The status of Lagos State as an oil producing state was affirmed by the federal government yesterday with the approval of four oil wells discovered in the state.

It, however, disapproved the state’s ownership of one oil well.

With the development, the federal government will begin the disbursement of the 13 per cent derivation fund to the state, in line with constitution of Nigeria.

The chairman, Indices and Disbursement Committee, Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Alhaji Aliyu Mohammed, made this known when he led members of the committee on a visit to the Lagos state governor, Akinwunmi Ambode at the State House, Ikeja.

Mohammed said the committee was in Lagos to verify the crude oil and gas production from Aje oil wells for the purpose of disbursement of the 13 per cent derivation fund to the state.

LEADERSHIP reports that the 13 per cent derivation fund is money paid to oil producing states by the federal government. Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, Cross River, Edo, Ondo, Imo, and Abia States constitute the oil producing states in the country, with Lagos as the latest to join the league.

He explained that the federal government’s disapproval of the fifth oil well was hinged on the fact that it fell beyond 200 metres isobaths and did not legitimately belong to the state.

The committee chairman further stated that as part of procedure and in pursuant of its constitutional mandate, the commission had set up an Inter-agency Technical Committee which comprised the commission, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Office of the Surveyor General of the Federation and the National Boundary Commission to determine the location of the Aje oil wells.

“The technical committee recommended that for the purpose of derivation as spelt out under Section 162 (2) of the 1999 constitution (as amended) as well as the provision of the Allocation of Revenue Act 2004, Aje oil wells 1, 2, 4 and 5 fall within the 200m isobaths and therefore should be attributed to Lagos State.

“As a result, the commission and members of the Inter-agency Committee had to embark on this working visit to conclude the process. Please, note that Aje 3 oil well falls beyond the 200m isobaths and therefore cannot be legitimately attributed to Lagos State,” he said.

According to Mohammed, the commencement of oil production from the Aje oil field by Yinka Folawiyo Petroleum Company Ltd was the first time oil was being produced outside the Niger Delta basin and therefore, of a major significance in diversifying the source of crude oil and gas production in the country.

In his response, Lagos State governor, Mr Ambode, described the visit as historic and one that would go down in the annals of the history of Lagos State.

He noted that the visit was the official step that would take Lagos to that final destination as an oil-producing state.

“We are very glad to receive this delegation. We also want to thank the federal government, especially President Muhammadu Buhari, for making this to happen very promptly. I want to say that this has been the promptest action that has been taken by RMAFC since I have known the commission. I used to be a former accountant general so I had a lot of transactions and relationship with the institution called RMAFC. Within a span of about 60 days of when we wrote our letter, and even before we wrote the letter, this technical committee was actually set up,” he said.

Ambode, who lauded the DPR and the Boundary Commission, said it was significant that the discovery of oil wells in Lagos was going to be the first time oil would be produced outside the Niger Delta.

“It’s significant for Nigeria; it’s significant for Lagos. It means that the whole path to diversification is what we are now witnessing. We would also encourage other states, in terms of other mineral resources, not necessarily to depend on crude oil, whatever it is that can actually allow states to start activating their mineral deposits, it would allow us expand the Internally Generated Revenue.

“It would also give us revenue dependence in a manner that there would be equal growth from all every nook and cranny of Nigeria. One is happy that RMAFC has taken this step and also to say that they should also encourage other states to engage in such activities that would allow them to be able to activate whatever mineral deposit that we have in the various states in conjunction with the federal government, so that we can start to diversify revenue and growth and then create a balanced growth and development for the whole country,” he said.

LEADERSHIP reports that oil prospecting in Lagos was ongoing for 25 years, by Yinka Folawiyo Petroleum Company Limited, before the state officially joined the League of Oil Producing States in Nigeria, in May this year.

According to the Group Managing Director, Tunde Folawiyo, the company spent about $400 million to achieve the feat.

He said the current status of the oil well has the capacity to produce at least 12,000 barrels per day, with a possibility increase to 25,000 to 50,000 barrels per day in the nearest future.

The government has reiterated that it won’t back down on its decision to ban the use of plastic bags effective January next year.

Owners of plastic bags manufacturing factories have been advised to take steps towards easing production before the deadline and invest in production of alternative bags and plastic waste recycling facilities.

This assertion is contained in an advertisement posted on various media outlets yesterday by the Vice President’s Office.

In April this year, the minister of State in the Vice President’s Office (Union Affairs and Environment), Mr January Makamba, told the National Assembly that the government would impose a total of ban on the use of plastic bags.

“We are warning industries that stern action, including closure will be taken against those who will be caught manufacturing plastic bags,” said the minister.

