The new petroleum Industrial Bill as approved penultimate week by the Federal Executive Council FEC represent an important document in the management and operation of the Nigeria oil and gas industry in Nigeria .The draft bill which was crafted and harmonized from different versions of the bill (Executive ,Senate and House) by senator Udo Udoma led seven-man special PIB task force set up by the minister of petroleum resources Mrs. Diezani Allison Madueke on January 18 this year presents a significant window of opportunity to further redress decades of secretive and ineffective management of oil and gas sector which has impoverished Nigerians rather than being a blessing. Though oil exploration commenced in 1958 after its discovery in 1956 at Oloibiri , a sleepy community in Bayelsa state, yet no comprehensive law or legislation has been put in place for the administration of the industry .

Succeeding government in Nigeria has had to grapple with hand out and pieces of ad- hoc legislation that best suit not only their purpose for administrative conveniences but also that of foreign companies who often dictates the terms of contracts and operations . The new PIB therefore seeks to repeal the existing 16 petroleum Acts and replace them with an all encompassing Acts that provides for better fiscal and regulatory management of the oil and gas sector. The new petroleum Industry Bill is therefore an attempt to bring and harmonize under one law various legislation , instruments , institutions and conflicting policies that has govern the petroleum Industry in the country . Highlights of the draft bill among others is the unbundling of the octopus called the Nigeria National Petroleum corporation NNPC which has been the epicenter of corruption in the country and the proposal to end gas flaring in the nation oil and gas operation by the end of December 2013. The bill provides for full commercialization of NNPC and creation of other institutions that will ensure restructuring for improved efficiency . By this arrangement,the federal government will divest 30%of its shareholding in the national oil company which was created from the unbundled NNPC and sell the shares in the Nigerian Stsock exchange . By this the federal government hopes that it will create a viable oil companythat will operate under a commercial terms and will transform into aworld class oil firm in the mould of of Saudi Aramco , Malasia Aramco and Brazilian Petronas .

The bill also intends to establish rules ,guidelines and procedures that will ensure good governance transparency and accountability in the management and exploitation of oil in the country . Its target is therefore to introduce operational and physical guidelines for efficient management of revenue to enable Nigerian government to retain a higher proportion of revenue accruing through oil industry . The new bill provides a comprehensive document towards domesticating our oil and gas sector , the bill though not exhaustive just like any other human document it suggest an ambitious and integrated guideline in revolutionizing the sector which presently is the major cash cow of the Nigerian economy . The interest of the host communities were also factored in as it compels the oil major and government to plough back 10% of its net profit towards the development of the community. This pales into significance especially when one considers that the orgy of restiveness in that region is as a result of criminal neglect of the area by both the government and oil companies .

The plank and all this idea has been on the drawing board for decades thus raising fear that lack of political will and vested both in government and among the operators in the industry has combined to

stall every efforts that has been made in that direction by various succeeding government in Nigeria . The purpose of the bill is not intended to wrestle operational or exploration power from the oil majors as erroneously circulated but rather to make Nigeria and Nigerians a competitive stakeholders and an equal alliance with the foreign oil companies which will equally offers an opportunity for Nigerian oil firms to benefit from the transfer of technology from their foreign oil company counterpart, after all Nigeria is a sovereign nation and PIB present an important opportunity for Nigerians to exert its sovereignty in the management of its oil and gas sector . The bill also established guidelines for operations both in the down stream and upstream sectors.

In fact , stakeholders ,civil society groups and organized labor leaders have argued that the new Petroleum Industry Bill is a landmark opportunity to herald a new era of reform in the oil and gas industry that will maximize Nigeria’s vast potential, restore transparency and facilitate a thriving industry and overall economy. Failure to pass the PIB they say will lead to a reduction of investments in the Nigeria petroleum industry. To date, most of the oil companies have ceased investments in the sector until there is clarity as to what provisions will be contained in the final Bill and how it will affect the industry. With the rise of other attractive petroleum industries in Africa (Angola, Ghana, etc), Nigeria must understand that investments are fungible and will eventually flow to alternative countries that are more receptive. Lastly, the recent 2012 efforts to deregulate the downstream sector creates an opportunity for lawmakers and other stakeholders to push for the swift passage of this Bill.

The PIB Petroleum Industry Bill has been touted as the most important legislative document of President Jonathan’s administration so far, as it is expected to establish the legal and regulatory framework, institutions and regulatory authorities for the Nigerian petroleum industry; and establish guidelines for the operation of the upstream and downstream sectors, and for purposes connected same.

National Identity Management Commission (NIMC)

National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has highlighted the need for a reliable identity database and its adoption in the financial services sector to reduce fraud and improve Gross Domestic Products (GDP) in the country.

Director-General, NIMC, Chris Onyemenam says that as cashless banking, financial inclusiveness and mobile payments deepen within the economy, the need for reliable ID management becomes increasingly greater.

These formed part of his presentation at the Nigeria Computer Society (NCS) 24th Annual Conference held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

NIMC says that for the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Cashless Policy to be sustainable, “there must be a reliable Identity Management system in place”.

According to him, “the National Identity Management System (NIMS) is central to the success of a cashless economy project.”

To underscore this, he adds that “a Universal Identification Infrastructure (UIDI) is unique, secure, accessible and reliable, recommended for identity authentication (Identification/Verification) and tying individuals to transactions (non-repudiation and with a history) as the current methods rely on two-factor identity authentication are still challenged with effectively managing identities.”

Onyemenam notes that, “secure UIDI is a precondition for financial inclusion. The NIMS will tie captured biometrics and unique National Identification Numbers (NIN) of Nigerians to bank accounts, voter registers, immigration, and law enforcement agencies among others.”

According to him, existing databases have not met international standards like ISO/IEC, NIST, IEEE, ICAO, among others and they have been non-centralized, are unreliable and incomplete.

