Economy

Naira Redesign Won't Allow Politicians To Sponsor Thugs – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari says there is no going back on the planned redesign of the N1,000, N500 and N200 bank notes, adding that politicians won’t be allowed to mobilise resources and thugs to intimidate voters in the 2023 general elections.

The President made this known on Wednesday in an interview in the United Kingdom after meeting with His Royal Majesty, King Charles III in Buckingham Palace.

Buhari also said enough time has been given by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for Nigerians to deposit the present naira notes at banks in exchange for the newly redesigned ones which will be issued by December 15, 2022.

“On this change of currency, there will be a lot of money but time has been given from October to December, three months is enough for whatever money you have, to get it changed through the legal system.

“So, I don’t know why people are complaining about it,” the President said.

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FEC Approves N14.88bn For Construction Of FIRS Office

The Federal Executive Council has approved a contract for the construction of a new office block and parking lot worth over N14.88 billion for the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

The Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Clement Agba, disclosed this on Wednesday after the Council meeting presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the State House.

Ogba told State House Correspondents that the Construction of the 12 storey building would save FIRS N4 billion annual rent and decongest traffic along Awolowo Road.

The Council also approved the creation of a database of the National Capital Projects Information System of Government, to track the growing abandoned and uncompleted projects across the country, particularly in the last five years, which drains national funds.

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You Can't Deposit More Than N5million For New Accounts, N50million For Old Account Monthly - CBN

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed that individuals can only deposit N5million for new accounts and N50million for old accounts in one month.

CBN Director of Currency, Ahmed B. Umar,who issued the directive said that individuals will not be allowed to deposit more than N5 million if the transaction involves a new account in one month and if the transaction involves an old account, then only a maximum of N50 million will be allowed.

He also warned that those with multiple accounts will be monitored via the Bank Verification Number (BVN).

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I Will Sell Nigerian Refineries To Businessmen If Elected; They Can Manage Them Better – Atiku

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has again vowed to sell Nigerian refineries to “businessmen” if he is elected in 2023.

Atiku stated this during a special interview with the Voice of America (VOA Hausa) during his visit to Washington DC, America.

He said, “My position on this is not new, I already said years ago, I will sell them, because if you give it to the businessmen, they will run these refineries better.”

Regarding the oil theft in southern Nigeria, the former vice president also promised to deal with the problem if he became president.

“This is a different problem that we have to see how we can use the power of the government to stop it, because there must be cooperation between the NNPC and the security agencies who are responsible to look after Oil pipelines laid,” he said.

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FG Targets Loans From China, Portugal, Turkey To Complete Rail Projects — Transportation Minister

Mu'azu Jaji Sambo, the Minister of Transportation, has stated that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration hopes to complete ongoing rail projects across the country with multi-billion dollar loans from financial institutions based in China, Portugal, and Turkey.

The minister mentioned this when he appeared before the Joint National Assembly Committee on Land and Marine Transport, chaired by Senator Danjuma Goje on Thursday, adding that his ministry was focused on completing the Nigeria Railway Modernisation project.

He said, “Currently, the implementation of the Kaduna-Kano, Port Harcourt to Maiduguri and Kano-Maradi segments of the Railway Modernization is ongoing with the federal government counterpart funding in the 2022 appropriation.

“The ministry hopes that the Federal Ministry of Finance concludes negotiation of the loans with infrastructure development finance institutions of the Chinese, Portuguese and Turkish origin to implement the projects.

“To ensure finalising and signing of the loan agreements, evidence of source of funding of the balance of the advance payment and other aspects of work to be financed directly by the federal government has to be made available to these financial institutions through adequate budgetary provisions in the year 2023 budget and subsequent budgets."

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Reliance On Export Of Raw Materials, Disease That Needs Urgent Cure - Tinubu

Presidential candidate of All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on Tuesday, said his administration is committed to addressing the much dependence on export of raw materials which had been the bane of the country for years, declaring that such was a “disease” that must be cured without further delay.

Tinubu made this vow while speaking at an interactive session with the private sector participants, which took place at Eko Hotels in Victoria Island.

Our economy is too much dependent on export of raw materials, this is insufficient to fund the economy. The time is now to cure this disease,” he said.

