Friday, 20 May 2016

CSR NEWS SUMMARY ISSUE 137

#Economy: Fuel scarcity may worsen Dollar shortage
Despite the liberalisation of fuel imports, it emerged yesterday that at least 75 ships with two and a half million tonnes of fuel were waiting for importers in Nigeria to find dollars they need to pay for the cargoes, according to ship tracking data and fuel traders.

Published by the THISDAY Newspaper on Monday, 16th May, 2016

#Oil: Insurgency cuts oil output by to 1.65mbpd

Confirming this yesterday, the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, tweeted that the renewed insurgency and pipeline breaks in the Niger Delta had resulted in Nigeria’s daily crude oil production dropping to 1.65 million barrels per day as against 2.2 million bpd that was projected in the 2016 budget.

Published by the THISDAY Newspaper on Monday, 16th May, 2016

#Investment: Fixed income securities market attract N32tn in four months

The fixed securities and currencies market has attracted investments worth N31.93 trillion between January and April 2016, statistics obtained by THISDAY have revealed. The money was invested in the securities via the FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2013 as an over-the-counter (OTC) securities exchange and self-regulatory organization to run the fixed income trading platform.

Published by the THISDAY Newspaper on Monday, 16th May, 2016

#Philanthropy: Rockefeller Foundation, others to provide $1m grants to enhance cassava production

The Rockefeller Foundation, Dalberg and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) have launched an innovation challenge to uncover innovative solutions to increase cassava shelf life in Nigeria.

Published by the THISDAY Newspaper on Monday, 16th May, 2016

#Technology: SES to migrate over 25m households to Digital Platform

SES, a global player in satellite operations has signed a multi-year agreement with Cable Channels Nigeria Ltd. (CCNL) to provide strategic, reliable and stable video platform, via SES’s prime orbital position 28.2 degrees East, for the provision of Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) and Direct To Home (DTH) broadcast platform in Nigeria.

Published by the THISDAY Newspaper on Monday, 16th May, 2016

#Award: Akinosho wins the distinguished Contribution to industry Award

Toyin Akinosho, Publisher of Africa Oil+Gas Report, received the top award of the latest edition of the “Big Five Awards” conferred on distinguished oil industry players at the annual Africa Oil Week in Cape Town.

Published by the THISDAY Newspaper on Monday, 16th May, 2016

#IndustryPulse: Red Star express appoints new EDs, MDs for subsidiaries

One of Nigeria’s logistics companies, Red Star Express Group has appointed new Executive Directors for the Group and Divisional Managing Directors for its subsidiaries. The subsidiaries are Red Star Logistics, Red Star Support Services, Red Star Freight and the Express arm.

Published by the THISDAY Newspaper on Monday, 16th May, 2016

#Economy#ICT: Nigeria to expose opportunities in non-oil sector at Gitex 2016

The Nigerian Pavilion at Gitex 2016 will be exposing opportunities in non-oil sectors and how the Nigerian Government is committed to supporting foreign and local entrepreneurship, particularly in the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector, according to the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), the government agency responsible for the implementation of ICT policy in Nigeria.

Published by the THISDAY Newspaper on Monday, 16th May, 2016

#Investment: Firms to invest in mobile Advertising start-up, slide airtime

Singularity Investment has announced its plans to invest an undisclosed sum into Slide Airtime, a mobile advertising technology start-up that give consumers free airtime in return for engaging with news and branded content delivered to the lock screen of their mobile devices.

Published by the THISDAY Newspaper on Monday, 16th May, 2016

#CSR#Awards: Ecobank announces prizes for 2016 essay competition

Ecobank Nigeria Limited has opened its annual national essay competition for children as part of activities to commemorate the May month dedicated to children around the world. The Ecobank National Essay competition for children with the EcobankMyFirst Account calls for entries from students between the ages of 8-12 in category one and ages 9-14 in category two. Topic for the essay is “The need to imbibe the culture of savings at an early age”. Prizes to be won include Laptops, Educational Tabs and several consolation prizes.

Published by the THISDAY Newspaper on Monday, 16th May, 2016

#MSMEs#CSR: Diamond Bank rewards five entrepreneurs with N15m

Diamond Bank Plc has rewarded five budding entrepreneurs with N3 million each at its just concluded Building Entrepreneurs Today (BET) Season five. The winners are: Uchechi Arinze, Folarinyo Abiodun, Ayodeji Agboola, Emmanuel Okiedesan and Hauwa Bello.

