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financial vanguard february 25th edition
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CMYK
FEBRUARY 25, , , , , 20132013201320132013
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There is a continuing surge inthe value and volume ofdormant accounts in banks
which stakeholders have estimated tobe over one trillion naira, and arecalling on government to set up a trustfund that would manage the fund.
The stakeholders also demanded foran immediate review of the policy ondormant accounts in banks by theCentral Bank of Nigeria (CBN) toreally ascertain current value andmeans of managing it.
Value of banks' dormant accountstops N1trn — Stakeholders*Advocate establishment of trust fund*Demand immediate review of policy
Some of the stakeholders whoreacted to the recent report publishedby Vanguard over the ordeal andfrustration faced by beneficiaries ofdeceased customers of banks, calledfor the establishment of a trust fundto manage dormant accounts thathave stayed for over five years.
Vanguard’s investigation revealedthat 90 per cent of the dormantaccounts are with first generationbanks in Nigeria.
Meanwhile, attempt at getting theactual value of dormant account ineach of the 21 banks operating in thecountry proved abortive as most ofthem said, “It is only the CBN that
can give the figures since they monitorthe banks’ activities.”
According to sources within thebanks, “we are not in a position toreveal the amount in our dormantaccounts except we get directive fromthe CBN. The CBN ought to know thevalue because we submit our accountsto them and also they do monitor thebanks.”
When Vanguard sought to get thetotal value of dormant accounts fromthe CBN, the apex bank’s Director,Corporate CommunicationDepartment, Mr. UgochukwuOkoroafor, said, “We do not keepstatistics on value of dormant
accounts. Dormant accounts are partof banks’ deposits, so nothing stopsthem from lending out.”
But it would be recalled that the apexbank on March 7, 2011 instructedbanks to do an audit of their dormantaccounts. In a memo to all banks inthe country, CBN mandated them toforward to it the list of all dormantaccounts and the balances thereon.
A dormant account is one that hasremained inactive from six monthsupwards. This means that the ownerof the account may have either failedto pay in or withdrawn money fromthe affected account during thestipulated period.
Speaking exclusively with Vanguardon the issue, Mr. Boniface Okezie,Chairman, Progressive ShareholdersAssociation of Nigeria (PSAN),blamed the CBN and other regulatoryagencies in the financial sector for theloopholes and malpractices in theindustry.
According to the PSAN chairman,“the managing directors of banks are
By PETER EGWUATU
Pix from left: Mr Ken Okolo, MD, Reqit; Suzzanne McGettigam, Enterprise Account Executive, Europe, Middle Eastand Africa, Linkedin; Mrs Enitan Oyenuga, GM, Human Resource, Lafarge and Mr Andy Lea, Partner Manager,Europe, Middle East and Africa, Linkedin at a workshop on the use of Social Media in transforming the recruitmentlandscape sponsored by Linkedin held in Ikoyi on Thursday. Photo by Lamidi Bamidele
CURRENCY BUYING CENTRAL SELLING
CBN Exchange rate as at 22/02/2013
114.25 +0.72
92.96 +0.14
143.2 1.45
2,189.00 +46.00
18.22 0.1
DOLLAR 154.74 155.24 155.74POUNDS 236.2261 236.9894 237.7527EURO 203.87 204.5287 205.1875FRANC 166.0835 166.6202 167.1568YEN 1.6591 1.6644 1.6698CFA 0.2964 0.3064 0.3164WAUA 235.2225 235.9825 236.7426RENMINBI 24.8147 24.8953 24.9759RIYA 41.2596 41.3929 41.5262KRONA 27.2747 27.3628 27.4509SDR 234.7715 235.5301 236.288
Cover Story
CMYK
18 — Vanguard, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2013
Continued from page 17
Continues on page 19
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Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State flanked by the National Planning Minister, Dr.Samshudeen Usman (l0 and the Finance Minister, Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as theybreifed State House Correspondents after the periodic National Economic Council Meetingat the State House, Abuja. Photo by Abayomi Adeshida 21/02/2013
feeding fat with the dormantaccounts while beneficiariesof the dead ones aresuffering and are beingfrustrated to collect moneyleft behind by their lovesones. I think governmentshould look at this dormantaccount issue critically andestablished a trust fund thatwould be administered bycredible Nigerians. Ifunclaimed dividend is overN50 billion then dormantaccount should be runningover a trillion naira. If youconsider people who havedied since civil war, you willagree with me that suchmoney will be running overa trillion of naira.
Continuing, he said,“There should be a reviewof the policy on dormantaccount. This is one of thethings that the NationalAssembly should compel theCBN to do. The six monthsperiod that an account couldbe regarded as dormantshould be reviewed.Besides, dormant accountcould be reclassified into two, that is, those who are stillleaving and does notactively operate the accountand those who are dead. Bythis, we would be able to getaccurate record of dormantaccount. I am sure that theCBN cannot give you theexact figure of dormantaccounts in banks theysupervise.”
In his own response, Mr.Taiwo Oderinde, NationalCoordinator, ProactiveShareholders Association ofNigeria (PROSAN), said,“It is sad that the regulatorswho are supposed to protectcustomers are not doing
their work effectively. Howcan the regulators be thereand beneficiaries of banks’customers be sufferingwhen they go to reclaimmoney left behind by theirloves ones.”
Continuing, he said,“One of the reasons, whydormant account continuesto grow is because manypeople have many accountswith different banks andmay not actively operate allof them, though, suchpeople have access to getthe money whenever theyneed it. Also, another majorreason for the increase indormant account is death.
There are some people whohave died and did notreveal information abouttheir accounts with bankswhen they were alive totheir close ones and somewho had next of kin, but inthe process of reclaimingthe money from the banksare frustrated and themoney abandoned. So theCBN should find a way of
monitoring the banks andthe use of such funds. Ithink establishment of aspecial body to managedormant accounts could benecessary, especially ifcredible and trusted peoplefrom the private sector areappointed to manage it.
Also speaking to Vanguardon the issue, Mr. AdebayoAdeleke, National Secretary,Independent ShareholdersAssociation of Nigeria(ISAN) said, “ It isunfortunate thatbeneficiaries of deceasedbanks’ customers gothrough rigorous processbefore reclaiming moneyfrom the banks. This is thereason why CBN shouldeducate the people on theneed to have a Will once anaccount is opened. The Nextof Kin is not allowed accessto an account that does notbelong to him or her, thebank merely ask people tofill Next of Kin as a mereclassification so that in theevent of any need to contactthe customer fails for anyreason, the Next of Kincould be contacted.
According to Adeleke, “Idon’t think there is any lawat the moment that prohibitsbanks from using dormantfunds with them. Banks takedeposit and also lend it. Sowhat is required is for thebanking public to beeducated. Also Letter ofAdministration should notbe made too difficult to getfrom the courts. Thegovernment shouldintervene to ensure that dueprocess is followed.”
It will be recalled that
Value of banks' dormant accountstops N1trn — Stakeholders
There shouldbe a review ofthe policy ofdormantaccount. This isone of thethings that theNationalAssemblyshould compelthe CBN to do
Albert Einstein oncedefined insanity asdoing the same thing
over and over and expectingdifferent results, while theFrench classical author,Francois de la Rochefoucauldsaid ‘ the only thing constantin life is change’.
This paper stresses theimportance ofentrepreneurship educationtowards enhancingsustainable development inNigeria. The problems facingthe country ranging from highrate of poverty, youth andgraduate unemployment;overdependence on foreigngoods and technology; Loweconomic growth anddevelopment; among others.This paper therefore arguesthat entrepreneurshipeducation will equip thestudents with the skills with
Entrepreneurial EducationRevolution: An Imperative forSustainable Development inNigeria: Part 1
,
,which to be self-reliant. Theobjectives and strategies forr e - d e s i g n i n gentrepreneurship educationare also discussed. The paperalso recommended thateducational programmes atall levels of education shouldbe made relevant to providethe youth the neededentrepreneurial skills. It isalso recommended that thegovernment should giveadequate attention toentrepreneurial developmentin the country through theprovision of good economicenvironment.
So it is on this premise Iwould like us to see theNigerian educational systemin light of current realities inthe 21st century. A carefullook of the current state of
affairs in Nigeria revealsthat we are in a 21st centuryeconomy with a 19thcentury education system.A system whereby muchemphasis is still placed onthe conventional classroomenvironment with muchreverence for certificate forgraduates who in mostcases are trained to be jobseekers as evidenced inpresent highunemployment rate in theland. However, we mustaccept the fact that timeshave changed and we mustadjust by transiting fromthe old styled era of AdamSmith inspired concept ofthe ‘industrializedspecialist’ which hasoutlived its usefulness to amore dynamic, resourcefuland I.C.T based modelwhere skills and creativitytakes precedence. Withoutdeviating from the topic ofmy speech which isEntrepreneurial EducationRevolution in Nigeria, Iwould like to briefly definesome of the concept in thetopic.
WHO IS ANENREPRENEUR?
An entrepreneur is aperson who is driven toestablish a business to takeadvantage of the financialopportunities and personalfulfilment offered, bypursuing their own dreamsand shaping their owndestiny in local, nationaland global economies. Ipersonally define anentrepreneur as anyonewho can convert what heloves doing to amoneymaking venture.
Entrepreneurship on theother hand is said to be theprocess of planning,operating and assumingthe risk of a business. It hasalso been seen as a processof creating a unique value.For the purpose of thisspeech, I would be limitingeducation to the activity ofteaching about a particularsubject.
Revolution on the otherhand has been defined byThe Macmillan Englishdictionary as a sudden ormajor change, especially inideas or methods. Arevolution signifies adrastic turn around, a newway of thinking and acting.
Ipersonallydefine anentrepreneuras anyonewho canconvert whathe lovesdoing to amoneymakingventure
CMYK
Vanguard, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2013 — 19
Cover Story
Continued from page 18
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Vanguard narrated theexperiences some next of kinof account holders in banks gothrough in trying to recliamthe money left behind by theirdeceased relatives. Theyexpressed dismay at the ordealthey face in obtaining moneyleft behind by their diseasedrelatives.
For instance, one, Mr. EromsAdigwe, who narrated hisordeal to Vanguard, said, “Ihave a sister who died on 11th
November, 2008 and when Iwent to her bankers, FirstBank of Nigeria, to claim theN120,000 she had in heraccount as her next of kin theytold me to produce a letter ofadministration before I canhave access to the money. Iwent to Lagos State Secretariat
Value of banks' dormant accounts tops N1trn — Stakeholdersat Alausa, Ikeja to seek for thedocument and I was asked topay N24, 000 and I complied.I took the receipt to the HighCourt in Ikeja so as to obtainthe letter of Administration.
“When I got to the court a filewas opened for me and theysaid I needed to see someofficials to sign the documentand they kept tossing me fromone person to another, andsometimes, they will inform methat the person that will signthe document is not available.The court officials kept tellingme to check backsubsequently.
“The most terrible thing isthat any person you meet, heor she will demand for moneyfrom you. This I did for overseven months without success.
So, I was eventually frustratedwhen at a time I was asked toproduce four persons that arerelated to me as witnesses. SoI left pursuing the case in July2009 till date. The sister ’schildren are still very smalland are in schools, all I wantedto do was to get the moneyand use it to assist them, butthat has not worked out. Myyounger ones and I are theones taking care of my sister’schildren.”
Many other victims who didnot want their namesmentioned have narratedsimilar pains they go throughin securing letter ofadministration.
In his own experience, Mr.Francis Iwuchukwu, who losthis father sometime ago, said,“Shortly after the demise of my
father, as the first child, I didapproach my father’s bank toinform them that theircustomer who coincidentallyis my father had died. Thebank empathised with me andasked me to put it into writing,which I did. Thereafter, I wastold to approach a Lagos HighCourt to get a letter ofadministration before myfather ’s money can bereleased to me since my fatherdid not write a will, despitethe bank’s confirmation that Iwas his next of kin.
It took the probate sectionof the court over one year toissue the letter ofadministration that willenable me to collect themoney, because of the longprocedure involved in gettingall the necessary documents,
before the money can bereleased since there was nowritten will.”
Iwuchukwu, said that afterthe probate section of thecourt had taken a long timeto issue the letter ofadministration, the banks alsotook their own turn inensuring that he went throughanother round of procedurebefore he eventually got themoney.
When Vanguard sought theopinions of banks regardingthe trauma the next of kin ofaccount holders face inclaiming money left behind bythe deceased customers theysaid it is a regulatoryrequirement that next of kinmust produce letter ofadministration.
Last week, AssetM a n a g e m e n t
Corporation of Nigeria,AMCON, came out with astatement that it is workingout an out of court settlementbetween it and Babalakin,whom the corporation hadaccused of owing it somehuge amount of money andwas unable to pay. Hence ittook over its choice propertyin Victoria Island. AMCONhad told Nigerians that itsecured a court injunction onthe property. Babalakin hadcountered that the property inquestion was not mortgagedas claimed by AMCON andthat he did not owe. Rather, itis government that owes him.
Available facts indicate thatboth parties were economicalwith the truth. While AMCONwas playing to the gallery,Babalakin was trying to getthe best of deal from theagency. Why should a publicinstitution not state facts theway they are? What wasAMCON management tryingto achieve by making thematter a public affair when itwas negotiating withBabalakin? If AMCON felt ithad a good case againstBabalakin, why did it backdown after disturbing thenation with its sponsoredstories and advertorials? Itwas just nothing but waste ofresources and time ofNigerians.
As far back as 2010, Bi-Courtney wrote to Chike-Obi,
AMCON, Bi-Courtney,AMCON, Bi-Courtney,AMCON, Bi-Courtney,AMCON, Bi-Courtney,AMCON, Bi-Courtney,who is foolingwho is foolingwho is foolingwho is foolingwho is foolingNigerians?Nigerians?Nigerians?Nigerians?Nigerians?
