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THERE is no gainsaying that Ogun State is gradually becoming an investment haven, overtaking Lagos in terms of localisation of industries. Aside being a centre of attraction for new investors, some companies in Lagos, the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria, are relocating to Ogun State, especially around Shagamu area of the state. A journey from Ikorodu to Shagamu would reveal that most companies in Apapa have acquired land and have commenced the building of other factories in the process of relocating to the area. One of such companies is Niger Biscuit, which has already acquired hectares of land in Shagamu, where it is presently building a new factory. Investors in the steel sector now see Ogun State as a comfortable location for manufacturing activities. In 2014 alone, N515b came in as investment into Ogun State, while Lagos came second with just N73billion, according to report by Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN). Officials of Ogun State government said ther

CITING economies of scale, improved infrastructure and tax reliefs, among others, Samsung Electronics has sited its first two African manufacturing plants in South Africa and Egypt ahead of Nigeria. Though, Samsung has not ruled out the possibility of a manufacturing plant in Nigeria, the firm however, disclosed that Egypt’s plant would be serving Nigeria and other West African countries, while the South African plant would cater for the region and part of East Africa. The firm, disclosed this during an interaction with the media at the just concluded Samsung Africa Forum in Monaco on Wednessday. Samsung Regional Product Manager, Corrie Labuschange, who admitted that Nigeria’s market is very strategic to the South Korean firm, said hopefully in the future, a plant can be located in the country because the firm has the capacity. “Nigeria is a strategic market to Samsung and would remain so, but because of larger economies of scale, well developed infrastructure network

Fashola wants adherence to plan in legislature DETERMINED to revive the construction industry and save federal roads from falling into a state of disrepair, the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing has revealed plans to strengthen the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) to become the biggest construction outfit capable of handling major projects. The government will also commence work on economic roads such as the second Niger Bridge and Murtala International Airport in Lagos as a means to revive the employment of workers who had been sacked by the contractors handling the sites. The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola who made this known while addressing the Senate Committee on Works at the 2016 Budget Defence Session in Abuja, said that his ministry would give priority to on going projects in the six geopolitical zones of the country and see that they are completed within the shortest possible time. He explained that the roads being pri

Nigeria’s crude oil output increased by 252,800 barrels per day in January, up from the 1.697 million barrels per day it recorded in December to 1.949 million barrels per day. This development has also boosted the total production of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in the month under review. The price of Nigeria’s Bonny light however went down by $7.60 to $30.35 per barrel in January. Specifically, total OPEC crude oil production in January averaged 32.33mbpd, representing an increase of 131tbpd over the previous month. The cartel disclosed that crude oil output increased mostly from Nigeria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Iran, while production showed a decrease of from Angola, Venezuela and Algeria. Besides, crude oil prices fell drastically again yesterday, after recording a slight increase for a few days. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) declined by 6.26 per cent to $27.94 while Brent crude oil dropped by $30.32 per barrel. The price of

Marketers import product despite subsidy removal TO close the gap created by the shutdown of Port Harcourt and Kaduna refineries, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has embarked on a massive importation of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS). Also, major and independent petroleum marketers have continued to import PMS into the country despite the absence of subsidy in the 2016 budget. The refineries were shut owing to crude supply challenges arising from recent attacks on vital oil pipelines. The Kaduna Refinery was already producing 3.2 million litres of petrol as at December last year and would have saved about $5.33 million for the country when it is 90 per cent operational. And the Port Harcourt refinery was recording a daily PMS yield of over 4.1 million litres before the attack on the pipelines. NNPC has, therefore, been responsible for 78 per cent of the total fuel consumed in the country, while the major and independent marketers fill the remaining 22 pe

…Earmarks N50b investment for five years Eko Distribution Company (EKDC) has concluded agreement with Egbin Power Plc for a dedicated 100 Mega Watts (MW) to boost electricity power supply within its network. “The new meters are of the newest technical features, multifunctional and tamper proof. The metering plan has been estimated to cost the company a whopping N52 billion. The company has earmarked the sum of N 52 billion for the purchase of smart meters in 2016,’’ he said. Besides, the electricity firm said it had earmarked a N52 billion investment for the next five years to deal with operational challenges. The agreement was scripted to ensure effective power supply that would be commensurate with the new cost reflective electricity tariff The Managing Director of Eko Disco, Oladele Amoda, recently disclosed that the company has commenced massive metering of customers, adding that about 202,000 smart meters had been penciled down to be install in 2016. Amoda stre

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama, on Tuesday, said efforts were in top gear to secure list of Nigerians who owned choice properties in the United Arab Emirate (UAE) from proceeds of fraud. Onyeama said this while briefing the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs during the budget defence of the ministry in Abuja. He added that the Federal Government was already in talks with the UAE government to get the list of properties owned by Nigerians in that country. Speaking on money laundering and the role of Nigeria’s foreign missions, he disclosed that the ministry was engaged in recovery of some money laundered in the U.S. Earlier, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Sen. Monsurat Sumonu, had expressed concern over the working gap between the National Assembly (NASS) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She called for better working relationship between NASS and the ministry to enable them to work to deliver dividends o