The APC presidential candidate who noted that his personal experience in private sector and government, while he served as governor of Lagos would be deployed to bring about industrial revolution in the country if elected president, come 2023 said his administration was committed to achieving minimum of 6 per cent GDP growth, on yearly basis.

This was just as the APC presidential candidate who assured the private sector of strong partnership, promised to promote agriculture, to bring about enough food to the table of ordinary Nigerians, saying he was also determined to ensure that his administration provide affordable electricity in a way to drive the country’s industrial growth.

“We must target a win-win situation. I am determined to give you affordable power in a way to drive the country’s industrial growth.

“We must produce, we cannot afford not to. We have what it takes to bring power supply. We have the gas, we have the sun, among others,” he said.

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Proposed Introduction Of N5,000 Still On Course - Sanusi

Former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has claimed that plans to introduce N5,000 notes have not been forgotten.

Plans to introduce the N5,000 note in 2012 were resisted, forcing the CBN to shelve the idea.

Sanusi also said the proposed new Naira notes between December and January next year will all carry Arabic inscriptions.

The former CBN Governor, in a short sermon shared via his social media platforms, stressed that he had spoken with CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, who assured the rumoured removal of the Arabic inscription on the Naira notes was baseless.

During the sermon, he recalled how attempt by the CBN to introduce N5,000 note was resisted, stressing “considering the quantum of cash Nigerians carry, the issue is something that can not be avoided in future”.

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Artificial Intelligence, Robotics and the Post COVID-19 Era

Artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics are becoming increasingly sophisticated and they are set to play a significant part of our future workplace even after covid era, many big companies and Highflyer organizations have made used of these both automation to performance some crucial responsibilities during this widespread of covid 19 virus. as many of these companies and organizations can't afford to close their business because of the lockdown announce in many countries.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics are already/will be replacing the work traditionally performed by humans. This was unimaginable only a few years ago.
Robots are already entering the workplace, as explored in the following five examples.

1. Museum guides

Lincoln museum in the UK has a hi-tech robot which is equipped with sensors and cameras to guide visitors through the exhibitions. It was programmed by robotics experts from the University of Lincoln and finds the best routes around the museum, pausing at exhibits to offer facts and answer basic questions from visitors.

2. Fire assessment

Smoke and flames can make it impossible for even the most experienced of firefighters to navigate a building that is on fire. However, the SmokeBot can monitor the progression of fires and the damage being caused.

3. Fulfilment centre workers

Amazon’s fulfilment centres use robots to bring the shelves and stock to the workers for picking. They’re programmed to perform the most mundane and repetitive tasks, while the actual packing is still performed by humans.

4. Nuclear site clean-up

Robots are being used to remove dangerous radioactive waste at Sellafield nuclear power station. The waste is sucked up using arms mounted on overhead cranes. Another tool can attach to a crane and separate large pieces of debris into smaller chunks. The human operators stay safe, as they are shielded behind a wall while manoeuvring the robots.

5. Chatbots

Chatbots are pieces of software designed for humans to have conversations with, either verbally or via text (written) input. The first chatbot was invented in 1966 by Joseph Weizenbaum and was called Eliza. It used only 200 lines of code and delivered text responses based on the language of a therapist. People using Eliza knew they were interacting with a computer program. However, the humans using it during trials grew emotionally attached to it because of the set emotional responses Eliza was programmed to deliver.

Chatbots are now becoming far more sophisticated. They are creating an interface that soon won’t require a screen or a mouse to use, but will be completely conversational, meaning that they will respond to voice commands given by the user. Those conversations will be indistinguishable from those that we have with our friends and family.

In 2013, it was estimated in a research paper by the Oxford Martin School at the University of Oxford that 47% of jobs in the USA would be at risk of being lost to artificial intelligence (AI)1. This is just one of many differing predictions of what will happen. However, everyone agrees that significant changes within the workplaces of the future are inevitable.

There is a fear that automation (the loss of human jobs to the work of robots) is something that will happen to the world after covid 19. However, it’s more likely that it will happen with us. Robots might even make work better for humans by reducing the more menial and mundane tasks, allowing us to focus on more specialist skills. We may even need to work less.

Information from futurelearn course...

CBN Spends N281 Billion To Print New Notes In 5 Years

The CBN has spent N281.07 billion to print bank notes between 2016 and 2020 and another N3.88 billion to destroy mutilated notes within the same period.

