 Politics › Re: National Assembly Members, Others Are Targets Of Kidnapping, Assassination - DSS by treesun: 2:44pm On Dec 14, 2021 |
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| Politics › Re: Babagana Monguno Names Groups Backing Terrorism In Nigeria, Africa by treesun: 2:40pm On Dec 14, 2021 |
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| Politics › Re: Bandits Kill Shila Ojebola (FIRS Manager) After Collecting ₦7 Million Ransom by treesun: 11:01am On Dec 14, 2021 |
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| Politics › Re: How Will People Survive Christmas And Year 2022 FG?? by treesun: 10:43am On Dec 14, 2021 |
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| Politics › Re: Power Generation Drops By 1,119.6MW, Sector’s Growth Falls By 45% by treesun(op): 10:40am On Dec 10, 2021 |
timefarm:
The foolish government didnot build a single powerplant since inception.
Obasanjo and Jonathan build more than 8.
Only to complain.
Mambilla is only on paper.
May it not be well be them. Even Kanji is having issues now. These people are not supposed to be in power. I went to Otta not too long ago see industries without any production. If those companies are powered, it will reduce unemployment and agitations. |
| Politics › Re: Power Generation Drops By 1,119.6MW, Sector’s Growth Falls By 45% by treesun(op): 9:38am On Dec 10, 2021 |
Power has been epileptics in our area! |
| Politics › Power Generation Drops By 1,119.6MW, Sector’s Growth Falls By 45% by treesun(op): 9:09am On Dec 10, 2021 |
Nigeria’s power sector decreased in growth by 45 per cent in real term in the third quarter of this year when compared to the preceding quarter, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.
Also, industry figures obtained in Abuja on Thursday showed that after posting a peak generation of 5,008.9 megawatts on December 7, 2021, the figure dropped by 1,119.6MW to an off peak of 3,889.3MW on December 8, 2021.
A document on Power Sector Data Review, which was presented by the NBS at the 1st Abuja Electric Power Conference and Exhibition organised by the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, also stated that the contribution of the sector to real Gross Domestic Product decreased in third quarter 2021.
This came as experts and operators at the conference called on the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission to efficiently and sustainably enforce the sector’s market rules to allow the business function as required.
The NBS power review report stated, “In real terms, the sector grew by 14.36 per cent in Q3 2021, an improvement from the growth rate of –3.66 per cent recorded in the same quarter of 2020.
“When compared to the immediate past quarter, there was a decrease of 63.80 per cent points from 78.16 per cent recorded. Quarter-on-Quarter, the sector grew at a rate of -45 per cent.”
It added, “The contribution of this sector to real GDP in third quarter 2021 was 0.40 per cent, higher than 0.36 per cent recorded in Q3 2020. This figure in 2021 was lower than 0.80 per cent recorded in Q2 2021.”
Expressing concerns over the poor performance of Nigeria’s power sector, the President, ACCI, Al-Mujtaba Abubakar, said market forces and principles should be allowed to operate within the sector.
He said, “The sector cannot perform efficiently and sustainably if market rules are not allowed to function. This is even more germane now that global governments are suffering from dwindling revenue.
“All indices confirm that government cannot sustain continuous intervention in the sector. We believe efficient regulatory actions will go a long way to ensure all stakeholders play their part across the value chain.”
Abubakar added, “A situation where regulators are reluctant to enforce established regulations can create distortions within the system.”
Also, stakeholders at the conference observed that there was regulatory weakness pervading the system, according to the communique issued at the end of the event.
It read in part, “The regulator is considered too weak or too unprepared to enforce clear regulations (Grid Code, Market Rules, etc) to which operators are expected to abide.
“The lack of regulatory enforcement weakens the system and encourage operators to flout establshed rules.”
They stated that there was no consequence management system in terms of holding accountable violators of regulations among the operators.
“Operators take advantage of this weakness leading to worsening service delivery and growing gridlock within the system,” the communique stated. https://punchng.com/power-generation-drops-by-1119-6mw-sectors-growth-falls-by-45/
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| Politics › Re: Agitations:Nigeria Must Embrace Restructuring Before It Is Too Late, Says Fayemi by treesun(op): 9:41pm On Dec 09, 2021 |
Fear of restructuring is causing our leaders to become fearful!