He said that in instituting the plastics ban plan, the government revisited the 2006 regulations on the production, importation, sale and use of plastic bags which, among other things, disallows the use of bags that are below 30 microns.

According to the advert, the government wants relevant authorities and industries to take steps to ensure that by January next year the production, importation, sale and use of plastic bags in the country ceases.

Plastic bags affect environment by, for instance, blocking sewerage and water drainage infrastructure, causing floods during rain. The bags damage ecosystems and biodiversity due to plastic bags, endangering human health when used for packing food in particular hot food.

Zimbabwe’s central bank chief has admitted that people will be paid partly in bond notes, despite earlier claims the notes were to be an incentive for exporters.

“If you are getting a $400 salary, you will still get $400 in United States dollars, bond notes, rand or euros. If you don’t want them then you use plastic money,” central bank chief John Mangudya said in quotes carried by the official Herald daily.

The bond notes are likely to be introduced around October. They are supposed to be at 1:1 parity with the US dollar.

Mangudya’s announcement in May that bond notes were to be introduced followed months of cash shortages.

His claim that they would be backed by a $200m loan form the African Export-Import Bank has not reassured Zimbabweans who fear a return to the overprinting of the pre-2008 hyper-inflation era.

An opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) official told News24 earlier this week that the authorities could be stacking up as much as $2.5bn in bond notes, but that figure will be hotly contested by the central bank.

President Muhammadu Buhari will declare open the 39th Ordinary Meeting of the Association of African Central Banks (AACB), being hosted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Thursday, August 17, 2016.

A statement from CBN said the meeting is expected to discuss avenues through which African Central Banks can unwind the impact of unconventional policies so that monetary policy can return to its core function of stabilising short term prices.

The meeting will also address the likely impacts that may follow the unwinding and how they can be mitigated; implications on financial stability and the role of fiscal policy in closing any gaps opened up in the process.

The AACB Assembly of Governors Meeting of Friday, August 19, is to be preceded by meetings of the AACB Technical Committee and the AACB Bureau billed for Monday, 15 and Wednesday 17 August respectively; as well as the AACB symposium expected to be graced by President Buhari.

Expected to be guests of Nigeria’s Central Bank Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, who is also the vice chairman of the group, is the AACB chairman and Governor of the Central Bank of Central African States (Banque des Etats de l’Afrique Centrale – BEAC), Mr. Lucas Abaga Ncama and his colleagues from across the five sub-regions based on the African Union regional classification.

Dar es Salaam — Prime Minister’s office (PMO) workers have been asked to prepare themselves psychologically on the shift from Dar es Salaam to Dodoma.

Speaking to the workers today, Prime Minister, Mr Kassim Majaliwa, said everything is set for the shift and it is just a matter of days before actual movements from Dar es Salaam to Dodoma starts.

He made the remarks when he met in his office with workers from various departments under PMO.

He asked them to understand that the decision to shift the government headquarters to Dodoma was implementation of the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) manifesto whose source was a directive given way back on October 1, 1973 during the 16th Tanu national congress.

Tanu was the ruling party before it was transformed into CCM in 1977 after merging with Zanzibar’s Afro Shiraz Party (ASP).

“Since then there has been various efforts made to prepare Dodoma to take over as the government seat. Even the fourth phase government did a lot to put up needed infrastructure to make Dodoma save the purpose,” he said.

He allayed fears among the workers in his office noting that preparations were going on smoothly and they were in the final stages. He noted that the shift will be in phases as it has been arranged.

The Deputy Director General of the National Housing Authority (NHA), Prince Wreh, has disclosed that the entity has allotted US$1 million to build permanent homes for former residents of the Township of West Point in the VOA Community.

According to Wreh, the goal of the NHA is to construct more affordable homes for low income earners, noting that the NHA is fully committed to its mandate and will continue to do so for the growth and development of the country.

It can be recalled that hundreds of residents of the slum community of West Point, a suburb of Monrovia, were rendered homeless by sea erosion that destroyed several homes early this year.

Making the disclosure in an interview with the Liberia News Agency at the temporary home of the West Pointers in the VOA community on the Bomi Highway Tuesday, the NHA official, however, disclosed that the money will be able to construct only 125 units, which are not sufficient to accommodate the 1,700 family heads who were rendered homeless by the sea erosion.

He lauded authorities of the Ministry of State for Presidential Affairs for partnering with the NHA to construct a 32 two-bedroom temporary zinc apartments for residents relocated from the Township of West Point.

