- The ongoing petrol scarcity in Nigeria took a tragic turn as three people were burnt to death is a fire that happened when jerry-cans of petrol they were carrying in a bus exploded. The incident happened in Lagos. Marketers have said the supply of petrol by the NNPC has dropped, and this has lead to people spending hours in queues for petrol. The NNPC had recently increased its direct petrol imports to more than 70 per cent of Nigeria’s needs, leaving private marketers to import the rest.
- According to BusinessDay, international mining outfits such as Astra, Barrick, Mitsubishi Materials and Newsmont are avoiding investing into Nigeria as a result of unclear policies. They are also worried by the poor level of knowledge shown by Nigeria’s mining administrators and the government officials who fail to understand that they must first pursue companies well known for exploratory activities, to invest. There is also a poor knowledge of Nigeria’s solid minerals viability and marketability in the global space. Experts say part of the problem is also that investors see Nigeria as an oil nation only, rather than a country with strong solid minerals potential, as they prefer countries such as South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, who are known to have developed mining infrastructure. Meanwhile, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Kayode Fayemi has set up a seventeen man committee to prepare a roadmap for Nigeria’s solid minerals sector. The committee which has Professor Ibrahim Garba as chairman, according to the minister, is to produce a 25 years action plan for the transformation of the solid minerals sector. The document is to contain a short-term action plan of 24 months, mid-term plan of 10 years and long-term plan of 25 years.
- The naira has again depreciated in value against the American dollar across foreign exchange markets due to the continued shortage of the dollar. The naira closed at
N330/$ on Tuesday. However, the CBN’s clearing rate at the interbank market yesterday remained unchanged atN197/$. Nigeria’s dollar reserves fell to $27.8 billion by February 25, a 1.6 percent decline from a month earlier, according to CBN data. That marked an 11.91 percent decline from the $31.57 billion recorded a year earlier. - Dangote Cement has declared a Profit After Tax of
N181.3 billion for the financial year ended December 31, 2015. This is contained in the company’s audited result released by the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Tuesday in Lagos. The profit represented a growth of 13.67 percent as against theN151.5 billion posted in 2014. Dangote Cement’s Profit Before Tax stood atN188.3 billion compared withN184.7 billion achieved in the corresponding period of 2014.
