TheNewsGuru

Tag: Oil

  • Wike rubbishes Zamfara gold comments ascribed to him

    Wike rubbishes Zamfara gold comments ascribed to him

    The Rivers State Government has rubbished comments ascribed to Governor Nyesom Wike in connection with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) purchasing N5 billion worth of gold from the Zamfara State Government.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the Rivers State Government made this known via a statement released on Sunday by the Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications, Paulinus Nsirim.

    According to the statement, Governor Wike never expressed unhappiness with the decision of the CBN to buy gold from Zamfara State or demanded that gold should be made a national cake or that he too would proceed to own a gold well in Zamfara State.

    The statement reads: “The attention of the Rivers State Government has been drawn to a completely false and misleading story circulating in the Social Media, that Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State made some remarks in connection with a report that the Central Bank of Nigeria will purchase N 5billion worth of Gold from the Zamfara State Government.

    “The purveyors of this barefaced fallacy suggested in their warped story, that Governor Wike was unhappy with the decision of the CBN to buy Gold from Zamfara State.

    “They claimed that Governor Wike who lamented that the same privileged attention has not been given to the oil from Rivers State, demanded that Gold should be made a national cake, adding that he too would proceed to own a gold well in Zamfara State.

    “Let us state here categorically that Governor Wike never made such a statement. Infact, we note with a sense of relief, that no major, mainstream News media or Press Organization, either print, electronic or online, attached to Government House, Port Harcourt, carried this concocted story.

    “So it is a wonder where the mushroom, less than credible social media outlets got the comments, which they claimed Governor Wike made “while addressing the Press.”

    “It has indeed become the ugly penchant in recent times, of some cynical and dubious detractors, to drop or insert Governor Wike’s name in their calculated crusade to ignite unprovoked conflict with the hidden ploy to disrupt the recently emerging warm cordiality which has defined the relationship between him and some leaders across geopolitical divides in the country.

    “These naysayers have also commenced a devious gambit to insidiously tarnish the overwhelming goodwill which the burgeoning image and reputation of Governor Wike has been enjoying across the country and this latest story is simply the latest installment of their failed efforts.

    “Those familiar with Governor Wike will know that he does not need to resort to such churlish and petty grandstanding portrayed in the silly story, to speak up on any matter whatsoever.

    “The write up is thus just another figment of the convoluted imagination of its authors. They goofed big time on this one.

    “Nigerians are therefore advised to completely disregard the story, especially now that the Federal Government, the CBN and the Zamfara State Government have all come out to speak clearly on the matter and set the records straight”.

  • Oil jumps above $41 as storm hits U.S. output

    Oil jumps above $41 as storm hits U.S. output

    Oil rose for a second day on Wednesday, gaining more than two per cent, as a hurricane closed U.S. offshore production and an industry report showed U.S. crude inventories unexpectedly decreased.

    More than a quarter of U.S. offshore output was shut on Tuesday due to Hurricane Sally.

    The American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday said crude inventories fell 9.5 million barrels, rather than increased as analysts expected.

    Brent crude rose 86 cents or 2.1 per cent to $41.39 a barrel by 1012 GMT, while U.S. crude added 85 cents or 2.2 per cent to $39.13.

    Both contracts rose by more than two per cent on Tuesday.

    “Overnight, the APE provided a further injection of bullish impetus,’’ said Stephen Greenock of oil broker P.M.

    “As much as a feel-good factor appears to have returned to the oil market, underlying fundamentals remain far from supportive.’’

    The storm-related shutdowns may help reduce the stockpile, although refineries were also closed, cutting demand.

    Official Energy Information Administration stocks data, which does not always confirm the APE figures, is due at 1430 GMT.

    “Oil prices were lent further support by the APE and the weather,’’ said Commerzbank analyst, Eugene Weinberg.

    “Despite an unfavourable fundamental and technical backdrop.’’

    Oil prices collapsed to historic lows as the coronavirus crisis hit demand.

