Mr Charles Majoroh, a former President of Nigerian Institute of Architects (NIA), on Thursday urged Federal and State Governments to build houses for the middle class. Majoroh told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that satisfying the housing n...
The market indices of the Nigerian Stock Exchange depreciated by 0.21 per cent on Thursday due to price losses by some major blue chips. The News Agency of Nigerian (NAN) reports that the All-Share Index, which opened at 28,501.21, depreciated by...
Mr Emmanuel Aiyeoribe, a former NLC chairman in Kwara, has appealed to the Federal Government to pay attention to the plight of pensioners in the country. Aiyeoribe, who was reacting to the recent nationwide picketing of NIPOST offices, tol...
The Kwara Government says it spends N1.3 billion every month to pay more than 50,000 workers on its payroll. The state Head of Service, Alhaji Dabarako Mohammed, said this on Thursday in Ilorin in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN...
Some operators of microfinance banks on Thursday expressed optimism that lending rates in the sub-sector would drop in 2013. They said that lending rates in the sub-sector would drop as soon as operators were able to access the Micro Small and Me...
Mr Emeka Madubuike, the Chairman, Securities and Exchange (SEC) Committee on Dematerialisation, says the commission may shelve the nationwide dematerialisation awareness campaigns scheduled to start on Jan. 31.
Madubuike told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Thursday that the postponement was due to the zero allocation to SEC in 2013 federal budget by the National Assembly.
Dematerialisation is the process of replacing paper share certificates with electronic records at the Central Securities Clearing System.
He said that the campaign would not be feasible because SEC needed funds to carry out the elaborate campaigns.
Madubuike, who is also the President Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria (ASHON), said that the zero allocation would affect other initiatives to revamp the capital market in 2013.
According to him, SEC cannot approve the committee's report for the Jan. 31, 2013 date because of the House of the Representatives’ stance that the commission’s director-general must be removed.
Madubuike, however, called for quick resolution of the impasse by the Presidency in the interest of the capital market and the total economy.
NAN recalled that the House of Representatives directed the withholding of SEC's allocation in the 2013 Appropriation Bill it passed on Dec.20.
This followed the lower legislative chamber's decision not to have anything to do with SEC until Ms Arunma Oteh is removed as the director-general.
The commission had proposed to spend about N93 million to execute the dematerialisation policy. Oteh had said at the 2nd Annual Capital Market Committee Retreat in Warri, Delta, in December, that some shareholders were resisting dematerialisation policy due to lack of knowledge of its benefits.
Oteh reiterated that asset transfer from one investor to the other would be much easier in a dematerialised market.
The director-general said that road shows and enlightenment campaign were imperative to sensitise Nigerians on its benefits to avoid resistance.
As we step into the New Year, Florence Udoh speaks with manufacturers on their expectations from the federal government in the new year, after a cursory reflection on 2012 policies. The national president of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Comm...
A former President of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), Mr Samuel Nzekwe, wants the Federal Government to make policies that will reduce the inflation rate in 2013.
Nzekwe told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Lagos that the government needed to take aggressive measures that would address the increase in the nation’s inflation rate.
‘’Inflation undermines purchasing power and once the purchasing power is weak, it will affect the people’s standard of living,’’ he said.
Nzekwe said that the high rate of inflation had increased the level of poverty and devalued the nation’s currency.
NAN recalls that the inflation rate increased from 11.7 per cent in October to 12.3 per cent in November.
NAN also reports that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has retained the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) at 12 per cent seven times in 2012.
The MPR is the rate at which the apex bank lends to commercial banks.
Nzekwe urged the government to make deliberate effort to stimulate the real sector to produce more goods and services for local consumption and export, in order to shore up the nation’s revenue.
``Once more goods and services are produced, the inflation rate will automatically come down,'' he said.
Nzekwe advised the government to make consistent policies that would impact positively on various sectors of the economy.
The pump price of premium motor spirit (PMS) will not be increased in January, the Acting Group General Manager, Public Affairs of the NNPC, Mr Fidel Pepple, has assured.
He gave the assurance on Sunday in Abuja while speaking with newsmen, restating that the Federal Government had earmarked some money for fuel subsidy in the 2013 budget.
