financial vanguard 14th january edition

CMYK

JANUARY 14, 2013

Continued on page 18

Nigeria risks decline inforeign aid in 2013— Experts

BY BABAJIDE KOMOLAFE

Nigeria and Nigerian institutions risk significant declinein foreign aid and assistance

from multilateral donor agencies anddeveloped countries says economicexperts.

Speaking at the FinanceCorrespondents Association ofNigeria (FICAN) Roundtable on theEconomy, with the theme “NigerianEconomy in 2013: Issues andExpectations”, experts said that the

uncertainties in the global economyand the planned rebasing of Nigeria’sReal Gross Domestic Product (GDP)could lead to decline in foreign aidand support to the country andinstitutions in the country that dependon such aids.

In a paper titled, Global EconomicOutlook in 2013: Implications forNigeria, Professor Akpan Ekpo,Director General, West AfricanInstitute for Financial and EconomicManagement (WAIFEM), said thatsome advance countries have startedreducing funding of key multilateral

financial institutions, who also haveindicated intention to reduce aid givento developing economies like Nigeriaand institutions in such countries thatdepend on such aids.

On his part, Mr. Bismarck Rewane,Managing Director/Chief Executive,Financial Derivatives Company (FDC)Limited, said that the plannedrebasing of Nigeria’s real GDP couldlead to decline in foreign aid to thecountry and magnify incomeinequality.

The real GDP is the total output ofgoods and services produced in an

economy at the prices of a particularyear, called the base year. Currently,Nigeria’s real GDP is calculated using1990 prices. But the National Bureauof Statistics plans to increase the baseyear to 2008 hence real GDP will becalculated using 2008 prices.

In a paper titled, “Monetary Policyand Economic Growth in 2012 -Outcomes and Prospects in 2013,”Rewane observed that this move is noteconomically expedient and it is forpolitical mileage, adding that it is likewearing high heel shoes to increaseones height.

He said that the rebasing will resultin an increase in the nominal GDP toan estimate of $400 billion from thecurrent estimate of $273.8 billionwhile Real GDP growth rate coulddecline from seven per cent to five percent in 2013.

He noted that when the maximumdeficit to GDP ratio of 3.0 per cent isapplied, the rebasing will increase theamount of money government canborrow, as three per cent of $400billion is higher than three per centof $273.8 billion.

He said that the higher nominalGDP figure will lead to a shift inNigeria’s status to Middle incomecountry from that of a low income

Kano state governor Dr. Rabiu Kwakwaso and the MD /CEO Bank of Industry Ms. Evelyn Oputu during a courtesy visitby the management of Bank of Industry to the governor at the governor’s lounge Abuja yesterday.

CURRENCY BUYING CENTRAL SELLING

CBN Exchange rate as at 11/01/2013

1110.55 -1.34

93.64 -0.18

153.0 3.35

2,255.00 -14.00

19.19 0.23

DOLLAR 154.77 155.27 155.77

POUNDS 249.3499 250.1555 250.961

EURO 205.1322 205.7949 206.4576

FRANC 168.7602 169.3054 169.8506

YEN 1.7429 1.7485 1.7542

CFA 0.2904 0.3004 0.3104

WAUA 236.0165 236.7789 237.5414

RENMINBI 24.8953 24.9762 25.0571

RIYA 41.2676 41.4009 41.5342

KRONA 27.4873 27.5761 27.6649

SDR 236.7826 237.5476 238.3125

Cover Story

CMYK

18 — Vanguard, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2013

Continued from page 17 ,,

country and hence lose theforeign aid and supportusually given to low incomecountries, but will still meetthe convergence criteria forECOWAS.

Meanwhile Nigeria’sforeign trade improvedsharply in the third quarterof 2012 with $12 billionsurplus occasioned by 42 percent decline in imports. Thesurplus represents 43 percent increase when comparedwith the surplus of N8.62billion recorded in thesecond quarter of the year.

According to the ExternalSector report of the Centralbank of Nigeria (CBN) forthe quarter, the sharpincrease in the trade surpluswas occasioned by 42 percent decline in aggregateimports, and 8.2 increase inaggregate export.

The report also shows thatforeign investment rose by87.39 per cent to $6.07 billionin the second quarter from$3.43 billion in the firstquarter. The apex bankhowever expressed concernover the continueddomination of portfolioinflows (investment) in theforeign investment in thecountry. According to theapex bank, portfolioinvestment accounted formore than three quarters ofthe total foreign investmentduring the quarter.

The report stated,“Nigeria’s trade balanceimproved significantly fromUS$8.62 billion in Q2, 2012and $1.60 billion in Q3, 2011respectively to US$12.37billion in Q3, 2012.Aggregate exports rose by8.2 per cent from US$22.53billion in Q3, 2011 toUS$24.37 billion in Q3, 2012while aggregate imports(CIF) declined by 42.7 percent to US$11.99 billion in

Nigeria risks decline in foreignaid in 2013 —Experts

the review period.“The trade balance position

improved due to lower importsof goods and services andincreased exports earnings.The external reservesexceeded the internationalbenchmark of 3 months ofimports cover. However, therising external debt stockremains a major concern.Most importantly, the debtservice payments should bemonitored in order not toconstrain the financing of keydevelopment programmes.Also, the slow global recoverycontinues to dampen worlddemand for commodities andpossibly lower prices couldcause adverse trade shocks.Government therefore shouldaddress gaps in domesticproduction and investment incritical infrastructure in aneffort to curtail the nation’sheavy dependence on im-ports. Finally, the observedincrease in the inflow offoreign direct and portfolioinvestment over the last twoquarters suggests the need to

put in place measures againstcapital reversal.

“The estimated currentaccount balance posted asurplus of US$5.03 billion or7.61 per cent of gross domesticproduct (GDP) compared withUS$5.0 billion in the pre-ceding and against a deficit ofUS$3.86 billion in Q3, 2011.The performance was largelyexplained by the lower importbills, increased exportearnings and decreased out-payments in respect ofdividends and distributedbranch profits to foreigninvestors.

“Further analysis revealedthat imports of goods declinedby 21.67 and 45.29 per centbelow its level in Q2, 2012 andQ3, 2011 respectively. Whileearnings from exports of goodsrose by 4.15 and 8.16 per centwhen compared with therecorded levels in Q2, 2012and corresponding quarter in2011, respectively. The exportearnings were largely drivenby oil receipts whichaccounted for 97.4 per cent oftotal. The non-oil exportscontinued to under performowing to high cost ofproduction.

“The aggregate foreigncapital inflows was US$6.07billion in Q3, 2012 com-paredwith US$3.43 billion andUS$3.24 billion, recorded inQ2, 2012 and Q3, 2011,respectively, representingincreases of 87.39 and 77.09per cent, respectively. Of thetotal capital inflows FDIaccounted for 23.79 per centwhile PI accounted for 76.21per cent. Further analysisshowed that both FDI and PIinflows increased over theirlevels in Q2, 2012 by 81.0 and75.9 per cent, respectively. Thecontinued dominance ofportfolio investment inaggregate foreign capitalinflows suggests the need toput in place measures againstcapital reversal.”

Fidson Healthcare held 2012 Acknowledging &Celebrating Excellence [ACE] award. at GoldenTulip Hotel, Lagos. From right: Slella Olanipekun, Presenting Process Improvement Award toMr. Abubakar Elemeje and Mrs. Victoria Abubakar, look on the ceremony. Photo: Joe Akintola,Photo Editor.

Furtheranalysisrevealed thatimports ofgoodsdeclined by21.67 and45.29 percent belowits level inQ2, 2012and Q3,2011respectively

Oil Refinery

The term businessdenotes a particulartrade or profession

designed to provide goodsand/or services to consumers.And in like vein, anyorganization which providesthese services is also referredto as a ‘Business’.Businesses play a vital rolein the life and culture ofcountries with capitalist andfree-market economies. Infree-market economies,businesses operate withoutgovernment control in matterssuch as pricing and wagelevels. While in capitalisteconomies, private individualand business firms carry onthe production and exchangeof goods and servicesthrough a complex networkof prices and markets. Theearliest known use of“business” is the state ofbeing busy either as anindividual or society as awhole, doing commerciallyviable and profitable work.

It is of utmost importancethat in starting a business,you need to be guided in yourchoice of bringing thatlifelong dream of yours intofruition. By following thebasic guides or rules, you canwrite a plan adequately thatreflects your goals, yourpersonal skills, needs,knowledge, leadershipabilities, available resources,level of risk, and the natureof your business factor intothe equation (the nature ofyour business). One of themost important aspects ofstarting your own business isthat it gives you anopportunity to do what youenjoy.

When starting a business,certain important points mustcome to mind your businessmust fit into your personality,passion, vision, strengths andother strong character traits.Never base your desire tostart a business on what afriend has done, this isbecause the fact that itworked for another doesn’tnecessarily mean it will workfor you. Bear in mind thatentrepreneurship isindividualistic, andleadership is indivisible.

Let me explain to you, whyI decided to write this book. Iam constantly pained by thealarming rate of unemployedyouths in the society and thepoverty level not only in ourcountry, but also all over theworld. The situation pulls at

The Basic Guide to Startingyour Business Part 1

my heartstrings and I knowand am convinced that wecan change things for thebetter, if only people join inthe entrepreneurialrevolution by becoming theirown boss.

Growing up for me wasn’teasy and I knew I didn’twant to end up that way, sothe moment I discovered anopportunity, I did nothesitate to take advantage ofit. I’m desirous for atransformation, which willcatapult your life to that placeGod has predestined for you.

Every business starts withan idea, so it is important tohave the right kind of idea;this is because the wrongidea can lead to the failureof a business. Don’t forgetthat the first step is alwayscrucial in the start of anyjourney in life.

It is important that youBrace up for the challengesahead, and do not let anyonefool you (don’t be deceived)that you won’t encounter

obstacles. Nevertheless, thedetermination to succeedand go on will guaranteethat you remain on top ofyour game; this is becausethe very existence of an ideain your mind shows that youhave within and aroundyou, the capacity to turn itinto reality.

Generally, the size ofbusiness you want toembark on has to bethoroughly considered; thisis because there is nomaximum or minimumlength for a business plan.

Everybusinessstarts with anidea, so it isimportant tohave theright kind ofidea; this isbecause thewrong ideacan lead tothe failure ofa business

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CMYK

Vanguard, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2013 — 19

Business & Economy,

,

Two weeks ago when Iwrote about the cementmanufacturers in the

country and the need toencourage them, one of theresponses was in the form ofa question. The reader askedhow to tackle the glut in theindustry as of today. It israther unfortunate that boththe government and theprivate sector in Nigeria arenot forward looking. At themoment the construction andhousing sector of the economywhich make use of cement aredepressed. As a result, thedemand for cement is on thelow side. Even if the price ofcement comes down today,those who are not in positionto build will not buy cementbecause it can not be storedfor a long time. Perhaps in thenew year as government atvarious levels begin to awardcontract for road construction,housing and others, thedemand for cement will pick.

Ordinarily industries aresupposed to do marketresearch and produce to meetcurrent market demand for agiven product. More oftenthan not Nigerian producersdo not undertake marketresearch in order to hedgeagainst a depressed market.Equally true is the fact thatgovernment policy are notforward looking. Whengovernment initiated thebackward integration policy itshould have consider ascenario where producers willbe faced with stocks of finishedinventory. This would haveprepared the affectedcompanies for alternatives.Besides Nigerian companiesshould not be confined toproducing for Nigeria. Theyshould by now havedeveloped export strategy forthier products. This also hasshown the failure of theNigerian Export Promotion

Cement producers shoulddevelop export strategy

Story of glut inthe Nigeriancement sector hitthe news a fewweeks ago –coming assomething that’lltaper afterfestivities or whenconstruction picksup, instead it hascontinued andhas draggedcementmerchants intofray

Council to provide leadershipto industry. In other parts ofthe world where things work,their export agencies work incollaboration with industries topromote mother productsabroad.

Story of glut in the Nigeriancement sector hit the news afew weeks ago – coming assomething that’ll taper afterfestivities or when constructionpicks up, instead it hascontinued and has draggedcement merchants into fray. Ithas raised dust between localmanufacturers and importers.Importers are blamed forexcessive importation, effectthat has led to a halt in localproduction and firing ofstaffers. Government has nothelped the matter as officialsare insisting they have donewell with the policy ofbackward integration.

Olusegun Aganga Ministerof trade and Investmentspeaking broadly on the issuesaid, “Following thetremendous success recordedthrough the introduction andrigorous implementation of theBackward Integration Policy inthe cement industry, we areplanning to review the entirepolicy to consolidate on thegains so far recorded. We haveachieved everything we set for

ourselves 10 years ago whenthe Backward IntegrationPolicy was introduced, and wewant to thank all stakeholdersand investors in the sector forthe success story recorded sofar. However, we want to takethe next step as part of ourstrategy on the way forward.We are forming a group ofpeople that will look at thecement policy in details andcome up with the policyresponse that we need to havein place to take that next stepthat will make us a majorexporter and user of cementin terms of consumption”

Why did this governmenthave to wait until there was aproblem before setting out tolook into the issue of cementproduction in the country? Isthis government serious aboutIndustrialization of thecountry and becoming thetwentieth largest economy by2020? Is this governmentgoing to create jobs for theteaming army of Nigerianunemployed youths throughhalf hazard policies? Anyminister in charge of trade andindustry does not need to bean economist to know thatlooking beyond Nigeriamarket should be the ultimategoal of policy. The ECOWASmarket is large enough for

Nigerian industries to playaround and export excessproduction.

In the 2002 cement policyframework the major priorityof the country ’s BackwardIntegration Policy was aboutcement production fromlimestone. After 10 years ofimplementation of the BIP, thegood news is that Nigeriastarted with two million metric

tonnes capacity, but today, itnow has about 28 millionmetric tonnes capacity ofcement or investment of about$9billion; which providesdirect and indirectemployment for about twomillion people. This has savedthe country foreign exchangeof about N210 billion per year.It is very unfortunate thatwhile investors in the cementindustry went to work thegovernment went to sleep. Ithas taken the nation ten yearsto realise that it has movedfrom a capacity a of 2 millionmetric tonne in 2002 to 28million metric tonne in 2012.

The Minister, beating hischest on behalf of governmentin the face of this crisis said,“For the first time ever, thisministry did not issue anyimport licence in 2012. This isa remarkable achievementand a major economic successfor our country. However, wewant to carry out a deeperreview of the cement sector toensure that it is morecompetitive not just locally butinternationally because we areat a point where we should bethinking about exporting someof our products.” This meansthat we need to look at theoverall structure includingthe current pricing,availability, affordability, inaddition to developing anexport strategy for the sector.”Why is it that Nigerian policymakers would like to wait fora crisis situation beforethinking of what to do?

Cote d’ ivoire nationalairline,Air Cote d’ivoire

management team was inNigeria recently to discusspartnership agreement withArik Air . The Ivorian team ledby the chairman of Air Coted’ivoire, General CoulibalyAbdoulaye, met with Arikmanagement team led by ArikAir chairman Sir JohnsonArumemi-Ikhide at Arikcorporate headquarters inLagos.

Briefing aviation reportersafter the meeting, Abdoulaye

Air Cote d’ivoire wants partnership with Arik —General Coulibaly

By LAWANI MIKAIRUsaid they were in Arik Air todiscuss areas of mutualpartnership with the airlineand learn from its experience.

‘’ I have read so much aboutSir Arumemi and Arik Air. Ourairline being a new one in theaviation market after theIvorian crisis, we want topartner Arik to facilitate thegrowth of our young airline.Arik has done very well withexpansion and growth and itsservice delivery is good. Wewant to benefit from that.”, hesaid

Abdoulaye further revealedthat the airline was formed inMay last year and thegovernment of Cote d’ivoire

has 65 percent share equity ,Air France has 25 percent,

while Celente groupcomprising of Air Mali and AirBukinabe has the remaining10 percent. The airlinecurrently has two aircraft andit will commence flightoperations on November 12’.

