NAIJAFEED

Friday, October 20, 2023

President Xi Jinping commits to more investments in Nigeria

China's President Xi Jinping pledged on Thursday for his country to increase investments in Nigeria's power generation sector and its digital economy, the Nigerian vice president's office said in the wake of a Belt And Road Initiative forum in Beijing.

Nigeria's National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) and three Chinese partners signed contracts for new projects valued at $2 billion, Vice President Kashim Shettima's office said.

It added that another $4 billion worth of letters of intent was received for new projects and investments in different sectors of the economy.

Nigeria is seeking to attract investments to boost sluggish growth in Africa's biggest economy, which is saddled with mounting debt, high inflation and unemployment.

The agreements signed include vehicle assembly projects, solar products, vehicle design and production, drone technology transfer, clean energy utilisation and the development of an industrial park.

Nigeria also signed contracts with China Harbour Engineering Company for the construction of the Lekki Blue Seaport in Lagos.

Shettima met Xi, who asked for the protection of Chinese workers in Nigeria, according to the vice president's office.

China had committed to rail projects in Nigeria in the past and to a seaport in Bonny Island in the Niger Delta. But the projects are still waiting for loan disbursements after securing approvals from China Exim Bank and Nigeria's parliament.

At the Belt And Road Initiative Forum, China also committed to refinancing the completion of two rail projects that stalled due to a cut in China's funding commitments. China had earlier agreed to provide 85% of the financing for the rail projects.

By Felix Onuah, Reuters

Wednesday, October 18, 2023

Video - Nigeria celebrates landmark infrastructure projects built through Belt and Road Initiative

China's Belt and Road Initiative in Nigeria has been yielding a number of landmark infrastructure projects. Nigeria and China have a longstanding bilateral relation, which received a further boost when the West African nation formally signed up to the BRI in 2018. Since then, the country has witnessed tremendous growth and development of its infrastructure.

CGTN

New China-assisted light rail services commences in Abuja, Nigeria

Gunmen kill three, kidnap at least 50 in northwest Nigeria

At least 50 people, including women and children, were abducted and three others were killed in an attack by gunmen in Bagega, a mining village in Nigeria's northwest Zamfara state, residents said on Tuesday.

Kidnapping for ransom has become commonplace in northwestern Nigeria in recent years where armed gangs, often referred to locally as bandits, have targeted villages, schools, and travelers, demanding millions of naira in ransom and making it unsafe to travel by road or to farm in some areas.

The Zamfara police spokesperson did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment on the attack, which took place on Monday.

Residents told Reuters the gunmen had stormed the village on motorcycles, shooting indiscriminately and setting houses ablaze. Seven people were also injured in the attack.

The district head was among at least 50 people kidnapped, Mallam Abubakar, the village chief, said by phone on Tuesday.

Bello Yahaya, whose father was abducted, said three people were killed and two policemen were shot and wounded while trying to fend off the attackers.

"The injured officers, along with the other individuals who suffered various degrees of gunshot wounds, are currently receiving medical treatment while two critically injured victims have been referred to the Federal Medical Centre in Gusau," Yahaya said. Gusau is the state capital.

"As I speak with you now, an unspecified number of people have been abducted. There is panic and widespread fear among our people," Ismail Badamasi, a resident who managed to escape the assault, told Reuters by phone.

Nigeria faces numerous security challenges, including a 14-year Islamist insurgency in its northeast, separatist violence in the southeast, and frequent deadly clashes between farmers and herders in the central region.

President Bola Tinubu has yet to detail how he will tackle the insecurity. His economic reforms, including the removal of a costly petrol subsidy and freeing the naira currency, have led to a sharp increase in the cost of living, angering citizens.

By Ahmed Kingimi, Reuters

Nigeria to require mining firms to invest in domestic processing

Nigeria is toughening up licensing rules for foreign mining companies to push them to boost processing and refining of metals like lithium and zinc within the country, its minister of mines said on Tuesday.

The policy announced by Dele Alake at a Nigeria Mining Week event in the capital Abuja will require mining companies to show business plans for so-called "value addition" before they are granted licences.

Alake said that the move is essential to help create jobs. "I am glad to mention that such an initiative is already on stream as some companies have already commenced operations in Nigeria," he said.

The minister referenced Ganfeng Lithium Industry Ltd, a Chinese company that is building a lithium processing plant in the central Nasarawa state, as an example of the type of investment the government is looking for.

The plant will process about 18,000 tons of lithium ore per day to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles, he said.

Nigeria is seeking to woo investors to a mining sector that has long been underdeveloped, contributing less than 1% to the country's gross domestic product.

Africa's top oil producer, which is also rich in gold, limestone and zinc, wants its mining industry to play a much bigger role in its effort to diversify the economy away from its reliance on oil.

Alake said the mining industry is been modernized and the government is investing in data collection, spending more than 15 billion naira ($19.6 million) over seven years to generate mineral data through a National Integrated Mineral Exploration Project (NIMEP).

"The preliminary reports from this project have unravelled massive discoveries which have literally put Nigeria on the world map of lithium-rich countries," he said.

Last month, Nigeria announced plans to start a state-backed company to help attract investments for the extraction of gold, coal, iron ore, baryte, lead, bitumen and limestone.

By Camillus Eboh, Reuters

President Tinubu launches cash transfer to 15million Nigerian households

The Federal Government has announced that President Bola Tinubu will launch the new cash transfer program to 15 million households across Nigeria on Tuesday, October 17.

Nigerian Presidency made the announcement in a tweet on Tuesday.

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Dr. Betta Edu, had disclosed the FG’s plan to commence a new cash transfer program to 15 million households by October.

She disclosed this in September during an interview on Arise Tv on the Progress Report on Nigeria’s participation at the 78th United Nations General Assembly meeting.

Edu made the disclosure while responding to questions on the FG’s presence at the UNGA 78 and what it meant for the Nigerians.

“We had meetings with the World Bank and very soon, we will announce the upscale of the national safety net program which will be putting funds in the pocket of over 15 million households in Nigeria,” she said.

“These are tangible funds that people can use to start businesses and improve their lives. This will be happening next month October.”

Edu had also revealed that the FG was ready to extend its social safety net program so as to reduce the level of poverty among households across Nigeria.

She added that the initiative is a strategic effort on the part of the FG to empower individuals and families in the country.

“We’ll initiate an expanded and upscaled social safety net program designed to reach a lot of households in Nigeria,” Edu said.

“These funds are aimed at jumpstarting businesses and helping individuals regain their footing.”

She further noted that the Federal government will partner with the state government and local communities in the verification of the national social register.

The Minister said it was geared towards ensuring that those in the current social register are still in that social category.

By Oluyemi Ogunseyin, The Guardian