Financial Vanguard

ISPS: US Coast Guardindicts FG overconfusion at ports

CMYK

JULY 22, , , , , 20132013201320132013

Continues on page 18

THE United States of AmericaCoast Guard has indictedthe Nigerian government over

the confusion at the nation's ports, as towho has the authority to implement the

International Ship and Port FacilitySecurity (ISPS) Code in the countryamong the various governmentagencies.

This is coming as the 90 daysultimatum on port security issued by theUnited States government to Nigeriaexpires in about two weeks. The United

States Coast Guard is again set foranother visit with a view to auditing thelevel of Nigeria’s compliance with theISPS Code. The US Coast Guard teamis expected in Nigeria on the 26th ofAugust just as plans to receive themhave been concluded. Since the threatto withdraw shipping services from

Nigeria was issued by the Americangovernment, both the NigerianMaritime Administration and SafetyAgency, NIMASA, and the NigerianPorts Authority, NPA, have beenmaking frantic efforts to ensure that allis set for the US Coast Guard inspection.

Should Nigeria fail to pass the auditexercise, it will spell doom for thenation’s economy as the Americangovernment and its allies will stop theirvessels from sailing to Nigeria.

Already, the United States CoastGuard in its report after last year’s visitto Nigeria thumbed down Nigeria’spreparedness as to the implementationof the ISPS Code and noted that thereis considerable confusion as to who hasthe authority to implement the ISPSCode in the country among the variousgovernment agencies with overlappingfunctions at the ports.

It was after the absence of aDesignated Authority at the nation’smaritime service was brought to thenotice of the Nigerian government thatNIMASA was asked to take up the

By GODWIN ORITSE

NEC MEETING - From left: Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State; Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan of DeltaState; Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State; Finance Minister, Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Governor GabrielSuswam of Benue State discussing during the National Economic Council Meting at the Aso Chambers, State House,Abuja. Photo by Abayomi Adeshida

109.45 +0.36

108.25 +0.21

131.75 +4.20

2,353.00 +6.00

16.28 +0.10

CURRENCY BUYING CENTRAL SELLING

CBN Exchange rate as at 19/07/2013

DOLLAR 154.76 155.2 155.76POUNDS 236.1792 236.9423 237.7053EURO 203.0915 203.7477 204.4038FRANC 164.2713 164.802 165.3328YEN 1.542 1.547 1.552CFA 0.2905 0.3005 0.3105WAUA 232.0273 232.777 233.5266RENMINBI 25.2121 25.294 25.3759RIYA 41.2638 41.3971 41.5305KRONA 27.1733 27.2611 27.3489SDR 232.7436 233.4955 234.2475

Cover Story

CMYK

18 — Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 22, 2013

Continued from page 17

Continues on page 19

What is not business?

One might wonder theimportance ofknowing what is not

business, but this is necessarybecause you need to know thekind of business you shouldnot go into, and businessesthat are prohibited by law. Notevery business is a genuineone and I will be taking youthrough a list of businesses youmust not be found doing.

The mentality of a businessman:

There’s a saying in the goodbook which reads thus “by theirfruits you shall know them”.The same applies to businessmen; they possess certainqualities and mind sets thatmake them stand out.Consequently, before you starta business you need to beadequately sure that youpossess the die-hard mentalityof an entrepreneur to withstandthe challenges that will arise.

Who is an entrepreneur?Over time various definitions

have been given to the term,but I will be teaching you thedifference between anentrepreneur and abusinessman, the boundlessand countless opportunitiesopen to an entrepreneur, thetraits and characteristics of asuccessful entrepreneur. Inshort, everything you need toknow if you want to be not justa business man but also anentrepreneur.

Your readiness to be your ownboss:

A lot of people embark on ajourney without fullypreparing for it, and as suchthey are knocked off balance bythe slightest wind that blows.No warrior goes to war withouthis arms and it’s only a stupidfarmer that goes to farmwithout his hoe. At the end ofthis topic, you would know ifyou are ready to start abusiness and peradventure youare not, you would be taughtsteps that will help you to beboth mentally and financiallyready.

The basic steps:In this chapter I will be

taking you through the stepsthat you cannot overlook, if youwant to have a successfulbusiness. These include:conceiving an idea, planning,funding, structuring, location,training and so much more.

I am of the sincere opinionthat this would be more thanjust a book for you and yourloved ones; it will be a compassthat will guide you on yourjourney into the world ofentrepreneurs. There is nobetter time to start your ownbusiness than now. These same

The Basic Guide to Startingyour Business Part 2

steps have worked for meand I dare say are stillworking for me, and I amconfident they will work foryou and everyone that readsthis book.

WHAT IS BUSINESS?Before you start a business,

it is very important tounderstand what a businessis in order to avoid makingmistakes that can be verydetrimental. The termbusiness is very broad andcan be vague; for some it isany activity or trade with thesole aim of making profits.On the one hand, it can besaid to be the occupation,work or trade in which aperson is engaged in. Onthe other hand, a businesscan be defined as “anorganization that providesgoods and services to peoplewho want or need them”.When many people think ofbusiness careers, they often

think of jobs in large wealthycorporations, but for theentrepreneur, a business isany activity aimed atcreating and keepingcustomers. There arebasically two ways to carryout a business:

Sell goods (physicalthings like books, toys, cars,houses, etc).

Sell services (intangiblethings like nurseryeducation, legal services,health care, insurance, etc).

Many business-relatedcareers though, exist insmall businesses, non-profitorganizations, governmentagencies, and educationalsettings. Conversely, yourbusiness may consist ofselling both goods andservices; for example if youare a computer dealer, youmay sell goods (hardwareand software) and services( m a i n t e n a n c e ,troubleshooting, orconsulting).

,

,

,

,

Before youstart a businessyou need to beadequately surethat youpossess the die-hard mentalityof anentrepreneur towithstand thechallenges thatwill arise

responsibility of DesignatedAuthority, D\A.

In the report, the Americangovernment through its CoastGuard expressed concern overthe fact that even NIMASA aspresently constituted has notdeveloped any form ofexpertise to tackle the issue ofterrorism in the maritimeindustry.

The US government alsoexpressed concern that there isno anti-terrorism measures inplace in Nigerian ports andthreatened to impose sanctionson Nigeria if measures are notput in place within 90 days.

The report read in part: “Theembassy of the United Statesof America presents itscompliment to the Ministry ofForeign Affairs of the FederalRepublic of Nigeria and thehonour to request that theMinistry forward this messageto and the attached AideMemoire to the HonourableMinister of Foreign Affairs,Olugbenga Ashiru,Honourable Minister ofTransport, Idris .A. Umar,Senior Special Adviser to thePresident on Maritime Affairs,Mr. Leke Oyewole, Director-General, Nigerian MaritimeAdministration and SafetyAgency, NIMASA, Mr. PatrickAkpobolokemi, ManagingDirector, Nigerian PortsAuthority, NPA, Mallam HabibAbdullahi.

“The embassy has thehonour to note that thegovernment of the UnitedStates of America appreciatesthe willingness of thegovernment of the FederalRepublic of Nigeria to host thevisit by the United States CoastGuard (USCG) team to Nigeria

to assess the effectiveness ofanti-terrorism measures atports and continued efforts tocomply with the InternationalShip and Ports Facility Security(ISPS) Code.

“Overall, with somenoteworthy exceptions noted inthe attached Aide Memoir, theUnited States Coast Guardteam determined that Nigerian

Ports did not have in placeeffective anti-terrorismmeasures. Based on suchobservations during thesevisits to the Federal Republicof Nigeria, the government ofthe United States of Americawould like to communicateseveral areas of concern.

“The visiting team noted thelack of clarity regarding whichagency in the Federal Republicof Nigeria has the overallresponsibility for overseeinganti-terrorism measures atthese ports, as well as theuneven quality and consistencyof oversight. As a result, theUnited States Coast Guard

identified areas forimprovement regarding anti-terrorism measures in Nigerianports.

“The government of theUnited States of Americarespectfully request correctionsof issues identified in theattached Aide Memoir within90 days of receipt of thisnotification. Correction of suchissues would allow the UnitedSates Coast Guard to refrainfrom implementing additionalconditions of entry on allvessels sailing to United Statesports that have called at non-exempted ports in the FederalRepublic of Nigeria within fiveport calls of arrival in the UnitedStates of America.

“The Embassy has the furtherhonour to note that the UnitedStates Coast Guard mustprovide public notice of suchchanges in condition of entry.The Embassy adds that vesselsarriving from Nigerian portfacilities assessed as havingeffective anti-terrorismmeasures, as listed in theattached Aide Memoir, willremain exempt. The Embassyrespectfully notes that theseadditional conditions of entry,when implemented, wouldslow down maritime tradebetween our two countries andincrease costs for Nigerian andother regional exporters usingNigerian ports.

‘The government of theUnited States of America,therefore, requests that thegovernment of the FederalRepublic of Nigeria implementnecessary actions as soon aspossible to remedy specific portdeficiencies noted in theattached Aide Memoir.

‘The Embassy recognises that

ISPS: US Coast Guard indicts FG overconfusion at ports

VISIT - From left: President, Experiential Marketers Association of Nigeria (EXMAN),Kayode Olagesin; Managing Director, Lagos State Signage and Advertisements Agency(LASAA), George Kayode Noah; Chief Executive Officer, Ideas House, Kehinde Salami andHead Business Development and Support, LASAA, Siraj Bello, duing EXMAN visit to LASAACorporate Head Office in Alausa Ikeja Lagos on Wednesday.

The Embassyhas the furtherhonour to notethat the United

States CoastGuard must

provide publicnotice of such

changes incondition of

entry

CMYK

Vanguard, MONDAY, JULY 22, 2013 — 19

Cover Story

Continued from page 18

,

,

Working in Nigeria is quite interesting and as well, very challenging.Public sector workers have to use their meager salaries to fend forthemselves, their immediate family and extended family. In a country

where the minimum wage is 18, 000 naira and the rate of inflation runs skyhigh, the average public sector worker finds it challenging and begins to cutcorners to meet up with his daily expenses. There is no efficient transportsystem, no housing scheme to guarantee the workers’ welfare. So, naturally,

Consumer credit and mortgagefinancing can help fight corruption

in a bid to meet up with theircounterparts in the privatesector, they cut corners,compromise their offices andtake bribes to bend the rules.

It is only in Nigeria that youhave to save about N5millionto buy a car and pay cash. It isonly in Nigeria also that youhave to save and build yourhouse, paying cash to thecontractors. In other places,consumer credit and mortgagefinancing are developed toassist the individuals to ownproperties and pay over a longperiod of time. In many of thecountries we borroweddemocracy from, their citizenshardly build houses bythemselves. There aremortgage institutions andhousing companies that buildhouses and give them out toworkers on mortgagefinancing basis.

Workers who own suchhouses are conscious of thefact that they have to pay theirmortgage on monthly basis orbe thrown out. Such workersare committed to their jobsbecause losing such jobsmeans they cannot afford ahome. So, they becomededicated. But what do youhave here? Millions ofNigerians are without homesand no hope of ever owningone. When such individualscome in contact with avenuesto make money, they go allout. That is why somemembers of the NationalAssembly are all out to makemoney in whatever way,without considering the plightof the ordinary man on thestreet who they claim torepresent.

This is why some civilservants steal the nation blind.

Worse still, governmentappointees are given free cars,housing and feeding andalmost every other thing isfree. Such individuals havingattained a certain level ofstandard of living doeverything in their power toensure they secure theirfuture. Hence, corruption is atits highest level in the civilservice.

Also, consumer credit indeveloped society has

helped workers to be focusedand own whatever they wantwithout stealing from thetreasury. In those societies,you only need to show proofthat you are gainfullyemployed. The banks willfinance needed householdequipment, car and any otherthing that will make lifecomfortable for the worker. Butthe reverse is the case here.You have to save to buy a car,build a house, and doeverything for yourself. Thishas become part of theNigerian culture such thatNigerians are naturallyadverse to loans andadvances. Nigerians havedeveloped an attitude towardscredit as if it is a taboo. Credithelps society and economy togrow. It puts money in thehands of individuals whoordinarily will not have hadthe means of making certainpurchases. It stimulates

demand for goods andservices and encouragesmanufacturers to producemore and thus ensure jobcreation.

Nigeria is a nation withmassive unemployment; adeveloped consumer creditscheme can trigger massive

demand for goods andservices that will encourageproduction and job creation.

The mortgage system is yetanother channel throughwhich Nigeria can stimulatethe economy and create jobs.The demand for housing andmortgage in Nigeria is vast.Nigeria at the moment has ahousing deficit of 17 millionunits and it is adding to thatat the rate of two millionhouses per year. That is on thedemand side. The housingsupply side in any economyis a very strong driver ofeconomic growth, if properly

handled. There are so manylinkages within the economyas regards housingemployment. Once aneconomy starts driving thehousing and constructionsector, it will employcarpenters, welders, masons,interior decorators, etc. It is a

whole lot of linkages. In anyeconomy, this is a perfectinstrument for job creation.This is exactly why the USAmonitors housing gaps everymonth. One of the keyindicators is how many houseshave been built, how many oldhouses have been purchased.An index measures themovement of housing crisiswithin the economy.

Has Nigeria’s policymakers realised that

this is an instrument of jobcreation and economic growth.Last April, in Washington, the

Minister of Finance andCoordinator of the Economy,Dr. Mrs Okonjo-Iweala, toldreporters that Nigeria hasdecided to add more access andliquidity on mortgageefinancing through the creationof a mortgage refinancinginstitution that will be mainlyprivate sector held. She saidthat government will only be amotivator and will have a smallshare in it.

The partners, she disclosed,are the banks, which is why theCBN has a key role in it. TheCBN is a partner. Nigeria, shesaid, will be looking for otherinvestors. The document hasbeen prepared to attractdomestic and foreign investorsinto the housing sector. TheWorld Bank is a strong partneras it is providing $300 millionof liquidity facility atconcessional rate of zero percent, commitment charge of 0.7per cent, 10 years of grace and40 years repayment period tohelp us do this. Six states -Lagos, FCT, Bauchi, Niger, andAnambra - were said to havevolunteered to pioneer themortgage project. So far,nothing else has been heardabout this. How soon willNigerians be able to haveaccess to mortgage finance andconsumer credit? Will this workwithout a credible nationalidentity card? This is onequestion begging for an answerfrom the federal government.

Once an economy starts drivingthe housing and construction

sector, it will employ carpenters,welders, masons, interior

decorators, etc. It is a whole lotof linkages

authorities may face significantdifficulties in instituting theneeded measures and wouldwelcome follow-on discussions.

The US Coast Guard reportfurther said “The Embassy hasthe honour to note thatInternational Port SecurityLiaison Officer Commander,David Gates, remains preparedto assist the government of theFederal Republic of Nigeria inaddressing these issues so thatthe United States Coast Guardcan change this determinationas soon as possible.

“The Embassy respectfullyrequests that the government ofthe Federal Republic of Nigeriaidentify a point of contact for

future dialogue on this issue.The United States government,however, noted andcommended some individualterminals and port facilities whoare currently maintainingeffective anti-terrorismmeasures.”

Meanwhile, themanagement of the

Nigerian Ports Authority hasprepared both Port FacilitySecurity Plans (PFSP) and PortFacility Security Assessment(PFSA) on every terminal andfacilities across the country. Inthe report, the Americangovernment also expressedconcern over the ability ofNIMASA to midwife andimplement the Code. Some of

the deficiencies noted by the US Coast Guard team in some ofthe terminals visited includeinadequate trainingprogrammes, inadequateaccess control measures, andthe failure to ensure thateffective drills and exercises arecarried out at several terminals.

“The Nigerian MaritimeAdministration and SafetyAgency claims some legalauthority for ISPS Code matters,but has not been exercising theduties of a DesignatedAuthority for port facilities andhas not developed securityexpertise.

“The future of the currentDesignated Authority remainsin doubt and intense frictionremains between the various

government ministries andagencies vying for authority overport security.

Reacting to the report,NIMASA’s spokesman, Mr.Isichei Osamgbi, said that theagency is working hard toensure that Nigeria as a countryis compliant to the ISPS Code.

Recall that the PresidentialImplementation Committee onMaritime Security and Safety(PICOMSS) was responsible forthe ISPS Code until NIMASAbecame uncomfortable with itspresence and moved against itto be scrapped.

Even after PICOMSS wasscrapped, NIMASA was still ata loss as to what to do until thegovernment directed it tooversee the implementation of

ISPS: US Coast Guard indicts FG over confusion at portsthe Code in Nigeria.

As at the time of filling thisreport, the management of theNigerian Ports Authority wasmaking arrangement to acquiretrained dogs that will bedistributed to every port acrossthe country.

In his reaction to thedevelopment, the ExecutiveSecretary of the NigerianShippers Council, Mr. HassanBello, explained that Nigeriahas obligation to theInternational Ship and PortFacility Security (ISPS) Codeand all its attachments.

He, however, opined thatNigeria is currently complyingwith some aspect of the Code,adding that with time, it will befully implemented in Nigeria.


