Queues resurface over delayed oil subsidy payment

Queues resurface over delayed oil subsidy payment
By Anayo Korie Ag Energy Editor, Lagos

The stable fuel supply enjoyed  by  Nigerians  due to the importation of premium motor spirit by  oil marketers  and  Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)  will soon be eroded, as long queues  have started building up across  the nation owing to the inability of the Federal Ministry of Finance to pay outstanding arears of fuel claims subsidy for over nine months.

Investigation by Daily Independent revealed the retail outlets of some of the oil marketers have dried up, while those who have the product have decided to hoard it for higher margin in anticipation of scarcity.
http://dailyindependentnig.com/2015/03/queues-resurface-delayed-oil-subsidy-payment/

Defection: Niger Deputy Gov Evicted From Govt House

Defection: Niger Deputy Gov Evicted From Govt House:
Niger State deputy governor, Hon Ahmed Musa Ibeto, has been evicted from the Government House, even as government officials said the move was to give room for routine maintenance and renovation of the Government House.

One of the aides of the deputy governor who preferred anonymity said that the deputy governor’s office located inside the Government House had been served a notice to relocate from Government House.

The aides of the deputy governor said they had been directed to relocate to ‘F’ Layout quarters along Bosso road Minna which is about 2 kilometres away from the government house.

The deputy governor office at was hitherto located at government house and was located at the back of the Governor’s office which almost linked both offices to each other by the parking lot.

LEADERSHIP gathered that in a letter written, dated the 27th February 2015 and signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Rt Hon Idris Ndako, Kpaki gave the deputy governor up until today (Monday) to relocate to the new office.

Whereas the development was being attributed to the defection of the deputy governor to APC as there was no love lost between him and the Niger State governor, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, the permanent secretary, Government House, Comrade Hamisu Jankaru, said that the action as contained in the letter was to give room for the renovation of the offices.

He stated that “If you can see the renovation started from the protocol office and also extended to the other parts of Government House and it is not out of place to renovate the office by the time we finish renovation they will come back”

In his response through a telephone interview the Deputy Governor said he was not in town and was yet to confirm the authenticity of the said directive relocating him out of Government House adding that when he is back to office he will be able to speak on it.
http://leadership.ng/news/414664/defection-niger-deputy-gov-evicted-from-govt-house

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Marketers halt importation as petrol scarcity persists

