Economy
Fuel Scarcity Will Soon Become History in Nigeria—NNPC
By Dipo Olowookere
Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr Maikanti Baru, has assured citizens that the perennial fuel scarcity in the country would soon become “a thing of the past.”
Mr Baru gave this assurance while delivering a goodwill message during the ‘NNPC Day’ held at the 39th Kaduna International Trade Fair, in Kaduna on Wednesday.
He said the state-owned oil firm was committed to providing the necessary assistance for Nigeria to attain competitive edge in non-oil sectors of the economy.
“NNPC is suited to providing the enabling environment for the nation to optimise its commercial, industrial and agricultural potentials to attain competitive edge in these sectors. This is a commitment which we shall continue to abide by,” Mr Baru stated.
To further demonstrate NNPC’s commitment on this goal, Mr Baru explained that the corporation had set up the Renewable Energy Division which is focused on not only developing solar and other renewable energy sources but also on developing Biofuels that are heavily dependent on agricultural produce as feedstock.
According to him, the multiplayer effects of such ventures are enormous. These include reviving the nation’s agricultural sector, generating millions of jobs, contributing significantly to power generation, producing high volume of animal feed, starch and other by-products, in addition to the biofuels that will be blended to our Refineries’ petroleum products that will significantly reduce imports of petroleum products into the country.
Mr Baru, who spoke on the theme ‘NNPC and Promotion of Industry, Commerce and Agriculture for International Competitiveness,’ noted that to aid the course of focusing on industry, commerce and agriculture, Nigeria needed to begin with the end in mind by first undertaking a holistic policy actions towards rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure.
In this regard, the GMD observed that that key infrastructure sectors that were expected to be upgraded include electric power, transport, information and communication, roads, water and sanitation as well as rehabilitation of existing oil and gas pipeline facilities.
“It is my sincere belief that revitalising these critical infrastructures will emplace efficiency in the new focus areas of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture to buoy the national economy and enable the country’s entrepreneurs compete favourably with their peers across the globe,” he added.
The GMD also lauded President Muhammadu Buhari’s economic agenda which he said had saved the country from the vagaries of monoculture.
“Every Nigerian, individual or corporate, has the onerous responsibility to ensure this vision becomes a reality,” he maintained.
On the recent fuel supply issues witnessed in some cities across the country, Mr Baru said NNPC had, over the last few months, been engaging with relevant stakeholders to ensure the challenge remains “a thing of the past.”
Mr Baru, who insisted that fuel scarcity was caused by greedy marketers, explained that the corporation had been collaborating with sister agencies towards addressing products profiteering, diversion, hoarding and smuggling.
Above all, he said, the corporation was working hard to get the nation’s refineries back to their optimal levels.
He listed some of the key stakeholders engaged by the corporation to include the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, the Nigerian Security & Civil Defence Corps, the Nigerian Customs Service as well as Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).
Earlier in his speech, President of the Kaduna State Chamber of Commerce, Mines & Agriculture (KADCCIMA), Dr Farida Dankaka, said this year’s theme was chosen to complement the efforts of the Federal Government in promoting economic growth through commerce and industry.
Dankaka, who was represented by Mr Tijjani Musa, also commended the Federal Government on its economic diversification which has led to sufficiency in rice production, stressing that such effort should also be extended to other cash crops like cotton, groundnut, wheat, rubber, palm oil etc.
The Kaduna International Trade Fair is one of the most important events in the business calendar of KADCCIMA.
Alongside Lagos and Enugu, it is one of the three local trade fairs attended by the corporation not only to enlighten the public on its various services, but also to educate them on the safest way of handling its products.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The federal government, the 36 states of the federation and the 774 local government areas have received N1.727 trillion from the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) for December 2024.
The funds were disbursed to the three tiers of government from the revenue generated by the nation in November 2024.
At the December meeting of FAAC held in Abuja, it was stated that the amount distributed comprised distributable statutory revenue of N455.354 billion, distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N585.700 billion, Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) revenue of N15.046 billion and Exchange Difference revenue of N671.392 billion.
According to a statement signed on Friday by the Director of Press and Public Relations for FAAC, Mr Bawa Mokwa, the money generated last month was about N3.143 trillion, with N103.307 billion used for cost of collection and N1.312 trillion for transfers, interventions and refunds.