Published by the THISDAY Newspaper on Monday, 16th May, 2016

#MSMEs: Konga.com rallies support for MSME to promote local products

A leading online mall, Konga.com, has proven its commitment to deepening commerce and trade in Africa by supporting Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. To this end, the company recently partnered with Lagos State Government to host MSME exclusive fair in Lagos. According to the two partners, the fair focused on indigenous and local manufacturers and producers with the aim of promoting “made in Nigeria” Products.

Published by the THISDAY Newspaper on Monday, 16th May, 2016

#Agric: Erisco targets one million metric tonnes of tomato processing

The Chief Executive Officer, Erisco Foods Limited, Mr Eric Umeofia has said that his firm is targeting to achieve one million metric tonnes of tomato processing by the fourth quarter of 2016. Umeofia made this known at the Katsina State Economic Summit recently. He also commended President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment and support towards backward integration and economic stability.

Published by the THISDAY Newspaper on Monday, 16th May, 2016

#Partnership#CSR: Access Bank partners UNICEF

Access Bank has announced that the 10th edition of its annual charity shield competition for vulnerable school children in Kaduna State would hold from end of May to 5th of June this year as it continues to partner with the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund.

Published by the THISDAY Newspaper on Monday, 16th May, 2016

#IndustryPulse: NCAA to begin implementation of new regulations in July

The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has announced that the new Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig.CARs) promulgated in December 2015 will take effect from July 1, 2016. The new r5egulation was supposed to update new development and policies done in the industry since the first regulation as amended was introduced.

Published by the THISDAY Newspaper on Monday, 16th May, 2016

#Infrastructure: Ambode opens roads, schools, jetty, market

Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode yesterday, urged community leaders and others to guard public infrastructure. Ambode, represented by some of his commissioners, who spoke simultaneously at five local government areas during the commissioning of projects of his first year in office, urged the people to take charge of the facilities in their domains.

#Economy: 600,000 jobs coming with liberalised oil sector, says govt

Information Minister, Lai Mohammed gave more insights into how fuel price was raised from N86.50 to N145 per litre. He said the President Muhammadu Buhari has not let down Nigerians with the new price, adding that it had no choice than to deregulate the petroleum sector. The facts, according to Mohammed, are that in 2015, the Federal government paid N1trillion as subsidy, which amounted to one-sixth of the year’s budget; it cannot afford such a huge amount of subsidy again; the liberalisation policy will lead to the creation of 600,000 jobs; and labour leaders were not deceived or tricked on the new pump price.

#Economy: Inflation rises to 13.7%

Inflation rose for the sixth consecutive months in April and at the highest pace since August 2010, after an increase in fuel and electricity prices. According to a statement by the National Bureau of Statistics, the figure was higher than the 12.8 per cent the month before.

Published by the Nation Newspaper on Tuesday, 17th May, 2016
#Infrastructure: Lagos approves 54 firms to manage streetlight

No fewer than 54 private firms will be engaged by the Lagos State Government to manage streetlights in the state, says the Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr Olawale Oluwo. Oluwo, who spoke on Tuesday during a briefing on the activities of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources in the state, added that the government had lit up about 600 kilometres of roads in 366 locations in Lagos.

Published by the Punch Newspaper on Wednesday, 18th May, 2016

#Power: Forex scarcity, N300bn revenue shortfall hit power firms

As many parts of the nation continue to experience blackout, electricity distribution companies have said their inability to obtain foreign exchange to import equipment and a revenue shortfall of N300bn are some of the factors hampering their operations. The firms said the low electricity generation occasioned by gas supply shortages as a result of pipeline vandalism meant that power distribution by them would be low.

Published by the Punch Newspaper on Wednesday, 18th May, 2016

#Power: Power generation crashes to 1,400MW- TCN

The quantum of electricity generated in the country fell by over 1,000 megawatts within a space of eight hours on Tuesday. The transmission Company of Nigeria stated that the generated electricity dropped by 1,018.5 MW between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Published by the Punch Newspaper on Wednesday, 18th May, 2016

#MSMEs: SMEs need alternative energy to boost employment-Contec

Small and Medium Enterprises need alternative power supply to boost employment and economic growth as Nigeria moves towards addressing its power deficit, the Chief Executive Officer of London-based Contec Power Systems Limited, Mr Srinivas Ppilla, has said.

Published by the Punch Newspaper on Wednesday, 18th May, 2016

#MSMEs: NNEW plans industrial hub for women

The NECA’s Network of Entrepreneurial Women, as part of its assets acquisition plan, will establish an industrial hub for women-owned businesses. Speaking at the town hall meeting of the network in Lagos, the President, NNEW, Mrs Modupe Oyekunle, said that women would benefit from easy access to raw materials, access to other businesses along the value chain and infrastructure.

