W/Bank offers FG N27.58bn for community projects

The World Bank says it would soon start the disbursement of $140m (N27.58bn) under its assisted Community and Social Development Project to 26 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

The bank, in a statement issued in Abuja , said about $200m (N39.4bn) had been disbursed under the first phase of the project, thus bringing the total amount provided under the programme to $340m (N66.98bn)

It said states that would benefit from the additional financing would focus on the most vulnerable households in poor communities in the country.

Anambra, Kaduna and Sokoto states, it added, are also set to participate in the additional financing.

The statement said the additional financing was expected to fund micro-project facilities such as rehabilitation and construction of school class rooms, health centres and clinics and skills acquisition.

Others are rural electrification, rural transport, community water schemes, community housing schemes and rural market infrastructure.

Power generation hits 4,810.7 megawatts

The management of Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), in a statement on Wednesday, said that it had attained new peak of 4,810.7 megawatts of generated electricity.

The statement signed by the Managing Director, System/Market Operation of TCN, Dipak Sarma, said this was achieved at 20.45 hours of August 25 following a record set on Tuesday when 4748megawatt was generated.

It said these successes were due to the joint contributions of the gas companies, generation companies, distribution companies and the TCN.

According to the statement, the Managing Director of TCN, Mr Paul Stefiszyn, said: “The Federal Government has been supportive in coordinating the activities of the sector across the value chain.’’

It stated that the sector now aimed at achieving 5,000 megawatts in a short time, adding that this would be an important milestone for the nation’s economy.

FG, states, LGs share N511.799b for July

The Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has shared the sum of N511.799 billion to the three tiers of government for the month of July, 2015.

Giving a breakdown of amount shared, the Permanent Secretary who is also the Chairperson of the FAAC, Mrs. Anastasia Nwokobia, revealed that the gross revenue of N433.584 billion was received for the month of July was lower than the N485.952 billion received in the previous month of June 2015 by 52.368 billion.

According to her, the Federal Government got N202.111 billion representing 52.68% of the total amount shared while state governments got N102.513 billion which is 26.72 % of the total revenue distributed, while the local government Councils got N79.033 billion which also represented 20.60 % of the total revenue shared for the month of July.

Mrs. Nwokobia said that shutdown and shut-in of production for maintenance and the emergency repairs as well as declaration of Force Majure by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) were the major issues that negatively impacted crude oil revenue.

She noted that there was also revenue loss of $22.53 million as a result of drop in average price of crude oil from $65.76bpd in May to $61.27 in June, 2015.

NERC says corruption, poor budgeting bedevilling power sector

The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), has blamed corruption and poor budgeting as the major impediments to the nation’s electricity sector.

Chairman of the commission, Dr Sam Amadi, who stated this also clarified that “fixed charge has not been removed and cannot be removed by an ‘executive fiat’ unless it goes through a process by the regulator.”

He was speaking at the opening of a two-day meeting of NERC and Industry Performance Management Officers of Generation and Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

The meeting was organised by NERC to present a template for effective project management to the electricity industry performance management officers in Abuja.

Noting that prior to 2010, the sector suffered the problem of modelling, Amadi further observed that the sector had been bedevilled by project management problem from 2010 till date.

The problem is mostly caused by corruption, he said, adding that inefficient budget circle has made it difficult for effective delivery of projects within a target time frame in the sector.

Nigeria would have hit about 9,000 megawatts (mw), if all the Nigerian Independent Power Projects (NIPP) were completed and the capacities of existing electricity generation companies recovered, he said.

“Today, the real problem of this sector is performance management. We have moved from modelling. We have set a fairly good enough model that will allow us to create sustainable electricity.

“The problem is poor project management. It includes corruption, which is the beginning because, if you miss-procure, if you award contracts to those who cannot deliver, there is no magic. So, it is not a NERC problem. It is a problem of delivery.

Nigerian bourse introduces Premium Board Index as Dangote Cement, FBN Holdings, Zenith make entry

DangoteThe Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) Tuesday launched a new listing platform – the Premium Board and the associated Premium Board Index, in keeping with its commitment to promoting Africa’s biggest companies, as well as influencing the economic growth and development of Nigeria.

The companies that have qualified for the Premium Board are Dangote Cement plc, FBN Holdings plc, and Zenith International Bank plc, with market capitalisation of N2.87 trillion, N277.7billion and N587.43 billion, respectively. They all passed the Corporate Governance Rating System (CGRS) before applying for the Premium Board.

The Premium Board is for issuers with minimum market capitalisation of N200 billion and highest corporate governance standards. Companies aspiring to be listed on the Premium Board must achieve a minimum score of 70 percent on the stringent CGRS.  In addition, they are required to maintain a minimum free float of 20 percent of their issued share capital or a free float value equal to or above N40 billion.

Oscar Onyema, CEO, NSE, said: “The Premium Board Index would serve as a benchmark for investors looking to track the performance of large firms with excellent corporate governance and sustainable business models. 

Typically, similar indices outperform their market wide index by double digits. The NSE Premium Board Index had a four-year average return of 17.65 percent versus the All Share Index return of 11.31 percent over the same period.

Contract Inflation: BPP has saved Nigeria N659 bn – DG

The Director-General, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Emeka Ezeh, says the bureau saved the country N659 billion from contracts awards between 2009 and 2014.

Ezeh said this in his paper on “Ending the scourge of abandoned projects in Nigeria”, presented in Abuja.

Ezeh said the sum amounted to the difference between the proposed sum for contracts submitted by Federal Government contractors in different ministries, departments and agencies, and what the bureau approved.

He urged the overnment to strengthen institutions like the BPP through which corruption and waste could be minimised.

Ezeh said it was not enough for the BPP Act to regulate the Federal Government. He said it was also important for states and local governments to adopt the act to curb corruption at all levels.

The DG expressed concern over the way many international companies that handled huge construction projects in Nigeria were shrinking or closing operations.

On abandoned projects, MRr. Ezeh said the three tiers of government had contributed to the trend, which he said, had led to huge waste of resources.

Nigeria's economic growth slows as low oil prices weigh

 

The National Bureau of Statistics says Nigeria's economic growth slowed sharply in the second quarter as lower crude prices took their toll.

The statistics body stated this in its quarterly report in Abuja.

It said annual growth dropped to 2.35 percent from 6.54 percent a year earlier, while Oil production fell to 2.05 million barrels per day from 2.21 million over the same period.

With oil accounting for more than 90 percent of Nigeria's foreign exchange earnings and about 70 percent of government revenues, the fall in crude prices and output has hurt Nigeria's finances and its naira currency, with foreign investors pulling out of its stock and bond markets.