News / Production

We own Obajana Cement plant 100% – Dangote Group

The management of Dangote Industries Ltd. (DIL) says it owns Obajana Cement plant 100 per cent and its acquisition in 2002 followed due process.

The company said this in a statement issued by Anthony Chiejina, Group Head Branding and Communications, DIL, titled, ‘Obajana Cement Plant: Separating Facts from Fiction.’

The group said the Kogi government had no equity interest in Obajana Cement Plc, and that the company had been paying relevant state taxes, levies and charges to the Kogi government since it started production in  2007.

“This is a statement issued for the sole purpose of addressing the concerns and apprehensions of the stakeholders of Dangote Cement Plc (DCP), especially the over 22,000 people it employs directly, and more indirectly, as well as thousands of contractors, wholesalers, users of our products, our financiers and shareholders.

“At a time of significant economic challenges that we face as a nation, we believe all must be done to keep our economy running effectively, our people employed, businesses that depend on us thriving, and not discourage those who take the risks of needed, lawful and significant investments in our economy.

“The shutdown of our plant has materially jeopardized the economic wellbeing of our country without any regard for its significant consequences,” said the statement.

The group said whilst reserving its rights to proceed to arbitration in accordance with the extant agreement, it had reported the unlawful invasion and the consequential adverse effects of same to all the relevant authorities, including the Federal Government of Nigeria who had intervened in the matter.

“It is hoped that the dispute resolution process we have initiated will quickly resolve the disputes and allow us to focus on our business without distraction and continue our significant contribution to our national economy,” the company said.

According to the group, the Obajana Cement Plant is one of the most critical components of economic activities in the nation, being one of the highest taxpayers, and vehicle for one of the largest companies invested in by thousands of Nigerian and foreign investors.

“Its …

Agriculture / News / politics / Production

Ghana grows the ‘best’ weed; Why are we not capitalizing on it? – John Dumelo

Dumelo, who is also a farmer, posted on Twitter that the impending benefits Germany is about to gain from legalizing the plant should make Ghanaian authorities rethink.

This is because, in his view, Ghana should not be borrowing from western countries that act swiftly to gain from their resources when the country has more of such resources.

“Germany is set to make billions of Euros from taxes by legalizing marijuana. Then we will turn around and go and borrow that same money with interest for our development, forgetting that we (Ghana) grow the best marijuana in the world. Ain’t we smart?”

He has therefore urged Ghana’s government to consider legalizing the planting and commercial use of marijuana in the country.

To him, when this is done, the country can reap a lot of revenue from it.

He believes marijuana can create the most viable source of revenue for the country than any other crop if it is considered carefully.

A Neuroscientist Drug Researcher at the University of Columbia, Professor Carl Hart, urged Ghana to reevaluate its position on the plant in 2019.

At the time when the legalization of the drug generated enormous public attention and the Bill had not yet been passed by Parliament, the Professor said,

“People are making money out of this and we have to implement it and improve on its education.”

Other advocates did not hide their desire to see the decriminalization of the drug.

A Former Executive Secretary of Ghana’s Narcotics Control Board (NACOB), Akrasi Sarpong, spoke to the BBC when he was the head of the Board and said that the “war” being waged on marijuana is destined to fail because a lot of people believe “what you are fighting is not a

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News / politics / Production

Borrowing for recurrent expenditure foolish — Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has opposed the continuous borrowing of the Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari for recurrent expenditure.

Obasanjo made his position known when he spoke with Channels Television on the sideline of an event in South Africa.

He told Channels TV: “If you want to build a commercial house and you go and borrow money, and you have 50 per cent of your own money and you borrow 50 per cent and in five years, you pay the 50 per cent that you borrowed, that is a wise thing to do.

“But if you have to go and borrow money for you to be able to feed yourself and your family, that is a stupid thing to do. “So, if we are borrowing for recurrent expenditure, it is the height of foolery.

“If we are borrowing for development that can pay itself, that is understandable.

“Then how long will it pay itself?

“But we are borrowing and accumulating debt for the next generation and the next generation after them.

“It is criminal, to put it mildly.

“What are we borrowing for?

“When I came into government and was elected President, we were spending $3.5 billion to service debt.

“And even with that, our quantum of debt was not going down.”…

News / Production / Transportation

Four die as flood overruns FCT, damages 26 vehicles, 166 houses

Four residents of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja have lost their lives to floods.

The FCT Emergency Management Agency on Monday said it established this in the course of its rescue operations.

The operations was from September 12 to 13, 2021.

“Following long hours of heavy rainfall on Sunday, September 12, Trademoore, Light Gold and Wisdom Estates, as well as Lugbe community were heavily flooded, resulting in the loss of lives,” FEMA Director-General, Alhaji Abbas Idriss, said in a statement on Monday in Abuja. Idriss added: “FEMA has established, in the course of rescue operations which began from 9p.m. of September 12 up to September 13, that four persons lost their lives to the floods and the recovered bodies have been taken away by family members for burial.

“Also, over 26 vehicles, including an articulated towing van, were swept away by the flood, besides a tarred road in Trademoore Estate which was completely washed away as a result of the strength of the flood water.“

The FEMA boss said a total of166 houses were affected, noting that the agency was still estimating the losses suffered by residents as a result of the floods.

Idriss conveyed the deepest sympathies of the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammed Bello, to the residents and families of those who were killed.

He appealed to FCT residents, especially developers, to desist from violating the approved building codes.

“We are also appealing to them to stop erecting retention walls to protect storm water from flowing. By doing so they are causing more havoc to the community,” he said.

Idriss advised that as the FCT enters the final phase of the rainy season, in which the rain is at its peak, residents should avoid dumping refuse in drainages.

He also advised them to clear all surrounding drainages and other blockages that obstruct the free flow of water.

The D-G enjoined residents to avoid driving or walking through flood waters.

He also called on those living along  river banks to relocate to higher ground when threatened by floods.…

News / Production

There won’t be petrol subsidy after Buhari signs PIB – Minister

Nigeria will no longer operate the subsidy system to regulate the cost of Petrol once President Muhammadu Buhari signs into law the Petroleum Industry Bill, recently passed by the National Assembly.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, announced this on Monday.

Sylva, who spoke at: “Nigeria/Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries: 50 Years of Partnership,” press conference in Abuja, said it was best for Nigeria that the Federal Government discontinued subsidy on petrol, stressing that the recently passed PIB had no provision for subsidy.

He said: “This (subsidy removal) is desirable for the interest and growth of Nigeria.

“Of course, everybody will have their perspectives, but from where I sit, I believe that subsidy removal is the best thing for Nigeria, not just the industry.

“So far, the discussions with stakeholders are still ongoing.

“But I will also bring it to your attention that today, when the President assents to the PIB, subsidy will become a matter of law because it is already in the PIB that petroleum products will be sold at market determined prices.

“The removal of subsidy has the potential of unlocking a lot more funds for deployment to development.

“Unfortunately, what we are doing by way of subsidy is like cutting our nose to spite our face.”

 …

News / Production

Nigeria faces import crisis as reserves hit 13-month low

Nigeria’s economy could be leaning against the wind as the country’s external reserves fell to a 13-month low last week, tumbling quickly to $30 billion, the level it was between 2015 and 2017.

Last Thursday, the figure slid to $33.79 billion, as it dropped by $30 million. This represented a 0.09% decline compared to $33.824 billion recorded on Wednesday, June 16. A total of $1.58 billion has been lost in reserves year-to-date, while month-to-date loss stands at $405.33 million, hardly reflecting the marginal gains in rising oil prices in recent months.

The reserves fell by $222.3 million between May 31 and June 10 to $34.0 billion, according to figures published by the Central Bank of Nigeria. The last time it fell below that mark was between June and July of 2017.

The country’s forex reserves continues to trend downwards despite the positive rally recorded in the global crude oil market, with Brent crude currently trading at $73.5 per barrel. It has sustained a steady troubling decline in the past two months after a short-lived upswing that took it to $35 billion.

The foreign reserves lost $120.18 million last Tuesday, the highest single-day loss recorded since February 22, 2021.

This is largely attributed to the decline in crude oil sales, due to the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the buying capacity of India, which is one of the world’s largest importers of oil.

However, reports suggest that India’s oil imports are beginning to pick up after months of lessened activities due to the pandemic’s effect on its economy. This also comes as good news to Nigeria as India remains one of the highest importers of Nigeria’s crude oil.

The falling reserves, experts have warned, could leave the country’s embattled economic outlook worse off as the confidence of foreign investors is partly influenced by the size of the reserve. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the figure oscillated between $34 billion to $36 billion and even crossed $36.5 billion occasionally.

Nigeria’s current reserve is among the poorest of the oil-producing …

Agriculture / News / Production

Why Nigeria must legalize cannabis cultivation, Akeredolu insists

Ondo State Governor and Chairman of the South-West Governors’ Forum, Rotimi Akeredolu, says it is important for the country to legalize the cultivation of cannabis for medicinal purposes.

He spoke on Thursday on a live interview program tagged ‘Governor Speaks’, which is part of activities lined up in commemoration of his 100 days of his second term in office. Akeredolu was sworn in for a second term on February 24, 2021 after he won the October 10, 2020 governorship election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress.

Speaking during the live interview, the governor said cannabis could be a strong foreign exchange earner for Nigeria if its cultivation was legalized.

Akeredolu said, “We must find a way to legalize cultivation of cannabis for medicinal purposes. There is nothing wrong about it. We are only shooting ourselves in the foot. It is a foreign exchange earner for people outside the country. People want this. We ourselves, even our pharmacies want to develop.

“I travelled out of here and I was in Thailand trying to study the cultivation of cannabis for pharmaceutical use. We did all these, we even went there with NDLEA (National Drug Law Enforcement Agency), the chairman at that time went with us, maybe he came and said what he went for was for a different thing but that was why we went and all I felt that let us look at the way they did it over there.

“Everybody has drug problem, most country has drug problem. We are having it here, it is not as pronounced here as in other places but there are ways they went about these things that those who are involved in drugs, those who are selling, those who are exporting had other ways of doing things that they had to leave it. So, when we talk about cultivation, we are saying in which it is a monitored one, in which NDLEA will have an office (near farms).”

It was earlier reported on January 7, 2021, that the House of Representatives was …