Managing Director/CEO ofAMCON and said; “We havebeen informed that our N20billion syndicated creditfacility with unpaid balance ofN15 billion as well as otherloans has now been sold toAsset ManagementCorporation of Nigeria(AMCON). It is our desire todiscuss and submit a loanrestructure plan that wouldenable the servicing of theindebtedness and itsuttermost settlement.Therefore, Messrs West AfricaResearch Limited led by Mr.Adebisi Ajiboye has beenmandated to submit thecompany’s debt restructureplan as well as discuss,negotiate and conclude therestructuring of Bi-Courtney’sexposure to AMCON. Weshall highly appreciate yourcooperation with West AfricaResources Limited.”
Bi-Courtney admitted inwriting through its financialadviser that it owes AMCON.“The Total outstanding debtobligations sold to AMCONas advised to the company bythe creditors is N20 billion. InBi-Courtney’s opinion, theabove stated sum seems tocomprise punitive interest orinterest charges andambiguous fees. Withoutprejudice to the foregoing, itis the objective of Bi-Courtneyto continue to operate theMurtala Mohammed Airport2, meet its contractualobligations to its grantor -
Federal Government ofNigeria/Federal AirportsAuthority of Nigeria (FGN/FAAN), liquidate its debtobligations to AMCON as wellas recoup its investment fromthe project. Therefore, therestructuring of the company’sindebtedness to AMCON iscrucial for the attainment of thisobjective.”
According to Bi-Courtney,Debt Restructure Plan OptionA, is that “Total Debt Net-offfrom the receivables due fromFGN/FAAN) Receivables fromFGN/FAAN: N34.4 billion;Total Debt owed AMCON N20billion; Balance Due to Bi-
Courtney: N14.4 billion.Option B (Debt Purchase ofup to N10 billion with thereceivable due from FGN/FAAN) Facility Type TermLoan Receivables from FGN/FAAN, N34.4 billion; TotalDebt owed AMCON, N20billion; Debt Purchase byAMCON: N10 billion(subject to the agreeddiscounted value). FacilityAmount: N10 billion, Tenor10
years (including two yearsmoratorium on principalrepayment). Interest rate, 14per cent per annum,Repayment Source; Fromcompany’s operational cashflow (income frompassenger charges, advert,rental, etc.) RepaymentInterest: quarterly inarrears. Principal: 32 equalquarterly payments; Modeof repayment: Through aBank nominated byAMCON. Security: Existingloan security in place. Pre-payment: Allowed withoutpenalty.
Loan service: The 10-year
cash flow projections withmodest sales growth indicatethat the restructured Debt viaeither of options B or C wouldbe adequately serviced. Thecash-flow is furtherstrengthened by the expectedrelocation of all domesticairlines operating in thegeneral Aviation Terminal toMMA2 from January 2012.
Other Considerations: Thesuccess of the proposed debt
structure is contingent on thefollowing:
“Purchase or collection ofreceivable due from FGN/FAAN; Bi-Courtney’sproposal is for AMCON topurchase or collect Bi-Countney’s N34.4 billionreceivables due from FGN/FAAN at an agreeddiscounted value and for sameto be applied to offset the totalindebtedness or part-liquidate the outstandingdebt. The net proceed afteroffsetting the total or part ofthe indebtedness will bededicated to the continuousupgrading of the Terminaland provision of ancillaryservices.
“Constant plant upgrade iscrucial for effective operation,management andmaintenance of the Terminal.
All Domestic Flights toemanate from MMA2.Commencing from January2012, all domestic flights fromLagos shall be conducted fromthe MMA2. Non-adherence tothis will amount to continuousinfringement on Bi-Courtney’s exclusive right toall domestic flight out of Lagosas well as threatening theoverall success of the debtrestructuring plan. Also, thekey revenue heads i.e. thepassenger service charge andfacility maintenance fees shallbe increased from the currentN1, 000 to N2, 000.00 perpassenger from January 2012.Debt Forgiveness: Bi-Courtney hereby seeks a debtforgiveness of N3 billion.”
Available facts indicate thatboth parties were economicalwith the truth. While AMCONwas playing to the gallery,Babalakin was trying to getthe best of deal from theagency.
20 — Vanguard, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2013
CMYK
Business & Economy
BRIEF BY PROVIDENCEOBUH
EIU forecasts 6.5% GDP in 2013 …to average above 7% by 2014
There is a strongindication that thecountry’s Real GDP
growth is to drop to 6.5percent from a seven percentmaintained over the years.This is due to the damagecaused by the severe floodingin late 2012 and constraintsin infrastructure and thebusiness environment, theworld’s foremost provider ofcountry, industry andmanagement analysis, theEconomic Intelligence Unit(EIU) said.Meanwhile the intelligencegroup said that economicexpansion will be buoyed bythe robust performance of thenon-oil sector, although 2013will be a difficult year, givenunfavourable globalprospects, however, RealGDP growth is then expectedto average above seven percent between 2014 and 2017.“Real GDP growth of 6.5% isforecast for 2013, below theannual average of 7% overthe past decade given globaluncertainty, the damagecaused by the severe floodingin late 2012 and constraintsin infrastructure and thebusiness environment. Theforecast period will graduallysee a more favourable globaland domestic pictureemerge, which will allow realGDP growth to average a littleover 7% a year in 2014-17.However, this is still belowthe double-digit levelsrequired if the country is tosee any real large-scale
improvement in thepopulation’s living standards.This is primarily the result ofthe dire state of Nigeria’sinfrastructure, notably theelectricity supply.”On the other hand, the EIU isof the view that the CentralBank of Nigeria (CBN) willfind monetary policymakingchallenging during theforecast period of 2013, evenas balancing the desire tomanage inflation and maintain
a stable exchange rate againstthe government’s aim ofreducing the cost ofborrowing by the privatesector to encourageinvestment in productiveactivities will prove difficult.“In the second half of 2013and into 2014 there is likelyto be some room for the CBNto ease monetary policy asinflation subsides.Disappointing economicgrowth levels in these years
will also serve to increasepressure for policy easing,however, with inflationexpected to increase in thesecond half of the forecastperiod, any monetary easingis likely to be relatively short-lived.”Accordingly, a threat toeffective monetarypolicymaking is the poorrelations between the CBNgovernor, Lamido Sanusi, andthe legislature, EIU said.
BY PROVIDENCE OBUH
More prospectivearchitects and steel
structural engineers inNigeria have adoptedwelded steel pipes for its costsaving benefits inconstruction projects in thecountry. The ManagingDirector of Nigeria Gas andSteel Ltd (NGSL), HasibMoukarim revealed this in apress statement madeavailable to news men inLagos. Moukarim said thatin the past one year,contractors who executedcontracts for airport terminals,warehouses, churches, petrolstations, schools, shoppingcomplex, bus-stops and billboards used the heavy dutysteel welded pipesmanufactured locally byNGSL to fabricate the roofingand structural engineeringaspects of the contracts.
According to him,“gradually, the local steelstructural contractors andfabricators have recognized
Nigerian engineers okay big steel pipesNigerian engineers okay big steel pipesNigerian engineers okay big steel pipesNigerian engineers okay big steel pipesNigerian engineers okay big steel pipesthe superior quality of pipesproduced by Nigeria Gas andSteel Ltd. They have realizedall the products of thick steelpipes of different sizes suchas 5”, 6”, and 8” pipes madefrom 4mm to 10mm steel anddifferent shapes as round,square and rectangular.” Henoted that these products can
favourably complete thefabrication jobs they had inhand instead of depending onthe imported beams andsections which are costlier andheavier, adding that thefabricators have won morecontracts because thecontractors solicited for thedurable and quality pipes.
“The steel pipes have higherstrength to weight ratio thanother steel products and hasexcellent compressionsupport characteristics due toits lighter weight compared tobeams,” he said, explainingthat pipes are recommendedworld wide for use asstructural elements inbuilding and other structures.
Amb. Lawrence Obisakin, NigeriaAmbassador to the Republic of Benin, said
that a new identification card would soon beissued to prospective investors in order to boosteconomic activities between the neighbouringECOWAS countries. Obisakin said this onThursday in an interview with the News Agencyof Nigeria (NAN) in Badagry, Lagos State.“We are making plans to create a newidentification card, which would facilitatehuman movement across the border. Priorityshould be given to Nigerians because we areclose to Benin Republic; so, we want to createan identification card that would be issued fromthe Nigerian Embassy. It would be on the samefooting with that of all Francophone countries.“The card would be bilingual —in French and
ID cards will boost economic activities betweenID cards will boost economic activities betweenID cards will boost economic activities betweenID cards will boost economic activities betweenID cards will boost economic activities betweenNigeria, Benin — Nigeria, Benin — Nigeria, Benin — Nigeria, Benin — Nigeria, Benin — AmbassadorAmbassadorAmbassadorAmbassadorAmbassador
English— so that security agencies of the twocountries can read the details and the databasewould be made available to the Ministry ofForeign Affairs. The creation and use of thecard would help ease so many problems thatNigerians encounter at the border, “ he said.Obisakin said that the major challenge facedby Nigerians was the non-completion of theconstruction of Seme border.“We hope that the Seme Border would becompleted as soon as possible, as this wouldhelp the security agencies perform their dutiesmore effectively. Because the constructionwork has not been completed, some Nigeriansbelieve that with any kind of identificationcard, they can cross the border.
From left: Mr Andy Lea, Partner Manager, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Linkedin; MrYinka Folorunsho; Head, Human Capital Development, First Bank; Mr Olufemi Oladele,Recruitment Specialist and Chidinma Ibeawuchi, Recruitment Specialist both of FBN at aworkshop on the use of Social Media in transforming the recruitment landscape sponsored byLinkedin in Lagos. Photo by Lamidi Bamidele
AfricanPrudentialtargetsimprovedperformance
A frica PrudentialRegistrars Plc (APR)
has said that it plans todeliver enhanced financialperformance for the benefitof all stakeholders in thecoming year.
According to theprojected financial for thefirst quarter ended 31st
March, 2013, made publicat the listing of thecompany, APR said itexpects to achieve N348million revenues for theperiod. Profit before taxand post tax profit are alsoexpected to grow to N251million and N176.45million respectively, whilethe basic earning per shareis projected at N17.65kobo.
In a statement madeavailable to Vanguard,APR board chairman, Chief(Mrs.) Eniola Fadayomi,said, “Formerly known asUBA Registrars, APR whichhas an authorised and fullypaid share capital of N500million, delivered over 100per cent increase in profitbefore tax in 2012 and looksset to continue the trend in2013.”
She said her optimism onaccomplishing the task wasinformed by the confidenceshe has on the team ofyoung, dynamicmanagement at the helm ofthe company, adding“Through a combination oftheir dedication andexperience, we have seena history of significantpositive impact on ourperformance, which webelieve will continue intothe foreseeable future.”
“APR boasts a number ofother firsts. It is rated asNigeria’s number onecorporate registrar forinnovative use oftechnology to improve itsservices. The companywas the first in the shareregistration niche to deployan e-stock softwareapplication. In 2008, itpioneered an online e-share registration servicewhich proved a majorturning point for thebusiness and ensured ahigher level ofconvenience for clients.The simple innovationshifted the paradigm ofmanual share registeradministration and broughtit to the fingertips ofshareholders and clients,”she added.
NKIRUKA NNOROM
CMYK
Vanguard, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2013 — 21
Business & Economy
BRIEFS
BY NAOMI UZOR
The President of theNational Association of
Chambers of Commerce,Industry, Mine andAgriculture of Nigeria(NACCIMA), Dr AdemolaAjayi, has said that theestablishment of the Nigeria-Niger Chamber of Commerceis very important because itwould serve as a monitoringtool for efficiency anddevelopment of tradeexchange between Nigeria andNiger.
Speaking at the finalcommunique issued at the endof the first general assembly ofthe Nigeria-Niger chamber ofcommerce held under theauspices of the Nigeria-Nigerjoint commission for co-operation, Kano, Ajayiexpressed his satisfaction for
Nigeria-Niger trade, monitoring tool forefficiency – NACCIMA
establishing the jointchamber of commerce whichhas been featuring in theagenda of Nigeria-Nigerjoint commission for overtwenty- five (25) years.
He commended theSecretary-General for theirefforts towards putting inplace the Bilateral Institutionfor the trade exchange.
The Minister of ForeignAffairs, who was representedby Ambassador Pisagih,Director of African Sub-Regional OrganisationDivision, in his speech,commended the twoChambers of Commerce andthe Joint Commission fortheir dexterity in putting inplace the bilateral Chamberof Commerce which heaffirmed would serve as avehicle for promoting crossborder trade.
Prior to the previous
speeches, the Secretary-General of the Nigeria-NigerJoint Commission for Co-operation, His Excellency,Amb. Abduljalil AbubakarSulaiman, drew the attentionof participants to theimportance of the Nigeria-Niger Chamber of Commerceas expressed by thePresidents of the twocountries during the HighAuthority Summit held inNiamey on 18th October,2012.
He urged the two sides toensure that the newinstitution is given adequatemeans and a development-oriented administrationcapable of proposingimportant reforms needed bytheir respective sectors witha view to making theeconomic of both countriesmore competitive as practicedby other African countries.
FG reiterates commitment to revampingkey sector of economyBY EMMANUEL ELEBEKE
Federal Government saysPresident Goodluck
Jonathan is workingassiduously to revamp the keysectors of the economy instrategic ways to return thecountry to the path ofdevelopment and sustainableeconomic growth.
The Information Minister
Mr. Labaran Maku who statedthis in Yenagoa at a town hallmeeting, to mark the climax ofthe National GoodGovernance Tour of BayelsaState.
Mr. Maku said the Presidenthad through careful planningand organization developmenta Transformation Agenda forthe country, which is anchoredon good governance, human
capital development andinfrastructural renewal.
