LCCI hails removal of fixed charges from electricity tariffs

 

Director-General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Muda Yusuf has hailed the removal of fixed charges from electricity tariffs. He however said the electricity companies must ensure proper metering.

Mr. Yusuf in an interview said prepaid meters are not available and there are still cases of estimated billing, which need to be removed to ensure people pay for what they consume.

He said distribution companies must ensure inefficiency in the system is curtailed to avoid burdening the consumers.

Kaduna Refinery Resumes Production

The Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company has resumed production of petrol four months after it was closed for repairs.

The Managing Director of the company, Saidu Mohammed, who disclosed this to Channels Television in Kaduna, said that the plant, which was closed in September, came back on stream last Saturday ahead of the December deadline for Nigeria’s four refineries to return to full production.

The restart of production at the Kaduna refinery should be a cheering news for Nigerians, who have endured months of scarcity of petrol.

Mohammed explained that the plant, which is getting supply of crude oil from Escravos in Warri, is currently producing at an average 1.5 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit per day.

The MD said that with the resumption of production, the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC) is expected to commence trucking of refined products within the week. He added that at least 50 trucks are expected to be loading the substance for supply to the northern part of the nation and beyond on daily basis.

Mr Mohammed further explained that the Kaduna refinery is working in collaboration with the PPMC and Department of Petroluem Resources (DPR) to ensure that products are properly supplied across the region, to cushion the effect of the scarcity of petrol.

While appealing to the public to exercise patience, he gave the assurance that the long queues across the country would soon disappear as soon as the PPMC commences trucking.

Prior to its closure in September, Kaduna refinery had stopped working for most part of the year, except briefly in July and August, when its utilisation capacity dropped to about 2.6 per cent and 10.5 per cent respectively, according the NNPC monthly operational report for October.

The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, had issued a 90-day ultimatum to the managements of the four refineries shortly after his appointment in August.

NERC approves new electricity tariff, abolishes fixed charges

The new electricity tariff regime approved by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has removed fixed charges for all classes of electricity consumers.

This is contained in a statement on the company’s website, signed by its Head, Public Affairs Department, Dr Usman Abba Arabi.

It said from the next billing period, distribution companies would no longer charge their customers monthly fixed charges.

Fixed charge is that component of the tariff that commits electricity consumers to paying an approved amount of money not minding whether electricity is consumed during the billing period.

Under the new tariff regime, electricity consumers will now only pay for what they consume from month to month.

According to the Chairman of NERC, Dr Sam Amadi: “This is good news for electricity consumers who have long asked for a more just and fair pricing of electricity.

For instance, residential customer classification (R2) in Abuja Electricity Distribution Company will no longer pay N702 fixed charge every month.

Their energy charge will increase by N9.60kwh. Also, residential customers (R2 customers) in Eko and Ikeja electricity distribution areas will no longer pay N750 fixed charges.

They will be getting N10/kwh and N8kwh increase respectively in their energy charges.

Ladder crisis: Aero indicts Bauchi airport manager

The Accountable Manager and Managing Director, Aero, Capt Russel Lee Foon, has said that the airline was assured of adequate ground handling services by the Bauchi Airport Manager before the airline embarked on a flight with B737—500 series with registration 5N-BLG.

Lee Foon, who disclosed this while briefing aviation correspondents, on Monday, on what happened at Bauchi Airport, at the weekend, added that the charter was booked by a group of young people, who were to attend a wedding party and that the groom was also on board.

The Accountable Manager explained that on December 18, 2015, the airline Head of Ground Operations, Mr. Peter Omata, confirmed the handling of the flight through the Airport Manager of Bauchi, Mr. Abubakar, and that he, also, confirmed, on many occasions, the availability of the air stairs and cost.

He further explained that prior to leaving Abuja, the Flight dispatcher contacted the Airport Manager to advise that the aircraft was taxing out and he confirmed that they were ready to receive the flight.

According to him, “At 10:42 the aircraft touched down on Runway 35 at the Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa International Airport. The controller advised the crew that due the absence of marshallers and ramp officials of any sort, that parking would be at their own discretion.”

Dollar Maintains N270 At Parallel Market

The Naira on Tuesday continued to exchange at N270 to the dollar amidst expectations that the apex bank would inject 90 million dollars to stimulate the parallel market.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Naira had on Friday rebounded after weeks of record low at the market, exchanging for N270 to the dollar at the parallel market.

