Economy

FG Pledges 5,000 Housing Units in Each State

Published

8 years ago

23/02/2017

Modupe Gbadeyanka

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Federal Government has assured public workers in Nigeria of adequate and informed plans for the provision of affordable houses as a panacea to the challenges of housing shortage in the country with an ambitious and unprecedented National Housing Programme aimed at constructing 5,000 units of houses in every state, over the next three years.

This was disclosed by the Minister of State for Power, Works and Housing, Mr Mustapha Baba Shehuri, during the commissioning of a 202-Unit Ministerial Pilot Housing Scheme being financed by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) and built by a Private Developer, Black Afrik (Nig) Limited, in Jalingo, Taraba State.

Mr Baba Shehuri stated that “National Housing Models have been designed for each geo-political zone, taking into cognizance our cultural diversities and climate conditions and, most importantly, in line with the present Administration’s vision of standardizing building materials to boost local content by encouraging indigenous Artisans and Craftsmen, as well as the creation of employment for Nigeria’s teaming youth”.

The Minister congratulated the Management and Staff of FMBN for the success recorded with the completion of the Estate and its peers in other states of the Federation scheduled for commissioning between now and early March, 2017, while re-affirming the resolve of the present Administration to recapitalize the Bank to the tune of N500billion to enable it adequately and efficiently carry out its Mandate under the National Housing Programme.

In his address at the occasion, the Executive Governor of Taraba State, represented by the Deputy Governor, Mr Haruna Manu, described the delivery of the estate as a delightful relief to the housing gap in the state which is constantly being widen by population explosion and exigencies incidental to the displacement of people due to insurgency within the North-East zone.

Earlier in his opening remarks, the Acting Managing Director of FMBN, Mr Richard Esin, informed the gathering that the two-phased Estate consists of 88, 3-bedroom semi-detached bungalows, 90, 2-bedroom semi-detached bungalows and 24, 1-bedroom terraces, adding that “concessionary terms of the National Housing Fund (NHF) Mortgage loans are in conformity with the Bank’s mandate of proving Nigerians with access to mortgage finance at affordable rates” to enable them transit from tenants to proud home owners.

Delivering a goodwill message at the Commissioning Ceremony, the President-General, Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Bobboi Kaigama, lauded the initiative, while appealing to the Taraba State government to aid workers key into the window opportunity by subsidizing the cost of the houses. At a courtesy call on the Executive Governor of Taraba State, Mr Darius Ishaku Dickson, the Minister intimated his host that the Federal Government has already paid mobilization fees to contractors for the construction of houses in all the 36 states of Nigeria plus the FCT, being the first set under the National Housing Programme and will soon award the contract for the rehabilitation of Numan-Jalingo Road traversing Adamawa and Taraba States.

In his response, the Governor praised the National Housing Programme as the solution to Nigeria’s housing needs, while urging the Ministry to expedite action on the procurement process for the 3,050MW Mambila Hydro Project, also promising the Ministry that additional land will be allocated for affordable housing developments in the state.

Economy

Nigeria Led Africa’s Upstream Oil, Gas Investments in 2024

Published

26 minutes ago

21/01/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

Nigeria ranked as Africa’s leading destination for upstream oil and gas investment in 2024, new research from market intelligence firm, Wood Mackenzie, has shown, accounting for three out of four Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) announced by global oil and gas majors, totaling $13.5 billion.

The FIDs announced within the Nigerian market included Shell’s $122 million investment in the Iseni Gas Project, TotalEnergies’ $566 million commitment to the Ubeta Gas Project and Shell’s approval of the Bonga North Tranche 1 project valued at around $5 billion.

According to the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Energy, Ms Olu Verheijen, these investments reflected Nigeria’s ongoing efforts to unlock its hydrocarbon potential through investor-friendly policies and strategic global partnerships.

Last year, Nigeria introduced several initiatives to create a conducive environment for oil and gas investors, including new tax incentives aimed at attracting up to $10 billion in natural gas investments.

Nigeria, which is Africa’s largest oil producer, also offered tax relief for gas investors, reducing corporate income tax and extending capital allowance benefits – for deepwater gas projects.

Other policies include the Presidential Directive on Local Content Compliance Requirements 2024 to address the reduction in oil and gas investments caused by high operating costs compared to global markets.

