Ekpo is now the highest power… Road map for blue economy underway…5,000 solid graduates…Achalla light on continuous rise…plus other stories and reports

Photos of The Week

“Who know tomorrow?”

Thirty-five years ago, they became husband and wife, Chief and Chief Mrs Willie Obiano, immediate past Governor of Anambra State. The rest as they say is history:

Our profligacy in the front-burner yet again

Ekpo, palm oil, is now the highest power

Our eyes don dey open small small!  That palm oil when we been dey communize don become the super power now O!  Dem don dey use palm oil dey fly aeromplane now!!

Indonesia on Friday flew its first commercial flight using palm oil-blended jet fuel, as the world's biggest producer of the commodity pushes for wider use of biofuels to cut fuel imports.

Operated by flag carrier Garuda Indonesia, the Boeing 737-800NG aircraft carried more than 100 passengers from the capital Jakarta to Surakarta city about 550 kilometres (342 miles) away, Garuda Indonesia CEO Irfan Setiaputra said. 

"We will discuss further with Pertamina, Energy Ministry and other parties to ensure this fuel is commercially reasonable," Irfan said during a ceremony, adding the plane was set to return to Jakarta later on Friday.

Garuda conducted several tests including a flight test on the new fuel earlier this month and an engine ground test in August.

The palm-oil blended jet fuel is produced by Indonesian state energy firm PT Pertamina (PERTM.UL) at its Cilacap refinery, using hydro processed esters and fatty acid (HEFA) technology and is made of refined bleached deodorized palm kernel oil. 

Pertamina has said the palm-based fuel emits less atmosphere warming greenhouse gases compared with fossil fuels, and palm oil producing countries have called for the edible oil to be included in feedstock for the production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

Road map for blue economy underway-Oyetola

The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, on Tuesday, identified the dominance of foreign shipping companies and infrastructure deficits as some of the challenges facing the maritime sector.

Oyetola, however, noted that plans are on to launch a road map for the marine and blue economy sectors with a focus on developing Nigeria into a hub of maritime trade and ancillary services in Africa.

The minister spoke as a panel discussant at the 29th session of the Nigeria Economic Summit Group, with the theme, “Pathways to Sustainable Economic Transformation and Inclusion”, according to a statement signed by the ministry’s Director of Press and Public Relations, Olujimi Oyetomi,

He explained that charting a policy agenda for the sector is critical to transforming the sector into the best in class, regionally and internationally.

 “We understand the critical role the maritime sector plays in enabling business in an import dependent economy, such as ours, it is imperative that we move more quickly towards improving the navigability of our waters, engage the draught of our ports, achieve 24-hour cargo clearance,  and ensure adequate connectivity of our ports to hinterlands with efficient road and rail networks,” Oyetola pointed out.

Projecting the ministry’s policy direction in the next four years, he said “It is imperative, having identified these inhibitors, to work towards improving the navigability of our waters, engage the draught of our ports, achieve 24-hour cargo clearance,  and ensure adequate connectivity of our ports to hinterlands with efficient road and rail network creation. 

“We seek to Introduce new business models that can ultimately develop our capabilities and ensure the continual dredging of our inland waterways.”

He added that his resolve is to get the presidential endorsement of the use of scanners in port operations in the country. 

According to him, all over the world, seaports have gone digital, and digitalisation is mainly used to drive efficiency and remove human contacts that are usually very slow and breed corruption.

US supports 18,000 MSMEs to access $244m

The United States government, through the U.S. Agency for International Development, celebrated the achievements of the five-year ‘Feed the Future Nigeria Agribusiness Investment activity.’

The five-year achievement was celebrated on October 10, 2023.

The $15.7 million Agribusiness Investment activity assisted more than 18,000 small businesses, also known as Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in seven states – Benue, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Kaduna, Kebbi, and Niger.

This is according to a press release from the U.S. embassy in Abuja on Wednesday. 

It said, “The initiative mobilised more than N188 billion ($244 million) in agricultural investment, thereby providing access to finance, and bolstering their businesses.

 “The MSMEs are now able to expand business operations for increased food production, specifically for aquaculture, cowpea, maize, rice and soybean.”

By supporting agriculture and food security programmes in collaboration with the federal and state ministries of agriculture and food security, and the private sector to increase agricultural productivity, expand markets, improve nutrition, and facilitate access to finance; USAID has partnered with Nigeria to help address these challenges, according to the USAID/Nigeria Economic Growth and Environment Office Director, Michelle Corzine.

“We have seen remarkable improvements in the agricultural sector, and it is essential that public and private-sector actors continue to collaborate to ensure that we continue to improve the business environment for Nigeria’s farmers.”

More than 150 people attended the event, including the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr. Ernest Umakhihe; USAID officials, and public and private-sector partners.

APSS appoints ex-CBN Deputy Governor, Prof. Moghalu as BOD Chairman

Former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and Presidential Candidate, Professor Kingsley Moghalu, has been appointed as chairman of the board of directors of the Africa Private Sector Summit, APSS. 

The body is a pan-African, private sector-led non-profit organization that promotes trade and investment in Africa and is headquartered in Accra, Ghana.

Announcing Moghalu’s appointment, Mr Judson Wendell Addy, founder and outgoing Chairman of APSS, said Moghalu’s “international leadership experience, credibility, and networks will help advance the goals of APSS, as we proceed with the roll-out of the draft charter on private sector development, rights and protection of the environment in Africa [Private Sector Bill of Rights], across all of Africa’s five geographic regions plus diaspora.”

