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  • APCON Boss Reels Out Plans, As IMC Practitioners Call For Growth Based Regulations

    APCON Boss Reels Out Plans, As IMC Practitioners Call For Growth Based Regulations

    The Registrar and Chief Executive of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria, (APCON) Dr. Olalekan Fadolapo has reeled out some of his plans on regulating and uplifting the standard of advertising practice in Nigeria.

     

    According to Fadolapo, some of his plans include industry reform, solving tax related issues, copyright issues, agencies pitching for government communications jobs, among others.

     

    The APCON Registrar revealed these at the IMC Industry Grand Reception organised to honour him over the weekend in Lagos.

     

    The event was organised by multiple award-winning frontline brands and marketing publication, Brand Communicator in collaboration with the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN).

     

    Similarly, Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) practitioners tasked APCON to ensure that it adheres to growth based regulations that will help strengthen the industry rather than killing the industry businesses.

     

    Commenting on the state of regulation in the country, Dr. Olalekan said, “Nigeria is the only country in Africa that practices double regulatory system as at today; we have the government regulatory system and self regulatory system. In other market, it is purely self regulation. The sectoral groups come together, they outline best business practices, they sign MoU and it becomes a law, but in Nigeria we always find it difficult to conclude that process.”

     

    Therefore, he said that he is working on how to bring the sectoral group to work together, in the interest of having an industry all can be proud of.

     

    On the industry reform, Fadolapo noted; “Again the industry reform has been a major challenge. The industry reform can create jobs, the industry reform will improve the Internal Generated Revenue (IGR) of APCON and the government, and it will help us stabilise our industry. I spoke with the presidents of all the sectoral groups and they all agreed we need to go ahead with the industry reform.”

     

    He added that the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has already approved it but there are some challenges that need to be taken care of before the industry review is fully implemented which include court cases.

     

    Meanwhile, it is in talk with the National Assembly and the bill is set for the second reading, stating that, “APCON is here to regulate and not to kill the industry. We are not regulating to strangulate, and we are regulating to bring the best out of every one of us”

     

    In another vein, he said he is in talks with Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) as they plan to set up help desk for advertising industry to listen and ensure that issues that relate to the industry are resolved, adding that some of the issues are double taxation; application of withholding tax and others.

     

    He said those that do not practice advertising may not understand the fundamentals, stating that the withholding tax should be applied on the net income.

     

    He added that the sectoral groups have already sent their report to APCON and it will be meeting with FIRS soon on some of the tax related challenges its members are facing.

     

    Another issue he pointed out is the issue of copyright the industry is facing.

     

    He said the DG of Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) told him that most of the issues of copyright at the court can be resolved at industry level.

     

    “Today, APCON is talking to NCC on the possibility of setting up a help desk for agencies that need advice on ownership of copyright and copyright issues. We will be organising a webinar soon and the DG has agreed to speak on this issue.”

     

    In another vein, he stated, “One of the major projects of the government is the digital switchover; APCON has been requested to manage the audience measurement aspect of the digital switchover.”

     

    On a different note, he said APCON members do not get most of government jobs, and APCON certification is not listed on qualification requirements for hiring professionals for government jobs while it is currently in talks with the Bureau of Public Service Reforms on amending that.

     

    On when APCON council will be inaugurated, he said, “Do not forget it is not that they did not appoint members for the council, but the members that were appointed were not selected in line with the establishment act of APCON, consequently they cannot be inaugurated and as at today the honourable minister has written to the president, the letter is with the chief of staff and am also aware that the presidency is looking into the issue and soon a new council may be announced.”

     

    Some of the heads of sectoral groups including top government officials and key stakeholders from the IMC industry were present at the event.

     

    Steve Babaeko, AAAN President; to Alhaji Garba Bello Kankarofi, former APCON Registrar/ CEO; Bunmi Adeniba, Acting ADVAN President; Tade Adekunle, EXMAN President; Chairman, Segun McMedal, Lagos Chapter, NIPR, Gboyega Akosile, Chief Press Secretary to the Lagos State Governor, among others urged Dr. Olalekan to uplift the standard of advertising in the country, be fair to all, embark on friendly regulations and help solve some of the challenges confronting the industry.