Marketers halt importation as petrol scarcity persists:
Fuel queues grew longer in many cities at the weekend — no thanks to thedisagreement over subsidy between the government and marketers.
It was gathered that because marketers have reduced their import, the scarcity may persist.
But the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) plans to triple its supplies to mitigate the shortfall.
Many filling stations in major cities, including Lagos and Abuja, at the weekend either did not sell the product or sold above the N87 price. Many sold at between N97 and N110 per litre.
There were queues at filling stations. The situation got worse in Abuja yesterday, with many stations under lock and key.
The few that opened to customers were besieged by residents. Queues extended to the roads.
Besides, the petrol stations which operated yesterday only engaged in skeletal services, selling with few pumps.
At 3.00pm in Kubwa, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Oando stations were shut.
The NIPCO opposite them was overwhelmed by customers.
According to some of the motorists, who were sweating in the scoching sun, they had queued up for petrol as early as 6.00am.  It sold petrol for N87.
Oando at Dutse Junction, also on the Kubwa expressway, had a long queue.
There were two queues stretching over a kilometre to the NNPC super mega station on the same expressway.
Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, NNPC, Mr. Ohi Alegbe, at the weekend cautioned the public to desist from panic buying.
In a statement, the corporation said it was working with all downstream industry stakeholders.
The statement said: “ The management of the NNPC has called on members of the public not to engage in panic purchase and hoarding of petroleum products as the Corporation is working with all downstream industry stakeholders to eliminate the noticeable artificially, induced fuel queues in some fuel stations.”
Alegbe added that because of the prevailing situation, the corporation, which has been responsible for 50 per cent of nationwide product supply, has stepped in to address the scarcity by tripling supply from their tank farms in Lagos and other areas in the country, which will be trucked to the hinterland. He told The Nation that the NNPC within 48 hours from Sunday will be able to inject 600, 103.047 metric tonnes of premium motor spirit (petrol) equivalent of 688 million litres into the market.
He urged to consumers to exercise patience and not engage in panic buying as the scarcity will be arrested as from tomorrow.
The initial cause of the scarcity was a reaction to oil marketers’ report that their stock level was down and the replenishment was not feasible because of unpaid subsidies that stood at N264 billion. The signal from the marketers that they would not be able to import fuel compelled some retail outlets to slow down on sale.
However, the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, had a meeting with the marketers last week promised that the debt would be fully paid by end of this month. Based on this promise, the marketers agreed to continue with importation of petrol.
However, the National Assembly last week cut the 2015 subsidy budget of N200 billion by half. This action, The Nation learnt, didn’t go down well with the marketers as their fears were heightened that the government may renege on their promise to pay the outstanding debt let alone additional debt. The marketers before now have been showing concern over budgetary allocation of N200 billion for subsidy in 2015, wondering if that may mean a step to full deregulation of the downstream sector.
Although the Executive Secretary of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Mr. Obafemi Olawore and the President of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Chief Chinedu Okoronkwo, could not be reached yesterday, Olawore confirmed to reporters that there was a drop in MOMAN members’ stock but with the meeting held with the Minister of Finance, they would step up importation.
For IPMAN, it was learnt that the level of debt owed them is enormous. Theirs is a complex case because The Nation learnt that many of their members have issues with clearance on the imports they made and without the clearance there will be no payment.
Besides, The Nation also gathered that the banks had stopped granting letters of credits (LCs) to IPMAN members, which worsened the supply situation.
At the moment, only the NNPC through its subsidiary, the Pipeline and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), is importing petrol.
http://thenationonlineng.net/new/marketers-halt-importation-as-petrol-scarcity-persists/

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Nestle shareholders suffer 27% dividend decline

Nestle shareholders suffer 27% dividend decline
By NKIRUKA NNOROM

Shareholders of Nestle Nigeria Plc will have their final dividend for the year ended December 31, 2014 slashed by 27 percent, if the amount being proposed by the Board of Directors is approved at the next Annual General Meeting, AGM, in three months’ time.

The Board of Directors of the company is proposing N13.87 billion as dividend for the period, which is 27 percent decrease over N19.023 billion paid in the corresponding period in 2013.

However, the final dividend dividend along with the interim dividend of N7.926 billion paid earlier in the year amounted to a total dividend of N21.798 billion. This represented eight percent increase over N20.212 billion paid in the previous year.

According to a filing with the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, only shareholders whose names appear on the register of members as at close of business on Friday, 24 April 2015, will benefit from the dividend payment.

 
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/03/nestle-shareholders-suffer-27-dividend-decline/

Dangote invests N80bn in Kenyan cement sector

Dangote invests N80bn in Kenyan cement sector
By Favour Nnabugwu

Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has invested N80billion ($400million) to set up a cement plant in Kenya through East Africa Portland Cement Company (EAPCC). Dangote entered Kitui County’s limestone mines through the Kenya’s local cement in order to open $400 million, representing Sh34.8 billion Kenyan currency in Kitui County, Kenya.

Dangote Cement which also constructing major cement plants in Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Zambia, already has a license to prospect for limestone in Kitui County while he revised the upcoming factory’s annual production capacity to three million tonnes from the previous 1.5 million tonnes. According to him, “We are reviewing plans for Kenya with a view to increasing the scale of our proposed factory from 1.5 million tonnes per annum (MTA) to 3MTA”.

Dangote’s upcoming plants in Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia will give it a total capacity of 8.5MTA, putting it ahead of Kenya’s Bamburi and Uganda’s Tororo that currently have capacities of 3.1MTA each. “We are confident there will be sufficient demand both in Kenya and neighbouring countries”.

Besides being rich in limestone, Kitui is also attractive due to its proximity to the Mui basin which has large reserves of coal. The coal is tipped to replace the relatively expensive diesel fuel in firing energy-hungry cement factories. The group plans to have around 60 million tonnes of production, grinding and import capacity in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2016″.

