Business
Winners emerge in NCDMB National Essay Competition, as Board harps on in-country value addition
Modupe Asudo
Winners of the 7th Nigerian Content Annual National Undergraduate Essay Competition, 2023, were unveiled on Wednesday at the Lady Daima Memorial Event Center, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State at a well-attended ceremony. It was the Grand Finale of the competition, with the top 10 finalists awarded prizes.
Overall best was Miss Iruoma Favour Lazarus, a 200-level student of the Faculty of Law, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka. She received a cheque for one million naira (N1,000,000.00) and an HP laptop. The second prize went to Miss Lucy Agbalu, a 100-level student of Microbiology at the University of Calabar, who had a cheque for seven hundred thousand naira and an HP laptop, while the third prize was won by Akinduyite O. Samuel, who received five hundred thousand naira and a similar laptop.
In an address to the “Award and Prize-giving Ceremony,” the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Simbi Kesiye Wabote, said the Board seeks to “inculcate local content consciousness among students of our higher institutions,” thereby creating champions of such an endeavour.
He described local content as “an existential necessity for every nation, particularly for developing nations like Nigeria.” That much was evident from the resilience of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020/2021.
The NCDMB boss noted that the topic of the essay competition, which was “Nigerian Content and the Lessons from COVID-19,” was well-conceived “considering how the COVID-19 pandemic devastated our world.” He said at the height of the pandemic, “the movement of persons and goods was disrupted for several months, forcing every nation to rely on their local resources for survival.”
According to him, “The Nigerian oil and gas industry survived that period because of the huge local human and infrastructural capacities we had developed since the enactment of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act in 2010.” Efficient implementation of the Act, he pointed out, “ensured that Nigeria’s oil production continued without interruption, even when all the expatriates had left the country.”
Engr. Wabote, who was represented by the Manager, Corporate Corporations, Barr. Esueme Dan Kikile, called on policy-makers at different levels of government and in the private sector to take deliberate steps “to develop resilient and sufficient human and infrastructural capacities in key sectors of our national fabric, which can withstand any external shocks in future.”
While commending winners of the essay contest and the consultants, Mahogany Century Concepts Limited, he said the Board has sustained the competition for seven years because of the huge importance it attaches to it, and that the intention is to challenge students in tertiary institutions to sharpen their writing skills and engage youths in productive activities.
The annual essay competition is one of several initiatives of the NCDMB designed to benefit the youth segment of the Nigerian population. Others include the ‘Integrated Institutional Strengthening and Upgrade,” under which the Board has undertaken and completed massive renovation of technical workshops and installation of world-class facilities in institutions like Government Technical College, Amoli in Enugu State, Government Technical College, Abak in Akwa Ibom State, Government Technical College, Port Harcourt, and the University of Ibadan Vocational School.
The Chairman of the occasion, Professor Allen A. Agih, in his opening speech, commended the NCDMB for its remarkable contributions to capacity building in the country. He corroborated the point made by the Executive Secretary on how the resiliency of the oil and gas industry withstood the pandemic, stating, “Nigerians did not run to foreign countries when COVID-19 struck.” He was represented by Mr. Fibainonine G. Paulley.
Chief Executive Officer of Mahogany, Mr. Eyinimi Omorozi, thanked the Executive Secretary and Management of the NCDMB for the sponsorship of the essay competition and contribution to national development.
First prize winner of the 7th Nigerian Content Annual National Undergraduate Essay Competition, 2023, Miss Iruoma Favour Lazarus and the second prize winner, Miss Lucy Agbalu, at the grand finale held on Wednesday at the Lady Daima Memorial Event Center, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
The level of investment by Dangote Sugar Refinery in the Sugar Backward Integration Policy (BIP) of the federal government has been hailed by the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), which described its job creation potential as humongous.
Director-General of the NDE, Silas Agara who commended the Chairman of the Company, Aliko Dangote during his visit to Dangote Group pavilion at the ongoing Kano International Trade Fair, in Kano said his commitment to the BIP towards achieving Sugar sufficiency in Nigeria is unparallel and worthy of emulation.
Dangote Sugar has so far committed over $700m to the BIP to stem the national annual sugar import of over $337million, in the bid to ensure Nigeria attains national sugar self-sufficiency which will in turn revolutionalize the economy of the nation as other people-oriented infrastructures would come with the sugar projects being undertaken under the BIP.
Agara who is a former Deputy Governor of Nasarawa State, described Dangote’s commitment as critical for development of sugar industry in Nigeria noting “Dangote Sugar in Tunga in Awe Local Government of Nasarawa State is commendable for improving the Communities in Tunga. It has created job opportunities for the teaming youth and improved livelihoods.
