NEWS AGENCY OF NIGERIA
Export of processed agric products, Africa’s highway to wealth — Adesina
Economy/Business , Agriculture

Export of processed agric products, Africa’s highway to wealth — Adesina

227 total views today

By Lucy Ogalue

The African Development Bank (AfDB) President, Dr Akinwumi Adesina, says the highway to wealth on the continent is from the export of value-added agricultural products.

Akinwumi said this at the ongoing 2023 Africa Investment Forum (AIF) Market Place in Marrakesh, Morocco on Wednesday.

The theme of the Forum is: ”Unlocking Africa’s Value Chains”.

He spoke during the inauguration of the Alliance for Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZs).

According to him, Africa must help feed the world by becoming a global player in food and agriculture.

”To do so, Africa must end the export of raw agricultural commodities. We must recognise that the fastest way to poverty is via the export of raw commodities, while the highway to wealth is from export of value-added products.

“And that is why SAPZs are important. They provide critical infrastructure to support agro-industrial development in Africa.

“The aim is waxto unleash the power of its agricultural potential, with the establishment of food processing and manufacturing companies within the zones.

”The zones will support the transformation of the agricultural sector, raise productivity, scale economies and efficiencies of food and agricultural value chains.”

According to Adesina, SAPZs offer the infrastructure enabled platforms for Africa to turn its massive agricultural lands into real sources of wealth.

He said that the bank provided the financing of 853 million dollars, and mobilised more than 661 million dollars from other development partners to support the establishment of SAPZs.

”Our valued partners include the Islamic Development Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the Arab Bank for Economic Development, the European Union, and the Korean Export-Import Bank.

”We are also working with the African Union to support the Common Africa Agro-Parks Program.

”Our collective effort has mobilised 1.5 billion dollars in support of the establishment of 25 SAPZs in 11 African countries,” he said.

The AfDB President said to expand SAPZs across African countries, and take advantage of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area(AfCFTA), Africa must scale up resources, partnerships, and alliances.

He expressed excitement that the number of partners joining hands to rapidly scale up the SAPZs across Africa was expanding.

”The Alliance has the goal of mobilising at least two billion dollars in financing and investment commitments from Alliance members and partners over the next five years.

”Meeting this financing goal will deliver an additional 15 to 20 SAPZs projects in various countries across the continent.

”The Alliance will raise funds through various investment windows for project preparation, project development and construction, and financing for tenant companies,” he said.

Adesina said by doing so, the Alliance would bridge the critical financing gap, complement existing initiatives, and mobilise resources towards the common goal of enhancing agricultural value addition in Africa.

He said the Alliance would also provide project preparation finance, equity and debt investments, technical assistance, and project tracking and oversight.

Also speaking, Dr Benedict Oramah, the  President, African Export-Import Bank( Afreximbank) said that political instability in Africa was a challenge to financing major projects.

Oramah, however, called for a comprehensive idea and proposal for project financing on the continent.

He said that budget financing was a major threat to enabling financing and project implementation, adding that allocation of resources was crucial.

“There should be continental regulations that countries should respect and justice for anything that is good for business.

”It is important to sign constitutional agreements and concessions. It is also important to support product with high profitability,” he added.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that an additional commitment of about three billion dollars was pledged by the partners during the inuaguration of the SAPZs. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Mark Longyen/Ese E. Eniola Williams

ESG: LASG, private sector stakeholders seek collaboration for circular economy
Business

ESG: LASG, private sector stakeholders seek collaboration for circular economy

172 total views today

 

By Rukayat Moisemhe

Governor of Lagos State, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and private sector stakeholders have emphasised the importance of collaboration to enhance Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) integration into manufacturing operations to drive the circular economy.

They spoke at a private sector ESG forum on Wednesday in Lagos with the theme: “Is the Private Sector Accountable: A case for sustainable practices?”.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that ESG is a framework used to assess an organisation’s business practices and performance on sustainability and ethical issues.

Circular economy is a model of production and consumption aimed at reusing and regenerating materials or products in a sustainable and environment friendly way.

Sanwo-Olu was represented by his Special Adviser, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Dr Oreoluwa Finnih-Awokoya.

He noted that the state’s positioning as the commercial heart of Nigeria and the African continent, made it an attraction point for diverse businesses across the world.

Sanwo-Olu, however, stressed that the current global realities occassioned by climate change and other economic challenges, necessitated the need to enhance the private sector’s potential to drive sustainability.