Also speaking, the DirectorGeneral of Air Cote d’ivoire,Rene Decurrey, said theairline hope to cover the WestAfrican market within theshortest possible time beforeexpanding its operations tocentral Africa especially thefrench speaking countries. Hefurther said arrangement hasbeen made with Boeing andEmbrarer to supply aircraft tothe airline to increase its fleet.

Responding, Arik chairmanSir Arumemi Ikhide expressedjoy that the government ofCote d'ivoire has seen thenecessity to form partnershipwith west Africa neighbours,particularly Arik Air. Hehoped that the partnershipwill be mutually beneficial toboth parties. He commendedthe vision of PresidentQuattara of Cote d’ivoire forinitiating working economicpartnership with West Africacountries. This explained whyhe allowed Air Mali and AirBurkinabe to have shares inthe young Air Cote d’ivoire.

,

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He furthersaidarrangementhas beenmade withBoeing andEmbrarer tosupply aircraftto the airlineto increase itsfleet


CMYK

Business & Economy

Nigerian BottlingCompany Limited(NBC), bottlers of

the Coca-Cola brand of softdrink in Nigeria, haspartnered with Ogun StateGovernment, through ‘UpliftDevelopment Foundation’ -the pet projectof the Wife of the Governor,Ms. Funsho Amosun, toempower low income women

By PRINCEWILLEKWUJURU

NBC, Ogun partner to empower women

in the state.This gesture tallies

with Coca-ColaSystem’s global ‘5by20’programme meant toempower five milliondisadvantaged womene n t r e p r e n e u r s ,empowering themthrough the Coca-Colavalue chain by 2020.NBC kick-started the5by20 programmeempowerment of over100 low income womenin Ogun State byproviding 50beneficiaries withproduct capital, coolersand basic sales trainingskills. The initiative willhelp create sustainablelivelihood for thebeneficiaries and this isexpected to have aripple effect inenhancing the quality oflife of their families.Mrs. AdeyanjuOlomola, Head, PublicAffairs andCommunications, NBC,at the commissioning ofthe initiative inAbeokuta, said: “NBC isin partnership withOgun State for the‘Uplift the NeedyInitiative’ because ithas long recognized thatthe wellbeing of itscommunities andstakeholders is integralto the company ’swellbeing. NBC strivesto be a partner for thesocial and economicdevelopment of itscommunities throughvarious empowermentprogrammes that arej o i n t l ydeveloped andimplemented by thec o m m u n i t i e s . ”She commended theenterprising nature ofthe indigenes of OgunState and thanked theFirst Lady of the Statefor the opportunitygranted NBC toimplement thecompany ’s 5by20programme. The goal of5by20 is to cultivate thespirit of enterprise suchas that of Ogun Stateindigenes byempowering them

through our value chain.Basic sales training for thebeneficiaries was facilitatedby NBC’s Sales Academy inDecember 2012,” she furtheradded.

By20 is an ambitiousprogram of the Coca-ColaCompany that seeks to enablethe economic empowermentof 5 million womenentrepreneurs across theCoca-Cola value chain by2020. The program leveragesopportunities that exist in ourvalue chain and assists thesewomen overcome the barriers

they normally face inenterprise. By providingaccess to business skills,financial services, assets andsupport networks of peers andmentors, 5by20 is helpingwomen succeed asentrepreneurs, while alsocreating thriving, sustainablecommunities.

Mrs. Funsho Amosun, wifeof the governor of Ogun State,thanked NBC for thepartnership with her UpliftDevelopment Foundation toempower indigenes of thestate and promised that the

initiative will be sustained toensure more people from thestate are empowered in thefuture. “We thank NBC forresponding to our invitationto partner with us, as westrive to eradicate povertyamong the people. Webelieve that when youempower a woman, youinvariably empower thefamily,” she said.Mrs. Amosun urged thebeneficiaries, who are mostlywidowed, unemployed andfinancially displaced, toutilize the empowerment

provided them judiciouslyand extend same gesture topeople aroundthem, spreading the goodwilluntil poverty is finallyeradicated among the people.The NBC/Uplift the Peopleempowerment initiative is aninvestment worth overN20million with the provisionof lock-up kiosks, electriccoolers, ice chests andproducts as seed stock for theselected 50indigenes of Ogun State.

CMYK


Business & Economy

NEPAD tasks African leaders

on infrastructure deficit

L-R, Media Assistant to Director General, Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) Mr.Sam Adurogboye, Head, Aeromedical, Dr. Teresa Bassey and Director, Airworthiness Standards,Engr. Emmanuel Usifo at a press briefing update on Dana Airline’s compensation to Familiesof the Victims held yesterday at NCAA Annex, Murtala Mohammed International Airport,Ikeja, Lagos. Photos by Lamidi Bamidele.

BY EMMANUEL ELEBEKE& SAMUEL MOSES

The special adviser to thePresident on New Part-

nership for Africa’s Develop-

ment (NEPAD), Dr. TunjiOlagunju, has urged Africanleaders to share experienceand ideals on tackling the in-frastructure deficit on thecontinent.

Olagunju gave the charge ata technical workshop oninfrastructure initiative heldin Abuja. He said the callbecame necessary because in-frastructure is critical to

BRIEFSeconomic transformationand eliminating povertyin Africa, but theinadequacies in infra-structure among otherconstraints’ have militat-ed against the attain-ment of this objective.

Highlighting othershortcomings of the de-velopment at the work-shorop, Olagunju saidAfrica needs to pursueproject under the pur-view of the presidentialinfrastructure championinitiative(PICI) if it is toovercome its present eco-nomic predicament.

Secretary to the gov-ernment of the federa-tion, Sen. Ayim PiusAyim who was represent-ed at the workshop by thepermanent secretary inthe political and econom-ic affairs office, JohnFemi said the infrastruc-ture gap in Africa hasbeen a major obstacle toeffort aimed at transform-ing and improving thelives of its citizens.

The workshop with thetheme PICI; A panaceafor sustainable growthand development in Af-rica is aimed at givingthe PICI mechanism aboost for effective imple-mentation and maximumimpact.

Operator foresees low container volume in firstquarter

BY GODFREY BIVBERE

A maritime operator andManaging Director of

APM terminal Apapa, Mr.Dallas Hampton, has predict-ed that the nation’s port willwitness low volume of cargoin the first quarter of 2013.

Hampton explained that al-though the country’s econo-my is big and has huge po-tential for growth, “the lowvolume experienced since thesecond half of 2012 will con-tinue into the first quarter ofthis year”,

He noted that apart from lowvolume of container import,the biggest challenge for con-tainer terminal operators atpresent is overcapacity andunderutilization.

The APM Terminals bossalso disclosed that volumesare not expected to pickup before the second quar-ter of the year.

He said container volumesin Lagos recorded a margin-al increase of aboutthree percent in 2012 asagainst an increase of 25 per-cent recorded in 2011.

“We projected 700,000 TEUsin 2012 but we handled only

650,000 TEUs only a slightincrease above the 2011 fig-ure of 628,000 TEUs”, he dis-closed.

He said the terminal nowruns more efficiently thanever before with nosignificant waiting time forvessels to berth.

“We have not had any sig-nificant waiting time for ves-sels for the last 9months and vessels are ableto berth at the terminal short-ly after arrival at the port. Weare also seeing a reduction in

imported container dwell timedue to a number of reasons,not least of which are the com-pany’s improved systems forpositioning of containers forscanning although the sheerquantity of containers re-quested by Nigerian Customsfor physical inspection re-mains a challenge. APM Ter-minals has recently intro-duced a new enhancement forcustomers who are able to ac-curately nominate their con-tainers for x-ray scanning pri-or to Customs confirmation.

We have always said thatif we can have accurateinformation about whichcontainers need x rayscanning we can havethem scanned much ear-lier and allow customersto take delivery of theirgoods several days soon-er, rather than the usualsystem of waiting forCustoms to review andnominate”, the APM Ter-minals boss stated.

UK-Nigeria bilateral Banking, Finance &Investment Confab holds in London

A high-level UnitedK i n g d o m - N i g e r i a

bilateral banking, finance andinvestment developmentconference is to hold inLondon on February 5, 2013.Supporting and partneringwith BusinessinAfrica EventsLimited to host the event areNigeria High Commission,City of London, UK Trade andInvestment, London StockExchange and Nigerians inthe Square Mile. The eventis slated to be held at theBloomberg Auditorium, City

Gate House, Moorgate,London. Bloomberg is one ofthe world’s leading globalbusiness and investmentinformation media group.

It is expected that officialsof the Federal Government ofNigeria who will grace theconference will make policyand investmentpronouncements that willreveal exciting businessopportunities in Nigeria.Already, developments in thecountry point to a lot ofbusiness opportunities in the

country. These includethe steadily higherreturns on investment inthe Nigerian StockExchange, considerationby leading Nigerianfirms to list on the LondonStock Exchange, thepower sector reformswhich is expected toplace the private sector inthe driver’s seat in thequest for improved powersupply.

IPMP dragsPMPI to courtover allegedinfringement oftrade name

By SIMON EBEGBULEM

BENIN CITY- International Project Manage-

ment Professionals, IPMP, hasdragged the management ofProject Management Profes-sional Institute, PMPI, beforea Federal High Court sittingin Benin, Edo State, over al-leged infringement of tradename.

In the writ of summons andstatement of claim, signed byCounsel to IPMP, Barr. EniyeEwean, the plaintiff is askingthe court to stop the defen-dants from carrying outproject management trainingin the name and style ofProject Management Profes-sional Institute and also topay the sum of N10 millionas damages.

They alleged that the De-fendants have been using theunincorporated name ofProject Management Profes-sional Institute (PMPI) whichis a similar name to the plain-tiff ’s own to mislead the Na-tional Youth Service Corps(NYSC) and the general pub-lic into believing that theywere carrying out projectmanagement training in thename of Project ManagementInstitute (PMI) and that theyare one and the same entityas Education Provider.

We won’t shutdown plants—Lafarge

BY FRANKLIN ALLI

Lafarge Cement WAPCONigeria Plc has said that

it remains in operation andhas no intention of shuttingdown its plants. The firm saidit remains focused on its vi-sion of delivering value to itscustomers and stakeholdersthrough innovative productsand services that have be-come the hallmark of its busi-ness.

The Managing Director andChief Executive Officer, JoeHudson, in a clarification ofrecent reports said that “al-though we temporarily re-duced our production recent-ly to manage inventory lev-els, we have no intention ofclosing our plants and expectto be fully operational soon.Indeed it is true that the lastquarter of 2012 saw an un-usually dull market evi-denced by an industry-widesituation where current stocklevels of cement and clinkerare high.”


CMYK

Banking & Finance

BRIEF

BOA, otherbanks movecloser to endingmortgage mess

Bank of America (BOA)Corp announced more

than $14 billion of legalsettlements over badmortgages it sold toinvestors and flaws in itsforeclosure process, takingthe bank a step closer toending the home loanproblems that have doggedit for years.

About $3 billion of Bank ofAmerica’s Monday ’ssettlements were part of alarger $8.5 billion dealbetween 10 big mortgagelenders and regulators toend a loan-by-loan review offoreclosures mandated bythe government.

Bank of America sharestouched their highest levelin nearly two years asinvestors called it a goodstep toward ending thecompany’s multiple legalwoes. The shares laterretreated to close down 0.2percent at $12.09.

Analysts have estimatedthat Bank of America haspaid out some $40 billion formortgage settlements sincethe crisis began. Most ofthose losses stem from its2008 purchase ofCountrywide Financial,once the largest subprimelender in the United States.

But the bank is movingcloser to the day when it canstop worrying aboutmortgages and start focusingon growth, analysts andinvestors said.

“It’s a step in the rightdirection in terms of tryingto put these issues behindthe company,” said JonathanFinger of Finger InterestsLtd, a Houston, Texas-basedinvestment firm that owns1.1 million of the bank’sshares.

Besides the multibankforeclosure settlement, thesecond largest U.S. bankalso announced about $11.6billion of settlements withgovernment mortgagefinance company FannieMae to end allegations thebank improperly soldmortgages that later soured,and to resolve questionsabout foreclosure delays.

Bank of America hadalready set aside money tocover most of thosesettlements. The deal withFannie wipes out 44 percentof the buy-back requests thebank faced as of the end ofthe third quarter. It alsoeliminates possible futurerepurchase requests onabout $300 billion in loans.

The ExecutiveProgramme Director,

Self Reliance EconomicAdvancement Programme(a financial servicesinstitution), Mr. OladokunOlatunde, has said that theintroduction of an anti-fraud software by theCentral Bank of Nigeria isa development that willreduce fraud in Nigeria’sfinancial sector.

Olatunde, in aninterview with newsmenduring SEAP’s financialsummit in Ilorin recently,said the initiative wouldstrengthen the financialsector. According to him,there is need for allfinancial institutions tofurther protect themselvesagainst risks, especiallyfraud. He said, “TheCBN’s anti-fraud softwareis very good. We supportit. Anti-fraud mechanismis one of the things we aretrying to put in place. Weare currently using

CBN anti-fraud software’ll strengthen financial sector – SEAP boss

software, which is marble.With this marble, some of ourloan officers are going to beequipped with a kind ofhandsets and from the field,they can send information ofpayments to the office straightand at the same time givealerts to the customers.

“Anything that can reducefraud, that will make thirdperson’s money be intact anduseful, is welcome.”

Olatunde said that SEAPinvested about N44m inCorporate SocialResponsibilities and N27m inhealth scheme in 2012.

The SEAP boss stated thattwo credit bureau introducedby the CBN would greatlyassist financial institutions intheir operations. According tohim, it will enable the banksto identify the credit ratingsof loan applicants and reduceloss of money in the sector.He, however, said thatstrategic measures should beestablished to avoid being

compromised. He said,“Another thing the CBN isworking on is the creditbureau in which they wantmicrofinance banks tosubscribe. That will helpMFBs at the end of the day.

“Credit Bureau will help usa lot because the database ofall the members in financialinstitutions will be storedthere. Credit bureau will thenbe able to give accurateinformation of creditworthiness of customers.”

Olatunde also called on theCBN to increase its financialsupport to microfinancebanks. He stated that some ofthe MFBs were being forcedto access loans at very highinterest rate.

According to him, thispractice will not accelerateeconomic growth and thedevelopment of the financialsector. He said that thegovernment should provideenabling environment forbusinesses to thrive.

Olatunde stated that lack ofinfrastructure was impedingbusiness transactions and thedevelopment of small andmedium enterprises as wellas big industries orcompanies. He said, “Thegovernment has been payinglip service to funding themicrofinance institutions andbanks. This year, the FederalGovernment launched apackage in which theywanted to support the MFBs.

“How do we go and begetting a commercial interestrate for lending? It is like weare mortgaging poverty inthe lives of the borrowers. Wecan never get a loan that cansupport production becausethe terms and conditions ofloan in Nigeria are notfavourable for production.Infrastructure is not there.Many of the companies arerunning on diesel and howare they going to make profitnot to talk of the repaymentof the loans?”

left , Prince Jeminiwa Emmanuel, Acting Director (Regulation Monitoring), Nigeria LotteryRegulatory Commission; Mr Funwa Akinmade, Group Head, Products, Ecobank Nigeria andMr Abel Ajala, Head, Export Desk, Domestic Bank, representing Executive Director, Lagos andSouth West during the fourth and Grand draw of Ecobank Win Big promo held in Lagos lastweek. Photo by Lamidi Bamidele

The Nigerian economy would havebeen in grave dan-

ger this year, had the Gov-ernment and legislators ofthe United States failed toreach a deal on the FiscalCliff.

According to analysts,

Nigerian economy escapes recessionfollowing US fiscal cliff deal

BY KUNLE KALEJAYEWith Agency Report

the effects of the US fiscal cliffon the Nigerian marketswould have come in two folds.”Firstly with the economy’slong standing dependence oncrude oil, another round of re-cession across major econo-mies would lead to a drop indemand and prices for com-modities like oil thus hurtingthe revenue positions of theNigerian government and thestability of the local currency.

