Business

NLC, TUC And Forex Market: Matters Arising

Published

14 years ago

November 30, 2009

In spite of Organised Labour’s recognition of the real advantages that a deregulated downstream oil sector would bring to the economy, there is yet no sign that Labour’s opposition to this policy has waned! Labour, of course, recognizes that NNPC (Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation), like all monopolies (especially state run monopolies) create price and market distortions which do not generally favour the masses. Thus, even when it is clear that deregulation will not only release at least N600bn revenue annually for critical infrastructural upliftment, but also reduce the space for corrupt enrichment within the petroleum sub-sector and induce keen competition with improved consumer services, Labour is not convinced that deregulation would translate into cheaper or stable petrol prices, especially when global crude oil prices follow an upward trajectory.

In truth, this column shares Labour’s apprehension and I will even make bold to say that any assurance from any quarter that deregulation as proposed in its present jaundiced form will bring down petrol prices from its current level even when crude oil prices continue to rise must be a calculated attempt to deceive Nigerians, before our income values are taken to the cleaners! Indeed, Deregulation within the context of our current monetary framework will be suicidal! In their eagerness to encourage Labour to embrace deregulation, government and its agents have been quick to point to the gains in the telecom sector with the advent of liberalisation. In truth, prices of mobile handsets and cell rates have tumbled endlessly over the past five years and Nigerians are urged to be patient so that the same favourable scenario would play out in the downstream oil sector; but, sincere and insightful analysts will be quick to caution against such expectation. In the first place, competition may indeed have impacted favourably on consumer prices, but the more important fact is that it is the increasing size of the market (the cost benefit of mass production/service) that has been the main driver of the favourable prices! Secondly, and certainly of equal significance, price reductions are made possible with an expanding market in the telecom sector by the nature of its revenue base; for example, telecom operators receive their incomes in local currency (i.e. naira) from Nigerian based customers, and furthermore, the telecom operators do not have any direct influence on the determination of the naira purchasing power!

Meanwhile, deregulation of the downstream sector may mean more suppliers, but the demand for petrol as in the case of telecom is unlikely to enjoy an astronomical increase, so the relatively static size of local demand for petrol will not increase and thereby instigate the cost savings that will ultimately reduce prices of petrol, especially when the crude oil market is buoyant! Thus, more refineries with increased capacities and an influx of importers will not necessarily increase demand such that prices will come down with the advantages of large scale production. Furthermore, it is clear that the universal driver of petrol prices is actually the international crude oil price movements. This is certainly the most significant factor in the pump price of fuel.

Yes, the distance between refineries and the market, and the index of efficiency in each refinery would also contribute to the price level, but in reality, these two factors may not account for more than 20% in the price structure of petrol; however, the most critical factor that could induce wild swings in petrol prices is certainly the market price of crude oil. The price of crude oil is, however, denominated in dollars and unlike telecom, our export revenue is consequently received in dollars and not in naira. Meanwhile, the naira value derivable from this dollar revenue is in turn determined in a market which is inexplicably dominated and controlled by the worst form of monopoly (i.e. government parastatals).

Thus, the foreign exchange market which determines how much our hard earned dollar income will command in the market, by its monopolistic nature, is plagued by price distortions, corruption, and market dislocations!! In spite of vastly increased export revenue, the monopolistic posturing of the Central Bank in the foreign exchange is in fact at the root of our underdevelopment! The CBN in its role position as the nation’s banker is the prime custodian of our currency; i.e. the naira, and it is appropriate that it controls all naira issues and it is, by its mandate expected to maintain price stability which also includes an appropriate monetary framework which ensures that the naira we all earn does not continue to buy less and less in the market! Thus, while a Central Bank’s monopoly of a nation’s currency issue and management is universally accepted as inevitable, the waters become seriously muddied when the same Central Bank becomes not only a major player but also a monopolist in the supply of foreign exchange to the domestic market; this would lead us into a very poisonous matrix that guarantees that our people become poorer with increasing dollar export revenue.