     

    Until his appointment, Fadolapo, a registered advertising practitioner and fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), was the Executive Secretary of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN).

  • CBN Extends Interest Rate Cut On Intervention Facilities By One Year

    CBN Extends Interest Rate Cut On Intervention Facilities By One Year

     

    The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced an extension period for its reduced interest rates on intervention facilities to businesses by 12 months.

     

    The apex bank, in a statement released on Wednesday, and signed by Kelvin Amugo, director of financial policy and regulation department of the CBN, said the extension became necessary following the expiration of the initial timeline of 12 months granted last year.

     

    The new window will now expire on February 28, 2022.

     

    The bank also said rollover of the moratorium on the intervention facilities shall be considered on a “case by case bases.”

     

    A moratorium is the delay period which is given before the payment of a loan.

     

    This means that any intervention loan currently under moratorium will be granted an additional period of one year.

     

    In March 2020, following the outbreak of COVID-19, the apex bank had announced series of measures to reduce the negative impact of the pandemic on the real sector of the economy.

     

    Some of the measures include the reduction of interest rates on the bank’s intervention facilities from 9 per cent to 5 per cent per annum for one-year, and granting of one-year moratorium on all principal payments effective March 1, 2020.

  • Food Blockage: Northern Traders Adamant, Say; ‘We’d Rather Allow the Goods to Waste’

    Food Blockage: Northern Traders Adamant, Say; ‘We’d Rather Allow the Goods to Waste’

    The Amalgamated Union of Foodstuff and Cattle Dealers of Nigeria (AUFCDN) says it prefers that farm produce go to waste rather than tolerate continued attacks on its members in the south.

     

    Awwalu Aliyu, an official of the union, who spoke to TheCable in Kano on Tuesday said the decision not to supply food to the south was not to starve southerners but to protest attacks on their members.

     

    Aliyu alleged that some members in the south were killed, maimed and lost properties especially during the #EndSARS protest and the recent Shasha market crisis in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital.

     

    WE’D RATHER LOSE THE FARM PRODUCE

    When asked if members of the union were not concerned about food items locked up inside trucks in Jebba, Niger state, going bad and leading to losses, Aliyu said: “It would be better to lose the food items than to lose lives”.

     

    “You’re talking about losing goods; which one is better, to lose a life or to lose property? Losing property is better than losing a life.

     

    “We prefer and our people will prefer to lose those farm items or goods than to continue losing their lives. If you are alive, you can plant another thing, you can rear another cattle. But if you’re dead, you can’t do that again. Only the living can go to the farm.

     

    “We do not want to destroy anybody. We do not want to kill anybody. The number of Yorubas and Ibos that reside in Kano and Kaduna alone is far more than the number of northerners in the entire south-west, south-south and south-east.

    “Also, the investments of Yorubas and Igbos in Kano and Kaduna, running into billions of naira is more than the entire investments of northerners in the south-west, south-east and south-south if you remove Dangote. Our people are only petty traders, shoe shiners, fingernail cutters, wheelbarrow pushers, okada riders and so on.

     

    “Our people in the south don’t have what southerners have in the north. They have farmlands, buildings and a lot of properties that run into billions. We do not intend to touch a needle out of it. We do not intend to destroy anybody’s property. What we want is to have our people protected from being killed.”

     

    Farmers who spoke to TheCable lamented the inability to transport their farm produce to the south.

     

    Some tomato farmers said they have begun to dry their produce in order to preserve it as selling rates in markets across Kano are not favourable.

     

    The situation is similar for onion farmers.

     

    MEAT, PEPPER SCARCITY HITS LAGOS

    Empty stalls and an unusual calmness greeted TheCable when reporters visited the Lagos State Abattoir Complex in Agege.