Pepple also announced that the vandalised Ije-Ododo and Arepo pipelines in Lagos and Ogun had been restored.
“I can affirm to you that our engineers from the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company Ltd. (PPMC) have finally fixed the Ije-Ododo pipeline that was ruptured last Monday by pipeline vandals.
"Going forward, the good news for Nigerians is that we have resumed pumping petroleum products through the pipeline and system 2B is equally working after the restoration of the pipeline," he said.
Pepple assured motorists that with the restoration of the Ije-Ododo pipeline and the NNPC system 2B pipeline, normalcy had been restored in the supply and distribution of petroleum products across the country.
The general manager said that pumping of the PMS had resumed in earnest to depots and tank farms in system 2B, spanning from Atlas-Cove in Lagos to Ilorin in Kwara.
He described media reports that fuel scarcity and queues in some parts of the country might last beyond the New Year as “mischievous and misleading”.
Pepple said that that the NNPC was working hard to check fuel scarcity and eliminate queues at filling stations across the country.
He attributed the long queues at filling stations to the activities of vandals and the closure of some filling stations, due to the Christmas holidays.
The spokesman said that the company had product sufficiency that could sustain the country for more than a month.
He said the NNPC was working hard to supply PMS so as to ease the hardship of motorists before and after the New Year.
Pepple appealed to independent marketers to stop diverting petroleum products to the black market, saying that sanctions would be meted out to culprits.
The general manager stressed the need for marketers to team up with the NNPC in ensuring steady supply and distribution of petroleum products.
He also called on motorists to desist from panic buying and hoarding as the NNPC was doing its utmost to restore normalcy in the supply and distribution chain.
The Port Harcourt Refinery Company (PHRC) has embarked on sensitisation of people in its catchment areas on the dangers of pipeline vandalism.
The Deputy Manager, Community Relations of the company, Mrs Edith Johnson, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Eleme, near Port Harcourt, Rivers, on Friday.
Johnson said that vandalism seemed to be on the increase, explaining that the high rate prompted the refinery to embark on the campaign.
She enumerated the dangers of pipeline vandalism as pipeline fire, pollution of the environment, loss of lives and economic sabotage.
Johnson said that the enlightment campaign would be carried out at Okrika, Eleme, Port Harcourt Depot areas, trailer parks and other flash points in the area.
Also speaking with NAN, the PHRC Deputy Manager, Safety, Mr Uche Nna, said the organisation had been engaging the host communities on pipeline safety.
Nna said that the company had set up a surveillance team to police the areas. ``Even at that, the rate of vandalism is still very high.
I can speak that between PHRC pipeline outlets through Okrika to Jetty; so sometimes, we have several breakages daily.
``The Local Government chairman (Okrika) has been doing so well recently, trying to ensure that structures that are along that line are being cleared,'' he said.
Nna said that some people had built structures along the pipelines where they could easily lay pipes underneath to tap oil unnoticed.
He said that the company had many pipelines passing through the community to the jetty where the bulk production of oil was pumped into ships.
Nna said that the pipeline Right of Way (ROW), established by Gov. Chibiuke Amaechi was another measure to check pipeline vandalism.
He said that the ROW involved PHRC, Shell, AGIP and other companies that had their pipelines running through the 23 Local Government Areas with the state's Ministry of Environment coordinating.
``We have got to a stage where we identify and mark those structures so that as soon as the State Government comes in with the chairman of the Local Government area, we will remove those structures.
``As we are removing the structures, then the oil companies will quickly recover their right of way,`` Nna said.
He said that apart from the fact that the pipelines were vandalized; the vandalism could clear a whole community.
``Once they vandalize the pipeline, if there is no fire coming from dowser strikes or coming from any other source of fire, all the materials, that is, the petroleum products, will find their way to the aquifer.
``As soon as they found their way to aquifer, the eco-system is altered, you will have the underground water contamination, you will have soil pollution.
``And to remediate and recover those surfaces and take them out of the water is quite a lot.
``And if care is not taken and it gets down to Bonny Basin, that means the whole place is real issue, so it is a real concern,`` Nna said.