Data from the apex bank showed that N33.37 billion had been used to print new notes in 2016, the amount expended increased to N49.52 billion and N64.04 billion 2017 and 2018. By the end of 2019, N75.52 billion had been spent on printing new naira notes as the amount spent declined in 2020 to N58.07 billion.

Within the same five year period, the central bank spent N3.88 billion to destroy N4.197 trillion. N1.44 billion was spent in 2016 to dispose of mutilated naira notes with a value of N829.94 billion. The amount spent however dropped by almost half to N594.62 million spent in 2017 to destroy N977 billion.

The money spent in disposing N814.59 billion rose to N662.21 million in 2018 and declined slightly to N647.82 million that was used to dispose of N814.43 billion. In 2020, N538.59 million had been used to destroy N698.59 billion.

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Soludo cancels taxes on wheelbarrow pushers, hawkers, others

Governor Charles Soludo has cancelled all taxes imposed on wheelbarrow pushers, vulcanizers, hawkers and some other blue-collar job holders in the state.Soludo made the announcement while addressing residents of the state at the second phase of the open bidding for revenue concessions at the Government House Awka.

He said; “Wheelbarrow pushers must not pay any fee in the state. Vulcanizers operating along the road should also cease paying any fee to anyone. Hawkers shouldn’t pay any fees. These poor people should stop being harassed.

“This message is for the Market unions. If they are found with any evidence, that union will be dissolved with immediate effect. We want to build a society where the poor feel empowered and where the rich can get more resources to create wealth and employment.”

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Sanwo-Olu To Borrow N350 Billion To Fund 2023 Budget

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Thursday revealed that the state will borrow N350 billion to fund the 2023 budget.

The governor had presented a budget of N1.69 trillion to the State House of Assembly for approval for the 2023 fiscal year.

The budget is deficit and to be financed by borrowing, which is pegged at N350 billion.

Currently, Lagos’ domestic debt as at June 2022, according to the Debt Management Office (DMO) stands at N797,305,312,602.53, while the foreign debt stands at 1.27 billion US Dollars (N555.828bn).

This pegged the state’s total debt profile in the region of N1.35 trillion.

However, in presenting the 2023 budget tagged: ‘Budget of Continuity,’ the governor said it comprised a Total Revenue of N1,342,670,649,640 and Deficit Financing of N350,000,000,000.

The budget comprises total Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of N1,108,435,649,640 and Total Federal Transfer of N234,235,000,000.

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Opinion: A Discussion on Grants and Entrepreneurship

The world is flourishing with ideas by entrepreneurs, as beautiful as these ideas may seem, inaccessibility to funding makes the execution of the idea a mirage- Funds nurture ideas.

The implementation of innovations and progression of already existing business depends largely on the availability of finance. Hence, there is a need to spell out appropriate strategies for its acquisition. The growth of businesses especially in developing nations where people have less access to grants is dependent on finance.

There is a common misconception that entrepreneurs have to own a large capital before starting their business. It is true that grants can actually help scale up the business, but the entrepreneurial skill lies in the ability to convert a small amount of the capital to yield a higher return.

Depending on the type of business, most starters often start small, especially if it is a service based business. Entrepreneurs, particularly small scale entrepreneurs are sometimes advised to cut down cost at the start of the business as much as possible. Instead of going for that expensive outlet, why not begin from a more affordable one that would provide the same service as the expensive one. As the business begins to grow, then you may start thinking of expanding your market. Trying to start out rightly big may tend to cloud your sight from seeing other possibilities to make it happen without external funding. The key is to find the lowest cost method to start when there is absence of external funding.

Of all means of financing, the most reliable and potent is the personal source of funding, that is, the personal savings. This is often the initial capital, a prerequisite at the early birth of the business, although it may not bring about adequate expansion of the business. The interest of investors in the business would be quenched if little or nothing is contributed by the business owner. Hence, depositing your own capital to cover the cost of launching will prompt prospective investors to invest in your business. Starting with your own capital will also help prevent huge loss when mistakes happen.