Lalasticlala |
| Politics › Agitations:Nigeria Must Embrace Restructuring Before It Is Too Late, Says Fayemi by treesun(op): 8:55pm On Dec 09, 2021 |
Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, has warned that Nigeria must embrace the restructuring of the country’s political and administrative system before it is too late. He said restructuring through national dialogue will allow for greater decentralisation and devolution of powers and therefore address the growing agitations ubiquitous in the country. The governor stated this on Thursday during the 60th Distinguished Lecture of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs in Victoria Island, Lagos. The Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum spoke on the theme, ‘Fixing Nigeria For A Better World’. Fayemi said the agitations and discontent being felt in parts of the country are evident of the structural challenges the country is facing, adding that they can be discussed and amicably agreed upon through effective dialogue. He said, “Nigeria must as a matter of urgency undertake the following steps for a better world: “Embrace political restructuring through a national dialogue process before it is too late. The discontent and agitations that are being felt in parts of the country are symptomatic of structural challenges that can be discussed and amicably agreed upon when all constituent units of the Federation come together to discuss and agree on what the Nigeria of their dreams means. “Undertake concerted efforts towards revamping structures and instruments of our foreign policy. Here, I refer to modernizing and adequately funding the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, our Missions abroad, as well as institutions such as the NIIA, NIPSS and IPCR. Ensuring that our most gifted hands are recruited into our Foreign Service and related institutions will only result in a better-informed foreign policy machinery.” Of late, agitations have increased in Nigeria, especially in the Southern part of the country with the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra led by Nnamdi Kanu; as well as Yoruba Nation separatists led by Sunday Adeyemo aka Sunday Igboho. Both groups are agitating for the secession of the South-East and South-West regions respectively from the Nigerian State. They have complained about perceived injustices, lopsided appointments, insecurity, amongst others. Both Kamu and Igboho have been behind bars for months and are facing terrorism-related charges. https://punchng.com/agitations-nigeria-must-embrace-restructuring-before-it-is-too-late-says-fayemi/ |
| Politics › Re: President Buhari's Visit To Lagos: The Roads Are Free!(Pix) by treesun: 7:00pm On Dec 09, 2021 |
FreeStuffsNG:
President Muhammadu Buhari is currently in Lagos yet my trips to and from the mainland back to the Island today has been so so easy and without any traffic.
I only experienced a light traffic only at the usual roundabout between Gerald and Bourdillon to connect Ikoyi Lekki Bridge.
So where did the myth that traffic will be all overLagos come from?
Is it really true that Buhari's visit cause traffic?
No.
How about your side?
Kudos to the Lagos State Government, LASTMA and Police traffic division.
Please share your view? Must you lie about everything, the first picture was Ikoyi-Lekki bridge and going out towards Ikoyi was not easy in the morning. |
| Politics › Re: Dr Rabe Nasir Assassinated In Katsina by treesun: 6:37pm On Dec 09, 2021 |
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| Politics › Re: Omicron: Sanwo-Olu Shelves Lagos Peace Walk by treesun: 11:27am On Dec 09, 2021 |
fergie0o1:
SOURCE Omicron or fear of hijacking by touts, seeing what happened at Ojudu. Young boys and girls throwing stones. At least thank God wisdom has prevailed. But in a press statement on Thursday, November 9, 2021, Sanwo-Olu said he is “constrained to stand down all preparations for the Walk for Peace” so as not to “endanger the life of any Lagosian” amid the outbreak of the Omicron COVID-19 variant.November 9? Typo error or Mr. Jags or Mr. Akosile didn't read through before issuing! |
| Politics › Re: Nigeria’s Petrol Imports Jump By 55%, ₦2.52 Trillion In Nine Months by treesun(op): 9:55am On Dec 09, 2021 |
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| Politics › Re: Nigeria’s Petrol Imports Jump By 55%, ₦2.52 Trillion In Nine Months by treesun(op): 9:33am On Dec 09, 2021 |
Esseite:
Be deceiving yourselves...
More fuel efficient vehicles..
Rise in unemployment..
100m below the poverty line..
Inflation in double digit..
Pandemic has reduced movement..
Remote work more rampant..
