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NRC reduces Lagos-Ibadan trips by 67% over diesel hike

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The hike in diesel price has forced the Nigeria Railway Corporation to reduce the number of trips on the Lagos-Ibadan Train Service by about 66.67 per cent, it was gathered on Tuesday.

It was also learnt that the corporation had sent recommendations to the Federal Ministry of Transportation for an adjustment in the transport fare on the train service.

The Managing Director, NRC, Fidet Okhiria, told our correspondent that though the service was still running, its trips had been reduced due to the persistent hike in diesel price.

Diesel prices have risen by over 300 per cent in a few months, forcing transporters of petrol, who power their trucks with diesel, to threaten strike before the prompt intervention of the Federal Government.

The spike in diesel price also warranted some level of petrol scarcity in Abuja and neighbouring states, as many truck owners could not afford the high cost, a development that made the Federal Government to raise the bridging claims being paid to petrol transporters.

Speaking on the impact of the high cost of diesel in the rail sector, Okhiria told our correspondent that the NRC had to cut down its trips, particularly on the Lagos-Ibadan route.

“The Lagos-Ibadan train service is running but we have reduced the number of trips on that route because of the diesel problem. We reduced the number of trips we are running because of the hike in diesel price,” he stated.

Okhiria said, “We just can’t increase it by ourselves. The government has to do that. We have made some recommendations. But even the recommendations we made, the new price of diesel has overshot our workings as contained in the recommendations.

“However, we don’t want to price ourselves out of market too, because the price of petrol is not increasing as such, rather the increase is little when compared to diesel price. And you know we are competing with transporters on roads.”

Asked the number trips currently being done on the route, the NRC boss replied, “We are now doing two return trips as against six, which by now should have gone to 10. So we run just two trips now due diesel problem.”

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Naira depreciates to N1,770/$ in parallel market

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The Naira yesterday depreciated to N1,770 per dollar in the parallel market from N1,750 per dollar last weekend.

Similarly, the Naira depreciated to N1,675.62 per dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market, NAFEM.

Data from FMDQ showed that the indicative exchange rate for NAFEM rose to N1,675.62 per dollar from N1,652.62 per dollar last weekend, indicating N23 depreciation for the naira.

The volume of dollars traded (turnover) fell by 55.2 percent to $108.79 million from $243.05 million traded last week Friday.

Consequently, the margin between the parallel market and NAFEM rate widened to N117.38 per dollar from N97.38 per dollar last weekend.

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Port Harcourt Refinery begins crude oil processing

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The Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has confirmed that the Port Harcourt Refinery in Rivers State has commenced crude oil processing.

The Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the compaanyy, Femi Soneye, broke the news on Tuesday.

Soneye revealed that the refinery will operate at 60 percent capacity and process 60,000bpd.

https://twitter.com/FM_Soneye/status/1861330633831620917?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1861330633831620917%7Ctwgr%5E776845f88f6fa6dd3c70082f4da1ee2632656999%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vanguardngr.com%2F2024%2F11%2Fbreaking-port-harcourt-refinery-begins-crude-oil-processing%2F

“Today marks a monumental achievement for Nigeria as the Port Harcourt Refinery officially commences crude oil processing. This groundbreaking milestone signifies a new era of energy independence and economic growth for our nation,” Soneye said on Tuesday.

“Hearty congratulations to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the NNPC Board, and the exceptional leadership of GCEO Mele Kyari for their unwavering commitment to this transformative project. Together, we are reshaping Nigeria’s energy future!”

Soneye added that truck loading will commence on Tuesday (today), adding that the NNPCL is also “working tirelessly to bring the Warri Refinery back online soon”.

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Nigeria’s GDP rate grew by 3.46% in Q3 2024, says NBS

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The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says Nigeria’s annual gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 3.46 percent in the third quarter (Q3) of 2024.

The NBS, in its GDP report published on Monday, said the growth rate is higher than the 3.19 percent recorded in Q2 2024.

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