    A record supply cut by OPEC and its allies, known as OPEC+, and an easing of lockdowns have helped Brent recover from a 21-year low below $16 in April.

    Prices have dropped in September, pressured by rising virus cases and concerns about demand.

    The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and International Energy Agency have both cut their demand outlooks this week.

    A panel of OPEC+ oil ministers meets to review the supply pact on Thursday and is unlikely to recommend further output curbs despite the price drop, sources told Reuters.

  • Why exclusion of CSOs from 2020 marginal oil fields bid is bad for process

    Why exclusion of CSOs from 2020 marginal oil fields bid is bad for process

    A coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) has decried their exclusion from the proposed Marginal Oil fields’ bid rounds announced by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).

    The group’s protest was contained in a letter to the DPR, jointly signed by the National Coordinator, Publish What You Pay (PWYP) Nigeria, Peter Egbule; Executive Director Centre for Transparency Advocacy (CTA), Faith Nwadishi.

    Others include Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Rafsanjani Auwal Musaand, Chairman, Human and environmental Development Agenda (HEDA) Olanrewaju Suraj.

    Others are the National President, Green Alliance Nigeria (GAN) Chima Williams, Chief Executive Connected Development (CODE) Hamzat Lawal; National Coordinator, Media Initiative on Transparency in Extractive Industry (MITEI) Bassey Udo and Programmes Manager, Selemati Foundation, Rita Kigbara.

    Also, Executive Director, Enough is Enough (EiE) Nigeria, Yemi Ademolokun; Principal Lead, BudgIT Foundation, Gabriel Okeowo, Director Civic Media Lab, Akinfolarin Oluwaseun, and Programmes Officer, West African NGO Network (WANGONeT) Sandra Dike.

    The coalition said that the published bid guidelines by DPR did not involve CSOs among agencies that would monitor the exercise of the Federal Government’s planned award of 57 marginal oil fields’ licenses.

    The CSOs said that the published guidelines for the auction were fraught with provisions that might hamper the interest of genuine bidders in the oil fields and deny the country the benefits of set objectives.

    They emphasized strict adherence to globally accepted best-practices, while expressing doubts that the current exercise would bring a different result from the past, if government did not make the process more transparent.

    They, therefore, advocated the immediate inclusion of about two civil society representatives in the bidders screening team as observers to build public trust and investors’ confidence in the bid process.

    The group also sought strong legislative oversight by the National Assembly and involvement of the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) before, during and after the exercise to avoid the experiences of the past.

    “After reviewing the guidelines, and putting into perspective, past experiences and pitfalls of similar processes, we deem it important to draw your attention to some of the points that can hinder the success of the process, or limit Nigeria from deriving optimal financial and socio-economic benefits from the exercise.

    “We are prepared to play our roles as civil society in support of this very important national exercise with the understanding that it is intended and designed to deliver the overriding interest of Nigeria and Nigerians,” it said.

    The group identified licensing as one of the weakest links for value realisation from Nigeria’s petroleum industry, adding that previous exercises between 2000 and 2007 not only fell below global best practices, it failed to secure maximum value for the country’s assets.

    To deliver the expected increase in revenue and proven crude oil reserves as well as increase in daily crude oil production, the group said the government must ensure the set goals conformed to the country’s long-term planning objectives in the sector.

    According to the CSOs, previous licensing rounds in the country were not tied to any comprehensive asset development strategy or broader economic development plans.

    They added that each licensing round of objectives must align with the country’s strategy for managing natural resource base for current and future generations.

    The group also called on the government to strengthen the National Data Repository Geological system by making authenticated and certified data easily accessible to bidders to attract capable investors to the oil assets on auction.

    On the bidding process, the group urged the DPR to adhere to the published guidelines and criteria on the bid to avoid confusion and ensure due process, noting that the de-politicised criteria must be developed to support local content without compromising the sector’s development potential or returns.

    “Nigeria must resist the tendency to extend preferential treatment to companies solely because they are local and well-connected.