“Sustainability development is the essence of our shared commitment to ensure that the wellbeing of current and future generations is safeguarded.

“To achieve this balance, we must hold the private sector accountable to the ESG concepts while we continue to implement various innovative policies to attract investments and prioritise ease of doing business.

“The private sector must begin to focus on renewable energy, waste management, transportation, and others to deliver sustainable solutions while we roll out policies that provide incentives, offer advisory services to achieve this goal.

“While we are fully aware the sustainability is a shared responsibility, we believe that working collaboratively with private sector is the way to go and Lagos is more than committed to partnering the private sector to achieve ESG integration,” he said.

The Managing Director, British American Tobacco Nigeria (BAT), Mr Yarub Al-Bahrani, said the company would continue to create a better tomorrow by reducing the health impact of the business and creating sustainable value for stakeholders.

This ambition, he explained, had birthed a strong commitment to collectively advance the cause to reshape the narrative around sustainability, giving rise to the forum.

Al-Bahrani added that there had become a clear and compelling case for accountability in the private sector to ensure ethical and sustainable business practices and positive social contributions to Africa’s development.

“Governance, environmental impact, and social responsibility are not just slogans; they represent the pillars upon which our future prosperity rests and this is why we have convened this forum.

“The uniting of leading private sector companies is a demonstration to our collective commitment to accountability and signifies a paradigm shift in the narrative of the manufacturing industry.

“The outcomes of our discussions today will determine the legacy we leave for generations to come, shaping a world that thrives on inclusivity, equity, and resilience,” he said.

Mr Pieter Scholtz, KPMG Partner and Africa ESG Lead, highlighted the need for organisations to incorporate financial reporting and other ESG strategies into their operations.

According to Scholtz, the legislative stage is coming so it makes no sense for private sector to sit and wait but had become the duty of the sector to get their ESG strategies right.

“It has been proven that sustainability linked products grow six times faster than others while companies that employ net zero emissions are seen to reduce their operating expenses.

“Also, lots of companies are now starting to gain productivity via ESG incorporation so the private sector has to take the aggressive lead seeing that there is no logic in not embracing ESG,” he said.

Mrs Odiri Erewa-Meggison, Director, External Affairs, BAT, emphasising the importance of collaboration to drive ESG integration, said there must be joint programmes to drive innovation for its adoption.

Erwa-Meggison revealed the company’s plans to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 and to continue maintaining its zero accident and high safety portfolio across its factories.

“It is important to have an all stakeholders (inclusive of academia, manufacturing and government) fora on what must be achieved.

“Manufacturers can produce products that are eco-friendly and each part (of us) must come into the whole to achieve what we need to do,” she said.

Mr Musa Usman, the Assistant Director, Environment Quality and Technology, NASREA, called for regulations to encourage manufacturers on pollution control, low carbon emissions, improve circular economy and resource and energy efficiency.

Usman said emission targets must be set for manufacturers while compelling them to align their processes to these standards to ensure reduced carbon footprints.

“Carbon pricing and carbon tax would also compel manufacturing companies to do what’s right.

“These ESG policies must be geared towards promoting lower carbon emissions, and not seen to discourage or hinder companies,” he said. (NAN)

Edited by Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma

FG to focus on alternative power generation sources – Adelabu
Economy/Business , General News

FG to focus on alternative power generation sources – Adelabu

160 total views today

By Constance Athekame

The Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu, says the Federal Government would focus on alternative sources of generation to improve power supply in the country.

Speaking in Abuja on Wednesday while interacting with Power Correspondents, Adelabu said that the plan was to de-emphasise the national grid and focus on distributed power.

According to him, power can be generated and taken to the consumers without passing through the national grid, adding that the best way to achieve the aim would be to focus on alternative sources of generation.

“We want to use small hydros; we have small dams that can generate between 500kilowatts to five megawatts.

“So, we want to focus on that to generate power to identified locations embedded in the distribution network without passing through the transmission network because the capacity and stability of our transmission is still constrained,” he said.

The minister said that government was looking at solar energy as there were a lot of investors that have given the country offers to invest in it.

Adelabu said that a lot of them were asking the government to give them Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) and evacuate it to the grid.

“No, it won’t happen now. Whoever wants to invest in solar power must identify who the off-takers are; our focus should be on off grid power generation.

“We have proposals for offshore wind power in Nigeria, we have potential for this because we are a coastal country. We can have wind fans that will give us very clean power.