Published by the Punch Newspaper on Wednesday, 18th May, 2016

#Health: EU trains health workers on financial prudence

The European Union Support to Immunisation Governance in Nigeria has commenced the training of primary health care practitioners on financial prudence. The three-day conference, which started in Calabar, Cross River State, on Tuesday, has participants drawn from Edo, Cross River, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Ebonyi, Abia and Rivers State. The training contractor of EU, Mrs Aminata Sidibe, said the workshop was to train the participants on effective fund management.

Published by the Punch Newspaper on Wednesday, 18th May, 2016

#Infrastructure: FG okays proposal to construct Obajana-Kaba Road

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) yesterday approved a proposal by a subsidiary of the Dangote Group to construct the Obajana-Kaba road. Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, told State House reporters that the approval was based on a memo by his ministry seeking to take benefits of tax-policies and laws “for the purpose of using them to drive infrastructure development renewal”.

Published by the Daily Trust Newspaper on Thursday, 19th May, 2016

#Infrastructure: We’ve evolved new initiatives to secure waterways- Peterside

The Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has said the agency evolved new security initiatives to effectively police Nigeria’s waters against pirates. Dr Peterside disclosed this yesterday when he led the management staff of NIMASA on a courtesy visit to the management of Media Trust Limited in Abuja.

Published by the Daily Trust Newspaper on Thursday, 19th May, 2016

#Oil#StakeholdersAction: Oil producing host communities give FG 21-day ultimatum

The national executive of the Host Communities of Nigeria Producing Oil and Gas (HOSTCON) has given the federal government a 21-day ultimatum to implement a seven-point agenda and give them what is due to them. A press statement from the Executive National Chairman of HOSTCON, Dr Mike Emuh, said the body recently met and resolved among other things, on the constitution of a National Peace Reconciliation Committee to stem the upsurge, violence, crisis and security in the Niger Delta.

Published by the Daily Trust Newspaper on Thursday, 19th May, 2016

#Oil: Attackers blow up ENI gas pipeline

Unknown attackers late Tuesday blew up a gas pipeline belonging to Italian Oil Company ENI in Ogbembiri, Balyesa State, the company told Reuters yesterday. It was the latest in a string of attacks on oil and gas facilities in the region.

Published by the Daily Trust Newspaper on Thursday, 19th May, 2016

#Health: Nigeria needs strong will to end TB- UN

The United Nation’s Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Tuberculosis (TB), Dr Eric Goosby, has said strong political will is needed by the government and other stakeholders to enable Nigeria address its high burden of tuberculosis. He stated this yesterday in Abuja during the National Tuberculosis conference organized by the Stop TB Partnership Nigeria (STBPN) and the National Tuberculosis and Leprosy Control Programme (NTLCP) in collaboration with Health Watch.

Published by the Daily Trust Newspaper on Thursday, 19th May, 2016

#Infrastructure: Telecoms infrastructure- Govs not honouring MoU on RoW, NCC says

The Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) has jettisoned the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) it signed with Ministry of Communications on Right of Way (RoW) and multiple taxations, the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) has said.

Published by the Daily Trust Newspaper on Thursday, 19th May, 2016

#ICT: FG encourages ICT entrepreneurship

The Federal Government has said it will reengineer the economy by promoting and encouraging ICT entrepreneurship to stimulate the nation’s economy. Minister of Communications, Adebayo Shittu, who disclosed this in Abuja on Tuesday at a press briefing to commemorate this year’s World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, also said FG would ginger up the economy through the provision of ICT based services, and would make deliberate efforts to adopt the use of ICT in every aspect of our endeavours in order to improve efficiency, effectiveness and productivity in service delivery and business transactions generally.

Published by the Daily Trust Newspaper on Thursday, 19th May, 2016

#Empowerment: Kaduna’s start-up training programme graduates 279

The Kaduna’s Start-up Entrepreneurship Programme (KADSTEP) one of Governor Nasir el-Rufai’s pro-poor programmes has graduated its first set of 279 trainees. Speaking at the graduation ceremony of the first intake and induction of the second batch of trainees, el-Rufai said his administration is targeting 5,000 entrepreneurs to benefit from the training.

Published by the Daily Trust Newspaper on Thursday, 19th May, 2016

#MSME: BoI disburses N48.44m loan in Kaduna

The Bank of Industry (BoI) has disbursed N48.44 million loan to beneficiaries of the Kaduna Start-up Entrepreneurship Programme whose business proposals are bankable. The programme was designed by the Kaduna Business School (KBS) and the BoI to empower aspiring entrepreneurs to be able to access various intervention funds.

Published by the Daily Trust Newspaper on Thursday, 19th May, 2016

#Education: Arewa forum in US to support girl child education

Arewa People’s Forum in the United States of America has said it will offer support in education and empowerment of Northern Nigerian youths, especially the girl-child. A joint signed statement by Umar Muhammad and Martins Ocholi, Interim Chairman and Secretary respectively, said that the 2015 Gender Report compiled by the UNESCO shows that fewer than half of countries in the world have achieved the goal of gender parity in both primary and secondary education and that most remarkable and disturbing is the fact that no country in sub-Saharan Africa was mentioned in the report.

Published by the Daily Trust Newspaper on Thursday, 19th May, 2016

#Economy: Govt earns N3.4tr as states seek access to World Bank’s $3.2b

Five months after the 2015 fiscal calendar, a report from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has put the Federal Government’s retained revenue in the period at N3.43 trillion.

Published in the Guardian Newspaper on Friday, 20th May, 2016

#Power: System collapse cuts power generation to 65 mega watts

The national grid yesterday experienced another system collapse that has forced power generation to slump to 65.8 mega watts (mw) from 1432mw recorded on Wednesday. The system collapse, which marked the third within one week and fifth in 26 days, could worsen the blackout currently experienced across the country.

Published in the Guardian Newspaper on Friday, 20th May, 2016

#Unemployment: 20 Nigerians unemployed, says Ngige

From the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chris Ngige, yesterday came the stark revelation that some 20 million unemployed persons exist in the country. Also yesterday, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, disclosed that in the last four days, no fewer than 37 companies have indicated interest to invest in the nation’s refineries and the downstream sector of the petroleum industry.

Published in the Guardian Newspaper on Friday, 20th May, 2016

#Economy: Reps task panel on activities of export promotion council

Determined to ensure that the country does not depend solely on oil production for its income, the House of Representative yesterday mandated its committee on commerce to assess the level of export promotion in Nigeria and the activities if the Nigerian Export Promotion Council in recent years.

Published in the Guardian Newspaper on Friday, 20th May, 2016

#Event: Nigeria hosts W’Africa infectious disease institute

Nigeria has been chosen for the location of proposed West African Infectious Disease Institute (WAIDI). The choice was necessitated by its effective handling of the deadly Ebola disease and others as polio.

Published in the Guardian Newspaper on Friday, 20th May, 2016

#Economy: Doctors give condition to support fuel price increase

Medical doctors under the aegis of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) have given conditions, which they said must be met by the Federal Government before supporting the deregulation of the oil sector with the resultant increase in pump price of petrol.

Published in the Guardian Newspaper on Friday, 20th May, 2016

#SMEs#Agric: Ignored smallholder farmers account for 80% of Africa’s agric production

Worried by the inconsistency in the continent’s agricultural practice, especially in relations to investment in large scale commercial farms, former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Anan and other stakeholders have decried neglect of smallholder farmers, stating that more than eighty per cent of Africa’s agricultural production come from them.

Published in the Guardian Newspaper on Friday, 20th May, 2016

#Investment: Commissioner lists investment options for government

For a diversification anchored on a sustainable basis, the Commissioner for Finance Lagos State, Dr Mustapha Abiodun Akinkunmi, has called on the Federal Government to pursue investment in new mobile technologies, healthcare and education.

Published in the Guardian Newspaper on Friday, 20th May, 2016

#Technology: NATCOM seeks compensation policy for telecoms consumers

The National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS) has appealed to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to put in place a Subscriber’s Compensation Policy that will compensate Subscribers with free airtime.

Published in the Guardian Newspaper on Friday, 20th May, 2016

#Technology#Economy: Experts decries impact of foreign software on Nigeria’s economy

 Chris Uwaje, the former president, Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON) has expressed displeasure at government and corporate bodies’ fondness for foreign software. Uwaje who is currently the co-chair for Publicity and Communications for Africa, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer- World Forum on Internet of Things (IEEE)-WFIoT, said although ISPON is not calling for outright ban on foreign software, however it is high time the government save the nation from forex elusion and capital flight by engaging local firms with penchants for solutions to challenges peculiar to the country.


Published in the Guardian Newspaper on Friday, 20th May, 2016

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