Speaking on the ‘Ounje Eko’ initiative, where food items are sold at discounted prices, the governor said, “We created 59 makeshift markets outside of the regular markets out of our 57 local government and local council development areas and made it Sunday-Sunday market.”
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Buhari, Mele and Mungo Park
By Salisu Na’inna Dambatta
The word, “exploration,” has put President Muhammadu Buhari, Mele Kolo Kyari, the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd and Mungo Park, the Scottish medical doctor, in a special category of people called explorers.
History indicates that Mungo Park came to West Africa twice, including areas that later constitute Nigeria, as an explorer. His motive was to find and conquer possible sources of riches for the business and political leadership of the British Imperial Empire, especially during his second expedition along River Niger in 1805. He came with 40 soldiers in tow.
Whereas Mungo Park’s exploration and search for sources of fortune for his British sponsors ended about 220 years ago, the exploration work by President Muhammadu Buhari and geologist-cum oil man, Mele Kyari, is ongoing.
As Minister of Petroleum Resources, President Muhammadu Buhari and a team from the NNPC led by Mele Kyari, are intensely exploring for Oil and Gas, both onshore and offshore, Nigeria.
Unlike Mungo Park, their motive for exploration within the territory of Nigeria is to locate more sources of wealth, or riches, not for a British Empire, but potentially for the benefit of millions of Nigerians.
So far their exploration effort has led to the discovery of crude oil and gas in 2019 in an area where Bauchi and Gombe states meet, that is, the Kolmani Oilfield.
The Kolmani Oilfield where Kolmani Wells I and II are located is so rich in oil and gas that, the Kolmani Integrated Development Project was conceived and flagged off in November 2022. Its purpose is to harness the oil and gas find there and convert it into real wealth.
In a speech during the flag-off ceremony at the site, President Buhari said foreign direct investment worth $3 billion has been attracted for the Kolmani River exploration and integrated development project.
The Kolmani Project is billed to produce 50,000 barrels of crude oil daily. It will be processed in a mid-size on-site refinery, thereby enhancing domestic fuel supply, cutting the importation of white products and ultimately bolstering Nigeria’s fortune and earning from oil and gas.
In another exploration mission, the untiring explorers at the NNPC Ltd have moved to Obi/Keana Local Government Area of Nasarawa state. It is in the Middle Benue Trough (MBT), which showed a very high likelihood of oil deposits in commercial quantities. Drilling of the first oil exploration well in the MBT named Ebenyi-A, has commenced.
Conscious of the negative impact oil extraction could cause to the environment, President Buhari, cautioned NNPC Ltd and its partners to be proactive in caring for the environmental consequences of the oil exploration work and speedily mitigate any possible negative effects.
It is significant that the unwavering explorers at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Ltd led by the President are spearheading the nationwide exploration to raise the proven reserves and increase overall national crude oil production.
President Buhari said the discovery of oil in Nasarawa state was in line with the ongoing campaigns to explore crude oil and gas in the nation’s several Frontier Basins.
The Frontier Basins include Chad Basin, Dahomey Basin, Anambra Platform, the Calabar Embankment, Sokoto Basin, Bida Basin, Benue Trough and the offshore Ultra-Deepwater Niger Delta.
As indicated earlier, the purpose of the ongoing exploration activities by our explorers for hydrocarbons deposits led by President Muhammadu Buhari and the team from NNPC Ltd, is to locate sources of riches that can be deployed to enhance the welfare of Nigerians. This is the point of departure with the exploration expeditions of Mungo Park.
Salisu Na’inna Dambatta is a senior journalist and retired Federal Director of Information
News
Lagos workers now earn minimum of N70,000 since January – Sanwo-Olu
The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has disclosed that workers have been enjoying an additional N35,000 wage allowance since January.
This is as he revealed the state government will soon roll out a new minimum wage scheme.
The governor stated that those who are currently earning a minimum wage of N35,000 or more now take home a salary of N70,000 or above since the beginning of the year.
“The civil servant and all public officers in Lagos know that since January, we have continued to pay the wage allowance of a minimum of N35,000 over and above what they were earning before.
