To grow the local market, the Federal Government will stop rice importation next year, a Director in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Adebisi Buhari, has said.

To this end, the government, he said, was facilitating massive cultivation of rice.

The government, he said, would also stop the importation of other products that can be produced locally, adding that he is optimistic that the objective would be realised.

Buhari said the government would work with communities and private firms to boost production in the country, adding that the government would encourage private sector involvement in the development of the agriculture sector, particularly rice production.

Stressing that food importation was affecting the nation, Buhari said the government was collaborating with Pategi and Share communities in Kwara State to establish high capacity rice mills to boost production.

He said the government had provided platforms for farmers to access loans and other incentives to improve crop production in the country.

Buhari urged Nigerians to key into the transformation of the sector to because agriculture is a veritable business to boost the economy.

The government, he said, would provide a level playing ground for prospective farmers to invest in the sector, to ensure its sustainability.

Meanwhile, the Institute for Rice Research in Birnin Kebbi State, will produce 1.8 tonnes of rice this year.

Its Head, Mr Phillips Ibrahim, told the Deputy Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Aliyu, that the institute had prepared 50 hectares of farmland in four different parts of the state for large-scale rice production.

He said: “The target is to produce 1.8 tonnes of the commodity this year”.

Four of the centres,he said were in Yauri local government area for rice farming and two in Zuru local government area for soya beans production.

While commending the state government for supporting the centres, Ibrahim requested for vehicles to improve monitoring and expansion of the scheme as well as accommodation for staff.

The institute, he said, would support farmers in the area of on modern farming techniques for high yield.

Responding, the deputy governor said the state would collaborate with the institute for commercial rice production, using modern techniques.

Aliyu said the support would boost the quest for food security and economic benefits to farmers.

NATION

© dARA for Royal Times of Nigeria Newspaper, 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration Control (NAFDAC) weekend stated that the European Union (EU) is set to ban some of Nigeria’s agricultural produce currently being exported into European markets due to contamination.

The Director, Food Safety and Applied Nutrition Directorate, NAFDAC, Mrs. Ogochukwu Mainasara who dropped the hint at the 40th Monthly training programme on African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) organised by the Bank of Industry (BOI) explained that some of the agricultural produce earmarked for prohibition include lemon seeds, cocoa beans among others.

She stated that the European Union has classified these commodities as contaminated by aflatoxins and therefore, not fit for export or consumption.

The Director added that this move by the European Union was due to unscrupulous activities carried out by some unpatriotic Nigerians who bye pass the agency and other relevant accreditation bodies to engage in informal international trade.

“They involve themselves in this trade without getting export certification for processed food from us. We are having issues right now with the European Union because of them. They say our lemon seed otherwise known as ‘egusi’ is contaminated with aflatoxin. Exporters must bring their products for certification before they ship them otherwise, it would be rejected and this would also give us a bad image in the global market,” she said.

In her words, “The European Union has told us that if we do not get our acts right, they would ban our lemon seeds. They have even passed a law telling us to test our product 100 per cent before we certify them for export and once it gets to the European markets, it is also subjected to another 50 per cent testing. This is not good for our economy because if our products fail and the whole world knows, it would spell doom for the Nigerian image.”

She pointed out that as a result of this, all the agencies concerned with ensuring that the nation produces goods that meets international standards are working together to solve the menace maintaining that a lot of training and awareness programmes to sensitise the public on export guidelines are being carried out.

“We have Sanitary and phytosanitary measures, we are here to tell you what you need to do and we also have our website showing what our export guidelines are, ignorance of the law is no excuse because at the end of the day, everybody suffers. A few bad eggs are destroying the business and we have been warned by the European Union,” she said.

She noted that developed countries have rules and procedures that are more stringent and backed with scientific sanitary and phytosanitary measures. She advised that exporters that are not producers must source their products from factories or establishment certified with Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) and hygienic practices, whose products are already certified and registered by NAFDAC.

She said the success of export trade depends seriously on consistent production of quality goods and services, which meet established quality and safety standards, through the GMP.

She said products for the international market must also be well packaged to meet international specifications and requirements.

She commended the BOI for the AGOA initiative saying that it would go a long way to build competence and lead to the exploration of the nation’s abundant natural resources.

She added that the training will also give tangible incentives for African countries to continue their efforts to open their economies to global commerce and build free markets.

“We are happy that the BOI is working assiduously with you. The world out there is waiting for you but the most important thing is to do the right thing. We have different procedures in certifying your produce before export, you must pass through all these procedures to meet the specifications of the country you want to export your goods to,” she added.

She therefore called on exporters to carry out trade practices in the most transparent manner assuring that the agency is already meeting with departments responsible for export certification to make export trade more convenient.

“We have already started with the United States of America which makes it easy for people under the AGOA to help exporters benefit the advantages of the act. People are here to guide you, all you have to do is just ask questions about export guidelines, specifications and requirement,” she said.

THISDAY

© dARA for Royal Times of Nigeria Newspaper, 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

The Group Managing Director of Access Bank, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede,  has said the tight monetary stance of  the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is saving Nigeria’s economy from falling into another crisis.

Aig-Imokhuede, who spoke at an interactive session with journalists also hailed the CBN  for given priority to the growth of the SMEs and sustainability of the agricultural sector, which he said would have long term positive impact on the nation’s economy.

The interactive session  was designed to roll out the communication strategies created to extend the frontiers of the Access Bank in the financial sector.

Aig-Imokhuede noted  that if not for the CBN, the country’s currency would have been hammered.

According to him, “And for him, it is important that the currency does not get hammered because over the past 20 years anytime the naira hammered, a banking crisis had followed, which was due to the devaluation of the currency.

“For him, though the CBN under Sanusi may be tough, it is often right and if the CBN has not taken some of the actions it took, Nigeria would have been battling another banking crisis.”

Speaking further, he pointed out that democracy had brought a lot of good to the banking sector and that CBN operations have been smoother under the regime.

He said: “Democracy is good for banking because it helps CBN to work better. It is obvious that civil rule provide enabling environment for CBN regulation and that has helped the growth of the banking sector more than when we were under the military rule,” he said.

On the need to build a sustainable economy, he expressed concern over unbridled reliance on the current economic crisis in the US and Europe, which has become blessing sort of for Africa. To this end, he stated that stakeholders should strive to have economic solutions that Nigeria could always rely on, even after the developed economy might have bounced back.

