indian herbal medicine until we fully develop ours. Locally made herbal medicine are capable of contributing  no less than $500 million  to the nation’s  yearly earnings if properly harnessed, managed and funded.

    “Generating this money from locally made herbs is  possible, given the vast nature of raw herbs available, the huge market and huge interested practitioners.

  • ITF plans 2m jobs yearly

    ITF plans 2m jobs yearly

    The Industrial Training Fund (ITF) has concluded plans to create two million jobs yearly through the provision of technical and vocational skills to young Nigerians, itsActing Director-General, Mr. Dickson Chinedum Onuoha, has said.

    He said ITF had reached an understanding with the Nigeria Employers’Consultative Association (NECA) and some members of the Organised Private Sector (OPS) to undertake the training using ITF’s facilities.

    The ITF boss told The Nation that the plan was in line with its mandate to assist the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration’s job creation efforts. He said ITF had  met over 60 per cent of its mandate with regard to job creation.

    According to him, the technical and vocational skills training project, which would run in 15 centres, had trained over 4,600 youths, who were given one year free technical/vocational training, transport allowance, lunch and instructional materials.

    Onuoha said over 90 per cent of graduates of the programme were either entrepreneurs or in well-paying jobs. “Similarly, we have commenced the implementation of the fifth phase of the National Industrial Skills Development Programme (NISDP) in 18 states, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) had been earmarked to benefit from this phase of the programme,” he added.

    The ITF boss listed states that were benefiting from the current phase of the programme to include Sokoto, Kwara,Ogun, Katsina, Cross River, Lagos, Adamawa, Ebonyi and Zamfara. Others are Abia, Anambra, Bornu, Plateau, Delta, Nasarawa, Bauchi, Kaduna, Niger and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    Onuoha said a new report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) indicating a rise in unemployment rate in Nigeria was a blow to the administration’s job creation efforts, but that with what ITF was doing in job creation through training, Nigerians should not have any cause for concern.

    Apart from NBS, the World Bank said Nigeria needed to create between 40 million to 50 million new jobs to be able to absorb new labour market entrants by 2030, adding that the informal sector of the economy appeared to have a greater potential for growth and employment generation.

  • Shell mulls $30b yearly investment

    Shell mulls $30b yearly investment

    The Royal Dutch Shell yesterday said its yearly capital investment will be between $25 billion and $30 billion from this year through to 2020.

    Its Chief Executive Officer, Ben van Beurden stated during the firm’s 2016 capital markets with  Re-shaping Shell to create a world class investment case’as its theme.

    He said: “Capital investment will be in the range of $25-$30 billion each year to 2020, as we improve capital efficiency and ensure a more predictable development funnel for new projects. Investment for 2016 is expected to be $29 billion, excluding the purchase price of BG, some 35 per cent lower than the pro-forma Shell-plus-BG level in 2014.

    “In the prevailing low oil price environment we will continue to drive capital spending down towards the bottom end of this range; or even lower if needed. In a higher oil price future we intend to cap our spending at the top end of the range.

    “New project start-ups since end-2014 should contribute some $10 billion of annual cash flow by 2018. Investment delivers new, profitable projects for shareholders.

    “Programmes to sustainably reduce operating costs are in place across the company; we expect to reach a run-rate of $40 billion of underlying operating costs at the end of 2016, some 20 per cent lower than the 2014 pro-forma level for Shell-plus-BG with potential for further cost reduction.”

    He noted that asset sales, as planned, are expected to be $30 billion for 2016-18, adding that “we have earmarked up to 10 per cent of Shell’s oil and gas production, including five to 10 country exits, for disposal. We expect to make significant progress on the first $6-8 billion of this programme in 2016.”

  • Nigeria loses N3tr yearly to PIB absence, says group

    Nigeria loses N3tr yearly to PIB absence, says group

    The Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has urged the executive and legislature to make the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) a priority to stop the N3 trillion revenue yearly.

    In a statement by its Executive Director, Comrade Auwal Musa, the group said: “CISLAC recalls that the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, had said Nigeria is losing $15 billion (N3 trillion) annually due to non-passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) into law.’’

    Auwal said the failure of the past legislature to take advantage of the constitution review to vote for financial autonomy put the legislature in difficult.

    This, he noted, has led to salary crisis in some Houses of Assembly.

    According to him, the refusal to  use that opportunity confirmed  that state assemblies are being  manipulated by the executive.

    Such control, Auwal said, made them incapable of making independent decisions in terms of law making, oversight and even representation.

    “The governor virtually appoints all the leaders at the state assembly; they see themselves as agents of the governor and not representatives of their people.