At the official interbank window, the Naira exchanged for N197 to the dollar.

Traders at the market were hopeful that the Naira would experience some stability after the Central Bank of Nigeria said it had stimulated the market with 90 million dollars.

Petrol sells for N300 per litre in Jigawa

As fuel scarcity bites harder in Hadejia, Jigawa, the price of a litre of petrol has risen to N300. Many petrol stations in Hadejia had no product to sell at the time of this report. Petro is only available at black markets where it sold at N300 per litre, well above the N87 approved pump price.

The situation has led to drastic drop in the number of commercial buses on roads in the area. Malam Ibrahim Hassan, a commercial bus driver, said that he was experiencing difficulties getting petrol to buy. Hassan said that the situation was affecting his daily revenue as “I am spending much on fuel due to the lingering scarcity. “

The driver said that he had resorted to carrying more passengers to make up for the expenses on fuel. “I am overloading passengers to avoid incurring losses. “ Malam Baballe Haruna, the Treasurer, National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in the area, condemned the non-availability of petrol in the area.

Haruna said that the trend had exposed members of the union to hardships, adding that most of them had parked their vehicles. He appealed to the Federal Government to adopt practical measures to end scarcity of petroleum products in the country.

Naira hits low of 251/$ on unofficial market, dollar reserves fall

Nigeria's naira fell 2 percent to a low of 251 to the dollar on the unofficial market on Wednesday as the central bank reduced dollar supplies to bureaux de change operators due to incomplete documentation, traders said.

The bank sold $30.5 million to 1,017 bureaux de change agents, excluding around 1,801 others from its weekly sale. Wednesday's sale was lower from the $84.5 million it offered two weeks ago.

On the official interbank market, the naira traded at 199.47 at 1139 GMT, close to a rate at which it has been pegged since February.

Meanwhile the nation's reserves shed 1.1 percent in a week to $29.59 billion as of Dec. 7, according to data today from the Central bank of Nigeria.

AMCON battles economic difficulties to repay N5.6trn bond obligations

THE Assets Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) is battling with the challenges of economic difficulties including decline in crude oil prices in its efforts to repay N5.6 trillion bond obligations to banks.

Managing Director and Chief Executive, AMCON, Ahmed Kuru disclosed this at an interactive session with journalists in Lagos yesterday.

He said that AMCON is expected to pay up N5.6 trillion of the funds raised through bond issuance over the next 10 years but it is finding it difficult to get enough money to pay up.

He explained that banks which contribute 70 per cent of the AMCON sinking fund is growing at about 12 per cent which is less than the 20 per cent projected growth.

Banks are contributing 0.5 per cent of their balance sheet into the AMCON sinking fund but Kuru says that the contribution of banks to the sinking fund is going to fall short of expectations this year.

The bad bank he explained is also faced with the challenges created by the dwindling oil price. According to him, the low price of crude oil at the international market is affecting its ability to sell off some of its assets and pay up on its obligations.

Kuru explained that decline in price of crude in the international market has affected the valuation of some of the assets which it is holding. With over 30 per cent of its assets being in the oil and gas sector, he said “we all know what is happening to the price of crude, what it does is that it affects the price of the assets that we are holding.”

Nigeria stocks hit 3-year low as oil prices tumble

 

Nigerian stocks shed 2.4 percent to hit a new three-year low on Wednesday after global oil prices tumbled to their lowest in more than six years.

The stock market, which has the second-biggest weighting after Kuwait on the MSCI frontier market index, fell for the second day on thin volumes to levels not seen since December 2012.

The bourse, which is down 20.6 percent year-to-date, broke below the psychologically key 27,000 point line on Wednesday. Banking shares fell the most, down 3.1 percent as investors sold off relatively liquid financial stocks.

On Tuesday, Brent crude touched its lowest levels since February 2009. Oil plunged after OPEC last week failed to agree a cut in production quotas in the face of slumping prices and a mounting global supply glut. Brent traded at $40.68 on Wednesday.

Nigeria, which relies on oil exports for 70 percent of government revenue, faces its worst economic crisis in years brought on by the sharp fall in crude prices.

