Demand
UN projects Nigeria’s GDP to expand by 1.5 percent
Nigeria’s gross domestic product (GDP) is projected to expand by 1.5 per cent this year, after a contraction of 3.5 per cent in 2020, a United Nations (UN) report said on Wednesday. In the latest World Economic Situation and Prospects report, the UN noted, that tighter foreign exchange (forex) liquidity, mounting inflationary pressures and subdued domestic demand clouded the medium-term outlook. Although last year, the global economy shrank by 4.3 per cent, this year’s projected recovery of 4.7 per cent will barely offset the losses of 2020, according to the report. The World Economic Situation and Prospects 2021 is a report produced by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), in partnership with the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and the five UN regional ...
Seplat issues $650 million oil and gas bond
Seplat Petroleum Development Company, a Nigerian independent oil and gas firm, has issued $650 million in aggregate principal amount of senior notes due in 2026. It is said to be the largest ever Nigerian oil and gas bond issuance. A senior note is a type of bond that must be repaid before most other debts in the event that the issuer declares bankruptcy. It is more secure than other bonds. The dual listed company said the five-year bond was well-received in the market with orders from high quality institutional investors. “The notes priced at a yield of 7.75%, representing a significant pricing reduction from its $350 million debut issuance in 2018, which priced at a yield of 9.50% , with a coupon of 9.25%,” a statement by the company read. “The offering was well oversubscribed with deman...
Minister: 60% of dairy products consumed in Nigeria imported
Nigeria imports at least 60 per cent of dairy products the country consumes, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sabo Nanono, has said. Mr Nanono disclosed this when speaking at the National Dairy Policy Stakeholders Engagement in Abuja on Tuesday. He said, “Despite the potentials in the dairy industry, 60 per cent of dairy products consumed in the country is imported while the remaining 40 per cent is produced locally.” The minister said Nigeria’s per capita consumption of milk is 8 litres per year, representing very low consumption levels when compared with the global average of 44 litres of milk, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO). According to him, presently, the Nigerian dairy industry is largely subsistence and consists of lo...
DPR: Market forces should determine gas prices
File Photo The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has advocated that market forces should be allowed to determine gas prices to guarantee the security of supply and demand of the commodity. Mr Sarki Auwalu, the Chief Executive Officer, DPR, disclosed this while presenting keynote address at the pre-summit conference on “Decade of gas’, in Abuja, on Monday. Auwalu said that the right and market-based pricing of gas was critical, as it would assure producers of returns on their investments. He also outlined five critical levers for gas development, especially as Nigeria moves to leverage its abundant gas resources for national growth, diversification of the economy and to use gas as the fuel for economic transformation. According to him, the levers include availability, accessibility, a...
OPEC: Gas is vital to Nigeria’s future
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) says gas remains vital to Nigeria’s future in the global oil and gas sector. The OPEC Secretary General, Mohammad Barkindo, disclosed this on Monday in Abuja, at the pre-summit conference on “Decade of Gas”. He said that the move of the country to develop its huge gas deposit was a step in the right direction. “Gas is vital to Nigeria’s future, as is oil, and both will be fuels of choice globally for the foreseeable future and instrumental in facilitating the energy transition,” he said. The secretary-general said that the ‘Decade of Gas’ from 2021 to 2030 was likely to place Nigeria at the forefront of the vital global industry. Barkindo commended President Muhammadu Buhari’s effort as Head of Nigeria’s Delegation to OPEC, in the or...
CAN: Skewed appointments polarising Nigeria
File Photo The National President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Reverend Dr Supo Ayokunle, has said the polarisation being experienced was triggered by “skewed appointments” made by leaders of the country. The lopsided appointment, according to him, is polarising the nation on daily basis. He said the worsening security situation has shown that our leaders are at a loss of what to do. This came just as the new nations of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Bishop Francis Wale Oke frowned at those calling for negotiation with bandits who kill, kidnap, rape and demand huge ransom saying the government has to put its feet on the ground to prosecute them as the law demands. Rev Ayokunle said this at thanksgiving service marking the election of Bishop Francis Wale Oke as the 7th n...
