The approval by the Nigerian government for the deployment of the Fifth Generation Network, otherwise known as 5G for the country and the production of 635 films by Nollywood in the second quarter of 2021 are some of the leading stories in Nigerian newspapers on Thursday.
ThisDay reports that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the Fifth Generation Network, otherwise known as 5G for the nation.
The Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, who disclosed this yesterday while speaking with newsmen at the end of the weekly FEC meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari, also revealed that the Council in approving the 5G took cognisance of the report of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) that pronounced it safe to human health.
In support of the move by the federal government, telecommunication operators (Telcos), under the aegis of the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), yesterday said Nigeria was ready in terms of infrastructure for 5G rollout across the country.
Pantami also revealed that the radiation of the 5G Policy is lower than that of 4G currently in use by Nigerians while the deployment of the policy which is with immediate effect will be carried out in phases between now and 2025.
The Minister listed the benefits of the policy to include higher data rate, larger capacity, lower latency while it will also open many opportunities economically, academically and render necessary support to the security agencies in areas where they need high quality frequency.
Pantami also explained that it took government close to two years to come up with the 5G Policy because of the initial resistance by stakeholders.
The Vanguard says that the number of movies produced by Nollywood in the second quarter of 2021 jumped to 635 from 416 in the first quarter, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), says.
NBS published the figure on Wednesday in its “Nollywood Movies Production Data for Quarter Two, 2021” on its website.
According to the publication, the figure indicates a growth of 53.93 per cent Quarter on Quarter and a 1.44 per cent Year on Year growth over the 626 movies produced in the second quarter of 2020.
In its analysis by location, it said that Lagos State had the highest number of movies produced with 234 closely followed by Abuja with 196 movies and Onitsha with 174 movies.
However, Jos had nine, Kano six, while Benin and Port-Harcourt recorded the least with seven movies each.
The bureau said that in arriving at the figures, data was provided by the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB), verified and validated by NBS.
The Punch reports that Nigeria recorded a trade deficit of N1.87tn in the second quarter of the year despite recording 111.32 percent in crude oil exports.
However, statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics in Abuja on Wednesday showed that the country’s deficit improved within the period. In the first quarter of the year, the country’s trade deficit stood at N3.94tn.
The Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics report for Q2 2021 by the NBS showed that crude oil, Nigeria’s largest export, rose to N4.08tn from N1.93tn in the first quarter of the year. According to the NBS, crude exports constituted 80.29 per cent of the country’s total exports, higher than 66.38 per cent in Q1, while non-crude exports represented 19.71 percent during the same period, lower than 33.62 percent it occupied in Q1.
In the second quarter, the total merchandise trade stood at N12.03tn representing a 23.28 percent increase over the N9.76tn recorded in the first quarter and an 88.71 percent increase compared to Q2,2020.
“This increase resulted from the sharp increase in export value during the quarter under review,” the NBS stated. The export component of this trade was valued at N5.08tn or 42.22 percent; the import component was valued at N6.95tn or 57.78 percent.
Guardian says that while still struggling to effectively utilise the current 206 trillion standard cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas reserves, standing at about 206 trillion standard cubic feet, Nigeria, yesterday, said gas reserves will increase to 230 trillion cubic feet by 2030.
The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), yesterday in Abuja, disclosed plans to work with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in adding 14 billion barrels to existing 36.9 billion crude oil reserves.
Increasing the reserves have remained elusive as the country repeatedly failed targets of boosting the reserves given the elusive state of the sector but with new legislation— the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), there are indications that increasing the reserves might be feasible.
Although investment in exploration and production is shrinking drastically as the world moves from hydrocarbons, Nigeria is banking on a 30 per cent profit share from the state-owned NNPC to finance such projects.
Speaking during a courtesy visit by the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mele Kyari, Director of DPR, Sarki Auwalu said field analysis already showed that the country would prove new oil and gas finds.
The newspaper reports that the Federal Government has said that with the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $450 billion and a yearly budget of $35 billion, a huge opportunity exists to enhance resources of the private sector for the government’s development goals.
The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Simbi Wabote, said this during a webinar series organised by Innovation, Change and Entrepreneurship (ICE) Hub in collaboration with the Centre for the Study of Economies of Africa (CSEA), where he spoke on ‘Mainstreaming private sector collaboration for public sector reforms: challenges and opportunities’.
Noting that public-private partnerships (PPP) have been proven to achieve sustainable development, he said that they are also veritable tools that could be used to drive inclusive and participatory development.
He encouraged private sector businesses to identify infrastructure development opportunities and partner with government agencies to bring about the much-needed development in the country. He said it was a good thing that Nigeria recognised the importance of PPP in the establishment of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), stating that it demonstrates FG’s effort in mainstreaming the PPP model in the country.
However, Wabote listed weak institutions, corruption and high inflation of project costs as challenges in utilising the PPP models.
The Sun says that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has expressed its willingness to collaborate with Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on financing options in the near term.
It gave this indication during a courtesy visit of the NGX management to NNPC led by its Chairman, Abubakar Balarabe Mahmoud, recently in Lagos. Mahmoud stated that as an exchange, the NGX is always interested in developing strong relations with notable institutions such as NNPC, adding that it was pleased with some of the recent developments it has seen.
“We would therefore, like to congratulate you on the successful signing of the Petroleum Industry Act which we are confident will transform the sector and in turn, open up opportunities for both NGX and NNPC to explore going forward”.
He said. Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer, NGX, Temi Popoola, lauded the management of NNPC for the remarkable efforts at improving transparency, accountability and performance at the NNPC.
Popoola further noted that a potential listing of the NNPC on the nation’s bourse will have tremendous positive benefits for the Nigerian capital market and will go a long way in deepening the current transformation that is occurring at the NNPC.
GIK/APA