NNPC, Chevron, Total to build two power plants

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has said it has engaged its joint venture partners, Chevron and Total, to build power plants in Obite and Agura.

The Group Managing Director, NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru, stated this at the ongoing Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, Texas, United States.

The GMD, who was represented by the Chief Operating Officer, Gas and Power, Mr. Saidu Mohammed, was quoted to have said in a statement, “Essentially, the NNPC has been there. Many people don’t know that the NNPC has been part of the power sector. We supply steadily about 1,000 megawatts from Afam and Okpai, two of Nigeria’s most reliable power plants, serving as one of the cheapest sources of power today in the country.”

Baru said the NNPC’s role in the power sector would be enhanced with the completion of the power plants that it had started and most especially the three mega plants in Abuja, Kaduna and Kano, with combined capacity of 3,000MW.

According to him, the NNPC is attending the OTC 2017 in order to attract potential investors and showcase its efforts at transforming into a full-fledged energy company.

The GMD also stated that the country’s refineries in Warri, Port Harcourt and Kaduna were currently producing about 12 million liters of Premium Motor Spirit, otherwise known as petrol, and Automotive Gas Oil, popularly referred to as diesel, on a daily basis.

According to him, the production of the white products by the refineries has led to stability and availability of the commodities across the country.

He also stated that the 2019 target set by the NNPC to exit the importation of PMS was still achievable.

“We load out at least five to six million liters of PMS daily and about that same quantity of AGO daily from the three refineries. That is part of what is making the PMS market in Nigeria stable today. We believe that the set target of exiting PMS importation in 2019 is achievable,” Baru stated.

He, however, noted that because the rehabilitation of the refineries had been hampered by lack of regular turn around maintenance over the years, it would take more years to get them fully back to their nameplate capacities.

SOURCES: http://punchng.com/nnpc-chevron-total-to-build-two-power-plants/

Forex: CBN bars 16 banks from SME window

The Central Bank of Nigeria on Tuesday wielded the big stick on 16 Deposit Money Banks as it stopped them from participating in the Small and Medium-scale Enterprises window of the foreign exchange market.

The apex bank said this in a statement issued by its Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, Mr. Isaac Okorafor.

He said the decision to stop the banks from participating in the SME wholesale window of the Forex market was taken following series of complaints that some of them were deliberately frustrating efforts by many SMEs to access Forex from the window.

The apex bank had last month created the SME wholesale window to make it easier for small-scale businesses to access Forex to import critical materials for their operations.

The banks are Access Bank Plc, Diamond Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, Heritage Bank, Jaiz Bank, Sterling Bank, Unity Bank and Zenith Bank Plc.

The CBN said all the other 16 banks that had refused to sell forex to small businesses after accessing over $300m offered to the SMEs’ wholesale forex window since its creation last month would be sanctioned accordingly.

Some of the banks to be sanctioned are First City Monument Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc, Citibank, Ecobank Nigeria, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Keystone Bank Limited, Skye Bank, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Union Bank Plc and Wema Bank Plc.

Okorafor, however, stated that the sanction would be lifted immediately any of the affected banks showed evidence of significant utilization of the funds allocated to them under the SME window.

As an incentive, he said banks that had utilized their SME funds were allocated all of the $100m sold at Tuesday’s wholesale auction.

He urged all stakeholders to play by the rules for the benefit of the entire country and its economy.

The statement read in part, “Following persistent complaints that some Deposit Money Banks have deliberately frustrated efforts by many SMEs to access forex from the new window created by the CBN, the apex bank on Tuesday, May 2, 2017, barred all but eight banks from dealing in the SME wholesale forex window.

“The financial regulator took the decision to bar the erring banks based on field reports, which revealed that only eight banks had sold forex to the SMEs segment since the inception of the new window.

“The CBN frowned at the action of banks that declined to sell foreign exchange to the SMEs to enable them to import eligible finished and semi-finished items despite the availability of Forex from the CBN wholesale intervention window.

“The banks not barred include Access Bank Plc, Diamond Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank, Heritage Bank, Jaiz Bank, Sterling Bank, Unity Bank and Zenith Bank.”

The CBN in the statement warned that it would “not sit back and allow any form of instability in the inter-bank Forex market through the actions of institutions or individuals.”

