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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 ...

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...

• To raise production capacity to 38.25mmtpa Dangote Cement Plc has announced the commencement of the construction of new cement plants in two communities in the country. The new plants are expected to add nine million metric tonnes per annum to the company’s current local cement output from 29.25 million metric tonnes per annum (mmtpa) to 38.25 mmtpa The company stated that the communities in which it is setting up the new plants are Okpella in the northern part of Edo State, with a three million per annum plant and another six million per annum capacity plants in Itori, in Ogun State. The Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dangote Cement Plc, Devakumar Edwin, who made the announcement in Lagos, explained that the Okpella plant will be made up of one line and will produce a total of three million metric tonnes per annum, and the Itori plant which will deliver approximately six million tonnes per annum from two production lines. Both plants ...

ACTIVITIES of the Over-The-Top (OTT) players in the Nigerian telecommunications market will be coming under checks any time soon. This is because the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) might soon marshal out a licensing regime through a regulatory framework for their operations in the country. OTT players are platforms that deliver audio, video, and other media over the Internet without the involvement of a multiple-system operator in the control or distribution of the content. OTT players include Facebook, Skype, WhatsApp, Viber, Blackberry Messenger (BBM) and WeChat, among others, are prime target in the impending regulation. These players operate over the networks, delivering value to customers, but without any carrier service provider being involved in planning, selling, provisioning or servicing them; thereby implying that traditional telecommunications operators cannot directly earn revenue from their activities. Examining the evolution and developmen...

CUMMINS Cogeneration Limited has signed a 300 MegaWatts (MW) Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Sapele Power Plc, as part of its plans to build one of Africa’s largest gas-fired power plants. This partnership is coming just weeks after the company announced the signing of a 300 MW investment in neighbouring Beyin, Ghana. Speaking at the event, held in London recently, Chairman of Cummins Cogeneration, Deepak Deepak said his company was “excited about our partnership with Sapele Power Plc, because we believe this synergy will bring strengths and capabilities that will deliver a clean and sustainable long-term energy solution for Nigerians. “This project will be operated using Cummins Combined Heat and Power (CHP) lean burn gas generator sets, which emit up to five times less nitrogen oxide than comparable diesel generator sets and near-zero particulate matter. “In adding to this, it offers a 48 per cent reduction in carbon dioxide emissions compared to traditiona...

France has become the first country in the world to ban supermarkets from throwing away or destroying unsold food, forcing them instead to donate it to charities and food banks. Under a law passed unanimously by the French senate, as of Wednesday large shops will no longer bin good quality food approaching its best-before date. Charities will be able to give out millions more free meals each year to people struggling to afford to eat. The law follows a grassroots campaign in France by shoppers, anti-poverty campaigners and those opposed to food waste. The campaign, which led to a petition, was started by the councillor Arash Derambarsh. In December a bill on the issue passed through the national assembly, having been introduced by the former food industry minister Guillaume Garot. Campaigners now hope to persuade the EU to adopt similar legislation across member states. The law has been welcomed by food banks, which will now begin the task of finding the extra volunt...

In central Havana’s Parque Fe del Valle, at the end of a street bustling with the usual scenes of queues for the bakery and clapped-out 1950s cars weaving between piles of rubble, is a glimpse of a very different Cuba. Every bench, wall, dustbin and plant pot in this tree-lined square is occupied by bodies hunched over laptops and gathered around smartphones, as people swipe at tablets and gesticulate at their screens. Three generations of one family are huddled around a phone, the children fighting over who gets to wear the headphones while the granny holds a baby up to the camera – so that relatives in Miami, who they haven’t seen for years, can inspect the family’s new arrival. Nearby, two brothers scroll through Facebook to check the latest enquiries for their bed-and-breakfast business, their laptop balanced on a makeshift desk of crates, while a gaggle of teenage girls stream music and practise dance moves under a tree. This lively scene, which looks like an impromptu ...