The high cost of producing crude oil by some oil companies in Nigeria and the investment of N54.35bn of the total assets under the Contributory Pension Scheme in infrastructure are the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Thursday
The Punch reports that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has said some of its partners are producing a barrel of crude oil in Nigeria at $93, a development it described as unacceptable.
The report said that the Group Managing Director, NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari, who disclosed this on Wednesday, said many oil companies operating in Nigeria had personnel costs that had become unsustainable under the current market realities.
It recalled that last week, the Senate Committee on Finance condemned in strong terms the explanation by the NNPC that it spent $21 to produce a barrel of oil.
The newspaper also says the Pension Funds Administrators have invested N54.35bn of the total assets under the Contributory Pension Scheme in infrastructure as of the end of April.
It added that the figures obtained from the National Pension Commission on Wednesday revealed that the total assets under the scheme stood at N10.57tn.
Under the Pension Reform Act 2014, the PFAs are allowed to invest the accumulating funds in different investment portfolios, which are in the custody of the Pension Fund Custodians.
The Nation reports that the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) is set to generate a minimum of 2,000mw of electricity from renewables this year.
In a report on its website, the agency assured of guaranteed price and access to grid as well as feed-in tariff for solar, wind, biomass and small hydro.
Apart from the Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) based on plant life cycle of 20 years, electricity distribution companies (DisCos) are mandated to procure minimum of 1000MW, representing 50 percent of the projected renewable sourced electricity.
The Nation also reports that MTN Nigeria Communications Plc has notified the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the investing public that it has successfully raised N100 billion through the issuance of Commercial Paper (CP).
The telco company stated that the CP was in two series, while adding that it priced the Series I 180 CP at an effective yield of 4.90 per cent for a N20 billion size, while the Series II 270 day CP sized at N80 billion was said to have cleared at an effective rate of 5.9 per cent.
According to a statement from the Company Secretary, Uto Ukpanah, MTN had initially set out to issue up to N50 billion under the N100 billion CP Programme but, at the conclusion of the book build, the CP Issuance was 400 percent subscribed.
ThisDay says that the Federation of Agricultural Commodities Association of Nigeria (FACAN) on Wednesday declared its unwavering support and confidence in the embattled President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina.
The association said it believed that the ongoing persecution of Adesina, concerning the allegations of ethical misconducts made against him by a group of whistle-blowers, were mere attempts by vested interests to discredit the person and office of the AfDB president.
Speaking at a media briefing yesterday, FACAN Deputy President, Mr. Sheriff Balogun, alongside other leadership of relevant commodities associations, said Adesina’s achievements as Nigeria’s minister of agriculture and rural development as well as his bold and unprecedented reforms at the AfDB since 2015 were exemplary.
He said his visionary leadership has in the course of five years ensured that the AfDB is strategically positioned both globally and regionally to steer the development agenda of Africa.
GIK/APA