”Secondly, the inclusion of

Nigeria’s debt instruments in theJ.P Morgan and Barclay’s indi-ces triggered strong offshore de-mand for these instruments. Thisincreases the connectivity andsensitivity of the Nigerian econ-omy to the international markets.Thus Nigeria will be much morevulnerable to internationalshocks like the US Fiscal Cliffthan at any time in our history,”the analysts said.

However, the analysts main-tained that the Nigerian econo-

my would have enjoyedcertain benefits if the UShad ‘Fallen over the Cliff ’.

They said, “On the up-side, the Nigerian econo-my will also benefit fromexternal trends like theaversion of the cliff. Allthese factors will help in-crease the dynamism ofthe Nigerian market inthe long run.”

Recently, Global mediahas been abuzz with talksof the US Fiscal Cliff rem-iniscent of the much tout-ed “Y2K millennium bug”.Unlike the bug whichturned out to be an anti-climax, the US Fiscal Cliffhad real implications notonly for the Americaneconomy but for global re-covery which is still fee-ble and shaky.

This is why Asian mar-kets rallied after the USHouse of Representativespassed a deal to stave offthe fiscal cliff. The fiscalcliff implied that from 1stJanuary 2013 a series oftemporary tax cuts firstintroduced by PresidentGeorge Bush in 2001would expire just as hugeautomatic spending cutsare introduced.

A failure to agree a dealwould have triggeredspending cuts and tax in-creases worth about $600billion. To avert this situ-ation President Obamaand the Congress had toagree on a series of fiscaldeals to ensure that indi-viduals and companieswould not face tax risesand also avoid reductionsin government contracts,benefits and support.

CMYK


Tax Issue

The tax environmentcan affect the activitiesof individuals and

corporate bodies eitherpositively or negatively.Filmmakers and relevantstakeholders should begin toalign goals and strategies togrow the sector with particularintention to claim their ownshare of the package of taxincentives the governmenthas granted to other sectorsof the local economy.

In developed countries, thetype of tax regime in placeinfluences business planningand investment decisions. Inthe Nigerian businessenvironment, the taxenvironment has impact onemployment, output, incomeand economic growth rate. Itis imperative to note thatregulators and stakeholdershave critical roles to play.

The Nigerian film industryhas attracted global attention.Our films are viewed all overAfrica, the Caribbean, Asiaand continental America. Assuch, the Nigeriangovernment may not beunwilling to grant special taxincentives to further enhancethe growth of the filmindustry, thereby create jobopportunities and develop avibrant film industry.

The Federal Government ismaking efforts to ensure thatthe tax environment isinvestment friendly, and hassuch provided a number of taxincentives to specific sectorsin the economy to stimulategrowth and development.

Globally, an investorfriendly tax environment willattract foreign investment,while the flip side willdiscourage foreigninvestment. The tax incentives

Tax Environment and theNigeria Film IndustryBY FRANK OBARO

available within a nation’s taxenvironment constitute part ofthe investment opportunitiesfor local and foreign investorsto build on.

The following already existin the Nigerian law:

?The creation of a filmindustry development fund tobe listed in the 5th scheduleof the CITA Cap C 21, LFN2004 as amended*Investment tax credit*Deduction of reserve

made out profit for researchand development*Tax exemption on income

earned from abroad broughtinto Nigeria*Low company tax of 20%

for small companies in thepreferred sectors as per 1996

fiscal policy analysis*Pioneer status*Low tax treaty concession

rate of 7.5% for foreigninvestors*Accelerated capital

allowance scheme*Loss relief*Repatriation of net

earnings outside Nigeria byforeign investors*Allowable deduction of

cost of film production

In the real sense the FilmIndustry need a betterunderstanding of the tax lawand how it applies to theindustry. Notably the only taxincentive that the FilmIndustry acknowledges is theone granted under Decree 32of 1996 which provides that;100% of the foreign incomeearned from abroad byAuthors, Playwrights, Artistes,Musicians, and Sportsmen etcis exempted from taxprovided that the income isrepatriated into Nigeria inforeign currencies through adomiciliary account with aNigerian Bank.

There is no gainsaying thatthe foreign investment in thissector will go up with sometax incentives applied to it.

Following the tax incentivetechnical committee made upof FIRS and NFC to work outa package of incentives to be

presented to the federalgovernment, the situation isbound to change with theunprecedented growth whichthe industry has seen in thelast two decades particularlythe tremendous achievementof the last five years.

The following are therecommendation of thetechnical committee forinclusion into the Nigeriantax law:* Exemption of 20% of

income of film-makers;provided such income will beput into reserve to be used infurther acquisition of filmequipment* Low rate of tax of 20% for

small companies in the filmindustry based onclassification of the filmindustry as a preferred sectorin the Nigerian economy*Rebate on import duties on

importation of film equipmentand materials by local andforeign film productioncompanies*Preferential loan facilities

to be made available toinvestors to aid developmentin the film sector*Insertion of “film

practitioners” in the list ofeconomic actors mentioned inS19(1) of PITA 2004 Thirdschedule item 30*Audio-visual film

materials imported intoNigeria to be exempted fromVAT*10% levy from exhibition

and theatre receipts should beploughed into the proposedfilm development fund.

The Nigeria film industryhas attracted global attentionthird only to America’sHollywood and India’sBollywood, making it aninvestors delight. With thislevel of achievementGovernment no doubt will bewilling to grant tax incentivesto spur further growth in thisvery important moneyspinning sector of theeconomy. A similar incentivehas been granted to the touristindustry which is one closelylinked with the film industry.

Also very important is theneed for enterprises in thefilm industry to register withthe relevant tax authorities fortax purposes and file theirincome tax returns and paytheir taxes as and when dueto encourage government togrant these incentives. Itmust be noted that the FederalInland Revenue Service isdoing a lot to encouragedifferent sectors of theeconomy to optimize valueand potential, this willinvariable increase voluntarytax compliance. The ball isnow in the court of filmmakersto take advantage of thisopportunity to grow thissector.

,,

,

,

In the realsense theFilm Industryneed a betterunderstand-ing of the taxlaw and howit applies tothe industry

The Nigeria film industry hasattracted global attention third onlyto America’s Hollywood and India’sBollywood, making it an investorsdelight. With this level ofachievement Government no doubtwill be willing to grant taxincentives to spur further growth

BRIEFS

South Korea’s LGGroup has an-

nounced plans to increaseinvestment, in an attemptto boost its market shareamid strong competition.

The firm said it wouldinvest 20tn won ($19bn;£12bn) in various subsid-iaries, including LG Elec-tronics, in 2013.

The investment will beused to boost productionfacilities and fund researchand development of prod-ucts.

LG, one of South Korea’sbiggest groups, is facingincreased competitionfrom rivals like Samsung.

Almost two-thirds of theinvestment will be allocat-ed to increase productionfacilities at the group’selectronics businesses.

This will include ex-panding production linesto manufacture ultra-highresolution liquid crystaldisplay (LCD) and organ-ic light emitting diode(OELD) display panels.

The firm said that its re-search and developmentinvestment would focus ondeveloping smartphonesoftware and next genera-tion flexible and transpar-ent display panels.

LG Groupunveils plansto boostinvestment

Alhaji Kabir Mashi

FirstNationAirways toresumeoperation

FirstNation Airwayswill resume

commercial operations in2013 with two Airbus A319s(5N-FND and 5N-FNE).The two, sixteen year-old,aircraft were painted atDublin, and willpresumably be ferried toNigeria soon. The paintscheme is slightly differentfrom the one worn by thethree A320S that werereturned to the lessorearlier this year. Theairline has also signed acontract with FLYHTAerospace Solutions toinstall an AutomatedInformation ReportingSystem, AFIRS 220, on itsaircraft.


CMYK

Business &Economy

The CBN Governor Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi on January 10, 2013 inaugurated the Financial Regulation Advi-

sory Council of Experts (FRACE) at the CBNHead Office in Abuja. The Governor in his re-marks said that the establishment of the FRACEwas part of the provisions of the CBN Guide-lines for the regulation and supervision of in-stitutions offering non-interest financial servic-es based on compliance to the principles of Is-lamic commercial jurisprudence.

The establishment of the FRACE is to en-sure that products and services offered by thenon-interest financial institutions satisfy therequirements for compliance to the principlesunderpinning their mode of operation, so as tomeet the expectation of their stakeholders whichis a concern for regulators. It is also expectedto prevent arbitrage opportunities for these in-stitutions to the disadvantage of conventionalones, where the non-interest institutions wouldunfairly draw away customers and depositorsfrom the market in the name of compliance withIslamic commercial jurisprudence while in thereal sense they are offering the same interest-based products with different names under theguise of compliance.

The Governor in his remarks highlightedsome of the duties of the FRACE which includeadvising not only the CBN on matters referredto it, but also availing its expertise to other reg-ulatory agencies in the Nigerian financial sec-tor in the area of Islamic financial services ifthey choose to refer to it matters under theFRACE’s expertise.

The members whose appointment is on a part-time basis are: Sheikh Sheriff Ibrahim Saleh,as Chairman; Sheikh Adam Idoko; Dr. IbrahimJalo; Dr. Abdulrazaq Alaro; Dr. Bashir Aliyu

Islamic Banking: CBNinaugurates advisorycouncil

Umar; Dr. Mohammad AkramLaldin the Executive Directorof the International ShariahResearch Academy of theBank Negara Malaysia;Dr.Ahmad Ali Abdallah, the Sec-retary-General of the Shari-ah Supervisory Board of theCentral Bank of Sudan.

The Governor said that theappointment of the memberswas purely based on their ex-pertise and experience intheir field of specializationand called on them to bringthis expertise and experienceto bear on the discharge oftheir duties. He finallythanked the members andespecially the Central Banksof Malaysia and Sudan forallowing their staff to servein the FRACE and for avail-ing it of the experience andpioneering roles their localjurisdictions will bring to theFRACE.

The Director-General of theSecurities and ExchangeCommission ‘SEC’ Ms. Arun-ma Oteh who was at the in-auguration commended theestablishment of the FRACEand expressed the desire ofthe SEC to elicit the exper-tise of such an organ espe-cially as the SEC has alreadymade rules on Islamic fundmanagement.

Elumelu, others express faith inEagle Flight MFB

BY SAM EYOBOKA

FOUNDER of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, an African-based and African-fund-

ed not-for-profit organization dedicated to thepromotion and celebration of excellence in busi-ness leadership and entrepreneurship acrossthe continent, Mr. Tony Elumelu had endorsedthe vision of the board of directors/managementof Eagle Flight Micro Finance Bank.

Speaking at the 7th anniversary/poverty al-leviation programme of the Eagle Flight Mi-cro Finance Bank in Warri recently, Mr. Elume-lu, who was the chairman of the occasion, leftno one in doubt that the dreams of the propri-etors of the micro finance bank of taking thebank to a continental level via its customerfriendly products and services is realizable.

According to Elumelu, regarded as a manwith Midas touch in the corporate world, whoin 1997 led a group of investors and turn-around experts to acquire and reposition thethen distressed Crystal Bank and turned it toStandard Trust Bank which in turn later ac-quired and merged with United Bank for Afri-ca, UBA, “this is a house of God and any pro-nouncement made here is possible.

“Two, when we took over a distressed bankin 1997, we dreamt in a similar manner, somepeople did not believe it but it came to pass.So, I think for this it is a matter of time andthose of you here now better believe it. Lastly,I need to let you know that Papa Ayo Oritse-jafor actually prayed for us in 1997 when we

came to Warri to open ourbranch. If he prayed for usand we are where we are to-day, and he is part of this, youcan imagine what would hap-pen,” he stated.

According to Elumelu,“what I have seen here todayis quite humbling, is informa-tive, educative and worthy ofemulation by corporate Nige-ria. Imagine the number ofmicro finance banks we havein this country; and if each ofthese banks can do 10 percent of what is happeninghere today; it would go a longway in alleviating povertyamong our people. Second-ly, it would go a long way inencouraging entrepreneurialspirit in our people.”

He therefore thanked Pas-tor Oritsejafor, the initiatorand his wife who he said hehad shared similar back-ground in the banking indus-try for their kind gesture inalleviating poverty in the Ni-ger Delta area, advising oth-er industries in the area toemulate same by empower-ing people to be indepen-dent.

CMYK


CMYK


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Rep

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as

at

Jan

uary

7 -

11,

2012


CMYK

28 —Vanguard, MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2013

CMYK

Corporate Finance

Impressive performanceson the share prices of

United Bank for Africa Plc(UBA), Forte Oil Plc and fiftyother equities drove up thetotal market capitalisation ofequities listed on the NigeriaStock Exchange, NSE byN128.22 billion last week.

The market capitalisationwhich opened at N9,12 trillionrose by 2.39 per cent to closeat N9.34 trillion. Another mar-ket indicator, the All-ShareIndex in the week under re-view appreciated by 2.33 percent to close at 29,202.01points from 28,538.06 points.The numbers of gainers in theweek closed at fifty-two (52)

NSE lists N6.23bn shares of UBA Capital, AfricaPrudential Registrars

The Nigerian StockExchange (NSE),Friday, admitted

N6.23 billion shares of UBACapital Plc and Africa Pru-dential Registrars Plc in itsdaily official list.

The two companies, whichwere listed in Other FinancialServices sector, were spun-offfrom United Bank for Africa(UBA) Plc Group in line withthe directive of the CentralBank of Nigeria (CBN).

Specifically, a total of fourbillion shares of UBA CapitalPlc, amounting to N4.64 bil-lion were listed at N1.16,while one billion shares ofAfrica Prudential RegistrarsPlc, which also amounted toN1.59 billion, were listed atN1.59 per share.

The historic listings of thetwo firms simultaneously onthe NSE is sequel to theadoption of a monoline com-mercial banking structure byUBA Plc, as approved byshareholders on Thursday,December 13, 2012 which au-thorised the divestment andspin-off of non-commercialbanking businesses of theUBA Group.

The CEO of the NSE, Mr.Oscar Onyema described thelistings of the two companiesas a milestone in the historyof the Nigerian capital mar-ket, noting that it is comingat the right time especiallynow that Exchange is enjoy-ing confidence of both localand foreign investors.

Speaking at the listing, the

BY NKIRUKA NNOROMduo of Mr. Rasheed Olaoluwa,Group CEO, UBA Capital andMr. Peter Ashade, ManagingDirector/CEO, African Pru-dential Registrar, explainedthat besides achieving com-pliance with the directive ofthe CBN, the shareholders ofUBAC and APR, who are alsothe shareholders of UBA Plc,would derive significant ben-efit from having the separatebusinesses focus firmly ontheir core expertise.

Mr. Rasheed Olaoluwa al-luded to the potential syner-gy that would be derived fromthe component businesses ofUBA Capital which are invest-ment banking, trusteeship,

asset management, insuranceand stock brokerage. He said,“Our overall strategic intentis to build our varioussubsidiary businesses to beleaders in their respectivemarkets. We believe this canbe achieved over the nextthree to five years.”

He affirmed that UBACwould build on its strong,diversified platform to drivefurther growth and achieveimpressive and consistentreturns to its shareholders.

Also speaking, Mr. PeterAshade, the MD/CEO, AfricaPrudential Registrar affirmedthat the firm links technologyto the attainment of its strate-

gic objectives and is one of themarket leaders in its industryin Nigeria. “The company isone of the most profitable inthe industry having achieved100 percent increase in profitbefore tax between 2010 and2011, a performance which itexpects to surpass in 2012.Our Return on Equity (ROE)continues to improve year-on-year, a clear indication thatmanagement is focused onextracting value fromresources and enhancingreturns for shareholders”

“The company has been apacesetter in the infusion oftechnology to the convention-al share registration business

model. We were the first out-fit in our niche to deploy ane-stock software applicationin Nigeria. We have also suc-ceeded in compressing thetime and space of doing ourbusiness through an appropri-ate blend of technological in-novations.