Nigeria's cabinet on Monday agreed a 6 trillion naira budget proposal for 2016, up by 1.5 trillion naira on last year despite low oil prices that have hammered Africa's biggest economy.

Budget and Planning Minister Udoma Udo Udoma said the cabinet was assuming a conservative oil price of $38 a barrel and oil production at 2.2 million barrels per day. Lawmakers passed the 2015 budget at $53 a barrel in April.

SEC insists BGL Suspension still subsists

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has insisted that the suspension of BGL Plc, its subsidiaries and sponsored individuals from all capital market activities still subsists, following the publication of the BGL 50 Index in a national daily.

SEC in a notice it posted on its official website, said that the Commission dissociates itself from the “BGL 50 Index” publication.

I would be recalled that SEC in May 2015 announced the suspension of BGL Group Plc from all capital market operations, ordering that Mr. Albert Okumagba,  who is the Group Managing Director of BGL Group, should cease to be a registered Sponsored Individual with the commission following the withdrawal of the registration of BGL Plc as a  capital market operator.

The commission however further assured that it is committed to protect investors and the Nigeria capital market.

Govt proposes N6tr budget for 2016

Following its second meeting since it was constituted, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) yesterday announced an approval of an estimated budget of N 6 trillion for the 2016 fiscal year, which is about N1 trillion more than the 2015 budget.

The council also said it was working on a $38 crude oil price benchmark as well as a 2.2 million barrels a day oil production.

Briefing State House correspondents after the meeting which lasted more than three hours, the Budget and National Planning Minister, Udoma Udo Udoma, said the capital expenditure would take priority over recurrent vote in the new administration’s change agenda, noting that the government was projecting 30 percent capital expenditure as against the current 15 percent.

Flanked by the Minister of State in the ministry, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed and his Information and Culture counterpart, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Udoma said the Federal Government was working very hard towards getting the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) passed
“Today, Council approved the Medium Term Economic Framework, which sets out the policies of government over the next years, it sets out the fundamental economic underpinning of the budget.

“The highlights are as follows: we project and we are working with $38 crude oil price, we consider that to be very conservative but because of the uncertainty, we felt that we should start with a conservative crude oil price.

“We are also working with 2.2 million barrels a day production, it is achievable, particularly because with the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) which we are working to achieve, we believe that, that is a modest figure that we should be able to produce something higher than that.

“And so next year, we are looking at an expansionist budget, we are looking at a budget that will be N1 trillion more than last year, so we are looking at a budget of about N6 trillion. Last year’s budget, including the supplementary was about N 5 trillion, so we are looking at a N 6 trillion budget.”

He disclosed that all the increases would be spent on capital expenditure , because of infrastructure issues that  the country has  to address.

On funding of the budget, Udoma said the government would get funds from two sources . First , by increasing non-oil revenue and getting more we are looking at trying to get more money from government agencies.

The government will also look at keeping down recurrent budget, which means we are looking at savings that we can make from overheads.

Banks to sell foreign currencies to travellers

There are reports that deposit Money Banks in the country are set to commence the sale of foreign currencies as Personal Travel Allowance and Business Travel Allowance to end-users.

This follows major falls in the naira-dollar exchange rate at the parallel market from 241 to 251 in the past seven days.

Banking sources said the Central Bank of Nigeria and the chief executive officers of the commercial banks had commenced talks to ensure that the DMBs begin the sale of forex in form of the PTA and BTA to members of the public as early as next week.

The CBN had last Wednesday denied over 1,600 Bureaux De Change operators access to the $30,000 limit weekly forex sale after they failed to render returns on the utilisation of previous forex purchased from the CBN window.

The development led to scarcity of forex in international airports across the country, forcing the naira to depreciate against the dollar at the parallel market from between 241 and 243 to 251.

However, the latest move by the CBN in collaboration with the commercial banks is expected to lead to huge supply of dollars to end-users, particularly travellers in the market.

The development is expected to reduce the pressure on the naira occasioned by the scarcity of dollars at the parallel market.

The discussions between the CBN and the banks over the commencement of forex sales is expected to be finalised at a meeting slated for this weekend, according to top baking sources privy to the discussions.

It was also gathered that the central bank had put measures in place to ensure that licensed forex dealers at the airport, particularly Travelex, sell forex to intending travellers.