    “The DPR should amend the guidelines to accommodate the disclosure by all bidders of ‘sworn declaration, complete, comprehensive and accurate information on their ultimate beneficial owner(s).

    “This will show that Nigeria is fully compliant with her obligations under the EITI and Open Government Partnership (OGP) principles, transparency and a level-playing-field that will not allow ‘business as usual’ by vested interests,” they said.

  • Looming implosion: Reps warn against over-dependence on oil

    Looming implosion: Reps warn against over-dependence on oil

    The House of Representatives has urged the federal government to direct its energy, resources and focus on how to diversify the economy from dependence on oil to avert a looming implosion.

    The House also called on the federal government to set up a special committee to deliberate on the post-oil economy in Nigeria and make appropriate recommendations that would guarantee the survival of the nation’s economy.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the House made the call on Tuesday, following a motion on the need to make adequate plans and preparation for a post-oil economy in Nigeria, moved by Rep. Abass Adigun.

    The House noted that as a result of technological developments and breakthroughs, many advanced countries of the world have indicated their intentions to phase out the production of vehicles powered by petrol and diesel and replace them with the ones powered by renewable energy, at various times before year 2040.

    The House also noted that the governments of France, the United Kingdom and Holland have stated their plans to ban the sale of diesel and petrol vehicles between 2025 and 2040 in a push to clean up polluted cities, and further noted that some companies have started producing electric cars and non-grid solar panels to provide electricity in homes as a replacement for noisy, unwieldy, gas-guzzling electricity plants and an example of such companies is Tesla, an American electric car manufacturer which produced about 80,000 electric cars in 2016,100,000 electric cars in 2017, 86,555 electric cars in 2018 and produced 77,100 electric cars in the first quarter of 2019.

    “Aware that the implication of this is that in no distant time, crude oil would have lost its global economic value and relevance; Also aware that on 27 April 2020, British oil and gas giant, BP, declared a quarterly loss of $4.4 billion as against the profit of $2.6 billion made in the first quarter of 2019 which is a testament to the fact that the oil and gas sector is already in crisis;

    “Further aware that as a result of the deadly Covid-19 pandemic ravaging the world now, crude oil now sells for as low as $18.94 per barrel. Nigeria has so much crude oil but no country is willing to buy at the right price and do not have adequate storage facilities in the country; Concerned that this development is bound to adversely affect the nation’s economy if adequate plans are not made in preparation for a post-oil economy as more than 80% of our foreign exchange income is realized from the sale of crude oil;

    “Also concerned that the continuous dependence on crude oil is failing Nigeria as the era of oil is gone and it will be destructive if we continue to base our development projections on crude oil and Nigeria is never going to become an industrialized nation by selling more oil, even if the oil market recovers,” the motion reads.

    Meanwhile, the House recalled that in 1957, agriculture formed 86% of our export revenue but today, the figure is less than 3%. as the country has gone from being a net exporter of agricultural products to a net importer of food products; and “cognizant that Saudi Arabia, despite its massive oil reserves, is working hastily towards its Vision 2030, which requires it to diversify from its dependence on oil;

    “Also cognizant that United Arab Emirates despite being a young nation, has managed to diversify its economy from almost complete reliance on oil in the 1970s to a country where 72% of the GDP comes from non-oil sectors of the economy such as aviation, tourism and services sectors;

    “Convinced that this present awakening is a blessing in disguise as it should compel the government to take far-reaching actions that will free the nation from the entrapment of crude oil economy;

    “Also convinced that Nigeria’s diversification should embrace agriculture as the primary sector earmarked for development because agriculture is key to ensuring food security and sustenance;

    “Further convinced that with about 60% of its land assessed as arable, Nigeria is capable of becoming the food basket of the rest of Africa and in the process, it can capture a substantial portion of the $48 billion that goes towards food imports in Africa yearly;

    “Again convinced that when the huge opportunities of agriculture are combined with an invigorated manufacturing and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sectors, then a new era of prosperity and sustainability will beckons, for Nigeria”.

