The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged the federal government to deliver on its commitment to remove fuel subsidies by mid-2023.
The Washington-based lender in a report titled IMF Executive Board Concludes 2022 Article IV Consultation with Nigeria released on Wednesday said Nigerias economy has recouped the output losses sustained during the COVID-19 pandemic supported by favourable oil prices and buoyant consumption activities.
IMF said the directors highlighted the need for bold fiscal reforms to create needed policy space, put public debt on sound footing, and reduce vulnerabilities.
Despite rising oil prices, the IMF said, the governments fiscal deficit is estimated to have widened further in 2022, mainly due to high fuel subsidy costs.
It explained that while the current account is estimated to have improved in 2022, foreign currency reserves declined amidst capital outflow pressures.
The report noted that the countrys Gross domestic product (GDP) adjusted for inflation has already reached its pre-crisis level and the third quarter of 2022 marked the eighth consecutive quarter of positive growth despite continued challenges in the oil sector.
It said the oil sector faces downside risks from possible production and price volatility, while climate-related natural disasters like floods pose the same risks to agricultural production.
The IMF said its directors welcomed the broadening of Nigerias economic recovery but noted that the opportunity to reap the benefits from higher global oil prices was missed.
Looking ahead, the IMF recommended decisive fiscal and monetary tightening to secure macroeconomic stability, combined with structural reforms to improve governance, strengthen the agricultural sector, and boost inclusive, sustainable growth.
highlighted the need for bold fiscal reforms to create needed policy space, put public debt on sound footing, and reduce vulnerabilities.
They urged the authorities to deliver on their commitment to remove fuel subsidies by mid-2023 and to increase well-targeted social spending.
In the medium term, IMF recommended modernising customs administration, rationalising tax incentives, and raising tax rates to the levels of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
According to the report, the spill over effects of the war in Ukraine, which have been transmitted mainly through higher domestic food prices, worsened the scarring effects of the pandemic, particularly on the most vulnerable with Nigeria being among the countries with the lowest food security.
Oloibiri Museum will preserve heritage, developments in oil and gas sector NCDMB
The Nigeria Content Development Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has applauded the approval of the Oloibiri Museum and Research Centre in Bayelsa State.
In a statement by the Boards Corporate Communications office on Wednesday, the Federal Government through the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday awarded the Phase-1 Engineering, Procurement & Construction contract for Oloibiri Museum & Research Centre (OMRC) in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State in favour of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc with a completion period of 30 months.
The project is set to kick off Q1 2023 and finish in 30 months.
The Board said that the historical essence of the project is to convert the location where first oil was discovered into a monumental edifice that would preserve the heritage and developments in the oil and gas sector.
It also noted that with the contract approval, the ground breaking ceremony is expected to be held within Quarter 1 2023 and will mark the beginning of the upliftment in the quality of life of the immediate host community, Bayelsa State and people of the Niger Delta.
The FEC meeting, which was chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari, further approved the scope of work which would include a masterpiece museum and a research centre.
The establishment of OMRC has been at concept stage for over three decades and the inability to progress to the construction phase is viewed as an historical oversight as an operational museum and research centre would preserve the heritage and developments in the oil and gas sector similar to what obtains in other oil producing nations, the statement said.
Details of the project indicate that it has four development partners, comprising the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) and the Bayelsa State Government (BYSG), and each entity would contribute to the development of the monument in the ratio of 40, 30, 20 and 10 percent respectively.
The project team for the symbolic project was first launched in August 2020 by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, with the inauguration of key project committees and setting of delivery timelines.
The socio economic impact of the project includes employment generation, tourism, research & technology development and integration of oil and gas host communities into mainstream developmental narrative of the country.
Commenting on the approval, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Sylva commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his special love for the Niger Delta region, recalling that he granted his first approval for the project amid the COVID-19 pandemic and its socio-economic impact.
He explained further that the project consists of the construction of a Museum where historic developments, data, equipment, and tools used in the Nigerian oil and gas industry will be stored for posterity and the construction of a functional Research Center where prototypes can be tested and validated in fulfillment of the requirement for approval of new technologies.
To ensure sustainability, the project adopted a development model that will leverage the benefits of public-private partnership, inter-agency collaboration, and inter-governmental alignment, to optimize resource utilization and ensure that the Oloibiri museum meets international standards, Sylva explained.
To ensure timely execution, the project created two committees and five project teams to provide necessary support and supervision essential to deliver the OMRC project.
The committees include the Steering Committee, which would be responsible for providing leadership and steer and the Coordinating Committee, responsible for providing oversight on activities of all the project teams, which include Construction, Funds mobilization and management, Community Relations, Health, Safety & Environment and Secretariat, which is situated in NCDMB Head Office in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.