The Deputy Chairman, Senate Committee on Power Sen. Chris Ngige, says the Senate in 2013, will probe the implementation of the N262 billion supplementary budget to ensure fuel availability. He made the disclosure at a news briefing in Awka on Friday. &...
Following the unprecedented passenger movement at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos occasioned by the Yuletide season, passengers are having a tough time reclaiming their luggages on arrival due to faulty conveyor belt. In-bound passeng...
The management of Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) on Tuesday assured Nigerians of steady and regular electricity supply.
Mr Jonathan Ndiagwaralukwe, the Executive Director (Systems Operations) of the TCN, gave the assurance in Abuja, while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
``We are promising steady electricity not only during the Yuletide but also throughout the year; we are moving the sector forward.
``We are saying Nigerians deserve steady electricity supply and one of the cardinal points of this government is regular power day or night.
``All the efforts made in the past to improve the sector are gradually yielding fruits; we expect that the tempo would be sustained because all the investments made in the rehabilitation of power stations, transmission lines and even in power distribution are coming on-stream.
``Also, new projects are being inaugurated, especially the National Integration Power Projects (NIPPs) and new power stations.
``As regards steady gas supply to our thermal stations, which has remained a thorny issue; there is an improvement. Power stations are now getting gas and new NIPPs are coming on-stream,’’ he said
Ndiagwaralukwe reiterated that electricity supply would henceforth be stable and regular in the country, as the TCN had put requisite facilities in place to facilitate steady power supply.
He said that the TCN had installed new electricity transformers across the country, while reinforcing existing power transmission lines.
He stressed that the power sector was being overhauled via sustained investments in electricity generation, transmission and distribution, adding that this would enhance power supply to the people considerably.
Ndiagwaralukwe, however, urged electricity consumers to settle their bills promptly and regularly, particularly now that electricity supply situation had improved appreciably.
He, nonetheless, bemoaned the attitude of some people who burned bushes where PHCN’s installations were located, adding that some individuals were even fond of excavating sand near PHCN's facilities.
Ndiagwaralukwe stressed the bush burning and excavation of sand near PHCN’s facilities could endanger power supply and cause blackouts for the citizens.
He urged all Nigerians to vigilantly guard all PHCN facilities in their neighbourhoods, while reporting any act of vandalism to the police.
The management of PHCH EKO Electricity Distribution Company of Nigeria, on Tuesday appealed to electricity consumers within its zone to pay their outstanding bills to enable the station to discharge its duties effectively.
Mr Oladele Amoda, the Chief Executive Officer of the zone told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that consumers should assist the company in its efforts to provide stable and efficient power supply.
He said electricity supply had been stable in the zone due to the Federal Government's effort at ensuring adequate supply of gas and effective rehabilitation of power plants nationwide.
Amoda stressed that it would be difficult for PHCN to continue its operation in an environment where there was no corresponding response to investments and services rendered.
He said the zone invested so much in all the units under its network to sensitise customers to the need for the settlement of their debts ``so that the money would be returned to the source’’.
He said PHCN had no other source of funds, adding that increasing debts would impede its development in the areas.
He noted the cost of capacity improvement for the Agbara 132/33/11KV station from 90MVA to 150MVA and the creation of another 33KV and 11KV feeders meant to relieve the Badagry 33KV feeder, was quite enormous.
He assured the public that as gas supply continued to improve and more National Integrated Power Projects came on stream, the transmission and distribution companies would continue to harness available generation.
Amoda said: ``our doors are open for you to bring your complaints with the assurance of prompt response. We urge you not to relate with touts and encourage you to report any identified PHCN worker who attempts to extort money or asks for gratification from you,’’
He, however, gave the assurance of constant supply to customers during the Christmas season.
Amoda appealed to customers within the zone’s network to cooperate with the company to ensure adequate and prompt protection of electricity installations against vandalism.
The Transmission Company of Nigeria recently said that the country's generation hit 4,500 Megawatts, which was attributed to President Goodluck Jonathan's promise to improve power delivery to Nigerians.
Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Dr Paul Ogwuma has warned against plans by the National Assembly to whittle down the powers of the CBN through the amendment of the CBN Act 2007. This is even as current CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido S...