Nigeria continues to import palm oil…Fake news from the most unlikely sources…Nigerians no longer believe government can do anything for them – Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala…Wedding colours…plus South East Digest…

 

Nigeria continues to import palm oil

Nigeria has great potential to produce palm oil on large scale for exports and local consumption but has since independence failed to develop the needed capacity.  The country spent N299.6 billion importing palm oil in just six years.

Experts urge government to invest significantly to boost productivity and make it major revenue earner’

Prior to the discovery of crude oil in commercial quantities, Nigeria had controlled 43 per cent of global market share of palm oil supply but has become net importer today, putting pressure on its foreign exchange reserves, according to analysts.

For instance, the former Chairperson, Agricultural and Allied Group of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mrs Edobong Akpabio, and a Development Economist with the Opportunity Research Group, Dr Aduku Ebikabowei, observed that palm oil was a major agricultural produce and top foreign exchange earner for Nigeria in the 1950s and 1960s. The country, which was once the largest producer of palm oil in the world at the time has presently dropped to the fifth position, according to a global data published by Statista.

The oil palm tree produces high-quality oil used primarily for cooking in developing countries. It is also used in food products, detergents, cosmetics and, to a small extent, biofuel.

According to Statista, the global palm oil production in the 2021/22 marketing year was around 73.8 million metric tons, increasing from approximately 73 million metric tons in 2020/21, with Indonesia (45.5 million metric tons ) and Malaysia (19.2 million metric tons) being the leading exporters of palm oil worldwide.

Data published by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed that the product was imported more in 2021 as N148.2 billion worth of palm oil found its way to Nigeria. This is followed by 2022 with N70.2 billion and 2018 with N32.2 billion.  Also, in 2020, N22.2 billion of the product was imported while in 2017, N21.2 billion. 2019 recorded the least importation with N19 billion of the product imported.

Fake news from the most unlikely sources

Fake news has become a major source of worry for consumers of information.  But what is fast becoming too worrisome is fake news from Government Departments and other areas of leadership.  See the three below:

Nigerians no longer believe government can do anything for them – Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

The Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has said that due to the negligence of the government both Federal and State to provide basic amenities, Nigerians no longer believe if government can do anything for them. Okonjo-Iweala who passed the damning verdict that Nigerians have lost confidence in government, spoke Friday from Washington, capital of the United States, at the inauguration of the Transition Council of the Abia State Governor-Elect Dr. Alex Otti in Aba, the commercial nerve centre of Abia.

This was just as the incoming governor, Dr. Alex Otti, said that the time for good leadership in Abia is now. 

Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria’s former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, who gave the keynote speech virtually said many Nigerians no longer believe that their government can do anything for them.  “Nigerians have lost trust in government, you know that. Many Nigerians, especially on our side in the South East, don’t really believe that government can do anything for them.  On the one hand, maybe it’s a good thing because everybody then becomes their own government. You dig your own borehole to get water, generate your own electricity, do everything for yourself.  That is entrepreneurial but on the other hand maybe that is not the best way to run things,” the world’s number one trader said. Consequently, she admonished that for government to regain its lost confidence among the populace, it “must get a tight and better and cleaner governance that must be transparent”.

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala pleaded with the Abia Governor-Elect to lead the way in instituting transparency in governance and running of government in Nigeria.

FEC Approves ₦‎49 Billion for Enugu-Anambra Link Road

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved the sum of N49 billion being the revised sum for the old Enugu-Onitsha road project.  Babatunde Fashola, the Minister of Works and Housing, briefed State House correspondents after the FEC meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Wednesday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. 

Fashola said his ministry sought and obtained two approvals from the council.

“We presented two memoranda to the council; both were approved; the first is with regards to contract cost revision by way of augmentation for the old Enugu-Onitsha road from Opi junction all the way to Udi-Oji to Anambra border in Enugu State.

 “The augmentation was in the sum of N17 billion which revised the contract sum to N49 billion with an additional completion time of 42 months.’’ 

According to him, the second contract was a fresh contract for the maintenance of the pavement of the third mainland bridge. He added that maintenance would address public concerns about the presence of potholes on the bridge.

“This was approved in the sum of N6.3 billion for a period of 24 months. This is in consonance with Executive Order 11 signed by the president for the continued maintenance of public infrastructure.

“And this contract responds to the questions on potholes that have become manifest on the entire pavement of the deck of the bridge spanning 11 eleven kilometres and the interchanges—Adeniji Adele, Adekunle and Gbagada ramps that all link the bridge; this is for the resurfacing of all that.

“Those who are familiar with the bridge will recall that all of these failures were not this manifest on the bridge as at the time we did some work; and the work that we did concentrate largely on the sub-structure of the bridge—the piles, the underwater piles; the pile caps and also the replacement of the expansion joints and the bearings.’’

