NEWS MIRROR

Its FIRS  Below: Its Chairman, NAMI  By Favour & Akinola Ajibade  Nigeria needs strong reforms across the three layers of governments, namely federal, states and local government councils, in the event that she would achieve tremendous growth in the area of collection of tax revenue,  the Executive Chairman,Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS),Muhammad NAMI, has said.  He spoke, yesterday ( Monday) at its 153rd meeting of the Board in Abuja.  The meeting had the theme: “Harmonization and Codification of Taxes At The National and Sub-National Levels: Key To Achieving A Tax Friendly Environment In Nigeria.” He said tax authorities must continue to explore and adopt measures, among providing other initiatives which would lead to the optimisation of tax revenue in the three levels of governments.  “As the new administrations attempts to address  many socioeconomic challenges facing the nation, it becomes imperative for all...

By Favour & Akinola Ajibade  Nigeria, Angola, Ghana, Egypt and the remaining fifty countries in Africa require proactive steps to attract foreign direct investments (FDI), in the event they want to fully harness their gas potentials, the Managing Director,  Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo) Elohor Aiboni, has said.  She spoke recently in Lagos, during the 2023 edition of the Nigerian Council of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.  According to her, the sector does not have enough capital to drive its growth, stating that FDI is the way to go to harness the potentials in the gas industry.  While referring to the recently published statistics from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Alboni  said there was a decline of FDI, which has dropped from $80 billion in 2021 to about $45 billion in 2022, a development, which she said, has shown a worrying gap in investments in developing countries's ef...

By Favour & Akinola Ajibade  Seplat Energy Plc has grown its gas revenue to $63.7 million from $57.8million within a spate of one year, precisely 2023.   The feat, which was recorded between 2022 to 2023, saw the only indigenous energy firm with dual exchanges, increasing its gas revenue by $6million. Seplat Energy is listed in both the Nigerian and London Stock Exchanges, a development, which has greatly impacted on the company's fortunes.  The growth, which was attributed to increased realised in gas prices and a rise in sales volume, saw Seplat gas price rising by 4.4 per cent to   $2.87/Mscf, while gas production saw a moderate 1.4 percent increase to 21.6 Bscf during the same period (compared to 21.3 Bscf in 6M 2022).  In its outlook for the remaining part of the year, Seplat Energy said that its group  production performance has improved in 2023, thanks to greater uptime on OML40 and reduced losses on its western asset. Also,...

By Favour & Akinola Ajibade Oil  Major, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) and its joint venture partners have given a new lease of life to government owned Edagberi Cottage Hospital in Ahoada West Local Government area of Rivers State. Before now,  the 20-bed hospital was ravaged by flood in 2012, a development, which stalled its  operation until recently, when Shell Petroleum Development Company ( SPDC) and its partners mainly Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited( NNPPL), Total Energies and NOAC reopened the facility the facility.  Rivers State's Commissioner for Health, Dr. Adaeze Chidinma Oreh, described the intervention by SPDC and its partners as a critical move that would change the face of health care delivery in Edagberi community and its environs. “Shell and its partners, particularly the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, have proved that they really value their hosts in the scheme of things and for which...

By Favour & Akinola Ajibade  Dangote Cement, one of the companies, largely owned by the billionaire, Akiko Dangote, has adopted palm kernel and rice husk as its alternative energy sources, in order to reduce its cost of production.  This follows the rising cost of gas and coal, a development, which saw some major industries, opting for alternative and lesser cost of producing their products for growth.Its  Its Acting Chief Executive Officer, Mr Gbenga Fapohunda, disclosed this on Arise Television recently.. He said the firm has adopted a new strategy of cutting energy costs using biomass. According to him, the alternative energy, adopted by Dangote Cement is Biomass, which is the use of palm kernel shell to power its plant, as  against using expensive coal to produce cement. Fapounda said, “Alternative fuel is mainly biomass using palm kernel shell to power our plant instead of expensive coal. We are using rice husk to power our plant instead of using...