Yet Nigerian fuel import increases... truly, be deceiving yourselves. I ask too, I have NEVER Fill my car unless I am driving on a journey. I know many people do same, so how come subsidy increases? |
| Politics › Re: No Tax Identification Number (TIN), No Bank Account - Finance Bill by treesun: 9:17am On Dec 09, 2021 |
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| Politics › Nigeria’s Petrol Imports Jump By 55%, ₦2.52 Trillion In Nine Months by treesun(op): 9:15am On Dec 09, 2021 |
• Petrol imports’ll double next year if FG delays subsidy removal, says IPMAN The cost of Premium Motor Spirit, also known as petrol, imported into Nigeria from January to September this year surged by 55.56 per cent to N2.52tn from the N1.62tn spent in the same period of 2020.
The development came amid the Federal Government’s plan to remove subsidy from petrol by February next year.
Already, oil marketers have begun plans to resume importation of the PMS as soon as the government deregulates the downstream sector of the petroleum sector in the first quarter of 2022.
Petrol’s N2.52tn import bill for the first nine months of this year is 47.37 per cent and 25.37 per cent higher than what the amount country spent on PMS imports in the whole of 2019 and 2020 respectively, data obtained from the National Bureau of Statistics show.
Buoyed by the rally in global oil prices, the jump in the country’s petrol import bill comes amid growing concerns over the shortage of foreign exchange in the country.
Nigeria relies wholly on imports to meet its fuel needs as its refineries have remained in a state of disrepair for many years despite several reported repairs.
The country spent N2.01tn on petrol imports in 2020, compared to N1.71tn in the previous year.
Petrol imports gobbled up N1.05tn in the third quarter of this year, up from N782.46bn in Q2 and N687.74bn in Q1, according to the NBS data.
The data also showed that petrol topped the list of products imported into the country in Q3, accounting for 12.52 per cent of the total amount spent on imported products, up from 11.26 per cent in the previous quarter.
The PUNCH reported on Tuesday that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation put the amount spent on subsidising petrol from January to October 2021 at N1.03tn.
The subsidy, which the NNPC prefers to call ‘value shortfall’ or ‘under-recovery’, resurfaced in January this year as the government left the pump price of petrol unchanged at N162-N165 per litre despite the increase in global oil prices.
The Federal Government had in March 2020 removed petrol subsidy after reducing the pump price of the product to N125 per litre from N145 following the sharp drop in crude oil prices.
The NNPC, which has been the sole importer of petrol into the country in recent years, has been bearing the subsidy cost since it resurfaced.
The corporation supplied a total of 6.3 billion litres of petrol in the first four months of 2021, according to data collated from its monthly reports.
“The corporation has continued to diligently monitor the daily stock of PMS to achieve smooth distribution of petroleum products and zero fuel queue across the nation,” it said in its latest monthly report.
Oil marketers, experts blame naira devaluation, crude oil price, smuggling
Top officials of two marketers’ associations, who spoke with our correspondent in separate interviews, attributed the surge in petrol imports to oil price rally, smuggling of petrol to neighbouring countries and naira devaluation.
The international oil benchmark, Brent crude, which tumbled to as low as $22 per barrel last year, rose to a high of $85.43 per barrel on October 22 this year.
In May, the Central Bank of Nigeria devalued the naira to N410.25 per dollar. The CBN had kept the official exchange rate at N379/$1 since August 2020, when the naira was devalued for the second time last year from 360 per dollar. It was first devalued to 360/$1 in March 2020 from 306/$1.
The Executive Secretary/Chief Executive Officer, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mr Clement Isong, said, “In 2020, we had COVID with all the lockdown, so I imagine that volume this year would be more than that of last year. The second point is that last year, the price of crude was very low; this year, it has been rather high. Last year, it went as low as $20 per barrel; this year, it has gone as high as $80.
“Finally, the exchange rate of the dollar to the naira was significantly lower than what it is this year. I have no doubt that smuggling has continued. Last year, the price of petrol came down in Nigeria, but it remained at N350, N360, N380 and N400 in the neighbouring countries.”
The National Operations Coordinator, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Michael Osatuyi, lamented that the inability of the country to produce petrol locally.
“We are 100 per cent import-dependent, but a country that imports 100 per cent is in a big problem,” he said, adding that the Dangote refinery would come to the country’s rescue when it comes on stream.
“Our products are smuggled to all the neighbouring countries because they are cheaper. If we don’t deregulate the downstream oil sector and crude oil price continues to go up, Nigeria’s petrol imports figure will double next year because,” he said.
November oil production rises to 1.44 million daily – Report
In a related development, Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer, produced 1.44 million barrels per day in November, a rise of 70,000 bpd from the previous month, as output from Bonny Light and Erha fields rebounded, according to the latest S&P Global Platts survey.
