All Posts in "Day: August 20, 2021"

Communications MDAs  Fetch N1.4bn Daily -Minister 

AS FATHER OF SIX GIRLS, I'M A CHAMPION OF WOMEN'S RIGHTSTHISDAYLIVE
The Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy as well as the  parastatals,raked in  over N1.054 trillion as revenue  in the  past two years.
Dr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami,who  disclosed  this  in Abuja at the commissioning of digital economy projects for a digital Nigeria( Batch 12),explained that inflow  translates to an average of about N44 billion every month or over N1.4 billion  daily.
He added that the initiatives of the Ministry were geared towards supporting the Federal Government in its three main focus areas namely economy, security and anti-corruption.
He said: “Our activities in the Communications and Digital Economy sector have greatly enhanced the economy of Nigeria. For example, the sector played a pivotal role in lifting the Nigerian economy out of recession, with the ICT sector recording the highest growth rate in the 4th Quarter of 2020 (14.70%), as reported by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and stated by Mr. President.
“This growth rate was the only double-digit growth rate and it exceeded the aggregate growth rates of all the 2nd to the 7th fastest growing sectors. The ICT sector also had the highest growth rate in the year 2020 and the 1st Quarter of 2021.It is also noteworthy that the telecommunications sub-sector  grew at 15.90% and this was its highest growth rate over the past decade. Additionally, the Ministry and its parastatals have generated over N1 trillion for the Federal Government in less than 2 years, this translates to an average of about N44 billion every month or over N1.4 billion every day”
He said about N360 billion of the  revenue was largely from Spectrum, allocated by the National Frequency Management Council (NFMC), under the chairmanship of the Minister, to the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) for commercial purposes.
He said  over N600 billion was paid by ICT Companies to the account of the Federal Government through the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS),adding that more than N94billion was generated for the Federal Government and approved by the National Assembly in line with relevant laws, as part of the 2020 appropriation for personnel, capital projects, capacity building, interventions, etc.
He said:”The IT Projects Clearance Programme also saved over Five Billion Naira (N5,478,007,325.23) for the Federal Government.The statistics and figures discussed earlier were generated from the various reports submitted by the Ministry and parastatals, as part of my supervision.”
Pantami said  1,667 ICT projects and centres have been completed across the country in the last two years, while 455 other projects are ongoing.
He noted that eight projects would be commissioned in line with “our general approach for locating projects, these projects are situated in all the six geopolitical zones of the country and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.”
The eight projects commissioned include Emergency Communications Centre (ECC), Makurdi, Benue State; Virtual Examination Centre, College of Education, Argungu, Kebbi State; E-Accessibility Centre, Alderstown Schools for the Deaf, Warri, Delta State and E-Health/Data Sharing Project, Leko Abdulrahman Hospital, Daura, Katsina State
Others include Digital Economy Centre & E-Learning Facilities, Ogba Grammar Shool, Lagos State;Digital Economy Centre & E-Learning Facilities, St Paul Secondary School, Eke, Enugu State; Digital Economy Centre & E-Learning Facilities, Federal Character Commission, Abuja, and E-Accessibility Centre, Bauchi State Orphans and Vulnerable Children School, Bauchi State.
According to him, “The eight projects represent a very small percentage (less that 0.5%) of the 1,667 projects and programmes that we have established across the country in less than two years.
“In addition to those already established, we have over 455 other projects and programmes that are ongoing.
“All these are in full alignment with the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy for a Digital Nigeria.”
The 1,667 projects and programmes include the  24 Emergency Communication Centres; 4 Virtual Examination Centres;
 4 eHealth/Data Sharing Centres; 80 Digital Awareness Program (DAP) Centres;
 74 Advance Digital Appreciation Programme for Tertiary Institutions  (ADAPTI); and 4 Digital Industrial Parks;
Other projects completed, according to Pantami, include 6 ICT Innovation and Incubation Park/Hubs; 80 Digital Capacity Training Centres (DCTC);80 E-Learning Facilities attached to DCTCs;  6 Community ICT Centres; 1 National Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (NCAIR); and 17 Tertiary Institution Knowledge Centers (TIKC).