Also, regular updating have not been possible and there have not been centralized and irrefutable way of tying individuals to transactions until now, he says recommending that the initiative should be allowed to unleash opportunities for the economy in consumer credit experienced all around the world, reduce fraud, fight terrorism, improve GDP and create  a robust and  dependable identifier.

Director-General, NIMC, Chris Onyemenam says that, “secure UIDI is a precondition for financial inclusion. The NIMS will tie captured biometrics and unique National Identification Numbers (NIN) of Nigerians to bank accounts, voter registers, immigration, and law enforcement agencies among others.”

NIMS project is an essential transformation tool for fostering socioeconomic development, maintenance of law and order and security of lives and properties.

He applauded the development of the Mobile Payment Services Sector (MPSS) which has achieved remarkable feats which includes the licensing of Mobile Payment Service Providers (MPSP) like PagaTech, Fortis Mobile, UBA/AfriPay, GTBank and eTranzact, among others.

“The Mobile Payment Service Providers (MPSP) creates employment and economic opportunities, it will stimulate consumer demand, local production and grow GDP but the need for a reliable identity management sector to drive the initiative is core” he adds.

The enhancement of the efficacy of monetary policy operations and economic stabilization measures, balanced and genuine currency transaction demands speculative market behaviours that will in turn facilitate better currency management and helps in reducing the cost of currency management.

Onyemenam notes that the congruence of plans and deployment of the NIMS project is inevitable and a complementary CBN policy is essential.

“Annual debt finance is less than 65per cent of total loss due to identity-related fraud in banks. There is need for a deployment Strategy focused on update-able database and secure identity authentication” he said adding that the live pilot of the project commenced February 23 this year in the Federal Capital Territory.

Key NIMS activities include enrollment/updates, National ID card issuance, identification and verification, reliable, secure and fast identification and verification services online and offline enrolment centers for continuous enrollment of citizens and legal residents.

It is also responsible for creation of a unique National Identity Database; generation, issuance and assignment of National Identification Numbers (NIN); issuance of National smart Identity Cards (E-ID); provision of authentication infrastructure (Back-end); Provision of authentication services; harmonization and integration of identity databases, among others.

He explains that the challenges faced by NIMC include centralising the identity authority, privacy issues especially in a cultural context, marketing the NIMS mass appeal, stakeholder revenue model, political support and supervision, dealing with vested interests, privacy issues especially in a cultural context and dealing with vested interests, among others.

National identity management system the way forwardOn November 21, 2011 · In Broken Links

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By Omoh Gabriel

When the Federal Government early this year approved N30.066 billion for the take off of the National Identity Management Commission, there was uproar across the country. Even in the newsrooms of most media houses in the country, there was a serious debate as to the desirability of another National Identity card. ‘The last exercise was wasteful,’ was what was heard

everywhere. Many Nigerians did not take their time to look at what was being proposed for which the money was being earmarked.

A National Identity Management System is not the same as national identity card. The National Identity management will undertake the management of the bio-data of every Nigerian from birth to death. It is billed to coordinate all the personal data of every Nigerian in such a way that in one card, every data about the individual will be obtained.

At the moment, the personal data of Nigerians are in bits and pieces from the National Passport Office, to the drivers licence, INEC voter registration, National Population, former national identity card, bank cards, among others. The new cards to be issued would have facilities that could be verifiable unlike the former one that had no verification facility. The expected identity card would be like a smart card with a database that would be readable when slotted into any acceptable card device or reader.

President Jonathan

It will certainly be useful to the law enforcement agencies – from the Police to the intelligence community and the security agencies at large because the common denominator is ‘who are you’? Put differently, ‘are you who you say you are?’ At the moment, it is difficult to identify who a Nigerian really is.

Some have three to four international passports with different names. Yet, they are the same person. If you want to confirm some persons, the responsibility of the National Identity Commission is to provide an infrastructure that enables you within seconds of a request to obtain valid and reliable response as to the identity of the person that you have asked a confirmation for.

This is a new way of confirming the identity of individuals that has not happened in Nigeria at the moment. It is in this sense that the new system is a shift away from the old way of Nigerians doing things. This new paradigm is not focused on identity card issuance but identity management system.

The system would enable security agencies to easily track down people with fingerprints that could be easily matched when crimes are committed. In addition to doing this, the nation would be in a position to identify all its citizens as that should be one of the primary focuses of the scheme.

In Nigeria today, access to credit that drives western economies is absent as a result of the inability of banks to make informed decisions on the true identity of Nigerians. It is generally agreed that one thing that is missing at the moment in Nigeria is credit bureau, although it is being developed and was introduced last year.

For a bank to lend money, it needs to know who you are, not just because you claim you are Fred. For a credit economy to work in Nigeria, banks need to know the true identity of their customers; what their exposure are elsewhere for it to make a credit lending decision as to what the risk of lending is.

Though development of credit bureaus has started and the banks are working with them to develop reliable data base that will become useful, they are the fundamental bases on which Nigeria can jump start a true credit led economy. It is not just about credit cards which is yet to take off, it’s about the vehicle of finance, which enables easy access to funds; as well as mortgages. All of these have to be in place for a bank to make an informed credit decision.

Developing credit bureau alone will not solve the identity problem. It has to be complemented with a National Identity card management system. The national ID management system will ensure that if you say you are John today, tomorrow you will not say you are someone else because you’ve got the national ID system that is reliable. So then, an individual’s information is connected to him,through a national ID in the system. The earlier Nigeria has these systems in place, the better and the easier it is for banks to make informed decisions.

The proposed new identity scheme would also help in identifying illegal immigrants in the country. Once there is a system to ascertain the identity of citizens; it would also be easy to identify foreigners impersonating Nigerians. As the commission introduces measures and processes for ensuring that citizens are legal residents and are able to ascertain their identities, Nigerians will discover that over time, it will become a lot easier to stop non-Nigerians from claiming to be Nigerians.