CMYK

Business & Economy

BRIEFS

The Mortgage BankingAssociation of Nigeria

(MBAN) has said it wouldformally incorporate theNigeria Mortgage FinanceCompany (NMFC) duringthe last quarter of 2013. MrKayode Omotosho, theMBAN Executive Secretary,disclosed this in Lagos.

According to him, thecompany, which has been onthe drawing board, will get afinancial boost to take-off fromthe World Bank. Kayode saidthat the company would helpmortgage banks in terms ofcash availability and makefunds readily available forfurther mortgage lending tocustomers. “So far, NMFChas received $300 million(N45 billion) loan from theWorld Bank. Theshareholders havecontributed about N6 billionand this will be more thanenough for it to open to thepublic for business,” he said.

WORKERS inthe nation’sp e t r o l e u m

industry have accused thePresidency of beingeconomical with wordsover the alarming rate ofcrude oil theft in thecountry, insisting thatpoliticians and highlyplaced individuals areresponsible for theincreasing crude theft.

Under the umbrella ofthe Nigeria Union ofPetroleum and NaturalGas Workers, NUPENG,and Petroleum andNatural Gas Senior StaffAssociation of Nigeria,PENGASSAN, theworkers dismissedaccusation by the SpecialAdviser to the PresidentGoodluck Jonathan onNiger Delta Affairs, Mr.Kingsley Kuku, that theoil workers were thebrains behind crude oiltheft in the country.

Reacting to a statementcredited to Mr. Kuku in anational paper of July 17,2013 titled: “Oil Workersare the Ones StealingCrude Oil,” NUPENGand PENGASSAN,described the allegationas unimaginable,unguided, mischievousand condemnable.

They said they tookserious exception to suchperturbing, mischievous,d i a b o l i c a lunsubstantiated andalarming allegationclownishly and flippantlydischarged withoutmindful of itsimplications andramifications.

The workers allegedthat the criminal activitiesof crude oil thefts wereperpetrated by highlyplaced and influentialindividuals andpoliticians, adding thatKuku “is only beingeconomical with the truthand trying to cover upwith his allegationagainst the workers.”

The unions asked thefederal government tocall to order the specialadviser to the presidentagainst unguided andu n s u b s t a n t i a t e dprovocative utterances in

Oil workers tackle presidency overcrude oil theft…insist politicians, highly placed individuals are responsible

BY VICTORAHIUMA-YOUNG

the interest of industrialpeace and the respect for “Ournation that seriously yearn forpeace at this relatively volatilemoment of our national life.”

Speaking on behalf of theNUPENG and PENGASSAN,

President of PENGASSAN,Babatude Ogun, expressedthe oil workers preparednessto take up the issue with thespecial adviser to thepresident unless hesubstantiated his allegation,

saying that the Joint Tax Force(JTF) should also help inunmasking those behindcriminal act of crude oil theftand other national sabotageactivities.

FG gives NPA 2 weeks ultimatumon workers’ arrears

BY VICTOR AHIUMA-YOUNG & KELECHIAZUBUIKE

THE Federal Governmenthas given the Nigerian PortsAuthority, NPA, two weeks todetermine the costimplications of the arrearsand modalities for payment ofthe 12 months salary arrearsto Tally Clerks and on-Boardsecurities men members ofMaritime Workers Union ofNigeria, MWUN.

President-General ofMWUN, Emmanuel AnthonyNted, told Vanguard that thiswas part of the agreementreached at stakeholdersmeeting called bygovernment to address thelooming industrial unrest inthe Maritime industry, over12 months unpaid salaries toTally Clerks and on-boardsecurity men members of theunion among othergrievances.

He said the stakeholders

would reconvene Tuesday,July 23, to agree on when thepayment would commence.

Through the Ministry ofLabour and Productivity, thegovernment had last Mondaysummoned the managementof NPA, MWUN and SafetyAgency, NIMASA, and otherstakeholders to a meeting tofind solution to a plannedstrike by workers over 12months unpaid salaries ofTally Clerks, on-boardsecurity men among othergrievances.

But for the meeting, theunion had planned to shutdown the nation’s ports lastWednesday (July 17) twoweeks after the Minister ofLabour intervened andpleaded with the union togive the NPA time to sortthings out.

However, Nted said at theMonday stakeholders’meeting presided over by thePermanent Secretary, FederalMinistry of Labour andProductivity, Dr .Clement

IIIoh, that the union hasagreed to suspend theplanned strike.

According to him, “At theend of the meeting, it wasresolved that the NPA wouldneed two weeks to receiveinputs from the parts,determine the costimplications of the paymentof arrears, interface with theManaging Director of NPA,and work out the modalitiesfor payments accordingly. The meeting also noted theissues of the non-payment ofsalaries to Tally Clerks andon-board security men indifferent parts of the countryand the statement by theExecutive Director, NPA, onthe insufficiency of thenational budget for NPA forthat purpose currently.Federal Ministry of Labourand Productivity stressed theneed to redress all issuespertaining to the payments ofsalaries where relevant, andarrears of the agreedincrement.”

CBN, SEC urgedto compensateshareholders ofnationalisedbanks

Chief Executive Officer,Standard Union

Securities Ltd., Mr SehindeAdenagbe, has called oncapital market regulators tocompensate shareholders ofthe three banks nationalisedin 2011.

Adenagbe said in Lagos thatthe compensation wouldenhance the participation oflocal investors in the capitalmarket. The stockbroker saidthat such a monumental losswithout compensation coulddiscourage local investments.He urged the Securities andExchange Commission(SEC), the Nigerian StockExchange (NSE) and theCentral Bank of Nigeria(CBN), to revisit the issue.The shareholders should notbe allowed to suffer for theoffence of others.

“The capital marketregulators should providesuccour and not allow theinvestors to suffer a totalloss,” he said. According toAdenagbe, the developmentmay be the reason for poorparticipation of local investorsin the nation’s bourse.

Mortgage financecompany takesoff in October —MBAN

Managing Director, A2W Estates Ltd, Mr. Busayo Akanro (left), members- Mr. MathewAbolurin, Mrs. Nkiru Akwarandu, Mr. Emeka Nwankwo, Group Managing Director, A2WNigeria Ltd, Mr. Adeolu Akinyemi, his wife, Mrs. Tope Akinyemi and a member, Mrs IjeomaChukwu, at the commissioning of A2W Estate Phase 1, in Iju Ishaga, Lagos State...on Thurs-day.


Business & Economy

THE Minister ofAgriculture and RuralDevelopment, Dr.

Akinwumi Adesina, has saidthe Federal Government willsoon release N10 billion forcassava bread developmentfund and to further boost thecassava production. Adesinawho was represented by theSenior Technical Assistant tothe Minister of Agriculture, Dr.Adetunji Oredipe, disclosedthis in Kogi State at theCassava GES Roll Out atAgbadu Staple CropProcessing Zone, SCPZ, inKabba Bunu Local Government

FG to release N10bn cassavabread development fund

BY GABRIEL EWEPU

Area of the state.He explained that

Government established theCassava Bread DevelopmentFund, which would be fundedthrough the tariff on wheatflour. He further said that theCassava Bread DevelopmentFund would also be used tosupport research anddevelopment efforts on cassavabread, training of masterbakers, and support for masterbakers for the acquisition of

new equipment for production.Speaking on the GrowthEnhancement Scheme (GES),the minister said that the GESwill allow the farmers toproduce additional foodbecause the farmers willreceive their improved cuttingsand fertilisers.

“This year, we are takingcassava GES programme toscale, we have designeddifferent levels of support todifferent categories of farmers

and we are committed tomaking this work. This marksanother major milestone in ourdrive to ensure that the moderncassava farmers adopt the bestavailable agricultural practicesstarting with the use ofimproved inputs; cuttings andfertilisers. In doing this, we willensure that our farmers, the realcassava farmers who should bethe real beneficiaries ofgovernment policy are welltargeted by government

programme”, he said.According to Adesina, to

assure sustainable supply ofhigh quality cassava flour, asecure low interest and longterm financing from the ChinaExim Bank for the importationof 18 large scale high qualitycassava flour processing plantwas made to be owned andoperated by the private sector.In his address, Commissionerfor Agriculture, Kogi Sate, Dr.Olufemi Bolarin, noted thatthe Governor of Kogi State,Idris Wada, has keyed into theATA in Agriculture byencouraging and assistingKogi State peasant farmers inall facets of agriculturalproduction.

FORUM: From left: Deputy Controller, Nigerian Custom Service, Mr. Abber Benjamin; As-sistant Superintendent, Nigerian Custom Service, Egwunyenga Isioma; Managing DirectorGTBank, Mr. Segun Agbaje and Assistant Superintendent, Nigerian Custom Service, AbbaSuleiman, during the 2013 GTBank Settlement Forum, held in Lagos.


CMYK

Banking & Finance

BRIEFS

M icrosoft Corp onThursday reported

lower-than-expected quarterlyearnings as slow personalcomputer sales ate into itsWindows business and it tookan unexpected $900 millioncharge for its inventory ofunsold Surface tablets.

The world’s largest softwarecompany reported fiscalfourth-quarter profit of 59cents per share, comparedwith a 6 cents per share lossin the year-ago quarter whenit wrote off the cost of a failedacquisition.

Revenue rose 10 percent to$19.9 billion, helped by salesof Microsoft’s Office suite ofapplications, but fell short ofanalysts’ average estimate of$20.7 billion.

Microsoft said the $900million charge related to itsSurface RT tablet, which waslaunched alongside Windows8 in October but has not soldwell.

Earlier last week, Microsoftsaid it was drastically cuttingprices and expandingdistribution of the model toentice buyers.

The Institute ofS t r a t e g i cM a n a g e m e n t ,

Nigeria (ISMN), has saidthat strategy andleadership should be givenpriority to help solvenational problem and createdevelopment.

In his keynote address, atthe institute’s annualconference/ 10thanniversary, with thetheme: “Strategy andLeadership: Panacea to ourNational Malaise,” EkitiState Governor KayodeFayemi, said that adevelopmental state isanchored on strategicthinking.

Fayemi said, “Creating astrategic mindset ingovernance is the key toconstructing a sustainablefuture. Strategic leadershiptherefore is not justdesigned to answerquestions in the present butto anticipate and answerthe developmentalquestions posed by thefuture.

“A developmental state isanchored on strategicthinking. In this sense, thepursuit of development ina world in which nationsare competing for

Strategy, leadership needed fordevelopment — ISMN

By PROVIDENCE OBUHadvantage calls for theadoption of strategicintelligence.

He noted that developmentplanning is a long termendeavour, saying,“Embracing strategic thinkingalso means jettisoning ourinstitutional and culturalpredilection for short-termism.Development planning is along term endeavour.

“The economic miracle of

Southeast-Asian nations wasbuilt on the back of long termplanning. China’s emergencewhich is perhaps the mosttalked about and analyzeddevelopment story in recenttimes was nurtured over thecourse of thirty years. These arethe countries we want toemulate.”

Earlier in his welcomeaddress, ISMN President, Mr.Otive Igbuzor said that the

development of any nationrequires a comprehensivedevelopment strategy.

Igbuzor noted that thedevelopment strategy of anation is a comprehensivepolicy document that identifiesthe priority areas of the country,the resources available in thecountry and how to harness theresources to bring aboutimprovement in the lives of thecitizens.

Detroit filesbiggest everUS municipalbankruptcy

The city of Detroit filed forbankruptcy last week,

making it the largest evermunicipal bankruptcy in U.S.history and marking a newlow for a city that was thecradle of the U.S. automotiveindustry.

In a letter accompanying thefiling, Michigan’s GovernorRick Snyder said he hadapproved a request fromDetroit Emergency ManagerKevyn Orr to file for Chapter9 bankruptcy protectionsaying “it is clear that thefinancial emergency inDetroit cannot be successfullyaddressed outside of such afiling, and it is the onlyreasonable alternative that isavailable.”

Snyder, a Republican,appointed Orr in March totackle the city ’s spiralinglong-term debt, which isestimated at $18.5 billion.

The former manufacturingpowerhouse has seen itspopulation fall to 700,000 froma peak of 1.8 million peoplein 1950. The city ’sgovernment has been beset bycorruption cases over theyears. Waning investment instreet lights and emergencyservices has left the citystruggling to police thestreets.

Microsoft profitbelow estimatesafter tabletcharge

economic growth and majorcontributors to employmentgeneration, wealth creation,poverty alleviation and foodsecurity.

“With the seminar, DiamondBank is positioning itself asnumber one caretaker of thesmall business industry and Ibelieve they are not justcontrolling the market, they arethe leaders. They are settingthe pace and as we go roundthe country, we are unearthingmore and more of the smallbusiness people, we are givingthem capacity, we are trainingthem,” he said.

Also, Mr. Collins Adeyemi,Chief Executive Officer, CADiversified, in a presentationtitled ‘Succeeding as anEntrepreneur: The EmpireBuilder’ noted that to be anentrepreneur, one must havevision, guts, foresight,direction, passion, heart andintegrity among otherattributes.

According to him, everygreat product started as anidea, but not every great idea

‘Cash flow forecast key to MSMEs success’separate business frompersonal interest, noted thatcash sufficiency is vital for thesuccess of every business,even if a business isfundamentally profitable.

“Cash flow forecast assists inplanning, monitoring andevaluation. For manybusinesses, cash flow is a bigproblem and obstacle tosuccess. You must learn to planyour expenses in advance inanticipation of certain changesin income and expenditure,”Ekpikhe advised.

He also cautioned thatbefore an entrepreneur startsa business, there is need forhim to do research on thebusiness and set his goals.

The consultant said abusiness plan was imperativebecause it is the document thatbanks and other investorswould look at to determinewhether to invest in suchbusiness or not.

Ekpikhe commendedDiamond Bank for setting thepace by heavily supporting thegrowth of MSMEacknowledged to be engines of

CASH flow forecast hasbeen identified as a

critical tool for the planning,monitoring and evaluationof activities of Micro, Smalland Medium Enterprises,MSMEs.

A financial managementconsultant, Mr. JohnEkpikhe, SeniorConsultant, Mark-GeorgeConsultants, made the callrecently while addressingowners of MSMEs at the34th Diamond Bank’sBusiness Xpress EnterpriseSeminar.

Speaking on a paper titled‘SME Cash Flow’ Ekpikheexplained that the objectiveof the module is to exposeentrepreneurs on how tomanage and determinecash flow in a business,saying that cash is to abusiness what blood is thebody.

Ekpikhe who advisedparticipants to ensure they

became a great product, addingthat the best product is thatwhich is developed by research.

He listed some of thequalities of an entrepreneur toinclude initiative, ability to seeand seize the opportunity,persistence, risk taker, goalsetter and goal getter,dedication, networking, drivenby excellence, ability toresearch, planning and self-confidence.

Alhaji AbduramanMohamed, ManagingDirector, Daily NeedDistributors Limited, in alecture titled, ‘Starting Small,Ending Big’ admonishedparticipants to ensurecontinuous investment of theprofit into their businesses.

Earlier in his address, Mr.Chima Nnadozie, Head,MSME Propositions ofDiamond Bank, noted that thepurpose of the seminar, whichis being hosted across thecountry, was to support ownersof MSME to grow theirbusinesses through capacitybuilding.

By NKIRUKANNOROM


Banking & Finance

BRIEF

From left:Country Manager, South African Airways, Ms. Thobi Duma; Chairman, Nigeria-South Africa Chamber of Commerce, Mr Folusho Phillips; Deputy High Commissioner, SouthAfrica High Commission in Nigeria, Mogkethi Monaisa; and Head, Africa, South Africa Air-ways, Mr Aaron Munetsi, during a breakfast meeting of NSACC organized by South AfricaTourism and South African Airways, in Lagos.

THE Financial ReportingCouncil (FRC) has

emphasized the need for Not-for-profit organisations tocomply with the new financialreporting regime, given themtill the end of the year tocomply to register with theCouncil.

Chief Executive Officer/Executive Secretary, FRC, Mr.Jim Obazee, at an interactivesession with journalists, lastweek, in Lagos, said at the endof the deadline, the Councilwill begin commence theenforcement of the law againstthem. He said the Council iscurrently registering Not-forProfit organisations via itswebsite, adding that a numberof them have alreadyregistered.

“Currently, financial

statements presented by Not forProfit organisations in Nigeriaare not uniform andcomparable. They differ fromone type of institution to anotherand sometimes amonginstitutions of a particular type,thus, making comparison andaccountability difficult. SAS 32,that became effective July 1,2011 establishes uniform basisof accounting and reporting ofactivities of Not for Profitorganisations. Section 11(d) ofthe Financial Reporting Councilof Nigeria Act No. 6, 2011provides that the Council is toensure accuracy and reliability

of financial reports andcorporate disclosures, pursuantto the various laws andregulations currently inexistence. This includes thefinancial reports of Not-for-Profit Organisations.

