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Govt’s Plan to Repair Fertiliser Plants Excites Farmers

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  • Govt’s Plan to Repair Fertiliser Plants Excites Farmers

THE Federal Government’s plan to repair more abandoned fertiliser blending plants in various parts of the country is making farmers happy.

The Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers Association (FEPSAN) Executive Secretary, Alhaji Ahmed Rabiu Kwa, said that more blending plants had begun production, adding that of the 32 fertiliser blending plants in the country, seven have started production and distribution under the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative (PFI).

He listed some of the blending plants, which have been supplied with raw materials, including phosphate from Morocco and are blending, as the Fertiliser and Chemicals Limited, Kaduna, which produces 300,000 metric tonnes; Al-Yuma Fertiliser Company (300,000 metric tonnes) in Madobi-Kano; Kano Agricultural Supply Company, which supplies 15 trailers daily and Golden Fertiliser based in Lagos.

Funtua blending plant has received materials through the rail.

He noted that fertiliser supply had increased in the last one year compared to previous years.

According to him, national volume increased from 500,000 to one million metric tonnes.

Kwa noted that the PFI saved Nigeria over N200 million in foreign exchange and reduced the price of a 50kg bag from N10,000 to N5,500.

He said with the level of production from the reactivated plants, farmers were getting the products at affordable prices.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through the National Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) provided the funds for the revival of the industry.

Also, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Moroccan government for the supply of phosphate, expected to lead to the production of 1.3 million tonnes of fertiliser.

Kwa noted that the MoU between the two countries would make the product affordable.

The Nigeria-Morocco fertiliser deal, he added, would help increase local blending capacity to 25 percent of installed capacity and create a 20 million bag market for operators.

For years, the country has relied on imported fertiliser, despite the abundance of the raw materials for producing fertiliser – urea, phosphate, potassium and limestone – in Edo, Sokoto states and other parts of the country.

Last year, the PFI programme started yielding results, with the production of more than 4,000 metric tonnes of local fertiliser.

The Initiative was approved by President Muhammadu Buhari in December 2016 to achieve the local production of one million metric tonnes of blended Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium (NPK) Fertiliser for last year’s wet season farming.

Earlier, Nigeria’s stock of blended fertiliser was shipped into the country as fully-finished products, even though urea and limestone, which constitute about two-thirds of the component of each bag, are available locally.

The PFI’s objective is to procure the four raw materials from Morocco, and Muriate of Potash (MOP) sourced from Europe – and blend these to produce NPK fertiliser at a reduced cost.

Is the CEO and Founder of Investors King Limited. He is a seasoned foreign exchange research analyst and a published author on Yahoo Finance, Business Insider, Nasdaq, Entrepreneur.com, Investorplace, and other prominent platforms. With over two decades of experience in global financial markets, Olukoya is well-recognized in the industry.

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Crude Oil

Brent Rises to $73 Per Barrel as Oil Producer Iran Plans Another Attack on Israel

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The international crude benchmark, Brent Crude, rose to $73 per barrel as it rose 29 cents or 0.4 percent to settle at $73.10 a barrel on Friday on expectations that Iran will attack Israel from Iraq in the coming days.

The US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude gained 23 cents, or 0.3 percent to settle at $69.49.

The market has seized on the news from Thursday that Iran is preparing to attack Israel from Iraq within days.

However, market analysts point out that the impact on oil prices may be muted as the attacks signify a show of strength rather than action. This is why there wasn’t a much price boost.

Iran’s backed groups are currently fighting Israel, including Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza and the Houthis in Yemen. So, this has seen the two countries engaged in a series of retaliatory strikes within the broader Middle East warfare set off by fighting in Gaza.

In a related development, the US asked Lebanon to declare a unilateral ceasefire with Israel to revive stalled talks to end hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.

Another factor supporting prices is the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies, OPEC+ which could delay plans to increase supply in December.

The group has always maintained that its planning production cuts rollback would depend on market conditions.

The US, the world’s largest oil producer has been seeing an increase in its production with Exxon Mobil saying its global output hit an all-time high while Chevron also said its US production hit a record high.

This aligns with projections that annual output was on track to hit a record 13.2 million barrels per day in 2024 and 13.5 million barrels per day in 2025.