SOURCE: http://punchng.com/forex-cbn-bars-16-banks-from-sme-window/

Nigeria yet to prosecute high-profile corrupt persons – Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said a major challenge with the anti-corruption drive of the Federal Government is the lack of successful prosecution of high-profile corruption cases involving ‘Politically-Exposed Persons’.

Obasanjo added that despite the efforts of successive governments, corruption still posed a challenge to the progress and development of Nigeria.

The former President said this while delivering an inaugural lecture organised by the National Open University of Nigeria, in Abuja, on Tuesday.

The lecture was titled, “Leadership, Governance, and the Challenges of Development in Nigeria: The Way forward.”

Obasanjo, who admitted that Nigeria’s poverty and seeming lack of direction was caused by leadership, said the institutions in the country needed to be strengthened to ensure transparency and accountability.

He said, “Nigeria’s poverty, insecurity, lack of unity and cohesion, youth restiveness and seeming directionless are conscious and unconscious choices made by Nigerian leaders. The impact of corruption on the Nigerian society and economy has been devastating. It continues to affect the government’s ability to provide basic services and has negatively impacted on the well being of the population.

“The lack of successful prosecution of high-profile corruption cases involving some Politically-Exposed Persons is giving a serious cause for concern both for Nigerians and the international community. We must take away the proceeds of illicit enrichment and remove negative role models in our society.”

Obasanjo noted that the government needed serious investments in the areas of human security and development of infrastructure.

SOURCE: http://punchng.com/nigeria-yet-to-prosecute-high-profile-corrupt-persons-obasanjo/

Dwindling cargo volume grounds ports’ operations

Cargo handling operations at the nation’s ports are at a low ebb, as cargo through-puts have fallen below the Guaranteed Minimum Tonnage (GMT). The benchmark was captured in the agreement entered by the Federal Government and the concessionaires 10 years ago.

Cargo throughput refers to the total volume of cargo (inward and outward) handled at the ports nationwide. The low cargo volume is an indication of an ailing economy where manufacturing and businesses struggle to survive. The multi-billion naira cranes and equipment, which dot the various ports, are now mostly idle, indicative of the uncertainty over investments and returns likewise.

Consequently, terminal operators across the six major seaports in the country have decried the negative impact, as almost 80 per cent of the clearing agents have closed shop with the attendant job loss conservatively put at 30,000.

Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) operational statistics reveal a downward throughput of vessels in the last six years (excluding crude oil) from 76.7 million tonnes in 2010 to 83.4 million tonnes in 2011, and further down to 77 million tonnes in 2012.

Volume picked up a little bit in 2013 to 78.2 million tonnes and higher to 84.9 million tonnes in 2014. But it fell again to 77.3 million tonnes in 2015 and down to paltry 53.2 million tonnes in 2016.

The situation, Akinola stressed, was not envisaged at the time of signing the concession agreement, adding that the development now poses a serious threat to the earnings of the operators. He, therefore, urged the Federal Government to urgently reverse the trend.

His words: “The drop in cargo volume has been as a result of some anti-trade policies of the past administration. The imposition of 70 per cent tariff on imported vehicles and the hike in import duty of rice contributed to depriving our ports of much needed cargoes. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) also compounded the situation by barring the importers of certain items from accessing the official foreign exchange platform. The ports are bleeding as a result of these policies.”

Workers are now better trained to perform their jobs. We have invested more than $1 billion, and this has turned the ports around. There is no more congestion, and there was a significant increase in cargo volume before the policies that took the volume away were introduced in 2013/2014. Our ports are much better.”

In confirmation of his claim, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), show that the total number of cargoes in and out of all the ports increased from 78,281,634 in 2013 to 84,900,588 in 2014, but later dropped to 78,322,558 and 70,681,028 in 2015 and 2016. The number of inward cargoes also rose from 50,005,603 in 2013 to 53,773,526 in 2014 before dipping in 2015 and 2016.

Also, outward cargoes increased from 28,276,031 in 2013 to 31,127,062 in 2014 and thereafter diminished to 29,019,349 in 2015, and 26,912,130 in 2016.