“It has also been noticed thata number of entities operatingon commercial lines, withincharity, are claiming exemptionon their income on the groundthat the totality of the outfits arecharitable institutions. This isbased on the argument thatthey are engaged in the“advancement of an object ofgeneral public utility” and

classified as “companylimited by guarantee” asprovided for by Section 26 ofthe Companies and AlliedMatters Act LFN 2004. Sucha claim, when made in respectof an activity carried out oncommercial lines, is contraryto the intention of theprovision and put the assetsof the charitable purpose atsignificant risk,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Obazee saidFRC is not responsible forapproving financial reports oforganisations, but ratherreviews them to ensurecompliance with InternationalFinancial Reporting Standard(IFRS). He was reacting to anewspaper report (notVanguard) that the Councilrefused to approve the 2012annual report of the CentralBank of Nigeria, CBN.

“The financial report ofentities including that of theCBN is approved by theGoverning Board of theorganisations. The FRC doesnot approve accounts. Section8 (d) of the FRC Act requirespreparers of financialstatement to send theirfinancial statements to theFRC within 60 days afterapproval by their own board.The FRC looks at the financialstatements sent to us andreview it. And remember, theyfirst have to submit thestatement to their primaryregulators before theapproval of the board, and itis only after these have beendone that they end a copy ofthe approved statement to theFRC,” he remarked.

FRC harps on registration ofFRC harps on registration ofFRC harps on registration ofFRC harps on registration ofFRC harps on registration ofNot-for-profit organisationsNot-for-profit organisationsNot-for-profit organisationsNot-for-profit organisationsNot-for-profit organisations*Not responsible for approving financial reports

By YINKA KOLAWOLE

Sterling Bank Plc hasrecorded a growth in its

profit after tax of 97 percentfor the 2013 first half resultreleased last week, just as itexpressed confidence in itsongoing rights issue.

The first-half report came onthe heels of initial filingsshowing extensiveshareholders’ interests in thebank’s ongoing N12.5 billionrights issue. Sterling Bank israising N12.5 billion through arights issue of about 5.889billion ordinary shares of 50kobo each at N2.12 per share.Sterling Bank had traded at ahigh of N3.05 at the stockmarket. The shares have beenpre-allotted on the basis of threenew ordinary shares of 50 kobo

Sterling Bank grows half-year profit by 97%

To grow its savingsvolume, AccionMicrofinance Bank

(AMfB) has said that it isusing “Brighta Save”promotion as key.

Meanwhile, a truck driver,Mr. Nofiu Eniola emerged starprize winner of a new KiaPicanto in the promo.

Speaking at the grand finaledraw of the promo, ManagingDirector of the bank, Mrs. BumiLawson said, “with over 90,000clients, AMfB aims to grow itssavings volume from N450million to N884 million. Thissavings mobilisation is targetedat the target market of the bankwhich is the micro and smallentrepreneurs as the bank keepstriving to empower themthrough its various productsand offerings such as healthinsurance, life insurance, fireand robbery insurance.”

Bumi noted that the promo ispremised on the belief thatbuilding savings culture formicro entrepreneurs and lowincome earners is important, asit provides security in time ofemergencies and safety netsfor the future.

“Through savings, they areable to accumulate capital andinvest in capital asset asopposed to consumption anddepletion of wealth,” he said.

Contesting the generalbelieve that poor people don’tsave, she said that research andstudies have continued toshow that the poor have theirway of saving and there areenormous potentials to betapped in this market segment.

She said, “It is our stronghope that the witnesses of theprogram and the mobile GrandPrize Winners will add a boostto the deposit mobilisationdrive of the Bank.”

Eniola, who expressedsatisfaction over the prize, is asavings customer with the Idi-Oro branch and earns his livingas a truck driver. He started hisbanking relationship with thebank in March 2013, savingconsistently since then.

He said, “This can only beGod, AMfB is reliable andsecured,” even as he urgedmicro entrepreneurs’ toinculcate the habit of saving.

The second prize winner gota tricycle while the third prizewinner went home with aRefrigerator. Three customersof Idi Oro, Idumagbo and Ikejawere winners of the GrandDraw as 1st, 2nd and 3rdwinners respectively.

Accion increasessavings volumewith “BrightaSave”

each for every eight ordinaryshares of 50 kobo each held asat May 20, 2013. Applicationlist, which opened on June 24,2013, will run till July 31, 2013.

A breakdown of the bank’snterim report and accounts forthe six-month period endedJune 30, 2013 showed thatearnings per share doubled to38 kobo in 2013 as against 19kobo in comparable period of2012, underlining theincreasing attraction of the bankas a high-yield stock. Investorsresponded positively to theearnings report as the bank’sshare price rose by 0.38 per centyesterday to N2.67. Thisimplies double-digit six-monthearnings yield of 14.2 per cent.

The report showed that profitbefore tax rose by 93.5 per centto N6.27 billion as against

N3.24 billion recorded incorresponding period of 2012.Profit after tax nearly doubledfrom N3.01 billion to N5.92billion, representing anincrease of 96.7 per cent.

The bottom-line performancewas driven by the bank’sgrowing brand acceptabilityand customers’ deposit as wellas efficient cost and risksmanagement. Gross earningsrose by 28 per cent from N32.68billion to N41.86 billion.

While interest income grewby 18 per cent from N26.34billion to N31.08 billion, netinterest income grew faster by27 per cent to N15.17 billionin 2013 as against N11.96billion in comparable periodof 2012.

Key balance sheet items alsounderscored the continuing

fundamental strength of thebank. Total deposits rose by 21per cent from N466.85 billionrecorded as at December 31,2012, which was the openingfigure for this year, to N564.93billion by June 2013. Withinthe same period, total assetsgrew by 19 per cent toN690.84 billion comparedwith N580.23 billion whileshareholders’ funds increasedfrom N46.64 billion to N49billion. While loans andadvances increased by 19 percent from N229.42 billion toN272.75 billion, theproportion of non-performingloans to gross loans andadvances remainedcheckmated at 2.7 per centduring the period, far betterthan industry’s benchmark of5.0 per cent.

By PETER EGWUATU

BY PROVIDENCE OBUH


CMYK

Corporate Finance

BRIEF

(L-R): Edem Vindah, Corporate Media and Brand Public Relations Manager, Nigerian Brew-eries Plc; Kunle Jaiyesimi, Deputy Managing Director, CFAO Motors Nigeria Limited; WalterDrenth, Marketing Director and Kuffre Ekanem, Corporate Affairs Adviser; all of NigerianBreweries Plc., at a press conference on Gulder Ultimate Search 10, held at Nigerian Brewer-ies Bar, Iganmu, Lagos.. Photo by Lamidi Bamidele

NSE woos utilities sector, pledgessupport

By NKIRUKA NNOROM

The NigerianS t o c kExchange, NSE,

has assured that it has thecapacity to accommodatelisting from the utilitiessector, calling on thecompanies involved totake advantage of cheappool of fund offered bythe NSE for theirexpansion projects.

Speaking on ‘Financingthe Utilities Sectorthrough the NigerianCapital Market’ at thethird quarter of CEOs’utilities sector dinner, theNSE’s Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Mr. OscarOnyema, argued thatutilities companies havehuge capacity to raisecapital, saying that thequality of a companydepicted by its financialperformance wouldattract funds from allfinancial markets bothlocal and international.

The utilities sectorcomprises of water, powerand waste sectors of theeconomy.

Citing reasons whyutilities’ companiesshould embrace listing,Onyema said that suchmove would offer thempotential for more growth,recognition and strongboost to set standards forother companies.

He emphasised that

while key listings on the NSEis from industrial goods,financial services andconsumer goods sectors, listingin the Jourhannesburg StockExchange include companiesin the telecommunications,resources and energy sectors.

Ghana Stock Exchange havemost of its listing fromcompanies in the mining, Oil& Gas, telecommunications,and utilities sectors; EgyptianStock Exchange’ key listingsare in telecommunication,utilities and refineries, while

those of Nairobi StockExchange include companiesin the telecommunication,utilities and refineries.

While saying that the marketpotentials of utilities sector areenormous, he lamented thatthey are weighed down byvarying problems.

Making comparison with 21other African countries,Onyema said that only 46percent of the over 170 millionNigerians have access topower supply, adding that

Nigerians depend on selfpower generation to run theirbusinesses.

Saying that power sectorremained an importantinfrastructure pillar, the NSEboss lamented that the sectoris characterised by unutilisedgeneration capacity, inefficientsupply/plant maintenance,poor gas supply, poorlymotivated workforce andcaptive power supply and lackof investment among othersmenace.

Heritage Bank commits to taking SMEsto stock marketBy PETER EGWUATU

Heritage Bank hasi n d i c a t e d

commitment to take theSmall and Medium ScaleEnterprises (SMEs) tothe Nigerian stockmarket.

The Bank also said thatafter four months of itsoperation as a regionalbank it can transcend toa national bank as it hasgrown its capital base toN25 billion.

The ManagingDirector/CEO, HeritageBank, Mr. Ifie Sekibo,who disclosed this onWednesday in Lagos

during a parley with theSMEs to intimate them aboutthe vision and mission of thebank, said “ We choose tostart small and grow. Today,within four months of ouroperations as a regional bank,we have grown our capital toN25 billion that can fetch usa national license.

Continuing, he said, “Wewant the SMEs that we aregoing to work with to nurturethem so that within the nextthree years they should beable to list on the NigerianStock Exchange (NSE). Wewant to create wealth,preserve and transfer wealth.Our vision is generationbanking and our mission isto ensure we nurture theSMEs to a level thatgeneration will inherit and

benefit.Explaining further, Sekibo

said, “ As an institution , wetold ourselves that we wantto go for the SMEs. We sawthere is vacuum in that sectorand electronic banking. So,we are going to usetechnology to drive ourbusiness. You will not see usestablishing branches hereand there but with electronicbanking, we will geteverywhere we want. We aregoing to work together withEnterprise DevelopmentCentre (EDC) to nurture theSMEs that are serious to staywith us. SME is untappedand unstructured and that iswhy they cannot get neededfund from any bank. So, weare ready to restructure themto a level that we can lend

money to them to boost theirbusinesses.

In her remark at the parley,Executive Director of thebank, Mary Akpobome, said,“ Heritage Bank has a uniquedream to take the SMEs tothe capital market.

According to her, “Most ofthe SMEs don’t havestructure and financialrecords. Many entrepreneurswant to assume everyposition in the firm. No oneperson knows very thing. Itis the not good to haveeverything of nothing. Ratherit is better to have small thingof something. Therefore, itis better for a promoter ofSME to have 10 percent ofsomething than to have 100percent of nothing. There isno bank that would be ready

"Nigeriaready forpropertyinvestment"

Nigeria is fastbecoming an

attractive investmentdestination for real estate,according to Mr. Steve Ike,Head of Organising Team,Luxury Living AfricaProperty Exhibition.

Ike said this at the9thProperty Exhibitionorganised by CampaignHype Limited in Lagos.According to him, "If youlook back to six years ago,you will find out that therehas been a lot ofimprovement in real estatein the country, apart fromthe fact that it is the placeto invest now, Nigeria iscompeting well. Investorsare coming to invest in thereal estate sector. Even if wehave shortfalls in housing,there are stillimprovements. We aim tobring what has been doneso far in the sector to thepublic. Basically, Nigeria isbecoming an attractive areaof investment for real estate,we put up this exhibition forus to be able to showcasenew development in realestate". He said developersshould begin to considerinvesting in mass housingas a panacea for Nigeria'shousing shortage. "I thinkwhat has to be done is fordevelopers to provide lowcost mass housing schemes.You can have luxury livingin a one-bedroomapartment, it is aboutcomfort. So developersshould provide low costbuildings that will still beattractive to live in," he said.

Lagos State Commissionerfor Housing, Mr. BosunJeje, said at the event thatthe state has step up effortsto ensure investment in realestate is safe. Representedby Director of Estate, LagosState Ministry of Housing,Mr. Kehinde Abayomi, thecommissioner said stategovernment decided tosanitise real estate practiceby putting in placeregulations, to regulatetheir activities.

"If you are going topractice real estate in LagosState, you are required toregister with ourDepartment in the Ministryof Housing where we giveregular training. Theintention is to make realestate investment safe forthe citizens and investors aswell," he said.

BY PROVIDENCE OBUH

CMYK


26

—V

an

gu

ard

, MO

ND

AY

, JUL

Y 2

2, 20

13

Sim Capital Alliance Plc 103.50 103.50 103.50 103.50 10.56 9.71Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc 15.39 15.45 820,629 15.69 10.64 0.87 18.03UBA Capital Plc 1.15 1.14 23,714,621 1.41 0.03 0.21 6.71

HEALTHCAREMedical SuppliesMorison Industries Plc 2.01 2.23 785 10.54 9.52 0.00 0.00Healthcare ProvidersUnion Diagnostics & Clinicals Services 0.50 0.50 400,000 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.00

PharmaceuticalsEkocorp Plc 4.32 4.80 400 5.31 5.31 88.50Evans Medical Plc 4.10 4.49 738,256 1.45 0.70 0.19 0.00Fidson Healthcare Plc 2.04 2.05 1,091,020 3.20 0.83 0.44 3.07Glaxo Smithkline Consumer Nig 55.00 55.00 2,228,349 23.11 2.58 2.62May & Baker Nigeria Plc 2.94 2.70 430,538 5.61 3.61 0.20 9.05Neimeth International Pharm 1.27 1.38 101,896 1.96 0.95 0.09 14.13Nigeria-German Chemicals Plc 8.17 7.36 412,477 12.91 0.95 0.00 0.00Pharma-Deko Plc 1.87 1.87 16,993 200 4.28 0.00 0.00

ICTComputer Based Systems108Courteville Investment Plc 0.68 0.64 304,731 0.52 0.50 0.10 10.00

Computers and PeripheralsOmatek Ventures Plc 0.50 0.50 100,000 0.50 0.50 0.00 12.50

IT ServicesNCR (Nig) Plc 18.70 18.70 790 9.31 3.25 0.00 1.43Tripple Gee and Company Plc 2.29 2.29 2,000 3.59 3.25 0.01 0.00Processing SystemsChams Plc 50 50 5,700,100 50,000

ICTTelecommunicationsStarcomms Plc 0.50 0.50 2,307,692 1.47 0.50 0.00 0.00

INDUSTRIAL GOODSBuilding MaterialsAshaka Cement Plc 26.65 26.65 281,795 30.00 12.00 2.14 7.86Berger Paints Plc 9.26 9.26 9,401 12.57 8.10 1.09 4.97CAP Plc 45.15 45.15 185,026 43.98 15.16 2.28 8.88Cement Co. of Northern Nig. Plc 10.00 9.90 502,826 15.49 4.16 1.47 2.31Dangote Cement Plc 190.00 190.00 232,677 132.51 95.00 7.56 13.17First Aluminium Nigeria Plc 0.50 0.50 2,000 0.75 0.50 0.00 0.00DN Meyer Plc 1.48 1.48 10,000 3.51 1.02 0.00 0.00Lafarge WAPCO Plc 99.75 99.75 153,500 48.05 36.58 4.10 42.86Portland Paints & Products Nig Plc 6.40 5.78 3,238,000 5.28 5.11 0.44 14.19Paints & Coatings Manufacturers 1.84 1.66 371,062 3.36 0.51 0.23 2.89Premier Paints Plc 10.93 10.93 40 13.40 10.93 0.00 0.00

Packaging/ContainersAvon Crowncaps & Container 1.99 1.99 2,000 6.91 5.94 0.5 39.60Nigerian Bags Manufacturing Company 2.74 2.70 2,717,101 3.60 1.47 0.25 9.16

Tools and MachineryNigerian Ropes Plc 7.85 7.85 40 8.69 8.26 0.00 0.00

NATURAL RESOURCESChemicalsBOC Gases Plc 7.50 6.77 67,934 9.20 6.80 0.78 7.37

MetalsAluminium Extrusion Ind Plc 10.55 10.55 500 12.39 10.70 0.13 85.77

Non-Metalic Mineral MiningMultiverse Plc 0.50 0.50 5,000 0.50 0.50 0.01 0.00

Paper/Forest ProductsThomas Wyatt Nig. Plc 0.98 1.32 97 1.38 1.38 0.00 0.00

Electronic and Electrical ProductsCutix Plc 1.90 1.98 407,300 2.50 1.62 0.11 13.15Nigerian Wire & Cable Plc 0.50 0.50 1,318,179 2.58 2.58 0.00 0.00

Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and SeAbbey Building Society Plc 1.44 1.44 2,000 1.51 1.33 0.03 28.80INDUSTRIAL GOODSPackaging/ContainersAbplast Products Plc 3.98 3.98 6,888 3.98 3.98 0.00 0.00Beta Glass Co. Plc 11.00 9.50 1,500,100 15.58 12.71 3.90 3.26Greif Nigeria Plc 12.68 12.68 500 15.03 13.97 0.90 0.00Nampak Nigeria Plc 4.30 4.30 29,198 4.30 3.60 1.22 3.52Poly Products (Nig) Plc 1.05 1.05 200 1.86 1.05 0.30 6.18Studio Press (Nig) Plc 2.92 2.78 84,311 2.92 2.92 0.07 41.71W.A. Glass Ind. Plc 0.66 0.66 2,749,340 0.63 0.63 0.00 0.00