In 2007, for instance, itbecame possible for ourshareholders, stockbrokersand other clients to interactwith the system, whilemonitoring their portfoliosfrom remote location,” headded.

UBA, Forte Oil gains drive-up NSE value by N218bn

compared with fifty-one (51)appreciations recorded penul-timate week. United Bank forAfrica Plc, UBA, topped thegainers chart for the weekwith 29.82 per cent shareprice appreciation to closeN5.52 per share from N4.56per share. This was followedby Forte Oil Plc that rose by21.21 per cent to close atN9.83 per share, and AirlineServices and Logistic Plcgained 19.32 per cent to closeat N5.25 per share, amongothers.

On the other hand, twenty(20) equities recorded pricedepreciations compared withtwelve (12) equities that

recorded losses in the previ-ous week. Dn Meyer Plctopped the losers chart for theweek with 18.71 per centdepreciation to close at N1.26per share from N1.55 pershare. This was followed byNEM Insurance Plc that lost13.11 per cent to close atN0.53 per share and NPFMicrofinance Bank Plc lost11.86 per cent to close atN1.04 per share, among otherlosers.

Meanwhile, the total volumeof equities traded in the weekunder review appreciated by136 per cent, recording 2.15billion shares valued atN16.99 billion compared with914.86 million shares valued

at N7.74 billion exchanged in12,899 deals penultimateweek.

The Financial Services sec-tor emerged the most tradedsector in the week in terms ofvolume. The volume traded inthe sector last week closed at1.68 billion shares valued atN12.05 billion exchanged in19,947 deals compared with602.98 billion shares valuedat N5.07 billion exchanged in8,074 deals in the precedingweek. The volume traded inthe sector accounted for 78.09per cent of the entire marketcompared with 65.91 percentof the ratio recorded lastweek.

Close Open

Weekly Ten Gainers

close OpenTop Weekly


CMYK


CMYK

Insurance

BRIEFS

Brokers condole

Alaafin over fire

incidence

The Nigerian Council ofRegistered Insurance

Brokers, NCRIB, hassympathised with the Alaafinof Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemiover the fire incidence thatgutted part of his palacerecently.

In a statement signed by thePresident, Barrister ‘LaideOsijo, the effect of the fire onthe royal father was great,considering the loss ofimportant cultural objects ofhistory that are kept in thepalace.

“The NCRIB is pained bythe loss and we seize thisopportunity to underscore theneed for adequate preventivemeasures against firedisasters,” Osijo said.

The Council reiterated thecall for compulsory insuranceof such historical andimportant public edifices asenshrined in the legalprovision under Insurance Act1997 (section 64 and 65) ofinsurance of public buildings.

Similarly, the Councilsympathised with victims ofthe Oko-Baba plank market inLagos where properties worthmillions of naira were lost.

The Council imploredindividuals and corporateinstitutions to always conformto extant town planning lawsin the erection of structures forprivate and commercialpurposes as well as availthemselves the benefits ofinsurance, particularly thosethat relates to property.

Life insurersmaintain growthin Australia

Life insurance in inforcepremium grew 10.11 per

cent to $10.6 billion and newbusiness increased 12.8 percent to $2.5 billion in the yearto September 30, in Australia,according to research houseDexx&r.

Individual lump sumbusiness – which includesdeath, total and permanentdisability and trauma – was up10.3 per cent to $5.1 billion.

Life companies that grewbeyond the market averageinclude AIA Australia (up 44per cent), Westpac Life (41.6per cent), CommInsure (28.8per cent) and Asteron (18 percent).

Individual disability annualpremiums grew 10.15 per centto $1.9 billion in the period.

Companies expandingbeyond the market averageinclude TAL (up 33.5 per centto $57 million), CommInsure(14.5 per cent to $55 million)and Westpac (78.3 per cent to$36 million).

Stories byROSEMARY ONUOHA

PenCom seeks to institute criminalproceedings against defaultingemployers

The NationalP e n s i o nC o m m i s s i o n ,

PenCom, has asked theAttorney General of theFederation for a fiat toinstitute criminalproceedings againstemployers who default inremitting pensioncontributions of theiremployees to theirRetirement SavingsAccount, RSA.

PenCom in a circular,said that the move willenable it institute criminalproceedings againstemployers for persistentrefusal to remit pensioncontributions as at whendue.

The Commissiontherefore called for theamendment of Section11(7) of the PensionReform Act, PRA 2004,stressing that the presentprovision is clogged withlimitations.

It said, “Power toinstitute criminalproceedings againstemployers for persistentrefusal to remit pensioncontributions: Section11(7) should be amendedto empower theCommission to institutecriminal proceedings, withfiat of Attorney General ofthe Federation, againstemployers whopersistently fail to deductand/or remit pension

contributions within thestipulated time.

“Review of the penaltiesand sanctions: The sanctionscurrently provided underSection 85 are no longersufficient deterrents againstinfractions of the PRA 2004.Consequently, Section 85should be amended toprovide for stiffer penaltiesthat will serve as deterrents.”

PenCom said 172 debtrecovery agents have beenengaged to collect unpaidcontributions from employers,

adding that the agents havecommenced work and thatthey consist of lawyers andaccountants.

Meanwhile, theCommission said that sixinsurance companies and 40insurance broking firms wereamong the 74 companies thatgot the PenCom certificate ofcompliance last year.

“Only 74 companies whichinclude, Creed InsuranceBrokers Limited, LeadwayAssurance Plc, Lasaco LifeCompany and others were

able to meet the requirementfor issue of certificate ofcompliance as at January 4,this year,” PenCom said.

It will be recalled that thePRA 2004, made it compulsoryfor companies seekinggovernment businesses topresent certificate ofcompliance which indicatesthat they are meeting theregulation on staff pensioncontributions.

The PRA 2004 alsomandates all employers withminimum of five staff tosubscribe to the new pensionscheme. To ensureenforcement of the law, theCommission recently issuedan order that employers whofail to remit their pensioncontributions would pay twoper cent charge two weeksafter deductions have beenmade by them.

PenCom noted thatemployers are to remitemployees contributions notlater than seven working daysfrom the day salary is paid. Itnoted that if default persistsafter three months, one percent of the outstanding wouldbe paid to the Commission.

The Commission said itwould take legal actions ondefaulters if violation persists,adding that employers whorefused to give access toinformation about their staffwould pay a fine not more thatN200,000 and that every falseor misleading informationwould attract N100,000 fine,each day the offencecontinues.

NCRIB to send list of members

to clients

The Nigerian Councilof Registered

Insurance Brokers,NCRIB, is set to send thelist of genuine brokingfirms to clients as ameasure of checkingactivities of fake operators,its President Mrs. LaideOsijo, has said.

According to Osijo, theNCRIB would also closeregistration for memberson March 31, stressingthat by first week of April,the list of members wouldbe published for thepublic to know genuineoperators.

Osijo said, “Our rulestates that we shouldpublish list of members

every year. I must not forgetto comment the effort of theCommissioner for Insurancefor his efforts in promoting theaffairs of the council.

“Our law says thatregistration with NCRIB isrequirement for licensing byNAICOM. Before this year, somany brokers have beengoing to NAICOM, forregistration. But since thebeginning of this year,NAICOM has refused to giveanybody licence if they didnot have the NCRIBregistration certificate. TheCommissioner with his teamhas been doing a good job toensure people comply withthe rules.”

She noted that the NCRIB’s

law requires members torenew their registration everytwo years, adding that anyoperator who fails to observethis would have his/herregistration lapsed.

Osijo said the renewal doesnot just centre on financialobligations, but that theoperator must meet all therequirements stated in thelaw. Adding that the councilhas standard rule that is usedfor renewal, stressing thatonce an operator is able tomeet the conditions, his/herlicense would be renewed.

“If a firm has a new chiefexecutive, the firm has tocome to us to check if theperson is fit and proper to runthe organisation.

The 8th Cadbury Yummy Life Promo Draw, held at Company comference room Agingbi, Ikeja,Pix: from left: Mr. Kufre Ekanem, Corporate Affairs Cadbury Plc, Mr. Akinlola Adewale,Representative of Apcon and Mr. Dele Anifowoshe, Managing Director Cadbury, RepresentingLeadership Team of Cadbury, During the Promo Draw. Photo: Joe Akintola, Photo, Editor.


CMYK

Micro Finance

BRIEFS

Thailand cut taxes

on SME

The Thai cabinet hasapproved a mini-

package to alleviate theplight of smaller industrieswhich are impacted by thenationwide minimum wageincrease to Bt300.

A wage increase that cameinto effect on January 1brings daily minimum wageto Bt300 (US$9.86), about 35per cent higher than a yearago and significantly higherthan Thailand’s neighboringnations.

Deputy Prime Minister/Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong said small andmedium sized enterprisesSMEs making profits of lessthan Bt300,000 a year will beexempted from corporateincome tax, lifting the ceilingfrom Bt150,000, while thosemaking a profit betweenBt300,001 and Bt1 million willbe subject to a 15 per cent tax.

A 20 per cent tax will belevied on businesses withprofit above Bt1 million.

Stories by PROVIDENCEOBUH

The Central Bank ofNigeria (CBN) is set to

commence a surveillancescheme for MicrofinanceBanks (MFBs) in the country,so as to monitor theiractivities. The apex bank hasalso reiterated that , failure tocomply with any directiveissued by the regulatory body,as stipulated in Section 19(i)

CBN plans surveillance scheme for MFBs…Breach of section 19 tantamount to revocation of licence.

of the RevisedGuidelines forMFBs, is aground forrevocation oflicence.

This, it said isin line with theR e v i s e dMicrofinanceP o l i c yRegulatory andSuperv isoryFramework, tob a s i c a l l ycurtail MFBswho areflouting therequirementsindicated inthe complianceplans earliersubmitted tothe banking

watchdog.The requirement stipulates

that all MFBs that haveelected to remain Unit MFBs,as indicated in thecompliance plans earliersubmitted to the CBN, arerequired to close any existingbranche/cash centre.

Meanwhile a close sourcefrom the apex bank toldFinancial Vanguard that thescheme is expected to kick offby February 2013.

It would be recalled that theDirector, Other FinancialInstitutions SupervisionDepartment Mr. O.AFabamwo warned MFBs thatall customer interactioncentres’, meeting points,customer service centres’, orsimilar outlets, once locatedoutside the registeredbusiness premises of a UnitMFB shall be regarded asunauthorized/unapprovedbranches/cash centres.

Fabamwo furtherwarned that: “All previousapprovals for such outletsfor Unit MFBs havebecome null and voidfrom the date of approvalof the Revised PolicyFramework by the Boardof Directors of the CBN.Failure to close anunapproved branch orcash centre shall attract atine of N5, 000 for eachday of default, irrespectiveof the category of MFB.”

Umuchinemere Pro-credit Micro Finance

Bank (UPMFB) Limited hasrecorded balance sheet size ofN1.8 billion for its operatingyear ended December 31st2011. This represents a 23.83per cent growth whencompared with the size in theprevious year.

Also the bank's total depositgrew by 27.34 per cent toN1.35 billion with a capitaladequacy performance ratio of59.19 percent in 2012,compared to a regulatoryminimum of 10 percent.

As a result the Enugubased State micro financebank paid three kobodividend per share to itsshareholders for the 2011financial year ended.

According to a statementsigned by the Media RelationsManager of the bank, Mr.Abuchi Anueyiagu, “NigeriaDeposit InsuranceCorporation (NDIC) report ofApril 2012 confirmed thatUPMFB was adequatelycapitalized for its operation.”

Speaking during the 16th

Annual General Meeting

Umuchinemere MFB balance sheet hits N1.8b…as shareholders get 3kobo dividend

(AGM) of the bank, held inEnugu, Chairman of thebank, Prof. Obiora Ikeexplained that the three kobodividend was necessitated bythe need to consolidate thebank’s asset base and satisfythe interest of itsshareholders, whilepromising an improveddividend/bonus in the comingyear.

Ike hinted that the bank

delivered a strong risk ratio,which provided a strongplatform for exceptionalperformance in 2012, saying“Our capital adequacy ratiowas over 59.19 per cent,compared to a regulatoryminimum of 10 per cent.Average liquidity ratio was 99per cent compared to aregulatory prescribedminimum ratio of 20 per cent.”

Following the CBN revisedmicrofinance policy

framework, the chairmanwho is also a RomanCatholic prelate informedthe shareholders that thebank now operate as astate microfinance bank,following the CBNapproval of its upgradingfrom a unit microfinancebank to a statemicrofinance bank with afully paid share capital ofN274, 266,570 as at 2011ended and shareholders’fund of N618, 902,164 as

Failure by Small and MediumEnterprises (SMEs) to repay their

loans are as a result of high cost of doingbusiness.

A financial expert said this, stating, “TheSMEs are the bedrock of any nation thatwants to develop because they contributepositively to the Gross Domestic Product(GDP).”

The expert explained that SMEs spenthuge amounts of money in running theirgenerating sets, due to instability in thenation’s power supply.

According to the expert, “this has placedlimitation on the nation’s economicpotential and reduced entrepreneurialskills in the country, while the difficulty

Expert attributes SMEs failure to high costin doing business had retarded the nation’space of business activities.

“Inadequate power supply had an adverseeffect on the cost of production and made itdifficult for some of the SMEs to pay back theirloans to financial institutions.

“When the SMEs do not pay back theirloans, there will not be funds for financehouses to lend to new investors and this affecttheir operations.

“Lack of funds would bring about stagnationof economic development and the attendantchallenge of unemployment and poverty. Formeaningful development to be achieved, theFederal Government must give urgentattention to electricity in order to have effectiveSMEs operators’ in the country,” says expert.

CBNinaugurates 37newly licencedMicro-financeBanks

The Central Bank ofNigeria (CBN) has

granted licence to Kano StateGovernment to establish 37micro-finance banks in thestate.

The governor of CBN,Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, madethis known during theinauguration of the 37 banksin Kano penultimate week.

“Kano State has madehistory as the first state in thecountry to benefit from theCBN’s gesture of beinggranted licence for theestablishment of 37 Micro-Finance Banks at a stretch,”he said.

Sanusi explained that theCBN decided to relax theguidelines for theestablishment of Micro-Finance banks for Kano Statebecause of the governmentefforts to empower womenand youths in the state.

He advised the people ofthe state to take advantageof the Micro-Finance banksto establish their small andmedium scale businesses. Inhis remarks, Gov. Rabi’uKwankwaso, said the bankswere established incollaboration with the localgovernments to give ruraldwellers the opportunity toboost economic activities.

Central Bank Head Office


CMYK

Housing Finance

BRIEF National Assembly set to passsocial housing bill

Stories byYINKA KOLAWOLE

The National Assembly is set topass the bill on

social housing, now in itsfinal stages at the federallegislature, into law.

Chairman, SenateCommittee on Housing &Urban Development,Senator Abba BukarIbrahim, disclosed this ata one-day seminar onSocial Housingorganised by the Forumof Advocates on SocialHousing (FASH),recently in Abuja.

The social housing billis a major part of thehousing roadmap whichPresident GoodluckJonathan expected to beannounced early thisyear to revolutionize thehousing sector, in a bidto tackle Nigeria’shousing deficit estimatedto be about 16 millionunits.

This is in line with callsby stakeholders in thenation’s housing sectorfor a constitutionalprovision that will makeit mandatory for thevarious tiers ofgovernment in thecountry to provide decentand affordable housingfor all Nigerians.

Ibrahim assured thatthe Senate will pass thebill before it in a fewweeks, noting thatvirtually all members of

the upper legislative chamberare committed to thecommencement of socialhousing in Nigeria. He saidmembers of the NationalAssembly are determined tocooperate with the Presidentto kick-start a housingrevolution in Nigeria, whichinformed the hosting of aPresidential Retreat onHousing.

Participants at the seminarcalled for a comprehensiveHousing Provision Law that

recognises and includesHousing Right, like CivilRights, as a specific provisionin the constitution of theFederal Republic of Nigeria,and “not just as a preamblein the FundamentalObjectives and DirectivePrinciples of State Policy”.