    Ishola Tawakalitu, a septuagenarian who sells beef in the same market, lamented the current prices of meat. She said the abattoir, which records an average of 1,000 cows killed every day, is now struggling to meet a 100 target as vehicles are not bringing in cows from the north.

     

    “What we used to buy for N30,000 is now N60,000. I called Alhaji (describing her supplier) this morning, he said they didn’t kill cows. So everywhere is tight,” she said.

     

    “The strike hasn’t allowed them to bring cows from the north so sales in the market have been greatly affected.”

    Yakubu Danjuma, a butcher, said a cow that previously sold for N200,000 now costs N400,000.

     

    “Everything is now expensive. No trailer brings cow here now due to the strike. It is only small vehicles and the prices are very high. A cow is now N400,000, something you used to get for N200,000 or N250,000. It is a wrong time to buy a cow,” he said.

     

     

    Empty stalls at the Lagos Abattoir

     

    At the Ile Epo Market in the Iyana Ipaja area of Lagos, TheCable found that tomatoes which previously sold for N200 now cost N300 while that of N400 is now sold for N600.

    Hassan Ismail, who purchases beans from Kano, said a bag of honey beans ‘Oloyin‘ now cost N47,000 compared to the previous N44,000 and White beans which used to sell for N42,000 now costs N44,000.

     

    WE’RE RUNNING AT A LOSS, OYO TRADERS LAMENT

    At the Eleyele Market in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital, a tomato trader who identified herself as Mummy Bisola said she has been travelling to Lagos to purchase goods since the clash in Shasha Market happened.

     

    According to her, a basket of tomatoes that she initially bought for N7,000 is now N18,000 while pepper increased from N10,000 a sac to N30,000.

     

    “After the Shasha fight and Makinde closed the market, I have been going to Lagos to buy tomatoes. But I have been to Lagos this morning and I came back empty-handed,” she said, pointing to her almost empty shade.

     

    “If nothing changes by tomorrow, you will not even see a single tomato in the market. It is not just in Ibadan, even in Lagos.”

     

    The situation was not different at the Bodija Market.

     

    Sitting by the side of the road, a trader with a downcast face, told TheCable that despite the high rate at which she got her goods, most of them were spoilt.

     

    “I am running at a loss. It is the Hausa people that are fighting the federal government. They said people damaged their vehicles so they need them repaired but the government did not respond to them. So they said any bus conveying pepper should not be allowed in. They blocked the road, that is why pepper is now expensive,” she said.

    “A bucket of tomato is now N2,000 while a bucket of rodo is N3,000. Before it used to be between N700 and N1,000.”

     

    FOOD INFLATION ON THE LINE?

    Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that food inflation figures recorded in January 2021 was the highest in more than 12 years at 20.57 percent.

     

    The federal government is making efforts to tackle inflation; including reducing the import levy for vehicles to transport food items and tractors.

     

    “So, once this implementation takes full effect, we are hoping that we’ll be able to see more tractors coming into the country, more mass transit buses coming to the country, reducing the cost of transportation as a result, and also having an impact on food prices,” Zainab Ahmed, the minister of finance, budget and national planning, said.

     

    The implementation of the reduced levy has begun and only time will tell if the desired goal will be achieved.

     

     

  • NLC Mobilises For Protest Over Planned Re-Classification Of Minimum Wage

    NLC Mobilises For Protest Over Planned Re-Classification Of Minimum Wage

    The Nigeria Labour Congress has said it will embark on a nationwide protest on March 10, 2021 over moves by the National Assembly to remove the national minimum wage from the exclusive to the concurrent legislative list.

     

    The Congress said the protest would be held in the 36 states Houses of Assembly in reaction to the plans by the House of Representatives to alter the present wage structure, which gave the Federal Government the power to negotiate minimum wage for workers in the country.

     

    Rising from an emergency National Executive Council meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, the NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, vowed that the Congress would resist “any attempt to exterminate Nigeria’s working class.’’

