Business

RMRDC Advises SMEs Operators On Loans

Published

12 years ago

January 4, 2012

The Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), has advised entrepreneurs to approach non-commercial banks for loans that would enable them to start their Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) using indigenous technology.

Prof. Peter Onwualu, the Director-General, said this at a forum in Abuja, recently.

He said that the council had funded a lot of research works with results yet to be fully integrated to businesses.

Onwualu observed that that many Nigerians had been contacting the council on how to apply those technologies for commercial purpose but lack the required funds to acquire the needed machines to execute such projects.

He noted that most of entrepreneurs shy away from approaching non- commercial banks such as the Bank of Industry, the Nigeria Import and import Bank, to acquire soft loans that could assist them to start up SMEs.

Onwualu said that any interested investor or entrepreneur that approaches these banks with good proposal would be granted the required loans.

“And unknown to this entrepreneurs they can actually approach Bank of Industry and say I have this technology that raw materials have developed and I want to use it to produce a product but I don’t have teh funding.

“And Bank of industry will say, send in a proposal and if it meet their criteria and they checked and see that that technology can actually produce something.

“From what I hear and what I see, they can actually give entrepreneurs loans at an interest that is not as high as what you can find in commercial banks and they can begin to produce.

“That is one way I believe that these technologies can leave our laboratories so that we can concentrate on doing more research, while business men can pick up these technologies.’’

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Some of these technologies, according to him, include clothes driers, salt driers as well technology applications such as cassava processing, sesame processing, moringa products for water treatment and production of break-pads from natural resources.

The Director-General expressed dismay that long ranges of these results were yet to be commercialised.

“I must say that a number of our research results have actually be utilised in the economy but I must also say that I am not yet satisfied, I will be satisfied when we get to a point where we have over 100 of our research results being used by industries.

“Over the years we have 100 of these projects, but this year alone we have completed about 22 or 23, and these are things that can hit the market, we want to hit the market.

“We have funded researches that have come up with upgraded technologies, when I say up graded technologies, it means looking at how our people do it now, injecting little bits of technology and coming up with process that you can find the machine locally.

“So we have quite a number of these technologies that have not hit the market.’’

He noted that RMRDC, within its mandates, was also giving grants and technical assistance to investors who were interested in promoting its research results, to ensure that they were fully commercialised.

He, however, stressed the need for private and cooperate investors to take up these technologies as grants from the council.

“All over the country we are also giving grants to assist SMEs to start their own businesses but as a research organisation and government organisation, we can only assist to certain level.’’

He said that the council had also provided a documented technology profiles from its visibility studies on cottage level of investment opportunities in Nigeria, for interested investors to be well informed on existing technologies within the country.

Business

Fuel Scarcity: IPMAN threatens shutdown over bridging claims

Published

7 hours ago

May 3, 2024

The Tide

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) Depot Chairmen Forum, has exonerated its members from the current fuel scarcity in the country.

According to IPMAN, this is caused by its inability to source petroleum products.

The IPMAN Depot Chairmen Forum also threatened to withdraw its services over non-payment of N200 billion bridging claims by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) to its members, since 2022.

Alhaji Yahaya Alhassan, the Chairman, of the Forum said this while briefing newsmen in Abuja, yesterday.

Alhassan said the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) was the sole importer of the product, but the marketers could not source products from NNPC Ltd. deport, rather from the private depots at high rate.

“We cannot buy fuel from the private depots at N950 and transport the product from Lagos to the North and other parts of the country with N2 million and still sell it at N900 or N1, 000.

“It is expedient for us to state that we are more pained by the non-availability of petroleum products in the country, which has given rise to another round of untold hardship for Nigerians.

“Contrary to claims that IPMAN members are hoarding Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) known as fuel, we would like to categorically state that PMS scarcity is wholly triggered by inability to get fuel from NNPC and not IPMAN,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, the NNPC Ltd. Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye said the disruption was due to logistical issues which had since been resolved.

“We currently have an availability of products exceeding 1.5 billion litres, which can last for at least 30 days. Unfortunately, we experienced a three-day disruption in distribution due to logistical issues, which has since been resolved.

“However, as you know, overcoming such disruptions typically requires double the amount of time to return to normal operations.

“Some folks are taking advantage of this situation to maximise profits. Thankfully, product scarcity has been minimal lately, but these folks might be exploiting the situation for unwarranted gain,’’ Soneye said.