He said the objective is “to strengthen the private sector in African countries, attract increased business investment to the continent, and make strong contributions to enable the private sector to actively drive implementation of the Regional Economic Communities (RECs] and the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) protocols in collaboration with the Pan Africa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PACCI), the Africa Busines Council (AfBC) and other stakeholders.”

Accepting his appointment, Moghalu said he is honoured to have been invited to chair the Board of APSS, promising that he would “work hard with African companies, and other stakeholders including governments and international organizations to advance the critical role of the private sector in the structural transformation of African economies in the context of Africa’s economic integration and African Union’s Agenda 2063, our collective journey to the Africa we want.”

 

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

ANAMBRA STATE

Soludo empowers 5,000 Graduates of One Youth Two Skills with N2bn Seed Grant

The governor pointed out that the grant each of them will receive should be enough to purchase the equipment they need to start.

The Anambra State Government has empowered five thousand trained youths in the pilot phase of the ‘One Youth, Two Skills’ programme with seed capital to the tune of two billion naira as a start up fund sourced from Anambra State Small Business Agency (ASBA).  ASBA has been innovative in meeting the challenges of ndi Anambra with financial projects that help meet their challenges.

The state Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, presented the cheques to the beneficiaries during the graduation and business financing ceremony for batch one beneficiaries of the scheme at the Anambra International Convention Centre, Awka.

Soludo explained during the presentation ceremony that having formed themselves into cooperatives, there is a special funding put aside through Anambra State Small Business Agency, (ASBA) for those who want to scale up their enterprise to access grants for up to five million naira.

He pointed out that the grant each of them will receive should be enough to purchase the equipment they need to start, asking them to approach their respective local government areas next week to pick up their cheques which are ready. 

While revealing that human capital is Anambra’s greatest resource, the governor described youths as the bridge to the future, saying that his administration believes in making empowerment in a sustainable manner. 

Earlier, the Commissioner for Youth Development, Mr. Patrick Agha-Mba said that the part two will soon commence, pointing out that it is a revolution to take the youth to the next level and projected that in the next two years, the beneficiaries would have become employers of labour.

The Deputy Director of UNIZIK Business School, Prof. Chinedu Onyeizugbe, said that the robust curriculum designed to develop trainees’ skills in the crosscutting disciplines that make for successful entrepreneurship and business management, included courses on personal development skills, personal thinking skills, among others.

 

Achalla’s “New Dawn” continues to shine brighter

Achalla recorded another historic day yesterday with the holding of the 1^st Joseph Ndubuisi Nwokedi Lecture Series.  An introductory session was held last year.  This 1^st anniversary attracted guests from outside Achalla.  The Deputy Governor Anambra State, His Excellency, Dr Oyekachukwu Ibezim, KSP, was one of the two Special Guests.  The Chairman of the South East Traditional Rulers Council, His Royal Majesty, Igwe Nnaemeka Achebe, CFR, was the second of the Special Guests on the bill.

Speakers were Prof Offomze D. Amucheazi, SAN, FCArb, and Anambra State Commissioner for Lands, spoke on Planned Management of Land as a strategic Gateway to Growth and Development of the Rural Areas; and the second speaker, Dr Emmanuel Nwokoye spoke on Medical Screening and its importance in the Management of Health Delivery.

It was a very exciting programme; contributions by participants was very high as all the Speakers, including the Deputy Governor and HRM Igwe Achebe, spoke in English and Igbo languages.

EBONYI STATE

Ebonyi empowers 500 hawkers in various cities with N2m each

Governor Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi State yesterday empowered over 500 Ebonyi people hawking in various cities across in the country with N2 million naira to help them improve in their businesses.

Flagging off empowerment of 500 indigenes of the state in Abakaliki, Nwifuru noted that the 500 persons would be trained in various skills by the state government and empowered with N2million each after the training.

Nwifuru who took time to narrate his humble beginning as a bricklayer before he became the governor, urged the people of the state to engage in meaningful ventures from where they may be promoted to higher level the way he did and became the governor.

He implored the beneficiaries to use the opportunity to learn skills that can  enhance  their standard of living.

He said “I wear your shoes and I know where it pinches. I suffered a lot, I passed through hurdles, I passed through stages of life and I now realized that those stages I passed is because God wants to equip me”.

“I made myself available for God to equip me. So, it is now a challenge to most of our leaders, to most of our youths today to make yourselves available today for God to equip you”.

“It’s not easy for a young man to be a bricklayer, it’s not easy and I decided to make myself available. Today, you are here to learn skills, you have good skills but that skills refused to put food on your tables”.

“This is why we have lots of skill development centres here and we said you should come and learn some other skills which can put foods on your tables,  even without much struggles you will see food on your tables”.

“Some of you have what you are doing that you need only some little support, then you can grow it very well and that is why you are here so, it is not by force that you learn skill if you have what you are doing that is very much enormous to feed you”.

The State Commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Business Development, Chief Oguzor Offia- Nwali told journalists that the state government was targeting 1,5000 people of the state for the empowerment programme.

On his part, the Commissioner for Trade and Investment, Nnanna Elechi, said the empowerment progarmme was Governor Nwifuru’s desire to liberate the indigenes of the state who are hustling in the streets of Lagos, Abuja, Onitsha, Aba, Port-Harcourt and other cities in the country.

He added that the training and empowerment programme was in line with the charter of needs manifesto of the present administration in the state.

 

 

You can reach us on 0803 246 9817 or obimeze@gmail.com