The report that the Nigerian Government needs N7.4 trillion to fund 854 road projects across the six geo-political zones of the country and how the timely intervention of emergency workers prevented a major disaster at Ikeja, Lagos after a massive gas spillage from the pipeline are some of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Thursday.
The Nation newspaper reports that the Federal Government needs N7.4 trillion to fund 854 road projects across the six geo-political zones of the country.
It also defended the recent incursion of companies into the construction of federal roads under a policy known as Credit Tax Scheme, saying it was to overcome the challenges of raising funds for the sector.
Minister of Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola disclosed this while defending the ministry’s 2022 budget before the House of Representatives Committee on Works in Abuja yesterday.
Fashola said: The total contract sum is N7.430 trillion of what we have in the works covering 854 roads across the six geopolitical zones. But that must speak to the need to contain our spending and our new commitments.
”Those projects are categorised into items one to four. One is the projects financed by the Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund managed by the NSIA, the highway projects financed by the Sukuk.
“We have roads financed by the Infrastructure Tax credit scheme and we have projects financed by multilateral loans taken by the Federal government in the name of the Federal Republic.”
The minister also told the committee that the ministry’s indebtedness to contractors stands at N420.6 billion
The newspaper says that the timely intervention of emergency workers prevented a major disaster at Ikeja, Lagos after a massive gas spillage from the pipeline.
The spillage, which affected Computer Village, Underbridge Awolowo Way, Oba Akran axis, Onifowose Street and Medical Road, was said to have caused panic.
It was gathered that the drainage in the affected areas and some major roads were covered with gas with residents fleeing their homes for fear of explosion.
But officials of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Lagos State Fire Service, Police and other relevant agencies were said to have immediately mobilised to the scene to contain the situation.
NEMA’s acting Southwest Coordinator, Ibrahim Farinloye, who issued the alert, urged residents to avoid igniting naked flames, adding that shop owners should keep off the area for the time being.
He also notified the public that the area has been cordoned off and traffic in and out diverted as precautionary measure.
The Guardian reports that the Nigeria Exchange Limited (NGX) has stated that trading of financial derivatives in Nigeria through the organised exchange will play a pivotal role in developing the nation’s bourse and the economy.
Speaking at a virtual 6th Market Data Workshop, NGX Chief Executive Officer, Temi Popoola, said trading in derivatives aligns with the exchange’s commitment to building a market that thrives on innovation and responds to the needs of stakeholders in accessing capital.
According to him, the innovativeness in trading of derivatives would make risk manageable, enable price discovery and reduce transaction costs for both financial and non-financial firms.
He, however, noted that the NGX contribution to economic growth will depend on the markets becoming more transparent and capitalised, enabling end-users to generate competitive returns while effectively hedging risk.
Themed: “How to market data powers investment strategies using derivatives products,” he said the workshop was designed to provide capital market stakeholders, particularly institutional investors, actuaries, portfolio managers with insights into price, valuation and investment strategies using derivatives and fixed income products, as well as technical tools that can be applied to mitigate risk.
The newspaper says that Nigeria’s bilateral trade with Taiwan moved to N22 billion in the first nine months of this year, increasing by over 118.35 per cent this year.
This is as Taiwan yesterday told The Guardian of its plans to pursue improved business relationships in Nigeria. Coming amidst prevailing tension between the country and China, the country may become a potential petroleum products exporter from Nigeria as it makes efforts to accelerate ties with Nigeria.
The push for the development of the agriculture sector and chemical industry in Nigeria may turn Taiwan into a ready market as Nigeria continues to import machinery from the country.
Although the country does not currently have a diplomatic relationship with Nigeria, the two countries are members of the World Trade Organisation and have recently moved to link their import and export banks for trade facilitation on the backdrop of earlier support that led to the emergence of Nigeria’s Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as the WTO Director-General.
The Ambassador of Taiwan to Nigeria, Andy Yil-ping, noted that over $5 million has already been provided as a trade facilitation financial support scheme for traders of Nigeria and Taiwan.
The Punch reports that Nigeria’s external reserves rose by $5.05bn in October, the latest data from the Central Bank of Nigeria showed on Wednesday. The reserves increased from $36.78bn on September 30 to $41.83bn as of October 29.
The Deputy Governor, Financial Systems Stability Directorate, CBN, Aishah Ahmad, at the last Monetary Policy Committee meeting in Abuja, said the external sector trends improved as reflected in the balance of trade position, which narrowed by 52.56 per cent to a deficit of N1.87tn in the second quarter of 2021 from N3.94tn in Q1.
She said this was driven by a 74.72 per cent rise in exports, which outstripped the increase in imports of 1.45 per cent. She noted that external reserves increased by 7.41 per cent at the end of August 2021 from $33.49bn in July.
According to her, relative stability was maintained at the I&E foreign exchange window following sustained implementation of policies aimed at boosting liquidity and improving supply to meet legitimate demands for eligible transactions.
The Sun says that the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has set a six to 12 months timeline for the critical deliverables of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) in the development of key upstream projects.
This is coming on the heels of its pledge to collaborate with the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS) to deepen the implementation of the PIA.
The move to ensure the successful implementation of the PIA was made by the Commission’s Chief Executive (CCE) of NUPRC, Mr. Gbenga Komolafe, and the Chairman of OPTS, Mr. Richard Kennedy, during the NURPC stakeholders meeting with OPTS in Lagos yesterday.
“The implementation of the PIA is very germane to Mr. President. As a matter of fact, the task for us is to see how, within the next six to 12 months, we will begin to see critical deliverables of the PIA in the development of key upstream projects. We will really need your support in this aspect and it becomes one of the overriding reasons I am here to have this media interactive session with you.”
Komolafe assured members of the OPTS that the Commission will be regulating with the best regulatory practice in its quest to promote good business ethics.
GIK/APA