This was, however, still 210,000 bpd below the November quota given to Nigeria by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries as the country’s output continued to be under pressure from technical and operational issues.
OPEC and its allies boosted crude oil production by 500,000 bpd in November, with 80 per cent of the increase attributed to five members – Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq, Kazakhstan and Nigeria, the survey found.
OPEC’s 13 countries pumped 27.85 million bpd, up 300,000 bpd from October, while Russia and eight other partners produced 13.86 million bpd, up 200,000 bpd, the survey found.
The collective OPEC+ output of 41.71 million bpd was the group’s highest in 19 months, but still 4.15 million bpd below what it pumped in April 2020, when Saudi Arabia and Russia launched an oil price war.
This comes as some of the coalition’s members like Angola, Malaysia, Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea still struggle to pump as many barrels as they had promised due to natural declines and disruptions.
The 19 members with production quotas under the OPEC+ accord were a combined 520,000 bpd below their allocations for the month, bringing compliance to 112.31 per cent from 113.21 per cent in October, the survey found.
Saudi Arabia was once again the biggest mover in the month, adding 100,000 bpd to an oil market still sensitive to demand uncertainties. https://punchng.com/nigerias-petrol-imports-jump-by-55-hit-n2-52tn-in-nine-months/
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| Politics › Re: President Buhari Mourns Victims Of Bandits In Sokoto Reveals Next Line Of Action by treesun: 8:33pm On Dec 08, 2021 |
LordviccoDaGuru:
[s][/s] You must be smoking cow dung; for you to cancel my post. Never in your BMC life do that again! |
| Politics › Re: President Buhari Mourns Victims Of Bandits In Sokoto Reveals Next Line Of Action by treesun: 7:31pm On Dec 08, 2021*. Modified: 8:09pm On Dec 08, 2021 |
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| Politics › Why I Sympathise With Sanwo- Olu On Endsars Panel White Paper by treesun(op): 4:13pm On Dec 07, 2021 |
The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, appears to be a gentleman by all ramifications and also a well-intentioned governor who means well for the people of the state. His speeches and activities since he became the governor of the state, including his body language tend to portray him as a good guy and also showed that he would have turned out to be one of the best performing governors of the state since inception. However, something tells me that Sanwo-Olu is a governor without the authority of his office. He is the one in charge of the affairs of the state without being the one running the show in the state. He has often time demonstrated courage in certain areas of governance through his speech and action, but in spite of such bravadoes, the outcome has often been far from what his word and action tend to portray. One of such cases was his position on the payment of bogus pensions to former governors of the state, which was initiated during the administration of Bola Tinubu and passed and signed into law before his departure from office in 2007. Sanwo-Olu had come out smoking about the inappropriateness of the pension and promised to review it to help alleviate the finance of the state. His word; “Mr. Speaker and Honourable Members of the House, in light of keeping the costs of governance low and to signal selflessness in public service, we will be sending a draft executive bill to the House imminently for the repeal of the Public Office Holder (Payment of Pension Law 2007), which provides for payment of pension and other entitlements to former governors and their deputies.” Sanwo-Olu had told Lagosians in November last year that the abolition of pension for former governors and deputies would reduce the cost of governance in the state. “It is our firm belief that with dwindling revenues and the appurtenant inflationary growth rates, that we need to come up with innovative ways of keeping the costs of governance at a minimum while engendering a spirit of selflessness in public service,” Sanwo-Olu had said. Alas! The more things change, the more they remain the same. His executive bill to the House of Assembly remained an exercise in futility as the legislators came out with their own version with a cosmetic change on the previous law and till today, past governors in the state are still laughing to the banks at the expense of the state treasury. Another case was the governor’s attempt to rid the street of Lagos of the menace of motorcycle riders, popularly known as Okada riders. Sanwo-Olu mounted campaign to show the world the menace of the commercial motorcycle riders and why they must be restricted from the streets of Lagos. This was at the height of insecurity and rampant kidnapping and traffic robbery in the state. Many Lagosians believed that with the governor’s rigorous campaign, the end had come to the nonsense value of the okada rider in the state. But what has become of the noise of the governor overtime? The okada riders are now more daring and have proved to be more powerful than the governor of the state. His speech last Tuesday, which preceded the release