Nigeria has lost huge economic benefit for not having a credible identity card system. In most countries, workers are able to access credits from banks through the use of credit cards. This is what drives production as it empowers the ordinary citizens to make purchases on credit. The non-availability of a veritable identification scheme is an inhibiting factor in business and other transactional relationships between people.

If you do not know who you are dealing with; that in itself is an inhibiting factor; it limits the extent to which you can go into transactional relationships; it means there is a limit to the kind of trust or business relations that you can go into. If you do not know your counterpart, you are not in a position to appreciate what you can benefit from the relationship. If you don’t know your counterpart, it is even difficult to estimate his capacities.

What government approved is N30.066 billion and the approval is intended to accelerate the rollout of the back-end of the national identity management system. About N5 billion of that amount is already part of the 2011 appropriation act while the remaining part of the money would be part of the 2012 and 2013 fiscal year budget proposal.

This would be subject to review. It is a laudable project that would go a long way to sanitise the identification system. It is a system that every Nigerian should support so that we know who really is a Nigerian.

National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has assured Nigerians that the present National Identity Management System (NIMS) will create a better secured business environment and improve service delivery of government agencies in the country.

The commission said the NIMS as an infrastructure that is equally very crucial to financial inclusion and development of the nation’s financial services sector, will also enhance the work of law enforcement agencies and policy makers especially those involved in socio-economic planning.

The Director-General of the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Mr. Chris Onyemenam who made the observation at a meeting with the members of the House of Representatives Committee on Interior, added that the NIMS will also serve several other purposes as well as form an integral component of the National Databank.

Mr. Onyemenam, explained that NIMS will comprise the registration of all citizens from 16 years and above and legal residents, creation of a National Identity Database, the issuance of an unique National Identification Numbers (NINS), the issuance also of a General Multi-Purpose Cards (GMPCS) and the provision of identity verification services for national planning.

He noted that unlike in the past when the project was mainly focused on Identity Card printing and issuance, NIMS will allow for an identity authentication and verification, through the creation of access to a National Identity database (NID), and the upgrading of the Identity Card to smart Cards, (the General Multi-purpose Card GMPC) that will support multiple ID application which is known as Identity Management.

He also observed that the registration and enrolment process which will be once in a life time will result in the capture of demographic data and biometric data (10 finger prints and live digital photographs and signature) and other relevant data of citizens and legal residents. He said that provision will be made for facial recognition while fingerprint will primarily be used for verification, and that provision will be made for future upgrade with inclusion of the Iris.

In order to harmonize and integrate the existing Identification schemes in Nigeria,

the D-G disclosed that NIMC has produced fibre links with various agencies like, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), State Security Service (SSS), National Population Commission (NPC) National Communication Commission (NCC), among others that have identification schemes.

Onyemenam added that these agencies have their representatives on the NIMC governing board. On the recently announced N30 billion identity project, he explained that it was not a contract awarded project but for a rolling plan project that will spread for over three years from 2011 to 2014, and expects that the project will be captured in the 2012 budget.

He also expressed optimism that, with effective execution of the proposed reform, it will result in a wide range of benefits to all stakeholders within the public and private sector as well as the international community.

He further assured that the reform will enthrone a centrally managed Identity database for the country, improved security and data backup/disaster recovery methodology for central locations of storage, harmonization of existing Identity schemes within the country, facilitate the development of the consumer credit system as well as other applications for the financial sector and facilitating the development of e-Government in Nigeria.

“Other benefits include; an improved security of citizens through adequate prevention of identity theft and greater empowerment of law enforcement agents. Improve capacity of the government delivery of amenities, eliminating multiple and ghost identities and reduction in fraud (advance fee fraud)”, he further stated

Capital Market

Contents: securities market management in an emerging market; the Nigerian capital market, opportunities and challenges; perspectives on the development of the capital market in Nigeria; the impact of the central securities clearing system on the development of the capital market; the role of domestic and international capital markets in the re-capitalisation of banks in Nigeria; dealing in securities and maximising profit through trading in rights issues; assisting public sector resource managers to access captial markets; the role of the stockbroker; effective pricing of securities in the secondary market; mobilisation of resources; the role of the corporate finance officer; privatisation of public enterprises in Nigeria; the potential impact of the 1999 Federal Government budget on the Nigerian capital market; the investment climate in Nigeria; the case for foreign investment in the Nigerian Wire and Cable companies; and the church and investment.

The Nigerian capital market, for some time, has been in the doldrums due to various reasons. In this report, UDEME EKWERE examines the steps taken by the regulators to revive the market so far.

 Since the beginning of the global economic meltdown, and specifically since 2008 in Nigeria, the capital market in the country has lost the confidence it used to command as a promoter of instruments of fortune, owing mainly to the losses suffered by investors.

Between 2007 and 2008, the market capitalisation of the listed equities in the Nigerian capital market rose to about N13tn.

By mid 2008, as a result of the global financial crisis, the market capitalisation of equities dropped to about N8.8tn. But the slide continued and became worse in 2009, due to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s clampdown on some banks accused of perpetrating gross misconduct. The market capitalisation came down to N4.989tn, while the NSE All-Share Index fell to 20,838.90 points.

However, activities firmed up in 2010, as the index increased by 18.5 per cent to close at 27,770.52 points, while the capitalisation rose to N7.91tn by the end of 2010. This mainly came about as a result of the news of the purchase of the toxic assets of banks by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria.

Nevertheless, by 2011, the NSE All-Share Index was down by 16.3 per cent from 24,770.52 points in January to 20,730.63 points on the last trading day of 2011, while the market capitalisation of the 186 first tier listed equities fell by 17.4 per cent, from N7.91tn at the beginning of the year to N6.53tn on Friday December 30.