OIL AND GASEnergy Equipment and ServicesJapaul Oil & Maritime Service 0.53 0.51 4,338,187 0.97 0.87 0.19 6.06

Intergrated Oil and Gas ServicesOando Plc 13.69 13.50 12,936,604 78.97 27.99 1.73 4.17

Petroleum and Petroleum ProductsAfrican Petroleum Plc 20.50 20.50 82,191 37.10 0.50 4.93 7.40Beco Petroleum Plc 0.50 0.50 27,850 0.70 0.50 0.00 0.00Conoil 23.00 25.30 317,509 32.60 5.71 4.25Eterna Oil and Gas Plc 3.15 3.20 347,923 5.59 3.89 0.61 6.99Forte Oil Nig Plc 27.06 29.76 333,760Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc 117.81 117.81 8,154 163.50 141.00 6.11 11.11MRS Oil Nigeria Plc 22.99 25.28 286,545 2,100 63.86 2.98 19.23Total Nigeria Plc 159.99 159.99 38,137 240.00 195.50 14.63 17.07

HospitalityTantalisers Plc 0.50 0.50 1,000 200 0.01

SERVICESAfromedia Plc 0.50 0.50 500 0.72 0.51 0.00 12.75Automobile/Auto Part RetailersRT Briscoe Plc 1.55 1.52 3,221,230 3.65 1.30 0.21 8.19

Courier/Freight/DeliveryRed Star Express Plc 4.75 4.75 114,500 3.67 2.65 0.60 4.91Trans-National 2.26 1.99 76,160 0.25 11.12Employment SolutionsC & I LEASING PLC 0.50 0.50 54,198 1.64 0.90 0.04 11.25

Hotels/LodgingCapital Hotel 6.27 4.59 5,000 400 3.00 0.34 34.09Ikeja Hotel Plc 0.94 0.94 3,729,425 2.07 1.33 0.92 2.12

Media/EntertainmentDaar Communications Plc 0.50 0.50 1,000 0.50 0.48 0.00 0.00

Printing & Publishing.Academy Press Plc 1.80 2.04 57,150 3.68 3.17 0.25 12.19Learn Africa Plc 1.80 1.80 1,568,480 0.30Studio Press Nig. Plc 2.52 2.52 500 0.00 0.00University Press 4.80 4.80 143,590 6.82 3.60 0.54 27.69

Road TransportationAssociated Bus Company Plc 1.29 129 110,191,025 0.80 0.50 0.00 0.00

SpecialityInterlinked Technologies Plc 4.90 4.90 1,050 5.15 4.90 0.00 0.00

Transport-Related ServicesAirline Services and Logistics Plc 4.46 4.46 5,100 2.78 1.57 0.60 4.22Nigerian Aviation Handling Company 7.00 7.25 13,314,487 11.75 6.50 12.53 8.75

Opening Closing Quantity Year Year P.EPrice N Price N Traded High Low E.P.S Ratio

Oil and Gas and ProductsPetroleum Prod uctsCapital Oil Plc 0.50 0.50 26,250 0.50 0.50 0.09

1st fTier SecuritiesAGRICULTURECrop ProductionFTN Cocoa Processors Plc 0.50 0.50 1,552,000 0.50 0.50 0.10 50.00Okomu Oil Palm Plc 47.00 47.00 441,825 24.58 14.53 7.33 2.77Presco Plc 40.00 40.00 131,574 8.30 6.40 2.75 4.37

Livestock/Animal SpecialitiesLivestock Feeds Plc 4.97 4.92 1,115,210 0.66 0.48 0.11 15.00

CONGLOMERATESDiversified IndustriesA.G. Levents Nigeria Plc 1.45 1.45 11,216 2.54 1.45 0.16 5.18Chellarams Plc 4.41 5.43 1,000 7.60 6.43 0.31 20.74John Holt Plc 1.40 1.42 83,677 8.82 5.89 0.00 0.00SCOA Nigeria Plc 5.32 5.42 100 8.28 5.52 0.35 15.77Transnational Corporation 1.51 1.43 25,796,045 1.82 0.50 0.24 3.64UACN Plc 63.00 63.00 292,949 42.50 28.70 6.89 4.14

CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATEBuilding Construction/StructureARBICO Plc 5.60 5.60 4 4 20Constain (WA) Plc 1.45 1.45 535,100 2,720,390.38

CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATENon-Building/Heavy ConstructionJulius Berger Nig Plc 83.75 83.75 447,525 62.26 32.96 4.11 10.11Roads Nigeria Plc 9.06 10.07 1,000 8.28 3.01 4.73 2.26

Real Estate DevelopmentUACN Property Development 15.99 15.99 219,367 20.15 11.59 1.69 7.33

Real Estate Investment TrustsSkye Shelter Funds 100.00 100.00 13,400 100.00 97.00 11.75 8.51Union Homes Real Estate Investment 50.00 50.00 - - - - -

CONSUMER GOODSAutomobile/Auto PartsDN Tyres & Rubber Plc 0.50 0.50 145,506 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.00

Beverages-Brewers/DistillersChampion Breweries Plc 7.07 6.43 40,000 4.63 2.23 0.00 0.00Guinness Nigeria Plc 260.00 260.00 58,994 255.00 186.00 9.95 19.98International Breweries Plc 24.94 24.69 38,035 7.10 5.23 0.41 16.29Nigerian Brew Plc 179.40 176.00 1,692,577 100.00 72.50 5.08 22.22Premier Breweries Plc 0.68 0.75 20,000 1.01 0.93 0.00 0.00

Beverages-Non-Alcoholic7-UP Bottling Company Plc 65.00 65.00 333,869 51.49 ,39.00 2.69 13.92

Food ProductsDangote Flour Mills Plc 9.50 9.50 325,333 19.90 4.31 0.00 16.91Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc 12.45 12.22 384,311 16.20 4.02 0.91 14.38Flour Mills Nigeria Plc 90.00 90.00 121,528 95.00 57.00 4.09 16.89Honeywell Flour Mill Plc 3.31 3.36 1,865,031 6.60 2.31 0.39 16.92National Salt Co. Nig Plc 12.92 12.99 394,229 6.70 3.80 1.01 5.75UTC Nigeria Plc 0.78 0.79 534,500 0.88 0.50 1.13 8.83

Food Products-- DiversifiedCadbury Nigeria Plc 52.05 53.05 326,347 37.27 8.33 1.35 27.61Nestle Nigeria Plc 1,000.00 1,000.00 35,107 840.10 400.00 25.43 32.84

Household DurablesNigerian Enamelware Plc 32.27 32.27 60 36.19 33.96 13.89 2.44Vitafoam Nig. Plc 4.45 4.70 1,441,174 5.54 2.91 0.61 7.07Vono Products Plc 1.71 1.71 13,000 2.88 2.88 0.00 0.00

Personal/Household ProductsPZ Cussons Nigeria Plc 44.30 48.50 984,949 41.02 21.02 0.82 4.39Unilever Nigeria Plc 62.00 62.00 145,991 47.39 27.60 1.44 32.91

FINANCIAL SERVICESBankingAccess Bank Plc 11.30 11.19 11,766,712 12.39 4.70 1.42 8.73Diamond Bank Nigeria Plc 6.85 6.90 912,006 7.51 1.92 0.90 8.34Ecobank Transnational Incorporated 15.00 14.75 3,019,292 14.04 9.90 2.81 5.00Fidelity Bank Plc 3.09 3.10 4,028,167 3.47 1.13 0.43 7.93First City Monument Bank Plc 4.75 4.75 865,336 5.70 2.90 0.00 0.00Guaranty Trust Bank Plc 26.40 26.42 15,621,259 26.09 13.02 2.10 12.39Skye Bank Plc 4.80 4.81 4,585,813 6.50 2.65 0.71 9.15Sterling Bank Plc 2.67 2.73 5,204,081 3.05 0.80 0.54 5.43UBA Plc 8.30 8.34 14,049,547 7.69 1.64 0.67 11.19Union Bank Nig. Plc 12.40 12.35 1,317,738 10.60 2.34 0.00 0.00Unity Bank Plc 0.60 0.60 18,653,691 1.22 0.50 0.00 0.00Wema Bank Plc 1.16 1.16 1,265,765 1.75 0.52 1.34 0.43Zenith Bank Plc 21.50 21.60 20,831,585 21.49 11.96 2.09 10.24

Insurance Carriers, Brokers and SectorAfrican Alliance Insurance 0.50 0.50 400,000 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.00AIICO Insurance Plc 0.94 0.90 10,802,701 1.11 0.50 0.50 22.20Continental Reinsurance Plc 1.16 1.22 118,500 1.03 0.58 0.14 6.79Cornerstone Insurance Company 0.60 0.50 301,000 0.54 0.50 0.02 27.30Consolidated Hallmark Insurance 0.50 0.50 2,570,580 0.50 0.50 0.50 10.00Custodian and Allied Insurance Plc 1.57 1.58 1,518,985 2.44 1.08 0.28 7.43Equity Assurance Plc 0.50 0.50 1,765 0.50 0.50 0.01 50.00Goldlink Insurance Plc 0.50 0.54 62,500 0.68 0.50 0.00 0.00Great (Nig) Insurance Plc 0.50 0.50 200,000 0.50 0.50 0.03 16.67Guinea Insurance Plc 0.50 0.50 50,000 0.50 0.50 0.01 50.00International Energy Insurance Plc 2.50 2.50 41,900 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.00Investment and Allied Assurance 0.50 0.50 1,670,890 0.50 0.50 0.02 25.00LASACO Assurance Plc 0.50 0.50 33,800 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.00Law Union & Rock Insurance Plc 0.50 0.50 48,727 0.60 0.50 0.00 0.00Linkage Assurance Plc 0.50 0.50 37,000 0.50 0.50 0.03 16.67Mansard Insurance Plc 2.10 2.14 443,000 2.59 1.06 0.16 16.19Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc 0.50 0.50 20,000 0.54 0.50 0.00 0.00NEM Insurance Co. (Nig) Ltd 0.73 0.72 7,325,497 0.81 0.50 0.37 2.19Niger Insurance Co. Plc 0.50 0.50 726,380 0.61 0.50 0.02 26.00OASIS Insurance Plc. 0.50 0.50 3,410 0.50 0.50 0.03 16.67Prestige Assurance Co. Plc 0.53 0.53 1,103,367 1.01 0.50 0.06 15.50Regency Alliance Insurance 0.50 0.50 3,500 0.50 0.50 0.04 12.50Sovereign Trust Insurance 0.50 0.50 49,550 0.56 0.50 0.09 5.65Staco Insurance Plc 0.50 0.50 2,000 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.00Standard Alliance Insurance 0.50 0.50 2,000 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.00UNIC Insurance Plc 0.50 0.50 2,000 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.00Unity Kapital Plc 0.50 0.50 100 0.50 0.50 0.02 25.00Universal Insurance Plc 0.50 0.50 20,000 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.00Wapic Insurance Plc 0.91 0.90 1,704,536 1.08 0.50 0.07 15.43

Microfinance BanksFortis Micro-Finance Bank Plc 6.60 6.00 3,000 6.00 0.00 0.04 150.00

NPF Micro-Finance Bank Plc 0.96 0.96 16,000 1.18 0.92 0.92 10.56Mortgage Carrier, Broker and SectorAbbey Building SOC 1.50 1.53 1,000,000 1.57 1.37 0.19 47.6 7Aso Savings and Loans Plc 0.50 0.50 100 0.50 0.50 0.02 25.00Resort Savings & Loans Plc 0.50 0.50 10,000,000 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.00Union Homes Savings Plc 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.00

Other Financial InstitutionsAfrica Prudential Plc 1.71 1.85 2,206,710 0.75 0.00 0.19 9.16Crusader (Nigeria) Plc 0.50 0.50 22,000 0.50 0.50 0.00 0.00Deap Capital Management & Trust Plc 2.02 1.34 70,000 2.02 2.02 0.00 0.00FBN Holdings Plc 18.69 18.65 11,911,385 20.00 8.57 2.03 9.85Nigeria Energy Sector Fund 552.20 552.20 552.20 552.20 12.68 43.55Royal Exchange Assurance 0.60 0.62 236,686 0.78 0.50 0.13 6.00

Opening ClosingPrice Price Quantity Year Year P.E.

Company (N) (N) Traded High Low E.P.S. Ratio

Capital Market Daily Stock Market Report as at Friday, July 19, 2013


CMYK

International Business

ECOWAS calls extra-ordinarysummit on regional integration

ECOWAS leadersare to meet inDakar, Senegal

in October in anextraordinary session todecide on three issuescritical to the financialhealth of the region –the Common ExternalTariff (CET), theCommunity Levy andthe lingering EconomicPartnership Agreement(EPA) negotiations withthe European Union(EU).

The just-concluded43rd Ordinary Sessionof the Authority ofECOWAS Heads ofState and Governmentin Abuja, which wasdominated by thepolitical and securitysituations in Mali andGuinea Bissau,touched on the threeissues, but deferreddecisions on them untilthe Dakar summit,whose actual datewould becommunicated tomember states.

The CET is aprecursor to a regionalCustoms Union, whichis predicated on theharmonisation andconvergence of nationalfiscal, monetary andtrade policies ofmember states for theattainment of economicintegration by the 15-nation economiccommunity with acombined population ofmore than 300 millionpeople.

At their Marchmeeting in Praia, CapeVerde, regionalministers of financehad endorsed a newfive-band tariff regimefor West Africa, subjectof ten years of internalnegotiations driven bythe technical committeeof the Commissions ofthe ECOWAS and theeight member WestAfrican Economic andMonetary Union(UEMOA) followingthe 2006 decision by theECOWAS Heads ofState and Government.

Some 5899 tariff linesare covered under thenew tariff regime withtariff ranging betweenzero and 35 percent forthe 130 tariff lines thatfall into the category ofspecific goods thatcontribute to thepromotion of theregion's economicdevelopment.

Under the newregime, five percentduty is applicable for2146 tariff lines under

the basic raw materialsand capital goodscategory, 10 percent forthe 1373 tariff lines thatqualify as intermediateproducts category while20 per cent duty isreserved for the 2165tariff lines under finalconsumer products.

The ministers agreedthat the concernsexpressed by somemember states such asthe treatment of rawsugar, and the requestfor special treatment forCape Verde because ofits location andvulnerabilities should beaddressed within theframework of tradedefence measures.

They also agreed onthe creation of a 1.5percent CommunityIntegration Levy whosescope andoperationalisation wouldbe the subject of furtherregional reflection aspart of the mechanismsto enable the region copewith the challenges ofimplementation of thenew tariff regime. Thelevy will replace the twoexisting community levy

regimes in the region -the ECOWASCommunity levy and thecounterpart CommunitySolidarity levy - for theUEMOA, the majorsources of funding forthe two Commissions.

The replacement willalso help ensureuniformity in portcharges in compliancewith the requirements ofthe World TradeOrganisation (WTO).For the effectiveimplementation of thenew CET, the ministershad also urged theECOWAS Commissionto expedite thefinalisation of the tradedefence and othersupport measures.

The Dakar Extra-Ordinary summit to beattended by the CouncilMinisters, Ministers ofFinance and Trade, willtake a decision afterexamining the pros- andcons on the CETarguments and alsoagree on measures tofast-track thenegotiations on the EPAbetween ECOWAS andthe EU.

By VICTORIAOJEME

Ghana poised for economicstability, says VP

Ghana's VicePresident, Kwesi

Amissah, says thegovernment is poised tocreate structures thatwill boost economicstability in the country.This is contained in anonline statement fromthe Presidency whichwas made available to theNews Agency of Nigeria.

The statement quotedAmissah as saying thisin Accra at a meetingwith the GoverningCouncil of the PrivateEnterprise Foundation(PEF). “Ghana is notbroke, it is true that anexceptional fiscalsituation last yearcreated challenges; weonly need to putmeasures in place topursue growth-enhancing programmes.Government isconsidering the use oftariffs and leveragingthe private sector, toteam up withgovernment in deliveringon investment," thestatement quoted him assaying.

The vice president saidthere was need for achange of attitude to tariffadjustments in order toachieve the objectives of the nation’s economymeasures. He expressedthe hope that thecountry's economy would

do better if thegovernment puts inplace the rightmeasures in the face ofthe challenges facing theeconomy. “Every countryhas challenges, but whatwe decide to do in theface of these challengesis of essence, in the caseof Ghana, there is hope,"he said.

The statement alsoquoted, Mr AsareAkuffo, President of thePEC council, asdescribing theinteraction withgovernment as crucialgiven the economicchallenges facing thecountry.