“That is what we want to do, why we concentrate on continuously improving the grid and expanding its capacity. We don’t want to wait, we want to generate power and distribute to our people,” he said.

Adelabu said that he had also ordered an investigation into the extension of the licences of Electricity Distribution Companies, otherwise known as DisCos by five years.

”When I came in, the licences I saw were for 10 years, 2013 to 2023. But along the line, I spoke to the NERC Chairman they said they have extended the licences for another five years,” he said.

According to Adelabu, the problem in the power sector was multi–dimensional and cut across the value-chain from generation to transmission and to distribution.

He said that all the stakeholders must be involved to achieve the desired result, as one person cannot solve the problem of the sector.

“We are going to make an impact by turning the industry around to deliver improved power to the doorstep of households, businesses and industries,” Adelabu said.

The minister said that desired results were not achieved in the sector because it had always been top to down approach, which meant that activities moved from generation to transmission and finally to distribution.

Adelabu said that previous governments had always focused on establishing more power plants and getting power generated without so much emphasis on delivering channels.

“If our focus is on distribution, infrastructure improvement and a little of transmission and with the volume of power we generate, we are going to double the delivery to the doorstep of consumers.

“So, what we want to adopt is a bottom up approach which is delivery focus, the little we generate, are we able to get it to consumers?

“So, we are starting from the customer end,” he said.

The minister also urged the media to report objectively, adding that they were partners in achieving the mandate of the present administration of delivering stable power to Nigerians.

“Communication is key in anything you do. No matter how hard you work and you don’t communicate in the right quarters, nobody will know what you are doing,” he said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Bashir Rabe Mani

Old, new  Naira notes remain legal, says CBN
Economy/Business

Old, new  Naira notes remain legal, says CBN

278 total views today

By Kadiri Abdulrahman

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says all Naira notes issued by it remain legal tender.

CBN’s Director, Corporate Communications Department, Isa AbdulMumim, made this clarification in a statement on Wednesday.

AbdulMumim’s clarification was against the backdrop of reported scarcity of Naira notes across some major cities in the country.

According to AbdulMumim, there is sufficient cash stocks in all locations across the country.

“Our attention has been drawn to reports of scarcity of cash across some major cities in the country despite assurances of sufficient cash stocks in all locations across the country.

“There have also been reports of anxiety among some members of the public over the legality or otherwise of old Naira banknotes.

“For the avoidance of doubt, we reiterate that there are sufficient banknotes across the country for all normal economic activity.

“We wish to state unambiguously that every banknote issued by the CBN remains legal tender and should not be rejected by anyone, as stipulated in the CBN Act,” he said.

He said that all branches of the apex bank across the country have been directed to continue to issue different denominations of old and redesigned banknotes in adequate quantities to Deposit Money Banks for onward circulation to bank customers.

Abdulmumim urged the Nigerian public to accept all CBN-issued banknotes currently in circulation and guard against panic withdrawals.

He also advised members of the public to continue to embrace alternative modes of payment to reduce pressure on the use of physical cash.

“We reaffirm that there is sufficient stock of currency notes to facilitate normal economic activities.

“Furthermore, to reduce the pressure on the use of physical cash, Members of the public are again advised to continue to embrace alternative modes of payment,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the CBN, under the leadership of its embattled former governor,  Godwin Emefiele,  announced the introduction of the redesign of N200, N500 and N1,000 banknotes in October,  2022.

Emefiele, had said the banknotes were redesigned due to a request from the President Muhammadu Buhari led Federal Government.

He explained that the Naira redesign policy would enable the CBN to take control of the currency in circulation, manage inflation, combat counterfeiting, and ransom payment

However,  in March, due to the hardship that the policy  brought on Nigerians, the Supreme Court declared that the policy breached the fundamental rights of the citizens in various ways.

The apex court also nullified the policy, declaring it as an affront to the 1999 Constitution.

President Bola Tinubu,  however, extended the deadline for the legal tender status of the old Naira notes to Dec.  31.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Benson Iziama/Isaac Aregbesola

Abidjan-Lagos highway corridor secures .5bn in AIF 2022- Adesina
Banking , Business

Abidjan-Lagos highway corridor secures $15.5bn in AIF 2022- Adesina

229 total views today

By Lucy Ogalue

Dr Akinwumi Adesina, President of African Development Bank (AfDB) said that the Abidjan-Lagos highway corridor has secured a 15.5 billion dollars investment interest.