“There are three areas thePresident is focusing on. Thefirst area is governance,because governance hasalways been our problem.Even this Good GovernanceTour is because thePresident believes we mustgo out and engage peopleand see the things we are
doing and discuss themproperly,” the Minister said.
He said that a holisticapproach had been adoptedby the administration to retoolthe nation’s transport sectorthrough the revival of therailways, massive roadconstruction, development ofinland waterways andremodeling and constructionof new airports to providealternative and convenientmeans of transportation forthe citizens.
The Minister expressedconfidence that when theconstruction of the fourthphase of Onne Port in PortHarcourt is completed, thearea would be the destinationof oil and gas in the Gulf ofGuinea.
He told the audience thatthe National GoodGovernance Team went tomonitor progress of work onthe site of Yenagoa Airport,where a commitment wasextracted to land the firstflight by the end of 2014.
Mr. Maku said the vision ofthe President in the TransportSector was to relieve thepressure on Nigerian roads inorder to extend their lifespanand derive value from theresources sunk in roadconstruction in the country.
He saluted the President’scourage towards reformingthe nation’s electoral processto ensure the conduct of cleanand credible elections whereall votes must count. “If youlook at the elections in thiscountry today, our electionsare different from the onesthat took place beforePresident Jonathan came topower.
BY ANAYO OKOLI
THE new AreaComptroller of Customs,
Federal Operations Unit,Zone C Owerri, ComptrollerVictor David Dimka haspromised to inteintensify thefight against smugglingactivities in the zone even ashe warned lazy Customsofficers in the area to wake upor be shown the way out.
Dimka made the promiseand handed down thewarning while taking overfrom his predecessors,Mohammed Biu, nowtransferred to Oyo/Osun AreaCommand. The new AreaComptrollers also warnedsmugglers of goods to keepoff the Area Command as hismen would give them the fightof their life.
According to Dimka, hewould not sleep until thechallenges facing the AreaCommand were. Dimka whocommended his predecessorfor what he did in the AreaCommand, assured that hewould improve on theachievement left behind.
Customs declares war on smugglers in OwerriCustoms declares war on smugglers in OwerriCustoms declares war on smugglers in OwerriCustoms declares war on smugglers in OwerriCustoms declares war on smugglers in OwerriWhile handing over to the
new Area Command boss, Biuurged him to consolidate on
what has been left behind forthe good of the nation’seconomy.
92 ships92 ships92 ships92 ships92 shipsexpected inexpected inexpected inexpected inexpected inLagos portsLagos portsLagos portsLagos portsLagos portsfrom Feb 21 tofrom Feb 21 tofrom Feb 21 tofrom Feb 21 tofrom Feb 21 toMarch 21March 21March 21March 21March 21
The Nigerian PortsAuthority (NPA) has
said that 92 ships wereexpected at the variousterminals in Lagos portsbetween Feb. 21 andMarch 21. NPA said thisin the “ShippingPosition”, made availableto newsmen in Lagos, thatthe ships were laden withfish, bulk wheat, rice,general cargo, vehicles,steel products and base oil.The document indicatedthat 12 of the ships wouldsail in with petrol, diesel,kerosene and aviationfuel. It said that 12 otherships were waiting toberth and dischargepetroleum products at thevarious oil terminals.According to thepublication, six ships areto discharge petrol; fourwill discharge diesel; onewill discharge bulk gas;and another ship willdischarge base oil. Thedocument indicated thattwo other ships werewaiting to discharge riceand general cargoes.
Olive MFBOlive MFBOlive MFBOlive MFBOlive MFBintroducesintroducesintroducesintroducesintroducesGas AccountGas AccountGas AccountGas AccountGas Accountin Q1in Q1in Q1in Q1in Q1
Managing Director,Olive Micro-
finance Bank Mr EniolaAgbesoyin says theorganisation will launchits Olive Gas Account bythe end of the first quarterof 2013.Agbesoyin told the NewsAgency of Nigeria (NAN)on Thursday in Lagos thatthe scheme was inpartnership with theLagos State Clean andGreen EnvironmentProject.He said that theprogramme would affordcustomers the opportunityto acquire potable gascylinders of various sizesat affordable costs.The managing directorsaid that the prices wouldrange from N6,500 toN12,000 depending onthe size of the gas cylinderand payment would bespread over six months.
L-R, General Manager Lenovo Middle East and Africa, Oliver Ebel. Associate Group HeadCMC Connect, Sola Solotan and General Manager Lenovo Africa, Graham Braum, during apress briefing on the launch of Lonovo product in Nigeria.
22 — Vanguard, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2013
CMYK
Banking & Finance
BRIEF
From left: Mr Andy Lea, Partner Manager, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Linkedin; MrYinka Folorunsho; Head, Human Capital Development, First Bank; Mr Olufemi Oladele,Recruitment Specialist and Chidinma Ibeawuchi, Recruitment Specialist both of FBN at aworkshop on the use of Social Media in transforming the recruitment landscape sponsored byLinkedin in Lagos. Photo by Lamidi Bamidele
Cashless policy still a dream—Osadare
BY WILLIAM JIMOH
The CorporateTreasurer, NigeriaBottling Company,
Rotimi Osadare has said thatwith the countless challengesconfronting the Central Bankof Nigeria, CBN’s cashlesspolicy initiative is still adream, that is yet tomaterialize.
Speaking at the 4th AnnualEuroFinance Conference on“Treasury, Risk and CashManagement in West Africa”recently in Lagos Osadarenoted that he arrived at thisconclusion after consideringthe level of awareness, thequality of service and otherissues like e-theft to mentionbut a view.
According to him, havinghis company is covering everystate of the federation withabout 80 per cent of its salescoming from cash payment
He said, “We work closelywith the grass rootcommunities and deal largelywith both illiterate and semi-illiterates several of who donot have bank accounts; wesell in some other remotelocations where there are nobanking services in such asituation it is not possible forthis customers to adopt thepolicy.”
“Even here in Lagos manyof the customers are notwilling to adopt it, when theybuy a products worth millionsnaira; they prefer to pay youwith cash rather than makinguse of e-payments, and whenyou encourage them to savethey will be considering thesmall money that will bededucted from their money sowith that they will rathersleep with their moneyregardless of the risk.”
“We are encouraging ourbuyers to open currentaccounts, just because webelieve that it is going toenhance the policy. Not thatwe open it for them or gavethem money but we makethem to see the benefits ofadopting the policy.”
Speaking further, he said,“Dealers wherever they maybe, must embrace bankingculture by starting to banktheir proceeds as well asmaking payments daily for it
is only then that we canachieve satisfactory resultsout of the policy.”
In addition, Osadare saidthe challenges are not onlyfrom buyers but alsoregulators who he said needto improve on the quality ofservice that is been providedfor the masses.
“If what the regulator isdoing is on e-payment andtransaction, then let themfocus it, people that haveshown interest in the cashless
system is many a timediscouraged because of thepoor quality of the service.”
“I have registered for mymobile money but I am nothaving anybody to transactwith, this is another issuesthat need to be giving properattention so as to better the lotof the masses for adopting thepolicy,” he maintained
In his own view, the Headof E-business, Stanbic Bank,Nigeria Thabo Makokomaintained that in the recenttimes, there has been anincrease in the number ofcompanies that are engagingin e-business, adding thatwith available data from theircustomers it is also revealsthat more customers are nowmaking e-payment.
“The more we are givingcredit cards the moreCustomers keep asking for itthis is an indication that weare making progress. CBN isreally doing a lot to ensurethat pricing of thesetransactions are regulated.”
Makoko maintained that inother to get the cashlesspolicy wok, it will requirespecial effort from theregulator, the masses as wellas the government.
“ We must all work togetherto ensure that it worksbecause it is the way to go, itis also the right focus for thepresently for the central bankand the commitment on thepart of the banks is to workwith all our partners to ensurethat this dream comethrough,” Makoko added
Kuru unveils growth strategies forEnterprise Bank
BY WILLIAM JIMOHwith agency report
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer,
Enterprise Bank Limited,Mallam Ahmed Kuru, saidthe bank would not engagein the ‘game or war of size’but will remain efficient andincrease its InformationTechnology (IT) platforms totransact its business andreduce the number of peoplecoming to the banking hall.
To aid this, he said the bankhas invested in modernInformation andCommunication Technologysolutions that would make itconvenient for people to carryout banking operations in thecomfort of their homes andofficers, as well as throughtheir mobile telephones.
Kuru, who addressed
reporters in Lagos, saidEnterprise bank would stillcontinue to be a medium-sizebank.
“We are still a medium-sizedbank. If you look at theunverified figures that I gaveyou in absolute terms, youwill see that if I grew by 20per cent of N200 billion orN40 billion, and anotherbank, for example, grew byone per cent of say N5.0trillion, in terms of size, I amstill a medium-sized bankand I want to be a medium-sized bank. Like I said inDecember 2011, we are nothere for any size game or sizewar. We want to be an efficientbank and that is our strategy,”
Commenting on the threebridged banks - MainstreetBank Limited, Keystone BankLimited and Enterprise BankLimited, he said they havebeen restructured and was
back to profitability.He justified the
intervention of the CentralBank of Nigeria (CBN) inthese institutions, saying thatthe three banks were strongenough to compete with theirpeers in the industry,
“When we came on board,our mandate was to run thebanks profitably with strongfinancials. I can categoricallysay that the three banks arestrong enough to competewith others,” said Kuru
Kuru said Enterprise Bankhas been able to grow itsdeposits by over 27 per cent,while the industry average is15 per cent; loan book by 200per cent, with averageindustry rate being 16 percent; and asset base by 26 percent; and return oninvestment (ROI) by 20 percent, which is over seven percent above industry average.
The Institute ofC h a r t e r e d
Accountants of Nigeria(ICAN) has called onthe FederalGovernment support forKano State indigenes,especially in the area ofjob creation forunemployed youths.
“Adequate support tothe State on the area ofe m p l o y m e n tgeneration will reducethe high rate ofunemployment amongthe youth, 48thPresident of theInstitute, Mr. AdedoyinOwolabi said.
Owolabi made thecall during a courtesyvisit at the Emir ’spalace in Kano andJigawa Staterespectively.
He condemnedprevious month’sattack on the Emir ofKano, Alhaji AdoBayero’s convoy,saying, “we give gloryto almighty Allah forspearing the life of ourfather. Our visit to youhere today is to firstcondemn the attack onthe convoy, Second, tocommiserate with thefamilies of those wholost their lives in theattack and finally torejoice with our royalfather and indeed theentire citizens of KanoState that giant stridesare being taken torestore it back aseconomic hub of thenation.”
The President and hisentourage werereceived by the Emir’scounsellors led by theSenior Counsellor,Guampa Kano, HisEminence Alhaji AbassSanusi.
Responding, Sanusiexpressed his gratitudeto the ICAN delegationon the visit and gavean assurance of fullsupport of the palace toICAN.
“The role of ICAN tos o c i o - e c o n o m i cdevelopment is veryvital so the palace willcontinue to givesupport to the Institutebecause of what itsstand for,” he said
ICAN tasksFG on jobcreation inKano
CMYK
Vanguard, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2013 — 23
Banking & Finance
1/2PgAdvert
BY MICHAEL EBOH
L-R: Marco Caccavale, Sub Saharan African Regional Leader GE Oil andGas ,Group Deputy Managing Director, Access Bank Plc, Herbert Wigwe withOlayinka Fayomi, Founder Foreign Investment Networks[FIN] and VitoTestaguzza, Managing Director Saipem. at the ongoing 13th Nigeria Oiland Gas Conference at the Nicon Hilton Luxury Hotel, Abuja yesterday.
Banking brand ranking: First Bank,others buoy Nigeria’s global imageThe recent mention of
three Nigerian banksin the World Banking
Brands Ranking, released bythe Banker Magazine of theFinancial Times of Londongroup and Brand Finance hasbrought about animprovement in the status ofNigerian banks among itspeers in the global financialcommunity.
In the recent rankingreleased, three Nigerianbanks appeared in the top 500ranking, with a combinedbrand value of $574 million(N90.7 billion), out of the totalglobal banking brand value of$860.7 billion.
Only Nigeria and SouthAfrica are the Africancountries that made the Top 50banks by total brand valueamong the countries of theworld.
Nigeria’s banks inclusion inthe ranking is a pointer to theimprovement recorded in theNigerian banking sector overthe years and also a reflectionof the resolution of the crisisin the Nigerian banking
sector.Brian Caplen, Editor, The
Banker Magazine, said on aglobal scale, total bankingbrand value of $860.7 billionare the highest they have everbeen and are nearly double the
level in 2009 during theworst of the financial crisis.
He added that bankers arenow more aware of theimportance of brand to theirbusiness and how it needsto be both invested in and
protected.A l s o
s p e a k i n g ,David HaighC h i e fE x e c u t i v eOffice, BrandF i n a n c e ,noted thatthe 2013results showthat globallythe bankingcrisis isnearly overas bothbrand ratingsand valuesare rising.
C a p l e nsaid theprocess has
five steps. These are gettingthe brand-specific financialand revenue data beforesegmenting the revenue intoretail banking, commercialbanking, wholesale/investment banking,
insurance, asset managementand credit cards streams;model the market to identifymarket demand and theposition of individual banks inthe context of all other marketcompetitors; establish theroyalty rate for each bank;calculate the discount ratespecific to each bank, takingaccount of its size,geographical presence,reputation, gearing and brandrating; and discount futureroyalty stream to a net presentvalue which brings about thebrand value.
First Bank leads the pack inNigeria with a brand value of$201 million while the totalityof the value of the threeNigerian banks that made theTop 500 World Banking Brandsis $574 million and theycollectively do the countryproud as the country is amongthe World’s Top 50 by TotalBrand Value.
24 — Vanguard, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2013
CMYK
Corporate Finance
Securities andE x c h a n g eCommission has
responded to calls forprovision of liquidity tosupport market making,saying that such liquiditymust be provided accordingto principles.