THISDAY

© dARA for Royal Times of Nigeria Newspaper, 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

In this report about the intense but latent battle for the control of the vast vegetable  oil market in the country, Crusoe Osagie identifies three dominant players who are key to the nation’s eventual emergence as a country self-sufficient in palm oil production

Global Edible Oil Controversy

The global edible oil industry has always been subject to enormous amounts of controversy with the producers of vegetable oil in temperate western parts of the world playing up the issue of heart friendly and oil. Their claim is that vegetable oil from corn, rapeseed, olive and so on are heart friendly, while that from oil palm, largely produced in South East Asia and Africa, are loaded with saturated fat and therefore a potential source of coronary heart diseases, a claim which palm oil producing countries have labeled a mere de-marketing scheme, orchestrated to make up for the shortfall resulting from the low yielding oil plants in temperate regions, which makes oil palm comparatively far cheaper source of vegetable oil.

In Nigeria, however, the battle has been mainly among oil palm dealers broadly classified under two major categories; vegetable oil importers and local vegetable oil producers. The argument being that importers of the product are dumping the commodity procured cheaply from the South East Asian market on the nation’s fragile market, crowding out the local producers.

Vegetable Oil Decline
After leading the world in the 1960s and 1970s in palm and other vegetable oil production, Nigeria now shamefully depends on countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and others to bridge the huge gap between demand and supply of vegetable oil in the country. More disgraceful though is the fact that Malaysia, the country, which now helps Nigeria to meet its critical domestic and industrial needs for vegetable oil, actually sent emissaries to her in the 1960s to learn the techniques of oil palm production.

Over four decades since agriculturists at the Nigerian Institute for Oil Palm Research (NIFOR) taught Malaysians how to cultivate oil palm, the table has turned much to the shame of the managers of Nigeria’s agricultural sector. According to global market statistics, Malaysia currently earns more foreign exchange from its oil palm industry across the value chain than Nigeria earns from the exploitation of its hydrocarbon resources. With over 300,000 tonnes per annum gap between local production of vegetable oil and demand, a lot clearly needs to be done.

Although the major local producers of palm oil as listed by the Plantation Owners Forum of Nigeria (POFON) include Okomu Plc, Presco Plc, Dansa Agro Plantations Limited, PZ Wilmar, Real Plantation, A and Hatman, Siat Nigeria Limited, IMC Limited, JB Farms Limited, Saturn Farms and Aden River, a tense but subtle market contention is currently going on between the top three companies in terms of plantation size, with claim and counterclaims that some of the local producers only set up their farms to grant them credibility before the government, in order for them to obtain the leeway for massive importation of Crude Palm Oil (CPO).

There have also been claims that the older players have enjoyed monopoly of the vegetable oil market in the country for years and having become accustomed to the high margins resulting from their firm control of the market are unwilling to yield grounds to new players.
“The easy excuse they can give is that other players apart from themselves are mere importers, uninterested in development of local plantations. But when we show them our plantations and the huge investments we are making in the planting of new oil palm seedlings, they say it to disguise our penchant for importation. But I wonder who invests these huge funds, planting extensive farms amounting to thousands of hectares, just as an excuse to import,” an operator told THISDAY.

The Big Players
In the emerging landscape of the palm oil market, the leading players have increased from the initial two dominant companies- Okomu and Presco-quoted on the Nigeria Stock Exchange, to three major local producers with the entry of the world’s largest oil palm producers Wilmar into the Nigerian market in partnership with renowned consumer goods manufacturers PZ Cussons. While Presco has a total about 15,000 hectares of oil palm plantation, Okomu plantation is well over 20,000 hectates and PZ Wilmar has over 30,000 hectares, although much of the PZ Wilmar plantation currently consists of very old palm trees, which the company is uprooting and replacing with hybrid varieties.


Presco Oil Palm 

In the 1970s, Bendel State government, at present Edo and Delta states, initiated a programme for the development of oil palm plantations with financing from the World Bank. This resulted in the incorporation of the Oil Palm Company Ltd (OPC) owned by the state. The company established an oil palm plantation called the Obaretin Estate and planted 1,150 hectares between 1975 and 1980. The plantation is located in the Ikpoba-Okha Local Government Area of Edo State at Km 22 on the Benin City-Sapele road. Institutional investors out of Europe called the Siat Group became involved in Presco in 1991, at which time there were 2,700 hectares planted at Obaretin Estate. Under Siat’s management, a new expansion programme commenced from 1993 and additional 3,000 hectares were planted at Obaretin Estate. The total planted area at Obaretin as at today is 5,631 hectares.
In 1996 Presco acquired the 2,780 hectare Cowan Estate at Ajagbodudu, Delta State, from the Delta State Government-owned Oil Palm Company Ltd. 
In 2002, Presco acquired another 6,000 hectares from Edo State government and further 1,500 hectares from other parties making a total of 7,500 hectares.

The company’s operations are fully integrated with plantations, palm oil mill, palm kernel crushing plant and vegetable oil refining plant. It is the only fully integrated oil palm operation in Nigeria. Presco, which is one of the only two agriculture companies quoted on the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE), is one of the largest employers of labour in Edo and Delta states, with a total of about 2,500 employees. Indirectly, Presco’s operations positively impact on the livelihoods of many more people through transport contracts, construction contracts, fresh fruit bunches and kernel purchases from farmers, as well as by the company being a large consumer of goods and services.

The company also initiated an out-growers scheme in collaboration with Edo State government. Under the scheme, smallholder farmers will prepare their lands for oil palm cultivation, while Presco supplies farm inputs with subsidy from the state government to these small farmers. The oil palm giant also provides the technical knowhow to ensure a good harvest while also assuring the small-scale farmers of a guaranteed market for their produce at prevailing market price upon harvest.
Currently, Presco’s total planted area is more than 11,351 hectares of oil palm. and new planting in Ologbo, Delta State is on-going. So far 3,143 hectares have been planted (1,000 hectares in 2011) and over 1,200 hectares budgeted for 2012.

Presco also operates a vast palm oil processing and refining factory, where the output from the various plantations is transformed from fruits to palm olein deodorised (vegetable oil) and palm sterin. It does not stop at this first stage of processing. It further refines these processed oils into various vegetable fat products, used widely in the cosmetic industry, pharmaceutical industry and in food processing companies.

This initiative has helped companies such as Friesland Wamco, Nestle, Unilever, Cadbury and several other multinationals to cut down the volume of this specialised fat, which they import as input for the manufacturing of their various industrial products, thereby saving scarce foreign exchange.

Presco’s palm oil milling capacity is presently 48 tonnes of fresh fruit bunches (FFB) per hour; the palm kernel crushing plant operates at 45 tonnes per day; the refinery has recently been increased to 100 metric tonnes per day while the fractionation plant capacity and refined products capacity is 60 tonnes per day.