Also, the Presidential Directive on Reduction of Petroleum Sector Contracting Costs and Timelines 2024 reduces the time spent to award contracts for oil and gas projects.

In addition to the directives, Nigeria also launched its 2024 oil and gas licensing round, offering 19 blocks for exploration, demonstrating its commitment to continued collaboration with local, regional and international partners.

Market analysts note that with this momentum, further FIDs are anticipated, including TotalEnergies’ expected $750 million commitment to the Ima Shallow Gas Project in 2025.

Economy

UBN Property Triggers 0.22% Loss at NASD OTC Exchange

Published

4 hours ago

21/01/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.22 per cent decline on Monday, January 20, with the market capitalisation shedding N2.35 billion to close at N1.073 trillion compared with the preceding session’s N1.075 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) going down by 6.79 points to wrap the session at 3,105.12 points compared with 3,111.91 points recorded in the previous session.

It was observed that the loss recorded on the first trading day of the week was triggered by UBN Property Plc, which crashed by 20 Kobo to trade at N2.00 per share versus last Friday’s N2.20 per share.

However, the share price of Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc went up by 4 Kobo to 40 Kobo per unit from 36 Kobo per unit, it could not stop the bourse from going down at the close of transactions.

The activity chart showed that on Monday, the volume of securities traded by investors increased by 57.9 per cent to 767,610 units from the 486,215 units traded in the preceding session, while the value of shares traded yesterday slumped by 17.7 per cent to N2.3 million from the N2.8 million recorded in the preceding trading day, as the number of deals declined by 14.3 per cent to 12 deals from the 14 deals carried out in the previous trading day.

At the close of transactions, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 4.1 million units worth N162.9 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with a turnover of 9.1 million units valued at N44.0 million, and 11 Plc with the sale of 55,358 for N14.5 million.

Also, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc closed the day as the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 25.3 million units sold for N5.9 million, Geo-Fluids Plc came next with 9.1 million units valued at N44.0 million, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 4.1 million units worth N162.9 million.

Economy

Naira Weakens to N1,550/$1 at Official Market, Gains N5 at Black Market

Published

5 hours ago

21/01/2025

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The value of the Naira weakened against the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Monday, January 20 amid FX pressures associated with this period.

Most people who came into the country for Christmas and New Year holidays are already going back and are in need of forex, putting pressure on the local currency.

Also, the poor performance of the domestic currency could be attributed to end to the 42-day access granted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to Bureaux de Change (BDC) operators to buy forex at official price.

According to data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange, the Nigerian Naira lost 0.16 per cent or N2.47 on the greeback yesterday to sell at N1,550.05/$1, in contrast to last Friday’s rate of N1,547.58/$1.

Similarly, the Naira slumped against the Pound Sterling in the spot market on Monday by N23.39 to trade at N1,906.98/£1 versus N1,883.59/£1 and depreciated against the Euro by N23.14 to sell for N1,613.48/€1 compared with last Friday’s N1,590.34/€1.

However, in the parallel market, the Nigerian currency improved its value against the Dollar during the session by N5 to quote at N1,665/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,670/$1.

As for the cryptocurrency market, it turned red yesterday as the US President, Mr Donald Trump, didn’t bring up the much-expected subject of crypto in his inauguration speech on Monday afternoon.

Mr Trump had promised a far more friendly crypto policy stance than the previous administration but in the long speech that announced his plans in the coming days, he didn’t make mention of Bitcoin or crypto.

Just over the weekend, the President ignited a speculative frenzy with the Friday evening launch of the Trump meme coin, which was shortly followed by a meme coin associated with his wife, Melania.

Dogecoin (DOGE) crumbled yesterday by 6.3 per cent to $0.3419, Solana (SOL) slumped by 4.7 per cent to $235.32, Cardano (ADA) fell by 3.6 per cent to $0.9777, and Litecoin (LTC) moderated by 1.9 per cent to $114.98.

Further, Ethereum (ETH) went down by 1.7 per cent to $3,241.36, Binance Coin (BNB) retreated by 1.4 per cent to $693.30, Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 1.2 per cent to $3.06, and Bitcoin (BTC) tumbled by 0.8 per cent to $101,746.99, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.