Nigerian press spotlights donation of unmanned ships to Nigeria by US firm, others

APA – Lagos (Nigeria)
The report that Swiftship, a military manufacturing company based in the United States of America, has donated two hi-tech unmanned water vessels to the Nigerian government is one of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Friday.
The punch reports that Swiftship, a military manufacturing company based in the United States of America, has donated two hi-tech unmanned water vessels to the Nigerian government.
The equipment is S2 and S3 Swift Sea Stalkers. The company donated during a recent visit by the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle.
According to a statement on Friday by the Ministry’s Director of Press, Henshaw Ogubike, the minister had gone to the USA to inspect the facilities of high-tech military-producing hardware companies in the country.
Presenting the unnamed vessels to President Bola Tinubu, the minister noted that the equipment would help to protect the maritime environment of the country as well as other areas.
He stated that the equipment would be deployed to the Niger Delta, Lake Chad region, and other maritime regions of the country.
The newspaper says that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited has revealed that test runs at the 60,000-bpd Port Harcourt refinery will be completed this month.
“Testing will conclude shortly, ensuring the refinery’s efficient operation. That phase will be completed this month,” Reuters quoted NNPC spokesperson, Femi Soneye, as saying.
Soneye added that the test run was a major step towards resuming operations five years after the plant was shut.
The state-owned oil company announced in December the mechanical completion of rehabilitation work on the Area-5 Plant of the facility.
It said the first phase of the plant had been completed, as the facility would start refining 60,000 barrels of crude oil daily after the Christmas break.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, had stated that the first phase of the PHRC was completed on December 20, 2023, adding that refined products’ production would commence after the Yuletide.
It is expected that once functional, alongside the Dangote Refinery which is expected to start oil refining this year, the facility will ease the pressure on the country’s foreign exchange.
The Guardian reports that the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has predicted a challenging year for businesses, especially during the first half. In its manufacturing outlook for the year, MAN’s Director-General, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, revealed that manufacturing growth rate nosedived to 0.48 per cent in Q3 2023 as against 2.4 in 2021, adding that the first half of this year would be challenging, with a lean possibility of recovery from the third quarter.
He, however, said the envisaged recovery is highly dependent on the deployment of policy stimulus supported with a synthesis of domestic growth driven, export focused and offensive trade strategies; which will promote resilience, steady growth and ensure that the sector gains meaningful traction in the later part of the year.
Adding that the sector is struggling globally, challenged by key macroeconomic variables and externalities, he said this has led to dwindling growth.
“This is evidenced by the manufacturing growth rates in China, USA, and South Africa. The World Bank reported that the manufacturing sector in China declined from 8.7 per cent in 2021 to 4.8 per cent in Q3 2023; in USA, the sector performance dwindled to -0.9 per cent in Q3 2023 from the 6.8 per cent recorded in 2021 while South Africa also recorded a decline to -0.17 in Q3 2023 from 6.7 per cent of 2021, similar to what we have all over Africa,” he said.
Drawing from likely economic dynamics and in the light of the aforementioned, he revealed that their projections for the sector this year include clarity on the actual and specific policy direction and priority areas of the current administration, especially around deepening industrialisation, and “we look forward to engaging Government in this regard.
Hopefully, Government will see the manufacturing sector as the key driver of sustained economic growth and give it the priority it deserves.
“In 2024, sectoral real growth is expected to hit about 3.2 per cent; contribution to the economy will most likely exceed 10 per cent and the Manufacturers’ CEOs Confidence Index is predicted to rise above 55 points thresholds by the end of Q4 2023. Average capacity utilisation will still hover around the 50 per cent threshold as the forex-related challenges and high inflation rate limiting manufacturing performance may linger until mid-year.”
The newspaper says that the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, disclosed this at a stakeholders’ forum organised by the Harvard Business School Association of Nigeria.
He stated that the country’s non-oil assets estimated to worth between N80trn and N100trn have not received adequate attention and as a result being mismanaged.
He said: “We found out that other than oil when you are talking about assets, some estimates, although still being worked on, show something in the region of N80 to N100trn scattered all over the place. We haven’t shown any care at all as a country about those assets such that they have been mismanaged.
Oyedele stressed the need for improved asset management and the potential benefits of selling underperforming assets to generate liquidity and stimulate economic growth.
He said: “Imagine that you become more efficient with a N100trn asset alone, even if you get a return of 10 per cent yearly, that’s easily N10 trn. If you cannot manage the asset well, then sell it, and get liquidity in.
“You need some of the FX liquidity and then the private sector becomes more productive not only with that stimulated economic activity, but they will pay taxes,” he said.
The chairman further disclosed the committee will unveil comprehensive tax reforms aimed at bolstering economic growth and easing the burden on businesses.
According to Oyedele, central to the reform agenda is the recognition of the challenges faced by businesses, particularly the pressure of taxes on working capital.
The chairman said businesses not liable to tax will be spared, aligning with the broader goal of fostering a balanced and conducive environment for economic growth.
He noted: “We have drafted a new tax regulation. The only reason why it hasn’t been published is that some of the things we included will amend the existing laws, so we put the amendment in the emergency bill waiting for the lawmakers to pass, so we can then issue the regulation.”
GIK/APA