The report that the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja, Nasarawa, Kogi, parts of Edo, Niger and Kaduna states have been thrown into darkness following the industrial action embarked upon by electricity workers is one of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Tuesday.
The Guardian reports that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) of Abuja, Nasarawa, Kogi, parts of Edo, Niger and Kaduna states have been thrown into darkness the following industrial action embarked upon by electricity workers.
The areas are mainly under the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) Plc, where impact of account escrowing and leadership crisis allegedly impinge on workers’ welfare and optimal operations.
While the office was practically deserted in the early hour of yesterday, the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) said the bulk power for the distribution company (DisCo) could not be delivered, as energy evacuation from injection substations across AEDC franchise area had been disrupted.
The Deputy National President, Nigeria Labour Congress and Secretary General of National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), Joe Ajero, did not take his phone calls, but The Guardian gathered that the strike was necessitated by pension-related issues, liabilities and non-release of intervention fund by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) among others.
While workers were denied entrance, it was learnt that the intervention of the Minister of Power, Abubakar Aliyu, would provide a temporary solution.
Privatised in 2013, the power sector, aside from failing to perform, has been in financial crisis, requiring perpetual intervention funds from the Federal Government.
The Punch says that the International Monetary Fund has said that rising food prices is the major factor fueling inflation in Nigeria and other Sub-Saharan African countries.
According to the body, inflation is rising around the world, but because food accounts for about 40 percent of the SSA’s consumption basket, it plays a major determining role in inflation.
In a blog post on Monday, the IMF said, “Food inflation increased throughout 2019, on average, across 25 countries in the region where monthly food price data are available. “After remaining stable around seven to eight percent (year over year) since the beginning of the pandemic, food inflation started to rise again from April this year to some 10 percent in October.
The chart shows how food inflation is outpacing and contributing to the pick-up in overall consumer price inflation in sub-Saharan Africa, which rose to about eight per cent in October, up from around five percent in 2019.”
According to the IMF, the recent increase in food inflation is attributed to rising oil prices (which raise fertilizer prices and transportation costs), droughts and export restrictions imposed by some major food exporters, and stockpiling in some countries.
The newspaper reported that Nigeria recorded a negative trade balance of N8.9tn, between January and September, 2021, data from the National Bureau of Statistics have shown.
Within this period, total foreign trade stood at N35.09tn, comprising N22tn imports and N13.1tn exports, leading to N8.9tn trade deficit.
A breakdown of the trade data by quarters shows that Nigeria’s total merchandise trade stood at N9.76tn in the first quarter of the year representing 6.99 percent increase over the value recorded in Q4 2020.
The export component of this trade stood at N2.91tn, representing 29.79 percent of the total trade in Q1 while import was valued at N6.85tn representing 70.21 percent.
The higher level of imports over exports resulted in a trade deficit (in goods) of N3.94tn in Q1 2021. The value of crude oil export stood at N1.93tn representing 66.38 percent of the total export recorded in Q1, 2021, while non-crude oil export accounted for 33.62 per cent of the total export.
Data from the Bureau showed that majority of the goods imported during this period originated from China, valued at N2tn, followed by the Netherlands (N726.09bn), the United States (N608.12bn), India (N589.1bn), and Belgium (N238.5bn).
The Sun says that Vice President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has said that the Federal Government investments in the transportation system especially in the areas of rail, road, air and maritime sectors are aimed at achieving the potential transport hub status.
Osinbajo who chaired the 3rd National Transportation Summit of the Chartered Institute of Nigeria (CIoTA) with the theme, “Regulating the Transport Sector In Nigeria:
The State Of The Art And The Years Ahead,” in Abuja yesterday, said that there cannot be economic development without transportation, adding that transportation cannot serve its purpose unless it is available in a safe, affordable and secure environment. Osinbajo who was represented by the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi said, “This is why CIoTA’s theme for the year 2021 summit, Regulating the Transport Sector in Nigeria: the State of the Art and the Years Ahead” is of special interest to the present administration.
The theme and the sub-themes of the summit are in tune with government’s thinking and actions, as can be seen in the massive transport infrastructure developments in the rail, road, maritime and air subsectors.
The newspaper reports that the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) has concluded arrangements to publish the full list of its individuals, institutions as well as their Directors on its Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) portfolio in national newspapers.
The Chairman Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions, Senator Uba Sani (Kaduna Central) had last week directed AMCON to publish again, the names of all debtors including prominent Nigerians frustrating the effort of AMCON at fulfilling its debt recovery mandate.
But as a responsible corporate citizen, the management of AMCON led by Ahmed Lawan Kuru, may have given the debtors thirty days from December 6, 2021, to January 5, 2021, to come forward with a repayment proposal or risk the embarrassment of having their names in the media space as recalcitrant debtors as directed by the 9th National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
AMCON is saddled with the statutory responsibility of recovering all delinquent debts owed it through the purchase of Eligible Bank Assets (EBAs) from Eligible Financial Institutions (EFIs)in the different phases of EBA purchases when the Federal Government established the Corporation in 2010.
ThisDay says that the Divisional Head, Agribusiness, Natural Resources and Project Development, Heritage Bank Plc., Mr. Olugbenga Awe, has stated that it is working with 30 seed companies to boost seed production in Nigeria.
According to Awe, the fact that the federal government, through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), imported 140,000 metric tonnes of seeds from Mexico at a staggering amount was an indication of the huge gap in the nation’s seed space.
He added that its seed multiplication exercise is aimed at making Nigeria self-sufficient in seed production.
Awe said: “Going forward, what we are trying to achieve from the seed multiplication exercise is for us to be self-sufficient in seed production and stop the importation of seeds.
“As a bank, we are working with the CBN, the Lake Chad Research Institute (LCRI), and a couple of seed companies to multiply seeds. Our farmers can now be buying seeds from local seed companies in Nigeria as this would reduce pressure on Nigeria’s foreign exchange market.”
GIK/APA