“The market’s recent rallyis generating calls forliquidity. The SECrecognizes that provision ofliquidity should be done ina manner that is consistentwith the principles spelt outin the guidelines andadministered in a fashionthat sustains the upswing
Bond transactions in OTC market fall by13% in 2012 — CSCS* Equities value appreciates by 224bn on blue chip gains
Transactions in Over-the-Counter, OTC,bonds market fell by
13 per cent in 2012 said theCentral Securities ClearingSystem, CSCS.
“The value of Bondtransactions in 2012 wasN7.10 trillion as against
N 7.99 trillion in 2011,representing a decrease ofabout 13.0%’, said Bukar,Managing Director/ChiefExecutive, and CSCS in areport on Friday.
“A total number of 65,319deals were cleared in OTC(FGN) Bond market in 2011as against 44,822 deals in2012 representing a decreaseof about 46.0 per cent. A totalnumber of 44,360 deals werecleared in OTC Treasury Billsmarket in 2011 as against58,091 deals in 2012representing an increase ofabout 24.0 per cent.
The volume of transactionscleared and settled in OTCBond market in 2012 was -7.35 billion units as against8.95 billion units in 2011representing a decrease ofabout 22.0%. The volume oftransactions cleared andsettled in Treasury Bills OTCmarket in 2012 was 14.70billion units as against 11.16billion units in 2011representing an increase of24.0%.
The value of Treasury Billstransactions in 2012 was N.92trillion as against N.81trillion in 2011 representingan increase of about 22.0%”.
On the value and volume oftransactions in equitiescleared in 2012, Kyari said,“For year 2012, CSCS clearedand settled transactionsvalued atN658,724,220,047.35 asagainst N634,916,949,795.95in year 2011 thereby bringingabout a .7% increase incleared and settledtransactions in the year underreview. It is interesting tonote that since 1997 to 2012,CSCS has cleared and settledtransactions worth N16,972,470,648,065.00.
“For year 2012, the volumeof cleared and settledtransactions recorded byCSCS stood at ,178,066,129units of shares as against,576,615,611 units of shares inyear 2011 thereby bringingabout a .4% decrease in thevolume of cleared and settledtransactions in the year underreview. From 1997 toDecember 31, 2012, CSCS hascleared and settled a total of1,649,315,203,271.00.”
Kyari also reported that thenumber of shares certificatesubmitted fordematerialization dropped byhalf in 2012. He said, “ CSCS
NKIRUKA NNOROM &CHINEDU IBEABUCHI
dematerialized 264,886share certificates for year2012 as against 530,140share certificates in year2011 resulting in a decreaseof -50.04%. From 1997 to2012, CSCS has thus fardematerialized 14,164,522share certificates.”
Meanwhile, value ofequities listed on the
Nigerian Stock Exchange,NSE appreciated by N224billion last week occasionedby gains on the prices ofmajor blue chip equities.
Specifically, the marketcapitalization opened atN10.64 trillion, rising by 1.91per cent, to close at N10.846trillion.
Another market indicator,
the All-Share Index increasedby 636.63 points or 1.91 percent to close at 33,895.08points from 33,258.45 points.
A review of the equity pricemovements indicated thatthirty-eight (38) equitiesgained while fifty-five (55)equities recorded pricedeclines and one hundredand four (104) equities
remained constant. Whencompared with the precedingweek, fifty-one (51) equitiesgained while forty-two (42)equities recorded pricedeclines and one hundredand four (104) equitiesremained constant.
Meanwhile, the volume ofequities traded depreciatedby 41.59 per cent, recordinga turnover of 2.482 billionshares valued at N22.815billion in 32,471 deals incontrast to a total of 4.249billion shares valued atN23.177 billion thatexchanged handspenultimate week in 39,391deals.
The Financial Servicessector was the most activeduring the week underreview, contributing 69.14per cent, 59.98 per cent, 58.39per cent to the total equityturnover volume, value andnumber of trades respectivelyin 1.716 billion shares valuedat N13.684 billion exchangedhands by investors in 18,961deals.
In addition, 16,050 units ofFGN bonds valued atN19.339 million were tradedduring the week in 66 dealsin contrast to 6,460 unitsvalued at N7.970 milliontransacted last week in 21deals. However, there wereno transactions in the State/Local Government Bondsand Corporate Bonds/Debentures sectors.
Market Making: Liquidity must be provided accordingto principles — SEC
By BABAJIDEKOMOLAFE
while foreclosing the risk ofcontagion”, the Commissionsaid in a statement issued onFriday.
Meanwhile, it said that itwould soon organize aworkshop to enhance thecapacity of its staff inpreparation for margintrading.
According to theCommission, “The one – dayintensive training is intendedto strengthen the capacity ofstaff of the apex regulator ofthe Nigerian capital marketon the range of issues whichthe list addresses. Thetraining will flash - back to theissues that led to the meltdown, the centrality ofunregulated andunsupervised margin
lending to the mix of causalfactors( which led to the meltdown) and how the newstructures will limit the riskof margin transactions oncapital market activity.
“The capacity – buildingworkshop will also introduceparticipants to the valuepropositions which theMargin List holds for othercapital market stakeholderssuch as notional size of themarket for margin activity,implications for operators,impact on the NSE’s dataclassifications, particularly asit relates to liquidity, andconsequences for / impact onthe NSEs basket of securities.
“The workshop will alsodefine the various arms of theCommission that will use the
analytics part of the MarginList application for thepurpose of ensuring thatsurveillance activities areproactive rather than reactive.Participants will beintroduced to a broad pictureof the nature and role theinterface between SEC,CBN, Banks, Market makersand high volume tradersthrough the list. Theworkshop is being facilitatedby Applied Logic Ltd., abusiness data company basedin Abuja.
“It was in response to thechallenge posed by marginlending that a financialservices sectoral responsewitnessed the joint issuanceof guidelines by the CBN andSEC in 2010 to define thespace for margin activity.
CMYK
Vanguard, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2013 — 25
CMYK
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22, 2
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26 —Vanguard, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2013
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BRIEFS
By YINKA KOLAWOLE
The controversial LandUse Act (LUA) has been
described as a socialist policywhich cannot work in acapitalist economy as beingoperated in Nigeria.
Prof. Bioye Aluko, lecturerin the Department of EstateManagement, ObafemiAwolowo University, Ile-Ife,stated this while delivering apaper on “Legal Frameworkfor Land Market Regulationin an Emerging Megacity”, atthe Mandatory ContinuousProfessional Developmentworkshop organised by theFaculty of LandAdministration and the Lagosbranch of Nigerian InstitutionEstate Surveyors Valuers(NIESV).
Aluko noted that saidNigeria, being more of acapitalist economy andmoving towards a private-driven economy, wouldrequire legislativeinstruments that tend towardsfree enterprise market. Hesaid the Act should berepealed because, accordingto him, it is a socialist policyin a capitalist economy,adding that it had beencriticised as an urbanlegislation, which onlysuperficially touched the landtenure problem in the country.
The university donwondered why governmentshould regulate the landmarket, while other factors ofproduction are beingderegulated with theeconomic liberalisation policy,noting that even in urbanareas, government estateswere the most expensive andinaccessible. He added thatland holding institutions,including federal, state andlocal governments, as well ascommunities, families, stools
‘Land Use Act, socialist policy in acapitalist economy’
and individuals know theirholdings and limitations, andas such, a repeal of the Actwould not generate anycontroversy.
Aluko further said that theAct showed that the vestingof land in the Governor wasmeaningless if subject to theremainder of other provisionsof the Act and more especiallyall the existing interests savedunder sections 34 and 36 ofthe Act.
The Land Use Act of 1978effectively vests ownership ofall lands with government,which can declare any landpublic domain, and designateas such for the purpose ofpromoting public interest. Itempowers State Governors togrant statutory rights ofoccupancy within his State,
while Local Governmentchairmen may grantcustomary rights of occupancyessentially for agriculturalpurposes. By implication, noland transaction can beconcluded without theconsent of the Governor.
On the Lagos Tenancy Law2011, Aluko said although thelaw is meant to guide therelationship between thelandlord and the tenants, aprovision whereby the stateintends to be controlling rent,what it does not own wouldfail. “Whether the rentrestriction period and someother provisions will workdepend on the level of socialand economic relations in thestate; otherwise, it willpromote fraudulent practicesor lead to development of
black market since no socialistpolicy can work in a capitalistmarket,” he said.
This assertion wassupported by anotheruniversity lecturer, Dr.Modupe Omirin of theDepartment of EstateManagement, University ofLagos. She said the TenancyLaw should be abrogated toremove the inherentdisincentive and allow themarket adjust freely asexperienced in othercommodity markets. “This isbecause it discouragesinvestment in housing and isprobably responsible for therecent hike in residentialrents by as much as 200 percent in some parts of Lagos.Rather than continue withcounterproductive legislation,the state government shouldenquire into producers’problems and seek to mitigatethem,” she argued.
By PETER EGWUATU
In a bid to stabilise itseconomy, the United
States government is wooingprospective real estateinvestors into the country byoffering them permanentresidency through the USCitizenship and ImmigrationServices (USCIS).
To this end, officials ofUSANOW Regional Center, anentity designated to facilitateforeign investment through theUSCIS, visited Nigeria, lastweek, to prospect for investorswho are ready to ownproperties in the US.
Speaking during a seminarheld simultaneously in Lagosand Abuja, Marco AntonioRamirez, Director, USANOWRegional Center, explainedthat such real estate investorswill be granted a two yearconditional green card whichconfers permanent status upon
US woos Nigerian property investors with permanent residencyUS woos Nigerian property investors with permanent residencyUS woos Nigerian property investors with permanent residencyUS woos Nigerian property investors with permanent residencyUS woos Nigerian property investors with permanent residency
compliance with theinvestment/job creationcriteria.
“On an annual basis, the USCitizenship and ImmigrationServices makes available10,000 investor visas toqualified individuals seekingpermanent resident status onthe basis of their investmentwith new commercial orrestructured at “ risk”enterprises. Among the10,000 Employment Basedvisa fifth preference (EB-5Visas), 3,000 are madeavailable through a USCISdesignated “RegionalCenter” pilot programme.”
“The United Statesgovernment is rewardingfamilies like yours for helpingrehabilitate and stabilize theUnited State economy bymeans of your investments,”Ramirez told participants atthe seminar.
He said: “The regional
center pilot progamme hasbeen developed to promoteeconomic growth and jobcreation within specificallydefined geographical areas ofthe United States by requiringEB-5 investor visa applicantsto invest in qualifiedinvestments of a regionalcenter as a requirement toreceiving a conditional visa tothe United States. The USCISgenerally defines a qualifiedinvestment as an amount notless than $500,000 per EB-5applicant being invested in anew commercial enterprisethat generates ten or more(direct, induced, or indirect)jobs.”
This $500, 000 stipulated bythe USCIS investment allowsfive family members of everyproperty owner to becomecitizens of America within 60months.”We want you to beour client/customer in the nextthree years.
Ogun ready forcollaborationon affordablehousing
Ogun Stategovernment is
ready to collaborate withgenuine investors toprovide affordablehousing for its citizens.
Governor IbikunleAmosun, made thisdeclaration whilereceiving members of theboard of Wemabod EstatesLimited, a subsidiary ofOdu’a Group ofCompanies, led by thechairman, Dr. IsmailAdewusi, in his office, inAbeokuta.
Amosun, according to astatement by his SeniorSpecial Assistant onMedia, Mrs. FunmiWakama, remarked thathousing was one of thebasic necessities of humanbeings, pointing out that“being able to meet thisneed provides us a saneenvironment”.
The governor noted thatdue to its proximity toLagos, whateverinvestment made in OgunState would be quicklyrecouped. He assured hisguests that the stategovernment would grantthe company’s request for20 hectares of land tobuild 500 housing units.
Firm unveil newFirm unveil newFirm unveil newFirm unveil newFirm unveil newconstructionconstructionconstructionconstructionconstructionproductsproductsproductsproductsproductsAxion Global
E n g i n e e r i n gLimited., a subsidiary ofAxion Canada, hasunveiled a number of civilengineering productsbased on new technologyin the constructionindustry.
Managing Director of thefirm, Okey Eze, saidduring the unveilingceremony in Abuja thatthe products would helpmitigate cost of buildingand construction in thecountry. This, accordingto him, is because lesscement would be usedafter adding the product tothe mortar mixture.
He said that Nigeria is acountry that dailygrapples with high cost ofbuilding and construction,noting that the challengeis always on how toreduce cost, build housesthat are affordable for thepeople using cost-effective materials.
Banana Island: Home for the super rich
Homes & Housing Finance
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Insurance
BRIEFSMeteor strikemay becovered byinsurance
There areindications that
the meteor strike inRussia is covered byinsurance, experts havesaid.
“Insurance companieslove to cover things thatare unlikely to happen,”Bill Wilson, AssociateVice President ofEducation and Researchwith the IndependentInsurance Agents &Brokers of America, saidin an e-mail. “Yes, mosthomeowners andcommercial-propertypolicies cover meteorstrikes.”
Wilson explained thatmost policies are writtenon an “open perils”basis and cover damageto buildings caused byevents not specificallyexcluded. Others arewritten on a “namedperils” basis, which isthe reverse, coveringonly things specificallymentioned. Often, thosepolicies cover damagefrom objects from thesky.
ChartisChartisChartisChartisChartisAustraliaAustraliaAustraliaAustraliaAustraliarebrands to AIGrebrands to AIGrebrands to AIGrebrands to AIGrebrands to AIGA m e r i c a n
InternationalGroup has signaled thedark days of the globalfinancial crisis arebehind it by rebrandingto AIG Australia,dropping the ChartisAustralia brand andadopting a new globalslogan.
“It feels good becausewe’re going back to whatwe’ve been for 80years,” CEO NoelCondon said.