They argued that as asignatory to the UnitedNations Declaration ofHuman Rights whichrecognises housing as ahuman right, Nigeria should

join her developedcounterparts in putting inplace policies that will boosthomeownership amongNigerians and develop socialhousing for the no-incomeand low-income earners in thecountry.

Article 25 of the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rightsstates that “everyone has theright to a standard of livingadequate for the health andwell-being of himself and ofhis family, including food,clothing, housing, medicalcare and necessary socialservices and the right tosecurity in the event ofunemployment, sickness,disability, widowhood, old ageor other lack of livelihood incircumstances beyond hiscontrol”.

Those who attended theseminar include the Ministerof Lands, Housing and UrbanDevelopment, Ms. AmaPepple; members of theNational Assembly; propertyand constructionprofessionals; bankers andmembers of the public,amongst other stakeholders.

Social housing is a termused to describe housingowned and managed by thestate, not-for-profitorganisations, or acombination of the two, usuallywith the aim of providingaffordable rental housing. It isthe provision of affordable,non-profit driven, massproduced houses that could beoccupied by low incomeearners, who may wish to savetowards eventually buyingsuch houses with time.

Abuja demolition: Subscribers task FGon resettlement

Subscribers of theMinanuel Estate

formally located alongAirport Road in Abuja,recently demolished bythe Federal CapitalT e r r i t o r yAdministration(FCTA),said the federalgovernment shouldprove its commitment tohousing development inthe country, by orderingthe resettlement of theaffected subscribers whoinvested millions ofNaira to acquire theproperty.

Spokesperson of theMinanuel EstateSubscribers Union, Mr.Festus Adebayo, said ata press conference inAbuja, that the resolve ofthe FCT administration

to pull down more estates inthe territory is at variance withthe vision of the federalgovernment on housingprovision for Nigerians.He lamented that since thedemolition was carried out,the victims have not receivedany relief from either the FCTadministration or thePresidency. “We are worriedthat the present governmentcannot attain the promise ofgiving Nigeria homeownership if Senator BalaMohammed still remain theminister of FCT.“We want to say very clearlythat our houses weredemolished and since then wehave been going from oneplace to the other seeking forjustice. Many Nigerians havecondemned the action of theFCT minister and we do not

have money to take theminister to court. By this weare calling on PresidentGoodluck Jonathan to confirmhis commitment to housingdevelopment by resettling thesubscribers of Minanuelestate,” he said.Adebayo asserted that thecommitment of the Jonathanadministration to PublicPrivate Partnership inhousing development isquestionable if governmentcannot protect the investmentof the developer and theinterest of the subscribers.

“All over the world, housingis a tool for economicdevelopment and a tool forpoverty alleviation,wondering why housing wasbecoming a tool of depression,oppression and of frustrationof people in the country.

Social housing development

Ekiti to build5,000 housesin 2013

Ekiti State governmentplans to construct 5,000

housing units across the statein 2013, in a bid to makehousing more affordable forthe people of the state.

Governor Kayode Fayemiwho made this known in hisNew Year broadcast, said thehousing development initia-tive was conceived to helpsave citizens of the state fromshylock landlords and dubi-ous property developers cash-ing in on inadequacy of de-cent houses in the state.

The scheme to be known asHomes Agenda, according tohim, will involve the variousstakeholders in the housingsector in the state, and incor-porate the private sectorthrough a Public-Private Part-nership arrangement to meetthe target.

The governor also disclosedthat a new ministry would becreated to bring togetherCommunity Development,Rural Development, Cooper-ative Services and SocialMobilisation to coordinateanti-poverty strategies.

US bank to pay$12bn mortgagesettlement

Bank of America hasagreed to pay US gov-

ernment mortgage agencyFannie Mae $11.6 billion tosettle claims relating to resi-dential home loans.

The bank will pay $10.3 bil-lion to settle claims relatingto the loans and $1.3 billionin compensation to the agen-cy. Fannie Mae argued thebank sold it toxic debts andshould be responsible for thelosses it suffered.

Separately, 10 big mortgageproviders agreed to pay $8.5billion compensation for mis-takes in repossessing homes.The banks include Bank ofAmerica, Citigroup, JP Mor-gan and Wells Fargo. Theywill pay $3.3 billion directlyto homeowners, some ofwhom should not have losttheir homes, regulators said.

Individual owners will re-ceive anything from a fewhundred dollars to $125,000.Loan assistance and write-offswill make up the remaining$5.2 billion.

Fannie Mae supports theUS mortgage market, whichcollapsed in 2008 after thehousing bubble burst. It buysmortgages from banks, pro-viding them with more fundsto lend out.


Housing Finance

BRIEF

FCT to restoreseized lands toFHA

Federal Capital Territory(FCT) is to return all

land allocations seized fromthe Federal Housing Authori-ty (FHA) by previous admin-istrations in the territory to theAuthority.

FCT Minister, Senator BalaMohammed, stated this whilereceiving members of theBoard and Management ofthe Authority in his office inAbuja recently. He directedthe Authority to furnish hisoffice with details of its seizedlands in Katampe and Zubaso that the allocations couldbe reinstated immediately.

Mohammed also gave assur-ance that the land allocatedto FHA in the Central Busi-ness District of Abuja for thedevelopment of its corporateheadquarters was intact. Hesaid that the plot would bereleased as soon as the Au-thority paid the premium forit.

The Minister further direct-ed the Federal Capital Devel-opment Authority to allocateland to the FHA to enable itsustain the tempo of housingdelivery in the capital city.

US mortgagerates hit 7-month high

30-year fixed mortgagerates across the US have

risen to 3.67 percent, thehighest since hitting 3.71 per-cent on June 14 of last year,according to Freddie Mac

That rate is however still re-ally low. The rate on a 30-yearfixed mortgage hasn’t hit 4percent or more since lastMarch, and only did so thenfor about a week. It hasn’ttouched 5 percent since early2011.

Meanwhile, the average 15-year fixed mortgage rate alsoclimbed to 2.92 percent - thehighest it’s been since June21 - while the five-year ad-justable rate mortgage tickedup to 2.77 percent, where ithasn’t been since August.

There’s a whole lot of de-mand behind that surge, asthe National Association ofRealtors notes that existinghome sales are at their high-est level since 2009, supply ofhomes on the market is thelowest since 2005 and medi-an home prices are up 10 per-cent from last year and haverisen for nine consecutivemonths. Foreclosures andshort sales make up a shrink-ing portion of those homesales, accounting for just 22percent compared to 29 per-cent last year.

REDAN moves to fund building projects at12% interest*Says most PMBs will not meet recapitalisation

Stories byYINKA KOLAWOLE

Real Estate DevelopersAssociation of Nigeria(REDAN), umbrella

body of property developersin the country, is set to intro-duce two new products byFebruary that will put inter-est rates on borrowing to fundbuilding projects at between12 and 15 per cent.

President of REDAN, ChiefOlabode Afolayan, stated thisat a meeting of the associa-tion in Abuja, noting howev-er that it was for people withprojects whose transactioncycle could be completedwithin a period of 24 months.

He disclosed that anotherarrangement is being workedout with Infrastructure Bankthat could bring lending rateto developers down to a sin-gle digit if all conditions aremet. He also announced thatKenya-based Shelter Afriqueis set to open shop in Abujaearly next year and will makefunds available for capacitytraining among developers.

Meanwhile, the deadlineimposed by the Central Bankof Nigeria (CBN) on primarymortgage banks (PMBs) torecapitalise by the end of thefirst quarter of 2013 is caus-ing real estate developers inthe country sleepless nights.

Afolayan, who stated this,lamented that many of thePMBs are not likely to meetthe target of N2.5 billion foroperating license within astate and N5 billion for thosethat want to operate nation-wide, as against the current

capital base of N100 million.Afolayan declared that most

of them are likely to go downbecause they did not have therequired funds, noting alsothat it was now rather too latefor them to go into mergers.

He pointed out that 75 percent of the mortgage bankshave virtually nothing since,according to him, nearly ev-erything they owned was onlease, adding that some areworking with contract staff.

The REDAN presidenttherefore appealed to de-velopers with investmentsin such banks to thinkdeeply about the wisdomof continuing to retainthem even though theCBN had announced thatno depositor would losetheir money.

Housing: FHA acquires 4,106 hectares in19 states

In the quest to boost the development of social hous-

ing in Nigeria, the FederalHousing Authority (FHA) hasembarked on the acquisitionof lands across the country.

Managing Director, FHA,Mr. Terver Gemade, said themove is in line with thefederal government’s driveto tackle the huge deficit ofover 16 million housing unitsin the country. He specifical-ly disclosed that over 4,106hectares of land have beenacquired in 19 states of Nige-ria for housing development.

He said the federal govern-ment is currently developing

a social housing strategy forNigeria and noted that FHAhas keyed into the vision bymaking plans that will lead tosuccessful execution of socialhousing schemes in Nigeria.

Gemade said that FHA iscurrently developing severalhousing estates in differentparts of the country despitethe numerous challenges con-fronting the organisation. Helisted the challenges to in-clude: Land acquisition con-straints; inadequate capitalresources dearth of long termfunds; absence of a devel-oped finance/sustainablemortgage system and; lack of

government funding oninfrastructure which af-fects the eventual cost ofdelivery of houses to thelow/Medium incomeearners. Others are com-munity/youth restiveness;issue of court litigations;insufficient productionand high cost of buildingmaterials; insufficientskilled labour and; humanresources issues.

The FHA boss said theAuthority is set to pursuehousing developmentmore vigorously this year.

FG, states urged to build houses for middle class

A former President of Nigerian Institute of Archi-

tects (NIA), Mr. Charles Ma-joroh, has called on federaland state governments tobuild houses for the middleclass.

Majoroh told the NewsAgency of Nigeria (NAN) inLagos that satisfying thehousing needs of the middleclass would make for a thriv-ing lower class. “The middle

class is the interface betweenthe higher and lower class,but the middle class is notbeing taken care of. Any soci-ety where the middle class isnot provided for, that societywill not succeed,” he said.

According to him, middleclass is the engine room ofany country. “The ability tosatisfy their housing needswill rub off on the small andmedium enterprises and re-

sult in massive employ-ment opportunities,” hesaid.

The former NIA s presi-dent said that statesshould have a mathemat-ical basis for predictingthe housing needs of var-ious classes of the societyso that they could planprojects within their in-comes.

Middle-income mass housing development


CMYK

[email protected] 08033348923

Unicem names Lenoir Managing DirectorBRIEFS

THE Board of Directorsof United CementCompany of Nigeria,

UniCem, Limited hasconfirmed the appointment ofMr. Olivier Lenoir asManaging Director of theCompany.

A statement by theChairman, Board of Directorsof UniCem, Mr. JohnCoumantaros, said Lenoir’sappointment took effect fromJanuary 1, 2013.

The confirmation followedthe resignation of the formerMD, Mr. Dqidier Tresarrieur.

Tresarrieur had onDecember 7, 2012 tendered hisresignation for what he saidwas for family reasons.

The statement read,“December 7

th, 2012 the

UniCem Board accepted theresignation of Mr. DidierTresarrieu and has decidedthat he will be succeeded byMr. Olivier Lenoir, currentlyDeputy Managing Directorwith effect from 1

stJanuary,

2013.”

Mr. Lenoir is a graduate ofthe Paris Business School“Ecole Superieure deCommerce de Paris”. Untilhis appointment as MD, hewas the Deputy Managing

Director of the Company aposition he assumed since2010.

As the new MD, Mr. Lenoiris expected to consolidate onthe achievements of the

company in the areas ofsafety, customers’orientation, operationalefficiency and completion ofadditional 2.5m tons lineapproved by the Board toboost the company’sproduction to 5m metric tonsin 2016.

UniCem is the leadingmanufacturer and supplier ofcement in the south-south andsouth-east of Nigeria, andmanufactures and sell theUniCem brands of 32,5R and42,5N Portland Limestonecement.

Within Cross River State,UniCem is one of the majorindustrial developments, andwith its state-of-the-artGreenfield cement plant atMfamosing, the Companyhas the capacity to produce 2,5 million tons of cementannually. The Companyprioritizes Corporate SocialResponsibility and hasreceived multiplerecognitions for its CSRinitiatives both on regionaland national level

Lenoir

Bridgestone workers win permanent employment

NO fewer than 997temporary workers

employed at two BridgestoneTyre plants in Karawang andBekasi, Indonesia havegained permanentemployment.

This change in employmentstatus is a majorbreakthrough in industrialrelations in Indonesia and agreat victory for IndustriALLGlobal Union affiliate KEPSPSI, which represents 3,250Bridgestone workers acrossthe two plants.

The union at Bridgestonehas been dealing with theissue of temporaryemployment since 2008,following its involvement inthe Asia and Social DialogueProject and the Contract andAgency Labour projectconducted by ICEM, nowIndustriALL Global Union.

The union tried toimplement the knowledgeacquired from the trainingdelivered as part of theprojects. According to thenational labour legislation,dated to 2003, the use ofagency workers on aproduction line is illegal inIndonesia. However this lawwas not observed by thecompany.

Following a series ofnegotiations in July 2011, themanagement promised tostop recruiting new agencyworkers on the productionline and started preparationsto change the employmentstatus of existing agencyworkers into permanentpositions through socialdialogue with the trade union.

At the time 200 agencyworkers gained permanentemployment.

Throughout 2012 the unionand company continuednegotiations, which werebolstered when in November2012 the Ministry of

Manpower issued a decreestating that companies coulduse agency workers only infive job categories: security,cleaning, catering, assistantwork in supporting systems ofthe mining sector, andtransport services.

After reachingagreement inDecember 2012,997 short-termcontract andagency workersg a i n e dp e r m a n e n tpositions. Theseworkers receiveds e v e r a n c epayment andtheir period ofemployment is tobe calculatedbased on theirfirst day ofentering thec o m p a n y .According to theunion, there are

A cross section of the lucky workers

Loye takes oath of office tomorrow

MAJOR Lawerence Loye(rtd), appointed

Permanent Secretary, Ministryof Environment, by GovernorAdams Oshiomhole of EdoState, will be sworn-intomorrow.

Governor Oshiomhole hadlast week approved theappointment of Major Loye asthe Permanent Secretary,Ministry of Environment.

Before the appointment,Major Loye was the ExecutiveDirector, Edo StateEnvironmental Protection andRegulatory Unit.

Aged 48, Major LawrenceLoye is a Fellow of theChartered Institute ofMarketing and also a Fellowof the Chartered Institute ofTransport, United Kingdom.He holds a Masters Degreein Transport Planning andManagement and retiredfrom the Nigerian Army onJune 30, 2002.

He also worked as amember of the Edo StateBoard of Internal Revenuebetween 2005 and 2007.

He is married with fivechildren.

Loye

still 171 workers employed bythe company through labouragencies working as driversand security guards. Theunion is planning to negotiatefor these workers in January2013.

Governor KayodeFayemi of EkitState, has sworn-

in eight newly appointedPermanent Secretariesincluding popularbroadcaster, Mr. KolaAjumobi,

Others sworn-in by thegovernor are Dr JosephAdeyemo, Mr. BamideleAgbede, Dr OlufolakemiOlomojobi, Mr OlusesanAlabi, Engr AbegundeEbenezer, Mr OwoseeniAdeyemi, and MrsOlufunke Falodun.

Speaking on theirappointment, Fayemi saidtheir appointment based onhard work and meritdetermined by the variousexaminations andinterviews that theircolleagues who did notmake it and they weresubjected to.

He urged the newp e r m a n e n tsecretaries to maintainan open-door policy andshun favouritism whiledischarging their duties.

While assuring that civilservants could rise to thetop of their careers withoutany god-fathers, thegovernor said hisadministration placedemphasis on merit ratherthan god fatherism.

DN Meyerrewardsstaff

DN Meyer Plc, hasrewarded some of its

long employees for longservice and loyalty.

