President Muhammadu Buhari has directed football authorities in the country to undertake a critical assessment on the Super Eagles’ performance at the Cup of Nations tournament for improvement in the world cup qualifying competition lying ahead.
Reacting to a 1-0 defeat the Eagles suffered in the hand of their Tunisian opponents in the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations tournament, the President Buhari said that it is too early to begin to blame the players for the loss.
He said that although the team did not live up to the expectations of Nigerians in the AFCON tournament, but that officials and players deserve commendation for the tough fight they put up.
“They gave everyone the confidence that they were up to it, and I am sure it was something they could have achieved. Nonetheless, we should not write them off.”
President Buhari urged Nigerians to encourage the players to do better next time, especially in view of the World Cup qualification matches that have been lined up for them.
He particularly asked Nigerians to send their suggestions on how the team can improve, to the Nigeria Football Federation “so that it will reflect and plan well for a better outing in the forthcoming World Cup competition.”
A total of 246 officers newly recruited by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) have graduated from the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense (NSCDC) training academy after a six-week course.
The Chairman of the Commission, Professor Bolaji Owasanoye, who was the Reviewing Officer at the Passing Out Parade, which held at the NSCDC training academy, Sauka in Abuja, said that the new staff would bridge the human capacity gap being faced by the Commission.
Professor Owasanoye said that the recruitment of the 246 staff, comprising senior and junior cadres, out of over 400,000 applicants, would enable the Commission to tackle the problem of corruption that has been bedeviling Nigeria.
“Consider yourself lucky to have been selected by the Commission out of the over 400,000 that applied for the job.
“Your conduct must be above board because the ICPC mandate demands it. Integrity and discipline are essential character traits you must have to excel in your career.
“You must make integrity and honesty your watchword.”
The chairman said that as the country is battling with the menace of corruption posed by illicit financial flows, internet fraud among others, they should be seen to be above board, warning that defiant staff would be shown the way out of the Commission.
“You have the herculean task of ridding Nigeria of the menace of corruption. This board and management have zero tolerance for corruption, indiscipline, and other forms of official malfeasance. You must strive to always live above board. Any act of disloyalty to the Commission will not be tolerated and the person will be shown the way out.”
The Commandant-General of NSCDC, Dr. Ahmed Audi, said that the new staff have been rigorously trained and equipped to function as anti-corruption officers.
Dr. Audi, who was represented by the Deputy Commandant, Nnamdi Nwenyi, said that the training has churned out well cultured, disciplined, and loyal staff for ICPC.
The camp commandant, Wellington Nkemadu, who spoke to newsmen on the side of the event, gave the assurance that the new staff would perform any task assigned to them having undergone six-week rigorous military and technical training.
He said that the senior cadre would be moved immediately to the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria, (ACAN), the training arm of ICPC for another six-week training, focusing on technical and core mandates of the Commission, while the junior cadre will remain in Sauka for another two weeks.
The event, which witnessed displays such as a parade by the graduating officers in slow and quick march, unarmed combat and other non-regular military drills also featured the presentation of awards to four outstanding officers.
Those awarded for outstanding performances and best behavior are the Course Senior, Akanmode Olayemi, Aisha Mohammed and the two parade adjutants; Ahmed Mohammed and Mariam Suleiman.
Akanmode Olayemi who spoke after the parade said that the training had toughened her to cope with the rigors of anti-corruption work, while also admitting that they had been adequately prepared as integrity officers who would not condone any act of corruption.
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and it’s Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Professor Umar Danbatta have, again, bagged another award of excellence from a private media organization.
The Director, Public Affairs of the. Commission, Dr. Ikechukwu Adinde, in a statement today, January 24, said that while the NCC received the REGULATOR OF THE YEAR Award for 2021, Professor Danbatta, received the PUBLIC OFFICIAL OF THE DECADE Award.
According to Dr. Adinde, the combined awards, issued on the heels of a public lecture, titled, Public Sector Financing: The Oil Revenue, Challenges, Solutions and Prospects, would not be unconnected with the telecoms’ 12.45 per cent contribution to the nation’s GDP in 2020, which was central and pivotal in taking the nation out of recession.
Dr. Adinde said that the awards was issued by Nigerian NewsDirect, a multimedia firm, adding that they were presented two days ago at an impressive event at the Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos, organised by the firm to commemorate its 11th Anniversary.
He said that the presentation of the awards was preceeded by the Nigerian NewsDirect anniversary public lecture, Delivered by Dapo Okubadejo, Ogun State Commissioner for Finance and Chief Economic Adviser to the Governor.
