Business
Nigerian Railway Corporation announces revenue of N1.4 billion in 2020
NRC announced a revenue of N1.4 billion as at September 30.
The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has announced a revenue of N1.4 billion as at September 30, which is way less than it’s projected revenue of N4.4 billion for the same period.
The reduced revenue was due to the effects of the pandemic on the economy according to the NRC.
This was disclosed by the Managing Director of NRC, Mr Fidets Okhiria, during the 2021 Budget Defence to the Joint Committee of Land and Marine transport at the National Assembly in Abuja on Friday.
He added that the company remitted N245 Million to the TSA during the same period.
READ: Nigeria may benefit from Afreximbank and Thelo DB’s deal on railway development
What you should know
Nairametrics reported in March that the Nigerian Railway Corporation notified all passengers using train service that it would stop operation due to the increasing cases of Coronavirus in the country.
Despite reduced operations this year due to the pandemic. The NRC has acquired more trains for the Lagos-Ibadan railway project set to open soon. In August, The NRC announced the purchase of 24 coaches to operate the Lagos-Ibadan Railway.
READ: INEC seeks N5.2 billion to cushion shortfall in 2020 budget
The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, stated this week that the Federal Government needs a total funding of $656 million to complete work on the Lagos-Ibadan railway project.
The NRC MD told the House Committee that the pandemic heavily affected operations, which caused a 32% performance of the company’s projections for the year so far.
The Joint Committee should also note that for the year 2020, the Corporation presented a separate Internally Generated Revenue & Expenditure Budget.
He said, “The sum of N1.4billion has been generated as at Sept. 30 against the projection of N4.4billion from our core activities, representing 32% performance.
“It is necessary to mention that our train services were stopped and significantly reduced upon resumption due to the impact of COVID-19 Pandemic.
“The construction work within the Lagos corridor including access to Apapa Port also impacted on our ability to provide train services.
READ: No agreement was signed with GE on $2.7 billion railway project – FG
“It is important to mention that during the period under review, the Corporation started making payments from its IGR into the Federal Government dedicated TSA as directed by the Federal Executive Council. A total sum of about N245.5million has so far been lodged into the account as at Oct. 31.
“The Railway Property Management Company Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary company of Nigerian Railway Corporation. As at Oct. 31, the Company has generated about N1.4 billion representing 91.5 per cent of N1.5 billion which was the revised approved revenue target for 2020.”
READ: Nigeria’s tax potentials remain untapped – Governor El-Rufai
He added that the NRC forecasts a revenue of N5.3 billion in 2021 as the company would have more coaches available for its operations deployed to operational routes across the country.
“For the year 2021, the Corporation plans to generate a total of N5.3billion as IGR. More coaches are expected to be deployed to Abuja-Kaduna Train Service, full commercial operation has commenced between Warri-Itakpe and the Lagos-Ibadan Train Service is expected to commence soon,” Okhiria added.
READ: FEC approves $1.96 billion for Kano-Niger Republic railway
He also added that 94% of the NRC’s Capital Appropriation for the year 2020 has been released so far, which has been used mainly for procurements.
“In the year 2021 Budget (Capital and Recurrent) of the Nigerian Railway Corporation for year 2020 budget, the sum of about N18 billion was appropriated for Capital Budget.
READ: Amaechi proposes a capital budget of N205 billion for Ministry of Transportation in 2021
“This amount was subsequently revised downwards to N16 billion due to the economic downturn as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic which led to shut down of economic activities as well as the dwindling revenue from crude oil.
“As at today, about N15 billion representing 94 per cent of 2020 Capital Appropriation has been released and procurement process is on-going,” he said.
Business
Twitter to establish its first African presence in Ghana
Twitter has announced Ghana as headquarter of its operations in Africa.
Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter Inc has announced today in a tweet that the company is establishing a presence in Africa.
“Twitter is now present on the continent. Thank you, Ghana and Nana Akufo-Addo,” Dorsey tweeted.