He said it was unfairfor the government toadd to the burden ofbusinesses in thecountry throughincreased taxes, evenwith the acute andpersistent poweroutages. Akuffo saidrecent re-introduction oftaxes through theNational FiscalStabilisation Levy wouldhave negative effects onGhanaian businesses atthe global level.

Ghana's parliamentapproved the NationalFiscal Stabilisation Levyand the Special ImportLevy Bills to shore uprevenues to bridge the2013 budget deficit.


Interview

,

,

E meka Ugwu-Oju is theDeputy Chairman,Nigerian Association of

Cold Rolled SteelManufacturers, in thisinterview with NKIRUKANNOROM, he regretted thatpast government policies haveaided in crippling the steelsector in Nigeria. He said thatthe Federal Government mustas a matter of importancesupport the growth ofindigenous industries. He alsonoted that the country shouldemulate the variousdevelopmental efforts thatmade China an economicpower among other issues. TheExcerpt:

The plan to develop the ironand steel sector began withYakubu Gowon regime with theformation of National SteelDevelopment Authority(NSDA) in 1971. Looking at thelow level of steel production inthis country, where and how doyou think we missed it?

I think I should start bysituating the context of steeldevelopment. In any productiveeconomy, steel has a major roleto play. For instance, thematerials used in a lot ofproductive activities like carproduction and others arederived from steel. At a point intime, a country ’s level ofdevelopment will be gauged bythe level of steel it consumes. As at today, the foundation ofany strong manufacturingeconomy is based on steel. It isunder that concept that Nigeriawanted to have a strong steelsector and it was reflected in ourearlier development plan,which led to where we hadAjaokuta Steel Mill and theother ones in Katsina and therest. The plan seemed okay, butsome things went wrong andtoday, Ajaokuta Steel Mill hasnot delivered. Most of the steelrolling mills are either comatoseor waiting for revival in one wayor the other. We have not beenable to achieve much based onour plan, maybe because it waspublic sector based. But I wouldnot say it is just because of that,but the way things have turnedout, I would not be too wrong insaying it has had a lot of impactin our not actualising our steelgoal. That is the reality of howthe public sector operates. Welack continuity in governance;we have a situation wherebyfunding is not provided as atwhen due and we also havesituations wherebyappointments are politicised.Like making a person theManaging Director of AjaokutaSteel Mill without looking athow effective the person can be.Such has hindered us from theability to deliver a strong steelsector. But that was yesterday,we are here today saying wecan turn things around and that

*Steel sector needs right policies to grow

Politicizing appointments in steel sectorstunts growth, says Ugwu-Oju

is what we have starteddoing because at the end ofthe day, you show what youcan do, not talk. That iswhat WEMPCO STEELMILLS (WSM) has done.That was why we invited thepresident and the wholeNigeria to come and seewhat the private sector can

do so that there can becreation of enablingenvironment for us tocontinue to do what wewant to do. We really wantto do backward integrationso that not later than 10years from now, we wouldhave done a lot more than

Ajaokuta would have doneonce the correct policies areeffected and correct tariffprotection is provided.

At what stage did theprivate sector come into steelproduction in Nigeria,because we know that frominception, it was the FederalGovernment that was mainly

involved in it?If you follow the history of

our development, you willknow that the steel sector wasone of the areas listed forprivatisation. The governmentat a point saw that it could notdo this alone, that was whenthey came up with the issue

of setting up Committee onprivatisation. The steel sectorwas one of the areas that wasput forward for privatisation.This, of course, meanttransferring the ownership tothe private sector, but it lookslike there have been a lot ofchallenges in that regard.Ajaokuta has been in and outof court for some time, Icannot really say what thestatus is at the moment.Privatisation has not reallygone the way it should. Bethat as it may, it is still a stepin the right direction. Some ofus are starting because aconducive environment for ithas been provided. Thereshould be one or twogovernment founded projectsthat we think we could turnaround and position as partof our backward integrationstrategy.

Can you itemise the specificfactors that worked againstthe public sector on steelproduction and what effortsyou are making to stop themfrom reoccuring?

I tried to state that it wasbecause of the governancestructure we have in thepublic sector; It sometimesdoes not give room formeritocracy and continuity inprojects implementation. Alsothere is lack of incentives,because one of the key thingsin the private sector is that ofprofit motive. You try to doyour business to ensure thatyour income is more than yourcost. But you found out thatin government projects,because the amount isbudgeted every year, somepeople do not really carewhether the business isprofitable. Then when youadd that to the issue of federalcharacter, some people wouldsay “it is now our turn to runthis company” and “our turn”means different thing todifferent people. It mightmean let us bring in our ownpeople as employees, even ifthey are not the right calibreor not productive. Of course,you are laying the foundationof the death of that project.These are part of thehindrances in our publicsectors. In the private sector,you are straight because youare in business to make profit.If you are not profitable, yourwill go out of business, and Ido not think you will want toinvest in a business you willnot survive in, unless someexternal factors do not makeit possible for you to survive.This is what we are sayingwhen we ask the governmentto give us the rightenvironment. Thegovernment should alsoprotect the interest of privatesector even in policies thathave to do with international

trade. Suddenly, we foundourselves in a situationwhereby people dump goodsfrom foreign countries at theexpense of our infantindustries. We don’t havecontrol over that and that iswhere the government shouldcome in by ensuring that theprivate sector is protected inthe international trade.

How indigenous isWEMPCO, does it have thecapacity to produce other rawmaterials apart from steelslike chemical, tar and others?

I think the history ofWEMPCO is interesting. Wehave come a long way. A lotof the employees areNigerians, while few of themare Chinese. The group isalso sensitive about ensuringthat as many Nigerians aspossible are employedbecause it is more economicalto employ a Nigerian than aChinese, who will have to gohome two or three times ayear. We did not come here torun a charitable organisation;we are in business. Of course,at times, you must have to playby the rules, so you do notcompromise. Most of thetechnologies we use are fromGermany, United States andChina, so some of thenationals of these countrieswork with us in their differentareas of specialisations. Weare trying to ensure thatNigerians learn the requisiteskills so that they can takeover. We need to do what theChinese are doing so we cantake over the steel sectorbecause this is moreeconomical. We need to beready to do what the Chineseare doing in terms ofindustralisation.

When President Jonathancame to commission theWEMPCO Steel Industry, hespecifically said the sector iskey to his administration’stransformation drive. Withthat statement, would you saythe present administrationhas provided an enablingenvironment for the steelsector to thrive?

I think we got some supportfrom the government, startingwith the CoordinatingMinister for Economy andFinance Minister, NgoziOkonjo-Iweala, who did notonly visit but also gave adviceand we had some incentiveswhen the company wasundergoing construction interms of exempting some ofthe materials used in thefactory from duty and others.The Minister of Industry,Trade and Investment,Olusegun Aganga, hasalways tried to be supportivein ensuring that when wehave challenges it isaddressed.

Emeka Ugwu-Oju

The governancestructure we have in thepublic sector; Itsometimes does not giveroom for meritocracy andcontinuity in projectsimplementation


Homes & Housing Finance

BRIEFS

FMBN woos Ekiti backto NHF scheme

Stories byYINKA KOLAWOLE

Federal Mortgage Bank ofNigeria (FMBN) is wooingEkiti State government toreturn to the NationalHousing Fund (NHF)scheme, fourteen years afterit pulled out. The state pulledout from the scheme in 1999due to somemisunderstandings andmisconceptions about thescheme.

FMBN Board of Directorsled by its Chairman, ChiefBisi Ogunjobi, on a recentvisit to the Ekiti State DeputyGovernor, Prof ModupeAdelabu, in Ado-Ekiti, urgedthe state government to returnto the sbecause of its potentialbenefits in making housingaccessible to the people of thestate.

Ogunjobi said the FMBNdelegation was on anadvocacy visit to the state tosensitise the government onthe benefits of participating inthe NHF scheme with regardsto housing development. Henoted that the bank had in thepast given the state N500million estate developmentloan (EDL) through ShelterView for construction of 220housing units and anotherN197 million NHF loan.Another benefit the statestands to enjoy by rejoiningthe scheme, according toOgunjobi, is access to N800million loan facility alreadyapproved by the bank for EkitiState Housing InvestmentCorporation. also appealed tothe state government onissuance of Certificate ofOccupancy (C of O) to theland acquired by FMBN for

the construction of its officecomplex in the state.

He said the bank hasrebranded and expanded toaccommodate morecontributors, the hope that thevisit will lead to the resolutionof all the knotty issuesbetween the parties. “It ishoped that the state

government will commencededuction and remittance ofNHF contributions toFMBN,” he said, adding thatthis will enable contributorsthe fund and also help thegovernment consolidate theongoing infrastructuredevelopment of the state.

In her remarks, Adelabu

who stood in for GovernorKayode Fayemi, notedthat the stateg o v e r n m e n t ’ sdevelopment plan to buildtwo housing estates ineach of the senatorial inthe state will requirepartnership withorganisations such asFMBN.

ASO Savings & Loans(ASL) Plc said it

financed the development ofthe 200-unit housing estatefor the Nigeria Policecommissioned by PresidentGoodluck Jonathan, Friday, inIdimu, Lagos.

Managing Director, ASL,Mr. Hassan Usman, whodisclosed this in a media chatat the commissioningceremony, said the mortgagebank provided the requiredfund for the developers of theproject, Remax Realtors. "Wefunded the developers -Remax Realtors, who are ourcustomers. They came to uswith a proposal from thePolice, we gave them themoney, they built the housesand the Police Cooperativepaid them off. So we fundedthe entire development," hesaid.

In his welcome address atthe occasion, InspectorGeneral of Police,Mohammed Abubakar, saidthe Goodluck Jonathan Estate

ASO funds development of Policehousing estate in Lagos

located is made up of threebedroom flats with each flatgoing for N8 million each. Hesaid the houses are availableto officers and men of thePolice, adding that the moneywould be paid back througha special mortgagearrangement with FederalMortgage Bank of Nigeria,FMBN. The IGP said theestate was named after thepresident because of his"unparalleled" support for theNigeria Police.

Unveiling the project,President Jonathan said theFederal Government iscommitted to improving thewelfare of security personnelin the country to encouragethem in carrying out theirduties more effectively. "It isnoteworthy that for the firsttime in recent memory theNigeria Police Force, throughits own efforts and initiatives,is working hard to improvewelfare of its men throughhousing. This estaterepresents another successful

outcome of the public-private partnership, PPP,initiative of thisadministration tocompliment governmentefforts towards meetingthe infrastructure needs ofour people. With thesuccessful outcome of thisPPP initiative we arewitnessing here today, Iencourage othergovernment organisationsto partner with the privatesector to meet the housingneeds of their employees,"he stated.

Jonathan said hisadministration placed ahigh premium on theprovision of affordablehousing in the country. Henoted that this promptedthe decision of the FederalGovernment to facilitatethe establishment of aMortgage RefinancingCompany before the endof the year, for which thegovernment has secured a$300 million (about N48billion) liquidity facilityfrom the World Bank.

Edo, developerssign MoU onshopping mall

EDO State Governmenthas signed a

Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MoU) withResident Africa Real EstateLimited and MedianInfrastructure DevelopmentCompany Limited for thedevelopment of a world classshopping mall in Benin City.

Secretary to the StateGovernment, Professor JuliusIhonvbere, signed the MoUin Government House andformally presented the sitesurvey plan for the shoppingmall to the leader of thedelegation, MedianInfrastructure DevelopmentCompany Limited, assuringgovernment’s support at alllevels towards ensuring therapid commencement of theproject. He noted that thestate government take thechallenges of economicdevelopment seriously,noting that the signing of theMoU was a demonstration ofthe determination of thepresent administration toattract more investors to thestate.

Speaking, Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Median InfrastructureDevelopment CompanyLimited, Mr. OlumideAkinsanya, said the shoppingmall will be completed anddelivered in 24 months.

US mortgagerate slides to4.37%

The average 30-year fixedrate mortgage in US fell

to 4.37 percent for the weekending July 18, as FederalReserve Chairman BenBernanke helped ease marketconcerns about the US centralbank tapering its monthly $85billion bond purchases.

The 30-year fixed rate was4.51 percent the previousweek and 3.53 percent a yearago. The 15-year fixed ratemortgage averaged 3.41percent, down from last week’s3.53 percent. A year ago atthis time, the 15-year fixedrate mortgage averaged 2.83percent.

Bernanke indicated recentlythat the US economy stillneeded a “highlyaccommodative monetarypolicy”. In testimony beforeUS lawmakers last week,Bernanke seemed to be morecareful with his tone,understanding the effect ofhis words on investors.

Building with alternative technology

CMYK


“What we find it not to ourliking when a comment is madethat tends to say thatgovernment will shut down if theNational Assembly doesn’t doanything. We do not agree withthat”, Senator Abaribe.

The Federal Minister ofFinance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and CoordinatingMinister for the Economy, is thesecond member of the Federalgovernment executive branch toget my sympathy in two days.Regular readers of this pagewould recollect my welcomearticle addressed to her whenshe accepted to return as FinanceMinister under Jonathan. I hadsaluted her courage but alsowarned that unlike the first timearound, when she got Nigeria offthe debt trap, by paying too much,this time, there would be no easyvictories. If care is not taken, shemight leave the office literally intears. She was also advised notto start with fuel subsidy removal– otherwise she would losefollowers; despite herastonishing credentials andachievements. Unfortunately, shewas caught in the maelstrom ofevents which led to the attemptby the President to raise fuelprice from N65 to N141. Sheused up a lot of her credit on thatmisadventure. Today, themonument, SURE-P, built on theashes of that attempt to totallyerase “subsidy”, is not enhancingher reputation and may evenreduce it further. It is still too earlyto tell.

One thing which is not indoubt is the need to amend the2013 Budget proposal in line withthe objective realities at the

This NASS is nasty on 2013 budget amendment

, ,The Nigerian government will almostgrind to a halt without a budgetamendment which cannot wait untilNASS members finish their vacation

moment. For once, the Presidentand the Finance Minister havemy total support. The facts areindisputable. Every budgetproposal is based onassumptions about the futurewhich nobody can absolutelypredict. Invariably, certainassumptions turn out to beslightly off the mark;occasionally, the roof caves in ona nation as when the tsunamidevastated the Japanese nuclearplant supplying power to anentire Prefecture which alsohappens to be home to three carmanufacturers. Whenunexpected catastrophe occurs,there is no substitute for re-evaluation and perhaps foradjustments to the annualbudget.

In the first half of 2013, Nigeriahad experienced the worstvariance from budget since theStructural Adjustment years of1986-92. Crude oil exports aredown by a higher percentagethan in any year in recentmemory. Total revenue is downand some of the sector estimatesare also off the mark calling formore adjustments. Whenrevenue collections are down byover twenty-five per cent, theExecutive branch has one of twochoices – it could fail toimplement the budget on accountof low funds or it could requestfor an amendment, as it is doingnow. Doing nothing is no option.Time is also not in anybody’sfavour; 2013, like other years, willpass into history on December31. One needs no intelligence

or wisdom more than thosepossessed by a fifteen years oldboy or girl to understand theimportance and urgency to thenation. That is why thenonchalance with which thismatter is being treated by theNASS is so baffling andannoying. They are toying withour lives – all 167 million of us.Would we need an Arab Springdemonstration to get the NASSto act? One only hopes theyhave time to watch CNN or BBC.

More annoying are the reasonsgiven for the delay in addressingthe amendment. Senator

amendment is longer than theoriginal bill. Finally, they informus, their employers (i.eNigerians) that their vacation ismore important than the nationaleconomic interest. The answersto their complaints would berendered in reverse order. Whenpublic servants announce thatgoing on leave is more urgentthan attending to the publicwelfare, for which they soughtoffice and were elected, it isbetter for those who feel that wayto resign and go home.Nigerians are not paying themthe rumoured astonishing

Abaribe’s abbreviated statementwas the most responsible out ofthe ones, on record, out of themany. Even he made a harsh ofit when he later said: “there isno way the Senate and indeed,the National Assembly canconsider these amendments untilwe come back from our vacationthis year”. Later he also said: “wealready have other things that wehave to deal with”.

Summed up, the NationalAssembly amounts to these. First,they are angry that the Ministerof Finance told Nigerians thatgovernment will run out ofmoney if action is not taken.Then, they grumble that the

salaries and entitlements only tolisten to them complain aboutoverwork. There are hundreds ofthousands of Nigerians who willwork themselves to death to takehome what our lawmakers collectas entitlements. Second, thecomplaint about the length of theamendment highlights what iswrong with our polity. One of myfriends in Boston in the late1960s to 1974 was aCongressional aide to lateSenator Kennedy. He was onlyone out of over a dozen full andpart-time workers attached to theSenator. Other Senators alsoemployed their own assistants.The primary function of the

assistants was to read thevoluminous proposals whichevery Senator or Congressmanreceived, to summarise themand to prepare options for thelawmakers intervention. To thebest of my knowledge, noSenator ever complained aboutthe length of a proposal becausehe had his assistants employedto plough through them. Bycontrast, Nigerian NASSmembers don’t want to spend afarthing out of their hugeentitlements to engage theassistants they need. That is notthe fault of the President or theMinister of Finance; it is theirown individual and collectivegreed which gave rise to thatcomplaint.