 
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/03/dangote-invests-n80bn-in-kenyan-cement-sector/

Foreign investors participation drops on NSE

Foreign investors participation drops on NSE
By NKIRUKA NNOROM

Data from the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, showed a significant drop in foreign investors’ participation as at December 2014, while a significant increase was recorded on domestic side. During the period ended December 31, 2014, foreign investors’ participation on the NSE dropped to 48.24 percent, as against 80.92 participation rate achieved in November 2014.

On the other hand, domestic investors’ participation within the same period in December 2014 stood at 51.76 percent, as against 19.08 percent rate of participation recorded in November 2014.

However, on a year-to-year basis, foreign investors’ participation rose to 57.52 percent in 2014, as against 50.80 percent participation recorded in 2013, while domestic investors ‘participation stood at 42.48 percent between January to December 2014, compared to 49.20 percent recorded in the same period in 2013.

Also, in 2013, total foreign inflows into the Exchange exceeded outflows by about four percent, while in 2014, foreign outflows exceeded inflows by 22 percent. However, in December 2014, there were more foreign inflows than outflows. Also the outflows in December were significantly smaller than the outflows in the previous months.

In its 2014 review and outlook for 2015, the firm said: “The local bourse performed negatively in the review period, the worst in three years. This was as a result of strong investors’ apathy towards the equities market, particularly from local investors. “This was further exacerbated by sell offs by foreign portfolio investors in the face of local exchange rate risks and improvements in their respective economies.”

It, however stated that the negative market momentum currently being experienced would taper off towards mid 2015, adding that this would be made possible by sound policy framework from fiscal and monetary authorities.

“Given the current attractive valuation of equities, we expect a flurry of activities in the second half of 2015. An upbeat in the international crude prices and by extension, an improvement in the Nigeria’s economic environment will provide a strong support for the equities market,” analysts at Cowry Asset said.

“After two years of consecutive growth–35.45 percent and 47.19 percent in the year ended December 31, 2012 and 2013 respectively, the NSE All Share Index (NSE ASI) shed 16.79 percent of its former value on a year-to-date basis,” the report added.

 
http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/03/foreign-investors-participation-drops-on-nse/

Remove subsidies on petroleum products, LCCI tells FG

Remove subsidies on petroleum products, LCCI tells FG
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry has called on the Federal Government to completely remove subsidies on petroleum products.

While reacting to the outcome of the deliberations of the Senate on the 2015 draft budget, Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper, the LCCI said the call for total subsidy removal was due to the fact that there had been a crash in the prices of crude oil, hence, there was no need to retain the subsidies on petrol and kerosene.

In a statement signed by its President, Alhaji Remi Bello, on Sunday, the organisation explained that the removal of the subsidies would help save some income for the country.

Bello said, “We note the reduction of subsidies on petrol by 50 per cent from N200bn to N100bn and kerosene from N91bn to N45.5bn. We demand a total scrapping of subsidies on petroleum products as there is no rational basis for their retention in the budget, especially in the light of the crash in global oil prices.

“This will not only generate tremendous savings for investment in priority sectors such as infrastructure, but will also provide a great opportunity to liberate the downstream oil sector from the shackles of oppressive regulations and monumental corruption; it will as well pave the way for more robust private sector investment in the downstream sector of the petroleum industry.”

Bello, however, commended the Senate’s decision to cut the National Assembly budget for this year by 25 per cent from N150bn to N112.5bn, adding that the move would free up resources to finance other priority areas.

He said, “The increase of the capital budget from N633bn to N700bn is good news. However, this figure remains grossly inadequate in the light of the huge infrastructure deficit in the country and the urgent need to build a robust and sustainable non-oil economy.

“The Senate’s decision to reduce the recurrent expenditure by N116bn from N2.61tn to N2.5tn is a welcome development although a more drastic reduction in recurrent budget is available
http://www.punchng.com/business/business-economy/remove-subsidies-on-petroleum-products-lcci-tells-fg/