JUST IN: Peter Obi Visits Bangladesh, Speaks of His Experience and the Country’s Growth
The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, has praised the growth of Bangladesh in the last 14 years, saying that a transformed Nigeria is similarly possible.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that Obi, in a social media post, said he travelled to Bangladesh last week to participate in the Investment Forum organised by the Bangladesh Government and Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council.
“As a Guest Speaker at one of the events, I spoke on “SME Formalisation and Internationalisation in the Commonwealth: Empowering Growth and Global Reach.” I visited Bangladesh in mid-2009, about 6 months after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina assumed office,” he said.
“At that time, the country’s Human Development Index was within the low category. Her GDP was $102 billion, with a GDP per capita of $688. Unemployment was around 10-12%. You could see and feel the poverty and poor infrastructure,” he added.
Obi said that when he returned last week, about 14 years later, Bangladesh’s Human Development Index (HDI) was now on the high side of the Medium category and would soon be in the High category. According to the former Anambra State Governor, the country’s GDP is $460 billion, with a GDP per capita of $2700. He also revealed that the unemployment rate in the country is now below 5%.
“Poverty has been greatly reduced and infrastructure greatly improved from what it was in 2009. They have a steady growth average of over 6% within the said period. Though still grappling with some challenges, the Leadership is determined and focused on a productive and and progressive Bangladesh with clear and measurable goals for growth,” he said.
Obi said that after the visit and interacting with Leaders, he remains convinced that with the right Leadership, a new Nigeria that will be productive and progressive, devoid of tribalism, religious sentiments, and criminality, but will benefit all is possible.
SOURCE: Politics Nigeria
Oyo former LG boss, Omiyale is dead
A former Chairman of Ibadan South East Local Government Area, Oyo state, Mr Bimbo Omiyale is dead. DAILY POST gathered that Omiyale died after battling with an undisclosed ailment for some days. He was hospitalized before he gave up the ghost on Sunday.
He has been buried at his residence according to Islamic rites. Former Chairman, Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Oyo State, Prince Ayodeji Abass-Aleshinloye confirmed the death of the politician.
Abass-Aleshinloye used the opportunity to charge Governor Seyi Makinde to obey the Supreme Court judgement by paying all the entitlements of the ex-members of ALGON.
He maintained that the deceased would be greatly missed by his political associates and others close to him.
SOURCE: Dailypost
Marketers eye fresh fuel price hike as crude hits $94
The rise in the cost of crude oil, coupled with the depreciation of the naira against the United States dollar, might lead to a hike in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, oil marketers stated on Sunday. It was also gathered that the sharp rise in crude oil price to about $94/barrel and the crisis around forex, had warranted a gradual increase in the amount being quietly spent as subsidy on petrol by the Federal Government.
Dealers in the downstream oil sector explained that the cost of crude oil and the exchange rate of the dollar accounted for over 80 per cent of the cost of PMS. Brent crude, the global benchmark for oil, rose to $94/barrel on Sunday, the highest figure in 2023. Oil had started the year at about $82/barrel, dipped to $70/barrel in June, but traded above $92/barrel in the past week.
Also, The PUNCH reported on Thursday that the naira weakened to N950/dollar as forex scarcity worsened. The report stated that the naira fell further against the dollar the preceding day (Wednesday), after closing at 950/$ at the parallel market. Bureau de Change operators had told The PUNCH that the naira, which earlier closed at 930/$ at the close of operations on Tuesday, was bought and sold at 935/$ and 950/$ on Wednesday.
Although the Federal Government and its Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited had insisted that subsidy on petrol had ended, following the deregulation of the downstream oil sector, operators insisted on Sunday that the government was implementing quasi-subsidy. They explained that with the latest rise in crude oil price, the cost of petrol was meant to increase, stressing that if the government insists on leaving the commodity at N617/litre, then subsidy on PMS had been returned quietly.
The marketers explained that in July when the cost of petrol was raised to N617/litre, crude oil traded around $82/barrel, while the the exchange rate was not as high as N950/$ at the parallel market. The Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners corroborated the concerns of marketers, as it stated that the price cap on petrol had made it tough for marketers to comply with the demands of NARTO with respect to increasing the cost of transportation for petrol.
“The Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC, in one of his statements, had pointed out that as long as the dollar continues to rise, Nigerians should not expect petroleum products prices to be pegged. The cost of crude oil is also on the rise and it impacts on petrol price, because PMS is derived from crude. “So in this price deregulation regime, once the dollar increases, automatically it means that the cost of importing petroleum products will also increase. And the cost of every other related service will rise,” the National Public Relations Officer, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Chief Chinedu Ukadike, stated.
He added, “So the fuel we are buying today at N617 or N596 depending on where you buy it and based on the nearness to depots, is actually below what the price should really be, going by the rise in dollar and crude oil price.”
Ukadike stated that though the rise in crude oil price would increase Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings, the forex was being used to import refined products. “You also know that most of the investors who tried to import products when it was announced that the subsidy on petrol had been removed, are now finding it very difficult to do so. “This is because after buying the dollar in the parallel market, they cannot recoup what they have invested. So the government must be transparent with this subsidy removal thing. It should apply it to the fullest, so that competition can set it.”
SOURCE: Punch