Economy
NCDMB to Complete Second Bayelsa Oil and Gas Park July
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has commenced the construction of phase two of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Parks Scheme (NOGAPS) situated in Emeyal-1, Ogbialand, Bayelsa State.
At a townhall meeting last week, Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Mr Simbi Kesiye Wabote, said the 25 megawatts independent power plant (IPP) being constructed in partnership with the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) will supply electricity to the park and other dedicated facilities when completed in July 2019.
He explained that the contract for new phase of Bayelsa NOGAPS was approved by the Federal Executive Council, which underlines President Mohammed Buhari’s commitment to ensure comprehensive development of the Niger Delta region, spur the incubation of manufacturing of oil equipment in-country to generate employment for young people.
He stated that the main purpose of the townhall meeting was “to formally inform stakeholders that we have secured Federal Government’s approval to award the contract for the construction of roads and drainage system in furtherance of the development plan of the industrial park.“ The new phase of the project would include the construction of pavements, walkways, parking lots, concrete-lined drainages, service ducts amongst others, he said.
Mr Wabote thanked the community stakeholders for the success so far recorded in the first phase of the project, adding that “it is due to the support so far received on the sand-filling and fencing works that gives us the confidence to continue to the next phase of the project development.”
He underscored the need for continued support of the stakeholders as the project is meant to bring progress and jobs to their area.
He added that “I expect utmost cooperation from all as you play your roles and be part of history that will place your community on the map of oil and gas manufacturing activities. Such roles include checkmating any individual or group that wants to derail this wonderful opportunity from coming to fruition in your community.”
The Executive Secretary confirmed that O.K. Isokariari & Sons won the bid for the 2nd phase of the NOGAPS project and canvassed for maximum support for the contractor to enhance timely completion of the project.
He stated that the contract made provision for hiring of a minimum of 80 percent of all ‘unskilled labour’ from the host and immediate communities for the project execution, a minimum of 50 percent of the semi-skilled and 20 percent of the skilled labour requirements, except where there is no response from the communities to such advertised positions.
The NCDMB boss also indicated that community suppliers would participate in the supply of sand, granite, water, fuel, and other construction supplies to be determined by the contractor and they would be subject to the quality required and fair market price.
He charged the contractor to ensure safety and security at the site and promote cordial and harmonious relationship with the communities. The firm is also expected to deliver on time, within budget and to the specified quality. “We have there two cardinal objectives in this project. The first is to maximize the participation and employment of persons from the communities in the project. The second is to ensure that the project is successfully completed on schedule.”
Further scopes lined up for the development of the 25 hectares industrial park include the provision of electrical and water utilities, warehouses, manufacturing shop floors, factories, capacity building centre, hostels, administrative block, mini estate, security posts, fire station, and other facilities.
Providing insight on the NOGAPS concept, the Executive Secretary stated that the oil and gas park “fits perfectly into our mantra to domicile and domesticate oil and gas activities in-country. A key benefit to highlight is that about 2,000 jobs are projected to be created when this park is in full operation in addition to serving as capacity development center and on-the-job training hub for our youths. There is no doubt that this project will positively impact Bayelsa State in general and the Ogbialand/ Emeyal-1 community in particular.”
The Obanobhan 111 of Ogbia Kingdom, King Dumaro Charles-Owaba suggested the setting up of a monitoring committee to be composed of representatives NCDMB and the community stakeholders, which would liaise with the Board and the contractor as well as provide members of the communities updates on the project.
Other stakeholders who spoke at the meeting promised a conducive environment for the project while imploring the contractor to avail them ample opportunities to participate in the execution.
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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