     

    The House of Representatives had last week debated a bill to remove the powers to negotiate wage matters from the exclusive to the concurrent list, citing the inability of state governors to pay the N30,000 minimum wage for the move.

     

    But reacting to the development, Wabba stated that the workers would not watch “hard-fought rights which are global standards bastardised by opportunistic and narrow- thinking politicians.”

     

    According to a communique jointly signed by Wabba and the acting General Secretary of the NLC, Ismail Bello, the bill is an attempt to undermine Nigeria’s working class.

     

    He said, “The NEC decided that there will be a national protest action commencing from March 10, 2021 in the Federal Capital Territory and especially to the National Assembly.

     

    “The NEC decided that should the need arise, it has empowered the National Administrative Council of the NLC to declare and enforce a national strike action,  especially if the legislators continue on the ruinous path of moving the national minimum wage from the exclusive legislative list to the concurrent legislative list.”

     

     

  • Three Million Nigerians Lose N18bn To Ponzi Schemes – SEC

    Three Million Nigerians Lose N18bn To Ponzi Schemes – SEC

    Over three million Nigerians have lost about N18bn through Ponzi schemes, the Securities and Exchange Commission stated on Tuesday.

     

    Director-General, SEC, Lamido Yuguda, made this known during a webinar organised by the commission.

     

    Ponzi schemes are fraudulent investing scams which generate returns for early investors with money taken from later investors.

     

    They are similar to pyramid schemes in that both are based on using new investors’ funds to pay the earlier backers.

     

    Speaking at the webinar, Yuguda said, “Ponzi schemes operate with unsustainable operating models that ultimately lead to huge losses for investors.

     

    “Following the collapse of the MMM Ponzi scheme, the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation had estimated that over three million Nigerians lost about N18bn.”

  • Fuel Queues Return Over Looming Price Hike

    Fuel Queues Return Over Looming Price Hike

    The queues for petrol grew worse in some parts of the country on Sunday following the shutdown of many filling stations amid heightened expectations of an increase in the pump price of the product.

     

    The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, had on February 9 said Nigerians should prepare for the pain associated with the increase in crude oil price.

     

    The international oil price, Brent crude, rose by more than 14 per cent in February as it closed at $64.42 per barrel, up from $56.42 per barrel at the start of the month.

     

    Motorists besieged the few outlets that were open for business in Abuja, Nasarawa, Niger and Borno states, while some others that had dispensed petrol the previous day were locked on Sunday.

     

    Two weeks ago, queues of motorists were seen in many locations after oil marketers raised concerns about petrol pricing by depot owners and how this affected petroleum products supply.

     

    The queues resurfaced on Saturday and Sunday, as only few filling stations were dispensing petrol while others were shut.

     

    Some attendants at some of the shut outlets told one of our correspondents that they were not selling petrol because the cost of the product would be increased from March.

     

    Nipco and Gegu filling stations, along the Kubwa-Zuba Expressway, Abuja, had long queues of motorists on Sunday, while IBWAS filling station on the same road that had earlier dispensed products was shut.

     

    Similarly, Major Oil filling station, along Airport Road, Abuja, which had steadily dispensed products up till Saturday, did not sell petrol on Sunday.

     

    Shema Oil, close to Next Cash ‘N’ Carry in Abuja; NNPC outlet in Zuba, Niger State, and few other filling stations in Nyanya/Mararaba in Nasarawa State had queues.

     

    “We have not been advised of any increase in petrol price. Many filling stations are not selling petrol perhaps because they have run out of stock or they are hoarding the product in anticipation of price increase,” the National Operation Controller, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mr Mike Osatuyi, said.

     

    Osatuyi, who spoke with one of our correspondents, said he observed queues in some stations in Lagos on Sunday.

     

    “The outcome of the meeting between the President and the governors is not yet known. There will certainly be an increase in petrol price but we don’t know when this will happen,” he added.

     

    In Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, motorists and other users of petrol were hit by scarcity of petrol on Sunday as fuel stations were shut down.

