Business
NAOC To Build S15bn Refinery In N’Delta – Minister
The Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) has accepted to build a 150,000 barrels per day refinery in either Port Harcourt or Brass worth S15 billion, the Minister of State, Petroleum, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, said yesterday.
Kachikwu briefed State House Correspondents on the deal after a meeting with acting President Yemi Osinbajo with petroleum ministry, NAOC and NNPC officials at the Presidential Villa.
He said that Agip was also building a power plant and would repair the existing refinery in Port Harcourt to boost local production of petroleum products.
“The Acting President chaired two meetings this morning. The first was with the ministry of Petroleum, NNPC and Agip Oil Company.
“In the first meeting, we dealt largely with issues relating to Agip’s investment on Zabazaba Field and then their cooperation with us in terms of repairs of the Port Harcourt refinery where they are working with Oando and a few other people.
“And thirdly and more importantly, we reviewed, following my meeting with Agip during the OTC (over the counter) last week with their Chief Executive Officer worldwide.
“We reached an agreement that Agip would build a brand new refinery of 150,000 barrels capacity, which will be located either in Port Harcourt (Rivers) or in Brass (Bayelsa).
“And so, today they reconfirmed that and they are preparing an MOU along those lines.
“The effect of that new refinery goes back to our insistence that oil companies who work in this country would need to begin to migrate away from just exporting crude and begin to look at how to refine those crude and help our local capacity to be able to meet our consumption.’’
The minister said that the new refinery, along with the work Agip is to do at the old refinery in Port Harcourt, would increase the country’s momentum in localising the capacity to produce every refined product.
He added that it would enable the country “to meet the timeline for 2019 that we have been targeting conceptually”.
“So, it is very welcome, deliberative, very successful meeting and we are looking forward to work with Agip going forward in working out the modalities and quickening the process to execute this major project.
“I would also be calling on other multinationals who occupy the same space to see what they can do both in the areas of power.’’
Kachikwu also said that Agip was doing a second power plant that should be on stream by 2019 to 2020.
He said the objective was to ensure that the oil majors did not just take the crude and all the investments but that they would also see what they could do in terms of creating other related industrial growth paths.
“Total investment from Agip involved in both the Zabazaba field, the power plant and the new refinery is in excess of $15 billion. That is major push in terms of our search for investment,’’ the minister explained.
He noted that by the investment Agip would not take over the country’s refineries.
“They (Agip) are going to build their own refinery; it is not different from Dangote building a refinery.
“And if our own will pack up because they are doing then we must be doing something wrong.
“So, if they are going to bring best practices to the field we need to pursue those best practices because ultimately we must begin to look at an export model,’’ he added.
Kachikwu said that the administration was looking at how to position refineries in the country to supply the African market.
He explained: “so market protectionism is not going to be the answer. It is getting our own system up in excellent levels of performance to be able to march international standards.’’
Business
NASS Engages Agric Minister On Food Crisis
The National Assembly through its joint committee on Agriculture Production Services and Rural Development has engaged the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Senator Abubakar Kyari on an urgent solution to food inflation bedeviling the country.
The committee chaired by Senator Saliu Mustapha (APC Kwara Central), at an interface with the Minister, interrogated him on plans being put in place to arrest high cost of food prices in the country and make it affordable and available to the poor masses.
In his response, the Minister said the Federal Government has commenced distribution of 42,000 metric tonnes of grains to some focal points of state capitals nationwide.
“We have received directive and approval from Mr. President to distribute for immediate impact 42,000 metric tons of assorted grains free of charge to the Nigerian population.
“This was received in mid-February, as we are speaking, we have a record of the distribution being carried out, but I will want to plead with the honorable house and distinguished senators that some of the movements can’t be made public but a lot of states have started receiving their grains.
“We are distributing to state capitals in the first instance as you all are aware of the risk involved in the vandalism of foodstuff so we are working with the office of the national security adviser and other national security agencies.
“Furthermore, 58,500 metric tonnes of milled rice from mega rice millers will also be released into the market for stabilisation”, he said.
Speaking with newsmen shortly after the interactive session, Senator Mustapha expressed satisfaction with the steps being taken by the federal government.
He said: “From our interactive session, we are on the other side of the parliament; we are fully in the picture of what is happening, we are convinced that the steps being taken by the federal government are in the right direction.
