Business

CBN, Fiscal Authorities Restrategise For Economic Stability

Published

9 years ago

October 31, 2016

Faced with a recessive
economy, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the fiscal authorities are now meeting to restrategise on how to take the economy out of the economic doldrums.
A two-day meeting began in Abuja on Thursday under the auspices of the Fiscal Liquidity Assessment Committee (FLAC).
The FLAC is an inter-agency committee comprising technocrats from the CBN, Federal Ministry of Finance, Debt Management Office, Accountant-General, and the revenue generating agencies.
The Central Bank Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, said to surmount the current economic crisis, it was crucial for the fiscal and monetary authorities to work together in a coordinated manner.
“As you are aware, the economy formally slipped into a recession in the second quarter of 2016.
“This marked the culmination of damaging effects of external and domestic shocks to the economy.
“The after effect of this are weakened fiscal revenues, dwindling foreign reserves, exchange rate pressures and it’s passed through to domestic prices.
“The quick fixes to the economic crisis include fiscal stimulus to resuscitate domestic production and qualitative public sector spending to stimulate aggregate demand,” he said.
Emefiele said also that diversifying the economy away from oil into agriculture, manufacturing, increased capital expenditure and improved internal revenue generation were solutions the government was looking into.
Similarly, the Deputy Governor, Economic Policy, CBN, Mrs Sarah Alade, said the use of monetary policies to stabilise the economy has been over stretched.
She reiterated the need for a complimentary fiscal policy options and strategies in releasing the structural pressure points that spiraled the country’s economic problems.
The Federal Inland Revenue Service, Nigeria Customs Service and the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation are expected to make presentations and brainstorm on solutions to government dwindling revenue.

Business

NCDMB Charges Host Community Youths On Relevant Skills Development … As Promoters Handover Oloibiri Oil Museum

Published

19 mins ago

June 27, 2025

The Tide

The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Felix Omatshola-Ogbe, has advised youths of Otuabagi Community, host of the proposed Oloibiri Oil Museum and Research Centre (OMPRC), in the Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, to train in diverse skills to enable them gain employment opportunities when the project is completed.

He gave the charge in the community recently during the hand over of the project’s site by its promoters to the contracting firm, Messer’s Julius Berger Plc.

A statement by the Corporate Communications Directorate of the Board said the event marked the completion of formalities and alignment of all key stakeholders towards ensuring that the project proceed without hitches at the exact location where oil production began in Nigeria in 1957.

The statement added that elated at the development, the NCDMB’s Executive Secretary, who doubles as the Project lead, said the multi-billion naira project consisting of world-class Oil and Gas Museum Centre and a Research Testing Centre, was in fulfilment of the expressed desire of the project promoters to place the host community and location of the Oloibiri Oil Well one on the world map.

“The tradition worldwide has been to immortalize the beginnings of the oil and gas industry by citing projects of significant socio-economic worth in communities where exploitation and production of petroleum began.

“The project promoters, Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Shell Petroleum Development Company (now Renaissance Africa Energy Limited), and the Bayelsa State Government, believe that the case of Nigeria did not have to be different.

“Museums, research centres and other tourist attractions are distinctive features that give deserved prominence and material benefits to such communities were oil and gas was first struck”, he said.

Ogbe cited Pennsylvania, United States of America, which is reputed to be the birthplace of the American oil industry, and a number of other cities across the world as typical examples of were similar projects were sited.

Represented by the Board’s Director of Corporate Services, Alhaji Abdulmalik Halilu, Eng. Ogbe informed the community that history was in the making as Julius Berger moves to the 55.05-hectare project site to commence construction.

He assured them that a project management team has been constituted to ensure that timelines and other expectations were strictly adhered to by the construction giant.

The NCDMB Executive Secretary disclosed that a governance structure has already been drawn up for the Museum Centre for purposes of efficient and effective management, and that the community would be given a sense of belonging at all times.

“Prepare to take advantage of training programmes to be provided in diverse skill sets to be able to secure employment in the facility”, the NCDMB boss reiterated.