According to him, Okubadejo’s paper reflects on the increasing challenges of the nation’s dependence on oil revenues for public sector financing.
“The paper offers solutions to better public sector financing from the context refocusing on the opportunities and prospects inherent in the oil sector but particularly in other sectors.
“By sheer coincidence, or conscious contextual social intervention, the topic of the Lecture and its treatment were not just poignant reflections of the state of the economy, they were fluent and persuasive of the role of NCC in midwifing and enabling the utilisation of telecoms and ICTs applications for economic recovery and growth.
“A fact that gives concrete expression to the imperative of diversification of the nation’s economy from oil, which is being vigorously pursued by the Federal Government and which NCC is a key sectoral driver.
“Thankfully, the role NCC is mandated to play in enhancing Nigeria’s growth and development is not lost on its Management.
Dr. Adinde, who received the awards on behalf of the beneficiaries, emphasized this strategic role and commitment to it, adding that the Commission will not rest on its oars but rededicate itself towards demonstrating its worthiness of the public trust and confidence reposed in it as an agency central to diversification of the nation’s economy.
“These garlands, swelling the repository of awards to NCC would not surprise discerning watchers of national events. In November 2021, the Commission conducted a historic auction of the 3.5GHz spectrum, in preparation for the deployment of 5G services to be activated this year.
“It was not the first time NCC will conduct an auction but it was the first time it had completed an auction with the final bid ending at a price more than 30 percent higher than initial bid offer.
“The auction, which started with initial offer of $197.4 million, close after 11 rounds at $273.6 million. Two companies, Mafab Communications and MTN Nigeria Plc, won the bid.
“Besides it routine activities, just a forthnight ago, the EVC delivered the Convocation Lecture of the Fountain University, at Osogbo, where he emphasised the imperative of youth’s embrace and exploration of the opportunities the ICT revolution has offered them to contribute to the nations growth and development.
“Similarly, just a day after the Convocation Lecture, a digital training centre, facilitated by the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF), an arm of NCC, was commissioned at Ijesa Muslim Grammar School, Ilesha, Osun State.
“The foregoing shows that the Commission is unwavering in its commitment to expanding the nation’s frontiers of growth and development within the context of its mandate.”
Kano State Government, angered by the murder of five-year old Hanifa Abubakar in the hand of the proprietor of her school, Abdulkadir Tanko, has shut down all other private schools in the state, by revoking their operational licences for revalidation.
The Commissioner for Education, Muhammad Sanusi-Kiru, at a media briefing Kano today, January 24, confirmed that the decision was as a result of the murder of Hanifa Abubakar at Comprehensive College.
He said that the withdrawal of the certificates of operation of the private schools was to allow for revalidation and screening of the proprietors of those schools.
“All the certificates issued to private schools in the state are hereby revoked.
“The ministry has constituted a committee that will look into the registration of all private schools.
“The ministry will bring out criteria for the recertification of all private schools, which include Ministry of Justics and Department of State Services (DSS).”
The commissioner listed others as the police, Fire Service, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Kano State Road Traffic Agency and other government officials.
The Joint Admission and Matriculations Board (JAMB) has scheduled the 2022 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) to hold from April 20 to 30th nationwide.
The Board also announced that the UTME mock examination would hold on April 2nd, while registration for the examination would commence from 12th February and end on 19th March 2022, respectively.
This was contained in a weekly bulletin of the Board released by JAMB’s Director of Media and Public Relations, Dr. Fabian Benjamin on Monday.
The Board has also resolved to refund N4,000 which many candidates paid but were unsuccessful in completing the registration process for the 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination including the Direct Entry Examinations.
The information reads: “This is to notify all 2021 candidates who had deposited a draft of four thousand naira (N4,000) for late registration for the 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination and Direct Entry but were unable to complete the registration process owing to no fault of the Board, even after the Board had extended the registration period twice, to visit the board’s Website https://www.jamb.gov.ng, and complete a form for the refund of the value of the draft they submitted to the Board.
“The above candidates are to click on the link 2021 UTME/DE Unregistered Candidates Bank Draft Recapture and fill the spaces after which they would key in the token sent to the phone numbers they had submitted during the submission of their drafts.
“It is this token that would be used to access a form on which they will fill in their account details for the refund of the value of the draft. Candidates are to provide these details within the next two weeks from the date of this publication.”
