The complaint by bakers under the aegis of the Premium Bread-Makers Association of Nigeria of harsh business environment triggered by rising energy costs and increasing forex rates has caused some of its members across the country to shut down their business operations is one of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Monday.
The Punch reports that bakers under the aegis of the Premium Bread-Makers Association of Nigeria have said a harsh business environment triggered by rising energy costs and increasing forex rates has caused some of its members across the country to shut down their business operations.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH, PBAN President, Emmanuel Onuorah, described the present situation as worrisome and imminently crippling for operators in the bread-making businesses segment.
He expressed concerns over what he called the lacklustre attitude of the government towards addressing the harsh operating environment faced by businesses.
He said, “Companies are shutting down their businesses as a result of the increase in the price of diesel. Some of my members shut down (their business premises) again this week. So many other companies are closing down.
“As we speak, operators in the sachet water business segment are on strike. They’ll likely increase the price of sachet water to N25 or N30. We don’t even know where this thing is tending towards. Bigger companies are closing because of operating costs. Businesses are going under.”
The newspaper says that Nigeria’s Super Eagles are fully concentrated on Tuesday’s FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 playoff duel with Ghana’s Black Stars, with the players determined to put up a performance that will earn Nigeria a seventh appearance at football’s biggest houseparty since her 1994 debut.
Super Eagles Captain, Ahmed Musa, made this known in an interview with NFF TV.
Nigeria have been at every FIFA World Cup finals since 1994, bar the 2006 edition in Germany, and reached the Round of 16 in USA 1994, France 1998 and Brazil 2014.
The last time both countries were involved in a FIFA World Cup qualifying was in 2001, when they finished 0-0 in Accra and Nigeria swept aside their visitors 3-0 in Port Harcourt in July 2001 to qualify for Korea/Japan.
Captain Ahmed Musa told thenff.com that “All the players, including myself, want to go to the World Cup. For me, it is very important because it could be my last World Cup. I enjoyed the last two finals that I participated in, Brazil 2014 and Russia 2018. I want to experience it again. Most of the players in the present squad have not been to the World Cup and they desire to be there.
“We all know it won’t be easy. Ghana will come here to do battle but we are ready for whatever they turn up with. I will not say more than that.”
The Guardian reports that nearly two years after the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited announced plans to reduce the cost of oil production to about $10 per barrel, this effort has been frustrated by recurring oil theft, spiking production costs to at least $32 a barrel.
With losses from pipeline vandalisation and theft overwhelming international oil companies (OICs), many are already moving to the deep offshore region, while indigenous firms contend with rising operational expenses driven mostly by personnel, maintenance and security costs.
According to some operators who reluctantly spoke with The Guardian, oil is no longer stolen at the well-heads, as vandals have become innovative, bypassing the anti-ballistic pipelines to disrupt production.
Indeed, they have raised concerns about the culpability of the nation’s security agencies, noting that barges of oil could not have been stolen and moved on the coastal waters without collaboration of some powerful Nigerians.
The operators noted that Nigeria’s operating expenses lack competitiveness as the country, in 2019, had one of the highest production costs with break-even price for major proposed projects hovering at $48/bbl, higher than Angola’s $45 and Uganda at $44/bbl.
This necessitated the move for lower oil production costs in 2020, specifically, the $10 a barrel target. Now described as ‘organised crime’ and a national disaster, most stakeholders insist that crude oil theft, especially in the Bonny Terminal Network, Forcados Terminal Network and Brass Terminal Network, is now creating crude oil loss of about 91 per cent, meaning that the cost of production in those cases already stand above actual oil price, which hovers around $120 per barrel.
The newspaper says that the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South East has reiterated its demand for zoning of the presidential position of the party in 2023 to Southern Nigeria.
The National Vice Chairman of the party, South-East, Chief Ali Odefa, disclosed this on Sunday at the end of the zonal meeting in Enugu.
Odefa said that the position was in tandem with that of Southern Governors’ Forum.
He said that it was fair that the next president of the country is chosen from Southern Nigeria.
“Where there are zoning patterns, they must be strictly observed and adhered to in every state and constituency,” he said.
He said that the zonal leadership of the party would make a presentation to the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party in that regard.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that among those that attended the meeting included Gov. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State and his Abia counterpart, Mr Okezie Victor Ikpeazu.
Others are the National Secretary of the party, Sen. Sam Anyanwu, members of the State and National Assemblies, members of PDP NEC, Board of Trustees (BOT), and others.
The Nation reports that the Coalition for Affordable and Regular Electricity (CARE), has lampooned the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), saying it has betrayed the people by allowing the government to withdraw electricity subsidy.
The group, in a statement, stated that the action of the union leaders is a punishment for hundreds of thousands of workers in the country who will now forcefully pay higher tariffs twice yearly as power companies now have the liberty to hike tariff periodically.
Coordinator of the group, Chinedu Bosah and national secretary, Soyombo Monsuru, in the statement expressed discontent over the situation in the power sector and the failure of the labour leaders to protest incremental tariffs therein.
The statement read: “The most worrisome is the fact that the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Ayuba Wabba, the President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Quadri Olaleye and other key labour leaders have kept quiet only for the government to quietly remove the so-called subsidy that practically implies that power companies can go-ahead to increase tariff so often and unjustifiably. “
Labour leaders threatened to embark on strike on September 28, 2020 over increment in the price of electricity and petrol only to back down and resorted to talks with the government.
GIK/APA