Finally, taking umbrage at theMinister’s revelation thatgovernment might grind to a haltin September if urgent steps arenot taken amounts to blamingNoah for warning that the floodwas coming to wipe thecommunity away. Would theyhave preferred that she kept quietuntil calamity overtook oureconomy? If she did not say it,as she is being forced to declare,then let somebody else say it. TheNigerian government will almostgrind to a halt without a budgetamendment which cannot waituntil NASS members finish theirvacation. Given the little theyhave achieved in the last twoyears, many Nigerians can beforgiven for assuming that theywere on leave all along.

CMYK


Insurance

BRIEF

THE immediate pastManaging Director of

Niger Insurance Plc, Dr.Justus Clinton Uranta,received an award by theWest African InsuranceInstitute (WAII), Banjul, TheGambia, in recognition of hisexemplary and invaluablecontributions to thedevelopment of the institute.

Uranta, who was the ViceChairman of WAII GoverningCouncil from July 2010 toJuly 2013, was acknowledgedas having renderedmeritorious service to theinstitute during the three yearperiod.

Specifically, it was duringhis tenure that the 35 year oldinstitute commenced theconstruction of a hugeamphitheater for classroomsand lecture halls which arenow nearing completion,among other severalmilestones achieved.

It was also gathered that histenure brought an increase inthe number of students intake,facilitated increase in thenumber of lecturers, as wellas led to an increase in thepercentage of passes in boththe school diploma andprofessional exams of Londonand Nigeria.

Besides, he was also said tobe instrumental to theaffiliation of WAII with otherinternational academic bodiessuch as the University ofSouth Africa. Again, Urantaregularly contributed writtenarticles to the WAII academicjournal while serving on theinstitute board.

Uranta who was the MD/CEO of Niger Insurance forseven years voluntarilyresigned from theorganisation in December2012 after having spent 35years in the Nigerianinsurance industry.

He began his workingcareer in 1977, as an assistantofficer in the FederalMinistry of Trade. He joinedUnity Life and Fire InsuranceCompany as an officer in 1978and was with the organisationuntil 1980 when he proceededto BCM Insurance BrokersLimited as a MarketingManager between 1980 and1981. From 1988 to 1990, hewas the General Manager,Veritas Insurance CompanyLimited.

AS part of efforts toeradicate the menaceof rate cutting in the

insurance industry, operatorsare in the process of gatheringdata to determine minimumrates for different classes ofinsurance.

Because the challenge ofrate cutting has been the baneof the industry, a RatingCommittee led by ManagingDirector of Sovereign TrustInsurance Plc, Mr. WaleOnaolapo was set up to lookinto the issue and come upwith solutions.

Accordingly the Committeehas embarked on datagathering to enable theindustry determine theminimum rates for differentclasses of insurance.

Director General of NigerianInsurers Association, NIA,Mr. Sunday Thomas, said thecommittee has collected somedata, adding that effort isbeing made to add more toenable them have sizeablenumber that can give areliable figure in terms ofrating of different classes.

He said, “I am aware thatthey have been able to collectsome data, and they are tryingto add more, so that they canhave sizeable data that cangive a reliable figure in termsof rating of different classes.”

He said that asidedetermining the minimumrates for all classes ofinsurance, the committee isalso charged with theresponsibility ofrecommending sanctions fornon compliance with the rates.

It will be recalled thatformer Chairman of NIA, Mr.Olusola Ladipo-Ajayi, oncesaid the menace of rate cutting

is one of the dark spots in histenure.

“I did not succeed in thatregard. That is the simpletruth. It is a pity” he said.

He noted that the industryis its own worst enemy,because operators haveallowed competition to drivedown prices, adding that withthe continuous fall of rates,businesses are nowunprofitable.

“We are running ourselvesbelow profitable level due topressure in the competitive

market that is why we cannotgrow beyond what we aredoing at present,” he added.

Meanwhile, Thomas saidthat a pool of independentinvestigators to investigatethe genuineness of claimsabove N500 million is beingassembled.

According to Thomas theassociation is working hard toensure that the pool is madeup of experienced people,adding that the task is beyondthe capacity of fewindividuals.

From left: President of Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, CIIN, Mr. F.K Lawal; DrSaheed Timehin, guest lecturer; Dr Surajudeen Junaid; Mr. Shakiru Oyefeso, MD, StacoAssurance and Alhaji N.O Adiro during CIIN’s ramadan lecture held last week in Lagos

Insurers re-strategise to curbrate cutting

He said, “The first point ofcall is to have a pool ofinvestigators that would carryout that assignment on behalfof the association. That is thestage that we are. We aretrying to have a pool ofinvestigators that wouldhandle the task, for theassignment is beyond what aperson can handle.”

He said the decision toinstitute the investigativepool was reached at theAssociation’s Chief ExecutiveOfficers (CEOs) retreat held

through cross-attachment oftechnical staff, increase ofshares in retrocession programand extended underwritingcapacity. Later, Africa Re shallregister as an AdmittedReinsurer.

Africa Re’s Group ManagingDirector, Mr. CorneilleKarekezi confirmed the latestdevelopment andachievements after thesuccessful Annual GeneralAssembly of the company inDakar, Senegal.

Buttressing the financialmuscle and capacity of AfricaRe, A.M. Best and Standard &Poor’s have affirmed theFinancial Strength Rating andthe Issuer Credit Rating/Anchor of the AfricanReinsurance Corporation. Itretained its impressive A- inboth Financial Strength Rating

AFRICA ReinsuranceCorporation, Africa Re,

has been issued a license tooperate as a reinsurer inBrazil.

The license to operate as areinsurer in that country willpave the way for Africa Re toexpand its operations for thefirst time in Latin America, inaddition to its operations inAfrica and Asia.

More so, a Framework forCooperation in ReinsuranceBusiness has been signedbetween Africa Re and IRB-Brasil Re, the leadingreinsurance company in Brazil.

Africa Re will start to writesome businesses from theBrazilian market and benefitfrom exchange of competence

and Issuer Credit Rating/Anchor.

The A.M. Best ratings ofAfrica Re reflect its strong risk-adjusted capitalisation andoperating performance, as wellas its established marketposition across the Africanreinsurance market. AlthoughAfrica Re is exposed to theunstable political and economicenvironment in some regionsof Africa, these risks are largelymitigated by its geographicdiversity, asset-liabilitymatching strategy and the easewith which the corporation canshift its operations between itsregional offices.

The Standard & Poor’sratings - after InsuranceCriteria change- reflect theirview of Africa Re’s satisfactorybusiness risk profile and strongfinancial risk profile, built on a

strong competitive position inAfrica’s reinsurance market, aswell as its very strong capitaland earnings. S&P derivestheir ‘a-’ anchor for Africa Refrom the combination of thesetwo factors and view potentialmodifying factors - adequateEnterprise Risk Management(ERM), satisfactorymanagement and governance,and exceptional liquidity - asneutral for the ratings. The S&Pratings on Africa Re reflect thecompany’s stand-alone creditstrengths and do not includeany uplift for support from theNigerian sovereign. At thesame time, the ratings are notconstrained by the sovereignrating due to Africa Re’ssignificant asset and premiumdiversification.

In the financial year 2012,Africa Re reported a 35 per centincrease in pre-tax earnings toUSD 93 million. Results weresupported by a rebound in theequity markets, resulting inhigher investment returns(including fair value gains) of5.7 per cent (2011: 3.7 percent), and a stable combinedratio of 91 per centy.

By ROSEMARY ONUOHA

Africa Re expands to Brazil,confirms AM Best rating

BY FAVOURNNABUGWU

GambiahonoursJustus Uranta

BY FAVOURNNABUGWU



Agric

THE present administration hascome up with the Agricultural

Transformation Agenda (ATA) in abid to earn foreign exchange fromagriculture and make the nation self-sufficient in food production. But, withthe continual drift of the youngpopulation of young Nigerians movingaway from the rural areas to the urbanin search of white collar jobs and awayfrom the drudgery of manual farmlabour, self sufficiency in foodproduction is becoming a herculeantask.

Seasonal shortage of food is becomingapparent as a result despite the fact thatmany labourers lack the incentive ortools to perform the high quality workneeded to improve productivity. So,feeding the increasingpopulation cannot be donewith the cutlass and hoe oran agricultural system thatrelies on human muscles. Indeveloped countries,mechanisation has takenover from the use of rawhuman power as is still thecase in Nigeria.

The policy challenges ofmechanisation, or lack of it,are of far reachingsignificance. The use ofpoorly-yielding varieties ofplanting materials evencompound the problem further as cropsyields across the nation haveremained relatively stagnant and lowover time, posing serious policychallenges that require urgentintervention. Agriculturalmechanisation, embracing the use oftools, implements, and machines for awide range of farm operations such asland preparation, planting, harvesting,on-farm processing among others,therefore becomes desirable.

There is an added dimension of soil,water and forest conservation practicesthat need to be built into the largerframework of environmental impact ofagriculture, climate change and foodsecurity. The constraint posed by theprevailing land tenure system onmechanisation is such that agriculturallands in many parts of Nigeria are noteasily made available for farmingbecause of extant influences such asownership structure and the stiffcompetition for estate developmenttoday, which is exerting dangerousinfluence on agriculture and theprospect of feeding the nation.

The International Food PolicyResearch Institute (IFPRI) reckons thatNigeria is still at the early stage ofagricultural mechanisation; even atthat, it notes that the mechanisation ofpower-intensive operations has beenslow. A significantly higher proportionof farming area is still cultivated byhand tools in Nigeria and West Africacompared to other developing countries

Statistics had it that, last year, a totalof 3,012,360 ha of land was expectedto be put under cultivation in theNigeria with a tractor population ofabout 40,000 with a tractorisationdensity of 0.1 hp/ha. The tractorisationdensity of the country fell short of therecommended 1.5hp/ha by the UnitedNations’ Food and Agriculture

Organisation (FAO). For Nigeria to beable to feed its growing population,therefore, there is a need for investmentin mechanisation both on the part of theprivate and public sectors.

Dr. Ahmed Adekunle, , SpecialAssistant to the Minister of Agriculture,Dr. Adesina Akinwumi, said Nigeriahas the lowest tractorization in theworld. mechanization in the countryright now is of the lowest in terms ofdensity and intensity, “So currentlywhat we are putting is like dropping aneedle in the ocean, but we have to startfrom somewhere, even today, if they saythey are giving us one million tractors,to mechanize the agriculture of thiscountry right now we need a minimumof about 75,000 tractors.

For long, the public sector has beenin control of tractors with littlecontribution from the private sector.

Federal and stategovernments boughttractors for farmers, butmost often they endedup in the governmenthouses as publicrelations tools for thegovernment. Thepublic control ofNigeria’s tractormarket by the publicsector has resulted ininefficiency and marketdistortion as federaland state governmentsbought tractors and

sold at subsidised rates to public agro-centres, farmers’ association and otherorganised buyers

Oyo State government only recentlyinaugurated 320 tractors to promotewhat it called a new and improvedfarming system, saying youths wouldbe encouraged to engage in farming.“This will thereby make the sector moreprofitable, sustainable andtechnologically-driven.’’ Thegovernment said. Just like every other state that has invested in the purchaseof tractors, Governor Abiola Ajimobi,said the state government purchasedthe tractors to meet the peculiar needsof the people, as well as to improveagriculture and develop ruralcommunities.

Some farmers have come to see theinvolvement of government in thehandling of tractors as not serving theneeds of the farmers. Uwa Osunbor, alady farmer based in Benin City, said it was always difficult accessing tractors from the government. “Preparing theland is what discourages people fromfarming,” she said.

Dr. Olufemi Faniyi, a farmer in OgunState decried the lack of tractors inthe state when he disclosed that theyhad to queue to make use ofgovernment tractors in the state. Helamented that “major personalities inthis country have oil palm plantation inthis area. You will not believe it thatmost of us get our machinery from BeninRepublic.

“We buy machinery to crush our oil.It tells you in a simple manner howthings are. The government has atractor which you can hire. In that place,the government has just one tractor. Weall have to queue to have this one tractorand it is so exorbitant. They chargeabout N50, 000 per hectare.”

Boosting food security throughmechanisation, the way forward for Nigeria

By JIMOH BABATUNDE

Agriculture Minister,Dr. Adesina Akinwumi


Appointment and [email protected] 08033348923

P RICEWATERHOUSECoopers, a multinational

professional services company,Nigeria, has announced theappointment of three new partners.

They are: Sam Abu, Partner,Financial Services; Edafe Erhie,Partner, Consumer and IndustrialProducts and Services; and DarrellMcGraw, Partner, Energy, Utilitiesand Mining.

Ken Igbokwe, Country SeniorPartner (Nigeria) and RegionalSenior Partner (West Africa), saidthe appointments were part of thefirm’s on-going commitment todevelop the next generation ofpartners.

According to him, “I congratulatethese new partners. This class of2013 represents our first group ofintegrated PwC Africa partnerappointments and it is a testament

to their visionary leadershipqualities, contributions to ourclients and the PwC firm; I am excitedat the energy and skills which theybring. I know that they will continueto impact our clients’ businessesand the PwC network of firms.”

ABU has over 13 years extensiveassurance and related experience inNigeria and the United Kingdom,and has had managerialinvolvement in the assuranceengagement of several largefinancial services.

He is a technical resource forInternational Financial ReportingStandards (IFRS) engagements inthe Financial Services and iscurrently involved in a number ofIFRS conversion projects across the

Nigeria firm of PwC.ERHIE has offered over 15 years

of professional service to clients inNigeria and the United Kingdom.

His experience spans theFinancial Services, Energy,Consumer and Industrial Productsand Services, Public andGovernment, Technology,Infocomms and Entertainment andMedia sectors.

He is a Fellow of the Institute ofChartered Accountants of Nigeria,a member of the TechnicalCommittee in Nigeria and trainedIFRS Financial statement reviewer,a Methodology ImplementationManager, and has been in theforefront of driving quality in ouraudit process.

TCN electsSSAEACofficers

Members of the Senior StaffAssociation of Electricity

and Allied Companies, SSAEAC,Transmission Company ofNigeria, TCN, branch, haveelected officers to run the affairsof the branch.

The elected national branchofficers are Ajugba A.L,(President), B. Chika (Secretary), Hammed B.M (AssistantSecretary), Henry Ofolue(Treasurer), Ali Cyril (Trustee)and Kamorudeen A. (Trustee).

Others are James Tugudu(Trustee), Ezemobi C.B(Auditor), Dairo Abidemi (PublicRelations/Welfare Officer),Taiwo Onabajo (Vice PresidentAbuja Region), Comrade OlaniyiY G (Vice President OsogboRegion), Akoma E.O (VicePresident Port Harcourt Region),Sahahu Bala (Vice PresidentShiroro Region), AshogbonTokunbo (Vice President LagosRegion) Initorufa A.L (VicePresident Benin Region),Ubawachi C.P (Vice PresidentEnugu Region), A.G Adamu (VicePresident Bauchi Region) andAndrew Odihi (Vice PresidentKaduna).

The officers were inauguratedby President General of SSAEACand Deputy President of TradeUnion Congress of Nigeria, TUC,Bede Opara .

In his acceptance speech, TCNbranch President, urgedmanagement led by the ChiefExecutive Officer, DonPriestman, to see the associationas a partner in progress.

He highlighted some of thechallenges facing thetransmission staff to includedilapidated and obsoleteequipment, working tools, staffshortage, delay in staff salaries,training, poor medicare, poorhazard allowance among others.

Responding, Priestman,congratulated the association andnoted that the management wasimpressed by the conduct of theassociation, promising that thechallenges highlighted would beaddressed, as some of them werebe captured in the company’s nextyear budget.

PwC Nigeria appoints new partnersMcGraw has over 12 years of

professional International FinancialReporting Standards (IFRS)experience.

He has served clients in theEnergy, Consumer Products, andFinancial Services sectors.

Prior to starting his secondmentin Nigeria, Darrell was a Directorwithin the Global Capital MarketsGroup of PwC, based in the USA,while delivering value to clientsboth in Europe and Latin America.

He holds an undergraduatedegree from Harvard University,and completed post graduatestudies at Pembroke College, OxfordUniversity. He is a CharteredAccountant.

•Bede Opara, PresidentGeneral of SSAEAC

THE National InformationTechnology Development

Agency, NITDA, hasinaugurated board of trustees foroutsourcing companies taskingthe board to work hard ondeveloping the sector.

Members of the board includeMr. David Onu, CEO InterraNetworks Ltd., Mr IkennaOdike, Managing Director,Customer Contact SolutionNigera Ltd, Mrs Florence Seriki,Group Managing Director,OMATEK Venture Plc, andJacqueline Yemi

Acting Director- General ofNITDA, Dr Ahiru Daura, gavethe advice in Abuja, whileinaugurating the board of theassociation.