of the White Paper on the EndSARS probe panel set up in the wake of the crisis that engulfed the state last year at the height of the protests was soughing and was received by many as a real voice of a leader who is desirous of peace and intended to bring closure to the event. Prior to the release of the White Paper on Tuesday night, many Nigerians had commended the governor for his non-interference with the works of the probe panel and his comportment both during and after the incident at Lekki Toll gate. He was seen as a bridge builder who could ameliorate the pains of those who lost their loved ones to the unfortunate incident even though many also blamed him for the action of the security agencies at the toll gate. His speech later that day elicited some commendations and raised hope that justice was about to be done to those families who lost their loved ones to the unjust action of the security agencies at the Lekki toll gate on October 20, 2020. A former editor of the defunct National Concord, Nsikak Essien, said this much about the governor’s speech; “Did you watch the broadcast by Governor Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State and those of Ministers Lai Muhammad and Festus Keyamo? All centred on #EndSARS protests. “The governor seeks all avenues to achieve peace so that he too can sleep with two eyes closed. He sought enmity of nobody. He shares concern for everyone, law enforcement officers, ordinary people and the vulnerable.” Perhaps, many of us were expecting too much from the governor, whom we know that even though he is in power, he does not possess the lever of authority of his office. It has been proved without time that there is a power behind the throne and Sanwo-Olu can only bark, he does not have the teeth to bite. The White Paper was nothing but a clear departure from the expectations of many Nigerians and that has further confirmed that no matter what the governor says or does, those who actually hold the levers of authority on his behalf will always have their ways in Lagos. The rejection of the conclusion of the panel on the number of death that occurred at the Lekki toll gate was a mere affirmation of ‘his master’s voice.’ From all indications, any other conclusion by the governor on the White Paper would have been seen as an indictment of the Federal Government and the powers behind the throne in Lagos would not dare to confront Abuja with the truth, hence hell is let loose on his 2023 ambition. It’s inconceivable that soldiers would visit a scene of a protest and released bullets into the crowd and only one person would have died from such a scenario. The White Paper deliberately ignores the portion of the report that says security agencies carted away bodies of wounded and dead protesters in their truck after the shooting. Also, it carefully jettisons the testimonies of those who were wounded and came with amputated limbs to the panel to give evidence. The governor himself on the second day of the incident visited many victims of the Lekki toll gate shooting in the hospital and those were people who were shot by the security agencies. It’s obvious to all that there was a conspiracy against the dead, those who died during the protest at the Lekki toll gate are children of the commoners and they do not matter as long as the political interest of those in power is satisfied. Despite the conspiracy of silence and all efforts to cover up the misdeed of the security agencies last year, we are sure that one day, the king that does not know Joseph will ascend the throne and the truth like a smoke will eventually come out. https://punchng.com/why-i-sympathise-with-sanwo-olu-on-endsars-panel-white-paper/ |
| Travel › Re: Trailer Crushes 10 School Children In Lagos (Photos) by treesun: 4:06pm On Dec 07, 2021 |
Baba40:
Grammar school again? That road is tiny and besides the bikes and korope that turn the place to garage makes things difficult for commuters .... The pitiest thing is that is just beside the Ojodu Police Station, the police do nothing but collect monies from the okada and korope riders.
Trailer nearly killed me inside my car too on that axis. When we are ready to make Nigeria secure we know what to do. Every government parastatal is just after money. The traffic at ojodu Berger is caused by korope too yet lastma is there doing nothing, those guys would even stand in the middle of the road collecting money from the korope drivers... Na wa ooo You are very right, korope block everywhere and I always ask my self why cant they use the park at Berger, NURTW emboldened them. Later Sanwoolu will be reading riot act they cant enforce. Nigeria is long gone. Every day bad news! |
| Politics › Re: Nigeria Records ₦8.9tn Trade Deficit In Nine Months, Expert Blames Insecurity by treesun(op): 4:00pm On Dec 07, 2021 |
lalasticlala |
| Politics › Re: Nigeria Records ₦8.9tn Trade Deficit In Nine Months, Expert Blames Insecurity by treesun(op): 2:35pm On Dec 07, 2021 |
Sure Femi Adesina has not read this! |
| Politics › Nigeria Records ₦8.9tn Trade Deficit In Nine Months, Expert Blames Insecurity by treesun(op): 2:28pm On Dec 07, 2021 |
Nigeria recorded a negative trade balance of N8.9tn, between January and September, 2021, data from the National Bureau of Statistics have shown.