     

    Fuel stations located along major highways, including Kano Jos road, Shehu Laminu way and Baga road, were not dispensing petrol, while motorists queued for hours at the filling stations that were selling the product.

     

    Many commuters were stranded at bus stops in Maiduguri as motorists struggled at filling stations to get petrol.

     

    “They said there is no fuel but they sell to black marketers; they have refused to sell to us. I have been here since 6:45am because my experience yesterday (Saturday) was horrible as I couldn’t get fuel. I’ve been here for over four hours and I have not got the product,” a tricycle operator, Abubakar Shettima, told one of our correspondents.

     

    When contacted, the Chairman, IPMAN, Borno, Mohammed Ngala, denied that independent marketers were hoarding petrol, adding that Borno had been experiencing a shortage in recent days.

     

    “Right now, we sell petrol at N165-N170 per litre. But the product is not enough to serve the populace. We don’t hoard fuel,” he said.

     

    The Coalition of Nigerian Civil Society Organisations for Petroleum and Energy Security called on the Federal Government to fully deregulate the downstream oil sector to address the concerns about petroleum products’ pricing.

     

    The Convener of the CSOs coalition, Timothy Ademola, said they had decided to interface with the Federal Government and agencies in the oil sector on the need for deregulation.

     

    He said, “Let the forces of demand and supply be allowed to play out in the pricing of petroleum products. This is when we can say we have full deregulation.

     

    “We are ready to partner government, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, the Department of Petroleum Resources and other agencies to make this work.”

     

    The Managing Director, Realink Oil Nigeria Limited/National Public Relations Officer, IPMAN, Chief Ukadike Chinedu, had said in an interview with one of our correspondents last week that depot owners were hoarding products due to the concern of a possible hike in petrol price.

     

    He said petrol price would definitely rise, going by the increase in global crude oil prices.

     

    But the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency was silent on whether there would be an increase in petrol price in March as expected by marketers.

     

    PPPRA’s spokesperson, Kimchi Apollo, told one of our correspondents that he had not received any directive in that regard.

     

    The PUNCH had reported last Tuesday that going by the petrol pricing template of the PPPRA, the landing cost of petrol rose to N186.33 per litre on February 16, with the pump price of the product expected to be N209.33 per litre.

     

    Reacting to complaints by marketers that some private depots had hiked the ex-depot price of petrol and that this would definitely warrant an increase in pump price, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation said it had not raised its ex-depot price yet.

     

    Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, NNPC, Kennie Obateru, said the NNPC had made it clear that it was awaiting the outcome of the proposed meeting between the Federal Government and labour unions as touching the price of petrol.

     

    “We have not increased ex-depot price. It is now left for the regulatory agencies to ensure that the approved ex-depot price is what the various depots stick to,” Obateru told one of our correspondents.

     

    On how the meeting between the Federal Government and labour would affect petrol price, the NNPC spokesperson said, “We are also watching to see the outcome of that meeting before taking the next step.”

     

    Efforts to the get the Department of Petroleum Resources to speak on what it was doing to address the complaints against depot owners was not successful.

     

    The spokesperson for the agency, Paul Osu, did not answer calls to his phone and also did not reply a detailed text sent to him on the matter.

  • Food Prices Soar in January, Says NBS

    Food Prices Soar in January, Says NBS

    There was a general rise in food prices in January, the National Bureau of Statistics has said.

     

    The NBS said this in its report titled ‘Selected food prices watch for January 2021’, which was released on Friday.

     

    It said, “Selected food price watch data for January 2021 reflected that the average price of one dozen of agric eggs medium size increased year-on-year by 12.48 per cent and month-on month by 2.26 per cent to N510.84 in January 2021 from N499.55 in December 2020.

     

    “The average price of piece of agric eggs medium size (price of one) increased year-on-year by 15.03 per cent and month-on-month by 1.79 per cent to N46.21 in January 2021 from N45.40 in December 2020.”

