Nigeria

Price of cocoa beans in Nigeria has increased by 733 per cent between January and December 2024 from N1.8 million to N15 million, as the global price continues to surge over poor weather and diseases.

Also, as at December 21, 2024, the price of the bean per metric tonne was N19.6 million ($11,900) in the global market.

In January this year, certified cocoa was traded at $3,889 per metric tonne in the Southwest; February, the spot price rose to $4,841, $6,443 and $6,866 respectively.

By March, prices of the bean escalated to $9,828, April, price was $12,216 before it nose dived to $9,082 in early November and increased to $11,900 in December.

According to the International Cocoa Organisation (ICCO), cocoa bean stocks level at the London exchange from the beginning to end of November 2024 decreased by 20 per cent from 26,010 tonnes to 20,770 tonnes.

In the United States, exchange stocks dropped by 11 per cent from 114,197 tonnes to 101,639 tonnes over the same time frame.

ICCO noted that with regard to the nearby December 2024 contract, in November, London prices increased by 33 per cent as compared to 12 per cent for the 2023/24 season, saying that in New York, in November 2024, prices increased by 26 per cent as compared to 17 per cent in November 2023.

Worried over inadequate production and low export, on August 30, ICCO raised its 2023/24 global cocoa deficit estimate to -462,000 tonnes from May’s -439,000 tonnes, the largest deficit in over 60 years.

Also, ICCO cut its 2023/24 cocoa production estimate to 4.330 million tonnes from May’s 4.461 million tonnes. In the first quarter of the year, importers entertained the fear that Nigeria may lose N876 billion in earnings in 2023/24 export because of weather and fungi.

Meanwhile, the Executive Director at Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN), Patrick Adebola, had attributed the sharp increase in the price of produce to the outbreak of the disease in Cote d’Ivoire and Ghana, which were the leading producers of cocoa in the world.

According to him, this situation had led to about 40 per cent loss of the crop in the two countries, noting that Cote D’Voire was the largest producer of cocoa, producing about two million metric tonnes, followed by Ghana with 900,000 metric tonnes and Nigeria with 300,000 tonnes.

The executive director explained: “The country has the potential to become the highest producer of cocoa and boost its foreign exchange earnings if adequate attention is given to the sector by the government.

“I believe that the current administration of President Bola Tinubu is doing the right thing because I can see a lot of improvements in terms of support to farmers.

That support should reach the right farmers and not the political farmers. As of January 2024, a tonne of Cocoa used to sell for N1.8 million, the price has risen to about N15 million per tonne.”

Adebola said that 22 states of the federation including South-West, South-South, South-East, Adamawa and Taraba have good soil to grow cocoa profitably.

Recall that the Cocoa Association of Nigeria (CAN) had said that cocoa is widely produced in Oyo, Ondo, Ekiti and Ogun states which account for 70 per cent of Nigeria’s annual production.

Also, the Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria (CFAN) had forecast that it would increase production in the country to 500,000 metric tonnes in 2024 but bad weather has affected the projection.

It was gathered that if the production was achieved, the country’s farmers and exporters could have earned $5.95 billion this year.

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It is an exciting and celebration time as well as an outpouring of encomiums ahead of the Yuletide festivities, with the Christmas Day celebration holding across the globe today.

This is Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator (Mrs) Oluremi Tinubu, has decided to put smiles on the faces of some Nigerians and offer them various items to celebrate with this festive period.

Spreading joy

In Osun State, the elderly and aged gathered at Osogbo, the capital city of the state, to receive bountiful packages from the First Lady in a colourful and exciting ceremony held last week.

Apart from free medical outreach for the elderly men and women, the First Lady also doled out cash, amounting to N50 million to selected vulnerable elders.

The First Lady’s largess is being doled out to indigent elderly and aged Nigerians spread across the 36 states of the country, including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, at 250 beneficiaries per state.

In Osun, each of the 250 elderly persons received N200, 000. The beneficiaries were drawn from across the 30 local government areas. New Telegraph learnt that the gesture is to cushion the effects of the hardship occasioned by the downturn of the nation’s economy and also for them to enjoy the Christmas season.

The 250 senior citizens aged 65 and above in all 36 states of the federation, and Abuja, with some of them drawn from the ranks of the veterans from the Defence and Police Officers Wives Association (DEPOWA) were recognised under the aegis of the Renewed Hope initiative Elderly Support Scheme (RHIESS) of Senator Tinubu.