When sourcing for funds, it is important for entrepreneurs to identify the best source that would suit or is most ideal for the present need. Long term funds should not serve short term goals, that is, if fund is needed to cater for a need that would yield within two months, then entrepreneurs may want to source for funds through overdrafts, family and friends. Family and friends can help with the little they can provide coupled with your personal saving. It is not until you receive a big grant before you can take a small step which will accumulate to a big difference in the business.

Some entrepreneurs tend to overlook the importance of having a sound business plan. The business plan speaks for the business. It gives an overview about the business by projecting the entrepreneur’s vision, the mission of the business. Your business plan may be the important tool that would link you to potential investors, it serves as a proposal tool for application for loan or facility. Business plan gives the investor an in-depth knowledge about the business and may also help you to establish confidence in the investor. Hence, it is important for entrepreneurs to design a sound business plan which may be what you need for that big success.

Entrepreneurs may also want to consider the idea of strategic partnership, partnership does not mean selling your idea to someone, and it is simply collaborating, pulling resources together. This helps a great way than sole funding.

Furthermore, finding the right client and working on the client helps to expand the market. It involves the selling skills to convince the client that your service or product is worth paying for. The right client may be from your network, which is why it is important for upcoming entrepreneurs to expand their network and pitch their ideas to the network. In practice, entrepreneurs raise funds from multitude of sources, the idea is finding the right source that is tailored for your type of business without running into debts.

Nigeria’s Oil Reserves will Run Dry In 49 Years – DPR

Nigeria's crude oil reserves of 37 billion barrels, two per cent of which is being produced annually, will be depleted in 49 years, according to the Department of Petroleum Resources .

The reserves, which stood at 37. 45 billion barrels in 2014 , fell to 37. 06 billion barrels in 2015 and 36. 74 billion barrels in 2016. It, however, rose to 36.97 billion barrels in 2017 and 37 billion barrels in 2018, the DPR data showed .

“ The nation’ s depletion rate and life index are 2. 04 per cent and 49. 03 years respectively, ” the regulator said .

The reserves depletion rate is a measure of 2018 total oil and condensate production divided by the reserves as of January 1, 2019, according to the DPR .

“This indicator gives a bird ’s eye on an annual basis , what percentage proportion of the quoted reserves was produced. The life index , on the other hand , is a measure of the reserves as of January 1, 2019, divided by the total production in 2018 . This parameter highlights how long ( in years) quoted reserves volumes will be available for production .”

According to the DPR, to achieve the government’s aspiration of four million barrels per day production and reserves of 40 billion barrel, "there is a need for corresponding increase in reserves as production increases”

The nation ’s oil and gas production structure is majorly split between Joint Ventures onshore and in shallow water with foreign and local companies, and the Production Sharing Contracts in deepwater offshore, to which most of the international oil companies have shifted their focus in recent years.

The JV operators, despite having the highest production (about 41. 64 per cent) among all the contract types, recorded a low depletion rate of about 1. 8 per cent and high life index of 56 .34 years, according to the DPR.

It said the PSC companies had the highest depletion rate of 3.10 per cent and the lowest life index of 32.15 years, while accounting for about 36. 08 per cent of the nation’ s total production .

“Perhaps , the companies may have taken advantage of the poor government take in the deep offshore terrain to deplete the reserves therein with little regard for long- term sustainable production as amplified by the life index ,” the regulator said in a report.

It said the sole risk companies had the lowest depletion rate of 1. 5 per cent and the highest life index of 65. 49 years.

The regulator said these companies accounted for about 20. 14 per cent of the nation’ s total production in 2018, adding, “ This depletion rate does not reflect the fact these companies hold the second largest reserves of about 26.90 per cent. ”

The marginal field operators produced about 2 .14 per cent of the nation’ s total production in 2018, with a depletion rate of about 2. 7 per cent, life index of 36 .83 years and a national reserves portfolio of 1. 61 per cent.

The DPR said about nine operating companies , which it described as “ unhealthy ” , “ have oil and condensate life index of less than 15 years.”

“The statistics paint a very gloomy picture for these companies and urgent steps will be taken to address this observed trend. The department is engaging the companies to review their strategic plan to guarantee future reserves growth in order for them to remain in business, ” it said .

According to the regulator, as of January 1, 2019, the reserves replacement ratio, which measures the addition to reserves relative to the total production , for Nigeria’s oil and condensate reserves stood at four per cent.