“It marks a return, butnot a return to the oldAIG. I think we’ll standfor different things in thefuture.”
The AIG brand waschanged to Chartis in2009 following the USGovernment bailout ofthe parent company inthe global financialcrisis. The move wasmade because of fearsthe AIG name was“toxic” to consumers,but AIG says thecompany found brokersand customers preferredthe former name.
Stories by ROSEMARYONUOHA
There is need for lifeinsurance companies to
propagate the importance ofthe Group Life insurancescheme as provided in thePension Reform Act, 2004 tothe private sector workers, asmany of them are yet to signinto the scheme.
President of the NigerianCouncil of RegisteredInsurance Brokers, NCRIB,Mrs. Laide Osijo, who madethis assertion in Lagos, saidthat the public sector wasalready complying with theAct.
According to Osijo, therewere rooms for ingenious lifecompanies to prospect thenumerous private sectorworkers and take advantageof the Act to grow theindustry.
She said that all over theworld, life specialistcompanies play catalytic rolesto economic development asthey possess the requiredprofessional competence toconceive life policies orwelfare schemes that wouldultimately benefit bothemployers and employees.
Osijo, who gave the advice
“Life insurers should prospect group lifescheme to private sector”
when the management ofCrystalife Assurance Plc, ledby the Managing Director,Mrs. ‘Seyi Ifaturoti paid hera courtesy visit in the NCRIBHouse, tasked life insurancefirms to brace up to thechallenge.
Osijo opined that the 27existing life companies in thecountry should continually
evolve insurance policies thatwould meet the needs of theteeming Nigeria populationas obtained in otherdeveloped countries.
The NCRIB President notedthat under the Pension Act,every employer of labour wasunder obligation to arrangefor a life insurance cover foremployees and in order to
make it workable, the schemeis arranged on group basisunder the Group LifeInsurance. Osijo commendedthe on-going synergybetween the NationalInsurance Commission,NAICOM, and the NationalPension Commission,PenCom, on Group Lifeinsurance and annuity, notingthat the action would grow theindustry and improve thesocial welfare of Nigerians.
Royal Exchange Plc saidit has taken strategic
step to enhance its assetmanagement, humanresources as well as retailbusiness, consistent with itspolicy to deliver moreexquisite services andpleasant customerexperiences. To this end, thecompany has announcedthree strategic appointmentsin the areas of assetmanagement, humanresources and retail business.
In a statement, thecompany confirmed theappointments of Mr. DonaldNosiri as the new GroupHead, Human Resources;Abiola Sanni, Group Head,Asset Management and Mrs.Temitope Ige-Isang as thenew Group Head, RetailBusiness. Speaking on thenew personnel in thecompany, Group ManagingDirector, Mr. ChikeMokwunye noted that theresolve of Royal Exchange isto build a market-orientedorganisation that would beresponsive to the needs of themarket and the ever-changing demands ofcustomers. “These new
Royal Exchange takes step to enhance service deliveryRoyal Exchange takes step to enhance service deliveryRoyal Exchange takes step to enhance service deliveryRoyal Exchange takes step to enhance service deliveryRoyal Exchange takes step to enhance service deliveryappointments are in line withour vision to once again beone of the dominant playersin the insurance industry inthe coming years”, Mr.Mokwunye added.
Abiola Sanni brings to hiscurrent role several years oftop-tier engagement incorporate finance andinvestment management. Inthe past, he had beenresponsible for setting upZenith Capital AssetManagement, which henurtured to a competitivemarket status, initially in hiscapacity as portfolio managerand later as Chief OperatingOfficer. He was previouslyAssistant Vice President/Chief Operating Officer atFirst City Asset Managementwhere he was responsible fortechnology, funds operations,funds roll-out and the build-out of FCMB’s assetmanagement business with afocus on retail distribution.
A Nigerian certified publicaccountant, Abiola is anauthorised dealing clerk ofthe Nigerian Stock Exchange,graduate member of theChartered Institute ofStockbrokers, a Chartered
Banker and an associatemember of the NationalInstitute of Marketing ofNigeria (Chartered). Abiolagraduated with a B. Sc degreein Accounting from ObafemiAwolowo University, Ile-Ife,and holds a Masters inFinance (Economic Policy)from the University ofLondon, UK.
Donald Nosiri is anexperienced humanresources practitioner withover 21 years workingexperience in the bankingsector and also in HRConsulting. While in thebanking industry, Donaldserved in various capacitiesincluding being the Head ofHuman Capital Managementof Diamond Bank Plc for aboutsix years. He was alsoformerly Senior Consultant toNosprom Consult. Donaldholds the Bachelors andMasters Degrees in MassCommunication from theUniversity of Nigeria, Nsukkaand the University of Lagosrespectively and a Certificatein Personnel Practice from theChartered Institute ofPersonnel and DevelopmentLondon. He is an alumnus
of the Lagos Business School(LBS) having undergone theSenior ManagementProgramme (SMP24). Hebelongs to severalprofessional associations,among them: the CharteredInstitute of PersonnelManagement of Nigeria(CIPM), the CharteredInstitute of Personnel andDevelopment, (CIPD),London and he is a HonorarySenior Member (HCIB) of theChartered Institute ofBankers of Nigeria.
Mrs. Temitope Ige-Isang iscoming on board with over 22years of sales experiencespanning several industries.She joins from MutualBenefits Assurance Plc, where,as Head of Retail, shesuccessfully established andmanaged a retail agencynetwork of about 3,000personnel. Mrs. Isang holdsa B.Ed (History) from OndoState University, a PostGraduate Diploma inManagement Sciences fromESUT Business School,Enugu and has attended theStrategic MarketingManagement (SMM)programme of the HarvardBusiness School, USA.
L-R Head Flight Maintenance NCAT Mr. Christopher Manshop, NCAT Rector Capt, ChinyereKalu, Director Business Dev. & Strategy A&G Insurance Plc. Mr. Dotun Onipede and NCATFlight Instructor during the handing over of aircraft TAMPICO TB9 owned by Nigerian Collegeof Aviation Technology (NCAT) which was repaired at the cost of over ¦ 200 million.
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NOTE: Last week thefirst part ended withoutgetting the real storypublished. This week,we publish the rest ofthis series.
This is developingto be a seriouscase of
persecution of a Yorubabusinessman by theFederal Government.Bi-Courtney had suedthe Federal governmentfor breach of contractand had beenvindicated by thecourts, both at the HighCourt and the Court ofAppeal. The Federalgovernment had beenordered by the courts topay damages. Insteadof paying for itstransgressions, thegovernment hadresorted to arm-twistingtactics. It shouldn’t beallowed to work. Parttwo concludes thisseries; part 3 exposeswho is behindBabalakin’s travails. Itis all about ethniccleansing.
“Are you going tohang him anyhow andtry him afterward?”Mark Twain, 1835-1910.
Here in Nigeria,millions of innocentpeople are railroadedinto jail by being asked,or forced orintimidated, by lawenforcement agents towrite statements, whichare later submitted asevidence, without alawyer within tenkilometers of theinterrogation room. Whyshould Babalakin, alawyer and SeniorAdvocate of Nigeria,SAN, subject himself tothat sort of travesty ofjustice – just to pleasethe EFCC? As for thosewho would wonder whyBabalakin, as a SAN,cannot handle his owncase, the answer wasprovided to me, in 1966,by my surrogate fatherin the USA, late MrMiller, a lawyer, whenhis friend, anotherlawyer engaged Millerto defend the friend ona charge. I had askedMr Miller why thefriend was wasting hismoney engaging alawyer when he was alawyer himself.According to Miller, “Alawyer who has himselffor a lawyer, has a foolfor a lawyer”. Babalakinwould have been a foolto go in thererepresenting himself.
Then, last week,AMCON, relying on an
Who wants WaleBabalakin dead? –2
ex-parte order of acourt, went in search ofBabalakin’s propertiesto seize on account ofthe alleged $13.5 billionowed to banks. OnMonday, February 12,2013, Babalakin called apress conference duringwhich he claimed that,on the contrary, Bi-Courtney was the oneowed N132.5bn by anorder of Justice G Olotu,of the Federal HighCourt, Abuja, in ajudgment delivered onApril 5, 2012. That isalmost ten months ago.I will discuss the suitnext week.
On Wednesday,February 13, 2013, MrOlisa Agbakoba, SAN,apparently representingAMCON, called hisown press conference,asserting that Babalakinowes the banks, notN13.5bn but N60bn.Agbakoba, then made acurious observation, heclaimed that Babalakin“was using the rule oflaw to avoid payment ofhis debt”, according tothe PUNCH report ofWednesday, 13, 2013, onpage 26. The questionwhich one must askAgbakoba, since herepresents thosetorturing Babalakin, is:“what else can a lawabiding citizen use butthe rule of law?” IfBabalakin is “using therule of law” (their ownwords if the PUNCHreport is correct) thenthey must be adoptingthe rule of the jungle –might is right. Nextweek, readers will seethat, indeed, theFederal governmentand its agencies areacting like lawlessbrutes in this case.
Furthermore, it isinteresting thatAgbakoba, whoapparently has disdainfor anyone “using therule of law”, failed toacknowledge theoutstanding judgmentin favour of Bi-Courtenyand Babalakin. More tothe point, if AMCONsays Bi-Courteny, orany other customer forthat matter, owesN13.5bn, what businessis it of a legal counselto inflate the figure toN60bn?
Finally, everybody,even those with fadingmemory, shouldrecollect that a few yearsago, the abuse of ex-parte injunctions, bycourts, was nationallycondemned – especially,when the subject mattercannot disappear if due
process is followed. It isinconceivable that Bi-Courtney could veryquickly dispose of itsassets at Ikoyi, Trans-Amadi Layout andAbuja and escape fromthe country without theknowledge of AMCONand the banks. So, why,in the interim, seal theproperties, strangle thecompany, as well asother businessessharing the premises,which are not part of Bi-Courteny? Junglejustice can hardly bebetter defined than that.And if Babalakin is“using the rule of law”to fight injustice, thenhe has my support. Thetyranny of governments,even if demonstrated insubtle ways, should becondemned by all rightthinking people.
If you think the title isunnecessarily alarming,then, you don’t knowwhat impact persecutionby government canbring about. It canresult in mental illnessand premature death.Already, the Federalgovernment andeverybody, who hasfollowed this story,knows that Babalakin isnot fully fit. They chasedhim all the way to hishospital ward; andcamped around thehospital to prevent his“escape”. Today, oneMaina cannot be found.While Babalakin wascharged with helpingIbori to launder Ibori’smoney, Maina isalleged to have stolenthe funds himself.Despite that difference,it is Babalakin who isbeing hounded. It issimply not fair. And youcan bet, if Babalakin isever convicted, which Idoubt, he will notreceive a slap on thewrist such as the onedelivered by JusticeTalba to a convict fromthe “ right” part ofNigeria. As a formerinmate of Abacha’sdetention centres, Ihave seen people slumpand die before helpcould reach them intheir cells.
Today, it is Bi-Courtney. Tomorrow, itcould be First Bank Plcor Shell. Today, it iscitizen Babalakin who isbeing hammeredmercilessly. Tomorrow itcould be citizen DeleSobowale.
Visit Web site:www.Delesobowale.com
40 — Vanguard, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2013
Appointment & [email protected] 08033348923
Agbugba emerges chairman of ANA
AN International awardwinning Journalists,Public Relations
expert and writer, Mr. TonyAgbugba, has been electednew chairman of theAssociation of NigerianAuthors, Ogun State Chapter.
Agbugba who was formallythe acting chairman, wasunanimously given themandate to lead theassociation for the next twoyears at its February meeting/reading held at the SimeonAdebo Library, Abeokuta.
He took over from TopeOlaifa (Mrs.), a lecturer fromthe University of Agriculture.
Other members of the newexecutives include Mr. WaleAderinnale as Vice Chairman,Rev. Dotun Adekoya,Secretary, Yinka Kareem,Assistant Secretary and Mr.Theophilus Edokpai as PublicRelations Officer, PRO.
after the election which wassupervised by the NationalAssistant General Secretary ofANA, Mr. Mature TankoOkodua, Agbugba pledged toreposition ANA in Ogun andmake it one of the mostformidable chapters in thecountry.
According to him: “Theimmediate challenge wouldbe to build a formidable ANAOgun that would beresponsive to the yearnings ofits members and place utmostpremium on financialprudence. We need toencourage our writers to comeout with great books thatwould be well patronized. Wemust constantly abreastourselves with relevantcontemporary events relatingto the welfare of writers in thiscountry and ensure that weare accorded our due place inthe task of nation building.”
The rest are DamolaMorenkej i as Treasurer,Ibikun Adeeko, FinancialSecretary and Miss TosinAdeosun as Auditor.
In his acceptance speech
Mr. Tony Agbugba
Ekiti swears-in caretakercommittees for 16 LGs
MEMBERS of thecaretaker committees
for the 16 Local GovernmentCouncils, reconstituted by theState Government have beensworn-in.
The former committees weredissolved by the State Houseof Assembly on Thursday.
Same day, the governmentreconstituted the committeeswith Two members of the oldcaretaker chairmenreappointed.
The new members of the
committees were sworn-in onFriday.
A statement by the Secretaryto the State Government,Alhaji Gani Owolabi , listedtwo local governmentcaretaker chairmen as MajorFemi Tajudeen Awe ,chairman caretaker committeeIrepodun-Ifelodun LocalGovernment and Chief AdioFolayan, EFon Alaye LocalGovernment as members ofthe newly constitutedcaretaker committees.
Dissolving the committeesthe lawmakers equallyapproved the reconstitution oftransition committees tooversee the affairs of the 16Local Councils in the state.
The House at its plenary inAdo Ekiti, observed that thetenure of the present caretakercommittees expired on 12th ofFebruary, 2013.