The Director, Corporate Communications, CBN, Mr. Ibrahim Mu’azu, said the banks were selling forex to legitimate end-users, adding that the central bank had put in place measures that would ensure that “all legitimate needs are met.”

Naira trades 250 to the dollar at parallel Market

The Nigerian Naira traded at 250 naira on the unofficial market today, just up from Friday's low of 251, as dollar shortages hit bureaux de change operators.

Traders said nearly half of 2,818 bureaux de change operators were denied access to the central bank's dollar sale last week because of incomplete documentation, weakening the naira.

At the inter-bank market, the naira traded at 198.90 to the dollar, around a rate it has been pegged to since February.

Traders expect dollar allocation to BDC agents to increase on Wednesday as companies update their records with the central bank.

Nigerian naira seen weakening on low dollar supply

 The Nigerian naira is expected to weaken in the next week after the central bank stopped offering dollars to some foreign exchange traders.

The Nigerian naira is likely to ease further next week after the central bank suspended its sale of dollars to some bureaux de change over their failure to file documentation on previous dollar purchases.

The local currency was trading at 246 to the dollar on the unofficial market on Thursday, down from 235 per dollar last week. It traded at 198.97 a dollar on the official interbank market. It had closed at 197 to the dollar last week on the market.

The central bank had on Wednesday denied about 1,599 bureaux de change agents, out of a total of 2,818 operators, access to its foreign exchange sales window, limiting supply.

"We hope by next week the issue around the suspension of some bureaux de change would have been resolved, otherwise dollar shortage may persist in the market, leading to further depreciation of the naira," one trader said.

Typo' raises reduced MTN fine by $500 million: Regulator

 South African telecoms giant MTN has had its reduced fine for failing to disconnect unregistered users in Nigeria increased by $500 million because of a mistake by the regulator in Abuja.

MTN announced on Thursday that the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) had cut the initial $5.2 billion fine to $3.4 billion after talks with the authorities in Nigeria's capital.

But the company said on Friday the fine had now been increased to $3.9 billion.

NCC spokesman Tony Ojobo admitted: "There was a typo. The reduction should have been 25 percent.

"We saw the mistake and had to fix it," he was quoted as saying by Bloomberg.

The company said it was "carefully considering" the letters it has received and that its chairman and acting chief executive Phuthuma Nhleko would hold further talks with the Nigerian authorities.

The amount has to be paid by December 31.

MTN was slapped with the hefty penalty in October after it missed a deadline to disconnect 5.1 million unregistered SIM cards.

The NCC in early August ordered all mobile phone companies operating in Nigeria to deactivate all unregistered SIM cards within seven days or face severe sanctions.

DMO to sell N50bn worth of bonds on Dec. 9

The Debt Management Office (DMO) says it will raise N50 billion worth of bonds in two categories on Dec. 9.
The DMO disclosed this in its ‘Bond Circular’ posted on its Website on Thursday.

According to the circular, the two categories of bonds are the 10-year and five-year bonds.

The DMO said that it would issue N20 billion worth of the 10-year bonds and N30 billion of the five-year bonds.

It said the two categories of bonds would mature in March 2024 and February 2020, respectively.

The DMO said that the two categories of bonds would open with different coupon rates.

“The 10-year and five-year bonds would have coupon rates of 11.85 per cent and 11.73 per cent, respectively.’’
 It said that the bonds would be auctioned on Dec. 9, while the settlement date would be Dec. 11.


    

Kachikwu Replaces Diezani At OPEC Conference In Vienna

As the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is set to meet in Vienna on Friday, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum, and head of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, (NNPC) Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has been named as the new conference President of the Organisation.

Dr. Kachikwu replaces Nigeria’s former Minister of Petroleum, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke who was named the first female President of OPEC in November last year.

The minister is calling for a delay in Iran’s intended oversupply of crude oil in order to control pricing that has dropped near 20 percent in 2015.

Ahead of Friday’s meeting, US crude oil price climbed 1.40 percent early today trading at 40 Dollars 23 cents per barrel, Brent was up 48 cents at 42 Dollars 97 cents per barrel.

Ahead of Fridy’s meeting analysts expect OPEC whose 12 member nations from the Middle East, Africa and Latin America pump out about one third of the world’s oil, to leave its daily oil output target at 30 million barrels.