Okomu
The Okomu Oil Palm Company was established in 1976 as a Federal Government pilot project aimed at rehabilitating oil palm production in Nigeria. At inception, the pilot project covered a surveyed area of 15,580 hectares out of which 12,500 hectares could be planted with oil palm. It was incorporated on December 3, 1979 as a limited liability company.
As part of efforts to shore up its revenue base, the company acquired and installed a 1.5-tonne fresh Fruit Bunches /hour mill in 1985 to begin to process its FFB. Prior to the installation of the mill, the company derived its revenue from the sale of FFB.
By December 31, 1989, 5,055 hectares of the estate had been planted. The company also began infrastructural developments on the estate at that period. The facilities included office blocks, workshops/stores, staff quarters, a petrol station, a powerhouse and a primary school for children of the company’s staff members.

In 1990, the Technical Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation (TCPC) privatised the Okomu Oil Palm Company on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria. It has since grown to become Nigeria’s leading oil palm company with thousands of hectares of mature palm, a young extension of 4,000 ha of rubber, and a palm oil mill of 30 tons per hour capacity.

The company has consistently posted profits in the last 10 years, a period during which most other agricultural initiatives in the country had either folded –up or were performing sub-optimally. What is most inspiring is not just the growth and profitability of the company but the fact that Okomu Oil Palm Company Plc is ranked 10th among listed companies with the largest turnovers quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). It is the only agric-business in the NSE’s top 16 companies with the largest turnovers. According to the June – July issue of the Bottomline magazine, Okomu Oil Palm Company Plc is the ninth company with the highest profits before tax among companies quoted on the NSE, and the only agro-business on the Exchange’s top 16.

Today, what is now known as Okomu Oil Palm Company Plc has transformed into an economic success, earning presidential commendation and recording over 300 percent rise in profit after – tax (PAT) from the preceding year. Okomu benefits from the quality management provided by its main shareholders and technical partner (SOCFINAF). With a 53.32 per cent share in Okomu Oil Palm Plc, SOCFINAF is the biggest single shareholder in the company. SOCFINAF brings into Okomu Oil Palm Plc a little under a century of sound acclaimed technical expertise in the world stage. SOCFINAF, Luxemburg, is a global player in the cultivation of oil palm, rubber, coffee and tropical flower. SOCFIN S. A. founded in 1912 was the first industrial company to plant oil palm in Africa and Indonesia. It has ongoing plantation operations in Cote D’ivoire, Liberia, Guinea, Cameroon, Kenya and Indonesia.

PZ Wilmar
PZ Wilmar is into both palm oil processing and oil palm plantation said to be worth over $500 million but only the palm oil processing and trading arm of PZ Wilmar’s investment in Nigeria seems apparent, obviously because they are located in the city.
However, a visit to the 5,500-hectare, previously defunct Calaro oil palm estate, formerly owned by Cross River government and recently bought by PZ Wilmar; the 12,805-hectare Kwa Falls oil palm plantation, formerly owned by Obasanjo farms and also taken over by the same company; the 5,450-hectare Ibiae oil palm estate as well as another 8,000 hectares estate in Biase, which is still being negotiated, will convince even the most cynical critic of PZ Wilmar’s commitment to long term business that stimulates massive economic growth and development. 
A farmer and indigene of Betem Village in Biase Local Government Area, Cross River State, Mrs. Hannah Onda, says her life tells the story of the impact that the company is making on the lives of ordinary Nigerians.

“I am a farmer; I am married with four children; two boys and two girls. It was a very tough life for me before I was engaged by PZ Wilmar as one of the workers in their oil palm nursery here in Ibiae. With this company, I am guaranteed a stable and reasonable income at the end of every month and I don’t have to rely only on my little farm for the sustenance of my children,” Onda told THISDAY.

She said since she started working with PZ Wilmar, apart from the regular income, which has become additional money for her, she has also learnt farming skills from the company, which has also helped her to improve the performance of her personal farm where she grows cassava, maize and other arable crops at subsistence level.

The General Manager in charge of the company’s oil palm plantations, Mr. Lee, said after they procured the estates they realised that the existing trees were too old and therefore they were no longer yielding optimally and so they had to be knocked down and replaced.
“The trees were too old and they were not the best in terms of genetic quality, so we had to replace them. They were producing between 5 and 6 tonnes of fresh fruit bunches per hectare and that was by far too low compared to up to 30 tonnes of fresh fruits bunches that are obtainable from the trees we are now planting,” Lee explained.

Agriculturist and retired Permanent Secretary of the Cross Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Sam Ekpe, who commented on the ongoing investment of PZ Wilmar in the state’s oil palm plantation industry, said any individual or company that is investing in the harsh terrain of agriculture in Nigeria must be encouraged.
He said to have Wilmar, which is the biggest oil palm producer in the world, investing actively in the country’s oil palm plantation is a development that must be seriously celebrated.

“Wilmar has the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certification and they are a responsible oil palm plantation company, they are targeting about 100,000 hectares of oil palm cultivation in Nigeria and as we speak they are already in possession of over 30,000 hectares of plantation, which they are massively replanting, while the Cross River State government is seriously working out the remaining 70,000 hectares to ensure the company meets the target it has set for itself,” Ekpe said.

-@Business News

© anu for Royal Times of Nigeria Newspaper, 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

By Olarotimi Oshin

The Kwara State Government has commenced six-day training programme for eighteen youths in the state on the usage of Ankara, a local fabric, for making of accessories such as shoes, hand bags, book covers, and hand fans among others.

Declaring the training open, the state Commissioner for Commerce and Cooperative, Alhaji Raji Mohammed, said the development was part of government efforts in getting youths engaged, which according to him, was major policy trust of the present administration.

He explained that the development would assist the state in solving unemployment, noting that foreign countries would patronise the product at the long run.

The commissioner, however, advised the beneficiaries to take the training serious, saying that loans would be made available by government through Apek Bank and KMC Bank.

The Special Adviser on Youth and Empowerment, Alhaji Saka Babatunde, who was represented by Mr Tayo Oloruntoye, said the training would be handled by Sally Enterprises.

One of the beneficiaries, Sola Bukoye, who commended the state government, noted that the training would create more jobs for youths in the state, while urging government to continue the good work.

© olarotimioshin for Royal Times of Nigeria Newspaper, 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)  Monday disclosed that a total of 41, 828 entrepreneurs were trained between 2008 and 2013 under its Entrepreneurship Development Centres (EDC) scheme.