He said that the inaugurationof the board was a milestonetoward developing Nigeria’soutsourcing sector and told themembers that the journeyactually started in 2011, when anoutsourcing conference washeld in the country.

Daura said that the resolutionof the conference was to have aboard to oversee and guideoutsourcing activities in Nigeriaas obtain in other countries.

“Your board is the highest bodyto give directions, policies and allthat is needed is to drive theassociation forward. I willtherefore urge that we workhard so as to move theassociation forward and makeNigeria very importantoutsourcing hub not only inAfrica and beyond.”

INTERNATIONAL LabourOrganisation, ILO, has

launched a new project called“Work in Freedom” to providewomen migrant workers fromSouth Asia with a more securefuture.

The project is funded by the UKDepartment for InternationalDevelopment to the tune of 9.75million pounds over five years.The initiative focuses on domesticworkers and garment workers.IndustriALL Global Union is apartner in the project.

The aim is to provide the womenand girls with practical supportand advice to enable them toavoid the pitfalls of traffickingand to contribute to a betterlifestyle for their families.

At the meeting held inLondon some success storieswere applauded, such as theNepali trade union centreGEFONT which has set upsupport committees for Nepalimigrant workers in the mostimportant receiving countries,SEWA, the Indian Self-employed women’s associationwhich has successfullyorganized informal womenworkers and the Jordanian textile

union which also organizesmigrant workers.

The ILO Better Work programfocuses on garment workers. InJordan 40,000 people work in thegarment sector, 30,000 of whomare migrant workers. 65 per centof the workers are women.

The issues where the BetterWork program has made adifference are in stopping theconfiscation of documents, theelimination of the nightly curfew,limiting compulsory overtime andchanging the recruitment process.

Recently a collective agreementwas signed in Jordan, which canbe considered to be anachievement for the region. Thecontract regulates wages,working hours, unionrepresentation and dues check-off, while giving the union theopportunity and the responsibilityto represent migrant workers.

This contract goes a long waytoward ensuring migrantworkers’ rights. In Jordanmigrant workers have two tothree year contracts, whereas

Jordanian workers haveopen-ended contracts. Theminimum wage in Jordan is185 USD per month plusfood and accommodation,thus attractive conditions forworkers from Bangladesh.

Precarious work aids andabets trafficking. In themeantime industry andconsumers are requiredmore than ever to abide byethical manufacturingprinciples. This can meanhope for the women whomigrate to the Middle Eastlooking for a better life.

ILO launch project to reducetrafficking of girls, women

NITDAinaugurates boardof trustees foroutsourcingcompanies

Guy Ryder, DG ILO

•Sam Abu •Darrell McGraw•Edafe Erhie


Micro-Finance

Palm oil refining and production has in the past, andin recent times become a lucrativebusiness in Nigeria. In fact, somemight refer to it as a ‘liquid gold’ thatcould potentially be the saviour of theNigerian economy, improving itseconomic outlook in the Internationalcommunity and bringing it out of thedoldrums that has plagued it for overthree decades, however, Okomu OilPlc has shown that this is in factpossible.

At its just concluded 33rd AnnualGeneral Meeting (AGM), held at theNicon Hilton Hotel in Abuja, thecompany published its financialrecords for the past fiscal year ended31st December 2012 where a numberof firsts were recorded.

The company demonstrated to itsprofitability to investors by paying thehighest dividend in its history toshareholders.

The dividend payment of N7.00 pershare of 50k, which is 29 per centhigher than the total dividend paid toshareholders in 2011, translates to atotal payment of over N3 billion.

The company ’s annual report,presented by Chairman of the Boardof Directors, Mr. Gbenga Oyebode,declared that the company is in theprocess of expanding its oil palm andrubber plantation and has also begunexpansion of its oil mill from 30 tonsper hour to 60 tons per hour.

“More feathers were added to thecompany ’s hat this fiscal yearirrespective of the current negativeeconomic circumstances prevailing inthe country and in the world. The oilmill, which will be the largest inAfrica, is scheduled for completion in2014,” Oyebode hinted.

Okomu Oil has consistently postedprofits in the last 10 years, a periodduring which most other agriculturalinitiatives in the country had eitherfolded up or were performing suboptimally.

Shareholders are of the view that thecompany is inspiring, not just the

Reviving palm oil production:The OkThe OkThe OkThe OkThe Okomu success somu success somu success somu success somu success stttttorororororyyyyy

From Left: Acting Company Secretary, Okomu Oil Company Plc, Ms Abisola Onadipe;Chairman, Mr Gbenga Oyebode and Managing Director, Mr Graham Hefer, at the

growth and profitability, but the factthat the company is ranked 10thamong listed companies with thelargest turnovers quoted on theNigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

It is the only agric-business in theNSE’s top 16 companies with thelargest turnovers. The companyquoted Bottom Line Magazine, todefine it as “the ninth company withthe highest profits before tax amongcompanies quoted on the NSE, andthe only agro-business on theExchange’s top 16.”

Okomu Oil Palm Company has comea long way since it was established in1976 as a Federal Government pilotproject aimed at rehabilitating oilpalm production in Nigeria. Today, thecompany has been transformed intoan economic success; earningcommendations and recording over300 percent rise in profit after tax(PAT) from the preceding fiscal year.

Also, it has since grown to becomeNigeria’s leading oil palm companywith 8,800 ha of mature palm, a youngextension of 4,000 ha of rubber, and apalm oil mill of 30 tons per hourcapacity. Just as it is expanding insize, its corporate environment is alsoexpanding. Currently, the companyemploys over 800 permanent andseveral independent sub-contractors.All these have added up to place it ontop in the burgeoning oil palmbusiness and to position it as anemerging leader in rubberproduction.

Stakeholders agree that theprivatisation of Okomu Oil has beena great success and a hugeencouragement for the Nigerianagricultural sector for the future, withprofound positive consequences ofstable socio-economical growth for theregion where it is implanted. Thesuccess of the company has furtherexemplified that palm oil productionin Nigeria can be revived andrejuvenated with major players in theindustry like Okomu Oil Palm Plc atthe forefront of the palm oil revolution.



International Business

Bribery allegations: FG should scrutiniseGSK Nigeria’s activities — Operators

•SEC should strip company’s owners' voting rights•As shareholders kick

THE government shouldalso mount searchlighton the operations of

GSK Nigeria to ensure that thecompany is not employing thesame unethical practices it isbeing accused of in China toboost the Nigerian operations,said capital market operators.

Nigerian shareholders shouldalso consider an outright buy outof Galxosmithkline ConsumerNigeria plc to protect their interestas well as retain the image of thecompany as a going concern.

The advice came on the heelsof the bribery allegations leveledagainst the China subsidiary andinitial fines paid as restitution forearlier infraction in the US as wellas the bid by the parent company,GSK UK, to up its stake in GSKNigeria to 75 percent.

Various independent analystsand capital market operators,who spoke on separate occasionsto Vanguard, also said the bid byGSK London to increase itsholdings in the Nigeria subsidiaryis a wake up call to the regulatorsof the Nigerian capital market tostrengthen the existing rules andregulations in the market with aview to stripping promoters ofcompanies of their voting rights.

Speaking to Vanguard in Lagos,Mr. Wale Oluwo, an economistand former Managing Director,Investment Banking Group, BGLSecurities Limited, said anoutright buy out would be apreferred option if the variousscandals involving the offshoresubsidiaries are suspected to havethe capacity of posing danger tothe operation of the local firm.

Citing example, Oluwo said thatArthur Anderson’s transformationto Accenture after the AA scandalinvolving Eron’s account could bereplicated in Nigeria.

He said, “Nigerian shareholdersshould not hesitate to take stepsto protect the Nigerian subsidiarywhere it is apparent that theactivities of offshore operationswill have significant negativeimpact that may threaten thegoing concern of the entire GSKGroup. That protection can be inthe form of Nigerian shareholdersinsisting to buy out the troubledoffshore shareholders and re-brand the company to eliminatethe GSK name.

“While giving the offshoresubsidiaries the benefit of thedoubt in line with the provision ofthe law, I also note that GSK doesnot particularly have a goodtrack record when it comes tocorporate misconduct, havingbeen made to pay fines asrestitution for earlier infraction inthe US.”

He, however, counseled theNigerian stockbrokers,shareholders and otherstakeholders to look into thefundamentals and corporategovernance practices of GSKNigeria before rushing intojudgment on the Nigerian

operations, saying, “I do notbelieve the Nigerian subsidiaryshould be punished for theactivities of GSK overseas. It couldnot have been the global corporatepolicy of GSK to direct theirofficers to cut corners, rather it isthe individuals working for GSKin the various jurisdictions thatcommitted the crimes, possiblydue to profit/bonus pressure, forwhich GSK is now being heldvicariously liable.”

Also reacting, Mr. JohnsonChukwu, Managing Director,Cowry Assets ManagementLimited, stated that there might beno material impact of the offshoresubsidiaries scandals on GSKNigeria’s operations due mainlyto the low level of publicawareness in the country and theweakness or near absence ofgovernment structures that should

operations in Nigeria.“Interestingly, neither of these is

the case with the perception ofNigerian investors. Rather,investors have been preoccupiedwith protests over GSK London’splan to increase its stake in GSKNigeria by buying out someNigerian investors.”

Hostile bid to buyout Nigerian shareholders

The operators insisted thatthere was need for the

Securities and ExchangeCommission to tighten its rules toforestall incidences ofmultinational companiesoperating in Nigeria buying outNigerian shareholders or delistingat will.

They noted that such rules shouldexclude the majority shareholdersfrom voting on issues for which

or which enhances their votingpowers and influence in thecompany.

He said, “I don’t think that thereis any motive to the plan by GSKLondon to increase its holding inGSK Nigeria, other than businessconsolidation and profitmaximisation.

The Nigerian businessenvironment presents strongincome potentials, which explainswhy the multinationals areinvesting more economicresources into their Nigeriansubsidiaries to expand theiroperational base, while at thesame time buying out Nigerianinvestors so as to appropriate mostof the benefits of the expectedimprovement in returns.”

According to Mr. TaiwoOderinde, National Coordinator,Proactive Shareholders ofAssociation of Nigeria (PROSAN),“The recent internationalallegation against GSK UK showsthey are fraudulent and anattempt to swindle unsuspectedNigerian minority Investors. Thissingular act will show the type ofregulators we have, whether theywant to protect our market or not.We don’t care if other shareholdersassociations support this evilproposal, my group will notsupport it.

Lastly, I am using thisopportunity to call on Nigerian investors to come out and voteagainst this evil proposal. This typeof proposal can only be possiblein a country like ours whereeverything goes.”

Although Wale Oluwo said thathe does not object to GSKincreasing its shareholding, heaffirmed that the challenge for theNigerian regulators should be toensure appropriate valuation ofthe shares being sold so thatNigerian investors are not short-changed. Disagreeing with othersthough, Oluwo said, “Owners ofcompanies must be allowed torestructure their capital as long asthere is level playing field forNigerian and foreign investors.Seeking extra-legal protection forNigerian minority shareholderswill be unfair to the foreigninvestors, and will offend the extantprovisions of the Investment &Securities Act, the InvestmentPromotion Act, and theCompanies & Allied Matters Act.The Nigerian InvestmentPromotion Act allows foreignersto own 100 percent shareholdingin Nigerian companies so long asit is legally done. This scheme ofGSK will be approved by theregulators, the shareholders andthe court, so it is legal.”

“The majority must have theirway, while the minorities have theirsay. All shareholders must betreated equally because the GSKshares of the local and the foreigninvestors are of the same class,ranking pari-passu. GSK UK, byNigerian laws cannot be

disqualified from voting theirshares in the type of major capitalrestructuring transaction that isbeing contemplated by GSKNigeria at the moment.

“The lesson for Nigerianinvestors is to set up and run theirown companies professionally sothey can call the shots. It is wishfulthinking to want to call the shotsin another man’s company whereyou are a minority. We shouldemulate serious businessmen likeDangote, Mike Adenuga, FolaAdeola, Jim Ovia, Oba Otedekoamong others, who havedemonstrated that localcorporates can compete andoutperform their foreigncompetitors by relying on localexperience advantage,” he added.

“Nigerian shareholders whodisagree with the GSKtransaction, as proposed, shouldseek the intervention of the courtsfor redress (but they must notforget to first reject the moneybeing offered by GSK UK, as thismay create a credibility crisis fortheir case in court),” Oluwoenthused.

Minority shareholders kick

Meanwhile, the Nigeria’sminority shareholders

have condemned the act of forcingthem to sell their shares to theforeign majority shareholders,saying it amounts to neo-colonialism and outrightcorruption by the foreigninvestors.

According to Taiwo Oderinde,“The issue of GSK forcingNigerians to sell their shares tothe foreign shareholders is an acttantamount to neo- colonialismand this can only take place in acorrupt society like oursperpetrated by the internationalfraudsters like GSK UK.”

In how own reaction, Chairman,Progressive ShareholdersAssociation of Nigeria, PSAN,Mr. Boniface Okezie said, “ Thisact is a fraudulent practice whereshareholders are coerced to selltheir shares at a lower marketprice. I call it madness; it alsoshows how regulators arewatching and letting everything togo. This is what Nigerian BottlingCompany (NBC) did. So, the UKinclined companies are beginningto toe that line. You will recall thatNBC was not doing well at a pointin time and later on the companybounced back to profitability, onlyfor them to say they want to delistfrom the Exchange, which theyeventually did at the detriment ofthe Nigeria’s minorityshareholders.”

Continuing, he said, “Thelawyers and our operators in themarket are supporting this ideabecause of the money they wouldmake from the deal. It is not goodfor our country. Why do you haveto force shareholders to sell theirshares even at a lower marketprice than at a higher price? Theintention of this GSK UK is todelist the company from theExchange eventually. This is notgood for our country because thispeople will make the money inour country and repatriate it totheir own country. This is anotheract of colonialism and we aresaying no to this wicked act.”

Oscar Onyema, CEO, NSE •Taiwo Oderinde, ashareholder activist

By PETER EGWUATU &NKIRUKA NNOROM

they are the majority beneficiaries.“In view of the GSK UK’s bid to

increase its stake in GSK Nigeria,coupled with the case of CocaCola and NBC, othermultinationals may be tempted todo the same and that will leave uswith an equity market that ispredominantly made up of theDangote Companies and thebanks. The regulators should seekto amend the existing laws, rulesand guidelines,” said Mr. TolaOdukoya, Vice-President, DunnLoren Merrifield.

For, Johnson Chukwu, theNigerian Stock Exchange and theSEC should consider updating therules or guidelines on rights ofminority shareholders such thatthe majority shareholders areexcluded from voting on issues forwhich they are the sole beneficiary

supervise and ensure adherence tobest corporate governancepractice and ethical standards bycorporate organisationsoperating in the country, adding “In some other countries, GSKoperations would have comeunder severe scrutiny to ensure thatthey are not using the sameunethical practices alleged to havebeen employed by them to boosttheir sales in China.”

Continuing, he said, “I have notseen any evidence that Nigerianinvestors are reacting to thenegative news emanating fromChina on GSK.

“Ideally, the expected reactionwould have been a dumping oftheir shares if Nigerian investorshave doubts about the integrity ofthe company ’s operatingactivities or expect the governmentto take measures to constrain their

,

,The lawyers and our operators

in the market are supporting thisidea because of the money they

would make from the deal

CMYK


ICT

TELECOM equipment andinfrastructure provider,Ericsson, last week,

announced the establishment of twonew service delivery facilities inNigeria and the Democratic Republicof Congo to enhance support for itscustomers in Africa. These centres,according to the company’s countrymanager, Mr Kamar Abass, wouldassist telecom operators manage thecomplexities of voice and datanetworks.

The new centres are going to benefitthe over 40 million African customersout of an estimated 1 billionsubscribers who Ericsson’s managedservices cater for on its services.

The company also revealed thatthere was a huge demand fromnetwork operators in Nigeria andacross Africa for innovative solutionssaying the development would aid theexpansion of telecoms infrastructurein the region.

Its view is supported by reports

which have shown that mobile connections in Sub-Saharan Africaincreased 20 percent to 500 million in2013 and is expected to increase byan additional 50 percent by 2018.

Abass who along with Head ofregion, Ericsson Sub-Saharan Africa,Frank Jejdling and DirectorMarketing and Communications,Omasan Ogisi, spoke to journalists atthe weekend in Lagos, stated that the facilities will support the company’sleadership position in managedservices, as well as enhance thedelivery of its services portfolio acrosssub-Saharan Africa.

Part of the factors considered byEricsson before opening up the twostrategic centres include enabling thecompany better support partners andoperators in delivering superiornetwork performance.

These centres, will also strengthenexisting competence and deliverycapabilities through structuredtraining, competence transfer andgraduate recruitment; and push initialfocus on managed services to beexpanded into other service areas.

CABLE Company, Main One, hasopened its enterprise and

connectivity solutions for people in theSouth West region of Nigeria to access.

The company used the opportunity ofits Business Connectivity event inIbadan last week, to announce the newdevelopment.