It said “ Though this shows a positive RRR , it is not an impressive performance as just four per cent of the 2018 annual production was replaced via net addition to reserves.

nigeria's oil reserves, energy, pipeline

“The ideal scenario is when we have a 100 per cent RRR , i . e replace reserves at the same production rate. The RRR is used to judge the operating performance of the exploration and production industry. An RRR that is consistently over 100 per cent is ideal as it indicates that more reserve is being replaced than is produced. ”

Last week, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, said the nation’s oil sector had worsened as the uncertain fiscal environment put a damper on the investments badly needed to ramp up oil production and increase reserves.

He warned that most of the resources might have to be left in the ground if not explored and produced before the world moves away from oil .

He said, “If there is a lot of exploration , we believe that a lot of oil still remains to be found in Nigeria. And that is the beauty about Nigeria. Nigeria is not yet a mature territory; it is still very prolific.”

“There has been no targeted exploration for gas and yet we have 200 Tcf reserves. So, we believe that if we really go out looking for gas, we can find a lot more that will put us in the league of the most prolific in the world .

“Let us allow the investment to come into Nigeria, because there is still a lot of oil and gas to be found . Unfortunately, the bad news is that the world ’s 2020 outlook tells you that by 2040, oil and gas will account for only 50 per cent of the energy of the world .”

Union Urges Senator Saraki to Revive Ajaokuta Mill

The Iron Rod and Steel Dealers Employers Union of Nigeria has urged the new Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Senator Gbemisola Saraki, to resuscitate the Ajaokuta Steel Mill.

According to a statement issued in Lagos by the National President of the union, Chief Gbenga Awoyale, he applauded the redeployment of Senator Saraki to the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel.

Describing the move as a welcome development, the unionist, however, urged Senator Saraki to dedicate her focus on ways to rally financial and technical support, that would facilitate the resuscitation of Ajaokuta, Jos, Oshogbo, Delta and Katsina steel rolling mills.

He said that some of these mills had not been active for more than 20 years, in spite of the concession of some of them to managers.

According to him, government has to ensure that the concessioners get these mills working, or revoke and re-award the concession to other interested persons.

"The country is saturated with substandard iron rods now because our local mills are dysfunctional.

"The union is confident in the capability of the former Minister of State for Transportation – Sen. Saraki, to champion the resuscitation and development of the mines and steel industry in Nigeria," he said.

The president added that Sen. Saraki would ensure the availability of quality steel products and enhance economic development.

"It is with great pleasure that the Iron Rod and Steel Dealers Employers Union of Nigeria received the news of the redeployment of Sen. Gbemisola Ruqoyyah Saraki as the Minister of State for Mines and Steel.

"Considering her track record of excellent delivery as a former member of the Federal House of Representatives, the Nigerian Senate and lately, Minister of State for Transportation, we are confident, she would deploy her magic wand in tackling the seemingly insurmountable challenges of the Nigeria steel industry.

"As a leading advocate and partners in the war against substandard steel products in Nigeria, a menace that has led to several building collapse and loss of several lives, we want to assure you of our readiness to partner with your good office in the noble course," he said.

Awoyale implored Saraki to work assiduously with other stakeholders to ensure the Federal Government resuscitated all moribund steel rolling mills in the country.

He also tasked her on employment creation, tackling the rising inflation trend, enhancing Nigeria's economic growth and a drastic reduction in the menace of substandard steel products.

"We congratulate the Hon. Minister of State for Mines and Steel and wish her a fulfilling tenure in office," Awoyale said.

KoloNigeria introduces financial intelligence

KoloNigeria, a financial management company that operates a reformed thrift system is set to disrupt the social media space with the introduction of its new customer support bot.

Sisi, the bot, functions via the website and blog to give financial intelligence aids to individuals who are business inclined, investors and generally conscious of their wealth.

READ: If You are not in Charge of your Finances, you can't be in charge of your Destiny- Olatunde Victor, CMO Extramile Africa.

In a release announcing the launch, the KoloNG team led a notice to include that the platform operates an all inclusive system and in its operations, your financial responses are custom and personalised.

The KoloNigeria startup with its agent roots operates in Lagos, Ondo, Osun (Ile-Ife) and Ibadan. All operations are managed via the company's website and her head office in Ondo State, Nigeria. The company started operations in 2019 with an idea phased trial platform.