The Speaker, AdewaleOmirin had earlier read aletter from the GovernorKayode Fayemi, notifying theHouse of the need toreconstitute the committee toavoid a vacuum at the thirdtier of government.
Majority Leader of theHouse, Churchill Adedipe,who moved the motion for theapproval of the reconstitution,hinged the action on Section4 sub section 4 of the LocalGovernment transitioncommittee Law of Ekiti State.
The motion, seconded bySeyi Shittu, representing AdoConstituency 1, wassupported by other membersof the House.
The Lawmakers describedthe constitution of transitioncommittees to oversee theaffairs of governance at theLocal Government level inEkiti state as a child ofnecessity.
Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State.
Owolabi, SAHCOL MD gets merit award
MANAGING Directorof the Skyway
Aviation Handling CompanyLimited, SAHCOL, has beenhonoured with “Fellow”, and“Distinguished Merit Awardin Transport”.
The award which was givento him in Lagos by theInstitute of TransportAdministration, Nigeria,IOTA, is “in recognition of hisimmense contribution to thegrowth and development ofthe transport industry inNigeria over the years.”
Owolabi, in his chosen fieldhas acquired knowledge andexperience that span throughstates, nations andcontinents. He has alsoexcelled in his chosen fieldof endeavor and hascontributed immensely to thegrowth and development ofthe Aviation Sector.
Owolabi, has in the pastreceived several honours andawards for his resilience,astute business acumen,innovative skills, corporateexcellence and innovativeapproach to corporateturnaround.
Since the presentManagement, under theleadership of Owolabi, asManaging Director took overthe leadership of theSAHCOL over a year ago,business modules has beendeveloped, which hasushered into the performanceof the company efficient andspeedy service delivery,while also investing inpersonnel development,state-of-the-art equipment,fleet replacement andmassive infrastructural
development.Owolabi has brought his
experience to bear in the dayto day performance of theduties of SAHCOL, whichincludes Passenger Handling,Ramp Handling, CargoHandling/Warehousing,Aviation Security, BaggageReconciliation, Crew Bus andExecutive Lounge Services,and other related GroundHandling Services; ensuringthat Ground HandlingServices to all clientele isexecuted in an efficient,speedy and safe manner,while also ensuring that theright tools are deployed.
Some of the promises madeby the Olu Owolabi ledManagement of SAHCOL atthe inception of resuming asManaging Director, with thesupport of the Chairman andBoard is being fulfilled, whichto a large extent has helpedtailored SAHCOL to meet the
needs and expectations of itsgrowing list of clientele, andby extension contributing tothe Air Transport needs of theeconomy of Nigeria.
Owolabi
Marmoran’s WallCoating Paints,
produced by CapetexIndustries Limited, has beenawarded the “Best WallCoating Paint 2012” by theInstitute for GovernmentResearch LeadershipTechnology .Marmoranreceived the award at aceremony held inPortHarcourt.
Speaking during theceremony, the Chief Executiveof the Institute, AmbassadorMoses Essien, said the highquality, value and trackrecord; acceptability,affordability and passedquality tests were some of thekey indicators taken intoconsideration before chosenthe paint.
He said that Marmoran’sWall Coating Paints weregood for master architecturalbuilding, private, commercialand industrial use, addingthat the paint conformed withglobal acceptability quality forwall coating paint.
Responding to the awards,Acting Managing Director of
Capetex wins AwardCapetex Industries Limited,Mr. Mudasiru A. Adekunleexpressed his appreciation tothe Institute for recognizingMarmoran’s Wall CoatingPaint for what it described as“the finest”. “You can be restassured that we shallcontinue to produce highquality products that are first-class compete in theinternational market.”
Capetex Industries, whichconforms to the ISO 9002Quality Control System, alsoproduces specialized wallcoatings designed towithstand the harsh climaticconditions existing inNigeria.
The Lagos-based companyalso produces MAX paintswhich has 100 percent localcontents.
The top features of the MAXpaints, which are available ina large range of selection,include hiding power ofplaster cracking, low cleaningand maintenance costs andhigh reduction of dirtretention.
Umar
Vanguard, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2013 — 41
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Agric
Aviation
42 — Vanguard, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2013
The UN Food andA g r i c u l t u r eOrganization and the
International Fund forAgricultural Development(IFAD) have signed an $875000 agreement aimed athelping small farmers andrural households indeveloping countries gainimproved access toagricultural and ruralfinance, thereby enablingtheir investments.
The three-year grantagreement is intended togenerate new policy tools andtraining materials for public-sector agencies, donors,financial institutions andNGOs working to enhancesmallholder access to financialservices including credit,savings and insurance.
The knowledge gained willbe disseminated world-widethrough the Rural FinanceLearning Center (RFLC), ajointly supported webplatform managed by FAOwhich has been operatingsince 2004.
The grant which will
By JIMOH BABATUNDEwith agency reports FAO, IFAD sign agreement to promote
smallholder financing
support Capacity Building inRural Finance (CABFIN)’swork plan for 2013-15 wasinaugurated during theannual meeting of theImproving Capacity Buildingin Rural Finance partnership.
“Many developmentagencies said finance foragriculture was too risky anddifficult. The CABFINPartners believed otherwiseand 10 years ago initiated aplan to jointly addresslearning on polices, productsand models by sharinginformation on how it can bedone, by creating the RFLCinformation gateway and byjointly developing technicalguidance documents andworking together on strategicinitiatives in the sector. Thecontinued and growingcommitment of the partners istestament to the globalsuccess and impact from thecollaboration,” said FAO
Senior Agribusiness andFinance Officer CalvinMiller.
“This is a real model ofcoordination, cooperation,and harmonization in the fieldof rural finance andagricultural investment. It notonly promotes sharinginformation among localpublic and private partners, itsupports an environment ofknowledge sharing anddialogue across regions,” said
Michael Hamp, IFAD SeniorTechnical Adviser, RuralFinance.
Rural Finance LearningCentre.
The RFLC is a keycomponent of the CABFINpartnership. It ensureslessons and advice collectedfrom around the world isbroadly disseminated amongthe relevant stakeholderspromoting access to
agricultural and ruralfinance.
It currently offers more than3,000 selected and abstracteddocuments that governments,financial institutions andother organizations can use todesign improved financialservices, strategies andinnovations to serve ruralcommunities.
Smallholder agriculture andrelated businesses currentlysuffer from under-investment.The objective of the CABFINpartnership is to turn thesituation around by enablinglocal institutions to learn, fromothers, how to offerimproved, specifically-tailored financial productsand risk managementstrategies that make suchinvestments more attractive,including investments byrural households themselves.CABFIN also offers policytools and advice togovernments and publicstakeholders.
,
,The three-year grantagreement is intended togenerate new policy tools andtraining materials for public-sector agencies, donors,financial institutions andNGOs
Bellview has said theywill not accept thefinal report of the
cause of the crash of theirplane in Lisa village in OgunState in 2005. The defaultairline is contending that thefinal report released byAccident InvestigationBureau, AIB, in their websitelast Saturday was doctored..The airline said what AIB saidwas the cause of the crash wasspeculative.
According to Bellview ‘’AIBstated in its report that the truecause of the sad accident isstill UNKNOWN and stillwent ahead to makespeculative allusions.Accident report should befactual and not speculativeabout the cause of theaccident. ‘’ The airlinetherefore believe that ‘’Thisdoctored report is geared tomake Bellview the scapegoatwith the ulterior motive ofabandoning furtherinvestigation to find the truecause of the accident. ‘’
Bellview believes AIBallowed internal politicswithin it to distort and biasedtheir interpretation of thematerial facts of the accident.AIB according to the airline,
We will not accept AIB final report—Bellview
By LAWANI MIKAIRU
circulated a draft final reportin 2009 and this report hasbeen changed in the finalreport released on Saturdaywithout the knowledge of theairline as they were supposed
Pix from left Mr Justus Wariua, Director, Air Transport Regulations, NCAA; Alhaji MuneerBankole, MD/CEO, Medview Airline and Mr Isiaq Na'Allah, Business Development Manager,Medview Airline during the Champion man of the year award ceremony. Photo by LamidiBamidele
to be invited by AIB to makeimpute to the final report.‘’AIB circulated a draft finalreport reference 2/2009 (BLV2005/10/22) to the relevantauthorities including the state
of design and ourselves in2009. This report has nowbeen doctored four yearsthereafter without inviting usto comment on thefundamental alteration to the
original report in accordancewith ICAO Annex 13.’’
On the claim that the pilotof the ill-fated plane wasinexperience, Bellview said ‘’The Captain of the flight had1053.54hours experience ontype in addition with over TenThousand Hours and not the153.45hours as erroneouslystated on page 8 of AIB report.The Captain was trained inthe United States under USFAA approved TrainingProgramme and Facility. TheCaptain had a valid FirstClass Medical with norestriction despite the allusionmade by AIB. The FirstOfficer had sufficientexperience in line withregulatory requirement. Weare surprised that AIBdistorted these facts byintentionally understating thecrew total hours on type toreach a false conclusion aboutthe crew experience. Allusionto training records is purespeculative.’’
The airline further said ‘’The crew were not overworked as abundance ofevidence showed that thecrew average duty time overthe last six months is lessthan 90hours a month and onthe day of the accident bothcrew have been on duty forless than four hours.
Micro-Finance
Vanguard, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2013 — 43
The Mgbidi ChristianFellowship of Nigeria
has asked the FederalGovernment to discard theidea of taxing churches in thecountry even as it seekssupport against moraldecadence in the society.
Rev. Julius Odimgbe whoalso spoke on the occasionhad stressed that a church
An InformationC o m m u n i c a t i o n
Technology (ICT) company,Business Connexion (BCX),has attributed high cost oftechnology on why Small andMedium Enterprises (SMEs)has remained in the informalsector, just as it launched the“cloud computing services.”
Executive Director, BCXGroup, Mr. John Jenkins saidthis during the launch inLagos.
BCX, is Africa’s leadingprovider of Data Centre andCloud Computing Services,manages products, servicesand solutions for key privateand public sectororganisations, parastatalsand medium-sizedcompanies.
Jenkins said, “One of thechallenges SMEs face istechnology and is soexpensive for them asindividual companies tocreate a formal structure ofpayroll for proper accountingsystem, so the cost of doingthat is inhibitive. OftenSMEs keep themselves out ofthe formal environmentbecause they have to invest.
With the introduction of thecloud computing services,Nigeria will benefit local ITServices offering at a reducedoperating costs, increasedflexibility and rapidprovisioning times. The smallenterprise shouldunderstand that there is morevalue than cost, we give costeffective mechanism for smalland medium enterprise to getinto the formal sector and alsooffer their customers someadvantage, an advantagewhich should have beendifficult if they were in aninformal environment.”
Cost of technology hinders SMEs sector
He said that the companyis working in with approvedlocal resellers to developregular releases ofapplications, which are highon the priority list of theNigerian SMEs. “Thecompany has partnered withParallels and Rackspace, bothworldwide leaders in hostingand cloud serviceenablements, Parallels have
delivered applications tomore than 12 million SMEsworldwide, using cloudservices developed to simplifyand quickly deliverapplications to the SME.”
Earlier, Chief ExecutiveOfficer of the Company, Mr.Benjamin Mophatlane“Nigeria’s economy hasshown robust growth over thepast decade and we have
noted that key drivers ofgrowth lie squarely in thet e l e c o m m u n i c a t i o n s ,construction, tourism,manufacturing, Mining,agriculture and wholesaleand retail trade, all areas inwhich our business providesICT solutions.
“The rationale behind usinga locally based Data Centrefacility is to ensure customer
data is kept in country,bandwidth cost is kept to aminimum, applications arenot impacted by networklatency and a Nigerian basedservice for Nigerians. Wewant to ensure that weprovide Nigerian businessbig and small with secure,dependable cloud services,”he said.
Christian group kicks against taxation of churches, seeksgovt collaboration
Stories byPROVIDENCE OBUH
was not a money makingventure but rather anorganization where evil doerswere turned, to better humanbeings.
The Ajegunle, Lagoschapter of the associationmade the call during itsannual thanksgiving inLagos.
Coordinator of theFellowship, Pastor AnthonyOjiaku said, “On the call fortaxation of churches orPastors, we appeal togovernment to disregard suchcalls; instead it shouldsupport/partner with thechurch with to eradicate socialdecadence in today ’ssociety.”
Ojiaku who spoke throughAmbassador Joel Nwameme
added, “We wish to use thismedium to call on Nigerianation and her leaders toshun ungodliness, corruptionand other related social vices.Judges should judge in godlymanner; the police shouldpolice righteously while thePHCN should provideelectricity with the fear of Godand stop irrational billing oftheir customers.
By the year 2020 theWarri IndustrialBusiness Park (WIBP)
would have generated abouta hundred thousand jobs inthe country, especially inDelta State.
Project Director WIBP Ms.Helen Emore said this duringthe Nigeria-South AfricaChamber of Commerce (N-SACC) breakfast meetingheld in Lagos.
WIBP is a project conceivedby the Delta StateGovernment in partnershipwith Arco Petrochemicals andEngineering Limited, as partof the administration’sstrategy to implement itsinfrastructure and economicdevelopment agenda.
According to Emore, “Theimpact of WIBP in Delta Stateas a sub-national, is that thereis direct job for peopleworking on the park, weexpect that it should create upto 50 thousand jobs, whenyou look at the size of our
WIBP to generate 100,000 jobs by 2020park, we have done andextensive study and weanticipate that uponcompletion, we should havewell over 60 thousand peopleworking on that park andleaving on that park, that isthe immediate impact.
“When you add the impacton the ecosystem of Warri andDelta State, we will be lookingat creating about one
hundred (100) thousand freshjobs within the next sevenyears in the state.”
