Nigeria: Press spotlights FID on $25bn Nigeria-Morocco pipeline, others

The report that the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari has said that the Final Investment Decision for the $25bn Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline Project will be made in December 2024 is one of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Wednesday.
The Punch reports that the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari has said that the Final Investment Decision for the $25bn Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline Project will be made in December 2024.
Kyari made the disclosure while speaking during a Leadership Dialogue Session at the ongoing CERAWeek Conference in Houston, United States, on Tuesday.
According to him, the project, which is at an advanced stage, will create a pipeline that will pass through thirteen African countries to Europe.
Kyari stated that the NNPC Ltd’s focus is to build its capacity to deliver gas to the domestic market and beyond.
He pointed out that as a gas-endowed country, Nigeria must utilise its abundant gas resources to provide the alternative fuel that it needs.
“We understand the arguments towards attaining energy transition, but the cheapest way to achieve that is through gas. We see clear opportunities that gas creates. Today we are building a number of trunklines and other gas infrastructure that will supply gas to a number of gas networks,” Kyari said.
Kyari also said Nigeria was fighting the menace of crude oil theft frontally and through the joint efforts of government and private security agencies, there have been some reasonable improvements in the restoration of the nation’s crude oil production.
The newspaper says that Dangote Group, Nestle Nigeria and MTN Nigeria, alongside four of Nigeria’s most capitalised companies, lost N1.7tn to the depreciation of the naira in 2023.
According to an analysis of their financial statements published on the website of the Nigerian Exchange Group, the listed firms incurred significant losses in the 2023 financial year, largely due to forex-related losses.
Nigeria’s largest conglomerate, Dangote Industries, in its 2023 financial statement said it incurred N164bn FX loss in 2023. The conglomerate said the loss was primarily due to its operations in other countries.
Another manufacturing giant, BUA, also reported a forex loss of N69.9bn. This represented a significant increase from the N5.5bn it recorded in 2022.
The firm said, “The Company is exposed to foreign exchange risk arising from future commercial transactions and some recognised assets and liabilities to the US dollar and euro.
“Management minimises the effect of the currency exposure by buying foreign currencies when rates are relatively low and using them to settle bills when due. The company is primarily exposed to the US dollar and Euro.”
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Breweries, in its audited 2023 financial report, recorded a loss of N153bn, a sharp contrast to the N26.3bn recorded in 2022. This means that the company’s loss increased by 83 per cent in 12 months.
The Vanguard newspaper reports that the Senate has mandated its committees on Army, Defence, Air Force and Navy to investigate the March 14 killing of 16 Nigerian Army personnel in Okuama Community of Delta.
This followed a point of order raised by Sen. Abdulaziz Yar’adua during Tuesday’s plenary.
The motion was tagged “The killing of Nigerian Army Personnel in Okuama Community, Delta State and the Necessity for an Urgent Investigation.”
The upper chamber urged the Federal Government to ensure that those responsible for the heinous crime were identified and apprehended.
It added that they should be “brought to face the full consequences of their action through a fair and transparent legal process”.
Raising Orders 41 and 51 of the Senate Standing Rules, Yar’adua, who is Chairman, Senate Committee on Army, described the incidence as a serious threat to national security and the stability of the nation.
“The recent tragic incidence in Okuama Community, Ughelli South LGA of Delta on Thursday, March 14 resulting in the loss of a commanding officer, 2 majors, a captain and 12 soldiers during a peace mission.
“This highlights a serious threat to national security and stability of the nation.
“The tragic incidence underscores the urgent need for justice and accountability without resorting to retribution,” Yar’adua added.
He lamented that the understaffing of the Nigeria Police has made the military to take over internal policing duties such as organised crime, oil theft, communal crisis, kidnappings, banditry and other policing responsibilities.
The newspaper says that Zenith Bank Plc has announced the foremost banker, Dr. Adaora Umeoji, as its new Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.
This appointment was disclosed on Tuesday, in a statement signed by the company secretary, Michael Otu, which was filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited.
Umeoji’s appointment will take effect from June 1, 2024, following the expiration of office of the current GMD, Dr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu, on May 31, 2024.
“Dame (Dr) Adaora Umeoji is the first female GMDCEO since the inception of the bank, and her appointment is consistent with the bank’s executive transition tradition, succession plan, and strategy of grooming leaders from within,” part of the statement read.
Before this appointment, Umeoji was the Deputy Managing Director of the bank since October 28, 2016, and with nearly 30 years of banking experience of which 26 years has been with Zenith Bank.
She is an alumnus of Harvard Business School, where she attended the Advanced Management Programme.
Umeoji is also an alumnus of Columbia Business School with a Certificate in the Global Banking Program.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Jos, a Bachelor’s degree in accounting, and a first-class honours degree in law from Baze University, Abuja.
She holds a Master of Laws from the University of Salford, United Kingdom, a Master in Business Administration from the University of Calabar, and also has a doctorate in business administration from Apollos University, USA.
Umeoji also holds a Certificate in Economics for Business from the prestigious MIT Sloan School of Management, USA, and has attended various management programmes in renowned Universities around the world, including the strategic thinking and Management programme at Wharton Business School, USA.
GIK/APA