Sudan and rebel group sign agreement on separation of religion and state
The Sudanese government and a major rebel group from its southern Nuba Mountains on Sunday signed a document which paves the way for a final peace agreement by guaranteeing freedom of worship to all while separating religion and the state. The signing is viewed as a crucial step in efforts by the power-sharing government headed by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan to reach accords with rebel groups across the country and end decades of conflicts that left millions displaced and hundreds of thousands dead. Last year Sudan signed a peace agreement with many groups, including from the Western region of Darfur. But a key faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu, did not join in last year’s agreement because it stuck to its demand that Sudan dispens...
WHO urges fairness in coronavirus vaccine access for Africa
The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for fairness in access to Covid-19 vaccines to widen the reach in Africa. The WHO said on Thursday that while vaccines had been delivered through the global partnership Covax, current global supply constraints could mean a critical proportion of people remain unvaccinated for months. “While some high-income countries are seeking to vaccinate their entire populations, many in Africa are struggling to sufficiently cover even their high-risk groups,” said Dr Matshidiso Moeti, the WHO regional director for Africa. “Acquiring Covid-19 vaccines must not be a competition. Fair access will benefit all and not just some of us,” his statement added. The WHO said vaccine doses have not yet arrived in 10 African countries. So far, the continent has admini...
Akwa Ibom NASU demands inclusion in federal government’s incentives for teachers
File Photo The Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions, NASU, Akwa Ibom State has demanded inclusion in the incentives approved by the Federal government for teachers in primary and secondary Schools in the country. They made the demand on Wednesday when they marched from the entrance of the Indongesit Nkanga Secretariat to the State Universal Education Board (SUBEB) Secretariat to end their 3-day nationwide protest. Speaking at the SUBEB Secretariat, State Chairman of NASU, Comrade Aniefiok Simons, stressed that the exclusion of non teaching staff from the Federal government recent reforms in public primary and secondary Schools in the country was discriminatory and wrong. Simons called on all stakeholders in the Education sector to look into their plight, and ...
Nigerian senate wants travel passport documents renewable abroad via post
The Senate is making moves to make it easier for Nigerians in diaspora to renew their passport documents. It specifically wants to make it possible for Nigerians to be able to renew the documents abroad via post. The lawmakers also want more centres where passports can be renewed abroad as well as the removal of ‘middlemen’ in the process. These are some of the resolutions the lawmakers took on Wednesday after they deliberated a motion on the “urgent need to remove the difficulty faced by Nigerians outside of the shores of Nigeria in renewing their Passport” sponsored by Matthew Urhoghide (PDP, Edo South). The move by the Senate comes at a time when Nigerians both within and outside Nigeria have decried difficulty in the process of obtaining a new travel passport as well as renewing one. A...
NIWE advocates partnership to address Nigeria’s water challenges
File Photo The Nigerian Institution of Water Engineers (NIWE) has sought for effective partnership between all levels of government and relevant stakeholders to resolve Nigeria’s water challenges especially in the rural areas. Chairman of NIWE, Abuja chapter, Engr Douglas Oloton stated this in Abuja yesterday at a talent hunt organised by the chapter to commemorate the 2021 World Water Day (WWD), with the theme, “Valuing Water”. He noted that population explosion, climate change, high demand on industry and agriculture is threatening the limited water resources, saying that water makes up 60 percent of human body and its fundamental for human, social and economic development. Oloton quoted the United Nations as saying that WWD raises awareness of the 2.2 billion people living without acces...
Senate considers bill to unbundle NIPOST
The Senate has commenced moves to unbundle the Nigerian Postal Service with the consideration of a bill to repeal and re-enact the Nigerian Postal Service Act 2004. The bill which scaled second reading on Tuesday was sponsored by Senator Oluremi Tinubu (APC, Lagos Central). Leading the debate on the general principles of the bill, Tinubu said the piece of legislation seeks a reform of the Postal Industry and to make Comprehensive Provisions for the Development and Regulation of Postal Services in Nigeria. According to the lawmaker, the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) which dates as far back as 1852, evolved from an exigency of the colonial administration to a Collection Office of the United Kingdom and eventually, to the NIPOST. She recalled that as at 1st of October, 1960, when Nigeria g...