NBS Urges Substantial Attention For Accurate Statistics

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to give substantial attention to the production and usage of accurate statistics in all sectors.

The Statistician General of the Federation, Dr. Yemi Kale, made the called while speaking at the National Stakeholders Validation Workshop in Kaduna State, Northwest Nigeria.

Dr. Kale said for Nigeria to be among the top 20 economies in the world by the year 2020, the present administration must give much consideration to the production and usage of credible data.

He stressed the importance of accurate and credible data in strategic development plans, in order to make better decisions for enhanced policy making.

The NBS boss observed that Nigeria needed robust and reliable statistics in order to effectively implement the Sustainable Development Goals and effectively monitor its socio-economic programmes.

While discrediting speculations that Nigeria’s unemployment rate was on the upsurge, he added that most of the past economic policies failed due to lack of well- informed decisions that would catalyse social and economic development.

The Director of Field Services and Methodology, NBS, Felicia Abioye, hinted that the meeting would review and update the National Strategic Development Plan for 2015- 2019.

The representative of the European Union, Professor Peter Osanaiye and Statistician General of Kaduna State, Bashir Bature, stressed the need for the Nigerian government to strengthen the nation’s Bureau of statistics in order to get an accurate data for policy formulation.

With no clear and accurate number of unemployed youths, health profile of citizens and poverty indices, the meeting was aimed at sensitising relevant stakeholders on the enormous task of data generation.

FG slashes MTN fine over SIM cards disconnections

The Nigerian Communications Commission has sharply reduced a hefty penalty slapped on South African telecoms giant MTN over unregistered SIM cards, the company said on Thursday.

The Commission is now looking for a fine of $3.4 billion (3.2 billion euros), down from an earlier $5.2 billion, after negotiations with the regulator, it said.

MTN was slapped with the hefty penalty in October after it missed a deadline to disconnect 5.1 million unregistered SIM cards.

The reduced fine has to be paid by December 31.

Africa’s largest mobile phone operator said in a statement is was “carefully considering” the revised fine by the NCC.

It said executive chairman Phuthuma Nhleko “will immediately and urgently re-engage with the Nigerian authorities before responding formally…to ensure the best outcome for the company, its stakeholders and the Nigerian authorities.”

“All factors having a bearing on the situation will be thoroughly and carefully considered before the company arrives at a final decision.”

The fine resulted in the resignation of the group’s chief executive Sifiso Dabengwa in November, after news of the penalty sent the firm’s share price plummeting.

Dabengwa has been replaced by Phuthuma Nhleko, the firm’s former chief executive who will hold the position for six months.

Meantime two senior executives at the company’s operation in Nigeria have stepped down, the firm announced.

MTN Nigeria’s CEO Michael Ikpoki and the head of regulatory and corporate affairs, Akinwale Goodluck “have tendered their resignations with immediate effect,” MTN said in a statement.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, is MTN group’s largest market where it had over 62.8 million subscribers by the second quarter of this year.

The NCC said registration of subscribers was made mandatory to ensure proper identification of users with their biometric data and in line with international best practice.

Nigerian forex reserves fall to $30.04 bln by Nov 26

Nigeria's foreign exchange reserves fell to $30.04 billion by Nov. 26 from $30.10 billion the month before, the latest central bank data showed on Monday. 

Reserves were down 18.6 percent on the year from $36.9 billion in the same period last year. Nigeria's dollar reserves have been hit by a plunge in crude prices and the central bank's decision to defend the currency.

Nigeria: Fashola Targets 5000MW Power Generation Before End of 2015

Nigeria's Minister of Power, Babatunde Fashola wants Nigeria's power generation by the end of the year to hit 5000MW.

The minister had a closed door meeting stakeholders in Nigeria’s power sector yesterday in Abuja.

Implementation of new electricity tariff drawn up by the electricity distribution companies (Discos) under the Multi Year Tariff Order (MYTO.2.1) of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and complaints of regulatory uncertainty which the Discos had raised were also discussed at the meeting.

RMAFC recovers over N704.2b, goes tough on MDAs that fail to remit to Federation Account

The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) recovered over N704.2 billion in the last five years, its Chairman, Elias Mbam has said.