He commended the Otuabagi Community, particularly its stakeholder Committee led by Vice Chancellor of the Federal University, Otuoke, Professor Teddy Adias, for the remarkable maturity and comportment exhibited during earlier disputes relating to the project location.

In his remarks, the Chief of Staff, Government House, Bayelsa State, Hon. Peter Akpe, who represented the Bayelsa State Government, said the handover ceremony signaled the transition from drawing board to action and that a project that had been so long in the pipeline is finally coming to fruition.

He commended the NCDMB, other promoters, amd the community’s Stakeholder Committee for their commitment thus far.

In his remarks, a representative of the contracting firm, and Deputy Regional Manager, South and East, Julius Berger Plc, Mr. Rimon Marisho, expressed appreciation to the NCDMB, the State Government and the Otuabagi Community for all they have done to bring the plans for the project to execution phase.

He described the handover ceremony as “a perfect beginning”, while assuring that the firm is in the site for the reason of development.

In their goodwill messages, President, Ijaw National Congress (INC), Professor Benjamin Okaba, and the President of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Sir Jonathan Lokpobiri, pledged their maximum support for the project and assured safe environment for the construction work.

Meanwhile, earlier in a welcome address, the Chairman of the community’s Stakeholder Committee, Professor Adias, expressed appreciation to the NCDMB, PTDF, Shell and Bayelsa State Government for their efforts in actualizing the project, which has been on the drawing board since 1981 in the administration of then President Shehu Shagari.

The handover of the project site to Julius Berger Plc was a momentous event in the history of the Otuabagi Community, which has long yearned for due recognition and development projects as the birthplace of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.

The Tide gathered that the project promoters: the PTDF, NCDMB, Shell (now Renaissance Africa), and the Bayelsa State Government has a contribution ratio of 40:30:20:10, respectively.

A statement from the NCDMB further noted that key features of the project concept include an imposing Oil and Gas Museum, within which is a display of geological formations, platforms, early equipment and tools marking successive stages in the evolution of oil and gas operations in Nigeria, an interactive screen for digital engagement with professionals, students, tourists and historians across the globe in search of knowledge.

The Research Testing Centre, which is the second arm of the complex, according to the NCDMB, will have an open field around one of the abandoned wells, where field trials of prototypes of oil- and gas-related indigenous research will be conducted, in fulfilment of the requirement for product acceptance in industrial application.

It will also provide access to university students in oil- and gas-related disciplines to potentially appreciate an active oilfield.

Other NCDMB personnel at the event were the General Manager, Human Capaital Development, Mr. Esueme Dan Kikile; General Manager, Midstream Monitoring, Mr. Silas Ajimijaye; and General Manager, Facility and Logistics Division, Mr. Suleman Ozhimede.

The Bayelsa State Government team also included Commissioner for Lands, Mr. Perepuighe Biewari; Technical Adviser to the State Governor on Treasury, Revenue and Accounts, Mr. Timipre Seipulo; and Director General, Bayelsa Investment Promotion Agency (BIPA), Ms. Patience Abah.

Business

Nigeria’s Rural Poverty Hits 75% – World Bank

Published

19 mins ago

June 27, 2025

The Tide

Global apex banking institution, the World Bank, has disclosed that the poverty rate among Nigeria’s rural population has reached an alarming 75.5 per cent, highlighting deepening inequality and widespread economic hardship across the country.

According to the World Bank’s latest 2025 Poverty and Equity Brief for Nigeria, the rural dwellers are overwhelmingly bearing the brunt of economic stagnation, inflation, and structural challenges that have characterised the country’s growth trajectory in recent years.

The surveys show that while 41.3 per cent of the urban population lives below the poverty line, the figure for rural Nigeria is almost double.

The report noted that overall, 30.9 per cent of Nigerians lived below the international extreme poverty line of $2.15 per day in 2018/19, before the outbreak of COVID 19, but noted that multiple economic shocks, mounting insecurity, and inflation have worsened poverty levels since then.

The Bank

Stressing that poverty remains highly spatially unequal in Nigeria, the bank noted that in the 2018/19 period, the poverty rate in the northern geopolitical zones stood at 46.5 per cent, compared to 13.5 per cent for the southern regions.