The list of the completed projects are 249 School Knowledge Centers (SKC);24 E-Accessibility Projects;80 Digital Economy Centres (DECs); 80 E-Learning Facilities attached to DECs;
and  laying of 19.1Km of fibre cable to expand reach and coverage to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), covering 28 MDAs; and several others.
Online Editor by — August 20, 2021 in IT&Telecoms 0
TotalEnergies  Sets 2030 As Terminal Date Of Gas Flaring In Nigeria

TotalEnergies has fixed 2030 as terminal date of gas flaring in all its facilities in Nigeria.
 The  multinational oil company has also unveiled the new names of its Nigerian-registered Upstream Companies following its recent name change.
In a presentation at a virtual engagement  with newsmen,delivered by the Deputy Managing Director, Deepwater District, Mr. Victor Bandele, the  company noted  that all its projects since 1999 are designed with zero gas flare target.
He pointed to the OFON 2 project which earned more than one million dollars for Nigeria through the sale of carbon credit from the gas flare/emission reduction achieved by OFON.
He said TotalEnergies has been involved in the oil and gas business in Nigeria for over 60 years,adding that the company remains very passionate about the environment, guided by a strategy which includes operating as a responsible business that is profitable and resilient.
He  explained that Total E&P Nigeria Limited would now be known as TotalEnergies EP Nigeria Limited and Total Upstream Nigeria Limited has become TotalEnergies Upstream Nigeria Limited.
Mr. Bandele noted that with the development, all the company’s communication and signages would now reflect the new logo and names as applicable.
“TotalEnergies mission is to produce and supply energy. TotalEnergies wants to meet the challenge of the 21st century and play an active role in the transformation that is underway in the energy industry, by remaking itself and becoming a broad energy company. Total has become TotalEnergies, a company that is expanding in the production, transportation, trading and distribution of responsible energies to the end customer, in the belief that this integrated broad-energy strategy will constitute a value-creating competitive advantage for all of its stakeholders in the long term, and thereby ensure the company’s future health,” he explained.
He gave insight into the implication of the name change and the strategic line of the company’s investment from oil through natural gas, electricity, hydrogen, biomass, wind, and solar
In a question and  answer session, led by the Executive Director, Corporate Affairs and Services, Mr. Abiodun Afolabi, who was assisted by the Executive Director, Finance & Control/CFO, Mrs. Tai Oshisanya, and the Executive Director, JV District, Mr. Obi Imemba,  the company shed more light on various aspects of its operation in Nigeria emphasising its faith in the country and willingness to work with the government and other stakeholders in the industry to improve the lives of Nigerians.
He commended the government and people of Nigeria for the passage of the Petroleum Industry Act, recently assented to by the President.
The event was moderated by the TotalEnergies Country Communication Manger, Dr. Charles Ebereonwu,who also  disclosed  that the company’s Egina had just won the Distinguished Achievement Award at the 2021 Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, Texas, USA.
Online Editor by — August 20, 2021 in Oil&Gas 0
NNPC Resumes Operation On OML 11,Urges Subsidiary’s Board On Profitability

NPDC Resumes Operation in OML 11 after Court Judgment in Its Favour * 247ureports.com
Urges Subsidiary’s Board On Profitability
The Nigeria National Petroleum  Corporation (NNPC), has commended  the recent Appeal Court judgment affirming its operatorship of the Oil Mining License 11 (OML 11), describing it as a huge victory for Nigeria and the beginning of addressing decades of host community restiveness.
A statement by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the NNPC, Garba Deen Muhammad, quoted the NNPC Group Managing Director, Mallam Mele Kyari, as saying that the ruling has  strengthened the NPDC to lead a strong  OML 11 team towards bolstering productivity in a responsible, efficient, environmentally friendly, and sustainable manner.
He said the resumption of operations on OML 11 will demonstrate the NPDC’s full commitment to develop and add value to its communities and the nation as a whole.