Within this period, total foreign trade stood at N35.09tn, comprising N22tn imports and N13.1tn exports, leading to N8.9tn trade deficit.
A breakdown of the trade data by quarters shows that Nigeria’s total merchandise trade stood at N9.76tn in the first quarter of the year representing 6.99 per cent increase over the value recorded in Q4 2020.
The export component of this trade stood at N2.91tn, representing 29.79 per cent of the total trade in Q1 while import was valued at N6.85tn representing 70.21 per cent.
The higher level of imports over exports resulted in a trade deficit (in goods) of N3.94tn in Q1 2021.
The value of crude oil export stood at N1.93tn representing 66.38 per cent of the total export recorded in Q1, 2021, while non-crude oil export accounted for 33.62 per cent of the total export.
Data from the Bureau showed that majority of the goods imported during this period originated from China, valued at N2tn, followed by the Netherlands (N726.09bn), the United States (N608.12bn), India (N589.1bn) and Belgium (N238.5bn).
Similarly, Nigeria’s top export trade partners in Q1 were India (N488.1bn), Spain (N287.2bn), China (N190.1bn), the Netherlands (N160.bn) and France (N133bn).
However, in the second quarter of the year, Nigeria’s trade deficit fell to N1.87tn as exports jumped to N5.08tn against imports of N6.95tn.
The value of imports and exports in Q2 brought total merchandise trade to N12.03tn, representing a 23.28 per cent increase from the N9.7tn recorded in Q1.
The NBS said crude oil, the major component of export trade, stood at N4.08tn (80.29 per cent) of total export.
It further said crude oil value had a sharp increase of 111.32 per cent in Q2 compared to the N1.93tn recorded in Q1 2021, while the non-crude oil goods recorded N1tn (19.71 per cent) of total export trade during Q2 2021.
Further analysis of data from the bureau shows that the majority of imported goods in Q2 2021 originated from China with a value of N2.08tn, followed by India with N570.01bn, Netherlands (N557.15bn), United States (N526.92bn), and Russia (N284.36bn).
Meanwhile, most goods were exported to India (949.05bn), Spain (N524.49bn), Canada (N355.60bn), Netherlands (N298.29bn), and the United States (N256.63bn).
The NBS on Monday revealed that Nigeria’s trade deficit rose to N3.03tn in the third quarter of the year.
According to the Statistician General of the Federation, Simon Harry, who disclosed this in a press briefing held in Abuja, total trade in the review period rose to N13.3tn, comprising N8.2tn imports and N5.1tn exports.
The NBS noted that the rise in imports was driven majorly by increase in the importation of commodities such as motor spirits (N1.1tn), Gas Oil (N225.6bn), imported motorcycles and cycles and CKD valued at N116.3bn from N94.7bn respectively.
“Comparing 3rd quarter to 2nd quarter, 2021, total trade grew by 10.43 per cent from N12,029.64bn, export trade grew by 1.00 per cent from N5,079.44bn, import trade also grew by 17.32 per cent from N6,950.21bn,” Harry said.
He stated that crude oil dominated export trade in Q3, as total export of the commodity amounted to N4tn or 78.47 per cent of total export.
He added, “This was followed by natural gas, liquefied with N487.49bn (9.50 per cent), floating or submersible drilling platforms with N163.70bn (3.19 per cent) and urea, whether or not in aqueous solution with N107.17bn (2.08 per cent).
“On the other hand, imports were mainly motor spirit valued at N 1,052.5bn (12.91 per cent), Durum wheat valued at N 315.17bn (3.87 per cent), gas oil with N225.63bn (2.77 per cent), Used Vehicles N185.41bn (2.27 per cent).”
The NBS also listed China (2.4tn), India (N710.3bn), the United States (N599.1bn), Netherlands (N554.2bn) and Belgium (N434.1bn) as Nigeria’s top five import trade partners during the review period.
Similarly, “The top five major trading partners in export trade during the 3rd Quarter, 2021 were India with N758.1bn, Spain with N627.01bn, Italy with N446.04bn, France with N363.23bn and Netherlands with N242.49bn.
Insecurity, lack of domestic production fueling trade deficit – Utomi
A renowned economist and a former presidential candidate, Pat Utomi, who spoke on the N8.9tn trade deficit, attributed the country’s huge appetite for imports to insufficient domestic production driven by worsening insecurity and stringent government regulations.