She added that the parkwill further enhance thecountry ’s image, stating,“There is a globalmisunderstanding of whatNigeria is all about, the worlddoes not understand us andthe only way we can changethat story is to present to the
world specific project andopportunity and that is whatWIBP is all about. It nowbehooves on us as Nigeriansto educate the world whatNigeria is about what theopportunities are, how we aregoing to emerge as a nation,how we are going toaccommodate businesses as anation.”
She hinted that mobile-
money is another place toexploit, given that over 50million Nigerians arepotential phone users, whichwill further drive thefinancial inclusion plan.
Meanwhile, the park isexpected to provide the idealbusiness environment forstakeholders in the industrialand commercial sectors whileproviding excellent high-endresidential dwellings.
L-R: Mr. Mozimo okosubide, Project Coordinator WIBP, Mr. Foluso Phillips, Executive Chairman, Nigerian South Africa Chamberof Commerce Ms. Helen Emore Project Director WIBP, Ambassador Monaisa ,Consul-General of South Africa, Mrs. ToyinCameron, Executive Secretary, Nigerian Chamber of Commerce and Mr. Emmanuel Ojakovo, Financial Controller, WIBP
44 — Vanguard, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2013
ICT
New technologies can raisestandard of education inNigeria — Guinness
BRIEF
In spite of thenumerous efforts ofgovernment at
bridging the gap in theeducational sector, accessto quality education by allstill seems a dream too farfrom actualisation.
This is as Nigeria keepsmaking a less thanimpressive showing inglobal ratings. Forinstance, in the latestGlobal CompetitivenessIndex for 2012/2013, asurvey aimed atquantifying the quality ofthe macroeconomicenvironment, the state ofa country ’s publicinstitutions and its level oftechnological readiness,Nigeria ranked 148 out of196 countries andmaintained a 3.50 score,same as what it recordedin the 2011/2012 review.This is behind other sub-Saharan African countriesof South Africa, 4.34;Kenya, 3.82; Benin, 3.78;Ghana, 3.65, andCameroon, 3.61.
According to theinstitution that put thereport together, the WorldEconomic Forum, the 3.50range Nigeria recorded islow, from its rating index,when pitched againstother countries.
Meanwhile, notableexperts have attributed
STORIES BYPRINCE OSUAGWU
this to the lull in educationalsystem in the country.According to a researchanalyst, Mr Adeyemi Abdul-Rasaq, one factor that hascreated a gap in the growthin technological advancementin the country is theeducational system which islacking in many respects.
Abdul Rasaq’s position wasarising from the survey whichdid not see any Nigerianuniversity among the best 85universities out of the 7,000world recognizeduniversities.
However, in recent timescorporate bodies havestepped in to either fill the
Perhaps this could be whyGuinness Nigeria, recentlytook a bold step in buildinggrowth in the area oftechnological education withthe sponsorship of ten youthson a technical trainingprogramme at the Institute ofIndustrial Technology (IIT).
Guinness said this initiativewas part of its efforts atsupporting the developmentof the youths and ensuringsustainable human capacitydevelopment in the nation
The Institute of IndustrialTechnology is an educationalinstitution established by theAfrican DevelopmentFoundation to use vocational
close the gap in educationaldevelopment and we arehappy to have an ablesupporter such as GuinnessNigeria Plc that havesupported some our studentstowards achieving theirdreams”. Mr Akinjo alsostated that the programmewhich started thirteen yearsago has been kept alive bysocially responsible corporatecitizens like GuinnessNigeria.
Speaking on why Guinnessmade the gesture, thecompany official Mrs.Nkiruka Ogboruche, onbehalf of her CorporateRelations Director, SesanSobowale, said that GuinnessNigeria is always committedto supporting the dreams andaspirations of youths andassisting them in becominguseful members of society.She added that “at GuinnessNigeria, we are always happyto be involved with worthyprojects that can addtremendous value to the livesof Nigerians. This sort ofsupport forms a core part ofour community investmentagenda and we will continueto support Nigeria andNigerians through initiativesand activities that upliftthem.”
A renowned educator anddirector of ActionAid, Dr OtiveIgbuzor, who was elated at thegesture, commented that“today what dictates the paceof economic growth isInformation andCommunication Technology,being the major driver ofprocesses. Developingcountries in the early 21stcentury now look totechnology to similarlyincrease efficiency ofproduction and diversifyindustrial output so as toreduce reliance on primaryindustries and just a fewproducts. New technologyalso may help to increase thehealth of the nation, boosteducational facilities andenhance transport andcommunications, anddeveloping countries see aclose link between technologyand economic development.
´The move by Guinness hasgiven youths a chance toaspire to achieve theirdreams. In no small measure,a paradigm shift that ensuressupport for technical andvocational institutions as wellas their students hasimmeasurable benefits for thecountry at large. It will leadto the emergence of a skilledgeneration of youths that canfill the yawning skill gap inthe real sector of the economythereby accelerating thegrowth of small and mediumscale businesses which arethe engine room of growth anddevelopment in everyeconomy.
Signal Alliancefetescustomers
Enterprise solutions andsystems specialists,
Signal Alliance, last weekcarved out a week to test thepulse of its customers todiscover how the serviceshave affected their operations.
The week is taggedcustomer appreciation week,a ritual which the companycarries out yearly. In thisyear ’s edition, SignalAlliance embarked on variousactivities beginning withvisitations to clients in thebanking, insurance,manufacturing, aviation,energy and public sectors ofthe economy.
Justifying the importance ofthis annual exercise, themanaging director of SignalAlliance Collins Onuegbuexplained that thoughinformation technologyactivities tends to eliminatethe personal touch needed inbusiness relationships, SignalAlliance devised this schemeto bring back the age longmeans of interacting withcustomers.
“We can’t let machines ruleeverything in our life andthat’s why we take out timeto physically visit ouresteemed customers andshow them, as humans, thatwe appreciate doing businesswith them as well as rewardthem for sticking with us aspreferred service provider”he said.
In addition to using thesevisits to appreciate theircustomers, which has taken abetter part of the week, thecompany is also using thevisitation to reward theircustomers by offering freeservices via Gift Vouchers totheir customers. According toDesmond Omovie, thecompany’s head of brandingand marketingcommunications, the Gift
vouchers contain fourspecialized offers from SignalAlliance each worth at leastUS$3000.
He said: “We are offeringthem free services in either ofInfrastructure NetworkAssessment, UnifiedCommunications PilotAssessment, EnterpriseCloud Readiness Assessmentor SharePoint DeploymentPlanning Services”. Eventhough these servicesrepresent a profitable aspectof the business, Mr. Omoviebelieves that offering themfree to their customers as partof the benefits of the customerweek is another way SignalAlliance shows that retainingthe goodwill and productivityof their customers faroutweighs the financial gainsin the business.
,
,
void created in the nation’seducational system or assistgovernment and institutionsin raising the standard ofeducation in Nigeria. Most ofthese interventions are oftenthrough scholarshipprogrammes, investing inschools, renovations oradoption of schools, teacherstraining programmes amongothers.
and technological training toclose the gap in educationaldevelopment by trainingindividuals with the rightskills to contribute to theskilled workforce in thetechnology sector.
According to the Director ofthe Institute, Mr. OlumideAkinjo, “the purpose of thisprogramme is to use technicaland vocational training to
Today what dictates thepace of economic growth isInformation andCommunicationTechnology, being themajor driver of processes
Mr Olumide Ariyo - Director of IIT ( m) recieves Guinness N7million cheque from Mr.Sesan Sobowale, Director, Corporate Communication Guinness Nigeria Plc in the presenceof the beneficiaries
Vanguard, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2013 — 45
FPAdvert
46 — Vanguard, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2013
International Business News
Vice Chairman ofUK’s BusinessCouncil For
Africa Mr Clive Carpenterweekend in Londonurged investors to engagein genuine deals, andshun corruption whiledoing business inNigeria. Carpenter, whostated this at the 2nd NTABusiness InvestmentForum andExhibition, said it waspossible to dogood business withoutbribery and corruption inNigeria.
“It takes two to tango, butif you have integrity andstick to your values, youwill succeed. I havemanaged a Bank inNigeria for eight years,and I know it is possible,”Carpenter said. Under theUK Bribery Act, investorswho offered, and receivebribe at home and abroadare liable to a jail term ofseven years to 10 years.
While noting the hugeinvestment opportunitiesthat abound in Nigeria,Carpenter stressed theneed to diversify thecountry’s economy andmove it away frombeing t dominated by Oiland Gas industry. “There
Business Council For Africa tasks investorson genuine deals in Nigeria
L-R, Raphael Afaedor, co-founder Jumia Nigeria , Opeyemi Adetomiwa, Community Manager, Abokede Adebayo, winner, &Tunde Kehinde co-founder Jumia Nigeria at the presentation of the one thousand dollars Scream Jumia competition
is a huge market for ICT,and electronic paymentsystem in Nigeria. With afast growing middle class,you should expect aconsumer explosion,”Carpenter added.
He said that the nation’s
GDP growth which currentlystood at seven per cent couldincrease as the nation has thecapacity to grow. Whilecommending efforts by theNigerian government to attractmore foreign directinvestments, Carpenter said,
areas, and Free repatriationof profit in all currencieswere measures put in placeby government to attractinvestment. Ortom who wasrepresented by his TechnicalAssistant, Mr StephenOmasen, also
listed reforms in power, andtelecommunications as key inthe nation’s investment drive.He, however,listed Agriculture, Mining,Infrastructure, Educationand Health as sectors withhuge economic potential.
Also speaking on theoccasion, the acting Director-General, NTA, Mr MusaMayaki, said the event wasto attract investment andfinancing from Britishcompanies and others inEurope. “NTA with its widecoverage is poised to promotegenuine investors,” Mayakisaid. The Forum attractedinvestors across Europe, andNigeria.
B rent crudeadvanced, paring a
second weekly decline,after German businessconfidence rose morethan economists forecastto a 10-month high.Futures gained as muchas 1.1 percent in Londonas the Munich-based Ifoinstitute’s businessclimate index climbed fora fourth month, adding tosigns that Europe’slargest economy isgathering strength. WestTexas Intermediate mayfall next week as slowingdemand boostsinventories, according toBloomberg News survey.
“We are seeing themarket correct after thesharp drop yesterday,”Thina Saltvedt, ananalyst at Nordea BankAG, said by phone todayfrom Oslo. “There havebeen some better macro-indicators from the U.S.and the euro zone too.”Brent for April settlement
Brent crude rises, paring biggest weekly declinesince December
gained as much as $1.26 to$114.79 a barrel on theLondon-based ICE FuturesEurope exchange and was at$114.40 as of 1:22 p.mLondon time. Prices areheaded for a 2.8 percentdecline this week afterslipping 1 percent last week.The volume was 14 percentlower than the 100-dayaverage.
WTI for April delivery rose
as much as 64 cents to $93.48a barrel in electronic tradingon the New York MercantileExchange. The contract fell to$92.84 yesterday, the lowestsettlement since Dec. 31. Thevolume of all futures tradedwas 5 percent above the 100-day average.
The European benchmarkgrade was at a premium of$21.28 to WTI after expandingto $23.18 on Feb. 8, the widest
U.S. stocks rose, paringa weekly decline in the
Standard & Poor ’s 500Index, as German businessconfidence jumped to a 10-month high amid better-than- anticipated corporateearnings. Hewlett-PackardCo. (HPQ) advanced 11percent, the most in the S&P500, after it forecast profitthat exceeded analysts’estimates. AmericanInternational Group climbed3.8 percent as fourth-quarterresults beat forecasts. Texas
US stocks rise on German business confidence, earnings
“Nigeria can now boast ofpolitical maturity in view of itssteady democracy.”
In his speech, Dr SamuelOrtom, Minister for State,Trade and Investment, saidincentives like three to sevenyears Tax Holiday for Priority
since Nov. 26. Ifo’s businessclimate index, based on asurvey of 7,000 executives,climbed to 107.4 from 104.3 inJanuary. Economistspredicted an increase to104.9, according to themedian of 38 forecasts in aBloomberg News survey.
Investors are awaiting theresults of Italy ’s generalelections on Feb. 24 and Feb.25, according to Saltvedt.
Instruments Inc. rose 4.4percent after increasing itsquarterly dividend andadding $5 billion to its stockrepurchase program. AdamParker, U.S. equity strategistat Morgan Stanley, talks aboutGreenlight Capital Inc.founder David Einhorn’s callfor Apple Inc. to return morecash to shareholders. Parker,speaking with Tom Keene andSara Eisen on BloombergTelevision’s “Surveillance,”also discusses the outlook forHewlett-Packard Co. and
investment strategy. (Source:Bloomberg).
The S&P 500 (SPX) rose 0.4percent to 1,508.41 at 10:45a.m. in New York. The indexfell 1.9 percent in the previoustwo days as concern grew thatthe Federal Reserve may slowthe pace of stimulus. The DowJones Industrial Averageadded 57.37 points, or 0.4percent, to 13,937.99 today.Trading in S&P 500 companieswas 4.8 percent below the 30-day average at this time ofday. “The tone generally is
not ebullient, but it tells youthat there’s a real strength inthe equity market that it’sactually rebounding today,”Jeffrey Davis, chiefinvestment officer at Boston-based Lee Munder CapitalGroup LLC, said in a phoneinterview. His firm oversees$5 billion. “I haven’t seen amarket like this in a long timewhere you can absorb a weekof not-so-good news and rallyat the end.”
Vanguard, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2013 — 47
Advertising, Media & Marketing
Fast foods are majorattraction of fastmoving consumers.
Foods close to fast foods arein the Pastas category whichare usually referred to asSpaghetti, the slippery andworm look recipe loved bychildren and adults alike.
Pastas like noddles are easyto prepare, particularly whenstew is readily available,today the increasing numberof Pasta brands in the marketis become a seriouscompetition betweencompanies.
However, with theincreasing interest in Pastaconsumption occasioned bythe 360 degree mediaawareness created by themanufacturers to drive theirbrands across the country hasbecome incisive.
