The signing of Memorandum of Understanding by Nigeria and the United States on reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions from the agric sector is one of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Wednesday.
The Guardian reports that with Lagos projected to be wiped off by 2050 (28 years from now) due to the impacts of climate change, President Biden’s Special Envoy on Climate Change, John Kerry, yesterday, said the United States “put $12 billion on the table” to help countries reduce obvious impacts.
Already, most cities in Nigeria are faced with erosion, with people becoming homeless due to rising sea level. But while 80 per cent of the world’s emissions come from 20 countries, the U.S. inclusive, 48 sub-Saharan African states are responsible for only 0.55 per cent.
Article 9 of the Paris Agreement, which most countries of the world signed, insists: “Developed country Parties shall provide financial resources to assist developing country Parties, with respect to both mitigation and adaptation in continuation of their existing obligations under the Convention.”
Sadly, however, this funding has remained dismal.
Speaking, yesterday, in Abuja, Kerry said Nigeria was one of the countries in Africa that would suffer the most from the consequences of climate crisis.
Kerry, during a visit to Minister of State for Petroleum, Mr. Timipre Sylva, said emissions from Nigeria or anywhere in the world would affect Mother Earth.
The newspaper says that the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry has said that rising inflationary pressure, forex challenges, debt servicing and weak revenue generation have put a serious strain on the Nigerian economy, just as the country moves towards stagflation.
In a statement titled, “LCCI statement on Nigeria’s economic growth performance,” and signed by its Director-General, Dr Chinyere Almona, the chamber noted that even though the economy recorded an impressive recovery from the recession induced by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, it might drift into stagflation if these issues were not addressed.
According to LCCI, the 3.4 per cent Gross Domestic Product growth recorded in the second quarter of 2022 paled in comparison to 5.01 per cent growth posted in the corresponding quarter of 2021.
The Nigerian economy has recorded an impressive recovery from the recession induced by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The economy has recorded growth rates in recent quarters.
The statement reads in part, “However, the economy has continued to struggle with many inhibiting burdens like inflation, weak revenue generation, degenerated infrastructure, forex challenges, unsustainable cost profile seen in debt services and subsidy payments, and the daunting threats of worsening insecurity. The Chamber is concerned that if we continue in this trajectory, the economy may bleed away into a stagflation which will impact on production cost, job losses, worsened forex crisis, and dampened growth in the medium term.”
The chamber also noted that the oil sector had consistently recorded negative growths for the ninth consecutive quarter, contracting again by -11.8 per cent y/y in Q2 2022 following a higher contraction of -26 per cent y/y in Q1.
It advised the government to dedicate more attention and resources to tackling the menace of oil theft and pipeline vandalism since the oil sector made up about 80 per cent of the government revenue.
It said the growth of 1.2 per cent recorded for agriculture and the three per cent for manufacturing were comparatively low as against other sectors that grew at above five per cent.
The Guardian also reports that the Department of State Services (DSS) has alleged its preliminary investigation established the offences of “logistics supplier, aiding and abetting acts of terrorism,” against terrorists’ negotiator, Tukur Mamu.
The agency, in an affidavit in support of its ex-parte motion marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1617/2022, filed before Justice Nkeonye Maha of the Federal High Court, Abuja, also alleged the investigation established act of terrorism financing against Mamu.
News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) had, earlier on Tuesday, reported that Justice Maha granted the motion ex-parte moved by counsel for the DSS, Ahmed Magaji, seeking an order to detain Mamu for 60 days in the first instance, pending conclusion of the investigation.
The motion was dated and filed on September 12 by U.N. Dauda, a lawyer with the security outfit.
NAN reports that Mamu is the sole respondent in the suit.
In the affidavit in support of the ex-parte motion deposed to by Hamza Pandogari, a legal officer with the DSS, he said it was necessary for Mamu to be detained for 60 days in the first instance, pending the conclusion of investigation of various acts of terrorism against him.
Pandogari alleged that Mamu, “the self acclaimed Kaduna train negotiator, exploited the opportunity to perpetrate, aid and abet, as well as render support to both local and international terrorist organisations.
“That the respondent was intercepted by Nigeria’s foreign partners at Cairo, Egypt, on September 6, 2022, while on his way to Saudi Arabia for a clandestine meeting with commanders and top leaders of terrorists organisations across the globe.
“That upon his interception and subsequent repatriation to Nigeria, a duly signed search warrant was executed at his residence and office at No. 4, Ali Ladan Street, Sabon Kawo GRA and No. 14, Mamona Road, Anguwan Sarki, Kaduna State, and various exhibits and items to establish his complicity with terrorists were recovered.”
The agency listed some of the items recovered from Mamu’s residence and office as: 151 dollars, 20 pounds sterling; 1,530 Indian Rupees; one Saudi Riyal; 70 Dirham; N1,506,000; and 16 assorted foreign coins.
The Punch says that Nigeria’s oil production plunged to 972,000 barrels per day in August 2022, as Angola and Libya overtook Nigeria by producing higher volumes of crude during the review month, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries has said.
OPEC disclosed this in its September 2022 report, confirming the figures released recently by the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.
The PUNCH had reported last week that Nigeria’s crude oil production slumped below one million barrels per day in August 2022, the lowest ever in several years.
The report revealed that oil production in Nigeria dropped in August 2022, crashing below one million barrels per day to 972,394 bpd, the lowest ever recorded in years.
It stated that figures from the NUPRC indicated that the country’s oil production dropped from 1,083,899 bpd in July to 972,394 bpd in August.
Confirming this in its September 2022 oil sector report released on Tuesday, OPEC stated that the drop in Nigeria’s oil production made Angola and Libya to overtake Nigeria in oil output.
The report stated that Angola was Africa’s highest crude oil producer for the month under review with an average production of 1.187mb/d.
It said Libya’s crude oil production averaged also 1.123mb/d for the month of August.
“According to secondary sources, total OPEC-13 crude oil production averaged
The newspaper reports that the Senate Adhoc Committee on Oil Theft said it had begun investigations into oil theft and illegal bunkering activities in the Niger Delta region.
The Chairman of the Committee, Bassey Akpan, said this while answering questions from journalists on arrival at the Port Harcourt International Airport.
Akpan said massive stealing of Nigeria’s crude oil, which had seen the country lose huge earnings as well as hobbled its ability to meet the quota allocated by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, was worrisome.
He said, “Our intention is to visit every oil terminal located in the Niger Delta region to see things for ourselves, the reason for oil theft, the reason for oil losses.
“We at the National Assembly believe that the local refining capacity as a result of all the bunkering issues can never be guaranteed or be sustained or be ensured by the losses.
“We believe that there are other areas where the country loses this huge revenue and resources. So it’s a serious job we are out here to do.”
GIK/APA