“A text message containing OTP has been sent to the affected candidates besides this notification,” the bulletin added.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has made it clear that it will monitor the campaign spendings and finances of Political Parties in the 2023 general elections.
The National Commissioner, Information and Voter Education(IVEC), Barrister Festus Okoye, who made this known today, January 24 in a keynote address he delivered at a 2-day Capacity Building Workshop for Heads of Voter Education and Publicity and Public Affairs Officers of the Commission from 17 States of Nigeria in Delta State, said that at the operational and administrative level, the Commission will monitor the Congresses, Conventions, Meetings and Primaries of the Political Parties.
Full text of the speech reads:
On behalf of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), I welcome our Heads of Department and Public Affairs Officers from 17 States of Nigeria to this Capacity Building Workshop.
Knowledge is central to democracy and communication is at the heart of our work as election managers. It is imperative and fundamental that we continually and continuously build the capacity of our frontline staff to understand issues in the electoral process and communicate effectively.
I congratulate the Director Voter Education and Publicity Victor Aluko and his team for putting together this program. Let me also thank the European Center for Electoral Support (ECES) for supporting this program. We expect additional support as we progress to the 2023 general election.
The year 2022 will be busy and challenging for the Commission. It will present complex realities and showcase the complexities of our democracy and electoral process. In the year 2022, the Commission will release the Timetable and Schedule of Activities for the 2023 general election. The Commission will give the statutory notice signifying the date of election and the place for the submission of nominations. The Timetable and Schedule of Activities will contain the period for the commencement of campaigns and rallies in public by Political Parties and the last day of campaigns by Political Parties. It will contain the period for party primaries and submission of names of nominated candidates and resolution of issues and challenges arising from party primaries. It will contain the period for the submission of personal particulars of candidates, withdrawal, and the replacement of candidates and publication of the final list of candidates. It will contain the period for the submission of the names of Poll Agents. It will set out the period for the publication of official register of voters.
At the operational and administrative level, the Commission will monitor the Congresses, Conventions, Meetings and Primaries of the Political Parties. The Commission must track campaign spending and finances of Political Parties. The Commission will procure sensitive and non-sensitive materials and deploy them as at and when due. The Commission must identity, harvest and recruit ad-hoc staff and various categories of collation and returning officers. The Commission must identify, prepare and equip Registration Area Centers, Collation Centers and other Centers for various and variegated activities. The Commission will hire vehicles, boats, and motorcycles and engage human carriers for the movement of personnel, materials and reverse logistics. The Commission must train and assist in the deployment of security personnel on election duty. The Commission must also defend pre and post election litigations and petitions.
The 2022 is loaded with activities and all Heads of Departments and Public Affairs Officers must be abreast of these activities. Elections take place at the base level and it is important to build the capacity of our communication experts to undertake the arduous challenges that comes with election management and organization.
The Commission has reduced pernicious human interference in the electoral process and deepened democracy through greater use of technology. The Commission introduced the Candidates Nomination Portal through which Political Parties upload the List and Personal Particulars of their Nominated Candidates. The Commission introduced and deployed a Portal for the Accreditation of Observers and the Media. The Commission deployed a Portal for the accreditation of Polling Agents (Party Agents). The Commission developed and deployed the INEC Voter Enrolment Device currently being used for the enrolment of qualified applications desirous of registering as voters. Coterminous to this, the Commission deployed a pre-registration portal for eligible Nigerians to start their voter registration exercise before proceeding for biometric capture. The Commission retired the Smart Card Reader and introduced the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) for purposes of Voter Accreditation. The Commission introduced and deployed the (Irev) through which it uploads Polling Unit Results to a Central Portal for public viewing in real time.
As communicators, you must devise and deploy creative and innovative approaches of communicating issues and challenges in the electoral process. You must be dynamic and imaginative against the background of the COVID-19 pandemic that has completely altered lifestyles and ways of doing things. More Nigerians now patronize the social media. We must find the right balance between the traditional and new media.
We must wean ourselves of dogmatism and orthodoxy and extricate ourselves from the trap of “we have done it before and there is nothing new to learn or do”. The society has changed. The old ways of communicating issues and developments have given way to new approaches. Door to door means of communication is receding and no longer feasible. The demography of Nigeria has changed and a lot of young Nigerians are using the social media. The implication is that printing posters, handbills and banners are no longer fashionable. As a Commission, we must compete and dominate the social media on issues around the electoral process. We must understand the language of young people and their interests. It is a fight of ideas and a fight for the minds of young Nigerians who constitute the bulk of the voting population. We must use info graphs, short messaging and other creative and innovative approaches to capture their imagination.