The CBN Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who revealed this in Calabar, said out of the 41,828 entrepreneurs, 13, 124 directly benefitted from job creation while a total of 1, 743 businesses were linked to financial institutions from which they obtained loans amounting to N227.84 million to either start or expand their business.

He also said 94, 259 others were counselled under the programme.

Speaking at the inauguration of the CBN-EDC in Calabar for South-south states, Sanusi said Nigeria was being confronted with a myriad of development challenges as the 2012 household survey showed that 23.9 per cent of the adult working population was unemployed.

The CBN governor revealed the first phase of the CBN-EDC initiative came to an end in April 2013 having operated for five years, saying that due to popular demand, the programme would be sustained to benefit more people.

“For sustainability purposes, the management of the bank has extended the tenure of the first phase by an additional three years to enable the host state governments in the aforementioned zones key in and participate actively in the enhanced EDC model,” he said.

According to him, “the unemployment rate has exhibited a worsening trend, rising from 8.2 per cent in 1999 to the 23.9 per cent in 2011.  In Cross River state specifically, the rate increased from 7.9 per cent in 2002 to 18.2 per cent in 2011.  This would obviously not only have a significant effect on the psychology of the individuals concerned, but also have a destabilising impact on the wider society.”

The desire to reverse the challenges, has said made the CBN over the years, to continue to collaborate with governments at all levels and stakeholders to initiate policies, programmes and schemes that would impact the lives of youth in the country.

He pointed out the central bank was out to institute a process of commencing the phase two of the programme for the South-east, North-west and South-west zones, noting the modest achievements had encouraged the CBN  to roll out the project in the remaining three geopolitical zones of North-east (Maiduguri), North- central (Makurdi) and South-south (Calabar).

“To date the new centres have trained all together 1,381 participants in the first half of 2013, in spite of teething challenges faced.  I particularly appreciate the government of Cross River state for allocating a temporary training venue for the Implementing Agency -Sheild Academy Partners- to commence its training activities before today’s official flag-off of this magnificent building that will permanently host the centre’’, he stated.

THISDAY

© dARA for Royal Times of Nigeria Newspaper, 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

The transaction involves Microsoft purchasing Nokia’s Devices & Services business, license, patents and mapping services.

Under the terms of the agreement, Microsoft will pay EUR 3.79 billion to purchase substantially all of Nokia’s Devices & Services business, and EUR 1.65 billion to license Nokia’s patents for a total transaction price of EUR 5.44 billion in cash.

Speaking about purchase plans, Steve Ballmer, Microsoft Chief Executive Officer, said, “It’s a bold step into the future – a win-win for employees, shareholders and consumers of both companies. Bringing these great teams together will accelerate Microsoft’s share and profits in phones, and strengthen the overall opportunities for both Microsoft and our partners across our entire family of devices and services.

“We are excited and honoured to be bringing Nokia’s incredible people, technologies and assets into our Microsoft family. Given our long partnership with Nokia and the many key Nokia leaders that are joining Microsoft, we anticipate a smooth transition and great execution,” Ballmer said.

Risto Siilasmaa, Chairman of the Nokia Board of Directors, said, “For Nokia, this is an important moment of re-invention and from a position of financial strength, we can build our next chapter.”

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2014.

In February 2011, Nokia and Microsoft signed a partnership after both companies witnessed a decline in sales in the smartphone market.

-@Nigerian Telegraph

© anu for Royal Times of Nigeria Newspaper, 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

Governor Babatunde Fashola(SAN) of Lagos

Due largely to the presence of commerce, Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial capital, remains the second most expensive city for travellers, with an average hotel room rate of £117 (N28,241.46). It comes behind Moscow, which remains the most expensive city for business travellers.

Lagos is home to the head offices of many international oil corporations and multinational companies, whose expatriate staff fly frequently into the city for official engagements and they usually find their way into the many hotels that dot the city’s landscape.

The latest interim Hotel Survey conducted by Hogg Robinson Group (HRG) reveals that, for the 10th year running, Moscow remains the most expensive city for business travellers with an average room rate (ARR) of £263.07 (N63,499.83).

The survey shows evidence of early signs of recovery in hotel rates, but not to the levels expected by the market, explaining that, in some cases, it was four or five percentage points below what was expected.

Margaret Bowler, director, Global Hotel Relations at HRG, says “the early sign of recovery in hotel prices is encouraging; what is a surprise however is that in certain key cities, the rates are not as high as the market had expected,” pointing out that, in many cities, this is attributed to new supply.

On the whole, she adds, “occupancy is increasing faster which, coupled with continued high demand, means we will likely see rates climbing in certain markets in the second half of the year and beyond.”

These developments are generally happening in mega-cities and, according to Bowler, the survey also shows the rise and rise of the mega-city, noting that 11 of the top 50 cities surveyed by room rate are also classified as mega-cities like Lagos, which is projected to be a mega-city with a projected population of 25 million people by 2015.

BusinessDay had reported that in what seems to be a dramatic twist, Africa, the black continent, has turned a toast of foreign investors, notably from countries that had been lording it over the continent economically and politically.

Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly Nigeria, is seen today by foreign investors as a green field with many international hoteliers looking to tap into the immense investment opportunities that the country offers, such that over 40,000 new rooms in 207 hotels are expected to be delivered into the continent’s hospitality market in the next 24-36 months.

Analysts say Africa is a growth phenomenon of the 21st Century and, according to Michael Chu’di Ejekam, director, Real Estate in Actis, whereas the rest of the world is growing at 3.3 percent, Africa at 5.5 percent, Nigeria’s GDP is growing at approximately 7 percent per annum.

-@informationng.com

© anu for Royal Times of Nigeria Newspaper, 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

NIGERIA Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, has decried the exploitation of petrol station workers by their employers, saying the workers must be unionized to check employers’ abuses.

NUPENG’s General Secretary, Comrade Isaac  Aberare, who spoke at the Delegates Conference of Petrol Station Workers, PSW, branch of NUPENG, in Benin City, Edo State, lamented that the potentials of the PSW Branch had not been fully tapped, insisting that if the  potentials were tapped, PSW would be a force to reckon with .

According to him, “the focus of the leadership that will emerge from this conference should be directed to the organization of Petrol Station attendants in all the nooks and crannies of the country.

“There is no place in this country, even the rural areas where you do not have petrol attendants. They are in thousands and yet they have not been fully unionised or integrated into your fold.  This is a big challenge that you have to put on the drawing board to fashion out way, methods and strategies to unionise the real petrol station workers and protect their interests from the exploitation of their employers.