Tinubu speaks

Addressing the beneficiaries at the event, which took place at the Local Government Service Commission Hall Abeere, Osogbo, the First Lady noted that a total of N1.9 billion had been earmarked for distribution to the aged women and men across the country, including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

The aim of the welfare scheme, she said, is to assist the people in this hard and difficult time arising from the challenging economic situation of the country.

Furthermore, Senator Tinubu said the programme is focused at reassuring the elderly that they are loved and not forgotten especially during the festive season.

She reiterated the commitment of President Bola Tinubu to the wellbeing of all Nigerians. She said: “I am delighted to join you all today at the second edition of the Renewed Hope Initiative Elderly Support Scheme (RHIESS), with the theme: ‘Total Wellness: Happy, Healthy and Prosperous Lifestyle’.

“The Governing Board of the Renewed Hope Initiative has decided to increase the initial grant of N100, 000 to N200, 000 this year in order to provide further support to our elderly citizens during this festival season. “A total of N1.9 billion will be disbursed across the nation. The RHI coord

inators in the 36 states of the federation, the FCT and DEPOWA have received N50 million each, out of which N200, 000 will be distributed to each beneficiary.”

In addition to this, she announced that free medical checks and other sundry items will be provided for the elderly in order to improve their health statuses.

She expressed her gratitude to the Osun State First Lady, Chief Mrs Titilola Adeleke, and all the other First Ladies in the country for their sacrifices and commitment to the wellbeing of their people.

This is as she stated: “I commend all our State First Ladies/RHI State Coordinators and partners for their efforts in making this day a reality. “I congratulate all our senior citizens who have been selected as beneficiaries.

I urge you to prioritise your health even as we all enjoy and celebrate in the festive season. Eat well, stay hydrated, and do a little exercise -like walking and getting adequate rest. Spend quality time with loved ones.’’

Judicious use of largess

Speaking, Chief Mrs Titilola Adeleke, who represented the First Lady at the occasion, advised the beneficiaries of the N200, 000 Elderly Support grant to use it judiciously. According to the Osun State First Lady, the gesture was part of the efforts to make this year’s Christmas and New Year celebrations memorable for the aged; hence, there was the need for its judicious use. She said the disbursement of the largesse was part of Oluremi Tinubu’s unwavering support for humanity. She urged them to imbibe regular medical checks, personal hygiene, free their minds of worries, eat balanced diet, sleep well, do exercises and stay hydrated for healthy living.

Appreciative beneficiaries

A number of the joyous beneficiaries expressed their excitement and gratitude to the First Lady for bringing smiles and succour to their way in this hard time.

One of the beneficiaries, Pa Yemi Adejobi, while appreciating the First Lady for the cash and free medical services to the less privileged and aged persons, noted that she has by her kind gestures brought joy and happiness to the people.

His words: “I am happy with the money and free medical outreach organised by Senator Oluremi Tinubu. She has always been doing this to help the needy in society.

The cash gift will go a long way to ameliorate the suffering facing people due to the current economic challenges. Almighty God will continue to bless her and spear her life for us.”

Another beneficiary, Elder Bolarinwa, described the First Lady’s gesture as a huge relief to his people, especially as they are in the Yuletide season.

He described the money as being timely, saying he had for over three days been thinking of how to get something to make Christmas and New Year celebrations joyful for his household.

“I think money would go a long way celebrating gleefully with this money. I would be able to get food stuff and some other things to enjoy myself,” he said with excitement.

While Mama Janet Adewumi lauded the philanthropic nature of the First Lady; she also commended her consistency and commitment towards giving hope to the downtrodden people in every part of Osun State.

Mariamo Morenike, another beneficiary, appreciated the benefactor for her benevolence, urging other affluent individuals to emulate her generosity.

“I can’t express the way I feel over this act of charity. My only prayer is that God will keep the First Lady alive so that she’ll continue to do more for us,” the widow said.

Commendation

In their separate goodwill messages, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Children Affair, Sekinat Khalid; State PDP Women’s Leader, Mrs Alice Otunla; PDP South West Women’s Leader, Mrs. Atinuke Oyawoye; Iyaloja General in Osun, Mrs Mary Oyebode; wife of Osun Head of service, Dr Mrs Mojisola Aina, and Babaloja’s representative, Chief Muibi Oyawoye; applauded Senator Oluremi Tinubu’s commitment and soft spot for humanity and prayed God’s continued guidance and strength for her to further serve humanity.

They described the Osun First Lady as a God fearing personality, who has the love of fellow humans at heart just as they eulogised her good representation at the federal level, which has birthed several benefits for the people of the state.

