| The Punch says that daily crude oil production in Nigeria dropped by 38,000 barrels in July to 1.37 million barrels, a new report by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries showed on Wednesday.
The organization, in its Monthly Oil Report for August, said the total crude oil production by the 13-member group averaged 23.17 million bpd in July 2020, higher by 0.98 million bpd month-on-month, according to secondary sources.
OPEC and its allies, known as OPEC+, agreed in April to an output cut to offset a slump in demand and prices caused by the coronavirus crisis.
They decided to cut supply by a record 9.7 million bpd for May and June but the deal was extended in July by one month. The group said any member that did not implement 100 percent of its production cuts in May and June would make extra reductions from July to September to compensate for their failings.
The Sun reports that National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and the Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP) have notified the Nigerian Government, employers in the industry and the public that airport operations might become seriously constrained as a result of actions it would take in defence of its members who have been laid off from work.
At a joint press conference in Lagos on Wednesday, the General Secretary of NUATE, Ocheme Aba, the Deputy General Secretary of ATSSSAN, Frances Akinjole, and the Secretary General of ANAP, Abdulrazaq Saidu, claimed that aviation’s industrial space has become ‘severely fouled by extreme wickedness to employees, disrespect to labour laws and utter disregard to labour relations practices by employers and government’ and that there is a compelling need for them to take actions against the assaults on the rights of aviation workers throughout Nigeria.
Among the issues enumerated, the unions claimed that more than 80 percent of the aviation workforce in the private sector who have been furloughed for the past four months remain in penury while another chunk of workers have been coping with half or less salary within the period but said that these same workers are expected to return to work until the companies are able to pay salaries.
The newspaper says that the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association (NALPGAM), a body of professionals and investors in the Liquefied Petroleum Gas(LPG), popularly called cooking has floated a resource centre to boost capacity building and safety in the industry.
The Director General of the centre, Mr. Gbenga Falusi, in an interview with Daily Sun said the essence of the initiative was to bridge the knowledge gap in the industry.
Falusi, who is also the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Greenfield Integrated Energy Services Limited, said the centre would also serve as a rallying point for stakeholders and would-be investors to source valuable information that could help them in investment decisions and building of their reservoir of knowledge in LPG.
The LPG expert also hinted that part of the plan for the centre was to conduct periodic training for those working as operators in the LPG plant.
The Guardian reports that the Nigerian government has inaugurated 11 projects in different parts of the country aimed at boosting digital economy and digital skills.
The projects include Emergency Communication Centres, Tertiary Institution Knowledge Centre, Information Technology Incubation Park, Remodelled National Mail Exchange Centre, New Neighbourhood Post Office, and Information Technology Capacity Building Centre among others.
The government has also approved exemption for e-Commerce all over the country even as it claims e-Nigeria was very useful in most states during the COVID-19 lockdown. Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Isa Ali Pantami, who inaugurated the projects virtually, said they are relevant to the government’s three agenda in the areas of security, economic diversification, and anti-corruption.
He explained that the Emergency Communication Centres are part of the Nigeria Communication Act 2003, and will support security institutions in the country in efforts to ensure security, while the IT Incubation Centres will promote and support diversification of the economy.
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