Last month, OPEC’s production increased by 370,000 barrels per day in October after Libya’s political resolution and its resultant 500,000 barrel-per-day output boost.

Libya’s output recovery led OPEC to raise its production to nearly 30 million barrels daily, even as Iraq, Iran, and Saudi Arabia lowered their output.

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Petrol

IPMAN Pushes Back on Dangote’s Call to End Petrol Imports, Cites High Costs at Refinery

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The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has addressed concerns about its members purchasing petrol outside the country.

Investors King reported that Aliko Dangote, the owner of Dangote Refinery, urged Nigerian oil marketers to stop importing petrol and instead lift supplies from his refinery.

Dangote mentioned that the refinery currently has over 500 million liters of petrol in storage and that marketers’ reluctance to lift his product is causing financial losses.

In an interview on Friday, IPMAN’s National Assistant Secretary, Yakubu Suleiman, stated that the association cannot compel its members to buy petrol from the Dangote Refinery due to the deregulated nature of the market.

According to Suleiman, IPMAN members cannot patronize Dangote if his petrol is more expensive than other suppliers. He explained that, for profitability, marketers must seek the most affordable fuel sources.

Suleiman also accused Dangote of trying to monopolize the oil market, noting, “Prices are determined by international pricing. Dangote should ideally be communicating daily about his pricing. But he can’t enforce that we buy only from his depot without stakeholder engagement.”

Suleiman added, “IPMAN cannot simply instruct our members to purchase solely from Dangote Refinery. We operate in a deregulated system. Marketers will source products where prices are cheaper and advise members accordingly.”

He explained, “If Dangote sells at N1000 per liter, and there are other sources selling at N900, we can’t direct marketers to choose Dangote simply because it’s his product. We prioritize lower prices and profit.”

Suleiman also noted that last week, Dangote’s price was higher than other sources, explaining, “For example, last week he offered N995 per liter, with additional costs to transport the product to depots. Independent marketers can’t sell at a profit under these conditions, so we must consider Nigerians’ interests.”

This comes after IPMAN President Abubakar Garima countered Dangote’s allegation that marketers were boycotting his refinery.

He pointed out that marketers cannot load petrol from Dangote’s refinery in Lagos despite having paid ₦40 billion to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

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Crude Oil

Rivers State Governor Refutes Claims of NNPCL Shutdown, Labels Report as ‘Propaganda’

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The Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara has denied shutting down the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), and other oil companies in the state as retaliation to a Federal High Court’s ruling barring the release of allocations to the state as widely reported.

Shortly after the court’s ruling, a report claiming that Fubara had ordered the immediate closure of NNPC and other oil companies in the oil rich state emerged on social media.

The report alleged that the Rivers State Governor declared that if the government fails to reverse the court ruling, there will be no oil for the country from Rivers.

Reacting to the allegation via a statement signed by the Commissioner for Information and Communications, Warisenibo Joe Johnson, the Rivers government said the report is not only false but a concocted propaganda from the enemies of the state.

The government urged Rivers people to ignore the report, adding that Fubara is committed to the rule of law and does not rely on unconventional and crude approaches to respond to matters of governance.

The statement reads, “The attention of Rivers State Government has been drawn to a spurious news item circulating on social media on “Gov. Siminalayi Fubara shutting down NNPCL and all oil companies in Rivers State”.

“The report was not only false, but a concocted propaganda from the imagination of the author and enemies of the State. The story was also circulated by an inconsequential and unverified medium

“Governor Siminalayi Fubara is committed to the rule of law and does not rely on unconventional and crude approaches to respond to matters of governance.

“We therefore enjoin Rivers people and well-meaning Nigerians to discountenance the spurious and fake report as Governor Fubara at no time contemplated and/or directed such needless order of shutting down the economy for any reason.”

Investors King reported that a Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday, restrained the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from releasing monthly allocations to the Rivers State Government.

The judge, Joyce Abdulmalik, in a judgement, held that the receipt and disbursement of monthly allocations since January 2024 by Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State is a constitutional somersault and aberration that must not be allowed to continue.

Abdulmalik submitted that the presentation of the 2024 budget by Fubara before a four-member Rivers State House of Assembly was an affront to the constitutional provision.

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