Easter: IPMAN felicitates Christians

By Solomon Asowata

TheIndependent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has enjoined Christians to remain hopeful in God’s ability to transform Nigeria  as they celebrate Easter.

IPMAN’s President, Mr Chinedu Okoronkwo, made the call in a statement issued on Sunday in Lagos.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Federal Government had declared April 15 and April 18 as public holidays to mark the celebration.

Okoronkwo said Easter was an important period that represents sacrifice, hope and redemption exemplified by the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

He said: “On behalf of the National Executive of IPMAN and its Board of Trustees, I want to felicitate with our Christian brothers and sisters as they mark this year’s Easter celebration.

“I urge them to imbibe the virtues of Easter which include sacrifice, hope and trust in God in time of difficulties.

“Jesus Christ demonstrated the ultimate sacrifice by dying for mankind because of the love God has for us.

“As Christians, we too are enjoined to make sacrifices. Sacrifices that will help our homes and nation to become better.

“We are also to trust in God’s ability to bring us redemption in time of difficulties.This means that Christians should not relent in prayers for our beloved country and our leaders.”

Okoronkwo said IPMAN would continue to play a key role in national development by supporting government’s programmes and policies that would enable the country maximise opportunities in the petroleum sector. (NAN)

TotalEnergies splashes N15m on 3 entrepreneurs in startupper challenge

Dr Samba Seye, Managing Director, TotalEnergies Marketing Nigeria Plc in a group photograph with winners of the third edition of the company’s Startupper of the Year Challenge on Wednesday in Lagos.

 

By Solomon Asowata

TotalEnergies Nigeria on Wednesday announced the winners of the third edition of its Startupper of the Year Challenge designed to support young entrepreneurs in Nigeria and the African continent.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Mike Sangster, Country Chair, TotalEnergies Companies in Nigeria, presented the award to the three finalists at a ceremony held in Lagos.

The winners in the three categories were painstakingly selected by a jury made up of experts and successful entrepreneurs from 15 top finalists.

They were assessed based on their innovative character, feasibility and development potential in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, as defined by the United Nations.

The winners were rewarded with N5 million financial support each, presonalised coaching and mentoring, networking opportunities as well as media visibility.

They are: ‘Best Business Creation Project’ category won by Michael Osumune of Smart Inverter Systems, designed to provide solar electricity, wireless internet access and AI-enabled security surveillance for households and businesses with a mobile application.

The ‘Best Startup Under Three Years Old’ was won by Nonso Opurum of Soso Care, a low cost insurtech, which aims to enable millions of uninsured Nigerians access to health insurance using recyclables as premium.

Also, the ‘Best Female Entrepreneur’ was won by Rebecca Adeosun of Organic Cycle, an application developed for users to trade organic wastes, e-training intending black soldier fly farmers and sales of black soldier fly products after production.

The winners from Nigeria would compete with their peers from 32 African countries for the three grand prizes of Grand Winner, Best Business Creation, Grand Winner, Best Startup Under three years old and Grand Winner, Best Female Entrepreneur.

Sangster, represented by Dr Samba Seye, the Managing Director, TotalEnergies Marketing Nigeria Plc, congratulated the winners and finalists on their achievements.

He said the Startupper Challenge was designed to support and reward young entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 and 35 who had created a company in the past two years.

According to him, it reaffirms TotalEnergies’ commitment to supporting the socio-economic development of the countries in which the company operates in Africa.

He said: “This prize is very important to TotalEnergies as it aligns with our culture of diversity and inclusion.

“Sometime last week, I received the 15 top finalists during a courtesy call to my office. During that interactive meeting, I noticed that out of the 15, seven are females.

“We are happy with this development which clearly underlines the fact that our women are not waiting for anyone to empower them, they are demonstrating that they have all it takes to excel, in an environment of equal opportunities.

“Nigeria, like all other countries on the continent, is faced with challenges of poverty, youth unemployment, and the lack of infrastructure critical to economic development.

“It s also faced with the challenges associated with climate change and how to provide food for its teeming population, in a sustainable manner.

“I believe that today in our midst, we have entrepreneurs whose ideas can address some of the economic challenges Nigeria and other countries in Africa face.”

Sangster said while this was the vision of TotalEnergies, the company cannot do it alone and urged other corporate bodies and well-meaning Nigerians should join in supporting young entrepreneurs.

Responding, the winners while thanking TotalEnergies for initiating the programme, promised to make Nigeria proud at the grand finale of the competition taking place in France. (NAN)

Group seeks collaboration among African countries to achieve sustainable development

Dr Brian Reuben, Founder, Africa Economic Summit

By Solomon Asowata

A United Kingdom-based organisation, the Africa Economic Summit Group, has called for more collaboration among African countries in order to foster development and achieve sustainable economic goals.

