News
Fresh Concerns in Nigeria as Crude Oil Price Slumps below $40
The price of Brent, the benchmark for Nigeria’s crude oil, fell below $40 per barrel to a four-month low of $37 on Thursday, raising fresh fears of another price collapse as countries in Europe announced a new rash of lockdowns on the back of a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Brent dropped 3.5% to $37.75 a barrel in London, being the lowest since May, while US crude dropped by 3.6%, to $36 as supply continued to outstrip demand.
With the United States recently cutting its import of Nigeria’s crude oil, the country, which depends on it for a huge percentage of its foreign exchange earnings, has been looking to Asia, mostly China and India, and a number of European countries to buy the commodity.
The falling prices will negatively affect the financial stability of the country’s 36 states, which are heavily dependent on federal allocations to pay their bills.
Unless the drop in prices is halted, it will also hamper the implementation of the federal budget, even after the government at the centre recently reviewed it for the year.
The majority of Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings come from oil and a crash in global oil prices would lead to a drop in the country’s fiscal revenues putting pressure on its overall budgetary balance.
As the lockdown begins to take effect across Europe, particularly Germany and France, demand for oil weakened resulting in a deterioration of the price of white oil products.
Libya currently produces 680,000 bpd and expects production to rise to 1 million bpd in the coming weeks, a development that has created an additional headache for the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies.
The international oil cartel plans to reduce production in January 2021 from a recent 7.7 million barrels per day to about 5.7m barrels per day and is scheduled to meet on November 30 and December 1.
If the fall continues, it will also negatively impact the 2021 budget, which is currently under consideration by the National Assembly and is based on a benchmark of $40 a barrel.
Meanwhile, the Congressional Research Service (CRS), a non-partisan group which provides legislative research and analysis for the United States Congress, has said crude oil accounted for 88% of the country’s $4.4 billion imports from Nigeria in 2019.
In its updated research paper titled,” Nigeria: Current Issues and US Policy”, authored for the American lawmakers by an analyst in African Affairs, Tomas Husted, and specialist in African Affairs, Lauren Blanchard, the CRS said Nigeria had maintained its position as the United States’ second-largest trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa.
The document is to help the country’s lawmakers make ‘informed’ decisions on key issues in the country.
“As of 2019, Nigeria was the United States’ second-largest trading partner in sub-Saharan Africa (after South Africa) and third-largest beneficiary of US foreign direct investment (FDI) in the region (after Mauritius and South Africa).
“Nigerian exports to the United States are dominated by crude oil, which at $4.4 billion, accounted for 88% of US imports from Nigeria in 2019.
According to US International Trade Commission data, Nigeria consistently ranks as the top source of exports to the United States under the African Growth and Opportunity Act,” it stated
However, it noted that Nigeria also remains a major regional destination for US exports of motor vehicles and refined petroleum products (e.g., gasoline), which are among the fastest-growing U.S. exports to Africa.
Agricultural products and machinery, the research group said, are other top US exports to the country, adding that Nigeria’s demand also has driven growing U.S. petroleum exports to nearby Togo, a regional transhipment hub.
On the US foreign assistance globally, the document noted that the USAID allocated $451.4 million in bilateral aid for Nigeria in FY2020, nearly 90 per cent of which supported health programmes.
News
Legit.ng, Shade of Life Foundation Partner to Advance Autism Awareness in Nigeria
Legit.ng recently joined forces with the Shade of Life Foundation to become a voice of autism, and drive advocacy for improved media support during Autism Awareness Month.
Conversations around media support exploration was led by Joseph Omotayo, head of Department for Human Interest Stories at Legit.ng, and Dr. Eziafakaku Nwokolo, founder and CEO of the Shade of Life Foundation,
This partnership is a response to the concerns raised by organizations like the Shade of Life Foundation about the level of support received from the media in discussing autism as a disability.
While other disabilities may receive attention, autism, with its critical developmental implications often lacks adequate representation in mainstream media.
Recognizing the importance of addressing these concerns, Legit.ng took proactive steps by integrating itself into the essence of autism awareness.
It facilitated a one-hour workshop with Dr. Nwokolo, the founder of the foundation, to deepen our understanding of autism, its various spectrums, and the language boundaries associated with it.
Other steps we took in advocating autism awareness in the media, can be seen in our attached press release.
Legit.ng believes that by amplifying the voices of autism and advocating for better media representation, we can contribute to creating a more inclusive and accepting society for all.
News
As Nigeria Struggle, Tanzania Turns off Power Plants Due to Excess Supply
While 85 per cent of Nigeria is in darkness, Tanzania, an African country has shut down five hydroelectric stations in a bid to reduce excess electricity in the national grid.
Kassim Majaliwa, prime minister, Tanzania, has said the main plant, Mwalimu Nyerere Hydroelectric Station, alone generated enough electricity to power major cities, including Dar es Salaam, the country’s commercial hub.
It is the first time Tanzania, which suffers chronic power shortages, has closed hydroelectric stations due to excess production.
“We have turned off all these stations because the demand is low and the electricity production is too much, we have no allocation now,” an official from state-run power company, Tanesco, said.
The 2,115MW Julius Nyerere Hydropower Dam is said to be almost filled with water following heavy rains that started early this year.
Meanwhile, while the country has an installed capacity of 1,938MW and the grid installed capacity of 1,899MW, Nigeria which has an installed capacity of 13,000MW is struggling to electrify 85 per cent of its electricity consumers.
News
President Tinubu Appoints Jim Ovia as Student Loan Fund Chairman
President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Jim Ovia, renowned banker and businessman, as the Chairman, Board of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund.
Ovia’s appointment is contained in a State House statement titled, ‘President Tinubu appoints Jim Ovia as Chairman of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund,’ and issued on Friday by Ajuri Ngelale, special adviser to the President, Media & Publicity.
The statement noted that “Ovia is the founder of one of Nigeria’s leading banks and a respected business leader, with a surfeit of efforts and benefaction towards nurturing and empowering young Nigerians.
“He is an alumnus of Harvard Business School and holds a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Louisiana.”
The National Student Loan Programme is a pivotal intervention that seeks to guarantee sustainable higher education and functional skill development for all Nigerian students and youths.
The Nigerian Education Loan Fund, the implementing institution of this innovation, demands excellence and Nigerians of the finest professional ilk to guide and manage.
“The President believes Mr. Ovia will bring his immense wealth of experience and professional stature to this role to advance the all-important vision of ensuring that no Nigerian student suffers a capricious end to their pursuit of higher education over a lack of funds,” the statement partly read.
Ovia’s appointment will also ensure “that Nigerian youths, irrespective of who they are, have access to higher education and skills that will make them productive members of society and core contributors to the knowledge-based global economy of this century.”
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