He however, said the lines would clear out soon.

On the non-payment of bridging claims, the IPMAN forum said it was distressed and depressed by the laidback attitude of the NMDPRA towards the survival its member’s businesses, arising from its refusal in paying the claims.

“It is with deep frustration that we have assembled here today as the IPMAN Depot Chairmen Forum. It is also disheartening to note that some of our members have completely shut down businesses and retrenched employees.

“As businessmen and women, our members acquired bank loans to keep their fuel retail outlets running on a daily basis across the nooks and crannies of Nigeria in order to serve the teeming population of Nigerians,’’ Alhassan said.

He recalled that Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Oil), at a stakeholders meeting in February mandated the NMDPRA management to clear the entire debt in 40 days.

“However, today, we have crossed the 40 days’ time lapse given to the NMDPRA to clear the debt, and it is shameful to state that only the paltry sum of N13 billion has been paid, ignoring minister’s directive.

“We are not happy with the indiscriminate increment in the issuance and renewal of Sales and Storage Licence, by the NMDPRA, and the subsequent delays in acquiring the licence, which our members are recently subjected to.

“We are also calling on President Bola Tinubu to look into this unwholesome figure which is highly detrimental to our business and reverse it forthwith, as it is bound to impact negatively on the masses.

“We are poised to take far reaching decisions that may cripple the supply and sales of petroleum products across Nigeria if our demands are not met within the shortest period of time.

“We are collectively prepared to withdraw our services, shut down every single outlet, and suspend lifting of products forthwith till our demands are fully met, and the consequences will be terrible.

“We call on our members to however remain resolute and law abiding, even as we draw close to the immediate ultimatum for our demands to be met by the NMDPRA,’’ the chairman said.

Reacting to the IPMAN’s claims, the Acting Head, Corporate Communications, NMDPRA, Seiyefa Osanebi said the bridging claims payment was ongoing.

“The bridging claims payment is always an ongoing process,” she said.

Maritime

Shippers’ Council Registers 160 Port Operators

Published

4 days ago

April 29, 2024

The Tide

The Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) says it has registered 160 Port stakeholders into its Regulated Port Service Provider and Users platform since the initiative began in 2023.
Executive Secretary, NSC, Mr Pius Akutah, made the disclosure on the sideline of a sensitisation programme by the commission for port operators in Lagos, with the theme, “Regulated Port Service Provider and Users”.
Represented by the Director, Consumer Affairs, Chief Cajetan Agu, Akutah emphasised the significance of the programme for stakeholders.
He said the sensitisation programme was the second edition after its commencement during the last quarter of 2023.
The Secretary said the 160 registered port operators consist of agencies, terminal operators, shipping companies, individual port users as well as service providers.
“We invited the ports stakeholders for enlightening them on the processes for online registration of Regulated Port Service Provider and Users.
“We have demonstrated to them how to register and how to make payment and we were able to present before them the various categories of the registration.
“The rate of payment is also in the registration. The payment of each group depends on the operation. A shipper pays N30,000, terminal operators and shipping companies pay N300,000, truckers also pay N30,000, while some pay N50,000 and N100,000.
“The Council was able to intimate them on the benefits, because port users benefit more as we help to interface on reducing port charges from time to time”, Akutah said.
He said that there was a need to continue to work with port operators to stop delays and eliminate high costs to make the port efficient.
Also speaking, the Deputy Director, Stakeholders, Service, NSC, Mr Celestine Akujobi, said “the sensitisation exercise was important for the council to enable us bring all the port stakeholders together”.
According to him, this is to avoid challenges during the implementation of the council’s responsibilities.
“By the time we introduce sanctions on defaulters, no operators will complain that he or she is not aware of the registration.
“I’m happy with the turnout of this sensitisation. This shows that the operators are well informed of the statutory friction of the council as the port regulator.
“The final implementation will commence as soon as we discover that all the operators have keyed into the portal.
“We are engaging other ports across the country and we’re hopeful that before the last quater of 2024, the council will implement sanctions on defaulting operators”, Akujobi said.
Earlier, Vice Chairman, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwards (NAGAFF), Dr Ifeanyi Emoh, said port challenges were enormous, adding that they originated from some of the government agencies.

Emoh urged the council to look into regulating other government agencies, so that there could be a window through which they can collect port charges collectively instead of indiscriminately.

By: Chinedu Wosu