It was disclosed that gross statutory revenue of N1.827 trillion was received compared with the N1.336 trillion recorded a month earlier.
The statement said gross revenue of N628.972 billion was available from VAT versus N668.291 billion in the preceding month.
The organisation stated that last month, oil and gas royalty and CET levies recorded significant increases, while excise duty, VAT, import duty, Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), Companies Income Tax (CIT) and EMTL decreased considerably.
As for the sharing, FAAC disclosed that from the N1.727 trillion, the central government got N581.856 billion, the states received N549.792 billion, the councils took N402.553 billion, while the benefiting states got N193.291 billion as 13 per cent derivation revenue.
From the N585.700 billion VAT earnings, the national government got N87.855 billion, the states received N292.850 billion and the local councils were given N204.995 billion.
Also, from the N455.354 billion distributable statutory revenue, the federal government was given N175.690 billion, the states got N89.113 billion, the local governments had N68.702 billion, and the benefiting states received N121.849 billion as 13 per cent derivation revenue.
In addition, from the N15.046 billion EMTL revenue, FAAC shared N2.257 billion to the federal government, disbursed N7.523 billion to the states and transferred N5.266 billion to the local councils.
Further, from the N671.392 billion Exchange Difference earnings, it gave central government N316.054 billion, the states N160.306 billion, the local government areas N123.590 billion, and the oil-producing states N71.442 billion as 13 per cent derivation revenue.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.65 per cent gain on Friday, December 13, boosted by three equities admitted on the trading platform.
On the last trading session of the week, Okitipupa Plc appreciated by N2.70 to settle at N29.74 per share versus Thursday’s closing price of N27.04 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc added N2.49 to end the session at N42.85 per unit compared with the previous day’s N40.36 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc gained 50 Kobo to close at N16.30 per share, in contrast to the preceding session’s N15.80 per share.
Consequently, the market capitalisation added N6.89 billion to settle at N1.062 trillion compared with the preceding day’s N1.055 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) gained 19.66 points to wrap the session at 3,032.16 points compared with 3,012.50 points recorded in the previous session.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors increased by 171.6 per cent to 1.2 million units from the 447,905 units recorded a day earlier, but the value of shares traded by the market participants declined by 19.3 per cent to N2.4 million from the N3.02 million achieved a day earlier, and the number of deals went down by 14.3 per cent to 18 deals from 21 deals.
At the close of business, Geo-Fluids Plc was the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with a turnover of 1.7 billion units worth N3.9 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with the sale of 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.3 million units sold for N5.3 million.
In the same vein, Aradel Holdings Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 108.7 million units for N89.2 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with a turnover of 297.3 million units worth N5.3 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira appreciated further against the United States Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) by N1.50 or 0.09 per cent to close at N1,533.00/$1 on Friday, December 13 versus the N1,534.50/$1 it was transacted on Thursday.
The local currency has continued to benefit from the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) this month.
The implementation of the forex system comes with diverse implications for all segments of the financial markets that deal with FX, including the rebound in the value of the Naira across markets.
The system instantly reflects data on all FX transactions conducted in the interbank market and approved by the CBN.
Market analysts say the publication of real-time prices and buy-sell orders data from this system has lent support to the Naira in the official market and tackled speculation.
In the official market yesterday, the domestic currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling by N12.58 to wrap the session at N1,942.19/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,954.77/£1 and against the Euro, it gained N2.44 to close at N1,612.85/€1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,610.41/€1.
At the black market, the Nigerian Naira appreciated against the greenback on Friday by N30 to sell for N1,650/$1 compared with the preceding session’s value of N1,680/$1.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was largely positive as investors banked on recent signals, including fresh support from US President-elect, Mr Donald Trump, as well as interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank (ECB).
Ripple (XRP) added 7.3 per cent to sell at $2.49, Binance Coin (BNB) rose by 3.5 per cent to $728.28, Cardano (ADA) expanded by 2.4 per cent to trade at $1.11, Litecoin (LTC) increased by 2.3 per cent to $122.56, Bitcoin (BTC) gained 1.9 per cent to settle at $101,766.17, Dogecoin (DOGE) jumped by 1.2 per cent to $0.4064, Solana (SOL) soared by 0.7 per cent to $226.15 and Ethereum (ETH) advanced by 0.6 per cent to $3,925.35, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
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