The group made the call on Tuesday in a communique issued after the recently concluded Africa Economic Summit which held in Lagos on March 30.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the communique which contained 17 recommendations was read by Dr Brian Reuben, Founder, Africa Economic Summit.

The communique said: “African countries should work together to able to achieve sustainable economic goals.

“Competition does not have to be against one another as everyone should focus on innovative ways of moving the continent forward.

“African nations should expunge self centeredness, learn to position Africa to create employment for the teeming youth and take cue from Ghana’s “knowledge bank” job creation concept.

“Local products should be sold in local currencies in Africa. African policy makers need to be patriotic because it will go a long way to enhance trade consistency, imbue confidence within the region.”

According to the communique, there is a need to digitalise regulatory agencies in the continent for ease of doing business.

“Government of countries in Africa should revisit some restrictions they have in place at their borders as the African Continental Free Trade Area(AfCFTA) will not thrive under such draconian policies, “it said.

On the lack of access to electricity in the continent, the communique urged African states to collaborate to solve the energy crisis while also commiting to a transition to cleaner energy.

It said: “Nigeria needs power notwithstanding the seeming constraints, as its catalyst to economic development.

“Governments in Africa need to commit to deploy gas to solve power problems.

“Africa must rise to take its God-given pride of place especially in economy. Africa must not position itself for second fiddle, as it has the human and natural resources it requires to lead.

“Government must reduce wastage. Africa can become the wealth custody to the rest of the world.

“Africa must prepare the people and provide an enabling business environment. It must see the private sector as a means of entrepreneurial development.”

NAN reports that through the summit, the Africa Economic Summit Group, hopes to facilitate new investment and encourage business development in the continent.

It also provides a platform to share best practices, guarantee peer-to-peer networking, offer new industry insight, showcase excellence and promote thought leadership. (NAN)

Endless opportunities in power sector, says MOMAS boss

Mr Kola Balogun, Chairman, Momas Electrical Meters Manufacturing Company Ltd. (MEMMCOL), Metering School, Mrs Helen Maiyegun, Chairperson, Keystone Bank Women Economic Empowerment Committee and Mr Ademola Olorunfemi, Chairman, Academic Board, Momas Metering School, in a group photograph with the students who graduated from the school on Friday in Mowe, Ogun.

By Solomon Asowata

 Mr Kola Balogun, Chairman, Momas Electrical Meters Manufacturing Company Ltd. (MEMMCOL), Metering School says opportunities in the power sector are endless for young Nigerians.

Such opportunities, according to him, can help in curbing unemployment in the country.

Balogun spoke on Friday during the graduation of 29 young Nigerians trained at the school in Mowe, Ogun.

They were trained on meter manufacturing, installation and maintenance as well as energy auditing.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 12 of the graduands who are female were sponsored by Keystone Bank under its Keystone Bank Women Economic Empowerment Committee (KWEEC).

Balogun said: ” The opportunities in the power sector are limitless. Meter installation is just one aspect and you know we have a huge metering gap in the country.

“We have a responsibility to address the unemployment situation in the country today and one of the ways we are doing that is to subsidise our training and partner with other organisations to give opportunities to Nigerians.

” We commend Keystone Bank for sponsoring some of the graduands and we are appealing to other corporate organisations as well as state and local governments to also key into this initiative to positively engage our women and youths.”

He said stakeholders in the power sector were working on developing a framework for meter auditors and inspectors to handle tariff dispute between customers and electricity Distribution Companies.

Balogun advised the graduands to adhere to the ethics of the industry by not conniving with customers to engage in meter bypass and energy theft which were inimical to the growth of the power sector.

Also, Mrs Helen Maiyegun, Chairperson, KWEEC, said the committee was set up in line with the directive of the Central Bank of Nigeria for commercial banks to support empowerment of women in Nigeria.

 

Maiyegun said the beneficiaries were selected from Lagos, Kwara and Nasarawa States.

She said that the training was aimed at giving them opportunities to thrive in the power sector.

 

The chairperson noted that the  metering gap in the country presented a huge opportunity for them, especially as the phase one of the National Mass Metering Programme would soon begin.

 

Maiyegun said: “The training for us (Keystone Bank) is critical because there are limitless opportunities here.

 

“We have been training women on skills acquisition such as catering, bead making, fashion design among others but this time we decided to think outside the box and see how we can bring more women into the energy sector.