Corroborating Akinola, the president, National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), Lucky Amiwero, observed: “Those clearing agents you see around are those who are just working with faith, hoping that things will get better. Many others have returned to their villages to resume farming.”

He also linked the dwindling throughputs to infrastructural decay and dilapidated access roads. Furthermore, Amiwero revealed that about 70 per cent of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and a reasonable number of other bigger firms had wound up, thereby reducing the volume of imported materials for production processes.

However, a recent report by Akintola Williams Deloitte emphasized the need for more business-friendly policies to aid the optimization of the nation’s huge shipping potential.

It added: “Revitalizing and transforming the ports into fast, modern and efficient ones have direct benefits to the government. Larger vessels with reduced transit delays at the ports will lead to increased throughput and higher trade volumes for both import and export of goods and services, thereby increasing revenues earned by the NPA on throughput fees, shipping charges, custom duties and taxes.

SOURCES: http://guardian.ng/business-services/dwindling-cargo-volume-grounds-ports-operations/

$43.4m: NIA may sell apartment

Apartment 7B, the Osborne Towers expensive home where $43.4m was found, may be sold, it was learnt yesterday. A Presidential Investigative Committee is probing the suspended Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Amb. Ayo Oke, over the cash and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal, for a N200million contract awarded to a company, Global Vision Limited, linked with him.

There were indications yesterday that:•the committee may have concluded the SGF’s case, which a source described as “straightforward”;

•the Presidency is of the opinion that the National Security Adviser (NSA), Gen. Babagana Monguno, has no case to answer on the $43.4m; and that

•the committee may not ask Monguno, who is one of its members, to step aside.

It was learnt that a directive had been given to the agency to put the apartment in the property market.

The apartment may fetch the agency about N200 million, a source said.

The outcome of the Osinbajo Committee’s report will determine whether or not the EFCC has any further role to play on the seized $43.4 million and the N200 million alleged contract scandal.

MTN sacks 200 workers, 80 contract staff members

South African telecoms giant, MTN, has sacked 280 of its workers in its Nigeria arm, in a major job cut that is targeting at least, 25 per cent of its 1,8000 workers in the country, a company source confirmed yesterday in Lagos.

According to the source, some 200 permanent employees and about 80 contract staffers across various cadres, ranging from new graduates to senior managers, were affected in a move the source said is designed to inject fresh blood into the telco’s workforce.

Many of those sacked spent up to 15 years with the company having joined MTN as it opened its business in Nigeria in 2001. Sources said affected workers were given a dismal severance of 75 per cent of their gross monthly income multiplied by the number of years with the company. “Given that the company is about 16 years old in Nigeria, the severance package brought pain and discontent among the affected staff.

“With the payoff structure, senior managers with 15 years of service were left with about N15 million; most of the staff got less than N5 million,” company source explained. MTN Nigeria recorded nearly $1 billion in profit in 2016. However, the telecoms firm was heavily fined by the Nigerian government for failing to disconnect 5.2 million unregistered subscribers. 

MTN’s spokesman, FunsoAina, could not be reached for comments yesterday. But a source familiar with the latest downsizing said 200 of those affected had earlier agreed to leave the company voluntarily.

The source said the sackings were as a result of “the changing dynamics of the telecoms industry in recent times”. The source said the company introduced the voluntary severance scheme (VSS), to provide a window for one week in April, for persons who have served in MTN for five years and above to take up. Those who decided to leave under the VSS were to be paid the equivalent of their three weeks gross salary for every year they worked with MTN.

“What it means is that if one worked in MTN for five years, one would be paid three weeks of their gross salaries times five,” the source said. Eventually, all 280 staff were disengaged under the VSS and paid their benefits, the source said.

The source added that since revenue from the voice segment of the industry has attained its plateau, the new revenue stream would naturally come from data services. “Younger and tech-savvy Nigerian graduates are going to drive this new initiative designed to take the telco to the next level,” another source familiar with the development added.

Buhari assures workers of speedy passage of national minimum wage

Abuja – Federal Government on Monday in Abuja assured the Nigeria workers of speedy passage of the new National Minimum Wage. President Muhammadu Buhari President Muhammadu Buhari said this in a message to workers on the occasion marking the 2017 May Day Rally with the theme, “Labour Relations in Economic Recession: An Appraisal”. “I am happy to inform you that Government will give expeditious consideration to the proposal contained in the Technical Committee’s Report which was submitted to it on April 6, 2017. 