    “This attitude has undermined effective legislative processes because the state governor determines the kind of discussion on the floor and if any member acts differently he or she is sanctioned,” he said.

    While describing this as undemocratic, the CISLAC executive director said financial autonomy would have allowed members to freely carry out their legislative duties without going to beg and be afraid to take decisive action.

    “It was a lost opportunity for them to reposition how they work for effectiveness and also enable them to clearly mainstream their reasonable salary and allowance. If it (amendment) had been done, we would not be witnessing the kind of crisis going on in some states,” Auwal said.

  • ‘NLNG can exceed 350,000MT yearly supply ’

    ‘NLNG can exceed 350,000MT yearly supply ’

    Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) can surpass its yearly supply of 350, 000 metric tonnes (MT) of LPG, its Manager, Marketing and Development, Abdulkadir Ahmed, has said.

    He gave this hint at a stakeholders’ forum in Lagos.

    He said NLNG has not only supplied over 700,000 MT since inception, but can also exceed its annual supply of the product provided the market can absorb it.

    He said the gap between the demand and supply of the product was not caused by NLNG but by institutional bottlenecks occasioned by delay at the terminals where LPG is being discharged among other factors.

    Also, the President, Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association of Nigeria (LPGAN), Mr. Dapo Adesina, said NLNG could supply as much as one million tonnes of LPG, provided the market can accommodate it.

    He said the occasional scarcity of LPG, otherwise known as cooling gas, in the market was not as a result of low supply from the NLNG, but delay in the delivery of the product at the terminals.

    He said NLNG’s terminals were approved by the Federal Government to discharge LPG, and that two are actually providing the service.

    Adesina said vessels bringing LPG to Lagos from NLNG’s base in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, were sometimes delayed for days at the terminals for one reason or the other.

    He said the North Oil Jetty (NOJ) was directed by the government to give priority to Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) in order to ease fuel scarcity, noting that the issue has prevented LPG vessels from discharging their content as at when due.

    Adesina said the fact that some companies are importing LPG from Niger Republic and other countries does not mean that Nigeria cannot meet local demand for the product.

    “As far as I’m concerned, Nigeria has huge gas potentials in the world, and to meet the domestic demand of LPG is not a problem in the country,” he added.

  • WAMCO to invest N4b yearly to enhance capacity

    •Three months nutrition intervention for Borno IDPs begins

    Friesland Campina WAMCO Nigeria Plc, manufacturer of Peak Milk brands, has earmarked  over N4 billion yearly to grow its operations, enhance capacity, create employments and a healthy populace in the country, its Managing Director, Mr. Rahul Colaco, has said.

    Colaco, who spoke in Lagos at the weekend during the launch of low priced brands of Peak milk called ‘Peak Wazobia’ and a range of other low unit portion packs of Peak and Three Crowns evaporated and powdered milk in N20 and N50 sachets, said developing human capacity is central to its operations.

    He also told The Nation that the diary company has commenced a three-month nutrition intervention for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Borno State to check incidence of malnutrition. He said three months ago, workers of the company visited the IDPs in Borno State where they contributed household goods, among other items to them.

    He explained that the company decided to provide children in the IDP camp with milk for three months to prevent them from malnutrition and other health-related issues. According to him, at the end of the intervention, the company would measure the impact and result before deciding on the next line of action, adding that the firm is committed to making quality nutrition available to Nigerians.

    Colaco said the aim of introducing Peak Wazobia into the market was to increase consumers’ options of quality dairy products. This, according to him, is because Peak Wazobia costs N50 per sachet, even as the company has assured consumers that the quality would never be compromised.

    On the new products, Colaco said: “We are key players in feeding Nigerians. For us this is a privilege and a responsibility that we are fully committed to. Of course, this initiative is fully linked with the pillar of our mission statement which addresses issues of nutrient security.

    “This pillar focuses on issues of malnutrition, which is also a growing national concern. We believe that with daily consumption of milk through increased accessibility of quality dairy nutrition, consumers have the opportunity of getting up to 50 per cent of the nutrients that they require daily, which the body cannot make on its own.”

    A Professor of Community Health Nutrition and Nutrition Consultant, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomosho, Prof. Ebenezer Ojefitimi, in his presentation titled: The role of dairy in promoting nutrition: A public health perspective, said the benefits of quality nutrition in preventing issues of malnutrition across all life stages and economic groups.

    “Dairy and its products should be endorsed as an integral component of healthy patterns. After all, they are nutritionally beneficial, environmentally sustainable, economically viable and culturally acceptable. Dairy and its products have the potential to assist us to achieve our number four and five millennium development goals (MDGs),” he said.