Currently, the CBN is annually responsible for about 70% of all dollar revenue that enters into the domestic forex market. The balance 30% or less is supplied by oil companies and a few exporters outside the oil sector! While these private dollar suppliers are legally permitted to approach the banks directly for the exchange of their dollars to naira, the owners of public sector dollar revenue in our reserves are not so lucky! Over the last three decades or so, the CBN has played the role of the all-knowing big brother with our dollar earnings. In the present framework, the CBN actually captures the monthly distributable dollar revenue, and proceeds, with no serious attempt at a market-determined naira/dollar rate, to print and supply loads of naira to the three tiers of government at its own unilaterally determined exchange rate! Consequently, with such framework, increasing dollar revenue will mean increasingly worthless naira value, as more and more naira will be pumped into the system with the attendant problems of excess liquidity, high interest rates, heavy government borrowing (not for infrastructural development but for reduction of excess cash in the system) increasing unemployment, lower demand and comatose industrial landscape as a result of CBN’s monopoly of the people’s dollar revenue!

As you may imagine, the above is a veritable paradox, as increasing dollar revenue (whether from crude price rises or additional export revenue) should realistically improve the value of the naira if the increased dollar revenue provides us with longer forex demand cover. For example, our $60bn or more reserves in 2008 gave us over 30 months demand cover according to CBN and our exchange rate hovered between N120 – N150=US$1, but compare this with our $4bn dollar reserves and four month’s demand cover in 1996 and yet our naira exchange in 1996 for just N80/$1.

Some Nigerians have argued that crude oil is our natural endowment and we should therefore enjoy a subsidy akin to agric product subsidies elsewhere in Europe and U.S.A. Thus, even if a subsidy regime cost us N1 OOObn a year (a third of federal budget) or indeed breeds corruption and dislocates the price structure, such Nigerians maintain that subsidy is our birthright! I do not have any quarrel with this argument, but the point is that the concept of incidence of subsidy is misplaced in this instance. It should be a realistic expectation that when crude oil prices increase, our nation’s treasury benefits with increasing dollar reserves, which would in turn improve our dollar demand cover; when dollar demand cover improves as per the above example, we should rationally expect our naira to be stronger against the dollar! A stronger naira, with rising crude oil prices should normally translate into reducing petrol prices locally!!

The cheaper petrol prices will, however, mean higher cost to all cross boarder smugglers of petrol who have contributed to push our daily consumption of petrol over to 30 million litres! What our economic experts do not tell you is that the resultant stronger naira, cheaper petrol prices, the damper on inflation, and a savings ofN600bn erstwhile subsidy are actually the real subsidies that ownership and export of crude oil provides!

Business

Paper Industry’s Economic Contribution Hits N398bn

Published

2 days ago

April 22, 2024

The Tide

The contribution of the paper industry rose to N398.8billion in 2023 from N356billion it recorded in 2022.
Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr. Musa Yusuf, disclosed this in a report released to mark the inauguration of World Envelopes Day in Lagos.
Marking the event, which also commemorated the 50th anniversary of envelope manufacturing firm, FAE Limited, Yusuf stated that the paper industry has a profound economic impact across all sectors of the economy.
He, however, noted that the growth in digital technology had greatly disrupted the sector, especially as a mode of communication.
“As of 2023, the value of the Nigerian paper industry was N398.8billion naira, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
“The value was N365bn in 2022; N363 billion in 2021; and N255billion in 2020. This is a significant contribution to our GDP. However, when compared to the size of our economy, which is estimated at N230trillion as of 2023, it is still very small”, the CPPE boss stated.
Yusuf said the paper industry had been largely in recession because of the digital technology disruptions and other macroeconomic headwinds, especially relating to exchange rate depreciation, forex liquidity crisis and high cost of fund and energy cost escalation.
He emphasised that the paper industry had a profound economic impact across all sectors of the economy, which underscored the need for government intervention in the sector.
In her opening remarks, the Managing Director of FAE Limited, Funlayo Bakare, described World Envelopes Day as the brainchild of the company, which sought to set aside April 16 as a day to celebrate the fundamental role envelopes play in daily communication.
“As we celebrate our golden jubilee, we are delighted to announce the inauguration of World Envelopes Day, to be celebrated annually on the 16th day of April.
“This is a pioneering initiative by FAE Ltd in accordance with our leadership position in the sector.
“The establishment of World Envelopes Day is to raise awareness about the importance of envelopes in various aspects of human endeavour, including personal correspondence, business transactions, and creative expressions”, she said.
The Publisher of The Guardian Newspaper, Maiden Ibru, who chaired the occasion, stressed the need to strike a balance between digitalisation and physical paper production, especially due to the indispensable role paper plays in cultural preservation.
Nigeria once had three paper mills: the Nigeria Paper Mill Limited, located in Jebba, Kwara State; the Nigerian Newsprint Manufacturing Company Limited, Oku-Iboku, Akwa Ibom State; and the Nigerian National Paper Manufacturing Company Limited in Ogun State.
The mills are no longer operational, and the country has had to depend on importation to make up for the shortfall.
The Asset Management Company of Nigeria has taken over the management of NNMC over unpaid debts.