     

    The NBS added, “The average price of 1kg of tomato increased year-on-year by 22.11 per cent and decreased month-on-month by -6.59 per cent to N289.66 in January 2021 from N310.10 in December 2020.

     

    “The average price of 1kg of rice (imported high quality sold loose) increased year-on-year by 21.69 per cent and month-on-month by 0.11 per cent to N551.57 in January 2021 from N550.94 in December 2020.

     

    “Similarly, the average price of 1kg of yam tuber increased year-on-year by 21.56 per cent and month on month by 0.51 per cent to N234.67 in January 2021 from N233.48 in December 2020.”

     

    The NBS had earlier disclosed that the consumer price index, which measures inflation, increased by 16.47 per cent (year-on-year) in January.

     

    This was the highest inflation rate recorded in the country since April 2017.

     

    According to the NBS, the figure is 0.71 per cent points higher than the rate recorded in December 2020 (15.75 per cent).

  • Dangote Wants Only Refinery Licence Holders To Import Fuel

    Dangote Wants Only Refinery Licence Holders To Import Fuel

    Dangote Group has suggested for inclusion in the Petroleum Industry Bill a provision that the licence to import petroleum products should be assigned only to companies with active refining licences.

     

    The company, which is building a 650,000-barrels-per-day refinery in Lagos, said this would encourage investment in local refining.

     

    The Chief Strategy Officer, Dangote Group, Aliyu Suleiman, in a presentation during a visit by members of the National Assembly’s Joint committee on PIB to the project site, highlighted several recommendations by the company.

     

    He said, “Nigeria is exceptional in being a major oil producer with near zero refining capacity.

     

    “Though the Dangote Refinery will help address this, there could be periods when petroleum products may need to be imported, such as when the refinery is undergoing turnaround maintenance or if demand grows to exceed capacity.”

     

    The company recommended that the backward integration policy should be applied in the downstream petroleum sector to encourage investment in local refining.

     

    “To support this, licence to import any product shortfalls should be assigned only to companies with active refining licences. Import volume to be allocated between participants based on their respective production in the preceding quarter. Such import will be done under the DSDP scheme,” he said.

     

    According to Dangote Group, fuel imports into Nigeria are of very low quality, and this has harmful effect on health.

     

    “It also impacts performance and durability of vehicles, especially high performance cars. ECOWAS members (including Nigeria) signed a declaration in February 2020 to adopt cleaner fuels,” it said.

     

    The company suggested that to safeguard the health of Nigerians, imported petroleum products must conform to the Afri-5 specification (50 ppm sulphur) in line with the ECOWAS declaration of February 2020 on adoption of the Afri-Fuels Roadmap.

     

    The company described the provision in the PIB for third-party access to pipelines as a source of concern

     

    “Section 113(3) mandates the regulator to ensure third party access to facilities and pipelines for midstream and downstream petroleum operations. It is not clear how this would work but it means that a third party could potentially request to use any excess capacity at the refinery, fertiliser or trading facilities,” it said.

     

    The company recommended that if this must be retained, the provision should be for tariffs to be on a willing-buyer, willing-seller basis, adding, “Bill currently attempts to provide a formula for calculating this.”

  • Electricity Consumers Get 611,231 Meters Under MAP Scheme

    Electricity Consumers Get 611,231 Meters Under MAP Scheme

    A total of 611,231 meters have been deployed as at January 31, 2021 under the Meter Asset Provider initiative since its full operation despite the COVID-19 pandemic and other extraneous factors, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC has said.

    NERC disclosed this in a consultation paper on the review of the MAP Regulations.

     

    The proposed review of the MAP scheme is coming nearly four months after the Federal Government launched a new initiative called National Mass Metering Programme aimed at distributing six million meters to consumers free of charge.

     

    “The existence of a huge metering gap and the need to ensure successful implementation of the MYTO 2020 Service-Based Tariff resulted in the approval of the NMMP, a policy of the Federal Government anchored on the provision of long-term low interest financing to the Discos,” NERC said.