“What this means is that people that are earning a minimum of N35,000 or more before are now earning over N70,00. That is what they have been enjoying since January.
“So it is important for people to know that we make these things very clear that this government has doubled up to ensure that at this difficult time, it has not left the citizens on their own,” Sanwo-Olu said at a state function on Thursday.
The governor while giving an update on the intervention the state embarked on to ameliorate the current economic hardship, said his administration will distribute food items to 500,000 households in the state through unions and local governments.
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AGF warns treasury managers against corruption, fraud
Mrs Oluwatoyin Madein, the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) has advised treasury managers to guard against corruption, fraud and financial mismanagement by implementing strong internal control mechanisms.
Madein said this at the training programme organised by the Chartered Institute of Treasury Management (CITM) in Abuja on Thursday.
The AGF, who was represented by Alhaji Muhammed Aliyu, Director, Special Duty, said that there was a need to safeguard public funds and protect the interest of government and the public.
“We must remain watchful against the threats of corruption, fraud and financial mismanagement by implementing a strong internal control system and promoting a culture of compliance.”
This, according to her, is in a bid to achieve the virtues and behaviours necessary to curtail corruption in the polity.
She said: “training and professional development are essential in equipping the practitioners with the knowledge and skills necessary to conduct the activities of Treasury Management Ethically.”
“Let us seize this opportunity to expand our understanding of ethical principles and best practices, so as to strengthen our ability to serve the public well.”
She urged the participants to uphold the highest ethical standards in their work and actions as treasury professionals.
According to her, together, we shall strive to build a future where transparency, integrity and accountability will be the focus in management of public finances.
“As professionals, we must resist the temptation of personal interest or undue influence in our decision-making processes.
“We must always prioritise the public interest above all other interests, even in the face of unpleasant situations or pressure from the public.” she said.
She said ethical conduct in treasury management entailed an extremely large number of principles, which includes transparency, honesty, accountability, and fairness.
“We must adhere to these principles seriously, not only to maintain public trust but also to imbibe a culture of integrity and transparency within our organisations.”
She said that as custodian of public funds, treasury managers bear a tremendous responsibility to uphold the highest standards of ethics and integrity in our profession.
Also speaking, the Registrar, CITM, Mr Olumide Adedoyin, said to curtail financial crime, there must be deterrent, adding that enlightenment is also key.
“Once you create awareness, you must empower professional associations particularly associations like CITM, ANAN, ICAN, because where we are going is an evolving journey.
“And along the line, there are gaps that needed to be filled and that is why treasury management becomes important , if you don’t involve treasury management in your financial flow you are going to lose it”, he said.
He said that sound treasury management would help to safeguard the nation’s financial system by fortifying financial inflow and reducing corruption in the system.
News
Nigerian telecom operators ask NCC to approve price hike
Telecommunication operators in Nigeria have said they are the only service providers that have not implemented price increments in the last 11 years despite soaring inflation.
The Association of Licensed Telecom Operators of Nigeria, ALTON, and the Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria, ATCON, disclosed this in a recent joint statement.
The associations noted that current telecom sector pricing does not align with economic realities, threatens the industry’s sustainability, and can erode investors’ confidence.
The operators said the time has come for the Nigerian Communications Commission to approve price increments for the sector.
“ALTON and ATCON respectfully reiterate that telecommunications infrastructure development requires substantial investments in network expansion, maintenance, and technology upgrades.
“Despite the adverse economic headwinds, the telecommunications industry remains the only industry yet to review its general service pricing framework upward in the last (11) years, primarily due to regulatory constraints.
“For a fully liberalized and deregulated sector, the current price control mechanism, which is not aligned with economic realities, threatens the industry’s sustainability and can erode investors’ confidence.
“ATCON and ALTON call upon the government to facilitate a constructive dialogue with industry stakeholders to address pricing challenges and establish a framework that balances consumers’ affordability with operators’ financial viability”, the statement by ALTON Chairman Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, and the President of ATCON, Engr Tony Izuagbe Emoekpere, said.
The development comes amid Nigeria’s soaring inflation, which stood at 33.20 in March 2024. This is as energy costs keep rising in Nigeria.
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