Adesina said this while welcoming participants at the 2023 Africa Investment Forum (AIF) Market Days in Marrakech, Morocco on Wednesday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event has as its theme,” Unlocking Africa’s Value Chains”.

Adesina said the corridor would transform the entire West African region and speed up regional integration, sustainable economic development and trade.

“In 2022, investment interests were secured for 3.6 billion dollars for the East Africa Railway Corridor, linking Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi.

“We are delighted that the AIF has so far closed on deals’ investment gaps worth 11 billion dollars.

“This ranged from liquified natural gas, renewable energy, agribusiness, industrial manufacturing, creative industry, housing, and transport.

“It is time again for investment action, it is time to do it again,” Adesina said.

According to the AfDB boss, African economies provide some of the best investment opportunities in the world.

He said, “as investors, put your monies where the future is. The future is in Africa and investors should see Africa not from what they hear, but from what the facts say.

“Moody’s Analytics shows Africa’s default rate is the lowest in the world with 2.1 per cent compared to Eastern Europe well over 10 per cent; and Asia well over 8 per cent.

“Africa is not as risky as you perceive. Private equity and venture capital in Africa soared year over year to 7.70 billion dollars.

“The number of deals increased from 211 in 2018 to 404 in 2022, an increase of 91per cent.

“The total transaction value expanded from 4.65 billion dollars in 2018 to 7.70 billion dollars in 2022, an increase of 66 per cent. Invest in Africa and reap high risk-adjusted returns, “Adesina said.

Earlier, the king of Morocco, His Majesty King Mohammed VI, said the Morroco-Nigeria Gas Pipeline Project was part of the country’s endeavour to achieve regional economic integration and cross border development of communities.

“This project will enable all countries along the pipeline route to have access to reliable energy supplies.

“I welcome the interest expressed by bilateral and multilateral partners in this project, and in particular, regional and international financial institutions.

“To provide effective support for the implantation of this strategic project,” he added.

NAN reports that AIF is the place where bankable projects in Africa meet with investors; investors meet with Heads of State and Governments in investment board rooms.

It is also where comfort is given to investments, where risks are managed and where deals are closed.

AIF founded in 2018, is a multi-stakeholder platform that has become the continent’s premier investment platform. It is a flagship initiative of the AfDB, Islamic Development Bank.

It has European Development Bank, Afreximbank, Trade and Development Bank, Development Bank of Southern Africa, Africa Finance Cooperation, Africa 50 as its Founding Partners. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Joseph Edeh

Awosika tasks women entrepreneurs on reinvention
Economy/Business

Awosika tasks women entrepreneurs on reinvention

128 total views today

By Rukayat Adeyemi

Former Chairman of First Bank of Nigeria Ltd., Mrs Ibukun Awosika, has urged women entrepreneurs to reinvent their businesses to remain relevant in the present changing world.

Awosika gave the advice while delivering a keynote address at the 2023 Women High Achievers Trybe (WHAT) conference held in Lagos.

She also described innovation as the major startegic tool for business survival due to changes in the world.

“Your business must be able to reinvent itself per season in today’s world. You must have the courage to discontinue something because it is not working,” she said.

” There are three key stages in entrepreneurship and the ability of an entrepreneur to effectively deploy each stage will determine how successful they will become in the venture.”

She listed the three stages of entrepreneurship as: the ideation process, planning stage and the execution stage.

Awosika urged female entrepreneurs to be open-minded and to find the right human capital for every stage of their business.

“You must determine that you are aware of what you are called to. This means asking if your interest, passion, skills, talent and resources match the market you want to function in.

“In theory, every business looks right, but in execution and real life, there might be few surprises you need to contend with.

“This will help you to make amends at a low cost of losses in any way if you were wrong,” she said.

In her welcome address, the convener of WHAT, Mrs Kiki Okewale, said the conference was organised to build a community of women who would support, promote and patronise one another in life.

Okewale, also a life coach and businesswoman, said that disagreed with the notion that women did not support each other in life or business.

She said: “From childhood, I have seen the strength of sisterhood and I choose to only see the positives.

“I have encountered friends who gave me shelter in my times of need, cousins who opened their doors and countless other women who have lifted me up when life dealt its blows.

According to her, WHAT community is not another random community.

“The brain behind it is for women to make money together, share opportunities, travel the world together and be a great example to every woman out there.

“I welcome you to be part of this beautiful community. We need your uniqueness. Let us move forward with this purpose in our hearts, knowing that together, there is no limit to what we can achieve,” she said.