“It is saddening when you listen to their woes and the pittance paid them. The parent union is also worried about the non-unionisation of these workers, because they are the potential force that will make any nation-wide strike very effective. The combination of Petroleum Tanker Drivers, PTD, and fully integrated PSW members will bring any government to its knees, when we embark on a nation-wide strike. I therefore enjoin you all to give this challenge a food for thought and get cracking on how to fully unionise them.”

Speaking on “leadership and accountability”, Aberare said, “Leadership and accountability are interwoven and intertwined, as leaders must be accountable all ways to the led.

“A leader must live above board, he must have integrity, be focused, organised, intelligent and listen to his members. He must be able to attend to their problems, pursue their welfare and take risks on their behalf.  A leader must be exposed, knowledgeable and have the ability to communicate.  He or she must not be far from its members. To be a good leader, you must be open and establish a good communication channel with your members.”

“On accountability, a leader must not be corrupt or enrich himself at the expense of its members. It is sad to say that the problem, we have today in the polity is that our leaders are corrupt even at the national level of the society.  Lack of accountability and transparency has become a social malaise and that is why nothing appears to be working.”

-@Business News

© anu for Royal Times of Nigeria Newspaper, 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

Airlines Nigeria Ltd., on Sunday commenced daily flight operations from Lagos to Yola International Airport, Adamawa, with an impressive turnout of passengers.

Mr Olu Balogun, the Group Public Relations Manager of the airline, told newsmen in Lagos during the inaugural flight, that Yola route remained viable for the airline.

He said that the operation became inevitable as a result of the acquisition of a Boeing 737-500 aircraft.

Balogun said the airline would start flight operations into Port Harcourt International Airport before the end of September, adding that another aircraft of the airline would arrive in November.

He said that a number of passenger-friendly services would be introduced as part of measures aimed at repositioning the airline to meet future challenges.

Balogun thanked all the agencies and management team of the airline for their understanding during the its trying period.

Mr Bashir Adamu, Acting Head of Operations, Yola International Airport, said that the airline had brought more revenue to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).

He said that the airline had also brought succour to air travellers in the region.

Adamu urged the management of the airline to regularly schedule flights to Yola International Airport, so that passengers would have confidence in its operations.

He also advised other airlines to schedule flights to Yola Airport as a result of the high passenger traffic on the route.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Arik and Med-View airlines also operate scheduled flight operations into the Yola Airport.(NAN)

© anu for Royal Times of Nigeria Newspaper, 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

The market capitalisation of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Tuesday declined by N34 billion as a result of price losses by some blue chips.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the market capitalisation closed lower at N11.49 trillion from the N11.52 trillion recorded on Monday.

Also, the All-Share Index lost 106.32 points or 0.29 per cent to close at 36,230.83 against the 36,337.15 posted on Monday.

Guinness topped the losers’ table by N5 to close at N250 per share.

It was trailed by Forte Oil with a loss of N3.17 to close at N35.70, while Cadbury dipped by N2.85 to close at N50 per share.

Unilever fell by 45k to close at N61.05, while UPL lost 41k to close at N3.74 per share.

On the other hand, UACN led the gainers’ chart by N1 to close at N56 per share.

Total followed with a gain of 85k to close at N157.90, while Stanbic IBTC gained 57k to close at N37.50 per share.

Presco gained 51k to close at N37.50 per share, while Jos International Breweries grew by 32k to close at N3.54 per share.

The volume of shares traded declined by 117.96 million or 45.91 per cent as 138.95 million shares worth N1.85 billion were traded in 4,940 deals.

Transcorp emerged the most traded equity, accounting for 20.78 million shares worth N28.78 million.

Unity Bank followed by 13.71 million shares worth N7.38 million, while Diamond Bank sold 6.81 million shares valued at N41.52 million. (NAN)

© anu for Royal Times of Nigeria Newspaper, 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has declared that it will resist pressure to devalue the naira as it retains ample funds to defend the currency.

Speaking in an interview with Reuters in London, the Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability, CBN, Dr. Kingsley Moghalu, said there were no plans to change the exchange rate band of the naira.

“We are comfortable with the band as it is currently – we do not have any intention of doing anything spectacular,” he said.

Also, the Director, Corporate Communications, CBN, Mr. Ugochukwu Okoroafor, maintained the bank’s Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, was expected to stay the course in his defence of the nation’s currency until the end of his tenure in 10 months.

The naira had fallen in recent months, trading outside the central bank’s target band of N150-N160 naira to the dollar since June, initially due to foreign investors booking profits on their naira assets, and on importers buying dollars.

Okoroafor insisted that the CBN remained committed to the band.
“We have the resources to meet demand. We are still determined to keep within that band,” he told Reuters.

But a similar naira weakness, partly caused by excessive spending prior to 2011 national elections, forced the central bank to lower the target band from N145-N155 to the dollar in November that year, after months of struggling to prop it up.
Pressure on the nation’s currency is expected to worsen next year as elections loom again in 2015 – traditionally at a time when government expenditure becomes very loose, pumping excess liquidity into the banking system.

“It’s the case all over the world – governments tend to spend a lot leading up to elections,” Moghalu said.

The naira has hovered around the N162-N163 level in recent months, at the interbank segment due to strong demand for dollars. It touched a 20-month low of N163.70 to the dollar last week.

“We believe that the probability of (moving the trading band) is slim in the coming months,” an economist at Ecobank, Gaimin Nonyane, said, adding that the bank had ample funds.

“Such a move would increase inflationary pressures. Given the central bank’s commitment to promoting price stability, we think the current rate will be maintained,” he added.

Nigeria’s consumer inflation ticked up to 8.7 percent in July, though Moghalu said he expected it to stay in single digits this year.

Sanusi had repeatedly warned that excessive election spending poses an inflation risk that he is ready to counter with tight monetary policy.

Analysts expect Sanusi would stick to that path until his planned departure June next year when his five-year term expires.

“The central bank will continue to defend exchange rate stability as long as governor Sanusi remains in charge,” Standard Bank’s Samir Gadio argued.

Sanusi has spent billions of dollars of foreign reserves over the past months in keeping the naira, which has lost 4.6 percent since the year, within its target corridor.
But Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves stood at $46.825 billion on Monday.

“Nothing about the central bank’s recent guidance or behaviour suggests that is about to allow a devaluation of the naira,” an economist at CSL Stockbrokers, Alan Cameron, said.

THISDAY

© dARA for Royal Times of Nigeria Newspaper, 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

The Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria has formally invited interested buyers to express interests in acquiring its 100 per cent stake in Enterprise Bank Limited, one of the three banks nationalised by the Federal Government in 2011.