    Following debate on the motion seconded by Rep. Ahmed Jaha, the House also urged the Federal Government to liberalize land tenure system to make it possible and easy for some of the 27 million unemployed Nigerians to have access to land to engage in farming; while also mandating the Committees on Petroleum Resources (Downstream and Upstream) and National Planning and Economic Development to ensure compliance.

  • BREAKING: PENGASSAN orders suspension of crude oil production over Wike’s arrest of Exxonmobil workers

    BREAKING: PENGASSAN orders suspension of crude oil production over Wike’s arrest of Exxonmobil workers

    Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, Sunday directed members to shut operations and all activities at the nation’s oil rigs and export terminals from midnight over the detention of 21 offshore members by the Rivers State Government since Thursday.

    THe association revealed in a statement on Sunday that by midnight today all export facilities will stop operation as well as suspension of Production & Maintenance Services Reports.

    Statement reads: Recall that on Thursday the 16th of April 2020, we raised the alarm over the illegal arrest and detention of 21(19 male and 2 female) member staff of ExxonMobil by the Rivers State Police Command on the pretext that they violated the State Executive Order on the prevention of movement to curtail the spread of the Coronavirus in the state.

    It is more than 48 hours today that these patriotic workers who were lured from the border between Rivers and Akwa Ibom are still detained under inhabitable and inhuman conditions and denied access to basic necessities of life at Elekhahia Stadium. All entreaties to the Rivers State Government to see reasons that they were on essential duties which is for the economic interest of the country have been rebuffed.

    Also, it has become obvious that the Federal Government who through the Presidential Task Force on the COVID-19 Pandemic cannot guarantee access to work locations for our members who have volunteered to sacrifice their lives and comfort to salvage the Country from the impending economic crisis occasioned by this world-wide

    The Federal Government and relevant authorities having failed to secure the release of these 21 comrades on legitimate national assignment, the leadership of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), having no other option regrettably direct all our members to commence the withdrawal of services as follows;

    1. By midnight Sunday 19th April 2020, all Export facilities will stop operation as well as suspension of Production & Maintenance Services Reports.

    2. That by 12 noon on Monday 20th April all our members will withdraw all forms of services relating to crude oil production, refining, distribution and supplies.

    This directive will remain in force until assurances of our members’ safety are guaranteed by Federal Government. We are in consultation with our units, branches and other sister Unions who will also be joining the action as
    the safety of our members is our uttermost priority.

    Comrade Ndukaku M. Ohaeri
    President, PENGASSAN

    Comrade Lumumba Okugbawa
    General Secretary, PENGASSAN

    Cc: FML&E; GMD; DSS; IGP; DPR; MPR; IOC’SRecall that on Thursday the 16th of April 2020, we raised the alarm over the illegal arrest and detention of 21(19 male and 2 female) member staff of ExxonMobil by the Rivers State Police Command on the pretext that they violated the State Executive Order on the prevention of movement to curtail the spread of the Coronavirus in the state.

    It is more than 48 hours today that these patriotic workers who were lured from the border between Rivers and Akwa Ibom are still detained under inhabitable and inhuman conditions and denied access to basic necessities of life at Elekhahia Stadium. All entreaties to the Rivers State Government to see reasons that they were on essential duties which is for the economic interest of the country have been rebuffed.

    Also, it has become obvious that the Federal Government who through the Presidential Task Force on the COVID-19 Pandemic cannot guarantee access to work locations for our members who have volunteered to sacrifice their lives and comfort to salvage the Country from the impending economic crisis occasioned by this world-wide

    The Federal Government and relevant authorities having failed to secure the release of these 21 comrades on legitimate national assignment, the leadership of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), having no other option regrettably direct all our members to commence the withdrawal of services as follows;

    1. By midnight Sunday 19th April 2020, all Export facilities will stop operation as well as suspension of Production & Maintenance Services Reports.

