Economy
NCDMB, Dangote Refinery Partner on Local Content Implementation
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has praised the management of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemical Free Trade Zone Enterprises (DPRP) over its adherence to the local content law in the execution of its projects and declared its intention to further partner with it for effective implementation of the Local Content policy in the country.
Director, Monitoring & Evaluation of NCDMB, Mr Akintunde Adelana, who represented the board’s Executive Secretary, Mr Simbi Wabote, made this disclosure weekend during the DPRP Nigerian Content Sensitization/Awareness Creation Programme, titled: “Let’s Walk the Nigerian Content Talk Together,” at Lekki Free Trade Zone, Lagos.
According to him, “the Dangote Refinery project is expected to close a major gap in the supply of petroleum products in the country. We consider this as a very important project and we are willing to partner with the company to ensure full implementation of the local content policy. We embarked on this journey with the company a long time ago and we are ready to partner with the Dangote Group.
“Part of what you see to today is part of our efforts to ensure that the company and its contractors comply with the local content policy and they have put in a lot of efforts in this regard.”
Speaking further, Mr Wabote described the Local Content Act as the quantum of composite value added to, or created in the Nigerian economy by a systematic development of capacity and capabilities, through the deliberate utilization of Nigerian human, material resources and services in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
He said the country recorded loses prior to the enactment of the local content policy, which he noted, came from jobs executed abroad by International Oil Companies (IOCs), operating in the country.
“The narrative then was that nothing can be done in-country. Plants and modules were fully fabricated offshore without any structure in place to achieve knowledge transfer. Before 2010, we had no active dry-dock facilities. The few we had were abandoned and left to rot away. Today, we have four active dry docking facilities in Port Harcourt, Onne, and Lagos,” he added.
He said the board’s mandate is to develop local capacity in key areas such as manufacturing and fabrication and promote indigenous ownership of assets and utilization of indigenous assets in oil and gas operations.
Mr Wabote added that the board’s responsibility also include linking the oil and gas industry with other sectors of the economy, enhance multiplier effect of oil and gas investments in economy and develop pool of competitive supply chain rooted in oil bearing communities.
Reading riot acts to defaulters of the Nigerian Content Policy, Wabote said non-compliance with the law, will result to the suspension of projects/contracts, penalty of five per cent of project sum, withdrawal of NCDMB’s services, and project cancellation unrecoverable sunk cost.
Other penalties for non-compliance, according to the Executive Secretary, are escalation to other regulators to withdraw or suspend license, withdrawal of approvals or de-classification of contractor from pre-qualification list, application of the full weight of the law in accordance with Section 68, and publication of non-compliant operators in newspapers and professional gazettes.
Also speaking at the occasion, the Chief Operating Officer, DPRP, Mr Giuseppe Surace, said the programme was organized to create awareness among the company’s contractors on the requirements of NCDMB, as part of moves to ensure the local content policy take roots in their day to day operation.
“The programme was organized to ensure that our contractors are well informed about the Nigerian Content Act and this is expected to assist them with the execution of not just the Dangote project, but other projects in their portfolio,” he added.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The federal government is offering two new savings bonds with interest rates between 17 and 18 per cent through the Debt Management Office (DMO).
In a statement by the agency, the country said retail investors can purchase the two-year bond maturing in January 2027 at 17.23 per cent interest, while the three-year paper maturing in January 2028 at a coupon rate of 18.23 per cent.
Bonds are very safe financial instrument that serve as investments because they are backed by the federal government, which promises to pay back the money.
According to the DMO, people can buy these bonds starting January 13, 2025, until January 17, 2025, with allotment expected on January 22, 2025, and the interest to be paid to investors every three months – in April, July, October, and January.
These bonds have some special features. They are tax-free under both company and personal tax laws.
Big investors like pension funds and trustees are allowed to buy them and each bond costs N1,000 each.
However, interested investor can only buy at least N5,000 worth, and can’t buy more than N50 million.
This comes after the Ms Patience Oniha-led debt office said the Nigerian government was offering three bonds worth N150 billion in September 2024.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The House of Representatives has said it would make efforts to pass the controversial tax reform bills forwarded to the National Assembly by President Bola Tinubu last year.
Mr Tinubu, in a bid to improve revenue of the government, asked the parliament to pass the bills, but this has been resisted mostly by northern lawmakers and others.
At the resumption of plenary session on Tuesday in Abuja, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Abbas Tajudeen, assured that the green chamber of the legislative arm of government would prioritise the tax reform bills.
“The legislative agenda of the House for 2025 prioritises the passage of the Appropriation Bill and the Tax Reform Bills, both of which are pivotal to economic recovery and fiscal stability.
“These reforms are essential for broadening the tax base, improving compliance and reducing dependency on external borrowing.
“The House will ensure that these reforms are equitable and considerate of the needs of all Nigerians, particularly the most vulnerable,” Mr Abbas said through the Deputy Speaker, Mr Ben Kalu, who presided over the session.
He also expressed grief over the loss of lives in stampedes in Ibadan, Abuja and Anambra State last month due to hardship in the country.
Several Nigerians died in the stampedes while trying to receive palliatives given to alleviate their sufferings.
“Tragic events, such as the stampedes in Ibadan, Abuja and Okija, during the distribution of palliative aid, underline the urgent need for improved planning and safety protocols in humanitarian efforts. On behalf of the House, I extend our deepest sympathies to the families and communities affected.
“These incidents serve as a stark reminder of the socio-economic hardships facing our citizens and the imperative for policies that tackle hunger and poverty at their roots.
“Turning to the economy, 2024 presented both difficulties and opportunities. While inflation remains a pressing concern, progress in GDP growth and the positive trajectory of economic reforms provide hope for a more stable and prosperous 2025,” the Speaker said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.69 per cent appreciation on Monday, January 13, as investors showed renewed interests in unlisted securities.
During the trading session, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) increased by 21.07 points to wrap the session at 3,095.00 points compared with the 3,073.93 points recorded in the previous session.
In the same vein, the value of the local alternative stock exchange went up by N7.22 billion to close at N1.061 trillion compared with last Friday’s N1.051 trillion.
Yesterday, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc recorded a growth of N3.78 to close at N42.00 per share versus N38.22 per share, Mixta Real Estate Plc improved by 20 Kobo to end at N2.35 per unit versus the preceding closing rate of N2.15 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc gained 1 Kobo to finish at 25 Kobo per share compared with the previous session’s 24 Kobo per share.
Conversely, Geo-Fluids Plc lost 29 Kobo to quote at N4.56 per unit compared with the preceding day’s N4.85 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc slid by 75 kobo to end the session at N15.50 per share versus the preceding closing rate of N16.25 per share.
During the session, the volume of securities traded decreased by 27.2 per cent to 3.1 million units from 4.3 million units, the value of securities slumped by 81.5 per cent to N3.2 million from N17.2 million, and the number of deals expanded by 57.9 per cent to 30 deals from 19 deals.
At the close of trades, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 1.9 million units worth N74.2 million, followed by 11 Plc with 12,963 units valued at N3.2 million, and IGI Plc with 10.7 million units sold for N2.1 million.
Also, IGI Plc remained the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 10.6 million units sold for N2.1 million, trailed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 1.9 million units valued at N74.2 million, and Acorn Petroleum Plc with 1.2 million units worth N1.9 million.
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