Apparently worried by these losses, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Nigerian Stock Exchange have been involved in various reforms and measures aimed at boosting the market. The measures were also targeted at tightening the processes and procedures for trading at the Exchange.

Accordingly, SEC, for instance, increased capital requirements for market operators, among other steps that would, on the long run, improve investor’ confidence. The NSE took measures to deepen the market. It expanded the number of instruments available to investors in the market, for instance.

Under the current leadership of the Director-General of SEC, Ms. Arunma Oteh, the commission embarked on road shows across the country to shore up education and awareness for the capital market. It has also been trying to ensure that the market meets up with world-class standards.

Oteh disclosed recently that SEC intended to leverage the expertise of both the commission and the Consumer Protection Council in delivering the desired result of efficiency, speed and cost effectiveness in complaints resolution, which she noted, were the roots of confidence crisis in the market.

According to her, there could be no better time for fair financial services for consumers than now, when the Commission is working round the clock to instill confidence in the market.

Also, there have been visible efforts on the part of the apex regulator towards ensuring that the market complies with global standards, with SEC embarking on the process of the market’s demutualisation.

This was undertaken to make the NSE imbibe robust corporate governance; enhanced efficiency and transparency associated with publicly-quoted companies.

Specifically, last year, SEC inaugurated a Technical Committee on the Demutualisation of the NSE. The Chairman of the SEC, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, who inducted members of the committee in Lagos, stressed that the committee was expected to advise the commission on the demutualisation of the Exchange.

The Committee has since presented its report of findings to the Board of the SEC. Demutualisation is just part of the overall reforms that the SEC is implementing to help reposition the capital market and subsequently restore confidence in it.

The NSE, on its part, has been interfacing with the World Federation of Stock Exchanges on the specific requirements that must be met in its pursuit of becoming a member of the WFSE.

The Chief Executive Officer, NSE, Mr. Oscar Onyema, stated that becoming a member of the WFSE was indeed a focus in the right direction for the Exchange. According to him, the reason is that one of the variables many investors consider whenever they want to invest in a market, whether or not the targeted exchange, is the membership of the WFSE.

Other efforts by SEC to increase participation and interest in the market included the recent steps to encourage international oil companies, energy and telecommunications companies to list on the NSE.

The commission has also variously said that it has been working hard to ensure that key sectors are represented on the Exchange.

Reacting to this, the past President of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers, Mr. Michael Itegboje, said that if SEC should succeed in its efforts to bring major multinational companies to list their shares on the Exchange, it would go a long way in improving market activities.

According to him, there should be a law enabling the listing of some of these firms in the market, adding that this would go a long way to complement the regulators’ effort at boosting activities in the market as well as restore investor-confidence to the market.

The former President, Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria, Alhaji Rasheed Yussuff, noted that the capital market regulators were saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that the market remained attractive to the investors.

He said, “The onus lies on all the stakeholders to ensure that we stand up to the challenge of making our market attractive to these investors. If we can all get our act together, we can record tremendous patronage in our market and it can grow beyond what we even expected.

“There are many burning issues that have yet to be addressed in the market. If the Federal Government and financial regulators come out with a plan to address the illiquidity issue and others, the foreign investments may flow in more into the market.”

An investor, Mr. Jacob Iruememe, who also spoke to our correspondent on the market reactivation measures, commended the capital market regulators, saying there had been visible improvements in the market.

He added that with the intervention of SEC and NSE in recent times, it seemed there was more transparency in the market, which according to him, is necessary to rev up activities.

He said, “I think we can commend SEC for some of the reforms they have come up with in recent times, at least we have seen that there has been some improvement in the activities. We have seen them, in collaboration with NSE, come up with vital information that has helped investors to make good decisions in recent times.

“I also think the regulators have helped to improve transparency among the stockbroking firms themselves, as they now make regular publication of stockbroking firms that are not doing things right. This has helped some of us to be able to know the right brokers to deal with.”

He, however, added that there remained a few things that the regulators had yet to do in ensuring that investor confidence was brought back to the market, as some investors had yet to get over the losses incurred since 2008.

At this era of gloomy investor confidence in the Nigerian capital market and the need to restore market confidence, it is pertinent to mention that all hands must be on deck - public and private stakeholders to ensure that confidence is restored  to the capital market.

We all can recall that during the boom period - between 2007 and 2008, the market capitalisation of equities grew to about N13 trillion with 212 listed equities, and the number of shares traded rose to about 18 billion. Currently, there have been advocates across various quarters for the capital market, which is the barometre of the nation’s economic growth, to be given full attention by the government and private stakeholders.

Some of the challenges militating against the restoration of market confidence include lack of sufficient liquidity; insufficient investor protection, high expectations for regulatory compliance, lack of market depth/breadth. At various investor fora, experts have noted the need to improve market liquidity, boost investor confidence, raise issuer confidence, ensure investor protection, and attract/maintain foreign investment, among others.

Before now, not a few experts believe on the need for government to get telecoms and other oil and gas companies to list on The Exchange; lower the cost of equity capital; consider tax holiday

for new listings; patronise quoted companies as a pre-requisite for award of contacts, and use the capital market to fund long-term projects.

Also, for regulators, advocates are saying that there is need to ensure that there is zero-tolerance policy on market infraction, full disclosure of quoted companies financial positions, shortening of the listing process, conduct of annual certification of corporate governance compliance, recapitalisation of brokerage firms, IFRS compliance by all market operators, and investor education partnership with other non-governmental institutions.

As expectations heighten from various stakeholders in the market, last month, the Capital Market Committee (CMC) held its maiden retreat to look at the issues, challenges and prospects of the Nigerian capital market in 2012. The retreat was designed to review capital market developments and challenges in 2011 and formulate action plans for 2012, to reposition the market to play greater role in national economic development.

CMC consists of the regulator – Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and self-regulatory organisations  – Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) and Abuja Securities and Commodities Exchange (ASCE); Association of Issuing Houses of Nigeria (AIHN), Fund Managers Association of Nigeria (FMAN), Capital Market Solicitors Association (CMSA), Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria (ASHON), and Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS).

At that meeting, seven sub-committees were inaugurated. These seven sub-committees are: investor confidence restoration, investment management, market infrastructure and technology, commodities/equities and exchange, fixed income, product and business development, and rules and compliance.

Mike Itegboje, president, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), told INVESTOR at the CMC retreat that: “We are still concerned about the policies of the Federal Government. We are concerned with what happens in the entire economy because it affects the market – investors are scared to come. “Note that the market has survived the 2011, it shows the resilience in the market. The market is set to fly. The market has every potential to fly. The optimism is there.”

Already, reports have shown that Africa is the next frontier market by global classification. The NSE services the second largest financial centre in sub-Saharan Africa and it is the third largest stock exchange in Africa by capitalisation, and the largest market in West Africa by company capitalisation.

Market analysts have continued to express dissatisfaction on the current level of performance at the capital market, even as companies have adopted stronger governance culture that has led to increased profitability, coupled with banks which have successfully scaled through the CBN stress test. Amid all these, even as companies show increased revenue with sustainable strategic options, this has not impacted positively on share price performance for all the past periods.

Just last year, market capitalisation was down by 17.42 percent while NSE All Share Index was down by 17.01 percent in the review year 2011. The market capitalisation of 250 listed securities was N10.28 trillion, down by 0.48 percent, while the market capitalisation of 201 listed equities

was N6.54 trillion, down by 17.42 percent (representing 63.61 percent of total market cap). Twenty most capitalised stocks at the NSE closed last year at N5.41 trillion (representing 52.63 percent of total market cap or 82.72 percent of equities market cap).

In the bond market, the NSE recorded 25 federal bonds with market cap of N2.09 trillion; 11 state/local bonds with market cap of N0.31 trillion; 12 corporate bonds with market cap of N1.34 trillion (+2,375.89 percent), and 1 Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) with Asset Under Management (AUM) of N988 million. While trading volume was down by 4.03 percent to 82.30 billion shares, the value of traded stocks dropped by 20.09 percent to N622.60 billion compared with 93.33 billion shares and N797.55 billion, respectively, recorded in 2010.

Under Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI), the market recorded about N478.62 billion in inflows (entry); N312.65 billion in outflows (exit), and N165.97 billion net inflows.

Also at the retreat, Arunma Oteh, director general, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), told INVESTOR that “we feel that 2011 was a year that was challenging, primarily because of what is happening in the global economy. We looked for how to ensure that local investors participate equally with the foreign investors by taking advantage of the opportunities in the declined market. One of the things we must address is the issue of new listing/issuance. We have agreed that there has to be a lot of new issuance in the market – listing of telecoms; oil and gas companies, and privatised companies.”

She further stated: “We want to make our market more efficient. For instance, dematerialisation which started years ago will be firmed up. We believe that this is important to make the market more efficient. We need to be leveraging technology better. The capital market is one that is evolving all time. A knowledgeable investor is the first kind of investor - meaning that investor relationship is vital.”

In his view, Ade Bajomo, executive director, market operations and technology, NSE, said: “It is important to focus on the future of the market. This means looking at the opportunities in the market in 2012. This market has huge opportunities to achieve the $1 trillion market cap target. Opportunities go with risk taking. That is also applicable to the capital market. Wherever there is an opportunity, there is a risk.”

Oluwatoyin Sanni, CEO, UBA Trustees Limited, said: “One good thing that this retreat achieved for us is the unit of purpose. In the area of new products, the NSE, CIS, Association of Asset Custodians have brought out a document to advise the SEC to ensure that by first quarter of 2012 (Q1, 2012) we have securities lending. Other areas are to address the issue of corporate governance.”

The conditions in the capital market remained volatile throughout last year. Market players noted that investors’ appetite for shares was marred by financial market events. Equity exposure was cut by funds and asset managers to cover positions in the US and Euro Zone. Local institutional investors were on the sidelines, but prefer debt products offering double-digit returns. Large companies were not in the market even as margin loan overhang and absence of loan facilities continued to threaten broker-dealer commitments.

Transformation Agenda

ABC of Jonathan’s transformation agenda

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Written by Leon Usigbe, Abuja Tuesday, 16 August 2011

Goodluck Jonathan

The breakdown of President Goodluck Jonathan’s Transformation Agenda, with which he hopes to turn the country around by the end of his tenure in 2015. The report is based on a summary of the Federal Government’s key priority policies, programmes and projects coordinated by the National Planning Commission (NPC). Leon Usigbe writes

PRESIDENT Goodluck Jonathan rode to power on the back of a promised transformation agenda, which he is virtually set to get off the ground. Throughout his campaign, he refrained from making specific pledges,

only speaking, in the main, about his intention to change the ways things were done and give the country a new sense of direction. It was a situation that left the transformation agenda in an abstract form in the minds of many Nigerians. But now, it would appear that the agenda has been properly articulated and can be accessed by interested citizens. The transformation agenda is planned for between 2011 and 2015, which is the duration of the present administration and it is necessitated by the need to correct the flaws in the country’s drive for development where there is absence of long-term perspective, and lack of continuity, consistency and commitment (3Cs) to agreed policies.  This government believes that the culminating effect of these has been growth and development of the Nigerian economy without a concomitant improvement in the overall welfare of Nigerian citizens.

