Aso Villa Reads for 3/7/19
Every day we bring you the best news the media is reporting about the Government of Nigeria.
Daily Trust reports that the Director-General of the Nigeria Mining Cadastre Office (MCO), Engineer Obadiah Nkom, has said the setting up Lapidary by a mining company, Piremen Ventures, will help the development of the mining/gemstone business as well as create more jobs for the youths. Nkom spoke through his representative and Director, Monitoring and Coordination, Mr Jacob Udoh, at the grand opening of the Head office complex of Piremen Ventures in Dawaki, Abuja at the weekend. “It is a great breakthrough in the mining sector to have this edifice and the equipment we are seeing here. The company has keyed into the Federal Government’s diversification policy — diversifying from the oil sector to the solid minerals and agricultural sector. We have seen the potentials the company has in terms of jobs creation, and contributing to the growth of the economy. Now the company is going to sell locally, buy raw gemstones and process them at the Lapidary,” Udoh, said. The CEO of Piremen Ventures, Emotan Josephine Aburime-Shine, said the companies vision is to add value to gemstone mined in Nigeria and create more jobs. “We are actually training new people on how to cut stones. We are going to start setting-up training programmes with the government for training the youths on cutting and polishing gemstones. The more skilled labour we have in the mining industry, the better the sector is going to grow,” she said.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), says Nigeria will attract N17.29 trillion ($48.04 billion) of the estimated N69.84 trillion ($194 billion) total oil and gas investment to be made in Africa by 2025. Dr Maikanti Baru, the outgoing Group Managing Director of the NNPC, disclosed this while addressing the 2019 Nigerian Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition (NOG) in Abuja with the theme “ Promoting Investment and Collaboration in Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Industry.” Baru who said Nigeria is presently a leading oil and gas producer in Africa added that, “The nation’s energy outlook appears very positive despite the difficult operating and economic headwinds across the continent. “It is also significant to state that out of about $194 billion surge in capital expenditure coming into oil and gas development on the African continent from 2018 to 2025, Nigeria currently accounts for 48.04 billion dollars (over 24.8%) with other African countries sharing the balance. “For Nigeria, therefore, oil and gas remain essential building blocks for our economic growth, particularly as a developing country. “To encourage the existing players in the industry particularly the traditional JV partners, NNPC undertook to settle all outstanding cash call arrears amounting to five billion dollars in 2015. “Till date, we have defrayed over $2 billion. Sun News report.
According to Sun News, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said that Nigeria’s total Capital Importaion in the first Quarter of 2019 rose by 34.6 percent year-on-year to $8.5 billion The Bureau disclosed this in it’s Capital Importation report for first quarter of 2019 released yesterday, in Abuja. The report said: “The total value of capital importation into Nigeria stood at $8.485 billion in the first quarter of 2019. This represents an increase of 216.03 per cent compared to Q4 2018 and 34.61 per cent increase compared to the first quarter of 2018. “The largest amount of capital importation by type was received through Portfolio investment, which accounted for 84.21 per cent ($7,145.98 ) of total capital importation, followed by Other Investment, which accounted for 12.91 per cent ($1,096.15m) of total capital, and then Foreign Direct Investment FDI, which accounted for 2.86 per cent ($243.36m) of total capital imported in 2019. “By sector, Capital importation by banking dominated Q1 2019 reaching $2,851.07 million of the total capital importation in Q1, 2019. “The United Kingdom emerged as the top source of Capital Investment in Nigeria in Q1, 2019 with $4,531.22 million. This accounted for 53.40 per cent of the total capital inflow in Q1, 2019.
The Federal Government has approved new staff conditions of service for the Accident Investigation Bureau. Punch reports that the General Manager, Public Affairs, AIB, Mr Tunji Oketunbi, said on Tuesday that the approval was conveyed in a letter dated June 25, 2019, and sent to the bureau from the office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation. According to him, this is the first time the AIB will be having its own condition of service since it was established as an autonomous agency 12 years ago. He said the AIB was established through the Civil Aviation Act 2006 but became operational in 2007, adding that before then, it was a department in the then Federal Ministry of Aviation. “Before now, the agency had been using the conditions of service of a sister agency while its struggles to have its own for several years had been unsuccessful,” Oketunbi said. In a statement by the agency, the Commissioner and Chief Executive Officer, AIB, Mr Akin Olateru, was quoted to have said the move was important for the entire members of staff of the bureau, towards improving their welfare and motivation in discharging their best at their various duty posts to enhance air safety.
The Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria says it is supporting the proposed plan by the Federal Government to introduce Value Added Tax on online transactions. A statement quoted the newly elected 14th and third female President/Chairman of Council, CITN, Gladys Simplice, as saying this after her investiture recently in Lagos. Simplice was also inaugurated as the second female president of the West Africa Union of Tax Institutes. According to Punch, she said the plan should have been introduced to the economy long ago as the same practice was obtainable in other climes, because the nation was losing a significant amount of revenue due to that. She said, “The amount of money we are losing because we are not tracking these online transactions is huge. Even if we are not getting it fully right at the beginning, let’s talk about it, let’s bring it into our conversation and let’s put it into action. “In some climes, as you are transferring money, it is being taxed; even invisible trades are being tracked. So, when taxable incomes are earned, they must be taxed. I support it.” Her presidency came to fruition following the successful conduct of the 27th Annual General Meeting of the institute where Simplice was unanimously elected president of the CITN. Other elected officers of council include Mr Adesina Adedayo as vice- president; Samuel Agbeluyi as deputy vice- president, and Mr Innocent Ohagwa was elected as the honorary treasurer.
According to This Day, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has so far settled over $2 billion cash call arrears out of the $5 billion Nigeria owes joint venture (JV) partners since 2015, its Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, said yesterday in Abuja. According to him, the oil corporation gave priority to settling the arrears to encourage players in the industry, particularly the traditional joint venture (JV) partners. Baru, while officially declaring open the 2019 Nigeria Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition (NOG) under the theme: ‘’Promoting Investment and Collaboration in Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Industry,’’ said efforts were geared towards sustaining investment in the oil industry and renewing investors’ confidence. He added that the corporation has created a platform in the oil and gas sector to explore a vast range of investment opportunities, which span the value chain. He listed the opportunities to include merger and acquisition, pseudo equity type transactions, provision of drilling rigs and related services, heavy equipment leasing, seismic acquisition and processing, reservoir engineering and field development studies as well as core engineering services. Baru stated that through the years, the NOG had braced several odds to emerge as an important conference and exhibition in the calendar of the Nigerian oil and gas industry by providing an invaluable platform for the cross ventilation and fertilisation of innovative ideas across the value chain of business.
The OCP Africa has launched an agricultural intervention programme, known as Agribooster Campus Offer, in partnership with Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria. OCP Africa is a subsidiary of OCP Group, a Moroccan company and the world’s largest producer and exporter of phosphate and phosphate-based fertilizers. This Day reports that the multinational company drives a bilateral partnership between Nigeria and Morocco on the supply of phosphate to blending plants in several states across the country. The Agribooster Campus Offer programme, launched recently, was targeted at 5,000 maize farmers within the university and its immediate environs, according to a statement by OCP Africa, recently. As part of the launching of this programme, the Faculty of Agriculture, ABU, Zaria nominated 15 of its postgraduate students to be trained and equipped by OCP Africa on agriculture extension skills in order to reach the target 5,000 farmers, teaching them best practices in the application of various farm inputs to maximize their yield in maize cultivation. The Country Manager of OCP Africa, Mr. Caleb Usoh, said that the initiative would provide the farmers with fertilisers, seeds, and agro-chemicals; funding through its project partner, ABU Microfinance Bank Limited as well as training for the postgraduate extension workers who would in turn, train the farmers. Usoh said, “We are very positive that this program will significantly expand the yields of these farmers, based on the quality of the seeds and fertilizers we have brought in. The students who are going to become agri-promoters in the different villages where these 5,000 framers are operating will create awareness for them in the proper use of farm inputs.
President Muhammadu Buhari will sign a landmark deal to scrap trade tariffs among African countries at an upcoming summit of the continent’s leaders, his office said. Africa’s most populous country has been one of only three African states to hold back on inking the accord after local manufacturers said they would be badly hit by liberalisation. But in a tweet, the presidency said Buhari would sign the pact when leaders of the 55-nation African Union meet in Niger’s capital Niamey from this weekend. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) aims at spurring business across Africa, a market of 1.2 billion people — expected to reach 2.5 billion by 2050 — and a current GDP of $2.5 trillion (2.22 billion euros). The agreement would progressively eliminate tariffs among AU members, creating the world’s largest free-trade area since the formation of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Nigeria had been a key backer when talks on the AfCTA got underway in 2002. But it abruptly changed course shortly before the draft deal was signed last year, amid pressure from unions and businesses fearful of the impact of lowered trade barriers. But the presidency announced late Tuesday that Nigeria would now join the club. “Nigeria is signing the #AfCFTA Agreement after extensive domestic consultations, and is focused on taking advantage of ongoing negotiations to secure the necessary safeguards against smuggling, dumping and other risks/threats,” it said. Vanguard reports.