He said while there were many interventions being introduced by the government and the Central Bank of Nigeria to reduce imports and shore up exports, most of the initiatives were fraught with inconsistencies and corrupt practices which prevent real impact.
He said, “You will notice that Nigeria’s top imports which are food products and motor spirits are thing that we should be exporting because we are a food producing nation and we have oil in abundance. This is scandalous.
“But the reason this is so is simple; firstly, access to farms is problematic. I am in the agriculture value chain business and farmers say to us ‘we can’t supply to you, because we are afraid to go to our farms’. So the insecurity contributes significantly to poor farm output.
“Beyond insecurity, government regulations and policies also hinder production in various sectors.”
He added that the Nigerian environment made production difficult and the small money that came from oil was used to import goods for consumption. https://punchng.com/nigeria-records-n8-9tn-trade-deficit-in-nine-months-expert-blames-insecurity/ |
| Crime › Re: Missing Demilade Fadare Found Dead In Neighbor's House In Ado Ekiti (Photos) by treesun: 2:23pm On Dec 07, 2021 |
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| Politics › Re: Buhari To Visit Lagos To Inaugurate Projects On Thursday by treesun: 3:13pm On Dec 06, 2021 |
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| Travel › Re: Emirates Lands In Nigeria In Style [PHOTOS] by treesun: 9:50am On Dec 06, 2021 |
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| Politics › Re: Nigeria Records Zero Revenue From Oil Export As Subsidy Hits N199bn by treesun: 7:41pm On Dec 05, 2021 |
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| Politics › Re: Security Agencies Should Use Technology To Tackle Insecurity – Osinbajo by treesun: 7:42pm On Dec 04, 2021 |
Shooyie:
•Adds: President Buhari investing more in security
•Urges enhanced synergy between security, intelligence agencies
In order to improve the nation’s security architecture in line with global standards and more effectively tackle challenges nationwide, the Buhari administration is asking security agencies to leverage more technology-driven solutions and intelligence-driven collaboration, as the Federal Government is investing more in the sector.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, stated this today at the graduation ceremony of participants of the Executive Intelligence Management Course 14 at the National Institute for Security Studies, Bwari, Abuja.
According to Prof. Osinbajo, President Buhari “has emphasized an approach that leverages inter-agency collaboration, joint operations, technology-driven enablers and the optimization of existing capabilities to avoid duplication of resources and expenditure.”
The Vice President also noted the investments made and initiatives taken by the Administration to beef up the nation’s security architecture and protect the lives and property of Nigerians.
He said, “in May this year, arising from our deliberations in the National Security Council, the President established the Committee on Needs Assessment of National Security Requirements, which he tasked me to chair with the mandate of assessing the needs of the Defence, Security and Intelligence Agencies in the light of the current challenges and recommend options for containment. The President personally handpicked the membership of the Committee which had representation from the military, the police and the security and intelligence community.
“As a result of our work, the President signed a supplementary budget of N802 billion for the military, security and intelligence agencies. This was in keeping with his commitment since the outset of this administration to ensure that those charged with keeping Nigerians safe are adequately equipped for the job.”
In his speech, the VP then identified some major challenges in the security environment, such as the global dimensions to local security, country size and the challenge of covering extensive terrain, the availability and use of technology by criminal and terrorist individuals and groups, and inter-agency coordination.
However, he emphasized, in addition to improving the capacity of security agencies and intelligence, the importance of technology-driven solutions, in addressing the nation’s security challenges.
The VP explained that it is also “clear that we cannot secure or police a country of this size with human assets alone. We must, therefore, leverage technology.
“At a time when national resources are stretched thin, we have to come up with technology-driven solutions to addressing our security needs – whether we are discussing the policing of our borders or surveillance and reconnaissance programmes aimed at identifying criminal elements within our coastal waters, or locating terrorists hiding within the general population.”
Highlighting the impact of technology on enhancing security and cyber intelligence, the Vice President said, “When applied creatively, technology can be a force multiplier, amplifying our potential and capacity to effectively secure our territory. It is not enough to know that we should deploy technology for surveillance and combat.”
“We must become much smarter in the deployment of Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance tools to compensate for the human resource deficits within our security establishment.
In the same vein, the VP urged the nation’s security and intelligence agencies to reinvent itself and adopt a more empirical and data-driven institutional culture defined by analytical and forensic rigour, while also emphasizing on inter-agency collaboration and synergy.
The Vice President added that leveraging technology, critical thinking and a more strategic approach to intelligence gathering would further help to address security threats.
For instance, Prof. Osinbajo urged the adoption of cutting-edge technology to tackle security challenges and threats. “Our intelligence services must be proactive rather than reactive, ahead of the curve rather than behind it. Threats must be identified and addressed well before they evolve into manifest perils,” he stated.
He further said, “The business of intelligence necessarily entails the capacity to expect the unexpected and to foresee the impact of unintended consequences and Black Swan events – that is unpredictable events that are beyond what is normally expected of a situation and have potentially severe consequences.”
The VP mentioned the use of “Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Edge Computing, Quantum Computing, Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality, Blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT), 5G.”
Speaking further, the VP urged the Course graduands from the National Institute on Security Studies that they must “not only know about these technologies, but also develop the expertise, even for writing the algorithms and codes for intelligent equipment.”
He disclosed that it was in recognition of the strategic value of the Institute that President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019 elevated it to the status of a “National Institute” by consenting to the bill establishing it.
Prof. Osinbajo praised the great foresight of the Institute’s founding fathers in establishing a “place of learning and research of this calibre to equip members of the security and intelligence community.”
While the VP noted the complexities of security challenges in today’s world, he added that security personnel are “functioning at the most advanced moment in human history,” so are better equipped and better resourced than before.
“In any event, it has fallen on you to be the generation of security and intelligence practitioners that will marshal Nigeria’s responses to the variety of threats that confront us. There is no doubt that in marshalling these responses, we must be smarter and more imaginative,” he stated.
According to the VP, the “threat environment that you are tasked with engaging is not the same threat environment that existed just a decade ago. In strategic national security terms, we must recognize that it is a new day and it is a new age. And we must be prepared to deal with new and lethal weapons coming on stream today.”
The use of technology-driven solutions, the VP stated, would not only further address security complexities, but also checkmate the way “it has also empowered criminal non-state actors, with capabilities that just decades ago could only be exercised by nation- states.”
“For example, look at the various criminal and terrorist possibilities on the so-called Dark Web – a virtual underworld that hosts a global illicit economy and has proven difficult for state actors to infiltrate. Within this underground cyber universe, transactions around illicit drugs, weapons, child trafficking and even weapons of mass destruction are being conducted,” he said.
Congratulating the Board of the Institute and Course 14 graduands for also setting new standards of scholarship, excellence and creativity, the VP said the graduands could now be considered as “the crème de la crème of our security and intelligence services.”
Prof. Osinbajo said, “you represent the emergent leadership elite of this crucial arm of our defence and security infrastructure. What you know or do not know is what our defence architecture knows or does not know… The burden of responsibility you carry is an enormous one, because it literally is one of life and death. Your task is made more challenging because we exist today in a profoundly complex, and often volatile geo-strategic environment.”
Shortly after his speech at the NISS, the Vice President proceeded to Bida, in Niger State, to honour the invitation of the Bida Emirate to grace the turbaning ceremony of some eminent persons.
Also present at the NISS event was the First Lady, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, several First Ladies from the States, Federal Ministers of the FCT and Women Affairs: Muhammed Musa Bello and Dame Pauline Tallen respectively. There were other eminent Nigerians and top functionaries from the Executive and Legislative arms of government, including the Director-General of the Directorate of State Security Services, Yusuf Magaji Bichi, and other officials.
https://www.chronicle.ng/2021/12/technology-insecurity-osinbajo/ Is he telling us or they want to tax us to buy? |
| Crime › Re: Police Injure Female LASTMA Officer For Interrupting Their One-Way Driving by treesun: 7:09pm On Dec 04, 2021 |
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| Car Talk › Re: Snake Found Inside A Bus. by treesun: 10:23am On Dec 04, 2021 |
Look at our commercial bus too. How dirty and unkept, elephant can hide here, not just snake! |
| Crime › Re: Usman, Abubakar, Auwalu Arrested With 1,144 ATM Cards At Airport by treesun: 10:14am On Dec 04, 2021 |
membranus:
The one in the Book of Revelation is One Hundred and Forty Four Thousands. Thanks, not much of Bible memoriser, but knew I have seen something like that. |