                 Celine Dion By Favour & Akinola Ajibade There appears to no solution in sight for the ailing singer, Celine Dion, as she is yet to respond to every treatment given her by medics, says Celine Dion Claudette.  Celine Dion was diagonised of stiff person syndrome, an ailment, which forced her to stop her oversees' musical tours recently. Stiff person syndrome is an incurable neurological disorder, which requires that the affected person is giving intensive care. While giving updates on the health of Celine, Claudette, who spoke to Le Journal Dr Montreal, said Celine is being taken care by one of her sisters, who specialises in the rare condition. She said, “We can’t find any medicine that works, but having hope is important.I honestly think that she mostly needs to rest. She always goes above and beyond [when performing], she always tries to be the best and top of her game. “At one point, your heart and your ...

Tinubu  By Favour & Akinola Ajibade President Bola Tinubu says a complete overhauling of the Civil Service is starting soon, while  a comprehensive forensic audit of the Central Bank is underway, while a thorough overhaul of the Civil Service payroll is imminent. He said this, yesterday, during an audience with the President of the World Bank, Mr Ajay Banga at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. " Tinubu said: "We( Federal Government ( are going to do very serious structural review  of the Federal Civil Service in the number I'm seeing and I've had that experience before at the state level.This coupled with the fact that comprehensive forensic audit is ongoing at the Central Bank. ”The reforms are in tandem with Nigeria’s Ease of Doing Business programme. We’ll block all financial loopholes. The reforms will be targeted at the way we work, change of attitude and equally on educating our people. It’s costly but we will do it,” he said. Highlighting Nigeria’s...

 By Favour & Akinola Ajibade Seplat says  energy transition and sustainability remain its two cardinal pillars, the company's Director, New Energy,  Effiong Okon said this during a keynote titled ‘The Transition Towards Energy Sustainability: Strategies and Tools for Developing Countries’ at the Society of Petroleum Engineers, SPE, Nigeria Annual International Conference & Exhibition, NAICE, 2023 in Lagos. Okon, who represented the CEO, Seplat Energy, Roger Brown, also stressed that government had critical roles to play in the development of the energy industry. ‘We are a Nigerian success story, proving to international investors we can succeed and inspiring others to follow our lead. Sustainability and energy transition are the heart of our business, the two main pillars of our strategy. We believe universal access to energy will transform Africa and we are working towards that goal in its largest economy,” he said. According to Okon, the development ...

By Favour & Akinola Ajibade The planned exit of the British Pharmaceutical giant, GlaxoSmithkline(GSK) from Nigeria after spending fifty one year(51) shows that the company does not perceive growth prospect in the country, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, has said. This follows the company’s announcement of plans to end its prescription medicines and vaccine production in the country. The firm produces products like lucozade, Ribena, Panadol, Macleans, Andrew Liver Salt among others. In a statement sent to the Nigerian Exchange Limited, the multinational pharmaceutical company said it would transform to a third-party direct distribution model for its pharmaceutical products. In a tweet sent on Friday night, Obi said that the decision by the firm to leave Nigeria is disheartening, as well as showing the fact that the country's environment  is no longer safe for investments. He describes the development as part of the poo...

The company's head office By Favour & Akinola Ajibade Nigerians are expected to join the thickly populated  labour market, if the plans of the GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc (GSK) to close its operations in the country, is anything to go by. The company, yesterday ( Thursday) told the  management of the Nigeria Exchange Limited (NGX) and the investing public of its intent to clise operations in the country. The firm, conveyed this message  in a statement, issued and signed by its Secretary, Frederick Ichekwai.  The planned closure is necessitated by the parent company, GSK Plc UK, strategic intent to cease commercialization of its prescription medicines and vaccines in Nigeria. Besides,another of its partners, Haleon Group has separately informed the Board of its intent to terminate its distribution agreement in the coming months. The statement added:“In our published Q2 results we disclosed that the GSK UK Group has informed GlaxoSmithKlin...

By Favour & Akinola Ajibade The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has  partnered with NIPCO Gas Limited for the deployment for Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as alternative to Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise known as petrol. This follows the negative effects caused by the removal of fuel subsidy by the government of President Bola Tinubu, immediately after assumption of office on May 29th this year. Recall that the nation's oil company has for years planned to launch in full scale into CNG business, but this has remained in the realms of declaration and nothing happened despite demonstrating strong desire to explore the opportunities in that segment of the gas value chain. NNPCL's Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPCL, Mele Kolo Kyari, who spoke at a press conference in Abuja,  yesterday (Thursday,) said the decision was a directive from President Ahmed Bola Tinubu. He further said that the decision was borne out of efforts to cushion the imp...

Radison displays its magnificence  Story by Favour and Akinola Ajibade Radison Hotel Group, formerly Carlson Hotels Incorporation  is expanding its presence in Morocco with the opening of Radisson Blu Residences, Saidia, its eighth hotel in the country. Established in 120 namely Frankfurt, Belgium, Nigeria among other countries and locations as at 2021, the Moroccan version of Radison Hotel is nestled in the heart of one of the most popular seaside destinations in northern Morocco, the new hotel bolsters the Group’s portfolio to three hotels in Saidia. Highly sophisticated as it is equipped with some of the best facilities in the world, the hotel will certainly become the pride of Morocco, in view of the fact that statemen, government's officials, envoys in the country for a visit or diplomatic assignments are going to lodge there for their comfort. Comprises of 13 contemporary units made up of suites, studios, and apartments with breathtaking views of the Mediterr...

Tinubi with Labour Leaders  By Favour & Akinola Ajibade Nigeria will heave a sign of relief by this December end, when the Port Harcourt Refinery resume operation, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said.  This refinery, which boast of 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) capacity, will start production by December in the next five months, pricisely December 2023, after the completion of the ongoing rehabilitation contract between NNPCL and Italian firm, Maire Tecnimont SpA. He said this yesterday during a meeting with the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Abuja. The meeting ended in success, as the labour suspended its plans to embark on strike. News Mirror, the President’s statement aligned with the promise made by Mele Kyari, Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPCL), that the Port Harcourt refinery will start production by December 2023, two years after the Federal Executive Council approved $1.5 billion for the...

Kyari By Favour & Akinola Ajibade Nigeria will experience  fosssil fuel dominance in the foreseeable future, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company  Limited NNPCL's  Group Managing Director, Mr Mele Kolo Kyari, has said.  He said the country is not transiting from hydrocarbon to zero carbon fuels, adding that Nigeria will rely on  gas as it transition fuel. This is coming against the backdrop that Nigeria has set its own energy transition timetable in line with United Nations Programme.  He spoke during this year Society of Petroleum Engineers International Conference( NAICE 2023 in Lagos. The conference had the theme: Balancing Energy Açcessbility, Affordability and Sustainability: Strategic Options For Africa. According to him, Nigeria has huge reserves of 209.5 Trillion Cubit Feet( TCF) and potential   upsurge of 600CBT, stressing that the country's gas reserves are enormous to drive its cleaner and affordable energ...

Mr Sanwoolu  By Favour & Akinola Ajibade Lagos residents are expected to enjoy relatively cheaper means of transportation, if the plans of the state government to cushion the effects of subidy removal is anything to go by. This happens, as Lagos state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, announced a reduction in transport fare on all Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) routes by 50% beginning from Wednesday. August 2, this year. Sanwo-Olu, who disclosed this yesterday (Monday) while addressing media at the end of security meeting with members of the  Navy, Airforce and Airforce in Alausa, Secretariat, said commercial buses, popularly known as Danfo,’will follow suit with a reduction of 25% in fare on all routes. According to him, the government is planning to increase the number of its buses in order to significantly reduce transport problems, adding that new buses have already been purchased.  Continuing further, Sanwoolu said the  government will start  distrib...

By Favour & Akinola  Nigeria participated in the recently concluded African-Russian Summit in Petersburg, Russia, in order to see to the completion of the Aj aokuta Steel Complex and also revive of the Aluminium Smelter Company of Nigeria (ALSCON), Vice President, Kashim Shettima has said. He said the country attended the summit in order to discuss to access possible growth plans for her economy, assuring the Nigerian community in Russia of the readiness of administration of  President Bola Tinubu to grow its economy.  Shettima said : “Be rest assured that in the next 9 to 12 months there will be a swift change in the fortunes of Nigeria. I am talking with all sense of certainty and responsibility because I believe in the capacity and commitment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The government, Shettima said, was committed to repositioning the economy, adding, “We are here for the Africa-Russia Summit, but we are also here fundamentally to pursue the complet...

Ousted Niger's President, Bazoun  By Favour & Akinola Ajibade   Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS yesterday ( Sunday) in Abuja, ordered the immediate release and reinstatement of President Mohamed Bazoum as the legitimate head of government of the Republic of Niger.  In a communique at the end of the Extraordinary Summit on Socio-Political Situation in the Republic of Niger read by the President, ECOWAS Commission, Dr Omar Touray, the leaders also rejected any form of purported resignation by President Bazoum and declared him as the only recognised and elected President by ECOWAS, the African Union and the international community. ‘‘In this regard, only official acts of President Bazoum or his duly-mandated officials will be recognized by ECOWAS,’’ they said. The leaders expressed strong condemnation of the attempted overthrow of constitutional order in Niger, and the illegal detention of President Bazoum, as well as members of his family and governm...

DSS Arrests Ex-Minister, Sirika  By Favour & Akinola Ajibade The Department of State Service ( DSS) has picked up the former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika for questioning. The agency arrested Sirika, following the recent “launch” of Nigeria Air, a deployment, which generated wide controversy in the country.  Sirika who was grilled for hours, arrived the DSS headquarters in Abuja in a Range Rover SUV, for questioning.  The interogation followed the admission of the acting managing director of Nigeria Air, Captain Dapo  Olumide,  that the  plane that was unveiled   as  Nigeria Air was a chartered aircraft from Ethiopian Airlines. Olumide told the Senate Committee on Aviation that the aircraft was used to unveil the Nigeria Air logo  but that it was  not yet operational. Sirika, at the twilight of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, launched Nigeria Air which was widely criticised as a scam The plane...

By Favour & Akinola Ajibade President Bola Tinubu has appointed Mr Jim Obazee as the Special Investigator of the  ( CBN) and other related entities. The CBN  entities are Nigeria Incentive- Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Exports( NIRSAL Plc), NIRSAL MFB , Nigeria-Export-Import Bank Bank( NEXIM), Bank of Industry ( BoI), Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC). Others are Nigeria Security, Printing and Minting Company ( NSPMC), Bank of Agriculture ( BOA), Assets Management Company of Nigeria ( AMCON) , Infrastructure Commodity of Nigeria ( INFRACO), Nigerian Commodity Exchange ( NCX) and Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria ( FMBN). Obazee's appointment, could be e described as the rejected stone that eventually became the head of the cornerstone as he was once sacked as the head of FRC 

The Suspects  By Favour & Akinola Ajibade The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria ( FAAN) says three people have been arrested in connection with stealing of cables around its headquarters.  The agency, in a statement signed by its Director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Abdullahi Yakubu-Funtua, said that the people were nabbed by the officials of the Aviation Security's Crime Investigation and Intelligence (CII) Unit and the Joint Military Task Force (JMTF). According to the statement, two of the suspects were caught around  03: 52hes, while digging and cutting electric cables connecting the international wing of the airport to the domestic wing. The third suspect, it said, serves as a link between the other two and buyers at Arena Market, Oshodi was apprehended at exactly 05: 56hr at Hajj & Cargo Terminal, following confessions made by the two other suspects. " Investigations have shown that one of the suspects was convicted and sentenced...