Business
FG Recommits To Industrial Sector Dev
The Federal Government has restated its commitment to fully implementing workable policies and programmes to provide required skills and competencies for the development of the industrial sector.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Okechukwu Enelama re-affirmed government’s commitment at the just conduced 23rd Nigeria Economic Summit in Abuja.
Enelama ,who was one of the discussants on the topic; “Skills, Competences and Capacity That The Industries Need to Move Forward’’, said government was also ready to solve the issues of unemployment through the development of right skills and competencies.
“I agree with you, government is ready to solve the issues of unemployment and improve the productivity of the people, this problem is too important to just talk about it, government is ready.
“If we are not ready, you must insist that we are ready, we don’t actually have a choice, we have a responsibility to the people.’’
He said that real challenge was the issue of partnership with the relevant organisations required to help bridge the skills gap in the industrial sector.
“I think the real challenge is the challenge of partnership, its the challenge of collaboration, it is the challenge of putting together in a way that we get result, is the challenge of humility to some degree.
“Because, even if we consider an idea, let us get on with it and see if it works, because I am totally ready to try all ideas that are productive and progressive because the problem we are dealing with is extremely important to solve.’’
He said that government was focusing on creating the enabling environment for businesses to thrive, adding that there was the need to fight corruption.
“One of the major things to stop is corruption, because it is what makes the economy not work, and the other thing is to create stability, which is the whole key for business to thrive and for our people to do well.
“We have taken that view as a ministry to focus on creating enabling environment, and the government has prioritised that by creating an executive order for business to thrive.
“That is our number one priority, while we have launched it, we are challenging the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and the private sector to enable it work.’’
The minister said that government had also launched an industrial council designed to ensure that MDAs and the private sector work together to deal with the most stubborn problems hindering industrial growth in the country.
He said that members of the industrial council were also working on how best to develop infrastructure and policies for skills development.
Other mandate of the council according to him was to also evolve workable measures of deepening internal and external trade and finance.
Mr Rotimi Balogun of the General Electric said it was absolutely necessary to develop technical, vocational and critical thinking skills to solve complex problem in the country.
“If we are graduating engineers, the kind of skills they come out with is quite different from the skills needed in the future.
”The kind of skills they need is digital skills that will make them get employment to companies like General Electric.
”In terms of entrepreneurial skills, It is important that we create the type of skills that will ensure a local supply chain in the industrial sector.
He said it was very necessary to also have standardised curriculum in our educational sector.
“It is important to also teach people not just how you can use money to start business, but you can teach business through stimulation, virtual process, how you can train people through online platforms to make sure that you improve their entrepreneurial skills.’’
The Chief Executive Officer of Siemens Nigeria, Mrs Onyeche Tifase said it was necessary to collaborate with other technological driven nations to develop the right skills required for industrialisation.
“What is key is collaboration, how the British and the Chinese got to where they are, it is through collaboration.
”The bold skill everyone has to have is digital awareness, irrespective of your profession and it is important all government agencies become digitised.
“”If you are engaging with a private counterpart and he is already digitised and you are not, it is very difficult to collaborate.’’
She said that Siemens had begun training for school children to equip them with skills required for technological advancement.
”The training entailed teaching the children how to create solution from very simple tools and devices to create answers for technology across health care environment and power sectors.
”So you see, where a small child is creating a turbine from a very simple battery and understanding how mechanical energy works., this is what we want to see roll over the country.
”Beyond secondary level, we are also looking at vocational training programmes that have to do with heory and practical and that are how we can cause reduction in unemployment.
”For us to create more of those skills, we need to have industries that will absolve these skills, so that the trainees can innovate and replicate the skills.
”We have a training centre where we are training about 14,000 graduates every year and the programme runs for three and half years.
”The training involves the skills of the future, like coding, digitisation, machine to machine learning and the students they have projects where they have built their own device,’’ she said.
She advised government at all levels to develop infrastructure more and industrialise to encourage the inflow of skills development into country.
CFAO has added to its fleet of cars in the motoring industry with the recent launch of the 2024 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado, one of Toyota’s flagship models, alongside a range of others for the Nigeria market.
Unveiling the product in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, the General Manager, CFAO Mobility, Port Harcourt, Julius Fasetire, said the model is exceptional tailored for Nigeria’s market.
According to him, the unveiling was an exclusive opportunity for Nigerians to explore the latest in automotive excellence, discover new vehicle options , and benefit from Toyota by CFAO’s end of year bonus.
