Business

FG Begins 4th MSMEs Survey – NBS

Published

3 years ago

August 13, 2021

The Federal Government is set to begin the fourth round of the Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) survey.
The disclosure was made yesterday in Abuja at a news conference jointly addressed by the office of the Statistician-General of the Federation and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN).
Director, Real Sector and Household Statistics Department at the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics, Mr Adeyemi Adeniran, represented Statistician-General of the Federation, Mr Yemi Kale, at the news conference.
Adeniran said that the survey would begin on Monday with a train-the-trainers workshop, while field work would start on August 21.
He said that the survey which would be carried out in the 36 states and the FCT would cover 2019 and 2020.
He added that three surveys had been successfully carried out in 2010, 2013 and 2017.
Adeniran said that in the fourth round, the concept of Nano enterprises, a concept considered as micro enterprises, would be introduced.
‘The new sub-division (Nano) refers to those enterprises that have only one or two persons engaged in their operations, while the micro enterprises are those enterprises with three to nine persons engaged in their operations.
“On this note, the survey will henceforth be called NMSMEs survey. In addition, a new module was introduced into the survey, which is the impact of Covid-19 on business operations.
“It seeks to identify how enterprises coped during the pandemic period and what areas of support and intervention they will require from government at this post-covid lockdown period,’’ he said.
On the objectives of the survey, Adeniran said that they would help to establish a credible and reliable database for the MSMEs.
He said that they would also contribute to job and wealth creation over a three-year period.
Adeniran added that they would help to assess the contributions of the MSMEs sub-sector to GDP and identify the number of NMSMEs owned on gender basis.
“The survey will also identify the skills gap in the sector; ascertain top priority areas that need government interventions and assistance and identify possible financing windows to raise low cost financing,’’ he said.
On the impact of past exercises, Adeniran said they allowed government to look inward into those sectors within the MSMEs that were making impact on the GDP to strengthen them.
He added that they looked at those that were not making much contribution to the GDP to bring them up to speed so that holistically, the improvement in all sectors within the MSMEs would lead to overall improvement in growth.
“We also know that the MSMEs sub-sector of our economy employs a huge number of persons; they engage a lot of workers in their daily activities.
“To this end, they are able to cushion the effects of unemployment that Nigeria is witnessing.
“If not for the MSMEs that are still serving the communities, the labour force population and the unemployment we have in the country will be more than what we are experiencing now,’’ Adeniran added.
In his remarks, the Director-General, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) Mr Dikko Radda, said that MSMEs were important to the sustainable growth of the economy.
He said the last survey indicated that the sub-sector contributed 49.78 per cent to the nation’s GDP.
According to him, they also accounted for more than 76 per cent of total employment and contributed 7.64 per cent to total export.
Radda said that the surveys gave SMEDAN the leverage to prepare programmes that would have impact on the sub-sector.

Business

Fuel Scarcity: IPMAN threatens shutdown over bridging claims

Published

1 day 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

5 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