    2. That by 12 noon on Monday 20th April all our members will withdraw all forms of services relating to crude oil production, refining, distribution and supplies.

    This directive will remain in force until assurances of our members’ safety are guaranteed by Federal Government. We are in consultation with our units, branches and other sister Unions who will also be joining the action as
    the safety of our members is our uttermost priority.

    Comrade Ndukaku M. Ohaeri
    President, PENGASSAN

    Comrade Lumumba Okugbawa
    General Secretary, PENGASSAN

    Cc: FML&E; GMD; DSS; IGP; DPR; MPR; IOC’S

  • Oil prices fall after OPEC, allies approve 10mbpd Production Cut

    Oil prices fall after OPEC, allies approve 10mbpd Production Cut

    Oil prices fell from an initial rise recorded on Thursday after major global oil producers agreed to put a ceiling on the volume of the commodity to produce per day.

    This agreement by oil producers was reached to counter the collapse in demand due to lockdowns around the world influenced by coronavirus.

    The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and Russia and other producers known as OPEC+ were reported to have agreed to reduce to cut output by 10 million per day, ending an oil price war between Saudi and Russia, which had put further pressure on prices.

    However, the market reacted negatively to the news after details of the proposal, which as at press time had not been formally agreed by OPEC ministers, emerged.

    Brent crude, the global benchmark, dropped 89 cents or 2.28 percent to trade at $32.09 per barrel. As for the US benchmark, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI), it fell by $1.57 or 6.26 percent to $23.51 per barrel.

    Oil prices had been pointing up in the morning ahead of the meeting but they turned negative as traders awaited confirmation of the cut, including how it would be divided among the OPEC++ members as well as the production numbers on which the cut would be based.

    Even when this was revealed, the market did not surge as expected. It was disclosed that Saudi Arabia and Russia, the two biggest producers in the deal, agreed between them to cut about 5 million per day, while other producers agreed to remove an additional 5 million barrels.

    The cartel also called on the US and Canada, among other countries, to cut another 5 million barrels per day when G20 energy ministers hold an extraordinary meeting on Friday, April 10.

    The cut of 10 million barrels per day of oil production will last for two months- May and June, but the unexpected hand of the market did not move in favour as it had hoped for a larger cut as reports before the meeting had suggested that Saudi Arabia and Russia were discussing cuts that could take a record 20 million barrels per day of global production offline.

    Before Thursday, the market had been watching for cuts in the 10 million to 15 million barrels per day range after President Donald Trump said he had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and expected them to announce a deal of that size.

    If oil prices don’t let on, it will mean more problem for the market facing a large demand drop due to the coronavirus spread, but the market might take a turn when the full details of the final deal, expected to be announced after the G20 meeting on Friday.

  • Brent hits $45 as OPEC, Russia disagree on daily production cuts

    Brent hits $45 as OPEC, Russia disagree on daily production cuts

    Oil prices took a worse turn on Friday evening after Russia rejected the proposal to cut daily oil production by 1.5 million barrels. This development further dented the already battered market.

    After the meeting, Russia refused to support the move, arguing that it was too early to predict the impact of a coronavirus outbreak on global energy demand. This means bigger trouble for oil dependent nations like Nigeria as prices continue to fall below their budget benchmark for the year. Nigeria had a benchmark of $57 per barrel in the 2020 budget.

    As at the time of filing this report, the international benchmark, Brent Crude, plunged by 8.20 percent equivalent to $4.09 to trade at $45.90, while the US crude, the West Texas Intermediate fell by a staggering 8.45 percent or $3.88 to $42.02 per barrel.

    With the failure of this deal, OPEC members and non-OPEC producers can produce the commodity at will in an already oversupplied market after the existing deal for output cuts expire at the end of March.

    And with an oil-glut imminent, prices will have no choice but to continue dropping.