Fashola noted that the maintenance works are critical to the structural integrity of the bridge and would restore the driving surface and the aesthetics. 

NEMA lists States likely to be flooded this year

NEMA has urged immediate action to lessen the effects of the impending flood, highlighting the possibility that it will be worse than last year’s flooding.   NEMA reports that the nation-wide floods of last year caused 665 fatalities and 3,181 injuries.  A staggering 4,476,867 people were impacted, 2,437,411 were forced to leave their homes, and 944,989 farmlands were destroyed. Additionally, 355,986 houses were completely or partially destroyed by the floods.  

The report is meant to help responsible organisations take preparedness and mitigation measures to protect lives, livelihoods, properties, and the environment against hydrometeorological hazards in Nigeria during the 2023 rainy season and beyond, according to Mustapha Ahmed, the agency’s spokesperson, who spoke during the presentation. The Bayelsa, Delta, Lagos, and Rivers States are at a high risk of flooding this year, according to a warning from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).  The agency has attributed this to the rise in sea level and tidal surge, which may have a detrimental effect on these states’ agriculture, human settlements, and transportation. 

Wedding colours

Shopping for weddings used to be a serious item for the couple.  Not so anymore!  Parents, relations, and well-wishers seem to be bearing the brunt of wedding shopping nowadays.  The colours were initially for the day – that is most guests were encouraged to be dressed in those colours.  Today, there are different colours for different groups of invitees.  Sample some of the colours for two big weddings that took place in Awka yesterday.

The first is the wedding of Nelson and Chidera Omenugha:

 

The second is that of Chimezie and Ugonna Akunebuni:

 

(A digest of latest reports on the Economy, Industry, Politics, Sports, and developments around the South East of Nigeria)

ABIA STATE

Ikpeazu secures $50m for construction of 500km of roads in Abia

The Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu, has secured a $50 million fund that will facilitate construction of 500 kilometers of roads in the state by the incoming administration.

Ikpeazu made this known, yesterday, during an interaction with newsmen at the Governor’s Lodge, Aba.

The governor said the decision to secure the funds for the state was informed by his commitment and resolve to leave Abia better than he met it.  He said the funds had created an avenue for Abia to record massive road construction to boost infrastructure development of the state. 

Ikpeazu said the facility had a repayment period of 20 years with 10 years moratorium, adding that his administration has negotiated and perfected interest rate of the facility to be at 0.006 per cent. 

He said the handover of the reconstructed Faulks Road, Aba, and the remodeled three blocks in A-line of Ariaria International Market by his administration were among projects he remained grateful to God for.

Ikpeazu said he adopted a multifaceted approach in the development of the state, adding that his administration has laid a solid foundation for successive governments to come.

According to him, the Enyimba Economic City project, conceptualised by his administration, when completed, would provide over 600, 000 jobs to the teeming youths over a 10-year period.

He added that challenges of leadership were not in conceptualising ideas, but in connecting and channeling them into an agenda to create a better life for people of the state.

Ikpeazu said he is pleased with his stewardship, relationship style and disposition to issues, adding that these had facilitated maintenance of peace and order in Abia. 

ANAMBRA STATE

ASATU Prime Minister Commends Soludo on Water Transport Project, Makes Case for Umueri Erosion

The Prime Minister of Anambra State Association of Town Unions (ASATU), Chief John Chukwudi Metchie, has commended Governor Charles Soludo and the state commissioner for transportation, Mrs Patricia Igwebuike, for the commencement of water transportation in the state. Metchie, the African Director of the International Association of World Peace Advocates (A United Nations affiliate), commended the duo, especially for the commencement of the Otu-Ocha Marine Project in Anambra East local government area.

He said the project would greatly relieve the communities in the state's coastal areas.  

Chief Metchie, who doubles as the President-General of Umueri, used the opportunity to call on Governor Soludo to come to the rescue of the community.  He lamented that Umueri is being ravaged and devastated by massive erosion, threatening to cut off villages from others. He, however, stated that the people of Umueri and the entire Anambra East Local Government would remain eternally grateful to the state government under the leadership of Governor Soludo for the special attention given to the area. 

He commended the governor for infrastructural provisions in the area, and citing the installation of 50 CCTV cameras to communities in the local government for security surveillance and other purposes. He also recalled the renovation, upgrading and equipping of Umueri General Hospital among others.

ENUGU STATE

Winner Emerges in Enugu Supplementary Election

Osita Eze of Labour Party (LP) has been declared the winner of Saturday's supplementary election for Oji River State Constituency of Enugu State Eze defeated the incumbent, Jeff Mba of the PDP after the rerun of the election in just one polling unit; which had 2489 registered voters Meanwhile, INEC had on March 18 declared the election in the polling unit inconclusive due to irregularities and the margin of lead was less than the number of registered voters.