“All we did again is to further emphasise on the need for certain things to be done on time, I think from this collaborative approach by the grace of God, Nigerians will have a better feel of the government policy on food security”.
Business
Obj Harps On Cheap Credit, Policy Consistency For Food Production
Nigeria’s former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has called on the government to provide cheap credit and ensure policy consistency to enable farmers increase food production in the country.
The former President made the call as food inflation and nutrition security concerns grow in Africa’s most populous country.
Obasanjo’s made the call at the 9th Agrofood & Plastprintpack conference in Lagos recently, where he said farmers in the country were yearning for consistency in policy and single-digit interest loans to drive growth in the sector and attain food security.
“Policy sustainability and predictability is what farmers want. It helps them to plan. Availability of finance is also what farmers want. They cannot survive on the double digital interest rate”, Obasanjo, who is also a farmer, said at the conference.
According to him, food and nutrition security start with availability, then affordability by ensuring that everyone who needs food can get it.
He noted that food was one of the major imperatives in life, adding that “there cannot be food without agriculture and agribusiness”.
Obasanjo further stressed the importance of agriculture in changing the fortunes of the economy, with attendant exponential gains by way of earnings, employment, food security and other spin-offs.
He noted that agriculture must be made attractive to the country’s teeming youth population, saying this would address the rising unemployment, worsening insecurity and youth migration through the Mediterranean.
“We have to make agriculture attractive to the youths. We have to think within and outside the box to make it attractive to the youths so they are willing to get their hands dirty and feet wet”, he advised.
He continued that “Part of the security issue is owing to our inability to get them engaged. The need for agro-food and agribusiness is for food security, employment, wealth creation and income generation, particularly foreign exchange”.
Speaking also, Wouter Plom, the ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, said his country had faced challenges similar to those Nigeria confronts – feeding a growing population with limited resources.
He said as partners with a joint vision, the Netherlands and Nigeria recognise that the agricultural sector was one of the prominent drivers for economic growth.
He noted that the Netherlands has further strengthened its partnership with Nigeria to boost the agriculture sector in three main areas- economic growth, improved diets and youth employment.
The ambassador noted that all the challenges in driving growth through the sector, improving diets and tackling unemployment can be addressed when food production is efficient.
Paul Maerz, Managing Director of Fairtrade Messe, said with more investment in agro-food & plastprintpack solutions, products and technologies, brighter days were ahead for Nigeria’s agriculture.
Business
Abuja Farmers, Others Lose N12bn To Ginger Disease
The Federal Government, has confirmed the outbreak of ginger blight epidemic in four States in Nigeria, saying ginger farmers have lost over N12 billion due to the disease.
The government disclosed this at the inauguration of the National Ginger Blight Epidemic Control Taskforce in Abuja, revealing that the fungal disease had inflicted significant damage on ginger farms in Kaduna, Nassarawa Plateau and the Federal Capital Territory.
The Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security, Aliyu Abdullahi, said the blight had caused billions of naira in losses, impacting not only the livelihoods of farmers, but also Nigeria’s position as the world’s second-largest ginger producer.
“Our preliminary estimates suggested that affected farmers in southern Kaduna lost over N12bn.
“Furthermore, considering that over 85 per cent of Nigeria’s ginger cultivation occurs in this region, we can safely assume a substantial loss of cultivated land, potentially exceeding 70 per cent of total land”, he stated.
Abdullahi, however, stated that the Federal Government through the National Agricultural Development Fund would launch a N1.6bn recovery package for affected farmers in ginger-producing areas.
He said the ginger blight epidemic served as a stark reminder of the importance of preparedness in safeguarding agricultural resources, adding that by investing in research, extension services and farmer support systems, “we can build a more sustainable future for our agricultural sector”.
On his part, the Chairman of the task force committee, Abubakar Abdullahi, said there was no doubt that the blight on ginger had negatively affected the Gross Domestic Product earnings from this subsector.
“It is of necessity and great urgency that various subcommittees are put in place to forestall these negative effects”, he stated.
Abdullahi assured the minister of the commitment of the team to salvage the situation, as he pleaded with the minister to give the committee the power to co-opt members that would add value to the task force to discharge their duties efficiently and effectively.
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