We cannot in truth and in fact communicate what we do not know or understand. We must read and have a basic understanding of the constitutive constitutional and legal instrument underpinning the work of the Commission. We must understand the powers and the duties of the Commission as set out in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999(as amended); the Electoral Act, 2010(as amended) the Rules, Regulations, Guidelines and Manuals of the Commission made pursuant to the powers conferred on it by the Constitution the and various laws. We must therefore read and be very versatile. A Head of Department or Public Affairs Officer that is ignorant of the basic duties and functions of the Commission is a danger to the electoral process. The Nigerian people expect us to be upfront with information. The Nigerian people expect us to clearly, simply and comprehensively communicate changes and innovations in the electoral process. We can only do this when we understand these processes and procedures and communicate them effectively. If we fail to communicate and communicate simply and effectively, rumour mongers and the rumour mill will take over and define the narrative and present us with a fait accompli. It is better to be upfront with information rather than being reactive or defensive.
The year 2022 is the year of preparation for bye-elections, off cycle elections and the 2023 general election. Most of the important events in the electoral calendar will take place this year. Political Parties, Aspirants, Candidates and their Supporters will position to gain advantage. Some of them will attribute their problems and challenges to the Commission. They will praise the Commission when they win and denigrate the Commission when they lose. Some of them will analyze every action of the Commission and our press releases and comments may be tendered in court and become objects of litigation.
Some of the critical stakeholders may misunderstand some of our actions, processes and procedures and read different meaning into well intentioned processes and procedures. It is our responsibility to provide clarity and dispel negative notions and insinuations with potentially damaging impact on the electoral process. Some persons may go to the extent of planting negative stories about the Commission and in the process attempt to drag the Commission into a mud fight. Some people may by acts of commission or omission portray the Commission in bad light. It is our responsibility to remain firm, focused, courageous and engaging. The Commission is a public trust and must be open and transparent. We must on no account personalize the issues. We must respond to those that deserve our response and allow the Nigerian people to take a position on others.
The Commission regulates the organization and activities of political parties but in the heat of campaigns, rallies and nomination processes, attempts will be made to turn the table. We must continually and continuously remind political parties and their candidates and supporters that the Commission is the regulator of political parties and the table must on no account be turned.
As Heads of Department and Public Affairs Officers, you must assist your Resident Electoral Commissioners to engage the media. You must also engage the media. Running away from the media will not make them go away. Engage the media within the ambit of your own ability and expertise. You must not be an orator. You must not be charismatic. Your business is communication and you must communicate in knowledge and humility.
When the new electoral legal framework is passed and assented to by the President, we may have additional engagement with our Heads of Departments and Public Affairs Officers and clearly and comprehensively explain the issues in the new Act. There are clear and differential timelines in the Bill. There are new provisions and new innovations that change the dynamics of the electoral process. There may be new ways of determining over voting in the electoral process. The method of accreditation will change using the BVAS. You will be called upon to explain the architecture of the Permanent Voter Card (PVC). With the shift of accreditation technology from Smart Card Reader (SCR) to the Bimodal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) the new technology, the BVAS extracts voter data in four ways:
By typing in the Voter Identification Number (VIN)
By typing in the last name of the voter
By reading the Barcode on the PVC
By reading the QR code on the register of voters.
You will be called upon to explain Issues around Campaigns and Rallies. As some of you are aware, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is empowered by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, (1999) (as amended) and the Electoral Act, 2010(as amended) to regulate the activities of registered Political Parties. The Commission issues Regulations, Guidelines and Manuals to give effect to the intendment of the law and the Constitution. Section 99 of the Electoral Act, 2010(as amended) prescribes and circumscribes the period of campaigning in public by political parties. Based on the existing law, campaigns in public shall commence 90 days before polling day and end 24 hours prior to that date. However, section 99 of the Act recognizes that Political Parties are not the only operators in the electoral process. Therefore, section 100 of the Act provides that a candidate and his party shall campaign in accordance with such rules and regulations as may be determined by the Commission.
You may be called upon to explain issues relating to finances of political parties, limitation on election expenses; election expenditure by political parties and disclosure of sources of income by political parties.
You may be called upon to explain the concept of validity of party primaries and other related issues. You must therefore be prepared and arm yourself with the requite information.