Meanwhile, asmanufacturers continue theirmedia onslaught employingtelevision commercials,promos, bus branding whichstares at consumersauspiciously while the bus(es) are on the move , morevaried way of reaching theirtarget audience, especiallychildren, other mediavehicles employed includepromos, billboards, pressreleases and radio giggles,with these strategies, it’sbecome apparent thatconsumers now fall head overfor the slippery product.
Aside this, investigationcarried out by Vanguardshowed that various Pastabrands exist in the market,their brand: Golden PennySpaghetti, Dangote Slim
PRICE WAR:How pasta manufacturersdivide market
Stories byPRINCEWILL EKWUJURU
Spaghetti, Bucatini Spaghetti,Spaghetini and Power Pastafrom the stable of Pure FlourMills, a subsidiary of DufilFoods are seriously makingin-roads into the heart ofconsumers, as well as makingwaves in the market.
The investigation also
showed that all the brands aredoing well in the market inexception of Power Pastawhich is new in the market,but yet pulling some stringwith its activities in parts ofthe South- South States, as aresult its factory in that area.
Further probe into the
market revealed thatconsumers enjoy Pastasbecause of their slipperynature, particularly children,when spiced with stew. Oninvestigation, 75 percentrespondents interviewed saidthey liked Spaghetti becauseit does not require much stew
and its quick cook.Like Justin Ogwutu said, “if
you are hungry, pastas areeasy to boil in less than fiveminutes you are done andparticularly if there is stew onground.”
With about 350 spaghettirecipes, for example,Spaghetti pie, spaghetti meatballs and Basic bakedspaghetti to mention but few,most not prepared in Nigeriaremains other reasonsconsumers are in love with therecipe.
A look into the spaghettimarket showed thatmanufacturers are nowemploying pricedifferentiation drive to outwitother manufacturers. Lastmonth a pack of spaghettisold for N120, but hasremained the same price thismonth.
A further investigation todetermine the number ofcartoons sold monthlyVanguard discovered that fiveto seven cartoons are sold forbetween N2,169.00 andN2,150, this, the sellers saydepend on the patronage fora particular month, but in agood sales month eight to 12cartoons are sold.
Further probe into the pricedifferenciation, Dangote sellsa pack of spaghettis forN120.00 and Bucatinispaghetti for n120.00, whileGolden Penny sells for sameprice, Power Pasta N110. 00,Flour mills spaghetti sells forbetween N110 to N115.00 apack, a price difference thathas given both products asought of leverage in salesshare in the market, whensought to know the productthat sells best.
Lafarge chairman sees Kolade, Anyaoku as brand icons
Just like productsmetamorphose tobrands as they
transcend through theproduction process to theirfinal journey into the market,so also humans transcendthrough life’s thorny path tobecome brands.
Like the imperishable wordsof Martin Luther King Jnr,“The ultimate measure of manis not where he stands inmoments of convenience, butwhere he stands at times ofchallenge and controversy.”
And for the numerous thatare conversant withpersonality configuration andenviable antecedents ofChristopher Kolade andChief Emeka Anyaoku, knowfor certain that bothoctogenarians have stood onthe right side of history attimes of challenge and
controversy, and thereforehad their names permanentlyprinted in gold.
The innate business andmanagerial acumen of Koladeand the international publicservant and the professionallife of Anyaoku depicts bothas iconic brands of our timeat 80 years.
However, in what appears tobe a drift from the norm ofcelebrating people only whenthey are dead, the gatheringof crème de crème in theindustrial sector, politics, andprofessionals attracted lots ofstriking testimonials fromfriends and well wishers ofboth about Kolade andAnyaoku born in 1932 and1933 respectively who werecelebrated by the host,Chairman of Lafarge CementWAPCO Nigeria Plc, ChiefOlusegun Osunkeye. Whoalso doubles as the Chairman
of Nestle Nigeria and GSK.Former President, Chief
Olusegun Obasanjo whoprofiled the celebrants notedthat separating the duo byplace of birth, distance fromthe capital of Nigeria wherethey where born will not dothe magic, but pointed out thatin this part of the world, agecomes before beauty. So hedecided to use age to separatethem.
On the duos personalachievements in the publicspace, Obasanjo said: “If youwant a job to be well done,give it to Kolade. He is aNigerian in many ways interms of integrity, loyalty andhonesty.” Continuing, hesaid: “Anyaoku was born onJanuary 18, 1933, whichmakes Kolade three weeksolder. He took up anappointment with theCommonwealth before
independence. It is to hiseternal credit that the policyof apartheid in South Africawas brought to an end at histenure.”
More interesting as itsounds, revealed in thecourse of the event, is the factthat the duo, alongside thehost, Osunkeye who sharedsimilar career growthtrajectory with Kolade, said“as a colleague in the fight forcorporate governance while Iwas causing trouble for themin Cadbury, Osunkeye wasalso troubling them in Nestle:When I became ManagingDirector in Cadbury, hebecame Managing Director inNestle: and when I becameChairman in Cadbury,Osunkeye became Chairmanin Nestle.”
In extolling the virtues ofthe celebrants, older AkintolaWilliams, said the spirit of
excellence and leadershipprowess drone Anyaoku andKolade, even as he identifiedthem as having stood forintegrity.
Osunkeye who is a memberof the Metropolitan club werethe duo where hosted said hechose to draw the crème of theelite to the event just torecognise certain enduringvalues of ethical behaviourand integrity in personalbusiness and professionallife.
This endeuring valuesaccording to him, “aretypified by the duo and verydistinguished guests. “Ourcelebrants have attained theglorious age of 80 years: incharacter, they have servedour country and humanitymeritoriously for decadeswithout blemish. They areiconic figures worthemulating and celebrating.”
Winners of the Sweet Sensation couples’ games (in red) flanked by Sweet Sensation Staffand the compere held on Valentine’s Day at Sweet Sensation Egbeda Akonwonjo outlet.
48 — Vanguard, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2013
CMYK
Omoh Gabriel - Group Business EditorBabajide Komolafe - Acting Finance EditorClara Nwachukwu - Energy EditorPeter Egwuatu - Head, Capital MarketYinka Kolawole - Snr Bus. CorrespondentFavour Nnabugwu - Insurance CorrespondentGodwin Oritse - Maritime CorrespondentGodfrey Bivbere - Maritime CorrespondentMichael Eboh - Capital Market ReporterOscarline Onwuemenyi - Energy ReporterFranklin Alli - Industry/Agric. ReporterAmaka Abayomi - Money market ReporterEbele Orakpo - Energy ReporterIfeyinwa Obi - Maritime Reporter
CONTRIBUTORSPrincewill Ekwujuru - Media/MarketingNaomi Uzor - IndustryProvidence Obuh - Micro FinanceLAYOUT - Graphics Department
Email:[email protected], [email protected] page:www.lesleba.com/blog2Website: www.lesleba.com
Tel:0817 002 3569
Business & Economy,
,
There are mediaconcerns on thepotential adverse
impact of delay on budgetimplementation and thepossibility of the Legislatureoverriding presidentialopposition to 2013 budgetenactment.
In reality, late budgetenactment has over the yearsnever really affected thedisbursement of recurrentexpenditure, so long as suchexpenditure do not exceedthe previous year’s recurrentallocations; consequently,late budget enactment mayonly affect the capitalbudget. Besides, despite therelative paucity of the capitalbudget, it has becometraditional for ministries,government departments andagencies to continuously postbillions of naira in theiraccounts as unspent revenueevery year! Thus, lateenactment may not adverselyimpact implementation anyworse or different than that ofprevious years!
Some media reports suggestthat the Presidency’sreservation may relate to thezero budget allocations forSecurities and ExchangeCommission as well as theN90bn increase in capitalbudget. The Legislature’salleged inclusion ofconstituency projects andtheir adoption of $79/barrelcrude oil benchmark havealso been fingered for thePresidential delay.
In the present circumstance,if NASS advances its threatto override the Executive’s
Budget 2013 Stalemateveto on the 2013 budget, Mr.President may ultimatelybecome constrained to agentleman’s agreement toquietly ship out Oteh toanother agency in the nearfuture. In this manner,President Jonathan may saveface and avert any aspersionthat he does not have thespine to confront theNational Assembly (NASS)!
We may now address theissues of constituencyprojects and the allegedincrease of the 2013 budgetby N90bn; in plain
language, the Executivecontests that NASS has noconstitutional power totamper with the content of theAppropriation Bill. TheNational Assembly on theother hand, maintains thatthe President’s bill has tofollow the same process asevery other bill laid before theLegislature. In the event,therefore, that the legislaturehas the power to evaluate,
amend and pass any billbefore it becomes law, it is inconsonance with the spirit ofthe law for Mr. President’sappropriation bill to be alsosubject to the usuallegislative protocols, whichmay advise omissions orinclusions, as deemedappropriate and agreed byboth Legislative Houses.
However, the issue of crudeoil budget benchmark is alittle bit more complex; on thesurface, the executive wouldlike to be seen as conservativeand prudent in adopting the
lower crude benchmark priceof $75/barrel; their argumentis that, if for example, crudeoil sells above the Executive’srecommended price of $75/barrel throughout 2013, thesurplus will increase ournational reserves! Inaddition, in the event thatcrude prices unexpectedlyfall below $75/barrel, theadverse impact of thereduced revenue inflow on
expenditure will become lesstraumatic than if the budgetwas predicated on a muchmore optimistic benchmark.
The legislature on the otherhand argues that deliberateunderstatement of budgetbenchmarks around $70/barrel in previous budgets ledto accumulation of hugeavoidable deficits in eachyear’s budget. In otherwords, the expenditurebudget outstripped theunderstated revenueprojections because of thevery conservative budgetbenchmarks adopted. Thelegislature may rightly arguethat it does not make senseto fund such ‘ghost’ deficitsby borrowing with highinterest rates, whileaccumulating idle reservesfrom benchmark surpluseswith little or no yield! Thisargument surely makessense; however, thelegislators themselves may infact be unaware of thedestabilising implications ofincreased dollar revenuebrought about by highercrude price benchmarks!
The reason behind theunexpected negative impactof increasing dollar revenueis the CBN’s obtusemonetary policy framework,which substitutes monthlynaira allocations atunilaterally determined ratesfor distributable dollarrevenue. Consequently, thelarger the dollar revenue (as
in crude prices constantly wellabove conservativebenchmark), the greater willbe CBN’s naira creation andultimately the greater will bethe burden of excess cash(excess liquidity) in thesystem. Excess liquidity inturn fuels high inflation andinterest rates, and furtherpushes the naira valuedownwards, with disastrouseconomic and socialc o n s e q u e n c e s . Consequently, from theNational Economic Team’sperspective, it is unhealthy forus to earn and spend suchincreases in dollar revenuebecause of the attendantproblems of excess liquidity,when crude oil dollars aresubstituted with nairacreations!
Thus, both the executive andthe legislature may mean well,but the truth is that neitherposition is beneficial toeconomic growth.However, in spite of themonetary team’s acquiescenceto this reality, thecontradictions and paradoxesin our economy will only beresolved such that increasingdollar revenue will bringabout improved social andeconomic welfare, when CBNstops the poisonous process ofsubstituting naira allocationsfor dollar revenue, and insteadadopts the instrument ofdollar certificates for thepayment of allocations ofdollar revenue.
SAVE THE NAIRA, SAVE
NIGERIANS!!
Consequently, from the NationalEconomic Team’s perspective, it isunhealthy for us to earn and spendsuch increases in dollar revenuebecause of the attendant problems ofexcess liquidity, when crude oildollars are substituted with nairacreations
Sweet SensationConfectionery incollaboration with
Coca Cola Nigeria havejoined forces to fete itscustomers to round-off thisyear’s Valentine celebration.This year’s is the 3rd editionof the quick Servicerestaurants Valentine SpecialWOW Moments which began2 years ago.
It would be recalled that thefirst edition of the SweetSensation SPECIAL WOWMOMENTS in 2011 set anew standard in thecelebration of Valentine’sDay. It was to bring back oldsweet memories and rekindlethose nostalgic moments inour lives when gentlemenwere boys and ladies weregirls. From the 2011 edition,the annual VAL celebrationhas continued to generate lotsof excitement amongst foodlovers across Nigeria.
However, this year’s took amore exciting dimension with
Sweet Sensation,Coca cola align, fete customersthe special Couples dinnerheld in Festac on the 16thFebruary tagged “LUVNwantintin Night”.
According to the MarketingManager, Yemi Yusuf, SweetSensation decided to takethis year’s celebration a notchhigher by hosting couples to
a special dinner to celebrateand give them a VAL hard toforget in a hurry.
The confectionary companysaid the couples’ dinner wasa tip of the ice-berg for SweetSensation customers and theyshould expect somethingbigger and better in 2013 and
beyond.The couples’ dinner which
was the grand finale of thisyear ’s Special WowMoments, was preceded bythe usual celebration in some
select outlets on Valentine’sDay where customers wereengaged in couples’ gamessuch as LUV Mail, ElectricMoments, Groove Tyme etc.
Boeing is expected to offerways to fix the 787’s batteryproblems at a meeting withthe US Federal AviationAdministration on Friday.
Ray Conner, a Boeingexecutive, will explainmeasures to prevent futurebattery failures, according toreports. Flights could resumeby April if US authoritiesaccept the proposed plan,they said.
But Transport Secretary RayLaHood has warned 787swill not fly again until he is
Boeing offers plan to fix Dreamlinerbattery
“1,000% sure” they are safe.The measures include a
battery box aimed atinsulating lithium-ion cellsfrom one another in order toprevent their overheating, aswell as a venting mechanismfor fumes, according toofficials who spoke oncondition of anonymity.“The gaps between cells willbe bigger. I think that’s whythere was overheating,” oneperson told Reuters newsagency. Boeing declined tocomment.
