THE Head, Trade Division of the African Union Commission, AUC, Mr. Nadir Merah, has disclosed that cooperation among standard organisations in Africa can boost sustainable agriculture and food security in the continent. Mr. Merah, who represented the Chairperson of the Commission, Dr. Nkosazana Zuma , at the just concluded 52nd African Organisation for Standardisation’s, ARSO’s meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, said Africa was close to realising the lofty dream given the rate of collaboration and cooperation among the ARSO members.

THE International Freight Forwarders Association, IFFA, has called on the Federal Government to reassess the port concession exercise to check capital flight and improve port efficiency for maximum economic benefit for the country. IFFA position was made known in Lagos by its President, Sam C. Onyemelukwe, at its quarterly press conference to address issues affecting the maritime industry.

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, detained a total of 63 substandard vessels on account of structural and operational deficiencies in 2014. The agency also inspected a total of 726 vessels under the Port State Control regime making Nigeria one of the enforcers of the convention in Africa.

The previous week, we noted that two persons, the building contractor and a structural engineer associated with a building which collapsed at Ikotun, were to be investigated as to their roles in the deaths of persons at the building site.

In a move expected to redefine vehicle financing and acquisition in the country as well as empower Nigerians to own new vehicles, Stanbic IBTC Bank and PAN Nigeria Limited, makers of the Peugeot brand of vehicles, have signed a novel Finance Lease Agreement.

Access Bank Plc has said that its Rights Issue of N41.8 billion to its existing shareholders was 80 per cent subscribed.

Stockbrokers have begun steps to get another extension of the deadline for firms to increase their capital bases as required by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The commission had earlier succumbed to pressure from market operators and shifted the deadline to Sept. 30 from Dec. 31, 2014.

“The issue with the refinery is not only TAM but lack of feedstock to sustain their operations. The cost of TAM is very high and if you finish TAM and no feedstock then it is not economical.” He also added that pipelines vandalism came to compound the issues, saying that “Federal Government and NNPC must ensure adequate supervision of the pipelines to reduce vandalism to the barest levels.”

The NERC had last week presented to power sector stakeholders a consultation paper on the draft feed-in tariff regulations on renewable energy electricity in Nigeria. The policy was designed to promote generation of electricity from renewable energy sources by allowing power producers to sell renewable energy sourced electricity to distributors at a predetermined fixed tariff over a guaranteed period of time, usually from 20 to 35 years.

“Government may also consider dedicated bonds and developmental loans including Diaspora Bonds to fund the Master Plan. The Federal Government can consider guaranteeing loans and bonds for reputable companies to invest in the gas sector. By this arrangement, the Federal Government will only incur contingent liabilities which will not crystallise if the projects are well managed.”