We must see improved permanence by our Heads of Voter Education and Publicity and our Public Affairs Officers. We want to see better and robust engagement with the media. We want to see well written press statements that represent the clear intentions of the Commission and convey same in simple language. We want to see clear engagement in the social media. Policies of the Commission and innovations must be cascaded to the grassroots using the best and most effective means of communication.
I once again welcome you to this program. On behalf of the Commission; I hereby declare this workshop open.
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja has been thrown into darkness as the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) workers began a strike action over the sack of some senior officials of the company. This is coming less than two months after the same workers embarked on another strike that plunged FCT, Niger, Nasarawa and Kogi states in total darkness. In December last year, AEDC workers had embarked on industrial action leading to the shutdown of the company’s facilities and disrupted power across FCT, Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger states. Information reaching Greenbarge Reporters online newspaper showed that today, January 24 strike was due to the compulsory retirement of the power company’s General Managers by the new management. The industrial action was conveyed to the staff via a memo titled ‘CALL FOR ACTION: PICKETING EXERCISE.’ Signed by ZOS Liaison. The memo said: “following the directive to all the General Managers (GMs) to proceed on compulsory retirement by the Interim Management of Abuja Electricity Distribution company (AEDC), without following the due process, an action the Union view as highly Tyrannical and an attempt to commence the gradual downsizing of workers by style. “This plan must be Resisted! “You are to that effect directed to commence with immediate effect, the picketing of all AEDC offices including the Corporate Headquarters effective from Monday, 24th January, 2022, until the action is reversed. “An injury to one is injury to all. “Victory is certain!! “Thanks. “ZOS (Liaison).” Another memo instructed all AEDC and NUEE staff to converge at the company headquarters. It said: “All staff of AEDC and NUEE members in Abuja should assemble at the company’s HQ tomorrow morning. The new management has sacked some categories of staff through phone calls and are mobilising the police to the HQ at this moment. “We have passed through this road before, this is a little challenge. All members in FCT, transmission, Distribution and Generation are expected to be present. “The GS is expected to address the rally. “The struggle has started.” The AEDC Headquarters at Wuse Zone 4, has been shut down. Workers A staff of the company said: “I am at home as I am talking to you. No work today. We are on strike.” The latest wave of strike was triggered by the decsion of the new interim management of the AEDC which sacked at least 17 General Managers (GMs). – Background- The new management came on board about after United Bank for Africa (UBA) which provided the finance to KANN Utility, the core investor of 60 percent stake in the AEDC in 2013, invoked its receivership clause over the incomplete settlement of the loans. Subsequently, the former board and management of KANN was removed and a new UBA-led board and management headed by the chairman, Victor Osadolor and the interim managing director, Bada Akinwumi, was installed. The takeover was ocassioned by the management crisis since November when the staff went on strike over non-payment of their entitlements and allowances. After the takeover, Minister of Power, Engr. Abubakar D. Aliyu, had explained why management of the AEDC was cahnged, saying it was a decsion taken by the company’s shareholders. In a statement he personally signed, Engr Aliyu said the electricity distribution company had been faced with operational challenges arising from a dispute between KANN Consortium, a core investor with 60 percent equity in AEDC, and UBA which lent the fund for the acquisition of the majority shareholding of the disco. The minister said: “The attention of the Federal Ministry of Power has been drawn to publications in the print and electronic media relating to recent changes in the ownership structure and management at the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company Plc (“AEDC”). “While noting that the news has largely been communicated out of context, the Ministry wishes to notify all stakeholders that the AEDC has, of recent, been facing significant operational challenges arising from a dispute between the core investors (KANN consortium) as owners of 60% equity in AEDC and the UBA as lenders for the acquisition for the majority shareholding in the public utility. The situation has currently deteriorated due to lack of access to intervention finances leading to a point whereby legitimate entitlements of the staff are being owed thus leading to service disruptions on 6th December 2021 within its franchise area. The Federal Ministry of Power has since taken the initiative to engage organised labour and electricity service has since been restored in the FCT and the states served by AEDC. “The UBA, as a lender, and in exercising its rights over the shares of KANN Consortium in AEDC, has taken over the shares of the obligor in the AEDC. This takeover of the majority stake in AEDC by UBA has consequently led to the reported changes in the management of AEDC. The changes in shareholding in AEDC and the appointment of an interim management for AEDC by the shareholders has been endorsed by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (the industry regulator) and the Bureau of Public Enterprises (“BPE” as co-shareholders in AEDC). “The Honourable Minister Of Power, Engr. Abubakar D. Aliyu, wishes to reaffirm the commitment of the Federal Ministry of Power for working with all stakeholders to ensure service continuity in all areas served by the AEDC.” Source: 21st CENTURY CHRONICLE reporter
A 39 year old housewife from one of the Northern States in Nigeria, Maryam Abubakar has confessed that she and her two daughters have been in regular sex with bandits who pay them a lot of money in return. In an interview with a television reporter which is trending on Facebook and other social media, Maryam said that she introduced her daughters to the bandits to relieve herself from the burden of fending for them. Maryam confessed that she went into extra marital affairs with the bandit who used to pay her between N30,000 and N50,000 per session because her husband has not been taking care of her. She narrated to the interviewer thus: “Bandits paid me between 30,000 and 50,000 naira for a round of sex. I helped them do their shopping to prevent them from arrest. “I knew they were into kidnapping, banditry and arm robbery but I decided to date one of them despite my married status because my husband was not taking care of me as his wife but this my boyfriend takes care of me and gives me lots of money. “One day, some bandits said I should introduce more girls to them so I brought two girls and they were given 50 000 naira per night. I felt my 15 year old and 17 year old daughters can also benefit so I introduced them to the bandits and they were given lots of money. As such, some of the burdens I have like feeding them and clothing them reduced on me.”
