Business
Nigeria May Enter Recession In Six Months –Minister
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, has warned that the Nigerian economy may slide into recession if the coronavirus pandemic continues for the next six months.
She stated this during her appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today where she spoke on steps being taken by the government to cushion the impact of the pandemic on the nation’s economy.
She said: “We are hopeful that this pandemic will be limited in time. If it is an average of three months, we should be able to close the year with positive growth.
“But if it goes longer than that, six months, one year, we will go into recession.”
The warning came as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the global economy has entered recession over the ravaging impact of the COVID-19 on different countries.
The Managing Director, IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, who said this while making an opening remark during a conference call of the International Monetary Fund and Financial Committee, declared that no fewer than 80 countries had approached the Fund for help.
She said: “We have reassessed the prospect for growth for 2020 and 2021. It is now clear that we have entered a recession, as bad as or worse than in 2009.
“We do project recovery in 2021, in fact, there may be a sizeable rebound, but only if we succeed with containing the virus, everywhere, and prevent liquidity problems from becoming a solvency issue.
“A key concern about a long-lasting impact of the sudden stop of the world economy is the risk of a wave of bankruptcies and layoffs that not only can undermine the recovery but can erode the fabric of our societies.”
She added: “We have seen an extraordinary spike in requests for the IMF emergency financing, some 80 countries have placed requests and more are likely to come. Normally, we never have more than a handful of requests at the same time.”
Georgieva disclosed that the executive board of the IMF had already approved the first of the emergency requests for the Kyrgyz Republic, a record fast disbursement.
Reacting to the IMF chief’s submission on global recession and how it would affect Nigeria, experts agreed that if the deadly disease persisted, the nation’s economy would face a serious crisis.
The Managing Director, Afrinvest Securities Limited, Mr Ayodeji Ebo, said: “If this COVID-19 persists for the next six months and oil prices remain below $30 per barrel, then Nigeria may be in a crisis”.
“In addition, if the pandemic significantly spreads in Nigeria, business activities will seriously slow down.”
A professor of capital market studies, Uche Uwaleke, said that disclosure by the IMF chief about global economic recession would affect Nigeria’s economy negatively.
He said that Nigeria’s revenue from oil would be seriously affected.
He said, “The implication for Nigeria is that world trade had dropped; trade between Nigeria and other countries will suffer; there will be more capital flight because foreign investors will move to an economy that is safer.
“It has implications for export particularly oil which would lead to lower revenue for Nigeria; our trade and investment will also fall. If care is not taken, except the CBN continues to defend the naira, it will affect exchange rate.”
To survive the economic crisis, he said, “We need to produce and prioritise our spending by spending more on food and purpose import substitution.”
In his comments, a professor of economics at the Olabisi Onabanjo University Ago-Iwoye, Ogun, Sheriffdeen Tella, said it would take a while before the global economy could recover due to the pandemic.
He said, “There is no production in the last two weeks and when there is no production, a lot of industries will be shut down and it will cause a drawback.
“There are also uncertainties as to when production will start in many parts of the world. So, we are already in recession as it were.”
The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Felix Omatsola-Ogbe, has reeled out initiatives evolved by the Board in its contribution towards capacity building for youths across the country.
The NCDMB Scribe revealed this recently at the 2024 Practical Nigerian Content (PNC) Youth Forum held in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.
Tagged “empowering the future: unlocking the opportunities in the Niger Delta oil and gas sector”, the event featured three thematic lecture series delivered by the founder and leader of the Niger Delta Peace Coalition (NDPC), Mr. Zik Gbemre, the Bayelsa State Commissioner for Youths Development, Mr. Alfred Kemepado Nimizigha, and the Chief Executive Officer, PE Energy ltd., Mr Daere Akabo.
Ogbe, who was represented by the Manager, Capacity Building of the Board, Mr. Olugbenga Sheba, noted that the NCDMB has recently partnered the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG) to commence the Nigerian Content Human Capacity Development (NC-HCD) in the oil and gas sector for the training of 331 young graduates.
“As you already know, the NCDMB was established by the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act of 2010.
“Our mandate is to develop human capabilities and material capacities in the Nigerian oil and gas industry, and to monitor and enforce compliance with the provisions of the act”, the NCDMB Scribe said.
“The theme for this year’s youth event is ‘Empowering the future: Unlocking the opportunities in the Niger Delta Oil and Gas Sector’. This theme speaks to our determination and ongoing efforts to introduce youths from the Niger Delta to opportunities that abound in the oil and gas industry.
