THE Nigerian government is considering the computerisation of the oil exports with a view to generating more revenue and keeping a tab on the volume of crude oil that leave the country periodically.

Deputy Director of the National Insurance Commission, NAICOM, Mr. Leo Akah has said that most Nigerian airlines prefer to do their aircraft insurance abroad, rather than Nigeria.

Premium in its simpliest term is the money or price paid by buyers of insurance for the risk transferred to insurers for the cover granted by them. In legal terms, and under an insurance contract, premium is the valuable consideration that must be present for it to be valid or enforceable by the insured (i.e. insurance buyers) and the insurers (i.e. insurance firms).

The first duty of government with respect to its budgets is to ensure that the anticipated revenues come in. When there is a revenue shortfall as is presently being canvassed, government should look in depth into all its revenue sources. The current focus of government is on the drop in the revenue from crude oil sales. The losses have been stated to be from persons taking substantial quantities of crude oil from the flowlines of the oil producing companies and which quantities of crude oil are not accounted for.

The Group Chief Executive Officer of Philly & Mools Group, (a company involved in providing advisory services to corporate bodies), Mr. Niyi Oguntoyinbo, has called on owners of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, SMEs, in the country to imbibe the culture of implementing standard operating procedures in their businesses, saying that that it is a critical success factor for any business.

Apparently desirous of bringing back the entrepreneurial spirit of Ndi Anambra in the area of human endeavours, a group of Anambrarians that found themselves in the enclave of Balogun Business Association (BBA) has risen to check the brain drain currently being noticed in the state. The group under the acronym, Youths Initiatives for the Restoration of Positive Values in Anambra State ( YIRPVAS) who said that citizens of the state have laboured variously in the development of other states and have left their own state fallow and unattractive, has decided to replicate what they have in various parts of Nigeria in their home state.

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria plc (GSK Nigeria) and Suntory Beverage & Food Ltd (SBF) have announced that under a new arrangement, GSK Consumer Nigeria will continue to carry on with Lucozade and Ribena for SBF ahead of a Global Divestment deal.

Even after the near successful privatization of Nigeria’s power sector, the Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies, SSAEAC, has maintained that privatization is not the answer to the nation’s power problems.

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has condemned the activities of the pipeline vandals and crude oil thieves, which have been a great challenge for optimal output from the refineries.

The Federal Government is set to reap billions of naira from the importation of generating sets, as the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, has introduced a N25,000 charge per unit of 100KVA generator imported into the country.

President Goodluck Jonathan has kicked off the implementation of the diaspora export programme, designed to improve trade between Nigeria and other countries of the world.

The Federal Government has disclosed that gas flaring has been reduced in the country to about 20 per cent over the last two years.

In the last edition, we made a case for concerted, deliberate plan to educate investors at the retail level. Such effort will facilitate inflow of funds into the capital market from the grassroots. Most importantly, it will enhance confidence among retail investors, and help militate against many of the malpractices presently going on in the market.

To strengthen local content development, an indigenous company, CNS Marine Nigeria Limited, said that it has acquired three vessels worth over $50 million (N6 billion) for offshore services in Nigeria.

I’m starting to have this sinking feeling that meaningful opportunities are slipping away from the Petroleum Industry Bill’s (PIB) debate – particularly its fiscal regime. Stakeholders are threading the 2009 PIB path of self-destruct. Although, the global debate regarding oil and gas fiscal regime is not new and will continue for ages, one wonders the motive behind the International Oil Companies, IOCs’ recent chutzpah of debagging the PIB on the pages of Newspapers instead of a constructive discourse.