Business

Aviation Union Threatens Strike Over Revenue Deduction

Published

2 days ago

April 22, 2024

The Tide

The Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) has said it would embark on industrial action if the Federal Government refuses to exempt aviation agencies from a directive that seeks to deduct 50 per cent from their Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
ATSSSAN disclosed this in a communique issued by its National Executive Council (NEC) after its National Economic Council meeting in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The NEC, which had in attendance all 17 affiliates of ATSSSAN comprising all branch Chairmen, Secretaries, and national officers, reiterated calls for the exemption of the aviation agencies from the deduction of 50 per cent of their IGR under the Fiscal Responsibility Act.
The association said the agencies were not established for profit, hence stifling them of the required funds would jeopardise the effective performance of their safety and security mandates.
ATSSSAN warned that if the Federal Government insist on the deduction, it would compound the current financial state of the agencies, and “we may be forced to direct all aviation workers to down tools until the government reverses itself”.
Last year, the Federal Government directed the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation to immediately commence the presidential directives on a 50 per cent automatic deduction from the IGR of Federal Government-owned enterprises.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, had issued a circular titled, “Re: Implementation of the Presidential Directives on 50 per cent Automatic Deduction from Internally Generated Revenue of Federal Government Owned Enterprises (FGOEs)”.
According to the circular, all partially-funded Federal Government agencies and parastatals (receiving capital or overhead allocation from the Federal Government’s budget) should remit 50 per cent of their gross IGR, while all statutory revenues, like tender fees, contractor’s registration, and sales of government assets, among others, should be remitted 100 per cent to the sub-recurrent account.
ATSSSAN stated its apprehension over what it perceives as deliberate efforts by certain private airlines to stop their employees from forming labour unions.
Citing Section 40 of the Nigerian Constitution and international labor norms, the association contends that such actions constitute a violation of workers rights.
The statement, however, did not specify the airline operators suppressing workers from joining unions.
Part of the statement read, “The NEC-in-session calls on all employers in the private sector in the aviation industry to respect collective bargaining agreements in order to avert industrial crises at the workplace.
“NEC-in-session was seriously disturbed by the continuous willful acts by some private airlines towards frustrating the unionization of their employees, contrary to the letters and spirit of Section 40 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and relevant international conventions and laws”.
The association, therefore, called upon the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment to uphold and enforce employees’ rights to unionise within the aviation industry.
It urged the Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, to orchestrate a dialogue involving all relevant stakeholders, including the non-compliant airlines and labour unions, under the auspices of the Labor Ministry.
At the meeting, other issues affecting workers, especially members’ welfare and working conditions, and the aviation industry at large were discussed, and positions and resolutions were taken.
The aviation group decried what it perceive as a dearth of avenues for career progression within government-owned aviation entities.