“Few weeks ago, we partnered the NLNG to kick start the Nigerian Content Human Capacity Development (NC-HCD) basic training programme for a total of 331 young graduates. The training covers ICT, Engineering, Welding and Fabrication, Non-destructive Testing (NDT), Lifting and working at Height, Quality Management Systems, Marine and offshore services and Facility Management and Maintenance.
“We also organised training for youths with the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), WalterSmith Petroleum, and other organizations. And as part of the NCDMB’s initiatives in the Niger Delta, we’ve developed two oil and gas parks at Emeyal one in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, and Odukpani in Cross River State”, he added.
By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
The Federal Government College, Warri, Delta State, has won the maiden ‘’Anti-Corruption” debate organised for select Secondary Schools across the six geopolitical zones of the nation by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), in partnership with the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) at the Content Tower, headquarters of the Board, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
The Tide reports that at the debate umpires said following the evaluation from the presentations by the two finalists, Federal Government College, Kazaure, Jigawa State, scored a total of 74.4 points as first runner-up while the Federal Government College, Delta State garnered 76.4 points to emerge winners.
Other schools that participated in the various stages of the debate leading to the finals were Federal Government College, Odi, Bayelsa State; Federal Government College, Okigwe, Imo State; Federal Government College, Ijanikin, Lagos State; Federal Government College, Maiduguri, Borno State; and Federal Government College, Rubochi, Abuja.
The Tide further reports that the theme for the 2024 International Day of Anti-Corruption was, “Effective Whistleblower Protection Mechanism: A Critical Tool in the Fight Against Corruption”, while topic for the debate was, “Impact of integrity on the expansion of public trust and confidence in governance.
Earlier in his keynote address, the Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, restated the Board’s stance against corruption, noting that fighting corruption is a must for the Board.
He reaffirmed his commitment to ideas and programmes geared towards putting an end to corruption within the system, and lauded the Federal Ministry of Education for approving the participation of students in the event.
While commending the ICPC for their support and continuous oversight over the activities of the Anti-Corruption Unit (ACTU) of NCDMB, Ogbe also thanked the anti-graft unit of the Board for putting the event together, noting that they were doing well in their efforts at combating corruption.
“To be clear on what today is about, we’re marking and celebrating International Anti-Corruption Day (IACD), with focus on raising the consciousness of our youths on the ills of corruption and how it stunts the socio-economic development of any Nation.
“This is to send a strong message for extra vigilance by all of us in combating the menace of Corruption from all fronts”, the NCDMB boss said.
By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
The Federal Government has earmarked N700billion from the federation account to implement the distribution of free electricity meters under the Presidential Metering Initiative.
This was disclosdd by the Special Adviser to the Minister of Power on Strategic Communications and Media, Bolaji Tunji.
Tunji, who, in a chat with The Tide’s source noted that the PMI was on course with a target to deliver two million meters yearly, also revealed that the amount reserved for the project had reached N700 billion and procurement had started.
“The Presidential Metering Initiative is still on course. Two million meters every year, delivery of the first batch will start by the first quarter of next year. About N700billion provision has been made, and the money is ready”, he said.
He further revealed that the government would fulfil its promise to deliver 1.3million electricity meters out of the 3.2 million meters under the World Bank Distribution Sector Reform Programme initiative this month, saying that “The DISREP programme will commence this month”.
An analysis of the Federal Account Allocation Committee meeting minutes obtained by our correspondent between April and August showed that the government had saved N420billion from a monthly deduction of N100billion.
The amount deducted from the monthly federation revenue before allocation to the three tiers of government was aimed at bridging the metering gap in the country, which currently stands at 50 per cent.
Recall that N120 billion was deducted from April revenue as the first tranche for the PMI, bringing the amount deducted from the federation account for the initiative as of August to N420billion.
In May, the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, said the government would provide an initial N75billion as seed capital while the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority pledged to inject N250 billion annually for the initiative.
The Minister also disclosed that the initiative would leverage debt financing from diverse financial institutions to bolster the PMI’s resources.
The Managing Director of Abuja Distribution Electricity Distribution Company, Mr. Victor Ojelabi, recently said the PMI would unlock about N1trillion in revenue currently tied up in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry due to a large number of unmetered customers.
Under the initiative, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission announced the approval of N21billion for the 11 electricity Distribution Companies to provide meters for end-use customers at zero cost.
The Distribution Sector Recovery Programme is a comprehensive initiative aimed at addressing the challenges and inefficiencies within Nigeria’s electricity distribution sector.
Recently, the NERC acknowledged that the country’s metering gap remains substantial despite installing 3.03million meters since privatising the power sector in 2013.
It said 6.15 million out of 13.33 million registered customers had been metered, bringing the metering rate to 46.14 per cent in 2024.
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