The investment of N55.25bn under the Nigerian Contributory Pension Scheme in infrastructure as of the end of May 2020 and the Nigerian Air Force partnership deal with Tranos Contracting Limited on the production of spare parts for its aircraft are some of the leading stories in Nigerian newspapers on Wednesday.
The Punch reports that Pension Funds Administrators have invested N55.25bn under the Contributory Pension Scheme in infrastructure as of the end of May, latest statistics from the National Pension Commission has revealed.
The commission stated this in its report titled ‘Summary of pension fund assets as at 31 May, 2020.
According to the statistics, the total assets under management by the operators stood at N10.79tn in the period under review.
The commission had stated in its last amended investment regulation the requirements to invest the funds in line with the provisions of Pension Reform Act, 2014. It stated that the purpose of the regulation was to provide uniform rules and standards for the investment of pension fund assets.
The newspaper says that the Nigerian Air Force has said it is looking to partner with Tranos Contracting Limited on the production of spare parts for its aircraft as part of efforts to boost local content.
The NAF disclosed this on Tuesday during a visit by a delegation, led by the Commandant, Air Force Institute of Technology, Air Vice Marshal Abdulganiyu Olabisi, to the company’s engineering and manufacturing facility in Lagos.
The Director, Public Relations and Information, NAF, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, said, “This visit to Tranos Contracting Limited is at the instance of the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar.
“It is in compliance with Executive Order Five of Mr President which focuses on local content in terms of procurement, and development of science, technology and innovation. “So, we are here to seek ways of collaborating with this company as we have done with other companies in developing indigenous solutions to our technological challenges as the Nigerian Air Force.”
The Sun reports that the downstream subsidiary of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), has fixed the ex-depot price of premium motor spirit (PMS), known as petrol at N138.62 per litre.
The PPMC disclosed this in a memo signed by its Manager, Sales, Mohammed Bello, in Abuja, on Tuesday. The ex-depot price is the price at which depot owners sell the commodity to retail outlets. It said that that the new price would come into effect from Aug. 5.
The PPMC also put the ex-coastal price of the commodity, which is the price at which the product is sold to depot owners, at N113.70 per litre. The ex-depot price for automotive gasoline oil (AGO), also known as diesel, was fixed at N160 per litre and N165 per litre, for depots in Lagos and Oghara respectively. It further fixed the ex-depot price for kerosene at N160 per litre.
The newspaper says that the West Africa Container Terminal (WACT), one of the leading container terminals in the country, has restated its commitment to deepening investment in Nigeria, particularly in increasing container handling capacities at the Onne Port.
WACT Managing Director, Aamir Mirza, who stated this during the company’s 20th anniversary celebration at Onne, Rivers State, said the need for further investment in cargo handling equipment is in response to the significant volume growth witnessed in the Eastern Nigerian market since the company started operations 20 years ago.
He said:“We are celebrating our achievements of the past 20 years. In year 2000, when we started, we did about 35,000 container moves. But last year, we did over 200,000 moves, so cargo volume has grown over the years. And recognising this growth, we are investing in this business.
“We are at that point where we will experience new changes. With more equipment coming in, the mode of operation will change, and we believe we are setting that up for the next 20 to 25 years so that we can serve our customers better in terms of service delivery, customer satisfaction and improved capacity.
The Nation newspaper reports that the Nigerian Computer Society (NC) on Tuesday urged manufacturers to leverage emerging technologies to boost production, lower cost and create jobs.
Its President, Prof. Adesina Sodiya, who spoke at a virtual meeting with reporters in Lagos ahead the group’s international conference scheduled for between August 11 and 13 with “Emerging Applications and Technologies for Industry 4.0 (EATI 2020) as theme,” said was chosen to provide the needed technological supports for industries in this modern society.
He said: “Industry 4.0 or the Fourth Industrial Revolution is simply about smart manufacturing. The technological components of industry 4.0 are full process and production line automation; intelligent control of cyber-physical systems; and adoption of Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, big data analytics, cloud computing, and machine learning.
“As a nation, our industries must leverage these technologies for enhanced profitability and economic well-being.”
The Guardian reports that barely 24 hours after Air Peace sacked 75 pilots, Bristow Helicopters yesterday fell in line, terminating the contract of over 100 pilots and engineers in its operations.
Some of the affected workers, in collaboration with the National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), had on Monday embarked on indefinite strike, picketing the airline office in Lagos over welfare issues and alleged infractions.
Apparently displeased with the actions, the management fired the majority of the staffers, including some expatriates, with an offer of three-month salary as redundancy compensation.
The workers had lately engaged the management over wage disparity, management’s proposal to suspend negotiation on Condition of Service (COS), alleged subversion of established terms of agreement with the workers, refusal to train qualified persons for Airline Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL), and failure to fully reimburse individuals who have successfully completed their ATPL through self-sponsorship.
GIK/APA