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The Ogun State House of Assembly has passed the year 2025 appropriation bill of N1,054,542,020,147 presented to it by the State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, exactly 20 days ago.

The bill passed on Tuesday has slight adjustments in the recurrent expenditures of about 21 agencies, just as the capital expenditures of five agencies were also slightly adjusted, alongside the revenue targets of two agencies.

The passage of the Appropriation Bill followed the presentation of the report of the House Committee on Finance and Appropriation by its Chairman, Hon. Musefiu Lamidi, who thereafter moved the motion for its adoption, seconded by his Deputy, Hon. Wahab Haruna, and supported by the whole House during plenary presided over by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Oludaisi Elemide at the Assembly Complex, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.

The bill was later read and adopted clause by clause before the Committee of the Whole House, after which the motion for the third reading was moved by the Majority Leader, Yusuf Sheriff, seconded by the Minority Leader, Lukman Adeleye, and supported by all the lawmakers through a unanimous voice vote, while the Clerk/Head of the Legislative Service, Mr Sakiru Adebakin, read the bill for the third time before the lawmakers.

The Speaker, therefore, directed that the clean copy of the bill be forwarded to the Governor for his assent.

Some of the agencies that had their budget proposals adjusted included the Ministry of Budget and Planning, which had its estimate increased from N1.475 billion to N1.902 billion, giving an increase of N427 million; while that of the Ministry of Community Development and Cooperatives was also increased from N1.780 billion to N2.499 billion, giving an increment of N719 million.

Others, like the State Ministry of Health, were increased from N3.806 billion to N4.116 billion, just as the State Teaching Service Commission’s budget proposal moved from N34.412 billion to N35.912 billion, with that of the State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE) moving from N1.347 billion to N1.372 billion; while that of the State Hospital, Sokenu Abeokuta, also got an addition from N3.208 billion to N3.348 billion.

Also, Ogun State Security Network (Amotekun) had its budget proposal increased from N765 million to N1.575 billion; while that of the State Environment Protection Agency moved from N252 million to N262 million, just as the State Library Board’s budget proposal, amongst others, was increased from N147 million to N177 million.

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Two persons were yesterday confirmed dead in an accident that happened in the Ikhinero community on the Benin-Agbor road in Edo State.

It was gathered that four other passengers in the affected vehicles also sustained various degrees of injuries

The Edo State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corp (FRSC), Cyril Mathew, who confirmed the report said three vehicles were involved in the accident.

The Sector Commander who attributed the accident to overspeeding, cautioned motorists against excessive speed.

“The accident happened around 6:10 pm along the Benin-Agbor road by Guinness deport due to overspeed”.

He said six persons including two adult males and four adult females were involved in the accident, adding that two were killed while four others were injured.

He said the injured were rushed to the hospital for treatment, while the deceased were deposited at the morgue.

He however , charged motorists to obey traffic rules and regulations, avoid night journeys and being drunk, while driving and as well fasten their seat belt to reach their destinations safely during the yuletide.

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The spectrum lease agreement between MTN Nigeria Communications PLC (MTN Nigeria) and Natcom Development and Investment Limited (NTEL) has been renewed by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to provide telecom services in all states across the country.

The agreement covers the lease of NTEL’s 5MHz frequency division duplex (FDD) in the 900MHz spectrum band and 10MHz FDD in the 1800MHz spectrum band, which spans 19 states.

According to an update on the Nigeria Stock Exchange on Tuesday, MTN, with 80.38 million subscribers, noted that the renewal is for another two years, effective 1 May 2025.

As of January 1, 2025, the operator will be able to roll out services across the country as the regulator approved a one-year lease expansion of the spectrums, covering the remaining 17 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Commenting on the agreement renewal, MTNN Chief Executive Officer, Karl Toriola, said the spectrum will enhance MTN’s 3G and 4G network.

He said: “We are pleased with the renewal of the spectrum lease agreement with NTEL, which now includes coverage for all states, including the FCT.

“The lease enables us to enhance our 3G and 4G user experience as we improve coverage and capacity by utilising the spectrums. This positions us to capitalise on the growing demand for data and improve the delivery of services to our customers.”

In May 2023, MTNN announced that the NCC had approved a spectrum lease transaction between it and NTEL for two years at a cost of N4.25 billion.

At the time, Toriola noted that the deal would help the telco in delivering its Ambition 2025 strategy.

“The access to NTEL’s 900MHz and 1800MHz spectrums broadens our spectrum holdings and improves our 3G and 4G user experience as coverage and capacity will be enhanced by utilising these spectrums,” the CEO stated.

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