For the company, this will rapidlyenhance broadband penetration acrossthe country, as it would leverage theopportunity of excellent broadbandsolutions to educational institutions,government agencies and commercialconcerns in Oyo State and environs.

The Connectivity event was done incollaboration with Phase 3 Telecom asMainOne promises to activate itsalliance with various telcos to offerenterprise customers in the South Westregion the ability to deploy, manage andautomate network and computeresources in Nigeria, remotely from anylocation.

Main One says it’s expansion into theregion was driven by the growingdemand for reliable connectivitysolutions, increased need for virtual

private networks betweenorganizational branches, as well asincreased security challenges faced bybusinesses and institutions in the SouthWest region of the country.

Speaking at the seminar, Head, Sales,Nigeria, Main One, BolanleOgundogba, said that “mostmultinational and businessesenterprises are increasingly looking forgrowth opportunities in the South Weststates; Ogun, Oyo, Osun, among others.This expansion creates connectivitychallenge for the average IT Head whoneeds to interconnect his branches,using fast and reliable access to enhancebusiness-critical systems without thesignificant CAPEX budget required tobuild infrastructure locally. Theproliferation of educational institutionsand learning centres in the region alsoprovides Main One the opportunity tomeet customer demand for scalableservices in Oyo State and its environs,and ensure its reliable connectivitysolutions keep your organization atpace with the speed of businesstransformation, and also pave the wayfor future growth.”

Main One heads South West with launchof connectivity services in Ibadan

Ericsson boosts African telecom with 2 service centres

Stories by PRINCE OSUAGWU

Galaxy Backbone emerged United Nations Public Service Awards 1st Place winner in“Promoting Whole-of-Government Approaches in the Information Age”, While FederalCapital Territory Administration emerged 2nd Place winner in “Improving the Deliveryof Public Services at the United Nations Public Service Awards for “1-GOV.NET” initiativeand Mobile Integrated Primary Health Care Service Delivery “MAILAFIYA”, respectively

CMYK


Advertising, Media& Marketing

CHI Foundation, theC o r p o r a t eS o c i a l

Responsibility (CSR) arm ofCHI Limited has donated aborehole constructed at thecost of five million naira toLekki community in IbejuLekki Local CouncilDevelopment Area (LCDA) ofLagos State.

The Chairman of ChiFoundation, OlurantiOdubogun, who handed overthe facility to the community,said it would be of immensebenefit to the residentsbecause before now they had

been drinking from wells.He promised that the

foundation would maintainthe project which comes witha generator for 24 months.

He appealed to thecommunity to protect theproject in order to sustain itfor a long time.

The water project, accordingto him was installed withtreatment facility and hasbackwash equipment.

Oba Liasim Olumuyiwa, theOnileki of Lekki, commendedthe foundation and appealedfor the maintenance of theproject.

Vanguard gathered thatLekki as a name was derivedfrom the Portuguese sailornamed Lecqi who was a slavetrade merchant in the area.

“Because the community couldnot pronounce his name, theysimply called him Lekki”, FemiOgunbogun, a medical doctorfrom the area, said.

The highpoint of thecommissioning was whenmembers of the community,mostly women sang and dancedin appreciation of the projectwhich is the foundation’s socialresponsibility initiative to reducewater-borne diseases such asdysentery, diarrhea, typhoid andcholera among others oftencontacted by members of thecommunity through untreatedwell water.

Chi Foundation is set up by ChiLimited and associate companiesof TGI Group and in the last twoyears, the foundation has sitedabout seven projects within theSouth West region.

CHI Foundation donates boreholeto Lekki community

Can you “Feel” Your Service?

JUST how good is your service? How do you know?If you’re like most people, you’d easily point tothe last customer satisfaction survey conducted

by your company to buttress your stand. That’s ok. Oursis an age ruled by statistics. If 90 percent of our customersclaim to be satisfied with our service, we pat ourselveson the back. But what about the other 10 percent? Wecan simply rationalize their grumpiness. They’re theperpetual complainers. They’re never satisfied withanything we do. Anyway, they’re not even among ourmost profitable and loyal customers. And so on.

But wait a minute. In the age of information, statisticscould sometimes lie and deceive. The story is told of anAmerican company where all key performance indices –sales, profits, market share – were going down whilecustomer satisfaction (CS) was going up! In fact, theonly thing that was improving in that company was theresult of CS surveys. So what happened? Well, thosesurveys were administered by sales people on theircustomers. The smart guys they were – the sales peopleknew how important the surveys were with topmanagement. So they simply administered the surveyson their happiest and most friendly customers who werealways willing to give them the thumbs-up.

Well, don’t get me wrong. We need statistics in customerservice. They’re very useful. But service is about people.It’s about emotions. It’s also about processes. It’s difficultto capture all the nuances of customer satisfactionquantitatively. If you depend solely on statistics, youmay loose some qualitative dimensions of excellentservice. I suggest that while you obtain and study thelatest CS figures, you should do yourself some good bylooking at the qualitative side of things. Try the followinginformal but practical techniques for getting a “feel” ofyour service. The idea is to help you see your servicefrom the customer’s perspective.

Experience your service“Tis an ill cook that cannot lick his own fingers.” Those

are the sage words of William Shakespeare and I agreecompletely with him. You need to taste the service youdish out to others. Take your time to experience theservice process that your customers go through everyday.Avoid shortcuts. Make sure you’re not given specialtreatment because you’re “oga (at the top?).” If youwork in a very big organization, you may want to go to abranch where you may not be so easily recognized. Tryyour service at peak periods. You’ll probably learn oneor two things. Just keep an open mind. And be patient.After all, your customers go through this all the time.Ask yourself: “If I were not working for this organisation,would I like to have the experience again and again?”Your answer will tell you what you need to do.

Call your office

It’s as simple as it sounds. Call your office to make an enquiry, lodge a complaint – just anything to

get a response from your people. Of course, you needto do this incognito. Pretend to be a customer. If youlike what you hear, that’s great. Your people are doingwell. Otherwise, you have some work to do. The idea isnot to rail at someone – or indict her – when you getback to the office. It’s a coaching opportunity for you.On the other hand, if your people do well, remember topraise them.

Call your Customer Care Line

It will be nice to feel the amount of “care” you give onyour customer care line. How easy is it to

navigate through the menu? How many times do youhave to punch the keypad to get to a live person? Whenyou get through, are all the consultants busy? Are there91 people waiting to talk to the consultants? Do youhave to wait for 50 minutes to talk to someone? Just bepatient. You’ll get a “feel” of your caring culture.

Stories byPRINCEWILLEKWUJURU

SWEET SensationConfectionery, one of

the Quick Service Restaurants(QSR) brand in Nigeria hasundertaken a brand extension,introducing a kiosk attachmentchristened Feli-Feli in Festac.

Mrs. Kehinde Kamson,managing director /CEO of therestaurant said that SS

Feli-Feli, was the first of itskind in the Nigerian QSRindustry, “it comes in a Kioskattachment to an alreadyexisting Sweet Sensation outletand provides complimentaryproducts and services, but notthe usual Sweet Sensationtraditional restaurant model,yet it still carries the sweetsignature of the brand.”

Kamson stated that SS Feli-Feli was borne out of a strongdesire to provide another sweetexperience to its everincreasing and loyal customers,who always expect trendsetting innovative productsand brands

Corroborating the managingdirector’s statement, OluyemiYusuf, head, Marketing, saidthat SS Feli-Feli was a promisekept by the restaurant toalways be ahead with

innovative products that perfectlymeet customer’s needs. “We plan toreplicate this with a roll-outcampaign beginning from the Festacoutlet, where customer demandsmeets with space availability,” henoted.

THE misrepresentationabout the African

continent will soon come to endas Pan-African Channel, TVCNews, from the stables of theContinental BroadcastingService Limited is launched onUK’s BskyB platform (EPG572).

With this launch TVC Newsaims to challenge stereotypesand correct factual inaccuraciesand misperceptions aboutAfrica and her people.

Nigel Parsons, ChiefExecutive Officer, TVC Newsand former head of Aljazeera

English, said: “Without shyingaway from reporting the conflictsor the corruption, the famines orthe wars, the mission of TVC Newsis also to tell the many positivestories coming out of Africa. Stories– good or bad – will be told‘Through African Eyes’.”

The news channel serves as amedium for Africans in every partof the world to be heard on theglobal scene. Through its fair andfearless reporting, TVC News willtell the unreported stories fromunder-reported regions across thecontinent, all from an Africanperspective.

Sweet Sensation introduces Feli-Feli

TVC News to fight misperceptionsabout Africa

FROM LEFT: Carol Abade, CEO Exp Group; Dan Hanover, Editor & Founder of EventMarketer Magazine (USA) and Kim Skildum-Reid, Sponsorship Author & Consultant(Australia) at 2013 African Experiential Marketing Summit (AEMS) held in Lagos recently.

CMYK

Email:[email protected], [email protected] page:www.lesleba.com/blog2Website: www.lesleba.comTel:0805 220 1997


,

,

Omoh Gabriel - Group Business EditorBabajide Komolafe - 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 ReporterFranklin Alli - Industry/Agric. ReporterEbele Orakpo - Energy ReporterIfeyinwa Obi - Maritime Reporter

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

O U R T E A M

Cover

Nigeria’s hope of earlye c o n o m i crejuvenation

and growth may have beensadly foreclosed by LamidoSanusi, in a recentpresentation to the HouseCommittee on Banking andFinance in Abuja, when henoted, in spite of the clariondemand by industrialists that“although the CBN has put inplace several monitoringmeasures to ensure stability inthe economy, it was notpossible to guarantee thedelivery of low interest rate,due to the harsh businessenvironment in the country”.

Consequently, while theCentral Bank benchmark ratein those successful countrieswith inclusive growth andsupportive social welfare isgenerally below 3%, our CBNpolicy rate may rise above thecurrent outrageous level of12%, and sustain cost of fundsto a beleaguered real sector atwell-over 20%. Undeniably,no economy can growoptimally without those loans,which are universally,primarily provided bycommercial banks.

A banking licence from anycountry ’s Central Bankpermits domestic banks to lendup to 10 times the value of cashdeposits collected fromcustomers; the banks would inturn cover the inevitable cashshort-falls from such lending,whenever necessary, byborrowing directly from theCBN at marginally lowerrates.

Consequently, the level ofinflation in any country isprimarily a product of demandand cost of funds, as prices of

goods and services wouldultimately rise or fall in relationto the prevailing cost ofborrowing, which, itself, ispredicated on CBN’sbenchmark lending rate to thebanks. Notwithstanding,Sanusi maintains that “thelikelihood of the interest ratecoming down in the currentenvironment is very low; infact, there is a higherlikelihood of interest rate goingup than coming down”,because, according to the CBNGovernor, low interest rates will“reverse all the gains we havehad on stability”.

Discerning observers mayhowever, consider thisassertion to be a deliberatemisrepresentation of the apexbank’s performance under theexisting 2007 CBN Act, whichdefines the CBN’s coremandate, in Sanusi’s words, asthe “delivery of price stability,protection of the external valueof the nation’s currency,management of the country’sreserve and ensuring financialstability”.

Regrettably, althoughNigeria’s current year-on-yearaverage inflation rate mayindeed have remained stableat an average of about 10% overthe years, but certainly, suchhigh inflation rate, whichobliterates income values every10 years, actually, poisonouslyunderpins our beleagueredeconomy with theconsequences of rapidlydwindling purchasing powerand consumer demand withreduced employmentopportunities.

Paradoxically, Sanusi blamesthis debilitating state of affairson the fiscal policies of the

federal government, andinsists that “we can only see amoderation in the lending rate,when government borrowsless, and (if) the rates paid bygovernment for suchborrowings come down…. Ifgovernment is borrowing at 13- 14%, and funds huge fiscaldeficits, (i.e. governmentexpenditure exceedingrevenue), the private sector willhave to pay even higherinterest rates”.

Regrettably, however, there is little hope that such

fiscal deficits would be reducedanytime soon, especially whenthe Coordinating Minister ofthe Economy, Dr. NgoziOkonjo-Iweala, recentlyexpressed concerns aboutrevenue shortfalls caused bymassive crude oil theft anddwindling export demand.

In reality, Sanusi is actuallybeing economical with the truthon the impact of cost ofgovernment long termborrowing as the cause of highinterest rates. The CBN has

in fact, successfullyhoodwinked Nigerians,including the NationalAssembly and the media fromrecognizing the negativeimpact on interest rate,whenever the apex bank itself,borrows from the moneymarket in order to controlperceived “excess” moneysupply in the system, with itssale of treasury bills bearingover 10% interest rate, when,in fact, similar loans in bettermanaged economies may notexceed 2%. It is obvioushypocrisy for Sanusi to decrythe cost of government’s longterm loans (3 – 10 years) at 13– 14%, while remaining silenton CBN’s reckless constantcrowding out of the real sectorin the credit market, when theapex bank borrows hundredsof billions of naira it intends tosimply keep idle at rates above12% (for short term – 360 daysloans).

The stupendous profitsposted by Nigerian

banks at a time of contractingindustrial activities and thecurrent high unemploymentrate is ample testimony of whoare the actual beneficiaries ofCBN’s curious strategy for maintaining economic andprice stability.This obtusemonetary strategy alsoencourages foreign investors toborrow at less than 3% fromabroad and obtain returns of upto 12%, when such foreignloans are deployed into thepurchase of ‘risk-free’ treasurybills issued by the CBN!

Alarmingly, however, Sanusi also maintained that“the low rate of industrial

activities is not so much theresult of high interest rate butthe result of our infrastructuraldeprivations, such as power,security, or indeed, storagefacilities and cold rooms”…. It is not about moving interestrate down or up; most of theSMEs do not have access tocredits because theenvironment does not allowbusinesses to thrive”. Haba!Mr. CBN Governor. Who isthe government?

Indeed, if lending rate toSMEs, for example, was as lowas 3% as in successfuleconomies, rather than thecurrent level of over 20%,surely, there will be greatermotivation for entrepreneurs toborrow and “conveniently”accommodate the forcedadditional cost of power,security, storage, etc, from thesavings of a benign interestrate regime! The cost ofprocurements for bothmachinery and materials in allsectors, including agriculture,which are dependent on creditfor operational growth, wouldfall and ultimately translate intoa more competitive economicand business environment withunbound employmentopportunities, with industrialregeneration and improvementin mass social welfare.

Ultimately, the truth ofcourse, is that cost of funds willnever be industrially friendly,so long as CBN continues tocreate the spectre of excess cashevery time, it substitutes nairaallocation for dollar-derivedrevenue. Curiously, while theCBN’s self-styled own dollarreserves continue to bloom,ravaging poverty deepensnationwide.

SAVE THE NAIRA, SAVE

NIGERIANS.

Sanusi’s tall story on high interest rates

NSE set to expose high riskpractices in capital market

THE Nigerian StockExchange, NSE, said

it is planning to bring to thefore issues and businesspractices among thestockbrokers that pose thehighest risks to the investingpublic in order to strengthenthe integrity of the market.

The supervision priorities,which would address theseveral risk areas, as well assupervision priorities thatapply to all operators in themarket, would be published bythe Broker Dealer RegulationDepartment, BDR, of the NSE.

In a notice to dealing

member firm, the NSEobserved that the supervisionpriorities would enable firmsbuild risk managementprograms to mitigate theserisks to support the Exchange’sregulatory objective to protectinvestors, and to maintain afair, orderly and efficientmarket.

The Exchange identified theareas of its supervision prioritiesto include fraud detection andprevention, unauthorized sales,market manipulation, insidestrading, commingling of clientsassets and segregation ofaccounts, corporate governanceand enterprise risk management,conflicts of interest, technologyand sales practices/frauds.

Others are trading, capital, Anti-

Money Laundering andCombating Financing Terrorism(AM/CFT), uniform financial yearend, International FinancialReporting Standards, IFRS,annual recertification ofapproved persons, criminalinvestigation and escalation,manipulation of financialstatements and inter-membertransfers from inactive firms.

According to the NSE, “Thesepriorities are set by themanagement of The Exchange toimprove compliance, preventfraud, inform policy, monitorfirm-wide and systemic risk andultimately to restore investors’confidence.”

The notice further stated that thesupervision priorities and focusareas for 2013 were selected bythe Exchange based on

assessment of a variety ofinformation, including,information gathered throughinspection conducted by the BDRdepartment; informationreported in regulatory filings with

the Exchange; industry and mediapublications; comments and tipsreceived directly from investorsand market operators, as well asinteractions with marketoperators and other stakeholders.

By NKIRUKA NNOROM

truth of course, isthat cost of funds

will never beindustrially friendly,

so long as CBNcontinues to create

the spectre of excesscash every time, itsubstitutes naira

allocation for dollar-derived revenue.

Ultimately, the

CMYK

Financial Vanguard

Documents

us coast guard teamis

us coast guard inspection

unitedstates coast guard

state house

nigerianports authority

hasthe authority

theunited states government

theisps code