Va n~uard, MONDAY, AUGUST 8 , 2011 -
News
FinancialVin}Janl
BPE should hands off sale of bitumen blocks - Minister of Mines and Steel Dev. ONWUEMEr-M "'T'lle Ministerol Mines .1 and Steel Development, Arc. Moblllnll1ed Musa Sada, has told tlJe Bureau lot Public Entn~priseo;, BPE. to stay away h om the saJe of bitumen blocks, pointing out th e. t 11 was the exclusive pre5erve of the ministrl' to allocate or dispense of such Datural resoUI~ .
Sada wbo staled this at the inauguration of the Bitumen Blocks Committee, in Ahuja, said the new committeewiU set new rules for the general ol)l"r(l.lioo of the ~eclor, as
well ,,, new framework Ihllt will lead to the bidding l oJ the block and ultimately for th e development of tbe bitumen resources 01 the nation .
He said : 'The BPE should bave no hllnd In the sale 01bitumen block; they are nol government properly to be sold off anyhow. TIle simple logic is 10 adopt what bi\ppens in the oil and gas industry where il Is the sole manda te 0 1 the Minisb'y 01 Ittroleum Resources to organise lor open and tHlflsparent bids for the blocks. ~ Wlth regards to th e bitumen blocks, they fal l completel! under the mandate 0 the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel development, hence the lounation of this committe e to ensure an effecti v e and comprehensivle restructuring e.J:ercise of the bidding process." According to Sada, ~ Nigeria has comparative advan tage in bitumen l esource and we can hlcililale investments in the resource. Our current Information is that we have over 27 billion barrels of oil equllivalenl. We expect whosoevel wins the bid to further develop th e resource." He said: HMy predecessors in ('!fiee had done s onle work in devel· oping the bitumen res ources of Nigeria. The efforts were, 01 course, inconclu s ive. We now intend to take the activities and the previous work to a logical conclusion. Sada slated that the lIew initiath' e was very importllnt and in line wtlh the l:ransformlltion IIgenda 01 President Goodluck Jonathan, as well liS' the Federal G overnment's efforts to attract forei!1h inv estment into the milling sector, pointing out thai there was no better time to de,felop the bitumen resources than now. He sai d : " We are all awa r e of Ihe global resurgence of interest in H
NWAFOR ORIZU COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, NSUGBE OfRCE Of THE REGISTRAR /'."" /:)1
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the ' deve lopment of bitumen by major national and internationaJ players. In lact, there has been a oemendous increase in the .. expression of interest in Nige rian mineral com· modities ovel the last one yeu." He I!.dded that "we are all a ware of the occurrence of bitumen in parll of Southern Nigeria. ..... Th i s i s found in bel t sbetching through Edo, Enugu. lagos, Ondo and Ogun states. The occur· renee WII.$ discovered In Nigeria In the yeu 1900 and several ~ I oratlon activities hilS been carried out over the yean by priv a te and public institu· tions. MTh e se include tbe Nigerian Bitumen Corpo ratio n, Shell , Mobil, Tenneco, University of lie Consultancy Unit , Conoco and the Federal Government o f Nigeria through the Ministry 01 Mines and Steel
Development. M The committee, which is headed·by the DirectorGeneral 01 the N igeria Geological Survey AgenCy (NGSA), Professor S .yan Malorno, was gIVen unbl tbe end 01 the year 10 develop a strategy for the devel0plnent of the rt"source, taking into cognJ· zance the participlltion 01 both local and foreign investors. The Minister further ch4.l'ged the committee to develop I! Iramework. for the new sl:ructure in the exploration 01 bitumen In the country, including the participation of new and eXisting ventu r es within the sector. Sadl! said, "I have high expectatio ns f r om tbe committee. I expect il to set the ru les of the game ob initio. I expect a professional and transparent process that will lead to the bidding lor the block and ultimately lor the devetopment o f the bitumen resource of the Dlltion. "
Agriculture: FG, stat es urged to provide storage facilities A Ihaji Mu rt ala .L-\.rvluhammad, the C hairman , EMBEE Farms, Kaduna, has urged the Feder1ll and state governments to provide Itorage fadllties to e nabl e farmers preserve their perishable
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Muhammad told that the provl.ion of storage facilities will help red uce the cost of pfoductlon. He noted that farmers who produced perishable goods los t millions o f Daila ann u ally due to the fack of storage faciliti es. "We have big orchards where we grow mangoes and oro!lngl!'$ which we supply to Cblvita Nigeria Limited, makers 01 Chlvlla Juice in Lagos. O ur major problem is the lack 01 storage lacilities to keep these goods before and during transil I really pity those who transport tomatoes and other perishable good! born the northern part 01 Ihe country to the eastern and western parts, because theyloseso much money in transit Irom their farms to the markel," he laid. According to him , produce such a s tomatoes last l o r a maximum of three dafll alter harvest before it begins to spoil . Muhammad urged tbe governme nt and the private sector to collaborate and u s lst farmers by