The ceremony which tookplace at the company’sIkeja Lagos,Headquarters, attractednotable personalities andfriends of the company.

No fewer than eightemployees were honouredfor a meritorious andselfless service to thecompany for between 10 to20 years.

These include: Mr.Bankole Babajide Niyi,Screen Printer; Mr. AbuahRobinson, machineoperator; Mrs. AjayiOluwaseun Adeyemi,Research and developmentChemist and Mr. NgaluwaJoseph Osita, machineoperator for serving thecompany in the last 10years without blemish.

Those who served for 15years are: Mr. OpiaHarrison, Electrician andComrade Adeyemi

Ajumobi, 7others nowperm secs


CMYK

Aviation

BRIEFSSAHCOL toprovide handlingservices forMed-View

SAHCOL would provideramp and passenger

handling services for Med-View airline operationswithin Nigeria. Before thisnew contract, SAHCOLpartnered the airline in theprovision of ground handlingservices for its Hajjoperations. It will be recalledthat before Med -View airlinecommenced daily flightoperations, its main area ofoperation was the annualairlifting of Muslim pilgrimsto Saudi Arabia for the Holypilgrimage.

At the signing of the newagreement in Lagos, thechairman of SAHCOL, Dr.Taiwo Afolabi said the groundhandling firm would investmassively in personneldevelopment, state-of-the-artequipment, fleet replacement,and massive infrastructuraldevelopment to meet thedemand of its clients.

Aviation firm JohnMenzies shuts USoperation

Scottish company JohnMenzies is shutting its

loss-making cargo business atChicago Airport in the US, ata cost of £7m. The move by theaviation services companycame under a restructuringplan which has already seenchanges to its UKoperations.The Edinburghfirm is best known as anewspaper distributor.But theaviation services businessgenerates around two thirdsof its profits.Overall financialresults are expected to be inline with expectations.Menzies Aviation said itsChicago Airport operationwould close after havingexhausted all alternativeoptions over the last twoyears. This will result in anexceptional charge of £7m in2012, but will improveearnings before interest andtax in 2013 by about £1.4m.Menzies previouslyrestructured its struggling UKcargo business by getting outof operations at Glasgow,Birmingham, East Midlandsand Manchester airports, tofocus on a single facility atLondon’s Heathrow.The aviation services divisionoperates at about 130 airportsin 29 countries. Meanwhile,Menzies said finance directorPaul Dollman, who has heldthe post for 10 years, wouldretire from the board.

Stories by LAWANIMIKAIRU & DANIELETEGHE

Director General ofNigerian Civil

Aviation Authority ,NCAA, DrHarold Demuren recentlyreacted to call by the Houseof Representative for hisremoval as the DirectorGeneral of the regulatoryagency. Speaking during aninterview with Journalists atthe Christmas service held atthe Garden Tomb in Israel,where he prayed for thesafety of the Nigerianairspace and passengers, hesaid as a professional he willnot like to join issues with thehonourable members whoare politicians.

Dr Demuren said, “theNational Assembly membersare politicians, we are notpoliticians, we areprofessionals doing our job,the truth will come out andwhen the truth comes out, itwill set everybody free”. Hefurther explained that for sixyears Nigeria witnessedaccident free flight operationsby airlines. In his words ‘’ itis very unfortunate that wehad that tragic accident andfor that to happen, you mustnot forget that this is why wegave thanks to God that from2006 to that June last year,we have carried 50 millionpassengers, we haveoperated 4 million flights nota single accident and thensuddenly that accidenthappened.’’

Dr Demuren also disclosedthat NCAA is set to deployAircraft Automated FlightInformation Reporting

We are professionals doing our job —Demuren

System to improve air safetyin the Nigerian airspace inthe year 2013. He explainedthat the Aircraft AutomatedFlight Information ReportingSystem will alert theauthorities if there is anyproblem on board an aircraft,whether the aircraft is missingor not.

According to him, ‘’if

anything happens on board,whether it is recorded or not,once it happens,automatically it would recordon data based on hours andit would alert you that thereis problem and it wouldstream those data to us.Whether the aircraft ismissing or not, you still getand see the data. The good

thing is that this data canbe easily animated andyou will see it in real lifehow it happened, whatoccurred, so that therewill be no speculation,you can log from it, youcan learn from it and thencorrect it, that is all aboutthat and that is the goodnews coming from us.”

General Secretary, Airline Operators ofNigeria (AON), Alhaji Muhammed

Tukur has warned the Federal Government andmembers of the National Assembly aviationcommittees in both houses not to destroy theaviation industry and what the industry hasachieved. Speaking to newsmen in Lagos,Alhaji Tukur pointed out that for over sevenmonths now since the ill-fated Dana crashoccurred, politicians as well as airlineoperators have been witch-hunting each other.

He however called on the members of theNational Assembly to do the right thing andsave the industry from total collapse addingthat the Minister of Aviation Princes StellaOduah also have a role to play in deliveringthe dividend of good governance in theaviation industry as promised by PresidentGoodluck Jonathan.

Alhaji Tukur said ”We are all aware of thecrisis that is going on in the aviation industryafter the crash of Dana air. It has to do withthe policies in the industry and the NationalAssembly. So let me use this opportunity firstto call on the National Assembly to save theaviation industry, save the industry by doingthe right thing, what is the right thing, don’tdestroyed what the industry has achieved sofar “

He further stressed that since the Dana aircrash some people both on the side of theNational Assembly and airline operators havebeen using the opportunity to make money.On the part of the airline operators, Alhaji

Don’t destroy the aviation industry,Turkur warns stakeholders

Tukur stressed that they should worktogether as working at variance would onlyhelp in plunging the industry into furthercrisis .

“It has gotten to the extent whereby wehave to advice our members that they shouldadd more security to their aircraft becausethe way things are going, we are gettingnews that there may be somebody that willconnive in order to bring down an aircraftbecause they want to achieve political gain.I want to use this opportunity to call on theFederal Government, to call on allstakeholders and security agencies to focuson this aviation matter seriously because ithas taken a dangerous dimension.’’

He however called on the government andairline operators to work together inharmony to save the industry stressing that,that was the only way to boost the growthof the sector.

“Airline operators should focus on plan Aand B, working with the ministry asrequested, mind your business is plan B.So that the policy of pull him down, that iswhat I am warning against becausewhatever happened to this man, one day itwill come back to you and you will be thelaughing stock, we should avoid anythingsabotage because that is what is happening,some people are going behind, within themembers, and trying to sabotage anoperator because they want to remain in thesystem.’’

L-R, President, du Conseil d’ Administration, Air Cote d’ Ivoire, Mr. Coulibaly Abdoulaye, Chairman, Arik Air, ArumemiIkhide, President Directeur General, NEMBE (Ivest) Mr. Victor J. Nembelessini-Silue and Vice Chairman, Arik Air, Sen.Aniete Okon during the official of Air Cote D’ Ivoire visited Arik Air on how to foster partnership for enhanced operationsyesterday at the Airline Headquarters, Mutala Mohammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos.


CMYK

CMYK

Business Economy

,

,

Till today, the top twenty countries remainamong the most disci-

plined and have the lowesttolerances for corruption andlaxity. Till today no Ministerin Japan, or Russia, can prom-ise to add so many megawattsof power and fail to do sowithout losing his job and be-ing black-listed permanentlyfrom public appointment. Bycontrast, failure in Nigeria at-tracts no sanctions; corruptioneven less. There is simply noway that any group of govern-ment officials will draw $13-16 billions from the Chinesepublic purse to increase pow-er supply and fail to do so andthose involved would still bewalking the earth and lectur-ing others.

EDUCATION AND COR-RUPTION

Given the imperatives ofgood and pervasive publiceducation, it is clear that nonation can aspire to doubledigit GDP growth without irondiscipline, sound educationand deep patriotism. Certain-ly, nobody in Japan, or Rus-sia, will get out of jail for cor-rupt self-enrichment andthrow a thanksgiving party.There is a reason.

Contrary to what most Nige-rians in public office think,corruption is an economicvariable which detracts fromthe benefits of honest invest-ments and redistributes themin anti-social ways.

For instance the N21 billionallegedly stolen from the Pen-sion office was sufficient mon-ey to pay at least one millionpensioners, who, if paid,would have spent virtually allof it on food, drinks, transportand personal hygiene. Giventhe velocity of money, overfive million traders and localproducers would have bene-

To be continue with part4.(2) Vision 2020 — Part 4(1)

fitted from the expenditure.Instead, the funds were keptout of circulation in closets andholes in bedrooms where theydid the economy no goodwhatsoever. Since an estimat-ed N4 trillion of public andprivate funds remain unac-counted for in Nigeria everyyear, we can only guess at thesetback to our economy onaccount of this. One thing iscertain, however, none of thetop 20 economies allows thissort of larceny.

CLUB OF 20 AND ITS CUL-TURE

Like any entity which wantsto join any club must first ofall be prepared to accept theculture of that club. The top20 economies share severalattributes in common; toomany to discuss this after-noon. Among them are pro-motion of education, low tol-erance for corruption and cer-tain punishment for thosefound guilty, consistency ofeconomic policy and strate-gies and social inclusion.They are also nations whichhave highly developed insti-tutions. These attributes weredeveloped and upgradedover fifty or more years. Ni-geria has yet to develop theseattributes and they cannot bedeveloped in seven or eightyears – even if we start now.Unfortunately, we have noteven started. More worrisome,we have no plans to start.

So, how on earth can we betalking of being a top 20 econ-omy in 2020?

A CHALLENGE Those who can afford it,

among my listeners or read-ers, should take a trip to anyof the top 30 countries; movearound for a week and then

decide for yourselves if thestandards of developmentthey have attained are thingswe can achieve in seven yearsfrom 2013.

Mr Chairman, distin-guished alumni, I want tothank you once again for theinvitation extended to me todiscuss one of the major itemson the national agenda. Ihope that those who mighthave thought that govern-ment was being unjustly vili-fied can now understand why.We all have a stake in thismatter and we need the truth.To the best of my knowledge,what has been presented hereis the truth as best as I canget close to it.

As one of the greatest Amer-ican journalists had taughtus: “A journalist should bepursuing a fair rendition oftruth without regard to popu-lar moods; the journalistshould not be swayed by pub-lic opinion, only by the pur-suit of truth, as close as he orshe can get to it. Malvin Kalb,American journalist, 1997(VANGUARD BOOK OFQUOTATIONS. p109).

From the first graph, la-beled Fig A, based on GDP of$424 billion by the year 2020,we can see for ourselves theimplications of the journeyour country embarked upon in

2007. In that year Indonesiawas in the 20th position withan annual GDP of $424 billion;Nigeria was in the 41st posi-tion with a globally recog-nized GDP of $167 billion. Toovertake Indonesia by the year2020, even if that country, oneof the Asian Tigers, had failedto grow would have requireda GDP growth rate of 13-15%per annum – without a breakin the fourteen years.

If the ambition is to growour economy to achieve GDPof $900 billion by 2020 the pro-nouncements have left therealm of reality completelyand can only be regarded asbedtime stories – fit only forkids in nursery schools.

That is a record which nonation had ever achievedsince economists started re-cording these aggregates.The only nations which hadmanaged uninterrupted dou-ble digit growth for more thanten years in a row were char-acterized by authoritariangovernments, traditionallywell-disciplined citizenry andzero tolerance for corruption.Even, some of our military re-gimes were so tame one wasremembered in the Southwestas Owambe government.Surely, nobody here woulddescribe the Nigerian citizen-ry as “disciplined”. More to

the point, they had detailedplans for their growth pro-grammes – which they execut-ed faithfully. A typical ActionPlan for the achievement oftheir stated goals will be dis-cussed later. By contrast, ourVISION 2020:20 is virtually acarbon copy of the VISION2010 agenda which was just asworthless.

Each graph points to wherewe are likely to be at the endof 2012 — $177 billion. OneSenior Special Adviser of thisgovernment was so thrilled bythis achievement, that he an-nounced that having movedfrom the 41st position to 39th

position in 2012, he was surethat we are on our way to be-coming one of the top 20 by2020. That shows all of us thequality of advice the Presidentof Nigeria is getting. Please,take a look again at where weare and where we should be,and, you can decide for your-selves if two steps in sevenyears would guarantee that wewill leap nineteen steps in theremaining seven years.

Furthermore, as we all know,the Nigerian economy lastgrew at double digit duringthe administration of GeneralGowon. Since 2007, when thiseconomic fairy tale started, thebest we have been able to dowas 7.68% in 2011.

The projection for this yearis less the 6.5%. Another wayof looking at the matter is tofigure out the rate of GDPgrowth since 2007 till date. Itwould have been less than 6%per annum – far below what weneeded when we started outon this journey. Nobody needsa degree or even a diploma ineconomics to understand thatfor each year we have failed togrow at double digit we haveincreased the annual growthrate in subsequent years if in-deed we hope to achieve thegoals we set for ourselves.

Contrary to what mostNigerians in public office think,corruption is an economicvariable which detracts fromthe benefits of honestinvestments and redistributesthem in anti-social ways

Access Bank recently

organised aS t a k e h o l d e r s

Awareness Forum to enlightenits customers and otherstakeholder groups on theCentral Bank of Nigeria’sdirectives to Deposit MoneyBanks in Nigeria and otherfinancial institutions onadditional Know YourCustomer (KYC) requirementsfor Designated Non-FinancialBusinesses and Professions(DNFBPs). Specifically, the apex bankhas mandated all financialinstitutions to obtain evidenceof registration of DNFBPs withthe Special Control Unit onMoney Laundering (SCUML)

Access Bank host stakeholders forum on anti-money laundering

of the Federal Ministry ofTrades and Investments priorto establishing businessrelationships. Addressing participants, theBank’s Group ManagingDirector, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede represented byPattison Boleigha, ChiefCompliance Officeracknowledged thecontributions of the regulatorstowards the growth of theNigerian banking sector anddescribed the fresh directiveas a regulatory effort toelevate the fight againstmoney laundering andterrorist financing in Nigeriato a much more commendableheight. He informed the Bank’s

customers at the occasion,whose profile fall into thecategory of the DesignatedNon Financial Businesses andProfessions (DNFBPs) thatthe gathering was organizedto provide an opportunity toaddress all gray areasconcerning the registrationrequirements and interactwith the relevant regulatoryauthorities for properunderstanding of thedirective. In his presentation titled “TheChallenges of KeepingNigeria off the FinancialAction Task Force Blacklist”,the Deputy Director, CentralBank of Nigeria (CBN), U.A.Obot, who was represented byMatthew Alabi, encouraged

the participants to appreciatewhy DNFBPs are required toobtain evidence of registrationwith SCUML before openingaccount and emphasised thatthis will help tightenloopholes being exploited tolaunder illicit wealth. The Forum held in Lagos, hadin attendance representativesfrom regulatory authoritiessuch as the Central Bank ofNigeria (CBN), NigerianFinancial Intelligence Unitand the Special Control Unitof Money Laundering(SCUML), as well as othercategories of stakeholderswhose contributionsfacilitated customersunderstanding of theimportance of complying with

the directive. Similarly, the interactiveplatform provided by theBank enabled customers seekclarification about themodalities of obtainingevidence of registration withSCUML, gain more insightsinto contemporary MoneyLaundering vulnerabilitiesrelating to DNFBPs and thevarious activities andcontributions of regulatorsthat have raised the country’sprofile in the internationalfinancial community throughpromotion, commitment andcompliance with global anti-money laundering/KYCregime.

CMYK


Agric

2000 rice farmers get farm inputs from FG,Niger government

BY JIMOH BABATUNDEwith agency reports

Over 2,000 dry seasonrice farmers inNiger state have

been given 50 kilogramme ofimproved rice seeds and threebags of fertilisers free ofcharge as a way of achievingself-sufficiency in riceproduction in the country.

The Federal Governmentsubsidised the cost of threebags of fertilisers by 50% andgives a 50-kg bag ofimproved rice seeds free ofcharge to the farmers, whilethe Niger State governmentpaid the balance of 50 % costof the three bags of fertilisers.