 

“When you empower a woman, you are empowering the nation and we will continue to monitor the graduands to ensure they meet their goals and aspirations.”

 

She charged them to be good ambassadors of Keystone Bank and Momas Metering School and utilise the training to better their lives.

Maiyegun urged them to contribute to national development.

 

On his part, Mr Ademola Olorunfemi, Chairman, Academic Board, Momas Metering School, said the two-week intensive training had equipped the graduands to add value to Nigeria and its economy.

 

Olorunfemi commended Keystone Bank for providing this unique opportunities for the female graduands and solicited for the sustenance of the programme.

 

Speaking on behalf of the graduands, Mrs Marian Marcus-Johnson, thanked Keystone Bank and Momas for facilitating the training.

She promised to positively utilise the knowledge imparted on them by the school. (NAN)

Court declares restricting movement of Pearl Garden Estate homeowners by property developer as unlawful

By Solomon Asowata

A Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja has declared that the restriction of movement of homeowners within the Pearl Garden Estate situated at Sangotedo Village in Eti-Osa Local Government Area of the state by  CMB Building Maintenance and Investment Company Limited as unlawful.

Justice Mufutau Olokoba made the declaration while delivering judgment in a suit filed by some of the homeowners against CMB(property and the estate management agents) and  the Oyetubo Jokotade Estate Resource Limited (previous landowners).

According to a Certified True Copy of  the judgement obtained by newsmen in Lagos on Wednesday, the judgment was delivered by the judge on Dec. 1, 2021.

The N100 million suit was filed by the claimants on Feb. 9, 2015 following their dispute with the property developer.

It was filed by Messrs Francis Adesuyi, Felix Obiakor, Martin Ajayi-Obe and Peter Afenotan in representative capacity on behalf of themselves and all interested homeowners within the Pearl Garden Estate.

In the judgment, the judge declared that the interference and Infringement on the claimants rights by barricade and restriction of movement of claimants and lawful residents in and out of the estate by the defendants and their 

and their agents was unlawful.

He held that the purported estate charge of N35,000.00 bonus been imposed by the second defendant on the claimants was declared null and void.

The judge, however declined to grant the prayers of the claimants to order the defendants to pay them the sum of N100 million as damages and that the defendants should bear the cost of the action.

Remove petrol subsidy, expert urges FG

By Solomon Asowata

An oil and gas expert, Mr James Gooder, has advised the Federal Government to remove subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), petrol, in order to discourage smuggling of the product across Nigeria’s borders.

Gooder, Vice President, Crude and African Markets, Argus Media, United Kingdom, gave the advice while speaking at a virtual media workshop organised by the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) on Thursday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Federal Executive Council had approved N3 trillion for subsidy on PMS in 2022.

He said the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine had led to a surge in crude oil prices at the international market with Brent Crude currently trading at over 120 dollars per barrel.

According to him, while the landing cost of PMS, also known as petrol is currently above N400 per litre, the government is spending huge amounts subsidising the product to retail at N165 per litre.

He said: “Capped retail prices for PMS may be popular, or even expected,

among those that can afford to own a car.

“But current delivered prices for PMS are around three times as high as the pump price. Is this sustainable? Is financing this the best use of Nigerian taxpayers’ money?

“There is an unfortunate but clear incentive to smuggle subsidised

fuel out of Nigeria to neighbouring countries where retail prices are higher.”

Gooder said Nigeria and her West African neighbours lacked sufficient  regional refining capacity and imported majority of their PMS from Europe.

“In a global market, product flows are directed by price. Nigeria is competing with other destinations for products.

“But even if Nigeria had sufficient refining capacity with the coming on stream of the 650,000BPD Dangote Refinery and others, it  would still be in a competitive market and exposed to import parity prices,” he said.

Gooder said the government should engage the media and the citizens on the need to allow market forces to determine the price of petrol in the country.

He said in the longer term, government could improve public transport and attract investment for infrastructure – whether refining or storage and distribution.

Gooder, however, noted that the crude oil market was volatile and unpredictable, stressing that the measures were only aimed at mitigating its impact on the ordinary citizens.

He explained that the increase in prices of diesel and aviation fuel was higher than the increase in petrol prices globally because the supply of diesel and aviation fuel (middle distillates) was mainly from Russian refineries, which were currently under sanctions.

Gooder said petrol was from Northwestern Europe refineries, which was readily available.

He advised the Nigerian government to ensure that the right pricing benchmark was used to import PMS from Europe.

“In Europe, the Argus Eurobob daily price is the primary PMS benchmark

– ‘the Brent of gasoline.’