He further explained that CFAO is an authorised distributor of Toyota vehicles in Nigeria, committed to providing high quality vehicles and services to meet the needs of customers across the country.
“With an extensive network of service centres, Toyota by CFAO offers top-notch sales, service and support to ensure a seamless ownership experience”, he declared.
By: Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
There are indications that oil marketers may boycot patronising the newly opened Port Harcourt Refinery Company (PHRC), which commmenced crude oil production last Tuesday.
This follows their request that PHRC, under the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), must dispense its refined petroleum products below the prices of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
Meanwhile, contrary to NNPCL’s claims, while reactiing to claims that its petrol price was about N1,045/litre, said the refinery had not released its prices, as products from the plant were currently dispensed to only NNPCL stations.
NNPCL’s spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, revealed that the company was still reviewing its prices and had yet to commence bulk sales, saying that its purchasing portal is still closed.
In the midst of this, The Tide’s source also gathered that oil marketers imported 105.67 million litres of petrol into the country five days ago.
The marketers confirmed that NNPC was selling petrol at N1,045/litre, saying that they may be compelled to opt for petrol importation as a means of meeting local demands.
The source exclusively gathered that a total sum of 78,800 metric tonnes representing 105.67 million litres of petrol was imported into the country in the last five days, specifically identified November 23 and November 28.
The NNPC said the 60,000-capacity newly rehabilitated complex of the old Port Harcourt Refinery, which had been revamped and upgraded with modern equipment, is operating at a refining capacity of 70 per cent of its installed capacity.
The company added that NNPC added that diesel and Pour Fuel Oil would be the highest output from the refinery, with a daily capacity of 1.5 million litres and 2.1 million litres, respectively.
There’s also a daily output of Straight-Run Gasoline (Naphtha) blended into 1.4 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (petrol), 900,000 litres of kerosene, and low-pour fuel oil of 2.1 million litres.
It was stated that about 200 trucks of petrol would be released into the Nigerian market daily.
However, claims that the national oil firm’s PMS price was higher than that of Dangote triggered diverse reactions from marketers.
The National Publicity Secretary of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), Chinedu Ukadike, stated that though NNPC had yet to release any price for the products from the refurbished Port Harcourt refinery, a high price would discourage marketers, because Dangote currently sells his petrol at N970/litre, while imported petrol is around that price.
He, however, noted that there was the possibility that the NNPC would review its prices downward when the Port Harcourt refinery comes fully on stream.
Following its unequivocal and successive ranking as Nigeria’s top performing organisation in efficiency and transparency from 2022-date, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has unveiled plans to mark the 2024 World Anti-corruption Day on Thursday, 5th December at its headquarters, the Nigerian Content Tower, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
The theme of this year’s celebration, according to a statement from the Board’s Department of Corporate Communications is “Effective Whistleblowers Protection Mechanism: A Critical Tool in the Fight against Corruption”.
The statement added that the celebration at the NCDMB is organised by the agency’s Anti-Corruption Unit (ACTU) led by the Director of Monitoring and Evaluation, Mr. Abdulmalik Halilu.
The event, according to the Board, will be marked with a workshop that will feature paper presentations by representatives of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), and key officials of the Board.
Another highlight of the day will include the grand finale of the debate competition among six federal government colleges from the six zones of the country, plus a representative from Bayelsa State, which is selected automatically as the host state of NCDMB.
The selected schools are Federal Government College, Odi, Bayelsa State; Federal Government College, Okigwe, Imo State; Federal Government College, Warri, Delta State; and Federal Government Girls College, Kazaure, Jigawa State.
Others are, Federal Government College, Ijanikin, Lagos State; Federal Government College, Maiduguri, Borno State; and Federal Government College, Rubochi, Abuja.
Two students, accompanied by an adult from each of the schools will be camped in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, by the NCDMB for four days during which preliminary debates will be held to determine the best two teams.
The debate, whose grand finale is to be held at the magnificent 17-storey Nigerian Content Tower (NCT), Yenagoa, is being organised to instill the ethics of transparency and public interest in Nigerian students to promote critical thinking, research, and public speaking skills among that segment of the population.
This segment, according to the Board, are generally viewed as potential future leaders of thought and industry in the country, and encourage students to engage with complex issues that underline good governance and democracy in Nigeria, just as prizes will also be awarded to winners.
By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
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