The plan by Nigeria and Israel to sign a bilateral agreement in the area of methanol fuel production technology and the outstanding debt owed Nigeria by Benin and Niger Republic for electricity supply to the two countries in 2019 are the leading stories in Nigerian newspapers on Tuesday.
The Punch reports that Nigeria and Israel are to sign a bilateral agreement in the area of methanol fuel production technology.
According to a statement by the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology (FMST) in Abuja on Monday, the preliminary agreement was struck when the Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria, Shimon Shoshan, paid a courtesy visit to the FMST.
Nigeria’s Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, said Nigeria was determined to explore and develop the methanol chemical fuel technology as it was key to the economic diversification drive of the country.
The newspaper also said that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said all successful applicants that have submitted their account details for the COVID-19 Targeted Credit Facility should expect to be credited within 48 hours.
The report said that the Director, Corporate Communications of CBN, Isaac Okorafor, disclosed this in a statement on Monday. The applicants are households and small and medium enterprises hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the statement,.Okoroafor advised all successful applicants whose accounts had not been credited to visit the website of NIRSAL Microfinance Bank and input their account details.
ThisDay says that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has disclosed that a total of N32.1 billion is the outstanding debt owed Nigeria by Benin and Niger Republic for electricity supply to the two countries in 2019.
It stated that four reports obtained by THISDAY for the four quarters of 2019 suggested that the countries that get electricity supply from Nigeria on a diplomatic trading framework, actually paid nothing to the country within the period.
According to the NERC, all the supply invoices sent to the countries through their national electricity corporations – Societe Nigerienne d’electricite (NIGELEC) and Communaute Electrique du Benin (CEB) by the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) and Market Operator (MO) were yet to be paid for.
The Nation says that Olam Nigeria has expressed its commitment to make the country the agricultural hub on the continent. It added that it would produce a total of 240,000 metric tons (Mt) of rice in the new farming season.
Olam Nigeria, one of the leading players in the agriculture value chain, said it would continue to cultivate its 5000 hectares, which produce 40,000 metric tonnes of paddy.
Olam, according to the report, said it was working with more than 20,000 direct outgrower famers and sensitising more farmers to plant rice and hand-holding them with training and input in five states of Nigeria.
The Guardian reports that with crude oil trading at around $35 per barrel, untapped solid minerals offer Nigeria the opportunity to diversify and earn more foreign exchange (forex), as gold currently trades at 1,683.65 per ounce.
It notes that the Nigerian government had, over the years, talked about diversifying the economy but not much has been done to ensure proper implementation.
With the COVID-19 pandemic altering energy balance and demand for oil, many countries have been forced to consider other revenue resources to contain falling oil prices.
Nigeria, given its current economic challenges can harness the potential in its solid minerals resources to salvage the country from impending economic disaster.
The report added that data from the Ministry of Solid Minerals and Development show that there are gold deposits in Abuja, Abia, Bauchi, Cross River, Edo, Niger, Sokoto, Kebbi, Oyo, Kogi, Zamfara, Osun and Kaduna states.
GIK/APA