The report that the clerics, some state governments and the Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria have taken a swipe at the Federal Government over its failure to address the rising insecurity in the country is one of the trending stories in Nigerian newspapers on Tuesday.
The Punch reports that the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Abubakar Sa’ad lll- led Jamaatul Nasril Islam, some state governments and the Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria have taken a swipe at the Federal Government over its failure to address the rising insecurity in the country.
The groups stated this on Monday as killings and other forms of insecurity took a toll on investments in the country with foreign investors shunning 24 states in 2021.
Earlier on Monday, the National Bureau of Statistics released data, which indicated that Nigeria generated a total of $698.7m from Foreign Direct Investments in 2021.
According to data from the NBS, the FDI generated in 2021 was the lowest the country recorded in 10 years.
FDI is one of the three major types of investments and a critical source of capital inflow into the country.
Other sources include foreign portfolio investment, foreign loans, and trade credits, among other investments.
NBS defines FDI as an investment whereby the investor has some control or a significant degree of influence on the management of a domestic enterprise.
The newspaper says that a high-powered delegation of biotechnology and biosafety team members on a study tour from Ghana has applauded Nigeria’s success story in the areas of biotechnology and biosafety.
Ghanaian parliamentarian, Dr Emmanuel Marfo, made this disclosure during a courtesy call to the National Biotechnology Development Agency in Abuja on Monday.
Marfo, who is Chairman, Parliamentary Select Committee on Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Ghana, expressed satisfaction on behalf of the team, for being among people doing a qualitative job of trying to feed the nation, noting that the visit would help to broaden their scope in biotechnology.
The parliamentarian also said the meeting enabled him to understand the activities of science and also speak for science, ditto effective representation at the parliament or anywhere else.“Parliamentarians who do oversight must be conversant with the sector,’’ Marfo remarked.
In his own expert reaction, the Chairman of the National Biosafety Authority of Ghana, Prof. Charles Antwi-Boasiako, also commended the great strides of the National Biosafety Management Agency of Nigeria.
Boasiako spoke about the biosafety framework of Ghana and its applicability thereof, stressing the need for public enlightenment for accurate knowledge.
Earlier, Dr Francis Onyekachi, the African Agricultural Technology Foundation Representative in West Africa, said that the biotechnology infrastructure was properly developed in Nigeria.
He equally hinted that Nigeria was foremost in biosafety regulations, in addition to biotech cowpea and cotton which had been released for commercialisation – and that biotech maize was coming next.
Onyekachi told the visitors that Nigeria’s biosafety agency coordinated all risk assessments, adding that policies and regulatory systems were all well-developed instruments of commercialisation put in place.
The Punch also reports that the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise has said that Nigeria’s debt, including that of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria and borrowings from the Central Bank of Nigeria, can hit N50tn within the shortest possible time.
The Chief Executive Officer, CPPE, Dr. Muda Yusuf, said this during an event to present the 2022 first quarter economic review of CPPE in Lagos on Monday.
Yusuf also advocated concessionary financing for the country, as opposed to commercial debts which are expensive.
He said, “The rising debt profile of government raises serious sustainability concerns. The Debt Management Office had reported that total public debt was N39.56tn as at December 2021. About 11.3 per cent of this debt is owed by the states and FCT.
“However, when we take account of borrowings from the CBN and the stock of AMCON debt, the debt profile would be in excess of N50tn.”
Although government tends to argue that Nigeria does not have a debt problem, the country has a revenue challenge, he said.
He explained that debt would typically become a problem if the revenue base was not strong enough to service it sustainably.
The Nation says that Nigeria’s Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Lai Mohammed, has said that Dangote’s 650,000 Refinery will meet 100 per Nigeria’s fuel demand and enough for export.
Mohammed, who was on a visit to the Dangote Refinery, Petrochemical and Fertiliser complex at the weekend, said 60 per cent of the production of the petroleum refinery can meet the entire requirement of Nigeria’s fuel need, while the rest will go for export, generating huge amount of foreign exchange.
He said the refinery will be a game changer once it comes on stream in terms of employment generation, saying there will be huge value addition that will contribute to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), conserve foreign exchange as there will be no more importation of petroleum products.
Mohammed said there would be generation of foreign exchange through export of finished products, as well as guaranteeing availability of petroleum products thus ending petrol queues and attracting foreign capital investments, adding that the refinery will meet the liquid products requirements, including gasoline (PMS), diesel (AGO), Kerosene (DPK)and Aviation Jet Fuel (Jet A-1).
The Minister, who likened Aliko Dangote to one leading Nigeria’s industrial revolution, said the coming on stream of such massive industrial complexes as the Dangote Fertiliser Company and the Refinery were made possible by the enabling environment provided by the Administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
The Guardian reports that one week after terrorists attacked a train in Kaduna State, the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC), yesterday, said that 168 passengers are yet to be accounted for.
Last week Monday, terrorists first used explosives to immobilise the Kaduna-bound train before shooting at some of the passengers. They killed some and kidnapped many other passengers.
According to the corporation, its manifest showed there were 362 passengers on board the train. In its latest update, NRC confirmed the safety of 14 more passengers on board the train, bringing the total number of safe passengers to 186.
Of the remaining 176 passengers, eight have been confirmed dead, while the families of 22 passengers have formally declared them missing. This indicates that a total of 168 passengers are yet to be accounted for, including the 22 declared missing by their families.
NRC’s Managing Director, Fidet Okhiria, in the statement, said 51 phone numbers on the manifest were either switched off or not reachable since Tuesday morning, hours after the attack. “Another 35 phone numbers on the manifest are ringing, but no response from the other end,” he said, adding that 60 phone numbers on the manifest when called responded as non-existent.
“Two coaches (SP 00016 and SP 00017) earlier re-railed have safely been moved to Rigasa Station. This brings the total number of recovered coaches safely moved to NRC stations to seven. Intensive work continues on track repairs. More concrete sleepers were moved to the site, while some sections of the twisted tracks have been straightened.
Despite assurances of the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Alkali Baba, bandits yesterday raided some houses at Anguwar Maji in Jere town along the Kaduna-Abuja highway and abducted 22 villagers. Baba had on Saturday led a special squad of armed security operatives on patrol of the dreaded highway, declaring it safe for motorists.
GIK/APA