The Chief Executive Officer, WFM 91.7FM, Mrs Toun Sonaiya, also urged women to collaborate in their various capacities to improve their lives, career, business and families.

Ms Folake Kehinde, the Chief Executive Officer, Folake Aya Akanni Essentials, charged women entrepreneurs to maximise the various social media platforms to market their brands, services and sell their products.

The President, Professional Insurance Ladies Association, Mrs Margaret Moore, enjoined businesswomen to allocate certain amount of their resources to take care of their life, vehicle, burglary and fire, among others.

Moore said this was important for them to transfer their risk to a third party through the premium paid and indemnity that would be paid in case of any loss.

The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that the event attracted not less than 1,000 participants. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Mark Longyen/Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma

Neveah redeems N2.04bn Commercial Paper issuance
Agriculture , Business

Neveah redeems N2.04bn Commercial Paper issuance

245 total views today

By Collins Yakubu-Hammer

Neveah Limited, an Abuja-based leading commodity trading company, dealing in the export of solid minerals and agricultural products, said it redeemed its obligation of the N2.04 billion Series 13 Commercial Paper (CP) notes issued in July.

A CP is a form of unsecured short-term debt security just like a promissory note or bonds, that enable corporate organisations to raise short-term funds from the capital market.

The maximum period for a CP is 270 days; thus, it is usually used to meet companies’ working capital needs.

This is contained in a statement signed by the Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr Ibidapo Lawal on Tuesday in Abuja.

“Our objective is to be the foremost export company for Nigeria’s solid minerals and agricultural products in the country.

“This issuance will assist us in meeting our working capital requirements and further strengthen our capacity to realise our objectives.

“We extend our appreciation to all the parties involved in making this a success,” Lawal said.

Lawal further explained that Neveah aimed to continually improve its business processes, thereby delivering value to stakeholders, both internally and externally.

According to him, this is the 13th CP Neveah is coming to the market to raise funding and at maturity, it is obliged to redeem/pay investors who invested through the CP.

He said that Neveah’s major markets were in Europe, North America and Asia.

“The company was recently awarded the 18th fastest growing company in Africa by Financial Times UK.”

According him, Neveah’s transformation since incorporation in 2014 has been marked by the superlative progress, adding that its revenue has grown by 445 per cent between 2019 and third quarter of 2023.

It has also had expansion of its offerings from a small commodity trading operation to a full-fledged food and agri-business, encompassing semi-finished and consumer goods, commodities trading as well as logistics.

“This exceptional growth facilitated the successful registration of a N20 billion Commercial Paper Programme in April.

“Shortly after that, the company raised N2.04 billion via its Series 13 Commercial Paper Issuance, to meet working capital requirements.

The statement also reported the Managing Director, Investment Banking at United Capital Plc, Dr Gbadebo Adenrele, saying “United Capital Plc is excited to have taken on the role of Lead Arranger in supporting Neveah.

“This accomplishment reflects the company’s dedication to realising its strategic growth objectives.

“We will persist in leveraging our extensive expertise and skills to facilitate Neveah and other small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in accessing the capital markets for funding their growth and expansion strategies.” (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Idris Abdulrahman

MAN, others explore innovation, technology to boost Africa’s manufacturing
Business

MAN, others explore innovation, technology to boost Africa’s manufacturing

195 total views today

 

By Rukayat Moisemhe

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC) and other stakeholders are set to explore innovation, technology and sustainability strategies aimed at accelerating the entire Africa manufacturing industry.

Otunba Francis Meshioye, President, MAN, said this at a news conference on Monday in Lagos to announce the forthcoming Nigeria Manufacturing and Equipment Expo (NME) and Nigerian Raw Materials Expo (NIRAM).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that forthcoming eighth NME and ninth NIRAM is in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and Federal Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation.

Meshioye noted that the event was in line with the plans to drive the manufacturing industry towards a prosperous and sustainable future.

He stated that with the ever evolving landscape of disruptive technologies and trends shaping the future, manufacturers must harness these innovations to foster self-sufficiency.

He said the event scheduled for Nov. 21 to 23, 2023 in Lagos would explore innovative strategies, cutting-edge technologies, and sustainable practices to contribute to Africa’s manufacturing ecosystem growth.

“The event theme: “Future Manufacturing: Building a Sustainable Roadmap to the Industrialisation of Nigeria” highlights the importance of forward-thinking, environmentally responsible, and industry-supportive strategies in manufacturing.