“80-90 per cent of Nigeria’s gasoline imports are priced on Argus Eurobob along the supply chain.

“Argus publishes prices in all other source regions for comparison, as

well as delivered to Nigeria.

“The price used for delivery into Nigeria is still often 95 RON – leading to price distortions.

“This may benefit international traders, but it never benefits importers, consumers or taxpayers because it is inflated,” said Gooder.

Mr Clement Isong, Executive Secretary, MOMAN, said the distribution margin for marketers was very small despite their huge investment in the oil and gas industry.

He said: “The backbone of distribution is based on diesel, from transport (vessels and trucks) to energy costs (depots and stations). This affects not just petrol distribution but also the distribution of aviation fuel.

“Total distribution margin under the current PMS pricing template accounts for 11.5 per cent of the PMS pump price despite significant increase in costs.

“Operators are struggling along the supply chain to get petrol out of the nuzzles into the cars, which is difficult to sustain.” (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

NBC promotes sustainable manufacturing, powers plants by solar

(L-R) Mr Matthieu Seguin, Managing Director, Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC)Ltd., Mrs Oluwatoyin Agbenle, Controller of Environment in Lagos State, Federal Ministry of Environment, Mrs Omotunde Adeola, Deputy Director, Pollution Control and Environment Health Department and Mr Ike Ekeleme, Plant Manager, NBC Ikeja Plant, during a tour of the facility on Wednesday.

By Solomon Asowata

 The Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) Ltd. says all its manufacturing plants will be powered in part by solar energy by December as its contribution to sustainable manufacturing.

Mr Matthieu Seguin, Managing Director, NBC, said this during a media tour of the company’s plant at Agidingbi, Ikeja on Wednesday.

Seguin said: “NBC is part of the Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company group (CCHBC), which has an uncompromising commitment to minimise our environmental footprint whilst enriching the communities where we operate

“In line with this, CCHBC has instigated a set of sustainability commitments ahead of 2025 that address six major areas.

“They include the reduction of emissions, water use and stewardship, working towards a world without waste, ingredients sourcing, nutrition, people and communities.

“Advancing towards these commitments, NBC has mainstreamed sustainability into every aspect of our operations.”

He said NBC was committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2040 and had so far reduced 3,600 tons from its annual carbon footprint.

Seguin said the NBC plants in Challawa, Maiduguri, Abuja and Asijere were being powered in part by solar energy and were delivering up to 3,640-Kilowatt peak (KWp)power output to the facilities.

He said Ikeja, Benin, Owerri and Port Harcourt plants would be powered by solar energy by Dec. 2022, noting that the company was targeting to increase its solar generation capacity to 15,947KWp.

“Beyond the direct impact on reduced emissions, another indirect positive outcome of this project is that over 167,000 trees have been saved.

“The evolution and the implementation has supported the creation of 300 jobs with an additional 480 jobs forecast to be created in support of the system this year,” Seguin said.

He said NBC was also optimising its operations through heavy investments in Combined Heat and Power Plants (CHP) plants.

“With the technology of the CHP, after electricity is generated using gas to power the gas generators in the plant, the resultant exhaust gas and

heat is redirected from going into the atmosphere to generate steam.

“The heat from the steam is used as a secondary energy source to further power some aspects of our manufacturing operations.

“Today, we have six CHP plants in five of our eight manufacturing plants including Port-Harcourt, Ikeja, Benin, Owerri and Asejire Plants, all resulting in a significant reduction of our carbon footprints across the country.

“Overall, the six CHP plants generate 25.5MW of power delivering 125,267MWh of electrical energy including 68,267MWh as steam energy, as a bye product, which without the CHP would have been produced with fossil fuel.

“Collectively, the business invests over N1.7 billion in running the six CHPs annually,” Seguin said.

He added that the company had also embarked on fleet conversion/replacement to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG trucks) and already had 10 CNG trucks in its fleet.

Seguin said the constraint was the availability of CNG, and that government should encourage the setting up of more CNG filling stations across the country.

He said NBC had also started transitioning its diesel-powered forklifts to models powered by electricity; contributing further to our CO2 emissions savings as a business.

“So far 109 forklifts have transitioned, with a plan for all 200 forklifts used in the business to be transitioned by the end of this year, 2022,” Seguin said.

On her part, Mrs Oluwatoyin Agbenle, Controller of Environment in Lagos State, Federal Ministry of Environment, lauded NBC for taking the bold step to promote sustainable manufacturing.

She said the ministry would continue to encourage manufacturers to optimise use of natural resources and raw materials to reduce environmental impact in their operations. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)