As part of its mission to serve the public conversation, Twitter is making it easier for everyone to join in and provide more relevant experiences for people across the world.
Why Ghana as a choice…
Twitter stated that it chose to expand to Ghana first because the country is an advocate of free speech, online freedom, and the Open Internet.
In a blog post the company said, “In line with our growth strategy, we’re excited to announce that we are now actively building a team in Ghana. To truly serve the public conversation, we must be more immersed in the rich and vibrant communities that drive the conversations taking place every day across the African continent.”
“Furthermore, Ghana’s recent appointment to host The Secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area aligns with our overarching goal to establish a presence in the region that will support our efforts to improve and tailor our service across Africa.
“Whenever we enter new markets, we work hard to ensure that we are not just investing in the talent that we hire, but also investing in local communities and the social fabric that supports them. We have already laid foundations through partnerships with Amref Health Africa in Kenya, Afrochella in Ghana, Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative (MANI) in Nigeria, and The HackLab Foundation in Ghana. As part of our long-term commitment to the region, we’ll continue to explore compelling ways we can use the positive power of Twitter to strengthen our communities through employee engagement, platform activation, and corporate giving,” Twitter stated.
The company is also looking to hire specialists to join several teams to operate in product, design, engineering, marketing and communications.
The choice of Ghana as HQ for Twitter’s Africa operations is EXCELLENT news. Gov’t and Ghanaians welcome very much this announcement and the confidence reposed in our country. 1/3 #TwitterInGhana #TwitterGhana https://t.co/HdCqFgXK0x
— Nana Akufo-Addo (@NAkufoAddo) April 12, 2021
Reacting to Dorsey’s announcement, Ghanaian President, Nana Akufo-Addo, in a tweet said that the government and people of Ghana welcome welcomed the micro-blogging site.
“The choice of Ghana as HQ for Twitter’s Africa operations is excellent news. Government and Ghanaians welcome very much this announcement and the confidence reposed in our country,” President Akufo-Addo tweeted.
Business
Youths need critical skills to strengthen Nigerian economy – Bankers Committee’s FITC
Nigerian youths need to embrace adequate skills and create a pool of well-engaged workforce to directly strengthen the nation’s economy.
Bankers Committee’s FITC has called on Nigerian youths to embrace adequate skills and create a pool of well-engaged workforce to directly strengthen the nation’s economy.
This was disclosed by the Managing Director, FITC, Chizor Malize, during the launch of its Future of Work Academy for Youths on Monday.
According to her, the initiative is to continuously bridge the knowledge gap in the country and Africa at large, as it is expected to equip the youths for the peculiar needs of the Future of Work.
It also seeks to solve the prevalent issue of producing university graduates with degrees and skills that have limited practical use in the current global job market, as well as the requirements for the Future of Work.
She said, “The world of work is changing rapidly, and competition for the right talent is fierce. Graduate talents have for decades been primarily identified and employed based on academic excellence, however, in the emerging world of work, creativity, innovation, and work-ready skills have become the non-negotiable indicators for competitive advantage, and to evaluate capabilities.
“It is therefore important for youths to build critical skills, that will equip them for the requirements of the Future of Work in the ever-evolving business landscape. The value FITC FOWA is bringing to corporations at this time cannot be overemphasized. By equipping youths and creating a pool of well-engaged workforce for organizations, FITC FOWA will be directly strengthening the economy and the society in general.”
Malize added that the initiative offers essential courses in Data Science, Data Analytics, Coding, Digital Marketing, Graphics Designs, MS Excel & Analytics, Digital Marketing, Use of PowerPoint, and other key areas that have been strategically packaged to educate, enlighten, and upskill undergraduates and graduates with the vital skills for the Future of Work.
What you should know
Owned by the Bankers Committee (CBN, NDIC and all Nigerian deposit money banks), FITC was established in 1981 as a non-profit organisation limited by guarantee to provide capacity building and serve as a knowledge hub for the Nigerian Financial Services Sector.