To the Jonathan administration, the disregard for these 3Cs has resulted in rising unemployment, inequality and poverty and it is therefore hard pressed to come with a holistic transformation of the Nigerian state with a strategy that gives cognizance to these 3Cs in the duration of the administration.

Government based the Transformation Agenda and draws its inspiration from the Vision  20:2020 and the first National Implementation Plan (NIP) according to the summary of federal key priority policies, programmes. It aims to deepen the effects and provide a sense of direction.

The agenda is based on a set of priority policies and programmes which, when implemented, would transform the Nigerian economy to meet the future needs of the people.

Macroeconomic framework and economic directionGovernment is projecting a baseline GDP growth rate of 11.7 per cent per annum for the period 2011-2015, as it hopes that it will translate to real and nominal GDP of about N428.6billion and N73.2trillion respectively at the end of the programme period. It assumes that the projected GDP growth of the period will be driven largely by the oil and gas, solid minerals, agriculture, ICT equipment and softwares, telecommunication, wholesale and retail trade, tourism and entertainment, manufacturing and building and construction sectors.

A total investment of N40.75trillion in nominal terms is also projected for the period. The public sector will account for N24.45trillion or 60 per cent, while the remaining N16.30trillion or 40 per cent is expected to be invested by the private sector. Overall, public sector investment plan is made up of N11.59 trillion for states and local governments respectively.

The key policies to be pursued by government during the programme period are as follows: a.    Ensuring greater harmony between fiscal and monetary policy. In this regard, the National Economic Management Team will be strengthened to facilitate effective coordination of fiscal and monetary policies.

b.    Pursuit of sound macroeconomic policies, including fiscal prudence supported by appropriate monetary policy to contain inflation at single digit.

c.    The budget process shall be reviewed to provide greater clarity of roles between the executive and legislature and to ensure that the appropriation bill is enacted into law within the first month of any year. The direction of policy shall draw inspiration from the US system and concentrate on setting allocation priorities rather than micro-budgeting or contesting figures with the executive.

d.    The existing revenue allocation formula shall be reviewed to achieve a more balanced fiscal federalism. This is expected to pave the way for more effective implementation of programmes at the subnational level.

e.    Institutionalising the culture of development planning at all levels of government and ensuring that the annual capital budget allocation takes a cue from medium and long term development plans. Towards this end, government wants the National Assembly to expedite the passage of the Planning and Project Continuity Bill in order to strengthen the Plan-Budget link and reduce the high incidence of abandoned projects. 

Job creationGovernment will pursue certain policy measures to reinvigorate various sectors of the economy and enhance their employment generating potentials, including implementing a youth employment safety net support programme that includes conditional cash transfer and vocational training; development of industrial clusters; reviewing of university curricular to align with industry job requirements and promotion of apprenticeship/work experience programmes and

joint ventures; enforcement of mandatory sub-contracting and partnering with locals by foreign construction companies and implementation of mandatory skills transfer to Nigerians by foreign construction companies.

Public expenditure managementGovernment is concerned that the sub-optimality of the expenditure profile of the Federal Government of Nigeria since 1999 has seen recurrent spending consistently crowded out capital expenditure, exacerbating the already abysmal state of infrastructure. Recurrent expenditure has fluctuated between 47.5% in 1999 to 80.29 per cent in 2003, while capital expenditure accounted for only 19.71 per cent of total government expenditure. It notes that it has since increased continually to a nigh of 38.37 per cent of total expenditure in 2009. It has grown much worse in 2011 with government borrowing to finance recurrent expenditures. To remedy the situation, under the transformation agenda, government will entrench a culture of accountability by beginning to sanction and prosecute officers that breach established financial management rules and regulations. The monetization policy will also be strictly enforced.

GovernanceThe Transformation Agenda’s policies on governance are motivated by Nigeria’s inability to decisively tackle most development challenges such as poverty, unemployment, security and deplorable state of infrastructure. These include political governance, economic governance, corporate governance and effectiveness of institutions. During the life of this administration, the policies and programmes directed at addressing governance challenges, will focus on the public service; security, law and order; the legislature; anti-corruption measures and institution; the judiciary; economic coordination and support for private investment. The critical policy thrust of governance will be to maximise the benefits the citizenry derive from governance through more effective and efficient use of public resources, proper financial management and fiscal prudence. This entails adequate emphasis on the attainment of law and order, guarantee of safety of lives and property and the provision of an environment in which people find happiness and fulfilment.      

Justice and judiciary The policy thrusts of the justice and judiciary sector will be achieving greater independence for the judiciary in terms of funding, improving capacity and efficiency in judicial service delivery, eliminating all forms of corruption in the administration of justice in Nigeria, enhancing the capacity of the justice ministry to superintend prosecution and improving professionalism in legal practice for better service delivery. 

Foreign policy and economic diplomacyNigeria’s foreign missions are to be properly focused and well funded in order to meet the foreign policy goals of the country. Government may rationalise missions and appoint honorary consuls to deal with consular issues in areas where Nigeria’s interest does not loom large as practiced by other countries.

Legislature Under the planned period, the thrust of the policy will be to facilitate the creation of a dynamic, constitutionally effective and public responsive legislature that is proactive in its legislative

duties and independent but aware of its constitutional partnership with the executive and judicial arms of government. Other policy measures include regular auditing of the activities and publication of annual reports of the national and state legislatures to promote greater transparency and accountability in the use of public funds; promote greater public interest in the scrutiny of legislative actions; and inform public debate to these ends.Attention will be paid to human capital development policies, programmes and projects because of government’s belief that investing in human capital development is critical.

EducationUnder Priority Policies for the Development of Education, the Jonathan administration will promote primary enrolment of all children of school-going age, irrespective of the income profile of the policies; engage in the provision of infrastructure such as classrooms across all levels, so as to ease over-crowding, increase access and reduce pupil/teacher ratio; and enhance the efficiency, resourcefulness and competence of teachers and other education al personnel through training, capacity building and motivation.