President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina has described the President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote as an enigma who should be honoured by Africa. “One of the things I admire the most about Alhaji Dangote is that, he actually believes in Nigeria, and he invests his money in Nigeria. He believes in Africa and invests in Africa. Nobody could invest the type of billions of dollars that is here, unless the person not only has the vision but also the commitment and passion for his country. We are extremely proud of you and of your commitment to the continent. “Aliko is quite an inspirational and visionary business leader and for anybody to have done what I have seen here, I think that person deserves world class kudos for that… I see a company that I will proudly call Africa’s growth accelerator company. With this project, we see an acceleration of how to reduce imports. We see an acceleration on how to have an outbound on export; a value chain development and how to compete regionally and globally.” The AfDB boss, who was on a tour of Dangote refinery and fertiliser projects along with the board members of the bank, praised Dangote for his passion, vision and determination to develop and ensure that Africa is out of the poverty circle, with his aggressive employment generation scheme across most African countries.
Aliko Dangote
“I am completely blown away with what I saw here today…I can’t believe what I saw…this project will reverse the huge sum the nation spends on foreign exchange…when you look at how much we import, it is about $57 billion worth of different products and we export only about $50.4bn, so we have to balance that with about $7bn and talking to them here, they showed us that they can have a domestic market of about $11bn and that is an incredible market and that will save Nigeria about $9 billion dollars, a year from importing petroleum products, so this is huge for Nigeria and even for Africa as a continent.” On the fertiliser complex, he said: “being a man passionate about agriculture, this is a company that is producing three million metric tonnes of urea, which will make Nigeria totally self-sufficient”, and added that, “Nigeria will become net exporter of fertilisers. It will drive productivity growth in Nigeria, prices will come down and the quality will also improve.” While thanking the AfDB team for their visit to the Plants, President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote said: “The Refinery will commence operation by the third quarter of 2022. “On the mechanical completion, we are almost finished but we have started hydro testing, almost 70 per cent gone, hopefully before the end of Q3 operation will commence.” Group Executive Director, Strategy, Portfolio Development & Capital Projects, Dangote Industries Limited, Devakumar Edwin said that the refinery complex, which includes a refinery, petrochemical plant, a fertiliser plant and a subsea pipeline project, is the largest single-train refinery in the world. He said that the 650,000 barrels-per-day refinery would stimulate economic development in Nigeria. According to Edwin, Dangote Petroleum Refinery can meet 100 per cent of the Nigerian requirement of all liquid products (Gasoline, Diesel, Kerosene and Aviation Jet), and also have surplus of each of these products for export. He said that this would create a market for $11 billion per annum of Nigerian crude and foreign exchange savings/earnings $9.9 billion. “We have impacted on job creation with 3,580 Nigerian personnel on site, excluding employment by the various contractors and subcontractors at the site.”
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
President Muhammadu Buhari has directed football authorities in the country to undertake a critical assessment on the Super Eagles’ performance at the Cup of Nations tournament for improvement in the world cup qualifying competition lying ahead.
The Joint Admission and Matriculations Board (JAMB) has scheduled the 2022 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) to hold from April 20 to 30th nationwide.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has made it clear that it will monitor the campaign spendings and finances of Political Parties in the 2023 general elections.