“Based on the most recent official household survey data from Nigeria’s National Bureau of Statistics, 30.9 per cent of Nigerians lived below the international extreme poverty line of $2.15 per person per day (2017 PPP) in 2018/19 before the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Nigeria remains spatially unequal. The poverty rate in northern geopolitical zones was 46.5 per cent in 2018/19, compared with 13.5 per cent for southern ones. Inequality measured by the Gini index was estimated at 35.1 in 2018/19.

“Nigeria’s Prosperity Gap — the average factor by which individuals’ incomes must be multiplied to attain a prosperity standard of $25 per day for all — is estimated at 10.2, higher than most peers”, the report disclosed.

These figures highlight the stark economic divide across different parts of the country, which has persisted despite various interventions aimed at inclusive growth.

In addition to rural poverty, the Bank’s brief revealed troubling trends across demographic groups.

Children aged between 0 to 14 years had a poverty rate of 72.5 per cent, while 63.9 per cent of females and 63.1 per cent of males were classified as poor at the lower-middle-income poverty line of $3.65 per day.

Education status also played a significant role in poverty outcomes. Adults without any formal education recorded a poverty rate of 79.5 per cent, while those with primary education experienced a 61.9 per cent poverty rate.

Even among those with secondary education, 50.0 per cent still fell below the poverty line, whereas individuals with tertiary education fared comparatively better, with a poverty rate of 25.4 per cent.

The World Bank further noted that about 30.9 per cent of Nigerians survive on less than $2.15 a day, 32.6 per cent do not have access to limited-standard drinking water, 45.1 per cent lack limited-standard sanitation, and 39.4 per cent have no access to electricity.

Additionally, 17.6 per cent of adults have not completed primary education, and 9.0 per cent of households have at least one school-aged child who is not enrolled in school.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the report said progress in reducing extreme poverty in Nigeria had nearly stagnated, with the poverty rate declining by only half a percentage point annually since 2010.

It also disclosed that urban living standards among the poor showed little improvement, and the availability of productive jobs remained severely limited.

The World Bank attributed this slow progress to Nigeria’s structural economic challenges, particularly its continued dependence on oil, lack of diversification, and vulnerabilities to climatic shocks impacting rural agriculture, which remains a primary source of rural livelihoods.

Corlins Walter

Business

Ministry, Firm Sign Pact To Boost Digital Trade

Published

19 mins ago

June 27, 2025

The Tide

As part of efforts to boost digital trade and attract global tech investment, the Ministry of Industry, Trade, and Investment has signed an agreement with Itana, Nigeria’s first licensed digital economic zone management company.

Itana had in a statement, recently, disclosed that it is developing a $100m digital zone that allows global businesses to register remotely and operate virtually in Nigeria.

According to the release by the firm, the initiative was backed by development funding from the African Finance Corporation.

It stated that the model is designed to give companies instant access to local talent and markets while offering business-friendly incentives and eliminating the costs associated with physical office space.

It also clarified that the agreement, signed under the National Talent Export Programme, commits the federal government to supporting Itana’s ambition of becoming the jurisdiction of choice for global tech companies expanding into Africa.

It quoted the Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, on a visit to Itana’s at Alaro Free Zone in Lagos, as saying that the partnership aligns with Nigeria’s reform agenda and digital growth ambitions.

“Two years into President Bola Tinubu’s administration, Nigeria is boldly charting a reform-driven path to inclusive growth. We have marked this journey at Alaro City Free Zone, home to Itana, Nigeria’s first Digital Special Economic Zone.

“The more than $1tn global services market is growing fast, and Nigeria is ready to lead Africa’s charge with our youthful, English-speaking, and digitally savvy population.

“Through NATEP, the government aims to leverage digital free zones to create 100,000 high-value jobs over the next five years as part of a broader strategy to position the country as a global hub for digital services”, Oduwole stated.

The statement further clarified that the MoU also affirms the government’s support for Itana’s mission to facilitate the seamless entry of international tech firms into Nigeria, thereby driving innovation and digital inclusion across the continent.

Corlins Walter