Health sectorFor the health sector, the underpinning policy for the inputs towards achieving the human capital development goal of the Vision 20: 2020 strategy is the National Strategic Health Development Plan (NSHDP). The NSHDP is the vehicle for actions at all levels of the health care delivery system which seeks to foster the achievement of the MDGs and other local and international targets and declaration commitments.

Labour and productivity Here, the agenda is to focus on the implementation of the National Action Plan on Employment Creation (NAPEC) targeted at creating five million new jobs annually within the next three years, establishment of more skills acquisition centres; implementation of local content policy in all the sectors, especially in the oil and gas industry in order to boost job creation in the country.

The transformation agenda also provides for Key Policies for the Real Sector under the plan period. Its policies for developing the seven growth drivers are agriculture and food security, manufacturing, and oil and gas. Under agriculture and food security, apart from securing food and the food needs of the country, government will enhance generation of national and social wealth through greater export and import substitution, enhance capacity for value addition leading to industrialisation and employment opportunities, and ensures efficient exploitation and utilisation of available agricultural resources; and enhance the development and dissemination of appropriate and efficient technologies for rapid adoption.

Under manufacturing, the agenda seeks to promote private sector investments through the creation of an enabling environment that allows for substantial improvement in efficiency, productivity and profitability, significantly increase local manufacturing local content and linkages with other sectors of the economy, ensure global competiveness for manufactured goods, make Nigerian manufactured goods major foreign exchange earners and achieve rapid and sustained economic growth through broadening of the nation’s productive base.

In oil and gas, the focus will also be on the promotion of private sector investment in both the

upstream and downstream activities of the oil and gas, deregulation of the industry and promotion of environmentally friendly oil and gas exploration and exploitation methods; strengthening capacity building programmes especially in core technical areas; provision of funding mechanisms for pre-bidding geosciences and surveys of deepwater offshore, gas flare-down to reduce pollutions and increase supply for domestic use and power generation, and local content development.

Infrastructure policies, programmes and projectsGovernment will seek to address the infrastructure deficit in the country in key development areas such as power, transportation, housing, Information Communication Technology (ICT),Federal Capital Territory ( FCT) and Niger Delta.

The Transformation Agenda stresses the critical importance of these areas in the national development. Between 2011 and 2015, key priority policies will be pursued to develop infrastructure and consequently engender sustained growth and development in the country.

Power  Government envisages that the total proposed investment in the power sector during the period is about N1, 896 trillion. This will cover investments in four areas of power generation, transmission, distribution and alternative energy. This expenditure aims at increasing generation and transmission capacity in order to provide adequate and sustainable power, intensifying rural electrification efforts in a more efficient manner; and achieving optimal energy mix using the most appropriate technology.

The strategies to be adopted in achieving these include creating a deregulated and competitive electric power sector to attract foreign and local investments; ensuring a viable commercial framework for the electric power sector including a tariff regime that promotes transparency, guarantees security of investments and a reasonable rate of return on investments; ensuring the transmission capacity and providing redundancies in the transmission system so as to ensure a fully integrated network that minimises transmission losses while strengthening grid security.

Information and Communication TechnologyThe proposed investment for the ICT sector between 2011 and 2015 is N22.2 billion. The agenda will focus on the development of a national Knowledge Based Economy (KBE) 10-year Strategy Plan, sustained human capacity development in ICT; creation of a favourable and friendly investment and enterprise environment through transparency in tax systems, anti-trust laws, incentives and trade policies that would stimulate local and foreign investments in ICT, as well as development of infrastructure, particularly global connectivity as a prerequisite to leveraging the benefits of the global economy, improving domestic productivity and attracting foreign investments. Other strategies are: creation of an enabling environment through appropriate policies, legal, regulatory and institutional frameworks and enhancing Public -Private Partnership (PPP) in project funding, financing and management.

Niger DeltaAs for Niger Delta, the proposed investment in the region during the Plan period is N335.05 billion. The main policy thrust will be to entrench peace and stability to drive sustainable socio-

economic development in the area with the aim of reducing the high incidence of poverty, high rate of unemployment and high level of insecurity.

Transportation Government expects total investment for the transport sector during the period 2011-2015 to be approximately N4, 465 billion. The investment would cover roads, railways, inland waterways, ports and airports development. The main policy thrust during the Plan period is to evolve a multimodal, integrated and sustainable transport system, with greater emphasis on rail and inland waterways transportation. An enabling environment for Public-Private Partnership (PPP) is being created by designing new policies, legislation and institutional framework that would support the envisaged transformation of the sector.

The transformation agenda ‘s key priority projects are derived from 20 Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) and sectors where a total of 1613 projects were identified, out of which 385 are new while 1361 are ongoing..

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RESIDENT Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s government has made good its promises to use the plethora of projects and programmes conceived under its Transformation Agenda to significantly grow the economy and improve the living standard of the citizens. Barely one year after President Jonathan made that solemn transformational pledge of ‘promising less, but delivering more’, his administration has recorded landmark achievements in all aspects of national life.

Sound economic managementSince assuming office in May 29, 2011, President Goodluck Jonathan’s  economic team has been implementing far-reaching reforms and policies conceived in the economic blue print which seek, among other things, to revive the country’s infrastructure, diversify the economy from oil and create a vibrant economy.

The President had on several occasions reiterated the commitment of his administration to make Nigeria a better place and a global economic power, using the 2012-2015 Medium Term Fiscal Framework (MTFF) and Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) as the linchpin. Apart from setting up clear-cut guidelines for the four-year fiscal regime, the economic blueprint also recommends prudent management of the nation’s wealth to free up more funds for infrastructure projects and other developmental purposes. Finance minister has consistently reiterated government’s resolve to keep fiscal deficit under 3%, in the coming years.