providing them wilh fadlIlles to preserve their pro· duce. He said thai both the government and private sector practitioners wi ll generate revenue bl P'~ vhling storage fad ilies . The chairman also urged financial institutions responsible lor disbursing agricultura l loans to fann ers to reduce the high inter"t ta te and stringent conditionality lor smallscale farme rs to access loans. '" am yet to understdDd what the banks are doing with over N200 bilHon meant for fanne rs. By now, farmef'5 should be thinking of refunding the loan nol struggling to gel what Is righOy theirs, he said.. He also urged the government not to under-estimate Ole importance of small bolder la rmen, whom he said produce over 70 per cent of the fo0d.5tufl consumed by Nigerians. "It is lather unfortunate that we spend billions of nalta to import foodstuff which Nigena can produce and even aport, he said. He stressed the need for the government to provide farmers ....i th fertilis er throughout the yeu and not at the end 01 the farming season. "\\'e IIl1ve several farmers who are into irrigation lanning and who need ferti liser during I~rlgalion peri od and during the r aln:r senson," Muhammadsai . M
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VEAH 2010 BOT·SPECIAlINnRVENTION • INVITATION FOR PRE·QUAlIFICATION ANIITENDER • . .
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In pursuance of the year 2010 Education Trust Fund BOT-Special Intervention, Nwafor Orizu ·College of Education, Nsu'gbe invites interested contractors and suppliers for Pre-qualification and subsequent bidding (For pre-qualified contractors/suppliers only) for the
construction and supply afthe following: (a) Construction of 1·No. Lecture Theatre ETF Project No NOCOEINSUGBEIBOT-SPIETF/1 0/1 . (b) Procurement of 200 No 3-in-1 Lecture Thealre chairs with Flip writing Top.and Frame. ETF Project No NOCOEINSUGBElBOT~SPIETFIIOI2 .
PRE·QUAUlICATION REQUIRIMEItTI Interested contractors and suppliers are to submillheir applications for Pre-quaHfication along with the following documents: 1. Evidence of Registration of the company with Corporate Affairs Commission. 2. Evidence of registration with the College. 3. Evidence of current 3 years lax clearance, 4. Evidence of Financial Capability and bank support. 5. Evidence of previous similar contracts executed, 6. Evidence of experiencefTechnical qualification and experience of key'personnel. 7. Evidence of Equipmentand Technology capacity. 8. Any other additional Information that may enhance the prequalificalion of the company. However Nos. 6 and 7 are not applicable to suppliers. Applications for Pre-qualification should be submilled along with the College receipt of sixty thousand naira (NBO,OOO.OO) for item (a) and Twenty thousand naira {N20,000.00) for ilem (b) above All payments should be made at the First Bank Awka along OnitshaEnuQu Expressway in favour of Nwafor Orizu College of Education, Nsugba. The Teller shOuld be produced al the College Bursary for issuance of College receipt. Applications for Pre-qualificaUon and Tender should clearly indicate the type of project and Ihe code number. Completed applications for Prequalification and Tender documents must be in sealed envelope clearly marked "YEAR 2010 ElF BOT-SPECIAl: INTERVENTION" and submitted 10: TheAg, Registrar NwaforOrizu College of Education, NsugbeP.M.B.1734 Onitsha Anambra State . Application for Pre-qualification should be submitted between the hours of 9.00 a.m. and 4.00p.m. daily, Application doses fourteen (14) days after publication Le. 18th August 2011 at 10.00 a.m. prompt. late submission will be rejected. The applications for Pre-qualification will be opened in the presence of Ihe contractors/suppliers or their representatives and interested public who choose 10 attend on the same day at 12 noon in the Council's Chamber of theAdministralive building . Submission 01BidslTenders shoutd be between the hours of 9.00 a.m. and 4.00 p.m. daily, TenderslBids close twenty one (21) days i.e . after publication i.e . 261h August 20 11 at 10.00 a.m. Late submission of Tenders/Bids will be rejected. The TenderslBids will be opened in the presence of the contractors/suppliers or their representatives and the interested public who choose to attend on the same day al 12.00 noon in the Council's Chamberof theAdminislrative Building.
R N.Anarado
Ag. Registar.