    On Thursday, OPEC members backed an additional 1.5 million barrels per day of oil cuts until the end of 2020, equal to around 1.5 percent of global demand, a much bigger and more extended move than expected of 600,000 barrels per day.

    They also called for extending existing OPEC+ cuts of 2.1 million barrels per day, meaning the proposed combined total of the cuts envisaged would have been 3.6 million bpd or about 3.6 percent of global supplies.

    But they made the proposal on the condition that Russia and other non-producers will agree to the deal, but with the disagreement, analysts foresee a bad stain on a market already faced with the disruption by the coronavirus.

  • FIRS targets trillions in tax from oil, gas companies

    FIRS targets trillions in tax from oil, gas companies

    The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) said it would rake in four trillion naira as tax revenue from the extractive sector of the Nigerian economy in the 2020 fiscal year.

    The FIRS made this known in a statement issued by Abdullahi Ahmad, Director, Communications and Liaison Department in the service in Abuja on Tuesday.

    The statement said the Executive Chairman, FIRS, Mr Muhammad Nami, disclosed this when a team of the Nigerian office of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) paid him a courtesy visit.

    Nami solicited the support of the OECD in stemming the tax evasion scheme of oil majors and multinationals operating in Nigeria through the illegal act of transfer pricing under which these foreign companies dodged tax and transfer their profit offshore.

    The FIRS boss underscored the need for capacity-building, information sharing, data interpretation, usage and related technical synergy with the OECD in order to meet tax revenue targets in the extractive industry and the newly emergent Digital Economy.

    He observed that revolution in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) had made physical filing of tax returns obsolete.

    Nami, however, stated that ICT had also made tax collection more complex, especially in trans-border trade and trans-continental commerce.

    According to him, in such trade big players like Amazon, Google, facebook, Alibaba and other e-commerce corporations do big business around, drive the digital economy and yet countries find it difficult to take due tax from the huge economic activities these online giants engage in.

    “This is more so for developing countries like Nigeria where our people buy luxury goods more and more online while these big online stores don’t pay any tax to us.

    “The complexity of the digital economy to the tax authorities also extents to the telecommunication and financial sectors, including the emerging trades and the exchange carried out using digital currency,” he said.

    Similarly, Nami when he received the Comptroller-General (CG), Federal Fire Service, Dr Liman Alhaji Ibrahim, commended the service for its prompt response during a fire incident that occurred at its building in 2019.

    He called for more synergy and collaboration between the FIRS and the Fire Service.

  • Analysis: Prices of Oil, Foodstuffs Escalate as Border Closure Bites Harder

    Nigeria’s inflation rose to 11.98 percent in December 2019, driven by increases recorded in food prices as a result of the border closure. Not too long ago, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released a report on selected food price watch for the month.

    A careful analysis of the report however showed that rice, one of the major commodities consumed in the country, which was once of the reasons for the closure of the land borders due to smuggling into Nigeria, recorded a 3.2 percent increase in price from N445 (per kg) in November 2019 to N460 in December, while it saw a 24.1 percent increase year-on-year.

    It was stated that the locally produced variant equally recorded an increase of 0.84 percent month-on-month to N382/kg from N379/kg recorded in the previous month, while there was 20 percent rise year-on-year.

    Titus frozen fish, according to the stats office, increased in the period under review by 0.6 percent to N981 per kilo, which showed a year-on-year increase of 5.9 percent. Also, mackerel fish went up by 0.2 percent to N953 per kg, while year-on-year, prices rose 2.0 percent.

    For tomato, there was an increase by 5.1 percent to N264 per kg in December compared to N251/kg in November 2019, while on a year-to-year basis, it went down by 2.8 percent.

    At the dairy session, with the country’s restriction on frozen birds from neighbouring countries, the price of frozen chicken dropped by 0.64 percent in the month of December to N1996 per kg, despite a 22.8 percent year-on-year increase. Chicken feet recorded a 1.80 percent rise to N699 per kg on average while it saw a 5.3 decrease in price in the same period of 2018. The price of chicken wings also rose by 2.5 percent in December to N916 per kg, while on a year-on-year, it dropped by 3.0 percent.