Business

NCDMB Rakes In $1m Return On NEDOGAS Investment

Published

2 days ago

April 22, 2024

The Tide

Management of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) says it has received a cheque of $1 million from Nedogas Development Company Limited (NDCL).
A statement made available to newsmen by the Directorate of Corporate Communications and Zonal Coordination of the Board said the sum received was part of the return on investment (ROI) on one of its strategic investments.
The statement added that: “The cheque was presented by the Chairman of the company, Engr. Emeka Ene, when he visited the Nigerian Content Tower in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, where he was received by the NCDMB’s Executive Secretary, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, and other members of the Board’s management.
“Nedogas Development Company Limited (NDCL) is a joint venture company between Xenergi Limited and NCDMB Capacity Development Intervention Company.
“As part of the project, Nedogas NDCL constructed and commissioned a 300 MMscfd Capacity Kwale Gas Gathering (KGG) and injection facility located in the Umusam Community, near Kwale in Delta State, Niger Delta, Nigeria.
“The KGG Facility was designed to handle stranded gas resources in Nigeria’s OML56 oil province by providing the opportunity for independent operators in the area to monetize natural gas from their fields through the gas gathering, compression, injection and metering infrastructure of the KGG for quick market access.
“Nedogas is one of the several strategic and successful investments of the NCDMB funded from the Nigerian Content Development Fund (NCDF), in line with the Board’s mandate to build capacity and catalyze local projects in the Nigerian oil and gas industry as enshrined under the Nigeran Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act”.
In his remarks, according to the statement, the NCDMB Executive Secretary stated that the success story of NEDOGAS at Kwale, Delta State, could be replicated in other oil and gas producing communities to minimise gas flaring, saying that Ogbe also declared the Board’s readiness to continue collaborating with the company.
“Their model should be extended to other parts of the country where gas flaring is continuing.They have shown that with the modular system, we can quickly remove flaring from our operations in Nigeria.
“The NCDMB had continued to receive briefings from its investment partners. We’re still waiting for them to come back with success stories. Some of them are near completion and have not started operations yet”, the NCDMB’s Executive Secretary said.
In his remarks, Chairman of NEDOGAS, Mr. Emeka Ene, conveyed the company’s excitement in returning part of the credit and profit, adding that it was a proof that the NCDMB’s investment was a success and they are getting back that investment, adding that the firm looks forward to further collaboration with the NCDMB to expand its scope.
Responding, the NCDMB boss said the Board was now doing effectively and practically and tangibly what it was set up for, saying its mandate was to impact the economy by direct interventions.
“That’s the way the economy can grow, improve the gas infrastructure in such a way that’s sustainable despite the tight economic conditions”, he said.
He added that, “the value propositions of the Nedogas project include total eradication of flared gas and conversation of environmental pollutants into products of value and creation of a strategic gas gathering hub and injection node for quick access to market for gas owners to monetize gas”.
Other benefits, according to Ogbe, include the provision of alternative gas supply to western flank of the OB3 line to add to the volumes of economic sustainability and increase in Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
“The partnership with NEDOGAS is one of NCDMB’s 15 strategic investments geared towards actualizing the Federal Government’s aspirations in key areas of the oil and gas industry.
“Most of the projects were targeted at actualizing the Federal Government’s Decade of Gas programme.
“Some of NCDMB’s notable third-party investments include Waltermith’s 5000 barrels per day (bpd) modular refinery in Imo State, Azikel Group12,000 bpd hydro-skimming modular refinery in Gbarain, Bayelsa State, and Duport Midstream’s 2,500bpd modular refinery in Edo State.
“Other investments of the Board include Better Gas Energy for LPG terminal and gas distribution, partnership with Rungas Prime Industries Limited to establish a cooking gas cylinders manufacturing plant in Polaku, Bayelsa State, and Alaro City in Lagos and the partnership with Butane Energy to deepen LPG utilization in the North”, he stated.
The Executive Secretary also noted that there was the partnership with BUNORR Integrated Energy Limited in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, to produce 48,000 litres of base oil per day and partnership with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited, Brass Fertilizer and Petrochemical Company Limited, and DSV Engineering to establish a 10,000 Ton Methanol Production Plant, Odioama, in the Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.