“Nasarawa is proud of Aliko Dangote. Tunga Sugar is a spinner for Nigeria’s economy”, the NDE boss declared.
He urged the business mogul to step up community advocacy, and more collaboration with stakeholders to drive greater positive change in the communities.
He noted, however, that, “There isn’t any dissenting voice on Tunga sugar, and the communities have enjoyed growth and development through the company Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategies” but called for more of the CSR projects.
It would be recalled that the members of the Nasarawa State House of Assembly recently paid a visit to the Dangote Sugar Tunga BIP project which they described as a blessing to the state going by the vast expanse of the project.
The Dangote’s Sugar Master Plan, and the company’s commitment to the sugar projects in Tunga, Awe local Government of Nasarawa, and that of Numan, in Adamawa State have scaled up the drive towards realization of National Sugar objectives.
It was gathered that the Dangote Sugar refinery recently unveiled plans to produce 700,000 metric tonnes of refined sugar from locally grown sugarcane in the next four years, through its BIP.
Chairman of the Company Aliko Dangote had during the Annual General Meeting of the Dangote Sugar, said the management was focused on achieving the revised targets set for DSR Numan operations, Dangote Adamawa Sugar Limited, and Nasarawa Sugar Company Limited.
He then expressed the hope “Dangote Taraba Sugar Limited, Lau/Tau project would also come on stream soon.
Nigeria is one of sub-Saharan Africa’s largest importers of sugar second only to South Africa, but the Dangote Sugar management assured that by the time the company fully completes its sugar projects in Nasarawa and Adamawa under the BIP, the nation would be saved of more than half of the forex expended on sugar imports annually.
The National Pension Commission (PENCOM) has officially lifted its suspension on Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) regarding investments in commercial papers, following the development of new regulatory guidelines by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In a circular issued on Tuesday, PENCOM announced that the decision to lift the restriction was made after SEC introduced draft rules and amendments to Rule 8 (Exemptions), aimed at regulating the issuance of commercial papers by its regulated entities.
Abdulqadir Dahiru, the Head of PENCOM’s Investment Supervision Department, explained the rationale behind the move.
“The commission has noted that the Securities and Exchange Commission has developed draft rules and an amendment to Rule 8 (Exemptions) to regulate the issuance of Commercial Papers by its regulated entities,” Dahiru said in the circular.
He further highlighted that SEC’s new framework addresses PENCOM’s concerns about the involvement of non-bank Issuing and Paying Agents (IPAs) in commercial paper transactions, bringing them under appropriate regulatory oversight.
“Accordingly, the SEC is addressing the commission’s concern about the role of non-bank IPAs in commercial paper transactions by bringing them within regulatory boundaries,” Dahiru added.
With the lifting of the suspension, PENCOM seeks to encourage capital raising while maintaining market stability.
However, the commission has advised Licensed Pension Fund Administrators (LPFAs) to carry out thorough legal and financial due diligence on all commercial paper prospectuses and offer documents before making any investments.
This is in line with the guidelines set out in Section 2.9 of the Regulation on Investment of Pension Fund Assets.
The volume of dollars traded in Nigeria’s foreign exchange market surged by 61.9% in the first 11 months of 2024, reaching $43.09 billion compared to $26.6 billion during the same period in 2023.
Data from FMDQ revealed quarterly fluctuations in market activity.
Turnover in the first quarter of 2024 (Q1’24) stood at $12.64 billion but fell by 19% quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) to $10.24 billion in Q2’24. The decline persisted in the third quarter, slipping by 0.87% to $10.15 billion.
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However, the market rebounded in the final quarter of the year.
October recorded a dramatic 63% month-on-month (MoM) increase to $5.4 billion from $3.31 billion in September.
In November, turnover rose further by 13.5% to $6.13 billion.
The naira showed a mixed performance across forex market segments in November.
At the official Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), the naira appreciated by N2.8 or 0.16%, closing at N1,672.69 per dollar compared to N1,675.49 in October.
In contrast, the parallel market saw the naira weaken, losing N10 or 0.5%, to trade at N1,745 per dollar in November, down from N1,730 in October.
This divergence widened the gap between the parallel market rate and the official rate to N72.31 per dollar, up from N54.61 in October.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) faces mounting pressure to address persistent volatility in the forex market.
In its Communique No. 155, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) expressed concerns over sustained exchange rate pressures driven by high demand.
“Members expressed concern over persisting exchange rate pressure, reflecting continued high demand in the market. Consequently, the Committee urged the Bank to explore measures to boost market liquidity,” the MPC stated.
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