    The average price of one dozen of Agric eggs medium size decreased month-on month by 1.32 percent to N457.80 in December 2019 from N463.91 in November and year-on-year by 1.96 percent, while the average price of piece of Agric eggs medium size (price of one) decreased year-on-year by 4.37 percent and month-on-month by 1.13 percent to N40.72 in December 2019 from N41.18 in November 2019.

    Brown beans dropped 2.5 percent month-on-month to N299 per kilo and on year-on-year basis, it decreased by 23 percent in price, while white beans dropped by 1.1 percent to N281 per kg and 18.3 percent year-on-year.

    The price of beef – with bones rose in the month of December by 1.91 percent to N1,046, and by 4.8 percent year-on-year, while the boneless variety dropped by 0.04 percent in December to N1293 per kg, but recorded a 1.71 percent increase year-on-year.

    For the price of white gaari at the market, it dropped by 0.41 percent in December to average of N159 per kg, which is a 4.4 percent year-on-year decrease, while on the other hand, the yellow gaari increased by 1.1 percent to N183 per kg in December, but dropped 6.5 percent year-on-year.

    Yam recorded a 1.8 percent rise to average N207 per kilo month-on-month in December 2019 and 2.7 percent year-on-year.

    The price of groundnut oil rose by 0.07 percent month-on-month in December to N580 for a litre, while it dropped 0.87 percent year-on-year. Also, the price of vegetable oil rose by 0.7 percent in December to N516 per litre and increased by 1.67 percent year-on-year. For the price of palm oil, it increased by 0.5 percent month-on-month to N469, but decreased by 1.1 percent year-on-year.

  • FG earned N5.04tn from oil in 11 months – CBN

    Between January and November last year, the Federal Government made about N5.04tn from the sale of oil, figures obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria have revealed.

    The oil revenue, according to the CBN economic report for November, was lower than the N8.77tn revenue target provided for in the 2019 budget for the 11-month period.

    A breakdown of the N5.04tn oil revenue showed that the sum of N363.9bn was generated from crude oil and gas exports, while the sum of N2.94tn was generated from Petroleum Profit Tax and Royalties.

    A monthly breakdown of the oil revenue showed that N417.3bn was earned in January, while February, March, April, May and June had N479.5bn, N516.9bn, N472.4bn, N410.2bn and N336.6bn respectively.

    For the months of June, the country through the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation made the sum of N336.6bn; July had N387.7bn; August, N484.8bn while September, October and November had N467.6bn, N577.3bn and N489.1bn respectively.

    The decrease in oil revenue, relative to the monthly budget estimate, was attributed to shut-ins and shut-downs at some NNPC terminals.

    The shutdown, according to findings, was due to pipeline leakages and maintenance activities.

    The report read in part, “Oil receipt, at N489.08bn or 56.9 per cent of total revenue, was below both the monthly budget of N798.83bn and the preceding month’s receipt of N577.30bn by 38.8 per cent and 15.3 per cent respectively.”

    Experts have said there is a need for government to broaden its revenue sources in order to raise adequate revenue to finance its expenditure.

    The Lead Director, Centre for Social Justice, Eze Onyekpere, said that a good part of the revenue projections of government was not done in line with current economic realities.

    He said, “Generally, our revenue projections have severally missed the mark over the years. The projections and forecasts suffer from lack of realism. In 2016, revenue projections fell short by 23 per cent; in 2017, it fell short by 47.73 per cent and in 2018 by 45 per cent.

    “This indicates that overall, a good part of our revenue projections has not been based on empirical evidence. Further, if projected revenue in 2018 was N7.1tn and we missed the mark by 45 per cent and have also missed the mark by 30 per cent in the half year of 2019, the further increase in projected revenue to N8.15tn in 2020 seems to be hanging in the air.”