“We now have an opportunity to reconstruct a new beginning on OML 11, driven by global best practices and a social contract that would put the people and environment of the Niger Delta above pecuniary considerations.This is a huge victory for the government and people of Nigeria as we now have the impetus to responsibly unlock the oil and gas reserves the block offers for the benefit of all Nigerians,” Mallam Kyari stated.
The statement added  that the NPDC has taken over the assets and operations are in full gear, adding that the company is working closely with all stakeholders and partners to achieve the new vision of “responsible, smart engineering and environmental sustainability,” that the Federal Government has endorsed for OML 11.
The NNPC boss  stated that the NPDC will pursue promotion of clean energy via its gas production with prospects of gas-to-power initiatives to “light up opportunities in the region,” and provide the much deserved industrialization.
The statement noted that the environment will be a top priority for NPDC’s operations, as well as implementation of a robust host community engagement strategy to address subsisting issues, while agreeing to a transparent engagement model going forward.
The  corporation  cautioned against any further legal challenge by the SPDC, stressing that it was about time Nigeria derived the benefit of the OML11 after over three decades.
“It is time to roll back the decades of despair and destruction with the emphatic Appeal Court ruling. It is time to unlock opportunities for economic development in the region.In the light of their inability to work on the Ogoni region of the block for over 30 years and the new beginning this judgement presents, further legal action by Shell will not only be futile, it would be depriving Nigeria of an opportunity to make meaningful gains from OML 11 when the nation needs all the revenue it can get to move Nigeria forward,” the GMD said.
The upper court  sitting in Abuja on Monday set aside the August 23, 2019 ruling of the Federal High Court, Abuja which held that the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) was entitled to the renewal of the Lease on OML 11.
The  Appellate Court held that the Minister of Petroleum Resources has the discretion whether or not to renew the OML 11 Lease in favor of SPDC. The Court further held that the Minister rightly exercised his discretion in awarding the OML 11 Lease to NPDC, a subsidiary of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Meanwhile,Mallam Mele Kyari, the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has charged members of the Board of the NNPC Greenfield Refinery Limited (NGRL),  has challenged members of the board to focus on profitability in order to remain afloat and avoid liquidation.
He also  implored them to explore all available options to bring an end to the current challenge of petroleum products importation.
Mallam Kyari gave the charge while inaugurating the Board of the newly incorporated subsidiary of the Corporation, NNPC Greenfield Refinery Limited (NGRL), at the NNPC Towers, Abuja.
The NNPC Greenfield Refinery Limited is a subsidiary of the Corporation set up in December 2020 with a mandate to oversee the establishment and operation of new refineries.
He said:“As a business, this is a big opportunity for us and this company’s balance sheet must change positively. Going forward, with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), I can tell you that if you continue to post negative for three years, you are out. So, there is really no excuse”, Mallam Kyari stated.
He  advised  the board and management team of the new company to constitute  a proper structure with the require skills, technology and financing to drive the company’s operations, adding that he was optimistic that the company would be able to achieve its mandate.
He added:“Our company must grow and we can’t do well except we are able to process our production whether it is the liquid or gas. If we don’t monetize it then we have done nothing. This is really a new chapter and we are committed to making it work,” he said.
The NNPC helmsman stated that all the Corporation’s initiatives in the areas of new refineries, condensate refineries and equity acquisition in credible private refineries were geared towards ensuring energy security for the country.
In his remarks, the Alternate Chairman of the Board and Group Executive Director, Refinery and Petrochemicals, Engr. Mustapha Yakubu, declared that the operations of the company would be guided by the principles of cost effectiveness in line with the new Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), noting that profitability would be the key focus.
Besides, the Group General Manager, Greenfield Refineries and Project Division (GRPD) and Managing Director of the NGRL, Engr. Bege Talson, disclosed that the Division was working with third party investors to establish greenfield, modular and condensate refineries with a combined capacity of 250,000barrels per stream day (bpsd).
He promised  his team’s commitment to run the company profitably.
