‘Nigeria lost N523 billion to gas-flaring in two years’

The Federal Government has lost N523 billion to gas-flaring between 2015 and 2016, data from the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has shown.

While DPR figures showed $850 million (N306 billion) loss to gas-flaring in 2015, NNPC latest report put losses to gas-flaring in 2016 at N217 billion. According to the NNPC, oil and gas firms flared a total of 244.84 billion standard cubic feet of natural gas in the whole of 2016.

Besides, the country has lost $14.298 billion between April 2008 and October 2016, which the International Oil Companies (IOCs) failed to pay as penalty for gas-flaring.

In a similar vein, the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), in its latest oil and gas audit report, has said that oil firms operating in the country have failed to abide by the regulation stipulating penalty of $3.5 for every 1,000scf of gas flared in the country.

Efforts to get the IOCs to state the reasons for non-payment of penalty were successful as none of them was willing to comment on the issue. But the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, said that the Federal Government would set up an independent tracking mechanism to ascertain the actual volume of gas being flared in the country.

He said: “There is an urgency to drive the policy that will enable us get out of gas-flaring. We are putting up an independent tracking mechanism not relying on figures from the IOCs and the DPR to find out really what is the flare volume. My feeling is that there is a lot of management of those figures to suit the cap of the penalties being charged for gas-flaring.”

Also, Deputy Director and Head, Upstream, DPR, Pat Maseli, while speaking at the 10th yearly sub-Saharan Africa oil and gas conference in Houston Texas, said that the high level of gas-flaring had led to a loss of 3,500 megawatts of electricity and about $400 million carbon credit value.

She expressed worries over the scale of gas-flaring in the country. In another development, the Executive Secretary of Nigerian Content Development and Management Board, Simbi Wabote, has said that the content development initiative in the last six years attracted investment of over $5 billion (N1.8 trillion) into the country’s oil and gas sector.

Speaking at the Nigeria content investment forum organised by SweetcrudeReports, in conjunction with the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board and Guardian Newspapers Limited at the sideline of the Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, Texas, Wabote said that the policy had enabled indigenous companies to build capacity of international standards.

Buhari off to London

President Muhammadu Buhari left last night for London to consult with his doctors, the Presidency said yesterday.

He has empowered Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to preside over government businesses in his absence.

The President, according to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, has also notified the National Assembly of the development.

After returning on March 10 from a 50-day medical vacation in the United Kingdom (UK), President Buhari disclosed that he would be returning for further medical checks.

The statement did not specify the length of stay, but it said that the President’s return to the country will be determined by his doctors in the UK.

The spokesman said that the President, who had planned to leave yesterday afternoon, shifted his flight till the night for the reception of the 82 Chibok schoolgirls, who arrived in Abuja earlier yesterday.

The statement reads: “”The President wishes to assure all Nigerians that there is no cause for worry. He is very grateful for the prayers and good wishes of the people, and hopes they would continue to pray for the peace and unity of the nation.

“The length of the President’s stay in London will be determined by the doctors. Government will continue to function normally under the able leadership of the Vice President.

“President Buhari has transmitted letters about the trip to the Senate and the House of Representatives, in compliance with Section 145 (1) of the 1999 Constitution.”

SOURCE: http://thenationonlineng.net/buhari-off-london/

Ogun demolished structure owners get N1bn compensation

The Ogun State Government has announced the payment of over N1bn as compensation to owners of structures demolished to pave way for the development of the state.

A statement by the state government quoted the Director-General, Bureau of Lands and Survey, Mr. Biyi Ismail, as saying that the turnout of the recipients at the bureau’s office in Oke-Ilewo, Abeokuta was impressive and showed that the people were happy with the government.

Ismail, while presenting the cheques to the beneficiaries, said the compensation was being paid to affected persons in Abeokuta, Sango, Ojodu, Ijebu-Ode, Mowe, Akute, Oke-Aro and Ofada, among others.

“It is very tough for someone to accept his or her structure being demolished, but the state government is using this opportunity to compensate those whose houses, shops, workshops or whatever they had gave way for infrastructure development,” he stated.

SOURCE: http://punchng.com/ogun-demolished-structure-owners-get-n1bn-compensation/

BoI approves N300m for creative industry

The Bank of Industry has sealed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Council for Arts and Culture to provide N300m in loans to the creative industry operators.

The agreement, which was signed in Abuja, will enable the bank to provide the loans at a single digit interest rate to be repaid in three to five years.

The Acting Managing Director, BoI, Mr. Waheed Olagunju, signed the agreement on behalf of the bank, while the Director-General, NCAC, Chief Olusegun Runsewe, signed on behalf of the council.

Olagunju described the agreement as a milestone as it would change the face of the arts and culture industry in Nigeria.

He said the management of the bank was excited to provide funding to the sector owing to its huge job creation potential.

He explained that with the focus of the Federal Government to diversify the economy away from oil, any support to small-scale businesses in the non-oil sector would go a long way in reducing the level of poverty and unemployment in the country.

Olagunju stated, “The MoU will enable us to provide a total sum of N300m as take-off point to support businesses in the art and culture industry. We will be lending to the sector at a single-digit interest rate for a period of three to five years.

“We see this sector as an important sector to stimulate economic activities owing to its job creation potential, and we call on all stakeholders to also support the SMEs by providing a competitive environment so that their operating expense can be reduced.”

SOURCE: http://punchng.com/boi-approves-n300m-for-creative-industry/

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/