2q BUSINESS
1HE GUARDIAN, Thtmday. March 24,20n
Brent crude hits $115.64 a barrel
President. Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria. Azubuike Okwor (left); India High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mahesh Sachdev; Executive OlrectoL Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council. Padmanbhuni Appaji; and Director-General, National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control. Paul Orhii. during the inauguration of Brand India Pharma Expo and Buyer Seller Meet, In Lagos, yesterday.
PHOTO: GABRIEL IKHAHON
Govt signs N2.6b contract for Enugu dam From Joke Akanmu, Abuja
'THE Federal Government .1 has signed contract for the construction of Adada River Dam in Aku, Enugu State, with an indigenous company, at a cost of N2.6 billion Signing the contract with Roudo Nigeria Limited, in Abuja,the Minister of Water Resources, Chief Obadiah Ando, explained that the ministry had to wait for the Federal Executive Council's
approval and the availability of mobilisation fund for the commencement of the work. He therefore, implored the contractor to expedite work on the dam and deliver high quality service. The Managing Director, Roudo Nigeria, Mr. Sam Erouhl, WllO signed on behalf of his company, promised to mobilise h,s workers to site and commence work immediately.
The Adada River Dam is a homogenous earth dam of 347_565 meters in length, height of 18 meters and a total reservoi r volume of 2_978 million cubic meters of water. It will serve Nsukka urban and adjoining communities in Igbo Etiti with minor Irrigation scheme as well as fisheries_ It has a completion period of 24 months_ Meanwhile, a report published by the Food and Agriculture Organisation
viding drinking water for millions in world's mega cities_ The Collaborative Council on Forest (CPF). however, called on countries to pay more attention to forest protection and management for better provision of drinking water, adding that forest are part of natural infrastructure for any country which was essential to water cycle_ The Assistant DirectorGeneral of the FAO, Forestry Depanment, Edwardo Rojas Briales, said proper management of forest resources would reduce the effects of of the 86 oil wells d,at were noods, prevent soil erosion, recently ceded 10 Rivers State. regulate water table and In a broadcast to ti,e people yes- assure high quality water terday, he said: "At the advent of supply for people, industry this administration, we Wrote to and agriculture_ President Umaru Yar'Atlua to The report which noted protest the in/-UStice of the so- that develop countries like called politica solution, which New York, Singapore, had no basis in law and purport- Jakarta, Rio Janeiro draw si!!edly transferred some of our oil nificant potion of their wells to Rivers State_ drinking water from forest'1he President referred the peti- ed areas affirmed that if tion to a committee of govern- properly utilised forest ment agendes consisting of the catchment's areas could National Boundary prOVide solution to water Commission, Office of the challenges in the country, Surveyor General of the federa- adding that, forests and tion, the Depanment of trees contribute to the Petroleum Resources and the reduction of water-related Revenue Mobilisation risks such as landslides, Allocation and Fiscal local noods and droughts Commission for necessary and help prevent desertificaaction_" tIOn and sanitatIOn. (FAO), has said that better management of d,e forest resources is key for high quality water supply. The report which said that statisrics have shown that by 2025, 1.8 billion people will be living in re~ions widl absolute water scarcity and two-thirds ofl the world's popu lation may experience water stres,s conditions added that forest capture and store watfr can play important role i? pro-
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diture alone is depressing to the psyche of ordinary Nigerian_ That recurrent figure almost doubled the amount allocated 10 capital expend irure in a country with wild poverty as majority of Nigerians are, with no good roads, no adequate affordable health care services, no social security, among others. _ "A massive counttylike Nigeria having N1.5 trillion as capital expenditure at a time politicians are promising heaven and eardl in their campaigns, exposes isolated fiscal dlinking within aU ti,e existing political parties'manifesto. "Strongly, we implore the Budget Office of the Federation (BOF) and the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) not to
release of the National Assembly's 201\ capital Vote, which has been paddedly Increased to N232_ 7 billion againstwhatwasori~allypro-
jeered being N1lI2 billion from ML President "Mr_ President should approach the Supreme Court for an interpretation of who controls the ceiling and envelope-allocation within the National Budget? The Commander in-Chief can actually do this without being tied to legislative political ransom by tI,at arm of government" '1he 20U Budllet also exposes the failure of NIgeria to continuetarryingtothe-tenetofinternational agreemen~ especiaJl}\ on the Paris Club Debt Relief. Inconsistencies in budgeting
spending observed to be in a gallopy scenario in the 2011 Budget, goes against the spirit of salvaging the poor_ Worrisomely, Defence Budget continue to gulped huge amount irrespective Nigeria is not at warwiul its neighbours_ "Isolating of Defence procurement within the embOdiment of the Public Procurement Act, and now on the n~ly passed Access to Information Bill should not be an avenue where people continue to shadow Defence spending within the criticality of effective Civil Society scrutiny, monitoring, tracking and evaluation_ Meanwhile, the Akwa lbom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio, yesterday, affirmed his administration's decision