Also speaking, the Chairman of the relocated West Point residents, Rev. Denore W. Moore, lauded authorities of the NHA for constructing their temporary homes, but appealed to them to assist with food and other necessities to sustain them in their new homes.

The British government must reaffirm that there will be “no money, no bailout” for Harare until President Robert Mugabe “disappears from power and influence forever”, the chairperson of the UK’s All-Party Parliamentary Group on Zimbabwe, has said.

Kate Hoey, who is also MP for Vauxhall, said Mugabe should not be helped to further entrench his 36-year reign which has “set new standards in vanity, mismanagement, corruption, outright theft, oppression, and organised violence against opponents”.

“Over three million Zimbabweans have fled,” the MP wrote in an article this week (read the full article in our opinion section here).

“The rich country’s economic ruin was symbolised by the issue of banknotes with a paper value of 100 trillion Zimbabwe dollars (14 zeroes). They are worthless but make entertaining birthday presents for children.”

Mugabe, now 92, blames the UK for corralling western countries into imposing sanctions against Harare which he says have devastated Zimbabwe’s economy over the past decade.

The veteran leader has struggled to right the tanking economy since his re-election in 2013 and now faces increasing pressure as fed-up Zimbabweans stage protests while sections of his own Zanu PF party also appear to be pressing for his ouster.

However, and apparently ignoring the brutality the Harare government has used to crush citizen protests, British authorities are thought to be helping Mugabe secure a much-needed $1.8bln rescue package.

Finance minister Patrick Chinamasa recently travelled to London for meetings with UK officials as well as a bank said to be arranging the facility.

A British newspaper has also revealed that, before Chinamasa’s visit, former UK business minister Peter Mendelson travelled to Harare for meetings with Mugabe’s treasury chief. Lord Mandelson chairs a UK bank helping arrange the rescue package.

However, Hoey said the British foreign secretary, who is famous for his elaborate and colourful manner of expression, must deploy his best aphorisms against the meddlesome Mandelson.

“This episode calls for an urgent response from our new Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson,” said Hoey.

“On Zimbabwe he must reaffirm Britain’s position in the most robust and colourful language he can command: no money, no bailout until Mugabe disappears from power and influence for ever.”

Hoey also condemned the UK’s Harare embassy for helping arrange Mandelson’s meetings with government officials and demanded to know who paid for the trip.

“I wonder also why the FCO thought there was any value to Britain in Peter Mandelson’s mission,” she wrote.

“He has no previous relationship with Zimbabwe that I can discover. Certainly he has never attended one meeting of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Zimbabwe which I chair and which has many members from the House of Lords.

“Representatives of (Zimbabwe’s) surviving business community and civic leaders do not need to be persuaded of the case for reform – they are desperate for it. There is no point in preaching to Chinamasa, who is a creature of Mugabe and has no future in a post-Mugabe settlement.

“Why does the FCO see Peter Mandelson as a persuasive advocate in any country? He has not won an election for himself since 2001 nor taken part in a winning political campaign for any party or cause since 1997.”

Hoey has since demanded that Lord Mandelson appear before the UK parliament to explain his dealings with the Harare regime.

By Neville Otuki
Chase Bank has made a big step towards full recovery after the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) yesterday allowed the financier to resume lending to customers and take fixed deposits after four months of waiting.

The nod expands the lender’s basket of financial services after it was placed under receivership in April by the CBK – the banking sector regulator – prompting its closure and subsequent reopening later in the same month.

The bank had been limited to only a few services such as money transfers and automated teller machine (ATM), and was awaiting the approval to accept deposits and issue loans.

“The move marks a major milestone in the turnaround efforts of the bank, signalling that most of the major issues under resolution have been addressed, paving the way for full resumption of banking services to all customers,” the lender said in a statement yesterday.
The greenlight to take new deposits, the lender says, will provide more lending opportunities to customers and accelerate the pace of recovery.

It was placed under the receivership of the CBK arm – Kenya Deposit Insurance Corporation (KDIC) in April.

The regulator early this month said it will next month pick a new investor to buy a majority stake in Chase Bank as part of efforts to fully revive the lender.

This came after KCB Group, which was appointed to manage Chase Bank, said that its role in reopening the lender is almost complete, paving the way for the regulator to call for bids from multiple investors interested in the buyout.

KCB is expected to be among companies that will bid for Chase Bank, whose model is focused on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Chase Bank represents an attractive franchise with 27,000 customers, largely SME businesses.It is also a banker to 341 non-governmental organisations and 147 savings and credit cooperative societies (saccos).

The lender has 62 branches and boasts subsidiaries Rafiki Microfinance Bank and investment bank Genghis Capital.