Afribank, Spring Bank and Bank PHB were nationalised in 2011. AMCON then recapitalised them and changed their names to Mainstreet Bank, Enterprise Bank and Keystone Bank, respectively.

AMCON holds the non-performing assets of troubled banks.

In a public notice on Monday, AMCON said prospective buyers of Enterprise Bank would be required to submit their bids by September 20 and show evidence of financing capacity.

The corporation had in July appointed Citigroup and Africa-focused investment bank, Vetiva Capital, to manage its divestment from Enterprise Bank.

According to the public notice, upon the receipt and evaluation of the expression of interest, a shortlist of buyers will be prepared and they will proceed to the first phase of the transaction.

Based on its 2012 audited accounts, Enterprise Bank has seven subsidiaries and 150 branches, with total assets of N263.5bn ($1.6bn) and total equity of N31.9bn ($195.3m), AMCON said in the notice.

The Central Bank of Nigeria had rescued nine lenders in a $4bn bailout in 2009, after reckless lending and lax governance left them undercapitalised.

The CBN told them to find new investors before a deadline or face nationalisation. Only six of them met the deadline.

A few months ago, AMCON announced the beginning of the final process for the sale of the three bridge banks and indicated that it would start with the sale of Enterprise Bank, followed by that of Keystone Bank and Mainstreet Bank.

The corporation expects to complete the sale of the three banks by September 2014 and plans to sell 100 per cent stake in each.

According to the Managing Director, AMCON, Mr. Mustafa Chike-Obi, the advisers will solicit expressions of interest from prospective investors, adding that he expected strong interest in the three banks from local and foreign institutions.

The Chief Executive Officer, FirstRand, Sizwe Nxasana, told Reuters recently that the South African lender was keen on buying either Keystone or Mainstreet.

The Managing Director, Skye Bank Plc,   Mr. Kehinde Durosimi-Etti, had told shareholders at a recent meeting that the lender would bid for one of the three banks, depending on valuations.

-@Business News

© anu for Royal Times of Nigeria Newspaper, 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

After 10 years of closure, the management of Arewa Textiles Limited may, in a few weeks time, reopen its Kaduna plant for production, following the decision by the company to settle all outstanding obligations to creditors and pay workers salaries, estimated at about N1 billion.

The reopening of production at the facility may signal the long awaited revival of the nation’s ailing textile manufacturing sub-sector.

-@YNaija.com

© anu for Royal Times of Nigeria Newspaper, 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

By Olarotimi Oshin

Kwara State Government has approved 60 accredited master trainers under its standard vocational skill acquisition programme designed to promote youth employment and entrepreneurship in the State.

Speaking during an official flag-off and interactive session with the accredited master trainers, the State Governor, Dr Abdulfatah Ahmed who also approved 23 trades centres added that the exercise marked another major drive to reform skill acquisition and equip youths with necessary tools for entrepreneurship.

According to the Governor, the purpose of identifying and engage the master trainers was borne out of a desire to benchmark skill acquisition centres in respect to global standards with a view to expose master trainers to the latest technologies in their respective trades and promote uniformity in the standard of practice.

The Governor emphasized that with the streamlining of skill acquisition in the State, artisans would be able to charge uniform fees for their services as consumers will be assured of quality service, assuring that the participants that they will be supported through cooperative societies.

Royal FM correspondent, Olarotimi Oshin, who was at the event reports that the Special Assistant to the Governor on Tertiary Education, Dr Samuel Ajayi while speaking said the selection of the master trainers was done through a rigorous process.

© olarotimioshin for Royal Times of Nigeria Newspaper, 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

Corps Marshal FRSC, Osita Chidoka,

Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Osita Chidoka, said on Wednesday that he had written to the Managing Director of Toyota Nigeria Limited over high frequency of crashes involving Toyota buses, especially the Hiace brand.

Chidoka said extensive investigations and analysis of commuter vehicles carried out by the FRSC between 2007-2012, showed that Toyota Hiace buses were involved in 1,844 accidents.

He said 31 percent of bus accidents within the period also resulted in fire incidents.

The FRSC boss, who spoke at a sensitisation programme on speed limiting devices in Abuja, stressed that the situation was unacceptable to his organisation.

He said the study indicated that road traffic crashes involving buses had been on the increase since 2007 and that available data showed an average yearly increase of 126 crashes involving Toyota Hiace buses, representing 48 per cent of the total number of buses involved in accidents.

He noted that Nigeria started recording high Toyota Hiace crashes in August 2010.

“It is on record that Toyota Hiace YH3 buses were recalled in Australia as a result of fire in 1990 and recently in 2012. The 1990 safety recall closed August 26, 2010, the period Nigeria started recording high Toyota Hiace crashes involving fire incidents. The corps has therefore written to the Managing Director of Toyota to bring this menace to their attention,” he said.

The Corps Marshall advised commercial bus owners to install speed limiting devices in their vehicles and obey stipulated speed limits while plying the roads.

Chidoka said the FRSC had also written to the management of Young Shall Grow Motors over the frequent involvement of their buses in crashes, saying the company’s buses were involved in 32 crashes which resulted in 71 deaths and 93 injuries between January 2012 and June 2013.

He said that the FRSC was carrying out a full audit of safety processes of the transport company, spanning its drivers, vehicles, and company policies to ascertain their compliance with minimum safety standards.

The FRSC, Chidoka said, was collecting data on another transport firm, Peace Mass Transit, and would also conduct safety audit on the company.

He noted that the PMT and the ABC transport company had voluntarily commenced the installation of speed limiters, which he described as an effective means of preventing speed violation and resultant consequences, in their buses.

Secretary to Government of the Federation, Senator Pius Anyim said there was a need to work together to stop speed violation by motorists, adding that the Federal Government believed that speed limiting devices in commercial vehicles and trucks would reduce road crashes in the country.

-@Punch

© anu for Royal Times of Nigeria Newspaper, 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

The investment initiative is in form of a loan agreement for the construction of a petrochemical plant to be located at the Olokola Free Trade Zone in Ondo and Ogun states.

The refinery, according to the President, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, will become operational in 2016 and generate over 10,000 direct jobs and end the importation of refined petroleum products into the country with the attendant multiplier effects on the manufacturing sector.

When completed, he said the refinery would to be the largest in Africa, thus turning Nigeria into a petroleum exporter.

The loan facility was coordinated globally by Standard Chartered Bank and was co-financed in Nigeria by Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Access Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, Ecobank Nigeria Limited and Fidelity Bank Plc.

