Vanguard , THURSDAY, AUGUST 16, 2012—15
FEC approves N1.2bn Obudu Dam rehabilitation project BY BEN AGANDE
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BUJA—FEDERAL Executive Council, FEC, yesterday, approved a contract for the rehabilitation of Obudu Dam in Cross River State at the cost of N1.165 billion. This is to enable Cross River State government carry out its regional urban water supply project, which will cover four communities of Obudu, Ogoja, Ikom and Calabar. Minister of Water Resources, Mrs. Stella Ochepe, who joined her Information counterpart, Labaran Maku, to ad-
dress newsmen after the meeting, said the dam, which belongs to the Federal Government, had been in a state of disrepair for some time. She said: “The Cross River State government has since 2005 got an International Development Association, IDA, loan to develop the regional water scheme that will meet the needs of these communities in the state. “Because of the state of Obudu Dam, it has been impossible for that project to commence. The contract was awarded at the cost of N1.165 billion.”
Ochepe said the dam was due for rehabilitation under the World Bank Assisted Second National Urban Sector Reform Project. She said: “It has a storage capacity of 1.25 million cubic metres and is for multipurpose use. Other uses include irrigation for about 100 hectares of agricultural land, fisheries and tourism. Cross River State government is carrying out rehabilitation in the water sector. “It is reforming its water sector, but they need a source of raw water and the World Bank insists that the integrity of every
dam they are using must be assessed. “Obudu dam was assessed and it was discov-
ered it needed rehabilitation and that was why they gave the note for rehabilitation work to be carried
FG, states, LGs share N564bn from Federation Acct BY CALEB AYANSINA
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BUJA—FEDERAL Government and the two other tiers of government, yesterday, shared N564 billion from the Federation Account and proceeds from the Value Added Tax, VAT, earned in July, which will be
used for August expenditure. A total of N825 billion accrued into the Statutory Account as gross revenue, but only N458.670 billion was available for distribution among the three tiers of government, while N53.910 was earned from VAT.
Nigeria revenue up 8% in July on higher oil sales N
IGERIA’S gross gov ernment revenues rose by eight per cent to N825.39 billion in July, from N763.55 billion in May due to higher crude oil exports, the finance ministry said on Wednesday. Nigeria distributed N564.08 billion to the three tiers of government for July while N213.10 billion naira was added to the the excess crude account (ECA), Minister of State for Finance Yerima Ngamma told reporters. Ngamma said government has removed $1 billion from the ECA, where Africa’s biggest oil producer saves money it earns from crude sales over a benchmark price, currently $72 a barrel. Also, Nigeria is likely to be included in JP Morgan’s Government Bond Index - Emerging Markets (GBI-EM) from October, potentially bringing up to $1 billion into one of Africa’s most developed debt markets, the bank said on Wednesday. The inclusion of Nigeria, which will become the second African constituent of the index after South Africa, will be phased over three months, from October 1 to December 3, JP Morgan said. With around $170 billion of assets under management benchmarked against the index and given that Nigeria is expected to have a weight of 0.59 percent in the index by December 3, there could be over $1 billion flowing into its local bond market in the coming months, said Giulia Pellegrini, JP Morgan economist and strategist
zNigeria to be included in JP Morgan government bond index for Sub-Saharan Africa. She said, “This is a game-changer for the Nigerian bond market. With yields currently north of 16 per cent, offering a hefty premium to the current GBI-EM Index yield of 5.8 per cent, that estimate may well be revised to the upside as investors are attracted by the possibility to capture higher returns than in the other local markets in the index.” Inclusion in the index would also support the efforts of the Nigerian government to deepen the bond market, Pellegrini added.
XXONMOBIL’S Ni geria unit said it was investigating an oil spill near its facility off the country ’s southeast coast, which local fishermen said had covered the waters where they fish with a toxic film. Mobil Producing Nigeria, a joint venture between ExxonMobil and the state oil firm, said on Wednesday that relevant government agencies had been notified of the spill. “Mobil Producing Nigeria ... confirms that oiling from an unknown source has been sighted along the shoreline near Ibeno, Akwa Ibom State,” spokesman Nigel Cookey-Gam said. “An emergency response team was immediately dispatched to the
The table of distribution showed that Federal Government took N217.770 billion from the statutory revenue and N7.763 billion from VAT proceeds. States got N110.456 billion from the federal account and another N25.877 billion from VAT, while the local governments were allocated N85.157 billion from the federation account and N18.114 billion from VAT. The nine oil-producing states received an additional N45.287 billion as 13 percent oil revenue derivation.
Post-Ramadan activities suspended over Emir's health BY ABDULSALAM MUHAMMAD
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Governor Owelle Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, with Senator Francis Arthur Nzeribe at Sam Mbakwe Cargo Airport, Owerri recently.
ExxonMobil investigates Akwa Ibom oil spill E
out. This project will be financed 200 percent by IDA credit. The contract sum is N1.165 billion.”
shoreline, and samples of the substance were collected for fingerprinting to determine its source, which remains unknown,” he said, adding that MPN remained committed to maintaining high safety, health and environmental standards in its our operations and the well-being of our neighbouring communities. Sam Ayadi, a fisherman in Ibeno, said by telephone that no one had been able to go fishing since the spill was first noticed on Sunday. “The fishermen are still off the waters due to the spill. We cannot return yet. We are waiting for Mobil to open to discussions with us about what happened,” he said. Oil spills are common
in Africa’s top energy producer. Stretches of the Niger Delta, a fragile wetlands environment, are coated in crude. Thousands of barrels are spilled every year, and lax enforcement means there are few penalties. The companies say the majority of spills are from armed oil thieves hacking into or blowing up pipelines to steal crude, an activity they estimate saps nearly a fifth of Nigeria’s output. A landmark U.N. report in August last year slammed the government and multinational oil companies, particularly leading operator Royal Dutch Shell for 50 years of oil pollution that has devastated the Ogoniland region.
The government and oil majors have pledged to clean up the region and other parts of the delta, but residents say they have seen very little action. “Because of this spill we have not been going to fish again since Sunday. So we are suffering because this is the only work we do as fishermen,” Inyang Ekong said. “This is what we go through each time there is a spill, and that is why the prices of fish are going higher every day.” Several communities have taken Shell to court over a failure to clean up spills, although the oil major says insecurity and rampant oil theft are hampering cleanup efforts.
ANO—KANO emir ate, yesterday, announced the suspension, for the first time, the 700 years tradition of postRamadan festivities because of the ailing Emir, Alhaji Ado Bayero. A senior Councillor in the emirate council, Alhaji Abbas Sanusi, said the 15th Fulani emir would only attend the Eid prayers on Sallah day. Sanusi, who is also the Wambai Kano, said: “All other celebrations, from Sallah homage, visit to the state governor and the traditional Hawan Nassarawa, Hawan Daushe and Hawa Dorayi, where the emir interface with his subjects, have been cancelled in view of the health condition of the emir.” Post-Ramadan festivities were made popular by late emir of Kano, SarkinYaji Dan Samiya, who ruled between 1349 and 1385, before the invasion of Fulani Jihadist in 1804. The Wambai Kano said: “The Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, has directed me to inform all District Heads and traditional title holders that the traditional Sallah activities have been cancelled.”