“Government will take necessary steps to implement the final recommendation of the Main Government/Labour Committee as it relates to the setting up the new National Minimum Wage Committee and the needed palliatives. “This is in order to reduce the discomfort currently being experienced by the Nigerian working class. “I want to assure you that government will continue to do all at its disposal to better the lots of all Nigerians and more importantly to provide a commensurate welfare for all Nigerian workers, ”he said. 

                             

He said that he was aware that the economic recession in the country has huge implication for the seamless conduct of industrial relations. He noted that this arises from the fact that the economic recession by its nature was characterized by a substantial risk of the “vicious circles of low- productivity. 

He said others are mass retrenchment of workers and closure of workplaces due to high cost of doing business, unregulated subcontracting and outsourcing with its consequences on welfare of workers among others. According to him, in the face of these inevitable challenges, you have shown maturity and understanding in spite of the situation in which we found ourselves. “I strongly salute your great sense of patriotism and loyalty to the country, ”he said. 

President Buhari however, called for effective deployment of labour relations, an amalgamated approach that would be used in creating a conducive work environment that would attract foreign investment for wealth creation. He called on government, workers and employers to work together to put out the economy from the recession. 

SOURCE: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2017/05/buhari-assures-workers-speedy-passage-national-minimum-wage/

World Bank blames Nigeria’s forex crisis on fixed exchange regime

The World Bank has blamed Nigeria’s enduring foreign exchange instability on the fixed exchange regime in the official Forex market.

In a publication on African economies titled: ‘Africa’s Pulse,’ the World Bank singled out Nigeria and Angola as two countries that had yet to experience stability in the Forex market despite rebound in the prices of commodities being exported.

The report stated, “The rebound in commodity prices and improved growth prospects in some countries have helped stabilize commodity exporters’ currencies.

“However, with the Nigerian naira and Angolan Kwanzaa remaining fixed against the US dollar, the imbalance in the foreign exchange market remains substantial in both countries.”

The report also mentioned Nigeria as one of the countries in the region where there were substantial risks in the banking sector due to a number of factors, including non-performing loans and policy uncertainties.

The World Bank said, “Banking sector vulnerabilities remain elevated in the region, including in Angola, CEMAC countries, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria. Foreign exchange restrictions, policy uncertainty and weak growth have affected the soundness of the banking sector.

“Non-performing loans have increased, and profitability and capital buffers have decreased. Several proactive measures have been introduced to contain risks to financial stability, including through increased provisioning and by intensifying monitoring and supervision of banks.”

On inflation, the report stated that although inflation remained very high in the region, it had started to ease but singled out Nigeria and Angola as two countries where inflation was rising as a result of depreciation of currencies in the parallel exchange market.

SOURCE: http://punchng.com/wbank-blames-nigerias-forex-crisis-on-fixed-exchange-regime/

Naira may trade around 390/dollar amid CBN interventions

The naira will trade around 390 against the United States dollar this week as the Central Bank of Nigeria continues the spate of dollar sale.

According to economic and currency experts, the local currency may close the week slightly above or below the 390/dollar mark.

“I see some marginal depreciation of the naira but the CBN will continue to support it. We will see depreciation and then appreciation. I see the naira closing between 385/dollar and 390/dollar at the parallel market this week,” the Managing Director, cowry Asset Management Limited, Mr. Johnson Chukwu, said.

“I expect the naira to continue to trade flat on the market, I don’t see any havoc in the market this week,” the National President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, said.

The naira closed at 390/dollar on Friday, having closed flat at the same level for most days of the past week.

The CBN had on Thursday sold $100m to authorized dealers.

The regulator said the sale was meant to meet the requests of wholesale customers at the Forex auction in the inter-bank wholesale window.

The Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department at the CBN, Isaac Okorafor, said the bank would continue its weekly sale of Forex to the Bureau DE Change segment to meet the needs of low-end users.

SOURCE: http://punchng.com/naira-may-trade-around-390dollar-amid-cbn-interventions/