Addressing reporters in Abuja yesterday at the valedictory briefing to mark the end of his tenure along with that of some members of the Commission, he said RMAFC “expanded the sources of revenue to the Federation Account, with recoveries of over N704.2billion been made, revenue leakages were addressed, verification  is being carried out on the collecting banks and other collecting agencies. Generally, the Commission has addressed vigorously all its Constitutional Mandate”.

Mbam said he did not have the exact amount recovered. “I don’t have the exact figure of which and which but it is basically in all the generating agencies. A greater proportion is from NNPC. There are some from Central bank, there are some from FIRS. I don’t have the exact figure.

The Commission, Mbam said, “periodically carried out monitoring and checks on the revenue collecting agencies, including Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigerian Customs Service (NCS), Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), and Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, among others. It also conducted monthly post-disbursement monitoring through post-mortem Sub-Committee of Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC). The Commission recovered over N704.2 billion Naira in the course of monitoring and checks within the period under review.”

To minimise leakages, the Commission, Mbam said, embarked on  the monitoring and reconciliation of collections and remittances by the collecting banks engaged by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and Nigerian Customs Service (NCS). The exercise is expected to be a continuous one and over N12.6billion has been established as liability while over N1.8billion has been recovered and remitted to the Federation Account in Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Similarly, “the Commission is also collaborating with FIRS for the reconciliation and recovery of large amount of Tax Liabilities by Federal MDAs, states, and councils. Over N15 billion  has been recovered in the exercise from the reconciliation of tax liabilities of states and local government councils across the country,” Mbam said.

To enhance revenue accruals to the Federation Account (FA), the Commission, Mbam said “collaborated with the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development to ensure that Solid Mineral Sector contributed to the FA. The Solid Mineral Sector is now contributing to the FA for the first time.  Over N11.3 billion has been remitted to the Federation Account from this Sector as at July 2015.”

Mbam also disclosed that the Commission has identified other government agencies that are supposed to remit their generated revenue to the Federation Account but are yet to comply. He listed them as Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC), among others as government agencies that defaulted in making remittances to the FA.

Specifically, Mbam frowned at the NPA, NIMASA and NCC agencies, which he said, “are supposed to generate money for the federation, because of the process they generate money, they use federation assets. Take for instance, the NPA, they are using the body of water. Body of water  is not for the federal government. It’s a national asset. So the money they generate should be for the nation, for the three tiers of government, the same thing with NCC. They give licenses for using the air. Does any state own the air? It is for the nation. So those agencies that generate money using our national assets should be owned by the federation.”

The Commission Chairman expressed concern that revenue from Stamp Duties in respect of electronic transfer running into billions of Naira “is not being remitted to the Federation Account. As a result, billions of Naira are being lost on a daily basis. I am happy to report that the process of correcting these anomalies has reached an advanced stage. Revenue from stamp duty is not generated and paid to the federation account. You know we have a clearing system where all transactions, electronic transactions go”

Naira Depreciates Further At Parallel Market

The naira depreciated further at the parallel market on Monday as it lost N0.5 to exchange at N242.5 to the dollar.

It was previously exchanged at N242 to the dollar.

The naira, however, closed at N197 to the dollar at the inter-bank segment.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the naira has continued to slide in spite of the measures adopted by the apex bank to defend the exchange rate.

Traders at the market said that there was upsurge in demand for foreign exchange and this was impacting on the exchange rate of the naira.

Power firm to construct 300megawatts photo voltaic solar plant

 

In its efforts to boost power supply in the country, Shiroro Hydroelectric Power Station plans to construct a 300megawatts (Mw) photo voltaic solar power plant on the existing plant premises which was concessioned to the North- South Power Company on November 1, 2013.

The firm’s Chief Technical Officer, Mr. Roland Lwiindi, who disclosed this to the Post Privatisation Monitoring Team of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) that was on a monitoring exercise at the power station in Shiroro, Niger State, said once approval was obtained from the necessary authorities, its first phase would come on stream in 2017 and it would be the first of its kind in Africa.

According to him, when completed the plant would add 300mega watts of electricity to the existing 600mega watts. He added that the plant was at present generating 50% of its installed capacity.

Leader of the BPE monitoring team, Mr. Abdullahi Shuaibu, however commended the management for the strides achieved since take over and noted that it was an attestation to the gains of privatization.