Short Bytes:Mark Zuckerberg has realised Facebook’s power to experiment with new ideas
to generate content and revenue. According to a news report, Facebook is testing new ways to allow the individual users to earn money from their posts. It indicates how aggressively Facebook is moving ahead to become a more dominant force in real-time sharing.

Facebook is now looking for new ways to make monetization of different aspects of Facebook a priority and become thebiggest force in the tech world.

Recently, the company allowed all publishers to use the Instant Articles platform and show ads to the readers.As a similar policy change, a newsurvey was recently spotted byThe Vergethat hints at the futureprospects of Facebook allowing its users to make some profit from their posts on the social network.

The user survey indicates that Facebook users could make money or promote a cause with the help of different options.

Users can include a tip jar, share branded content, and take a portion of the ad revenue Facebook earns from their posts.It was also reported that Facebook could also ask the users to use a ‘call to action’ button to direct the visitors to donations, some sponsored marketplace, or other monetization schemes.

At the moment, Facebook doesn’t allow the individual usersto earn money by posting any content on Facebook.

It has allowed the news publishers to make money using its platform by rolling out more tools and ad formats.

In past couple of years, Facebook has emerged as an advertising giant and the business of online news has never been forgiving.

According to a recent survey, in the first quarter of 2016, 85 cents of every dollar spent on online advertising goes to Facebook or Google.Facebook has the power to experiment with new ideas to generate content and revenue. It has realised its potential as a game changer and is busy twisting and making the new rules of internet marketing.

NBC fraud: EFCC recovers N10b

NBC fraud: EFCC recovers N10b

Abuja - The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has recovered N10 billion from the National Broadcasting Commission(NBC) being alleged inflation of collateral funds meant for Digital Set-Top -Boxes.

The commission is set to prosecute a former Director-General of NBC, Emeka Mba and three others.

Also to face trial is the NBC’s Director of Finance, Patrick Areh, who received a curious transfer of N390million and another N20million cash gift from the contract sum.

Others are the Managing Director, Technology Advisor, Basil Udotai, and the Managing Director of In-View Technology Limited and D-Vine Partners Limited, Babatunji Amure.

According to EFCC’s investigation, NBC under Mba defied the Federal Government’s directive of August 7, 2015 on Treasury Single Account (TSA) to divert N15 038 400,000, out of N34 114 500,000 received from MTN for Spectrum Band Width, to finance the contract for the Digital Set-Top -Boxes.

Out of the diverted N15 038 400,000 as collateral security to Zenith Bank Plc, EFCC investigators discovered that only N4 977 227 400 was needed.

$300m in looted funds to be returned to FG from Switzerland

$300m in looted funds to be returned to FG from Switzerland

Abuja - Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama has disclosed that negotiations are currently under way with a number of countries around the repatriation of looted funds stashed abroad.

The Minister revealed exchanges between Nigeria and Switzerland, saying that the Swiss had already repatriated $700 million in looted funds, Punch reports.

Onyeama also made mention of a further $300 million that had yet to be recovered but would be repatriated soon. He also revealed ongoing negotiations with the United Kingdom and the US around the repatriation of funds, saying that President Buhari had garnered international cooperation around the loot drive.

OONI OF IFE, OBA ADEYEYE OGUNWUSI TO ENGAGE 3,000 YOUTHS

Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, recently assured youths in the town that about 3,000 of them would be engaged at his ongoing project site in Ile-Ife.

He stressed also that 40 square miles of land had been

acquired at Ife reserve to drive massive agricultural revolution which would pave way for cocoa, oil palm and rubber plantation.

He said that the scheme would create job opportunities for not less than 20,000 people.

The monarch, who made these known in a statement by his Director of Media and Public Affairs, Mr Moses Olafare, in Osogbo, added that, the project would be dedicated this new year 2016 for youth development.

The statement also pointed out that, the king has set up a working committee on the “Youth Sport Drive and Talents Hunt” which is being spearheaded by a renown FIFA instructor and former Super Eagles coach, Chief Adegboye Onigbinde, a Modakeke indigene and NSA stalwart Chief Taiwo Ogunjobi to come out with a template of bringing back the old glory of sport competition, tagged “ Oduduwa Cup”.

This will take place across the Yoruba Nation.”