Economy
NCDMB Intervention Fund Grows 75% to $350m in One Year
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Content and Development Board (NCDMB) intervention fund has increased by 75 per cent to $350 million in one year.
This was revealed by the Executive Secretary of the board, Mr Simbi Wabote, at the Nigerian Bar Association-Section on Business Law (NBA-SBL) and NCDMB Colloquium on Wednesday.
The NCDMB chief, while delivering his keynote address at the conference titled NOGICD Act: Strides Challenges and Opportunities, said that the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCIF) increased from $200 million to $350 million in the last 12 months.
According to him, the increment came with additional products for working capital and for women in the oil and gas sector.
Mr Wabote also revealed that a forensic audit of the Nigerian Content Development Fund (NCDF) remittances has been held, leading to recoveries close to $100 million.
He said that the agency had successfully exited appropriation since 2018 and that it intends to maintain its self-funding status through the prudent management of the NCDF entrusted in its care.
Listing some of NCDMB’s achievements since its establishment in 2010, Mr Wabote said the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act has restored hope to the nation’s oil and gas industry as no country can survive under the negative trend of capital flight, loss of jobs and community discontentment.
“Since inception in 2010, the implementation of the act has resulted in 35 per cent of in-country value retention compared to the less than 5 per cent value retention before the NOGICD Act.
“Before the act, we had an annual spend of $20 billion with little or nothing retained in-country. Today, I can confidently say that we spend over $6 billion in-country annually,” Mr Wabote said.
He continued, “We have 2 world-class pipe mills and five impressive pipe coating yards. About 40 per cent of marine vessels used in the oil and gas industry are owned by Nigerians. We have four active dry docking facilities in Port Harcourt, Onne, and Lagos. In cable manufacturing, all cables required in the oil and gas sector are manufactured in-country. Over 50,000 direct jobs have been created on the back of the implementation of the NOGICD Act.
“We have 76 operating companies and over 8,000 oil and gas service companies pulling their weight in the industry. Our indigenous operators are responsible for 15 per cent of our oil production and 60 per cent of our domestic gas supply.”
“In fabrication, today Nigeria can handle fabrication of more than 120,000 tonnes per year. In cable manufacturing, all cables required in the oil and gas sector are manufactured in-country.
“Over 10 million training manhours have been delivered via our human capacity development programs. No surprise that our indigenous workforce was able to sustain oil production at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown,” he said.
Furthermore, he said that NCDMB in the last four years, had delivered on the completion and commissioning of a 17-storey headquarters building complete with a 1,000-seat auditorium and multi-level car park; completion of 10MW power plant at Elebele Bayelsa State for the supply of electricity to its new headquarters building and the oil and gas park in Bayelsa State, completion and commissioning of the 5,000bpd Waltersmith modular refinery; the Egina FPSO which is the largest in the world was integrated into the SHI-MCI yard in Lagos, STEM Education training for 1,500 teachers in Bayelsa and Katsina States; among other achievements.
Mr Wabote implored members of the bar to position themselves towards taking full advantage of the copious opportunities present in the sector, adding that it would play its part in ensuring proper utilisation.
Despite the challenges present in the global business environment, he said the board will continue to make concerted efforts towards tackling them.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Nigeria’s First Lady, Mrs Oluremi Tinubu, has given Nigerians business advice that may not involve a lot of money to start.
Speaking with newsmen recently, the wife of President Bola Tinubu said businesses like akara (fried bean cake), kulikuli (a crunchy snack from roasted peanuts or groundnuts) and roasted corn can be set up without breaking the bank.
She disclosed that to support her husband’s Renewed Hope agenda, she has provided funding packages to traders and others to the tune of N3.5 billion.
“To start akara business doesn’t take a lot of money. To start roasting corn and kuli-kuli doesn’t take much. We didn’t give them a loan; we gave it to them as a grant,” she stated.
She further said, “We’ve encouraged Nigerians as best as we could, what is within our hands, I have given, and I keep giving. Those are the things we’ve done.”
“I remember giving for TB (tuberculosis) when I heard of many TB cases; I gave N2 billion, to breast cancer, I gave N1 billion, and to [tackle] malnutrition, I gave N500 million.
“These are the things we’ve been doing to assist the government. So, we’ve had impact in agriculture, social investment, education (as scholarship and ICT training) and others. We are still open to doing more,” she disclosed.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rallied by 1.70 per cent on Thursday, June 25, after three price gainers overpowered the two price losers recorded at the close of business.
Consequently, the market capitalisation of the trading platform increased by N43.79 billion to N2.618 trillion from N2.574 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 72.96 points to close at 4,362.32 points, in contrast to Wednesday’s 4,289.36 points.
Yesterday, the price advancers were led by Nipco Plc, which chalked up N31.79 to close at N349.76 per unit versus the preceding day’s N317.97 per unit. Okitipupa Plc gained N18.00 to end at N298.00 per share versus the previous session’s N280.00 per share, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc went up by N7.11 to N86.79 per unit from N79.68 per unit.
On the flip side, Nitrox Industrial Gases Plc crumbled by 32 Kobo to close at N21.09 per share compared with the N21.41 per share it closed at midweek, and Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 25 Kobo to N2.51 per unit from N2.76 per unit.
During the session, the value of securities traded by investors went down by 86.7 per cent to N10.9 million from the preceding session’s N82.9 million, and the volume of securities dropped 84.9 per cent to 10.9 million units from the previous 82.9 million, while the number of deals grew by 84.2 per cent to 35 deals from 19 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, trailed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 68.4 million units exchanged for N4.7 billion.
GNI Plc was also the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited further suffered a 0.64 per cent decline on Thursday as the bears tightened their grip on the bourse.
For the second straight session, all the key sectors of Customs Street pointed south, with the energy counter down by 5.22 per cent. The insurance index slumped by 2.59 per cent, the banking space depreciated by 0.28 per cent, and the consumer goods segment moderated by 0.06 per cent, while the industrial goods sector was flat, though with a marginal fall.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) contracted by 1,493.71 points to 233,580.83 points from 235,074.54 points, and the market capitalisation retreated by N959 billion to N149.888 trillion from N150.847 trillion.
Investor sentiment remained weak after a negative market breadth index, as there were 21 price gainers and 34 price losers.
Aradel and Deap Capital went down by 10.00 per cent each to N1,575.00 and N4.05, respectively. Trans-Nationwide Express fell by 9.90 per cent to N3.64, Regency Alliance slipped by 9.57 per cent to N85 Kobo, and C&I Leasing dipped by 9.48 per cent to N28.12.
Conversely, Red Star Express grew by 9.60 per cent to N24.55, Legend Internet expanded by 9.09 per cent to N6.00, Neimeth appreciated by 7.10 per cent to N8.30, Abbey Mortgage Bank rose by 5.45 per cent to N8.70, and Ellah Lakes improved by 4.65 per cent to N9.00.
Yesterday, market participants traded 393.7 million equities valued at N19.2 billion in 45,813 deals compared with the 488.1 million equities worth N20.9 billion transacted in 46,239 deals recorded a day earlier, implying a shortfall in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 19.34 per cent, 8.13 per cent, and 0.92 per cent, respectively.
The most active stock for the session was Access Holdings with a turnover of 39.1 million units worth N896.2 million, Chams traded 24.5 million units valued at N96.5 million, Fidelity Bank sold 24.1 million units for N436.9 million, Sterling Holdings exchanged 23.8 million units valued at N182.2 million, and Zenith Bank transacted 18.9 million units worth N2.1 billion.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism10 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking8 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy3 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn