Business
W’Bank Approves N756m For Youth Scheme Beneficiaries
The World Bank, under its Growth and Employment (GEM) project, has approved N756.3 million for disbursement to 81 young Nigerian innovators who participated in the 2016 Aso Villa Demo Day (AVDD).
The AVDD is one of the economic empowerment initiatives of the present administration.
A document obtained from the World Bank-funded GEM project on Monday in Abuja, showed that the money would be disbursed to the beneficiaries in two tranches after a grant signing ceremony earlier scheduled for end of March.
The AVDD, in collaboration with GEM project, invited business plan submissions from candidates that participated in its regional pitch screening events that took place in Lagos, Port-Harcourt and Abuja from which the 81 beneficiaries emerged.
According to the document, “the GEM project requested for submission of business proposals from eligible applicants of the AVDD 2016 programme of which 289 applicants were screened before the final 81 were eventually picked after a rigorous process of vetting’’.
The GEM document showed that all 81 submitted applications passed the 50 per cent cut off point and environmental and social compliance check.
Other details contained in the document showed that the beneficiaries were drawn from Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Cross River, Delta, FCT, Kaduna, Kwara, Lagos, Nasarawa, Osun, Oyo, Plateau and Rivers States, while 20 others were yet to be registered on the portal.
A breakdown of the grant disbursement process shows that submission of company registration documents for validation is ongoing.
The document showed that “a total of 36 of the 81 applicants have submitted the required company registration and legal documents to date.
“The registration of applicants on the Business Innovation Growth (BIG) portal is ongoing with 61 of the 81 applicants fully registered on the portal’’.
The World Bank indicated in the document that verification of implementation and milestone achievement would be conducted as condition for the second disbursement while subsequent surveys would be conducted on the firms for impact evaluation.
The World Bank said that a mechanism to ensure full implementation of objectives contained in the selected proposals was already in place while a comprehensive monitoring and evaluation work plan had been designed.
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As part of its programme to empower Young Nigerians with the necessary employability skills, the Federal Government, through the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), has flagged off the second phase of the “Renewed Hope Employment Initiative” (RHEI).
Performing the ceremony in Port Harcourt, the Director General of NDE, Silas Ali Agara, said the second phase of the programme will absorbed over 41,307 youths across the country.
Agara said the first phase of the programme, which was flagged off December 2024, successfully trained 32,692 unskilled and unemployed Nigerians in demand-driven skills across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
According to the DG, who was represented by the Rivers State Coordinator of the Programme, Matthew Amala, “The strategic goals were increasing trainee employability, supporting small scale enterprises, promoting agricultural productivity, improving rural infrastructure and providing transient jobs.”
He said, over 5000 beneficiaries were resettled with loans and starter packs, while linkages to credit institutions for those that could not be accommodated under the Directorate’s soft loan scheme was ongoing.
“As we reflect on the achievements of the first phase of the Renewed Hope Employment Initiative, I’m excited that the second phase is being flagged off today.
“In the second phase, NDE will train 41,307 persons in over 30 skills set, ranging from vocational, entrepreneurial, agricultural, ICT, and activities in the public works sector.
“We have improved and digitalized our processes through a robust registration portal fully equipped with scalable backends and geofenced capabilities.
“This has made our processes more transparent, fair, equitable, as well as providing us with a credible database”, he said.
The DG said at the end of the training, a total of 14,457 will be resettled with starter packs to help them establish themselves in their chosen fields.
“It’s our sincere expectation that the participants would be equipped positively with skills to enhance their employability, foster entrepreneurship mindsets in them and improving livelihoods to contribute to their community and the economic growth of the Nation”, he added.
He said despite the challenges of limited budgetary resources, the NDE remains committed to equipping unemployed Nigerians with demand driven skills in order to empower these individuals to become employers of labour and future wealth creators.
John Bibor & Edidiong Johnson
Former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Prof. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, has canvassed that the $450m Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCI Fund) be increased to US$1bn.
He said the increase will be deployed to cater for the funding of mega oil and gas projects, setting up of pipe mills and manufacturing of other critical equipment needed in the oil and gas sector.
Kachikwu also recommended that oil and gas producing companies should provide timelines for developing oil and gas blocks, saying same condition should also be for firms that win industry contracts based on commitments of investments.
He made these recommendations on Monday at the Business Mentorship Lecture Series organised virtually by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).
The Tide gathered that the webinar drew nearly 500 participants via Zoom and the Board’s YouTube page.
The former minister, who served as the Chairman of NCDMB’s Governing Council from September 2016 to May 2019, stated that a larger NCI Fund will provide seed capital for developing blocks, accessing technology, skill sets and equipment.
According to him, the fund should include contributions from operators, and other investors in the sector and not just government resources, expressing dismay that many awardees of oil blocks in Nigeria treat them like certificates of occupancy for land which has caused huge losses to the nation.
“I like to advise the Government to cancel oil blocks that are not developed after a prolonged period. We need to find a way to force performance in the industry. Some companies get contracts to import pipelines with proviso to invest locally. We need to begin to produce those equipment.
“You’ve to show the joint venture that you are setting up to produce pipes, where is the foreign partner with the funds and technology? You need to give a timeline”, he said.
Speaking on the global investments space and how Nigeria can attract funding to the energy sector, the former minister argued that there was a lot of money waiting to be tapped, saying that however it is only going to countries where there is a perception of regularity.
“Nigeria’s image needs to improve, while the Government also needs to create the right investment climate to attract investment. There’s enough investment money out there if you have a holding of hands.
“They need to portray Nigeria as the place you can put money and get good returns. Government should consider co-investing with private companies if there are good prospect of returns”, he added.
The erstwhile Petroleum Minister lauded the transformation in the oil and gas sector with indigenous firms like Seplat, Aiteo, Oando Energy Resources, and Heirs Oil and Gas and others acquiring assets from divesting international oil companies (IOCs).
“Mere ownership transfers are insufficient without enhanced output, management, revenue returns and compliance with extant laws.
“My greatest fear is that without principled accounting, supervision, and effective oversight, indigenous companies may profit while the federal government loses revenue. There’s the need to involve local communities to avoid past disconnects that fueled conflicts”, Kachikwu said.
He also commended the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, for upholding the agency’s mission and recording significant strides since assumption of office.
Reflecting on the NCDMB Scribe’s pivotal role in shaping the Board, Kachikwu emphasized that advancing local content was a core pillar of his tenure as Minister and chairman of the NCDMB Board, noting that local content is not just a slogan, but rather a tool for industrialisation, job creation, and knowledge transfer.
“There should be consistency of policies. For too long, foreign companies dominated every segment of the sector, while our people remained bystanders.
“My message to young professionals is clear: the oil industry may be facing disruption, but it is also full of opportunities. Careers in petroleum now demand more than technical skills. They require adaptability, creativity, and a deep sense of responsibility to both people and the environment.
“The industry is not just about barrels and dollars. it’s about national survival, community welfare, and the environment. Achieving your career goals is a marathon, not a sprint. Patience and endurance are essential. Self-Belief is Crucial.
“Confidence in yourself and your abilities will fuel your progress and help you overcome challenges. Principles matter: Let your ethics and integrity be a guiding light. Build relevant skill sets. Equip yourself with the skills that make you competitive and adaptable in the job market”, the former Minister urged.
Earlier in his welcome address, the Executive Secretary of the NCDMB’s Director of Capacity Building, represented by the Director of Capacity Building, Engr. Abayomi Bamidele, underscored the Business Mentorship Lecture Series’ role in fostering trends and mind-sets for excellence.
Hee said the lecture series was organised in furtherance of the Board’s mandate in sections 67 and 70n of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act of 2010, to hold workshops and seminars to promote and advance Nigerian Content.
In his closing remarks, General Manager, Corporate Communications, NCDMB, Dr. Obinna Ezeobi, praised Kachikwu for sharing deep insights which benefitted stakeholders across the public and private sector of the energy sector.
He also thanked the guest lecture for his contributions to the NCDMB, recalling his sign-off on the Waltersmith Refinery investment, which became a successful project and the launch of the US$200m NCI Fund, which has grown into US$450m, now managed by the Bank of Industry and Nexim Bank.
“NCDMB has fully embraced its roles of enabling businesses, in addition to the traditional mandate of regulating and promoting local content. The Board is committed to supporting Nigerians and local oil and gas firms to grow sustainably in the sector, hence it organises the Business Mentorship Lecture Series.
“We want to assure you that this Mentorship series will continue as a key platform for engaging and educating stakeholders of the industry. I also want to urge interested listeners to visit NCDMB’s YouTube channel to watch the recording of the webinar”, he said.
Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
The Federal Government has embarked on sanitizing the mining industry, as concrete steps are being taken through the Mining Cadastre’s office to put things in order.
Already, some of the mining licences have been revoked, and more mining licences will be revoked, as part of ongoing efforts to sanitise the solid minerals sector, as well as to protect investors from fraudsters.
Director-General (DG) of the Mining Cadastre Office, Obadiah Nkom, who disclosed this on a live conversation on X (formerly Twitter), said the move was aimed at driving transparency and order in Nigeria’s solid minerals sector.
According to the DG of the Federal Government agency, the clean-up exercise, which covers expired, speculative, and inactive titles, is necessary to make room for genuine investors and ensure compliance with the law.
Nkom disclosed that the agency had identified about 4,709 licences, including 1,400 expired titles, 2,338 refused applications, and 971 notifications of grant where applicants failed to pay, which led to an outright revocation by the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake.
The DG stressed that the revocation was not punitive but part of a deliberate sanitisation process to weed out speculators who hoard licences without adding value to the economy.
Nkom explained that the exercise had already boosted investor confidence in the sector.
“When you talk about backlog, for now, the ministry has had reasons to clear or revoke close to 4,709 mineral licenses. There were implementations in terms of revoked expiring titles of up to 1,400 licenses.
“We have had reasons to refuse 2,338 applications in the system. We have had a mineral title notification of 971. Can you imagine 971 notifications of grants that were notified, but did not come to pay.
“There are even instances where some people have collected the grants, but they refuse to pay. So what do we do? So this cleaning exercise that we are doing is to be able to now create that space in the minefield for people.
“So, imagine having over 4,709 erased from our system by way of revocations implemented. It has sanitised our sector, and investors now know that if they are not going to be involved in exploration and value addition, there will be consequences.
“We are cautious. We follow the law. And this is why I repeat, we have had 100 per cent success in litigations because we are an agency compliant with the provisions of the Act.
“Where we are wrong, we do not shy away from trapping ourselves and doing the right thing. I would hope that at the end of the day, we will not have any risk by following the provisions of the Act”, he said.
Recall that the minister in 2024 revoked 924 licenses over failure to pay statutory charges and fees due for the Federal Government through the Mining Cadastral Office.
He warned licensees yet to resume work on their mining projects to do so immediately.
Corlins Walter
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