APA – Lagos (Nigeria) The International Monetary Fund’s report that stalled per-capita growth, poverty and high food insecurity have exacerbated the ongoing cost-of-living crisis in Nigeria is one of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Monday.
The Punch reports that the International Monetary Fund has said stalled per-capita growth, poverty and high food insecurity have exacerbated the ongoing cost-of-living crisis in Nigeria.
The report came amid rising inflation, exchange crisis, weak economic growth and business shutdowns.
The global lender said this in a new report titled ‘IMF Executive Board Concludes Post Financing Assessment with Nigeria.’
According to the report, low revenue collection has hampered the provision of services and public investment.
It noted that headline inflation reached 27 percent year-on-year in October (food inflation 32 per cent), reflecting the effects of fuel subsidy removal, exchange rate depreciation, and poor agricultural production in the country.
The report read in part, “Nigeria faces a difficult external environment and wide-ranging domestic challenges. External financing (market and official) is scarce, and global food prices have surged, reflecting the repercussions of conflict and geo-economic fragmentation.
“Per-capita growth in Nigeria has stalled, poverty and food insecurity are high, exacerbating the cost-of-living crisis. Low reserves and very limited fiscal space constrain the authorities’ option space. Against this backdrop, the authorities’ focus on restoring macroeconomic stability and creating conditions for sustained, high and inclusive growth is appropriate.”
The newspaper says that Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited has said that it has completed the supply of 475,000 barrels of crude oil to the Port Harcourt Refining Company Limited.
The SPDC said this was in furtherance of the Federal Government’s commitment to increase domestic refining capacity and make petroleum products more readily available in the country.
A statement by Shell Nigeria’s Media Relations Manager, Abimbola Essien-Nelson, on Monday disclosed that the company, “through its Bonny Oil & Gas Terminal has completed the supply of over 475,000bbls of crude oil to the Port Harcourt Refining Company Limited.”
According to Essien-Nelson, BOGT resumed the supply last week after a prolonged outage of over five years, during which time the Port Harcourt refinery underwent rehabilitation and integrity activities on its supply pipeline from Bonny Oil & Gas Termina.
Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria and Managing Director, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, Dr Osagie Okunbor, had said, “Teams from BOGT and PHRC worked through intensive preparations, collaboration, and dedication to make the project successful.
“This is indeed a significant step in the nation’s renewed efforts to utilise key infrastructures to assure the steady supply of products from the refining company to the Nigerian market.”
Okunbor added, “Future supplies from BOGT would be guided by the demand for the product.”
The Guardian reports that the United Kingdom’s Minister for Business and Trade, Kemi Badenoch, has arrived in Nigeria to begin a three-day visit today.
According to a statement by the British High Commission, the visit would deepen the UK-Nigeria partnership.
During her stay, the minister would hold talks with her Nigeria counterparts and other key government officials on issues of mutual benefit to both countries, The Guardian was informed.
Last August, the UK former Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, was in the country for an official visit with follow-up talks on defence and security collaboration between the two countries.
Following the former Foreign Secretary’s visit to Nigeria and last week’s UK-Nigeria Security and Defence Talks, Minister Badenoch’s visit will take forward ongoing efforts by both countries to boost the UK-Nigeria trade relationship and unlock new investment opportunities, the statement by the High Commission said.
While in Nigeria, Badenoch and the Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Nigeria, Helen Grant, will have meetings with the federal government, state governors as well as British and Nigerian business leaders as well as investors.
The minister will through the meeting explore current and potential investment and trade activities from education to infrastructure and energy projects, with the prospects of creating thousands of jobs.
Badenoch is looking at further strengthening the UK-Nigeria partnership, removing barriers to trade and investment, growing business between the two countries, and ensuring the British business community is more accessible to Nigerians who wish to do business there.
Commenting on her visit to Nigeria, British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Dr Richard Montgomery, was quoted as saying: “Nigeria is one of the UK’s most important partners in Africa. We are committed to helping Nigeria unlock new investment opportunities, supporting more UK and international investment through the City of London, and thereby creating jobs in both our countries.
“Recent big and bold reforms by the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Central Bank of Nigeria are boosting optimism amongst international investors that the country is on the right path and are creating the conditions for growth.”
The newspaper says that Nigeria’s Minister of Budget and National Planning, Atiku Bagudu, yesterday, highlighted that challenges facing agriculture go beyond insecurity to include high cost of fuel.
During a session with the Senate Committees on Finance, Appropriation, Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions, warned of five councils where 70 per cent of their assigned land might not be cultivated due to fuel cost.
His words: “From our perspectives, particularly from Budget and Planning, there are places today in about 18 states in the country where you can still plant rice for the dry season farming, including the constituency of chairman of the National Planning (Commission). In five Local Governments, where care is not taken, not for reasons of insecurity, 70 per cent of the planted area might not be cultivated because of fuel cost.”
He said the same thing obtains in Senator Adamu Aliero’s constituency and a few other places.
The immediate past governor of Kebbi State added: “So, balancing of the reforms and ensuring necessary measures have to be urgently implemented for impact and benefit.
His Agriculture and Food Security counterpart, Abubakar Kiyari, said said f food security affordability are being challeged.
He attributed the first challenge to COVID19, which impacted on agriculture and all other sectors.
At the same time, the minister acknowledged that the 2021 flooding, as well the currency redesign of 2022 and 2023 negatively impacted harvest.
GIK/APA