The farm inputs were givenout last week in Majin Gari,Lavun Local GovernmentArea of Niger state by theMinister of State forAgriculture and RuralDevelopment Bukar Tijaniand the Chief Servant ofNiger State, Dr. Mu’ ázuBabangida Aliyu, at therolling out of agro-inputs tofarmers for accelerated dryseason rice production.

The Minister of State forAgriculture and RuralDevelopment said the riceproduction programme in thedry season was initiated bythe government in order toachieve self-sufficiency inrice production, curb theimportation of foreign rice,and create jobs for farmers,rice millers and marketers inthe country.

“The rice seeds given to youis of Caroline long grainwhich can competefavourably with the riceimported from anywhere inthe world,” Bukar Tijani said.

The Minister assured thatthe Federal Government willestablish three additional riceprocessing mills in the stateand added that Nigeriansshould be patriotic bygrowing, processing andconsuming local rice insteadof importing rice.

He praised the Niger StateGovernor for his commitmentto the programme inparticular and the promotionof agriculture in general.

In his speech, Dr. Mu’azuBabangida Aliyu said thatNiger State was blessed withsufficient land andexperienced farmers whocould produce sufficient riceto feed the country and endits importation.

The Governor explainedthat his governmentsubsidised the three bags offertilisers for the 2, 000farmers by 50% to encouragethem to produce rice whichthey can sell and makemoney for themselves.

“We want lift as many of ourpeople as possible out ofpoverty,” he said and addedthat the recent report by

National Bureau of Statisticswhich said Niger State hasthe least poverty ratio in itspopulation is proof that the

Food Security in 75% African countriesat extreme risk — GFSRI reveals

BY ABDALLAH EL-KUREBEwith agency reports

Sokoto - The newMaplecroft Global Food

Security Risk Index, GFSRI2012 has discovered that foodsecurity in 75% of Africancountries is at the stage ofextreme risk.

Food security is a highlycomplex issue determined bya number of interdependentrisk factors, includingagricultural development andcapacity; international tradeflows and food prices; povertyand income distribution;macroeconomic policies,environmental resources andmeteorological conditions.

Africa accounts for 39 of the59 countries mostly at risk inMaplecroft’s Index; it alsohosts nine of the elevencountries in the ‘extreme risk’category.

While Somalia andDemocratic Republic ofCongo are jointly ranked onthe top index, Burundi, Chad,Ethiopia, Eritrea, SouthSudan, Comoros and SierraLeone were placed in theextreme risk category.

However, countriesincluding Haiti andAfghanistan complete the topeleven countries in the

extreme risk category of theMaplecroft’s Food SecurityRisk Index released inOctober 2012.

The Food Security RiskIndex has been developed forgovernments, NGOs andbusiness to use as abarometer to identifycountries that may besusceptible to famine andsocietal unrest stemmingfrom food shortages and pricefluctuations.

The report evaluated theavailability, access andstability of food supplies in197 countries, as well as thenutritional and health statusof populations.

The findings are especiallysignificant for areas of sub-Saharan Africa wherepoverty, armed conflict, civilunrest, drought,displacement and poorgovernance can combine tocreate conditions where afood crisis may take hold.

According to Maplecroft’sHead of Maps and Indices,Helen Hodge, “Although afood crisis has not emergedyet, there is potential for foodrelated upheaval across themost vulnerable regions,including sub-SaharanAfrica.”

Ghana is however ranked66th and considered to bemedium risk according to the

Minister of State for Agriculture Bukar Tijani demonstrating rice planting proceedures atthe event in Majin Gari, Tuesday afternoon. He and the Governor of Niger State, Dr.Mu’azu B. Aliyu flgged-off the exercise.

poverty alleviationmeasures of hisgovernment wereeffective.

Africa to hostglobal conferenceon plant viraldisease in 2013

Scientists from across theworld will gather in

Arusha, Tanzania, for the 12thInternational Plant VirusEpidemiology (IPVE)symposium between January28 and 1 February 2013. Themeeting will provideresearchers a platform toshare the latest knowledge,brainstorm and draw a roadmap to contain the spread ofplant virus diseases.

The conference, with thetheme: “Evolution, Ecologyand Control of Plant Viruses,”is coming at a time when thebattle against plant virusdiseases is becoming morecomplex and the need for foodsecurity is demanding moreglobal attention. This is thefirst time the meeting istaking place in Africa—acontinent that is plagued byplant viruses of key staplecrops, driven by a climate thatis getting warmer.

Dr Nteranya Sanginga,Director General of theInternational Institute ofTropical Agriculture (IITA)notes that plant viruses arespreading rapidly to newplaces, frustrating efforts toboost the food security andlivelihoods of millions ofpeople.

Hong Kong firmsigns AbidjanCocoaDeclaration

Hong Kong-basedmultinational cocoa

trader and processor, NobleGroup on Friday signed theAbidjan Cocoa Declaration,the ICCO revealed weekend.

Noble joins 29 other cocoasector stakeholders, rangingfrom cocoa growers throughtheir governments to civilsociety and most of theworld’s largest manufacturersof chocolate, who began thesigning the ground-breakingagreement at a specialceremony during the WorldCocoa Conference in Abidjanin November. The Declarationremains open to allow morecocoa stakeholderorganizations to sign it.

The Abidjan CocoaDeclaration, whichrecommends specific andmeasurable actions to achievea sustainable cocoa economy,reflects the more detailedproposals of the Global CocoaAgenda.

The important issueshighlighted by the Agendaformed the basis of many ofthe presentations, discussionsand panel sessions that tookplace at the World CocoaConference.

index in the sub Saharanregion, while countrieslike Nigeria, Togo, andIvory Coast are all in thehigh risk category of theindex.

Coordinator, Project onStrengthening Capacityfor Safe BiotechnologyManagement in sub-Sahara Africa, SABIMA inGhana, Prof. Walter S.Alhassan says there is theneed to revisit the policyframework for agricultureby many Africancountries to ensure thatthe basic issues of anenabling framework foragriculture are in place.

According to him, theimplementing strategieshave been drawn and theprocess ofimplementation is on-going.

“The 10% commitment ofnational budgets toagriculture called for byAfrican leaders inMaputo should beimplemented to addresstechnology innovation inthe entire value chain.Other budgetaryresources should becommitted to ruralinfrastructure and the10% agriculture budget,”he said.

BRIEFS


ICT

BRIEF

Ericsson todeploy UniTelAngola’s 4G/LTe

As Angola sets to fly with4G/LTE, being about one

of the earliest adopters of thetechnology in Africa, thecountry’s telecom platform tocarry the technology, UniTel,has selected Ericsson as part-ner of choice to deploy thenew technology.

Unitel, is the leading pro-vider of telecommunicationsservices in Angola and Erics-son would be the key suppli-er of its next-generation 4G/LTE network.

Agreement to the deal cov-ers the deployment of newLTE sites, Ericsson’s HomeSubscriber Servers (HSS) foruser data management. It alsoincludes the integration ofLTE functionality into existingprovisioning and chargingsystems, and an upgrade ofthe core network to a triple-access Evolved Packet Corethat simultaneous carriesGSM, WCDMA and LTE traf-fic.

Also under the scope of theagreement, Ericsson is alsoresponsible for the design,implementation and initialtuning of the LTE network.

Chief Executive Officer andBoard Member at Unitel,Miguel Martins, said that ”the recent launch of Unitel’s4G LTE network powered byEricsson demonstrates ourcommitment to providing ourcustomers with the higheststandard and state of the artmobile broadband services.”

Nokia partnersMicrosoft,Dalberg onInnovation for

Vision 20:2020

Global phone manufacturer, Nokia polled re-

sources together with leadingSoftware maker, Microsoft andGlobal Development Advisors,Dalberg to organise a full dayforum to discuss ways the ICTsector can impact agriculture,job creation and the powersector in achieving Nigeria’sVision 20:2020 goals.

The forum tagged, ‘Innova-tion for Vision 20:2020 Forum’stimulated discussion aroundhow information and commu-nication technologies and lo-cal innovations can be usedfor improving the performanceof the agriculture, entrepre-neurial and energy sectorsand what barriers exist forunleashing creativity bothwithin public and private do-mains for making these solu-tions a reality.

NITDA endows three Nigerian tertiaryinstitutions with N6.5m for softwaredevt

STORIES BYPRINCE OSUAGWU

Three tertiaryinstitutions in thecountry have

received a N6.25 millionfinancial aids from theNational InformationTechnology DevelopmentAgency, NITDA, for thedevelopment of localsoftware in the country.The Institutions are AbiaState Polytechnic Aba,Federal University ofTechnology Akure andFederal University ofTechnology, Minna.

NITDA gave thefinancial aids to redeemtwo separate promises itmade in Calabar, CrossRiver state, at theInstitute of SoftwarePractioners of Nigeria (ISPON) conference,October last year, thatthree lucky tertiaryinstitutions would benefitfrom its financialendowment for thedevelopment of localsoftware in Nigeria.

The endowment,according to NITDAwould run for five years.

The institutions, NITDAsaid, were selected basedon their performanceduring a nationalsoftware developmentcompetition for tertiaryinstitutions held at theconference.

Abia State PolytechnicAba received the NITDAendowment for being thewinner of the SoftwareDesign Architecture atthe competition. TheFederal University of

NITDA DG, Cleopas Angaye

Technology Minna alsoreceived a NITDA endowmentfor Software developmentexcellence conferred on theoverall winner at theconference, while NITDA DGalso gave his personal awardfor the Best Open SourceSoftware of the Year. Theaward went to the FederalUniversity of TechnologyAkure.

While presenting thefinancial awards to the

recipients in Abuja last week,Angaye said the awards weregiven as part of NITDA’smeasures of promoting thegrowth of the IT sector in thecountry as well asencouraging IT local contentdevelopment for wealthcreation.

He also added that thegesture was in continuationof its public-private-partnership model ofensuring that Nigeria

becomes a key player in theglobal IT industry.

Angaye said that “on apersonal note, I decided totake up the sponsorship of theBest Open Source Software ofthe Year award due to myprofession as a softwarepractitioner and the need toencourage the discovery ofglobally competitive criticalmass of other softwareengineers in Nigeria”.

He noted that no countrycan develop and compete atthe global level at thisinformation age withoutadequate and sound softwarebase adding that the softwareindustry is no doubt of utmostimportance to futurecompetitiveness foreconomies across the globeespecially with its halo effectin creating related businessopportunities.

For him, a study of theeconomic impact of thesoftware industry inSoutheast Asia countries hasdiscovered that there was aconservative multiplyingeconomic effect of about 1.7for upstream and downstreamindustries.

End-user industries alsobenefit enormously fromreduced cost, increasedproductivity and increasedbusiness opportunities.

NigComSat-1R holds key to Vision 202020success — NSE

President of Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE), Engr.Mustapha B. Shehu (right); Immediate past president ofNSE, Engr. Olumuyiwa Ajibola (2nd right); MD NIGCOM-SAT, Engr. Timasaniyu Ahmed-Rufai (far left) and othersduring the visit of Nigeria Society of Engineers’ Exco toNIGCOMSAT ground control station in Abuja recently.

The Nigerian Societyof Engineers, at the

weekend said that part ofthe ways to achieving theVision 2020-20 projectwas to ensure that Min-istries, Directorates andAgencies of governmentand the private sector pa-tronize the services of theNigerian Communica-tions Satellite Limited’sreplace satellite, NIG-COMSAT-1R.

Executives of the soci-ety who visited andtoured the facilities of thesatellite company lastweek, in Abuja, noted thatwith billions of naira al-ready invested on infra-structure like NigComSat-1R which is now func-tional, the country wasclearly on its way to join-ing the developed worldin the race for vision20.20.20.

President of the Society

Engr. Mustapha Shehu saidthat the Federal Governmentwould do the citizens a worldof good if it puts in place pol-icies that could encourageMinistries, Departments andAgencies (MDAs) to leverageon what NIGCOMSAT hasfor the benefit of the people.

“The Federal Governmentwhich came up with thisproject means well and afterspending huge sums of mon-ey, cannot allow this to go theAjaokuta Steel way”, Shehuadded.

He also called on the StateGovernments, Organised Pri-vate Sector, to patronise theNIGCOMSAT facilities if theymust join the rest of the worldin technology acquisition andeconomic emancipation.

The society has expressedabsolute confidence in Nig-ComSat’s resolve to bringingaffordable broadband accessto the Nigerian populace.

The delegation, expressedsatisfaction with the knowl-edge transfer of technology bythe Chinese people, afterembarking on an extensivetour of the facilities where the

operations of NigComSat-1R,the geostationary satellitelaunched in December 2011 isbeing closely monitored andsustained by Nigerian engi-neers.

CMYK


Advertising, Media & Marketing

,

,

BRIEFS

I n this chat withPrincewill Ekwujuru ,

Afebuameh Cephas, SupplyChain Director of GuinnessNigeria Plc, bared his mind onquality standards in Nigeria,as it affects Guinness brandsand the challenges in thebrewery industry. Excerpts:

What kind of safetystandards do Guinnessoperate within its facilitiesacross Nigeria. Consideringthe peculiar nature of policyformulation in Nigeria, anymajor challenges faced withgovernment policies?

One of the things we do verywell is just to be sure we areable to offer consumers whatthey want which is quality.Because what makes brandsstand out is quality and basedon the raw materials wesource, the state-of-the-artequipment we have, thetraining capability we have forour people, everything in total,even the suppliers that partnerwith us, we make sure thatquality is at the centre ofeverything we do. Even inmanufacturing processes, weare the first company to havewhat we call food safetycertification in Nigeria. That isIS0 22000/ 2005 which we gotas far back as 2007, and alsoour Quality managementstamp which we got as far backas 2001, that is 1S0 9002/ 1994.And we have been, year in,year out, getting certificationsto attest to the fact that wedon’t joke with quality. Also,there are severalmanufacturing policies all overthe word that we prideourselves in being a part of.Good and world classmanufacturing is what we doand have in place, and inaddition to that, because ourparent body is Diageo, wehave several standards thatwe have been carved out forus in which we follow throughto be able to deliver quality theway they should be. Part of thatis what we call the Diageo wayof growing, based on whatMarketing Director told usabout, for you to have a brandthat have lived for more than250 years, then you’ll knowthat the heritage is strong andtherefore in any of thecountries or market that wemanufacture Guinness forexample, we have a consistentway of manufacturing. Thereare processes we follow and Iam happy to say we are in linewith that. For yourinformation, we export to theUK and for us to be able topass the standard to importinto UK, that would tell youhow much attention we pay

Peppe Terraenters withnew TVC

In an effort to increaseits market share and

establish relevance withconsumers, Peppe Terrafrom the shelf of TropicalGeneral Investment (TGI)Nigeria Limited, asubsidiary of Chi hasintroduced a newTelevision commercial(TVC).

The new TVadvertisement is a to salutethe magic in every mom’shand. Peppe Terra is aready to use blend oftomatoes, onions andpepper.

The insight for theadvertisement is that mostof the Nigerian recipesneed a base of Tomatoes,Onions and Red peppersand that the quality of thisbase is critical to the tasteof every dish.

Managing Director, RoyDeepanjan, said thus,“This new TV advert willfeature across various TVchannels across Nigeriaand will be supported byother media vehicles andvarious activations thatdeliver to multipleconsumer touch-points.

Promo: ICMgives out carworth N2m

The just ended IkejaCity Mall (ICM)

concert that was fusedinto a promo has rewardeda shopper with a RenaultLogan car worth N2million.

The promo which startedwith the giving a way ofairtime to the fastest fingerto load the airtime saw theMC, Senator, (real nameBethel Njoku)intermittently crackingjokes.

The highpoint of theevent which is the raffledraw had the senatorexplain that the winnermust be present to win thecar as had beenpublicized.