Other members of the Board include: Group Executive Director, Finance & Accounts, Mr. Umar Ajiya; Managing Director of the Nigerian Gas Company (NGC), Engr. Oluwaseyi Omotowa; Managing Director of NNPC Retail, Mrs. Elizabeth Aliyuda; Managing Director of the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), Mr. Muhammad Ali-Zarah; and Tolulope Olubommo as Company Secretary and Legal Adviser.
Online Editor by — August 20, 2021 in Oil&Gas 0
PIA: Group  Draws Battle Lines With  Buhari, Sylva

PIA goes into force, Sylva heads steering committee - P.M. News
…Buhari Deserves Commendation-Akpabio
The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC),has  picked holes in the signing of the controversial Petrolum Industry Bill (PIB) into law by President Muhammadu Buhari, saying  he was no longer welcomed in the Niger Delta.
The  group also warned the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva not to visit the region following his role in the passage of the PIB and the subsequent presidential assent giving to it by Buhari.
Its  national spokesman,Ebilade Ekerefe,expressed the group’s disaffection,and noted  that though the president and the minister had the constitutional right to move to any part of the country, they should henceforth stay away from the region.
He said”Their (Buhari and Sylva) movement into the six states of the Niger Delta will be welcomed with boos and disgraceful jeers due to their show of disregard to the plights and cry of the people of the region over the years”.
According to him, the decision not to entertain  Buhari and Sylva in the region was a further expression of the disregard they had demonstrated towards the people, and should not expect accolades and congratulatory messages from the region.
He said the presidential assent given to the bill was an affront to the people who had rejected the three per cent for oil host communities and demanded 10 per cent canvassed during the public hearings on the PIB.
He  added that the president should have returned the bill to the National Assembly for upward review of the three per cent equity share to host communities whose environments had been destroyed by oil exploration activities.
He  described the explanations of Sylva as  lame,adding  that as a son of the Niger Delta he should have apologized and appeal to the people rather than justifying the Petroleum Industry Act which was politically tailored to favour the north and its allies in the oil and gas industry.
He said it was a rape of justice and equity for the National Assembly to approve a grossly inadequate three per cent as against the 10 per cent stakeholders agreed upon, and 30 per cent for the Frontier Basins when the National Assembly Joint Committee visited the area.
He said:”With the amount of speed the president used in signing the PIB without recourse to the position of stakeholders from the region, the president has further demonstrated that the opinions of the Niger Delta people don’t matter in his government as we’ve witnessed in other areas that require urgent attention of his government.
“In the light of the forgoing, there’s no better time for the people of the Niger Delta region to intensify the struggle for resource control and self-determination. We believe strongly that, that will be the only sure path upon which our God-giving natural resources can be managed by us, and not this impunity we’ve witnessed from a repressive Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari.”
Meanwhile,the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio has said that  a trust fund would be opened for the 3% allocated to host communities in order to avoid crisis that may arise on account of the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act.
He spoke at the 19th session of the State House briefing series coordinated by the Presidential Media Team,where he promised that  the Ministry of Niger Delta would ensure that the funds are used on executing tangible projects for the host communities, rather than disbursing it among the elite class from such communities.
He explained that rather than engaging in arguments over how the 3% would be utilised, President Muhammadu Buhari should be commended for mustering the political will to sign the act into law after over five decades.
“I think the major problem is not about the disbursement but how it will impact the communities. These funds will be managed by the host communities themselves and the 3% will go into a trust fund for the various communities  who are the original indigenes. We are excited about the Petroleum Industry Act, our job is to help facilitate the effective participation of the host communities. The trustees of the fund will come from the actual community.
“PIA when implemented is going to assuage the feelings of the host communities because they never had any real benefit in over 50years. The major thing now is to use it well for their own benefit”.
Akpabio revealed that the   forensic audit report of the Niger Delta Development Commission NDDC, which detailed discrepancies in contract awards in the past, including flagrant disregard for public procurement procedures among other infractions, was ready for presentation to the President.
He said as soon as the Ministry gets a convenient date from the presidency, it would be submitted.
Online Editor by — August 20, 2021 in Oil&Gas 0