Other co-financiers are First Bank of Nigeria Limited, United Bank for Africa Plc, First City Monument Bank Plc, Diamond Bank Plc, FirstRand Bank and Standard Bank of South Africa Limited.

Speaking at the signing of the loan agreement in Abuja on Wednesday, Dangote said the investment was a way of dealing with the threat posed to Nigeria’s economy following the discovery of shale oil and gas by buyers of the country’s crude.

The investment, he said, was also a good step to support the Federal Government’s efforts at diversifying the economy.

Dangote said “As an investor who believes in Nigeria, knows Nigeria well and whose prosperity was made in Nigeria, we have responded to the challenge with our recent decision to invest over $9bn in a refinery/petrochemical and fertiliser complex to be located at the OKLNG Free Trade Zone. This complex will be the largest industrial complex project ever in the history of our great nation.

“Funding for the project will come from a $3.3bn medium term loan, the agreement for which we are signing today, and also an additional $2.25bn from the Development Financial Institutions to augment our equity contribution of $3.50bn.”

The business mogul pointed out that when operational, 2.75 metric tonnes per annum of Urea and Ammonia would be produced from the fertiliser plant, while the refinery would have the capacity to process 400,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

Speaking after a meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan at the State House, Dangote gave an assurance that Nigeria would no longer import petroleum products once the plant commenced operation.

Dangote met the President in company with some officials of his company, members of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria and chief executives of the participating banks, who raised the $3.3bn credit.

He said, “Now, Nigeria is going to be taken out of the list of countries that import petroleum products. We will produce 20 million metric tonnes, which is equivalent to what Nigeria consumes currently.

“Today, we did the signing ceremony, the vice-president came to witness the signing but we insisted on coming to thank Mr. President so much for his policies.

“Without good government policies, there is no way the private sector can invest in Nigeria, because we are not Father Christmas at all. The policies have to be right.”

Also speaking at the event, the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Lamido Sanusi, associated the deal to the success of the banking sector reforms by the central bank.

This, he noted, had boosted lending to the real sector.

Sanusi said the success of the reform was a testimony to the fact that Nigerian banks could offer credit when any project that could add value to the real sector was being provided.

PUNCH

© dARA for Royal Times of Nigeria Newspaper, 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

Map of Nigeria showing six geopolitical zone

The chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Festus Odimegwu said recently that he would need N600 billion to conduct the next census. This is at a time when the Federal Government through its act of omission or commission has shut down all state and federal universities in the country because it cannot find N87 billion being demanded by the teachers. It would not surprise me if this same Federal Government finds N600 billion to give to the census body when you cannot ride on any Nigerian road without running into huge craters and gutters. At the end of each census, we come up with spurious numbers that are not believed by anybody or believable at all. What is apparent in Nigeria is not always real, it is the case of the more you see, the less it counts. At election times, small states produce more votes than states that are much bigger and much more populous if only to get their preferred candidate elected.

Apart from the census of 1956 which put Nigeria’s population at 32 million, all other censuses have been marred by forgeries. During enumeration of people, it is not uncommon for villages to contribute money to give to enumerators in order to boost their population figures and yet we call this a census. Enumeration of any kind in Nigeria is totally without integrity. When states are asked to come up with the number of school aged children, the figures given sometimes outstrip the population of the entire state. Any exercise requiring figures in Nigeria is usually manipulated because of the financial implications of figures in Nigeria. Would it not be better to save N600 billion and just get statisticians to give us projected population of Nigeria based on a baseline of 1952 and rate of increase at 3% per year or something of that sort rather than the spurious figures bandied around dishonestly by NPC?

Nobody can swear on the figures of Nigeria’s population. Today, we are told that we are about 170 million but I do not believe it. I personally do not believe that Nigeria is more than 100 million; the remaining 70 million are ghosts as far as I am concerned. The idea of population count every 10 years should be jettisoned and replaced by population count every two decades. The money saved should be used for development of infrastructure of the country. Imagine what N600 billion can do in the development of Nigeria. Odimegwu and his NPC should be asked to go on holidays and come back 20 years after the last census and give us the chance to use the money saved to develop the country. Census is about people and about development. Arbitrary figures are of no importance whatsoever to the development of Nigeria and if we need to take the next census, we should do it scientifically by calling in experts from the UN to do area mapping of Nigeria and to point out the centres of concentration of people through settlement pattern and then project the overall population of our country. This can be done through area photography without the arduous, primitive enumeration and money guzzling system Nigeria revels in.

We know that elections are around the corner and people are looking for money for election, but we can’t be fooled all the time. The figure of N600 billion for counting Nigerians, many of whom are poor, despairing and despondent such that they would take the money rather than being counted, if given the option is outrageous. There are so many outlandish things going on at the centre in Abuja; recently, the Nigerian Space Authority or something of that sort says it is planning to send Nigerian astronauts into space by 2020. When I read this in the paper, I just laughed that what a country! And I asked myself – how is that important to the ordinary men and even to men who are not ordinary? What direct benefit will sending an astronaut into space bring to Nigeria? Are we going to reinvent the wheel?

Countries that are sending people into space are already developed and have the basic requirement of decent living for their people. Why would a country whose people still defecate in the bushes or in open space and whose people have no potable water to drink or electricity to light their homes and power their businesses, decent educational and health facilities, efficient transportation system be planning to engage in the expensive venture of space exploration when the Russians and the Americans, the two leading nations in this area are deemphasising state participation while encouraging the private sector to take over these expensive ventures?

We make fools of ourselves by pretending to be a big power when in fact we are not. We should cut our coat according to our cloth and face the reality of underdevelopment and try to overcome it. This is the challenge we face, the challenge of husbanding our resources and embarking on rapid development, transformation and industrialising our country while we still have the resources accruing from hydro-carbon exploitation. Our mono-cultural economy cannot be sustained forever and in fact cannot be sustained for too long, we have only about 30 years to transform this economy or die. Future generations of Nigeria will not forgive us if we do not embark on the process of transformation right now. Unfortunately, there is too much politicking in the land, too much talk about election in 2015 when in fact nobody knows who would be around tomorrow. We need to do the first thing first, let those who are in government right now discharge their responsibilities to the electorate, fulfil the promises on which they were elected and let the future take care of itself. Nigerians are a long-suffering people and I admire them for that and there is even wisdom in being long-suffering because revolutions do not always pan out. It is better to be long-suffering and to hope for evolutionary changes rather than wish or engineer sudden changes. But sometimes herd instincts and mob mentality can push a people to the edge of a precipice when they feel that the situation is hopeless. We are getting to this point in Nigeria where the more we spend on power generation, the less power we get. For the past 14 years, power generation in Nigeria has not increased past 4000 megawatts and yet, billions of dollars have been spent on this sector without any appreciable change in our power generation situation. Electricity generation is not rocket science, other third world countries and indeed other African countries like our neighbour Ghana have managed to stabilise their power sector to the extent that generators are not as everywhere in Ghana as they are in Nigeria. Would it not be wonderful if the present regime can tell us categorically when every home in Nigeria will have power 24 hours every day? This is something that is taken for granted in most countries of the world even in countries where the frigid weather should militate against this. If we have a government that can guarantee regular supply of water and electricity, then we would know that we are gradually coming out of the stone-age in which we have been consigned by previous administrations. The needs of Nigerians are not many and not outrageous or outlandish. What we require are basic needs for decent human living and we hope and pray that one day, a government would come that would be able to deliver on this simple needs rather than giving us outrageous budgetary figures on space exploration and demographic enumeration.