CONTINUED FROMPAGE 19 West Texas Intermediate on the Nymex by 10 percent to $93.80, d,e Zurich- based bank said in a note to clients today_ The bank cited accelerating global demand growth and disruptions in output from the Middle East. Prices briefly extended gains after at least 21 people were injured in an explosion in Jerusalem today, Eli Bin, director general of Magen David Adorn emergency services, said on Army Rad io today_ RetalialOry strikes by Israel against targets in Gaza and Lebanon have bolstered prices in the past because they raise the prospect of a halt in shipments from the Middle East "Prices even moved on a bomb attack in Jerusalem, which shows just how nervous the market is," Horwitz said. The alliance of nations enforcing the no-ny zone over Libya now is "considering all options" for using air power to protect civilians in of battleground cities Misrata, Ajdabiya and Zawiyah, Locklear told reponers at the Pentagon via telephone from his command ship in the Mediterranean Sea_ The Libya connict, which began in February in the eastern city of BenghaZi. is the bloodiest in uprisings that have spread across the Middle East and ousted the leaders of Egypt and Tunisia. At least four people were killed today in a shooting near A1-Omari mosque in the southern Syrian town of Daraa in renewed anti-government protests tI,at have engulfed the Arab country since last week. A donor, a paramedic and a driver were killed when an armed gang attacked their ambulance, the Syrian Arab News Agency said, citing an official. "Qaddafi has sworn to fi!!ht to the end and we're seemg increased violence In Syria and Yemen, which all point to fallin!! supply," said Mike Fitzpatrick, a partner with the Kilduff Group in New York, a hedge fund tI,at concentrares on energy. '1he UK cut its GDP forecast and we should see other European countries follow suit, which will hit demand." Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne said the British economy will grow more slowly than forecast in 201\ and the UK will need to borrow more than previously thought in the next five years. The Office for Budget , Responsibility predicts annual growth in 20U of 1.7 per cent, down from the 2.1 per cent forecast in November, Osborne said_
States, NEPC to develop World Bank-assisted commercial agriculture From Emek. Anuforo, Abuia
FFORTS to achieve food sufficiency and stimulate export of agricultural products may liave been enhanced as the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), yesterday, Signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with five states, under the World assisted Bank-Nigeria Commercial Agriculture Development Proje.ct •• __ {CADP}. . The particip~ting states are Lagos, Cross River, Enugu, Kano and Kaduna. The Executive Director of NEPC, David L Adulugba,
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stressed that his agency wou ld pursue the successful execution of the pact through the organisation and implementation of tailored and targeted capacity building programmes, domestic and foreign market intelligence studies, select study tours, one-onone mentoring, market linkages and advisory services. "In addition, requisite and product specific train ing programmes will be devel~ oped and conducted taking into cognizance t he particular and specific needs of farmers and oper-
ators in each of the value chains," he said. He listed some of the key areas the council would be involved in to include organisation of capacity bUIlding on export procedures and documentation; hand holding selected export-ready companies to export; organisation of _study tours Tor their value chain; and carry out any other activities that secure export markets for their value chains. According to him, "this Initiative is speCifically re levant to farmers, processors and the Nigerian economy
in ~eneral. It has the capabiltty of prOViding jobs, income opportunities, and strengthening national efforts towards the achievement _ of Federa l Government's policy objective on food security and Mi llennium Devel0p,ment Goals_ Moreover, it wIll contribute significantly to meeting national food needs and stren!!thening trade linkages WIth other countries."
He added: "In recognition of the fact that market access is critical in this initiative, and the fact that issues of hazards analysis
critical control point and sanitary and phyto-sanitary standards are key prerequIsites for achieving success, efforts will be made to advise and guide on adoption of standards operating procedures, good manufacturing practIces and use of acceptable technologies In prodUCtion, processIng, quality management, packaging, labeling, certIfication and marketing_ "This will ensure that finished products of the value chains selected for this Rroject achieve tremendous success in tbe foreign market."
Project National Coordinator CADP, Dr. Aminu Babandi, explained that the project has been srructured in such way that each participating state will be ta rgeted wllf, su PPOrl activities and expertise fashioned to enhance the capability and competence of farmers, processors and marketers and to ach ieve global competitiveness in selected value chains_ The MoU is expected to address issues of critical concern as capacity buildIng, mentoring, market access and market linkages.