“It is equally essential not to lose sight of the importance of harnessing locally sourced raw materials and availing oneself of critical support services such as financing and logistics.

“This event serves as a pivotal platform for embracing technology to produce our own goods, support sustainable development, and ensure we are not reliant on developed nations.

“We must also remain committed to utilising locally sourced raw materials and leveraging essential support services, including financing and logistics, to drive our manufacturing endeavours and propel us into a prosperous and sustainable future,” he said.

The Director-General, RMRDC, Prof Hussaini Ibrahim, expressed the council’s unwavering commitment to ensuring competitiveness in raw materials and products development.

Ibrahim, represented by Mr John Obekpa, Director, Business Innovation Center, RMRDC, noted that the RMRDC had worked assiduously over the years with stakeholders to increase manufacturers’ access to both basic and secondary raw materials.

He added that it had developed technologies that could produce caustic soda, soap noodles, calcium carbonate, lovastatin, chemicals among others which were hitherto with limited local inputs and heavily imported.

“These innovations and their products would be on display at the expo alongside other local raw materials and products with the hope that a detailed exposê of the nation’s raw materials and their potential to grow the manufacturing sector will be made,” he said. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma

BPP D-G tasks officials on integrity, transparency in govt procurement process
Economy/Business , General News

BPP D-G tasks officials on integrity, transparency in govt procurement process

195 total views today

By Kadiri Abdulrahman

The Director-General, Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP), Mamman Ahmadu, has urged procurement officers to ensure integrity and transparency in their procurement dealings at all times.

In a statement issued by Janet McDickson, BPP’s Head of Media on Monday in Abuja, Ahamadu made the call while addressing participants of 2023 Continuous Procurement Capacity Development Training Programme (CPCDTP).

He commended the zeal they exhibited during the three weeks capacity training and urged them to use the knowledge they acquired to impact positively in their different organisations.

According to him, that will enable them get better results in procurement process and improve the economy.

He also urged them to use and comply with the exam guidelines document given to them.

Earlier, the Director, Research Training and Strategic Planning in the Bureau, Mr Adebowale Adedokun, cautioned the participants against any improper behaviour or any action inimical to the exam guidelines.

Adedokun advised them to strictly apply what they had learnt during the training in the discharge of their duties.

According to him, the examination serves three purposes.

“To prepare them for their roles and responsibilities as procurement officers in achieving the strategic objective of their organisations.

“To test the knowledge of their understanding of the procurement process; and to formerly absorb them into the procurement cadre.” (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Ese E. Eniola Williams

Technology crucial to sanitising mining sector – Alake
Economy/Business , General News

Technology crucial to sanitising mining sector – Alake

155 total views today

Dr Dele Alake, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, has emphasised the significance of technology in sanitising and repositioning the mining sector for greater productivity to attain its full potential.

A statement by Segun Tomori, Special Assistant on Media to the minister, said that Alake made this known on Monday in Abuja when he hosted Mr Uche Nnaji, the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation.

“Technology will reposition the sector to enable it contribute substantially to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Tinubu administration,” the statement quoted Alake as saying.

It further quoted Alake as saying that the solid minerals sector relies on a huge dose of technology to sanitise areas such as scientific geo-data generation, security challenges and other ancillary matters around the mining value chain.

“For instance, the security architecture that we are rejigging, we are going to inject a large measure of technology into it.

“Where else do we go outside the science, innovation and technology ministry to assist us in this regard?

“That’s why my brother Minister has come in and we are consolidating, discussing and moving the issue forward to ensure that at the end of the day, there is synergy in all our operations.

“That was part of the essence of the ministerial retreat we had last week.

“The visit is in furtherance of our collaborative efforts to ensure that the solid minerals ministry is a beneficiary of all the innovations that will be pushed out,” the minister added.

In his remarks, Nnaji affirmed the imperative of partnership to assist the solid minerals ministry to take advantage of innovations that would keep the minister abreast of activities within the mining sector.

“We have a lot of innovations in Science and Technology. We have a satellite approach to what they do in solid minerals ministry such that even on the minister’s desk here, he can see all the licenses they have issued and be able to monitor.

“It means that whenever there is an intrusion into a mining area or someone is mining illegally, he will notice.

“All of these, and even more, he will be will be able to decipher from his desk. That is part of the discussion we have held. We want to actually be in consonance with the Renewed Hope agenda,” Nnaji asserted. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Ephraims Sheyin

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