-@Nairaland

© anu for Royal Times of Nigeria Newspaper, 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

Charcoal, as well as agricultural products such as cocoa, sesame, cashew nuts and cotton, dominated the list of containerized commodities exported from Nigeria in the first half of this year, a trade report released by Maersk Nigeria Limited has revealed.

According to the report, charcoal export out of Nigeria rose by 76 per cent as at May 2013, when compared to the same period in 2012. The rise in volume has been attributed to the longer winter season experienced in Europe.

Finished produce export in May 2013 experienced a 39 per cent year on year growth due to major manufacturing firms streamlining their production activities by making Nigeria their main production hub for the region. However, the finished produce export share still remains low from Nigeria, said Managing Director of Maersk Nigeria Limited (MNL) and Head of the Central West Africa Cluster, Mr. Jan Thorhauge.

Thorhauge said as of May 2013, the containerised import market to Nigeria is estimated to have ended at approximately 159,000 FFE (forty foot equivalent units) as compared with the same period in 2012 which produced an estimated volume of 155,000 FFE representing a relatively marginal year on year growth of around 2 per cent.

He also said the Eastern Nigerian market maintained its superior performance over the Western part of the country in terms of growth in volume ratio with a year on year growth ratio of 10 per cent on import and one per cent on export.

He explained that Maersk Line has maintained its position as the leading shipping line into Nigeria, and combined with its sister company Safmarine, commanded an estimated 37 per cent share of the import market and 28 per cent on the export market.

“Not much has changed as the containerised market in Nigeria continues to be strongly dominated by imports, and for the last six years, the import/export ratio has remained at around 92 per cent import versus 8 percent export”, he said.

He disclosed that most of the country’s containerised cargoes come from the Far East, mostly China, while for most of its export commodities have been going into Europe.

“The sourcing patterns have not changed fundamentally in the last six years though imports from Europe and Middle East has experienced significant increase in the last two years”, he added.
Major products coming from the Middle East are industrial raw materials, chemicals, electronics, iron and steel and tyres while from Europe, Major products include industrial raw materials, frozen fish and cars.

The increased sourcing pattern can be attributed to better pricing from these regions, increase in the age limits of imported automobiles from 5 years to 10 years, increased construction as well as growing demands for finished products by the Nigerian populace.

He further said Nigeria’s export ratio can be improved if the government is able to improve on infrastructures such as power supply, road network and rail services.

The dominant items imported into the country, according to the report, have remained the same over the past six years and are made up of traditional commodities including cars, electronics, construction materials, food items, chemicals, electrical fittings, machinery and paper.

The report added that the imports cover goods for industrial as well as private needs in the country.

THISDAY

© dARA for Royal Times of Nigeria Newspaper, 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

Nigeria’s Ambassador to Kenya, Mr. Akin Oyateru

Nigeria’s High Commissioner to Kenya, Mr Akin Oyateru, said in Nairobi on Thursday that Nigeria would assist Kenya in the management of its oil industry.

Oyateru made the plan known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) ahead of the three-day official visit of President Goodluck Jonathan to Kenya.

He said with Nigeria’s comparative advantage over Kenya in the oil sector, the Federal Government would  be willing to assist that country in many ways.

Oyateru said that the visit of Jonathan, which would focus on the expansion of co-operation between both countries would be used to achieve the purpose.

“Kenya just discovered oil, so we have a lot of comparative advantages there, which we can actually impart in them.

“We will assist in exchanging ideas, collaborate and cooperate in the area of training and capacity building,

“We could also help them in the area of redrafting their legislation to have a proper legislation in that sector,’’ he said.

NAN reports that it was recently announced that Kenya oil resources met the threshold for commercial exploitation raising hope of that country joining the league of oil producing nations.

Specifically, Africa Oil, a Canadian oil and gas company together with British explorer, Tullow Oil Plc. had put Kenyan oil reserves at the estimate of 368 million barrels, a level capable of commercial exploitation.

Oyateru said that Nigeria would also tap from the broad knowledge of Kenya in the areas of horticulture, floriculture, dairy production, hospitality and tourism.

“In the area of hospitality and tourism, we can learn a lot from Kenya;  as you know, Kenya is one of the preferred destinations for tourists,’’ he said.

In the area of manufacturing, Oyateru said, he was expecting joint ventures from private investors from both countries in cement and sugar production.

According to him, Kenya has a large deposit of limestone and is vast in the production of sugarcane.

He said two Nigerian banks, UBA and Ecobank, had already established in Kenya while GTB recently bought 70 per cent of Kenyan Fina Bank and hoped to fully take off early next year.

“We are encouraging Kenyan banks to open in Nigeria so that there will be cross fertilisation in the area of banking and finance.

“With that, we can build a lot of capital here in Africa, strengthen our stock exchanges so that when we need to raise fund or bond we do not have to go to foreign stock exchanges.

“If we do this in Africa, the money will remain in Africa.

“We can raise fund within the continent for big infrastructure projects like trans-Africa roads and rail and open more shipping lanes in order to bring the cost of business down,’’ he said.

The envoy said that Nigeria and Kenya would enter a joint anti-narcotic campaign agreement as well as agreements on expansion of relations in the areas of immigration, trade and investments, mining, culture and tourism.

He said there would also be an agreement on visa exemption for holders of official and diplomatic passports from both countries.

NAN reports that  Jonathan’s visit to Kenya will be the first state visit by a Nigerian leader to that country in 25 years.

Kenyan Foreign Affairs Secretary, Amina Mohammed, had described the visit as “an incredibly significant visit for both countries’’.

According to her, the visit will help both countries to handle “previous challenges of engagements’’.(NAN)

© anu for Royal Times of Nigeria Newspaper, 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: