All Posts in "Month: September 2022"

Nigeria’s foreign trade falls by 1.5% in Q2’21

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

 

Nigeria’s foreign trade fell quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) by 1.5 percent to N12.8 trillion in the second quarter of the year (Q2’22) from N13 trillion in Q1’22.

The figure fell by N200 billion in the first 2022 National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, stated in it’s Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics report for Q2’22.

According to the bureau, foreign trade in Q2’22 comprised of exports valued at N7.4 trillion and imports worth N5.4 trillion.

The bureau also said that the value of crude oil exports, which accounted for 79.7 percent of total exports in Q2′ 22, rose by 5.1 per cent to ₦5.9 trillion from ₦5.6 trillion in Q1’22.

NBS said:”Nigeria’s total merchandise trade stood at ₦12.8 trillion in Q2’22, indicating a marginal decrease of 1.5 per cent over the value recorded in Q1’22 and 32 per cent higher when compared to the value recorded in Q2’21.

“The value of total export stood at ₦7.4 trillion in Q2’22, the value accounted for 57.7 per cent of total trade.

“The export value rose in Q2’22 by 4.3 percent against the level recorded in Q1’22 and by 47.5 per cent when compared to Q2’21.

“Exports by section revealed that Nigeria exported mainly mineral products which amounted to ₦6.7 trillion, or 91.46 percent of total export value; followed by ‘Products of the chemical and allied industries’, which were valued at ₦318.51billion (or 4.3 percent of the value of total exports) and ‘Vegetable products’ worth ₦100.12billion (1.35 percent of the value of total exports).

“The value of exports trade in Q2’22 was dominated by crude oil exports valued
at ₦5.9 trillion which accounted for 79.7 percent of total exports while non-crude oil exports value stood at ₦1.49 trillion or 20.2 percent of total exports of which non-oil products contributed ₦675.08 billion representing 9.11 percent of total exports.”
On imports it said:”During the second quarter of 2022, total imports were valued at ₦5.4 trillion accounting for 42.3 percent of total trade.

“The import value fell by 7.9 percent in Q2’22 compared to the value recorded
in Q1’22 but increased by 15.8 percent compared to the imports value in Q2’21.”

Patoma Admin by — September 8, 2022 in Foreign 0
Prime Minister Liz Truss appoints three Ministers with African origins

CAPTION

L- Kemi Badenoch, Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade; Kwasi Kwarteng, Chancellor of the Exchequer and James Cleverly, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs 

By Favour Nnabugwu
Prime Minister Liz Truss named a 31-member cabinet that surprisingly includes three ministers of African origin.
These are Kemi Badenoch, Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade; Kwasi Kwarteng, Chancellor of the Exchequer (finance minister) and James Cleverly, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
The new Conservative British leader’s appointments are historic as never before have there been as many as three Black ministers in the cabinet with two of them occupying two of the so-called four “Great Offices of State”.These are senior offices in the UK government: the Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary, respectively.
Kemi Badenoch – Secretary of State for Trade
Olukemi Olufunto Badenoch (née Adegoke) was born on 2 January 1980 in London to Nigerian parents. Her father, Femi Adegboke, was a medical doctor and her mother, Feyi Adegoke, is a professor of physiology.
Badenoch’s spent part of her childhood in Lagos, Nigeria, and in the United States. She returned to the UK at the age of 16 to live with a friend of her mother’s owing to the deteriorating political and economic situation in Nigeria which had affected her family.
After graduating from the University of Sussex, she worked as a software engineer at Logica before studying law at Birkbeck, University of London. Badenoch later pursued a career in banking, working for the Royal Bank of Scotland Group and Coutts.
The British politician had previously served as Minister of State for Local Government, Faith and Communities and Minister of State for Equalities from 2021 to 2022.
Although a British citizen and born in the UK, Badenoch stated that she was “to all intents and purposes a first-generation immigrant” during her parliamentary maiden speech. She became MP for Saffron Walden in Essex in 2017, and lists her interests as including engineering and technology, social mobility and integration.
Kemi Badenoch, who is married to surprised many by reaching the last four in the leadership contest in the Conservative Party.
Kemi is married to Hamish Badenoch and they have two daughters and a son.
Patoma Media Concepts
Kwasi Kwarteng – Chancellor of the Exchequer
Akwasi Addo Alfred Kwarteng (born on 26 May 1975), the first Black person to serve as Chancellor of the Exchequer, is the man in charge of the economy.
A member of the Conservative Party, Kwarteng was born in London to Ghanaian parents who had emigrated from Ghana as students in the 1960s. He’s the only child of his parents – Alfred K. Kwarteng, an economist, and Charlotte Boaitey-Kwarteng, a barrister.
The new finance minister, who has been a Member of Parliament since 2010, previously served as Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy from 2021 to 2022.
Prior to that, Kwarteng had also served as Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Exiting the European Union, Minister of State for Business, Energy and Clean Growth,
Kwarteng attended the elite Eton College and studied at Cambridge for his bachelors, Harvard University for his masters and then returned to Cambridge where he earned a PhD in economic history in 2000.
Kwarteng is married to Harriet Edwards and the couple have a daughter.
James Spencer Cleverly – Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
Born on 4 September 1969 in London to a British father and a mother from Sierra Leone, the British politician and Army Reserve officer has been a member of Parliament since 2015.
Cleverly previously served as Secretary of State for Education from July to September 2022, Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2020 and as the member of the London Assembly (AM) from 2008 to 2016.
James Cleverly/Photo: Richard Townshend/UK Parliament/Wikipedia
Cleverly was in the army but his military career was cut short by a leg injury in 1989. He went on to gain a bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management from the Polytechnic of West London. He is a lieutenant colonel in the Reserve Army.
After graduating, Cleverly worked variously positions for several publishing companies before co-founding the web publishing company Point and Fire in 2007.
Cleverly stood unsuccessfully in a number of elections before he was elected into the UK Parliament in 2015 general election.
Cleverly is married to Susannah Sparks and the couple have two sons.
Patoma Admin by — September 8, 2022 in Foreign 0
Nigerian-German Cultural Carnival holds in Frankfurt September 10

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

The Nigerian- German Cultural Carnival 2023 will hold in Frankfurt to celebrate the culture of Africa’s most populous country takes place on Saturday, September 10.

The event organised by the Nigerian diplomatic mission in Germany will showcase the country’s diverse cultural heritage and promote Nigeria as a place to visit and do business to Germans.

The theme of the Carnival, which will henceforth take place annually, is ‘Promoting peaceful Coexistence across multi-diverse culture’ and will feature, among other activities, a street procession through the city of Frankfurt by Nigerian cultural associations.

A procession during the Adire International Carnival in Vienna, June 2022. The Nigerian-German Cultural Carnival 2022 will feature, among other activities, a street procession through the city of Frankfurt by Nigerian cultural groups

The festival, which also features live music performances and an exhibition by Nigerian associations in Germany, will be attended by leading Nigerian traditional rulers, including the Ooni of Ife, the Oba of Benin, the Obi of Onitsha and the Emir of Kano.

Nigeria’s culture minister, Lai Mohammed, and his foreign affairs counterpart, Geoffrey Onyeama, are expected at the 1st Nigerian-German Cultural Carnival, an initiative of the Nigeria Consulate Frankfurt under the leadership of its Consul General, Ambassador Wahab A. Akande.
The street procession will start at 9am at the Frankenallee and end at the Lotte-Spetch Park.

The festival is being eagerly awaited in the Nigerian community as it’s the first of its kind in Germany.

“Great success always starts with a simple idea and selfless commitment. Having an idea and the right person at the helm, everything works like a magic. The birth of NGCC is the first step in bringing Nigerians in the Diaspora closer to their roots and heritages. Awesome!,” Abela Emuebie, a Nigerian entrepreneur said.

Patoma Admin by — September 8, 2022 in Foreign 0
NCRIB, Lagos State pact on sustainable insurance education

CAPTIONS:

L- Deputy President of The Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), Mr Babatunde Oguntade presenting the 60th  Anniversary Mascot to Commissioner for Education, Lagos State, Mrs Folashade Olufisayo, during the visit of NCRIB Research and Development Committee to the Commissioner in Lagos. With them is the Executive Secretary/CEO of the NCRIB, Mr Tope Adaramola

L- Mr Ayo Akande, a Council Member of The Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB), Mr Tunde Oguntade, Deputy President (NCRIB); Lagos State Commissioner for Education, Mrs Folashade Adefisayo; the Executive Secretary/CEO of the NCRIB, Mr Tope Adaramola and Mr. Obinna Chilekezie, a member of NCRIB, when the delegation of the Research and Development Committee of the Council visited the Education Commissioner in her office in Lagos.
By Favour Nnabugwu
The Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, NCRIB and the Lagos State Government have tighten ties to ensure insurance education is sustained for the promotion of insurance by secondary school students in the state.
The Council took this step when its delegation visited the State Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Folashade Adefisayo in Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos. Speaking, the Deputy President of the Council, Mr. Babatunde Oguntade regretted the slow acceptance of insurance as a subject in the curriculum of secondary school and noted that the Brokers body craved the support of the State Ministry of Education to change the narrative positively
Oguntade who is also the Chairman of the Research and Development Committee of the Council opined that against noxious beliefs about insurance, the profession was one that accommodated diverse people from varied educational backgrounds which ultimately provides basis for the richness of the professionHe applauded the Lagos State Government for its undying enthusiasm to support the move by the Council to synergise efforts with the state government in fashioning a robust curriculum for insurance education that would stimulate the interest of secondary school students
The state Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Folashade Adefisayo rued the poor acceptance of insurance generally in the society despite the huge potentials of the profession She opined that providers of insurance needed to be more proactive in stimulating the interest of the youth in insurance subject Adefisayo disclosed that the comprehensive school project of the Lagos State Government should be utilized by the Council and the insurance industry generally to provide hands-on training for students of the peculiar schools towards making them self-reliant as against obsession for certificate
She advised the industry on the need to rethink and re-engineer as a way of making insurance a favourable option for the youth
Patoma Admin by — September 8, 2022 in Insurance 0
Naicom commences sensitisation on compulsory insurance, takaful in Katsina State

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

 

National Insurance Commission, Naicom has commenced the sensitization programme in Katsina State for top government functionaries, traditional rulers, Khadis, Ulamas, Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC;  Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners, NARTO; market trader association, law enforcement agencies and relevant shareholders.

Also in attendance were managing directors of Takaful companies.

 

Patoma Admin by — September 7, 2022 in Insurance 0
FG directs NCAA to sanction foreign airlines not selling tickets in Naira

FG orders NCAA to sanction foreign airlines not selling tickets in Naira
By Favour Nnabugwu
The Federal Government has ordered the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA to sanction any international airlines that refuse to sell tickets in Naira.
The Government also said that the decision to float a national carrier, Nigerian Air is on course and that there is no going back
The Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, stated this at the end of the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Senator Sirika said intelligence reports indicated that some of the airlines are refusing naira and charging their ticket fares in dollars in violation of the nation’s laws, adding that some of the airlines have also blocked local travel agencies from accessing their websites for transactions.
The Minister stated that the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) hss been directed to deal with any of such airlines that are wilfully breaching the country’s laws.
He noted that the foreign airlines have made over $1.1 billion from Nigeria from 2016, which could have been retained in the country if they were local airlines.
Sirika recalled that the airlines remitted over $600 million to their home countries in 2016 while over $265 million has also been released this year out of about $484 million due to them.
He said the government is trying to keep the airlines happy by ensuring that their money does not pile up again, saying that while the country needs their services, the airlines need the Nigerian market.
The Minister warned them to refrain from using the social media to press home their demands rather than resorting to the diplomatic channels.
On the Nigerian Air, he said that the project is a Public Private Partnership, PPP, which is guided by the Infrastructural Committee Regulatory Commission, adding that Nigeria is a candidate for national carrier.
Patoma Admin by — September 7, 2022 in Aviation 0
Projects Monitoring Committee expresses satisfaction after inspections of NEPZA projects

CAPTION

L- Hajia Zainab Aliyu, NEPZA Director of Monitoring & Compliance(left), Engr. David, Engr.David Balami Asst.Director Project & Procurement (NEPZA) middle, and Mr Martins Odeomenem, Director, Procurement ( Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment listening to a contractor during visit to the Calabar Free Trade Zone.

 

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

 

The Joint Projects Monitoring Committee of the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) has concluded inspections of 112 approved projects for the Authority.

These projects, captured under the NEPZA Tender Board of 2017-2021, direct Federal Executive Council approval and the Ministerial Tender Board of Capital Projects are located at Calabar Free Trade Zone (CFTZ), Kano Free Trade Zones (KFTZ) and the newly approved Lagos and Kwara Special Economic Zones respectively.

In a statement released by Head Corporate Communication, Mr Martins Odeh that out of the 112 ongoing projects, a total of 76 have been completed with the CFTZ accounting for 28; KFTZ 38; Lekki SEZ 5; and Ilorin SEZ 5 while others are at different levels of completion.

Some of the projects include: Erosion Control Works & Rehabilitation of Collapsed Perimeter Fence at CFTZ; Construction of Emergency Exit Gates & Access Road to the Jetties at CFTZ; Re-Asphalting of the Exiting Dual Carriageway Road Network at CTFZ; Consulting Services for Masterplan & Architectural Design at Kwara SEZ; Consulting Services for Engineering & Infrastructure Design at Kwara SEZ; Quantity Surveying for Feasibility Studies at Kwara SEZ; and the Development of initial 5MW Power Plant & Electrical Reticulation within the Ilorin SEZ.

They also include: The Construction of Roads with Associated Drainage Work at KFTZ; Construction of Four Standard Size Factory Building & Associated External Works at KFTZ; The Purchase of Property at No.38 Kofo Abayomi Street, Victoria Island, Lagos; The Re-furbishing & Furnishing of the Newly acquired NEPZA new Lagos Zonal Office among others.

Speaking at the end of the tour in Calabar, Hajia Zainab Aliyu, NEPZA’s Director of Monitoring & Compliance, expressed satisfaction with the level of projects execution across the four zones, adding that the Federal Government had always ensured value-for-money in the execution of its contracts.

Hajia Aliyu, the Authority’s Team Lead, said that the approval for the projects’ inspection tours indicated government priority toward adequate provision of infrastructure in the free trade zones and Prof. Adesoji Adesugba led-management relentless commitment to the interpretation of President Muhammadu Buhari’s policy for a profitable and competitive zone scheme.

“As part of the statutory responsibility of NEPZA as provided in Section 4 of the Authority’s Act 63 of 1992 is the provision that ensures that all zones provide some of the basic infrastructure. We are also obliged to constantly monitor and evaluate both new and old infrastructure.

“The reasons for these monitoring and evaluation exercises were to ensure the right quality of materials were used and the the right quality of jobs are done, just as we also checked the percentage of work done in line with the amount assigned for the project.

“To this end, the Managing Director, Prof. Adesoji Adesugba decided to set up this committee to access all the projects that have been earmarked from the period he assumed leadership of the Authority.

“ The Authority has, however, decided to carry out the task jointly with our supervising Ministry, which is the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment. So far, we were encouraged by the progress of executions.’’ She said.

Meanwhile, Mr Martins Odeomenem, Director of Procurement, who led the team members from the Ministry of Industry, Trade & Investment, described NEPZA as a serious agency of government that had always displayed uprightness in the conduct of its affairs.

Odeomenem explained that the ministry was, however, mostly concerned with those projects approved through the Ministerial Tender Board, adding that most of projects under the above category had been completed.

“It is not all about awarding contracts and executing contracts. There is also the need for every office that has the duty of awarding contracts to know that government is seriously after value-for-money.

“The inspections were aimed at ascertaining if the contracts the government awarded within the period under review are achieving the purpose for which they were awarded and executed. This is the essence of our assignment.

“I am fully aware that NEPZA is a serious establishment that abhors shoddy execution of its projects because of the strategic nature of the free zones in attracting foreign investment. We have gone around and I can say with all sense of responsibility that we are satisfied with what we have met on ground so far.’’ Odeomenem said.

The committee is, however, expected to submit a detailed technical report of its evaluation within 21days.

In a related development, members of the House Committee on Commerce who are embarking on their Mid-Term Inspections of projects at free zones across the country concluded a two-day tour of the Kano Free Trade Zone on Monday.

Hon. Richard Gbande, Deputy Chairman of the committee expressed satisfaction on how the Authority had so managed the special economic ecosystem, describing it as a vital economic gateway that should fast track the industrialisation of the Northern region.

Gbande explained that the zone was lucrative going by the presence of 75 enterprises functioning night and day to increase production for the country’s highly competitive markets.

“We are sure production and competition among the enterprises in the zone would increase significantly if the Federal Government finally divests its equity to the private sector as planned. Doing so will help open the space more for job creation.’’ The Lawmaker said.

Patoma Admin by — September 7, 2022 in Industry, Trade & Investment 0
Nigerian Kemi Badenoch appointed as Secretary of State in UK

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

 The new Prime  Minister of the United Kingdom, Liz Truss has appointed a British politician of Nigerian descent, Kemi Badenoch, as a member of her newly reshuffled cabinet.
Kemi was appointed on Tuesday as the new Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade.
The appointment, which was contained in a tweet posted on the verified Twitter page of the UK Prime Minister,
 Badenoch was born in January 1980 in Wimbledon, London, to parents of Nigerian origin, Femi and Feyi Adegoke. After spending her childhood in part, in the US and in Lagos, Nigeria, she returned to the United Kingdom at the age of 16.
While working at a branch of McDonald’s, she obtained A Levels from Phoenix College, a former further education college in Morden, London.
She studied Computer Systems Engineering at the University of Sussex and completed her MEng in 2003 and afterwards worked as a software engineer at Logica from 2003 to 2006. As a part-time student, at Birkbeck, University of London, she completed an LLB in 2009.
She also worked as a systems analyst at the Royal Bank of Scotland Group before pursuing a career in consultancy and financial services while working as an associate director of private bank and wealth manager, Coutts & Co, from 2006 to 2013 and later as a digital director at The Spectator from 2015 to 2016.
At 25, Badenoch joined the Conservative Party in 2005 and contested in the 2010 general election for the Dulwich and West Norwood constituency against Labour’s Tessa Jowell and came third.
After two years, she stood for the Conservatives in the London Assembly election and she was placed fifth on the London-wide list. In 2015, she was declared the new Assembly Member after Victoria Borwick resigned her seat. She also retained her seat in the Assembly in the 2016 election.
In 2017, Badenoch was shortlisted to be the Conservative Party’s candidate for the marginal Hampstead and Kilburn constituency but was unsuccessful. She was however selected as the Conservative candidate for Saffron Walden.
In September 2017, Badenoch was selected to join the 1922 Executive Committee as she was appointed to the Parliamentary Justice Select Committee. A few months later, she was appointed as the Conservative Party’s Vice-Chair for Candidates.
In July 2019, Badenoch was appointed as Parliamentarian under Secretary of State for Children and Families by Prime Minister Boris Johnson and in February 2020, she was appointed Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State – Minister for Equalities – in the
In September 2021, Badenoch was promoted to Minister of State for Equalities and appointed Minister of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Department for International Trade in a government reshuffle.
in a joint statement with fellow Ministers Alex Burghart, Neil O’Brien, Lee Rowley and Julia Lopez on 6 July 2022, Badenoch resigned from government, citing Boris Johnson’s handling of the Chris Pincher scandal,
Two days later she launched a bid to replace Johnson as Conservative party leader. She announced that she wanted to tell the truth and advocated a strong but limited government. She also called the target of net-zero carbon emissions ‘ill-thought through’ and said that politicians had become hooked on the idea of the state fixing the majority of problems.
Kemi is married to Hamish Badenoch who works for Deutsche Bank and they have two daughters and a son. Kemi’s husband was a Conservative councillor from 2014 to 2018 on Merton London Borough Council who represented Wimbledon Village. At the 2015 general election, he also unsuccessfully contested Foyle for the Northern Ireland Conservatives.
Until 2016, Badenoch was a board member of the Charlton Triangle Homes housing association and was also a school governor at St Thomas the Apostle College in Southwark, and the Jubilee Primary School. Her father, Femi passed away in February 2022.
Patoma Admin by — September 7, 2022 in Foreign 0
Simplifies process on retirement, terminal benefits

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

National Pension Commission (PenCom) has simplified the process on retirement and terminal benefits for immediate implementation.

The Commission had comprehensive review of the regulation since its initial issuance in the year 2007.

The regulation guides the process of accessing retirement and terminal benefits by pension contributors and retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

In line with its consultative approach, PenCom obtained input from key stakeholders in order to ensure a more efficient retirement benefit administration.

The commission disclosed the new development on it’s verified twitter handle.
The revised regulation contains several new provisions on pension enhancement, voluntary contributions, temporary access to RSA due to loss of job, payment under the Micro Pension plan, administrative sanctions for violations by Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), amongst others

The new regulation introduces salient amendments to several existing provisions while providing more clarity on others.

While the old regulation outlined the documents required for retirees to access benefits, the revised regulation has simplified the documentation process.

The new regulation mandated PFAs to make efforts to ensure that all documentation preparatory to the retirement of the Retirement Savings Account (RSA) holder be provided and concluded within a period of four months prior to the date of retirement.

In order to ensure that prospective retirees are duly educated on the modes of accessing their benefits, PFAs have also been mandated to advise prospective retirees to check their websites and be acquainted with the CPS retirement pack containing features of Programmed Withdrawal (PW) and Retiree Life Annuity (RLA) at least three months to date of retirement.

The pack also contains other salient issues that would guide the retirees towards a smooth retirement process.

Patoma Admin by — September 7, 2022 in Pension 0
Naicom, Katsina State inuagurate committee on Sensitisation, Implementation of compulsory insurances, takaful

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

 

National Insurance Commission, Naicom and Katsina State government inuagurate Technical Committee on sensititation, implementation and takaful insurance chaired by the Commissioner for Commerce in the State Alh. Muktar Gidado Abdulkadir and the co-chairman is the Executive Chairman, Katsina State Internal revenue service Mal. Mustapha Mohammed Sirajo.

Other members of the Committee are representatives of the NAICOM, Office of the SSG, Office of the Head of Service in the State, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Health and other relevant agencies.

The Executive Governor while inaugurating the Technical Committee states that the initiative to introduce Takaful insurance is a welcome development that will serve as an alternative especially to attract people of the state who are left out due to religious or cultural barriers.

He assured the NAICOM of Katsina State Government’s full support in the development of insurance in the State.

 

CAPTION:

Naicom team was in Katsina for the inuaguration. Photo shows: R- The Executive Governor of Katsina State HE Aminu Bello Masari, Naicom’sHead Corporate Communication and Market Development, Mr AbdulRasaaq Salami and his Deputy Alh. Mannir Yakubu during the inauguration of the Technical Committee on the Sensitisation/Implementation of compulsory insurances and Takaful in the state in his office on Tuesday 6 September, 2022.

Patoma Admin by — September 7, 2022 in Insurance 0