Refinery overhaul projects will begin in Nigeria as soon as the second quarter, an official from state oil company NNPC said on Tuesday.

NNPC is in the final stages of talks with consortiums including top traders, energy majors and oil services companies to revamp its long-neglected oil refineries in an effort to reduce its reliance on imported fuel.

The Electricity Meters Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (EMMAN) has appealed to the Federal Government to break the monopoly of distribution companies in the sale of meters to electricity consumers.

In a statement by the Executive Secretary of EMMAN, Mr Muyideen Ibrahim in Lagos on Monday, the group said such move would go a long way in addressing the challenges associated with estimated billings.

Ibrahim stated that breaking the monopoly will enable electricity consumers to procure and own meters directly.

The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday approved that the nominees for the positions of Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and members of the Monetary Policy Committee be screened for confirmation. The decision followed a point of order raised by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions, Senator Rafiu Ibrahim at the plenary on Tuesday.

Following the decision by the Federal Government to establish two modular refineries in the Niger Delta, one set of packaged shipment has arrived the country and undergoing Customs clearance. According to Dailytrust, the Niger Delta Inter-Ministerial Committee, chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo informed members at its presentation meeting in Abuja that the refinery would be installed in Delta.

Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission on Monday declared that Power Distribution Companies will no longer enjoy the monopoly of providing meters to electricity consumers. NERC in a new regulation unveiled on Monday said it has now introduced another class of operators in the power sector called Meter Asset Providers.

The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi on Friday dispelled reports that some unidentified armed robbers attacked passengers on the Abuja –Kaduna standard rail line on Tuesday, March 6 at Rigasa community, assuring that adequate measures had been put in place to ensure the safety of passengers and their belongings.

PricewaterhouseCoopers, PwC, Nigeria on Monday said that Nigeria’s real Gross Domestic Product, GDP, will grow at 2.0 per cent year-on-year in 2018, propelled by oil production increase and government spending. The group in its latest economic report said significantly higher oil sector growth in the first quarter of 2018 due to base effects is expected. Also expected is increased government and pre-election spending to boost the weak consumer spending.

A video footage of President Muhammadu Buhari driving a tractor in Jos, Plateau state, during a two day working visit went viral on the social media on Friday. The president was reportedly inaugurating the state tractor ownership scheme. It was gathered that the Governor of the state, Simon Lalong and Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, were among the dignitaries who witnessed the launch of the programme.

Power generation companies are planning to disrupt the supply of electricity across the country, an intention that suggests blackmail against the Federal Government, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, has alleged. Reacting to reports that some of the firms had gone to court to file claims against the Federal Government,

Buhari To Inaugurate N50bn Sugar Mill In Niger

The Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc said that arrangements were in top gear for the inauguration of its sugar mill, the Sunti Golden Sugar Estate, in Mokwa, Niger state.

The mill which is expected to produce 100,000 metric tons of sugar yearly is to be established at the cost of N50 billion.