     

    The commission had in March 2018 approved the MAP Regulations with the aim of fast-tracking the closure of the metering gap in the sector through the engagement of third-party investors (called meter asset providers) for the financing, procurement, supply, installation and maintenance of meters.

     

    It set a target of providing meters to all customers within three years, and directed the Discos and the approved MAPs to commence the rollout of meters not later than May 1, 2019.

     

    But in February 2020, NERC said several constraints, including changes in fiscal policy and the limited availability of long-term funding, had led to limited success in meter rollout.

     

    NERC, in the consultation paper, highlighted three proposed options for metering implementation going forward.

     

    The first option is to allow the implementation of both the NMMP and MAP metering frameworks to run concurrently; the second is to continue with the current MAP framework with meters procured under the NMMP supplied only through MAPs (by being off-takers from the local manufacturers/assemblers).

     

    The third option is to wind down the MAP framework and allow the Discos to procure meters directly from local manufacturers/assemblers (or as procured by the World Bank), and enter into new contracts for the installation and maintenance of such meters.

     

    “Customers who choose not to wait to receive meters based on the deployment schedule of the NMMP shall continue to have the option of making upfront payments for meters which will be installed within a maximum period of 10 working days,” NERC said.

    The regulator said such customers would be refunded by the Discos through energy credits, adding that there would be no option for meter acquisition through the payment of a monthly meter service charge.

     

    “Where meters have already been deployed under the meter service charge option, Discos shall make one-off repayment to affected customers and associated MAPs. Such meters shall be recognised in the rate base of the Discos,” it added.

     

    NERC urged stakeholders to provide comments, objections, and representations on the proposed amendments within 21 days of the publication of the consultation paper.

  • Nigeria Loses N151.78bn Crude Oil Monthly – NNPC

    Nigeria Loses N151.78bn Crude Oil Monthly – NNPC

    Nigeria is currently losing an average of 200,000 barrels of crude oil daily, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation stated on Wednesday.

     

    Brent, the oil against which Nigeria’s crude is priced, was $66.75 per barrel on Wednesday, while the official exchange rate of the dollar stood at 379/$.

     

    From the above figures, it showed that the country was losing about N151.79bn in 30 days, going by the 200,000 barrels of crude oil being lost daily, as revealed by NNPC.

     

    Group Managing Director, NNPC, Mele Kyari, disclosed the volume of crude oil lost daily in Nigeria while speaking at a meeting with the Chief of Defence Staff, Major General Lucky Irabor.

     

    The NNPC boss was quoted in a statement issued in Abuja by the corporation’s spokesperson, Kennie Obateru, as saying, “We have two sets of losses, one coming from our products and the other coming from crude oil.

     

    “In terms of crude losses, it is still going on. On the average, we are losing 200,000 barrels of crude every day.”

     

    On his part, Irabor promised to galvanise the military to provide maximum security for the nation’s oil and gas assets.

     

    He said, “I am delighted that you made this effort, and I tell you that the Armed Forces of Nigeria will collaborate with you to protect NNPC’s assets.”

     

    Irabor acknowledged the role of the oil and gas sector to the economy and stated that there was need for collaboration between the NNPC and the Armed Forces to protect oil and gas facilities.

     

    “It is my intention to cooperate maximally with you and to give necessary instructions to all officers in the Armed Forces,” he said.

     

    In a related development, a professor of law at the University of Lagos, Dayo Ayoade, has said the Federal Government was losing huge revenue in the upstream sector through the inadequacy of the measurement infrastructure.

     

    Between 2009 and 2019, the lecturer said, the nation lost 500 million barrels of crude oil valued at $44.7bn which was not assessed for royalty and tax.

     

    Disclosing this at a virtual meeting on illicit financial flows organised by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission in Abuja on Wednesday, Ayoade pointed out that Nigeria currently relied on crude oil producers for determination of crude oil volumes.

     

    He said, “Nigeria currently relies on holders and producers of crude oil for determination of volumes of crude oil.