The draw conducted atthe ICM car parkproduced Mr. OlabisiOkunsanya as the winner.Okunsanya has not owneda car in his life timethanked God for the gift.The car presentation wasdone by the outgoingICM Centre ManagerMrs. DebolaMajekodunmi.

Our strategy is to have the best andnecessary brands — Guinness Director

into our quality standard. Inaddition to that, back homehere, we have the StandardOrganisation of Nigeria(SON) Diamond certificationfor Harp and Stout. Thatmeans if you are able todeliver consistently for morethan 25 years you’ll have thatcertificate, we got ours as farback as 2007.

You claimed to have wonthe Monde Award beforenow, but your consumers arenot aware, why the silence?

In going back to Mondeselection which seems to bethe talk of the town now. Wehave been getting massiveawards year in year out, wehave been getting this awardas far back as 2006, butbecause we are a gentleorganisation, we don’t makenoise about the things we aredoing because we know ourconsumers are key andtherefore what they want iswhat we deliver to them. Allwe do as far as quality isconcerned is in service of ourcustomers and you will see inthe growth we haveexperienced in Harp, we arethe first to start the triplefiltration, we were the first toeven use foiling, because thequality of our brand isprimary in everything we do.Even in choosing ourtechnology, the beermembrane filtration we have,we are the first in Africa andin Diageo to have that whichwas commissioned some twomonths ago. So in a nutshell,right from the grains we use,the suppliers we bring onboard, the technologies wechoose, the process we buyinto, the training andcapability for our people, it isthe best in the world, frompeople to equipment toprocesses to partnership withsuppliers etc. Quality is

number one and that is whywe have been able to standthe test of time within wherewe are in the market and wehave consumers' pride in whatwe do.

We are humble to the factthat we allow consumers torate us, they accredit andapprove us, its a balance

about where you want to putyour money? For example, anaverage consumer wouldrelate with the Michael Poweradvert, “the table of men”,“Udeme” “criticalassignment” and so on,because many consumers inthe rural environment do notknow about Monde awards.It is a balance, by the waywhere do you want to spendyour money, who are youtrying to convince and whatinformation do they have? Forexample, only a feworganisations would advertisetheir products from theprocess point of view whichis what Guinness Nigeriadoes.

If there is enough quality

NAFDAC, we have aninternal audit departmentwhich makes sure we donot deviate from the safetyand quality standards thathave been put in place.

What is the relationshipbetween Guinness andthe international institutethat organises the MondeAwards?

We don’t have a directrelationship, that body isa group that was formedsince 1961. What they dois to send invitation toshow your interest in theupcoming entries for theselection which is what wedid. We do not have anydirect relationship withthem.

In supplying superiorbrands to competitivemarkets, what are thepolicies GuinnessNigeria has put in placeto enable the smoothrunning of supply?

We have a strongstrategy around routes-to-market, what we call RTMbecause we understandwhat consumers want andtherefore we plan ourstrategy to make sure itgets to them. We partnerwith everybody along thevalue and supply chain,and we keep revising thisfrom time to time based onneed.

Recently Guinnessbegan to buy up somebreweries, why hasGuinness woken up withthese ideas to expand?

Strategy formanufacturing defer fromorganisation toorganisation. Ourstrategy is not to have asmany breweries aspossible but to have thebest and necessarybrands.

control laws inNigeria, consideringwhat you said earlierthat GuinnessNigeria is all aboutquality, what is thestate of qualitycontrol in Nigeria?

We are the firstcompany in Nigeriato have the foodsafety standardcertification 1S022000/ 2005 which iscalled the food safetymanagement systemwhich we got in2007. Processes areaudited right fromthe intake to thefinished product.Quality is part of ourDNA. Aside SON &•Afebuameh Cephas

We have astrong strategyaround routes-to-market, whatwe called RTMbecause weunderstandwhat consumerswant andtherefore weplan ourstrategy tomake sure itgets to them.


CMYK

Omoh Gabriel - Group Business EditorBabajide Komolafe - Acting Finance EditorClara Nwachukwu - Energy EditorPeter Egwuatu - Head, Capital MarketYinka Kolawole - Snr Bus. CorrespondentFavour Nnabugwu - Insurance CorrespondentGodwin Oritse - Maritime CorrespondentGodfrey Bivbere - Maritime CorrespondentMichael Eboh - Capital Market ReporterOscarline Onwuemenyi - Energy ReporterFranklin Alli - Industry/Agric. ReporterAmaka Abayomi - Money market ReporterEbele Orakpo - Energy ReporterIfeyinwa Obi - Maritime Reporter

CONTRIBUTORSPrincewill Ekwujuru - Media/MarketingNaomi Uzor - IndustryProvidence Obuh - Micro FinanceLAYOUT - Graphics Department

Email:[email protected], [email protected] page:www.lesleba.com/blog2Website: www.lesleba.com

Tel:0817 002 3569

Business & Economy

IFUEKO OMOIGUI-OKAURU: AN UNUSUAL PUBLIC SERVANTBY LES LEBA

Every year, Nigeria’s media traditionally celebrate persons adjudged to have distinguished themselves in their respective fields ofendeavour or indeed, in their apparent dedication and commitment to their responsibilities as public servants. Similarly, in 2005, theFinancial Times of London celebrated Prof. Chukwuma Soludo as the best Central Bank Governor in the world. Surprisingly,however, not long after, the series of bank failures exposed the shallowness of this award. Sanusi Lamido Sanusi also got the sameaward soon after succeeding Soludo. Soludo and Sanusi’s awards were apparently the product of the London Financial Times’ alleged best practice management inNigeria’s banking subsector. Inexplicably, in spite of these favourable ratings, Nigerian banks are yet to demonstrate any commitmentto meeting the financial challenges of the economy; indeed, it is noteworthy that the performance of the Nigerian economy hasremained unimpressive, when compared with the economies of those countries with uncelebrated Central Bank governors! Incidentally, Soludo and Sanusi’s awards came at a time when cost of funds to the real sector remained generally above 20%, andgovernment borrowed at rates of between 10 and 17% with its bonds and bills issues, while inexplicably consolidating ‘surplusrevenue’ or savings, which earned interest rate of barely 3%. It is not clear why our CBN governors have sustained this template forpoverty creation, since sovereign risk-free borrowings would normally attract rates below 5%! It seems of no consequence that CBN’s sustenance of high Monetary Policy Rates also instigate inflation rates and constrictconsumer demand and industrial growth with adverse consequences on the level of employment. It is also unlikely that the Londonnewspaper would have the temerity to celebrate the Governor of the Bank of England for any reason whatsoever, if such poisonousmonetary indices prevailed in the UK! Sanusi was celebrated for saving the banks by rapidly injecting over N5tn into the subsector. Although the banks may have survivedand now post excellent profit figures, their benefactor, AMCON has conversely posted N2.5tn loss so far, and generations yetunborn will have to repay over N3tn loans raised by AMCON to keep the banks afloat! Expectedly, CBN has also played down thesignificant inflationary impact of the additional N2tn cash it created and similarly injected into the banks via AMCON! Curiously, in spite of the comatose state of our economy in the last 10 years or so, the Minister for Finance has in spite of thecontroversial quality of her fiscal management, also been a popular beneficiary of local and foreign awards. Clearly, deepening poverty and steeply rising national debts, in spite of huge budget surpluses under her watch, do not justifiablysupport any award for quality service. Despite the preceding catalogue of challenges and failures in the economy, the amiableminister lately received the award of ‘Man of the Year’ from one of the prime media houses in the country. The award wasapparently in recognition of her efforts to increase the vote for capital expenditure in steps of 1 - 2% annually, to redress theimbalance, which, incidentally prevailed in federal budgets throughout her first term in office. Other media houses have also recently identified persons, who distinguished themselves as their 2012 icons. Invariably, the awardeesare usually people from whom the respective media houses ultimately hope to get some patronage; thus, the otherwise impoverishedordinary Nigerian, who reported an unearned lodgment of N2bn in his account may never be a beneficiary of such awards. In similarmanner, the excellent dedication and commitment of Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru, the former Chairman of the Federal Inland RevenueService has remained largely uncelebrated. However, this fine model of Nigerian womanhood diligently carried out her duties without razzmatazz or fanfare, but ultimatelydelivered results, which will positively touch the lives of every Nigerian for many years to come. While most public officers excel inreckless spending and outright fraud, tax collection in the FIRS grew astronomically from slightly below N1.2tn to over N4.6tn in2011. Indeed, year 2012 revenue collection may have exceeded the N4.7tn total expenditure projection in last year’s budget.Incidentally, in spite of the trillions of naira at her ‘disposal’, her eight-year term at FIRS was not characterized by any scandal orcontroversy bordering on financial mismanagement. Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru received the MFR award in 2006, while her FIRS project was still work in progress; it is therefore surprisingthat the excellent quality of the finished article, when she left office in 2012 has largely remained uncelebrated. In my humble opinion,it should not be out of place to name the FIRS Headquarters after her, while she should also be awarded the highest order of theland. Omoigui-Okauru, was certainly a most unusual Nigerian public servant. Madam, may God bless you abundantly! SAVE THE NAIRA, SAVE NIGERIANS!!

Every year, Nigeria’smedia traditionallycelebrate persons

adjudged to havedistinguished themselves intheir respective fields ofendeavour or indeed, in theirapparent dedication andcommitment to theirresponsibilities as publicservants. Similarly, in 2005,the Financial Times of Londoncelebrated Prof. ChukwumaSoludo as the best CentralBank Governor in the world. Surprisingly, however, notlong after, the series of bankfailures exposed theshallowness of this award. Sanusi Lamido Sanusi alsogot the same award soon aftersucceeding Soludo.

Soludo and Sanusi’s awardswere apparently the productof the London FinancialTimes’ alleged best practicemanagement in Nigeria’sbanking subsector. Inexplicably, in spite of thesefavourable ratings, Nigerianbanks are yet to demonstrateany commitment to meetingthe financial challenges of theeconomy; indeed, it isnoteworthy that theperformance of the Nigerianeconomy has remainedunimpressive, whencompared with the economiesof those countries withuncelebrated Central Bankgovernors!

Incidentally, Soludo andSanusi’s awards came at atime when cost of funds to thereal sector remainedgenerally above 20%, andgovernment borrowed at rates

Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru: An unusual public servant

of between 10 and 17% withits bonds and bills issues,while inexplicablyconsolidating ‘surplusrevenue’ or savings, whichearned interest rate of barely3%. It is not clear why ourCBN governors havesustained this template forpoverty creation, sincesovereign risk-freeborrowings would normallyattract rates below 5%!

It seems of no consequencethat CBN’s sustenance ofhigh Monetary Policy Ratesalso instigate inflation ratesand constrict consumerdemand and industrialgrowth with adverseconsequences on the level ofemployment. It is alsounlikely that the Londonnewspaper would have thetemerity to celebrate theGovernor of the Bank ofEngland for any reasonwhatsoever, if such poisonousmonetary indices prevailed inthe UK!

Sanusi was celebrated forsaving the banks by rapidlyinjecting over N5tn into thesubsector. Although thebanks may have survived andnow post excellent profitfigures, their benefactor,AMCON has converselyposted N2.5tn loss so far, andgenerations yet unborn willhave to repay over N3tn loansraised by AMCON to keepthe banks afloat! Expectedly,CBN has also played downthe significant inflationaryimpact of the additional N2tncash it created and similarlyinjected into the banks viaAMCON!

Curiously, in spite of the

comatose state of our economyin the last 10 years or so, theMinister for Finance has inspite of the controversialquality of her fiscalmanagement, also been apopular beneficiary of localand foreign awards.

Clearly, deepening povertyand steeply rising nationaldebts, in spite of huge budgetsurpluses under her watch,do not justifiably support anyaward for quality service. Despite the precedingcatalogue of challenges andfailures in the economy, theamiable minister latelyreceived the award of ‘Manof the Year’ from one of theprime media houses in thecountry. The award wasapparently in recognition ofher efforts to increase the votefor capital expenditure in

steps of 1 - 2% annually, toredress the imbalance, which,incidentally prevailed infederal budgets throughouther first term in office.

Other media houses havealso recently identifiedpersons, who distinguishedthemselves as their 2012icons. Invariably, theawardees are usually peoplefrom whom the respectivemedia houses ultimately hopeto get some patronage; thus,the otherwise impoverishedordinary Nigerian, whoreported an unearnedlodgment of N2bn in hisaccount may never be abeneficiary of such awards. In similar manner, theexcellent dedication andcommitment of IfuekoOmoigui-Okauru, the formerChairman of the FederalInland Revenue Service has

remained largelyuncelebrated.

However, this fine model ofNigerian womanhooddiligently carried out herduties without razzmatazz orfanfare, but ultimatelydelivered results, which willpositively touch the lives ofevery Nigerian for many yearsto come. While most publicofficers excel in recklessspending and outright fraud,tax collection in the FIRSgrew astronomically fromslightly below N1.2tn to overN4.6tn in 2011. Indeed, year2012 revenue collection mayhave exceeded the N4.7tntotal expenditure projectionin last year’s budget.

Incidentally, in spite of thetrillions of naira at her‘disposal’, her eight-yearterm at FIRS was notcharacterized by any scandalor controversy bordering onfinancial mismanagement.

Ifueko Omoigui-Okaurureceived the MFR award in2006, while her FIRS projectwas still work in progress; itis therefore surprising thatthe excellent quality of thefinished article, when she leftoffice in 2012 has largelyremained uncelebrated. Inmy humble opinion, it shouldnot be out of place to namethe FIRS Headquarters afterher, while she should also beawarded the highest order ofthe land. Omoigui-Okauru,was certainly a most unusualNigerian public servant. Madam, may God bless youabundantly!

SAVE THE NAIRA, SAVE

NIGERIANS!!

,

,

Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru

However,this finemodel ofNigerianwomanhooddiligentlycarried outher dutieswithoutrazzmatazz orfanfare, butultimatelydeliveredresults

THE Nigerian PortsAuthority (NPA) has la-

mented the continued de-struction of its underwatermarine cables used by tele-communication firms operat-ing in Nigeria.

Disclosing this to membersof the Senate Committee onMarine Transport during theCommittee’s visit to the au-thority, Mr. IhenachoEbubeogu, General ManagerMarine and Operations saidthat the development has reached an alarming rate asmost of the affected telecom-munication companiesspends millions of dollars tohave these damaged cablesfixed.

Ebubeogu stated that thissaying there are times in the country that there are no hotlines due to the damagesdone to the under water ca-

NPA decries destruction to underwater marine cables

BY GODWIN ORITSEbles.

He explained that anytimethere is a damage to any ofthe underwater cable, it costany the affected firm about$1.8 milion to mobilize the the vessel that will go and fixthe damage.

He however solicited thesupport of the Senators intheir move to take measuresto protect the equipment onthe waters.

He warned that if some-thing urgent was not done tostop the trend, there will beproblem in certain sectors ofthe economy.

The NPA marine expert stat-ed each time they take upsome of the issues with theowners of the vessels, they goto the powers that be to makefalse reports .

His words “ Most of theships involved in the destruc-tion of the marine cables areowned by indigenes andmost of them are sea worthy

and when we take it up, theygo back to the polity that weat NPA are behaving fannyand sometimes try to to indi-vidualize the situation.

“If we do not somethingabout it, there will problem,the next one is that no matterhow you use satellite commu-nication, every country hashotlines you know the impli-cation of hotline and theyhave been cutting these hot-lines, which means that thereare times in this country weare without hotlines.

“It is worth developingguise pimples that we do nothave hotlines.

“Anytime these things hap-pens, it cost MTN, GLO NI-TEL or any of the Telecommu-nication companies $1.8mil-lion minimum to mobilize the ship that will come andrepair the damaged cable.

“We are not talking of losttime in service, we are talk-ing of other consequences of

information not being trans-mitted “

He also disclosed that theNigerian MeteorologicalAgency is making plans to put

a bouy on the breakwaterswith a view to gatheringweather information addingthat these equipment must beprotected from being dam-aged.

financial vanguard 14th january edition

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