Overall, the present administration states in the documents that its Fiscal Strategy and Economic Objectives over the 2012-2015 period will focus a large portion of spending on key sectors which include Security, Infrastructure (including Power), Agriculture, Manufacturing, Housing and Construction, Entertainment, Education, Health and ICT.

While delivering the 2012 budget, anchored on the new fiscal framework last December before the National Assembly, President Jonathan had assured that his administration has found the

magic wand.  “My government is determined to pursue policies that will ensure a stable macroeconomic environment through a strong and prudent fiscal policy, manageable deficits, sustainable debt-GDP ratio of no more than 30%, and single digit inflation, thereby promoting real growth. We believe that these measures would engender a stable and competitive exchange rate and help to reverse the declining trend of our international reserves”, Jonathan declared.

Sealing leakagesThe government has also taken steps to increase its non-oil revenues by blocking loopholes in the system, including partial removal of subsidy on imported petroleum products. Consequently, the committee on Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment (SURE) Programme launched by the government to manage the savings accruing from the petroleum import funds has set up an international metrics for monitoring, measuring and evaluating each project executed based on the Poverty and Social Impact Analyses model.

Chairman of the committee, Dr. Christopher Kolade, had announced that the programme specifically focused on service delivery and must remain so. “We are going beyond rhetorics to execute the mandate of making sure that the money budgeted is used to alleviate the immediate impact of petroleum subsidy discontinuation on Nigerians, accelerate economic transformation through investment in critical infrastructure projects so as to drive economic growth and achieve Vision 20:2020 and lay a foundation for the successful development of a national safety-net programme that is better targeted at the poor and most vulnerable on a continuous basis,” Dr. Kolade said.

Implementation of the SURE programme, part of which involves provision of public mass transit service, construction and maintenance of roads, provision of maternal and child health care service especially in rural areas and vocational training centres, has since begun. It is noteworthy that the process of recovering mismanaged funds from the subsidy programme has not only begun, but the Presidency is equally reforming the country’s tax system and improving internally generated revenue.

Interestingly too, the government has taken practical steps towards fulfilling its promise to drastically reduce recurrent expenditure to a sustainable level.

Stable power sectorAgainst all odds, Nigeria is on the verge of permanently resolving its power sector crisis. The government made significant leap towards solving the decades-long power sector crisis recently when it increased the electricity generation above 4,000 megawatts, the highest ever. Ministry of Power Prof Barth Nnaji disclosed that it had reduced the incidence of system collapses in the power sector. “Nigeria used to experience an average of four system collapse every month, that is, almost 50 system failures annually. Much as we have reduced the failures in the last one year, our goal is to reduce them to zero,” Prof. Nnaji declared.

According to him, the achievements recorded in the sector in recent time have raised fresh hopes of meeting the 15,000mw target by 2014 and 40,000mw for stable electricity in 2020. Prof. Nnaji recently announced that despite the challenges facing the sector, the government has made stable electricity a top priority by the end of 2012. “We acknowledge that in many homes there is no

power. But we are working hard to improve that. Our goal is to make Nigerians have power continuously for 24 hours. We have now set up a framework for all stakeholders to be involved in delivering power. Therefore, we hope to deliver additional 1,500MW of power to the grid by year end”, he promised.

As part of plans to achieve stable power supply, the government launched the power sector reform road-map and invested huge resource in the project. Also, as part of measures to achieve sustainable industrial growth, the government had put in place certain measures to attract foreign investors into the power sector. Notable development in this regard was the establishment of the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading (NBET) Plc, to enhance smooth operations between the various independent power producers and distribution companies. 

In its bid to make the sector attractive to private investment, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) also introduced new electricity tariff to take effect from June, 2012. ”There are opportunities in that; this is a business which is not serving us efficiently enough, generating revenue of N300-N400 billion. We estimate that within the next 5 years, it will go well over N1.5 trillion,” explained, NERC Chairman, Dr. Sam Amadi. The commission has also made provision for free meters in a bid to help solve the problems of estimated billings.

The initiatives are already bearing fruits, as the government has struck a number of power development deals. In March, Nigeria received the highest expression of investment support by a foreign investor in the power sector when the federal government and the General Electric (GE) Energy of the United States signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for $10 billion power projects. Under the MoU, which was signed at the Nigerian High Commission in London, the $10 billion would be invested in various power plants with combined capacity of 10,000mw, with GE taking 15 per cent equity in each of the power plants.

The government, on May 15, signed another agreements with two French companies, valued at about $200 million or N3.14 billion, for the expansion of the country’s transmission network. The deal which also enjoyed the blessing of the French government will see the companies undertake the feasibility studies for the transmission upgrade, and thereafter, select and construct a high voltage transmission line and substations. Transmission hiccups remain the biggest challenge in Nigeria’s power delivery system, as the existing 330 and 132 kv network continue to suffer from prolonged and frequent outages, thus underscoring the need for fortification. Sequel to the new deal, the French power firms — Electricite de France (EDF) and the Enterprise de Transporte et Distribution D’electricity (ETDE) — will source the funds from their home government in form of grants to execute the projects.

According to the Ministry of Power, the French companies are to partner with a Nigerian company, Transnational Energy and Power Systems (TEPS) Ltd, for the execution of the project, in line with government’s local content policy.  “This is a sign of investors growing confidence on the power sector reform. We believe that the Jonathan administration is on the threshold of providing Nigerians with the true dividends of democracy and democratic leadership,” commended the CEO of TEPS, Prince Albert Awofisayo.

The federal government also sealed a N240 billion ($1.6 billion) energy and housing deal with a

consortium of Swiss and European investors last September. The group, comprising Seagas Services Limited and Oceanmar Services Limited, was led by the First Deputy Prime Minister and Head of International Affairs and Investments, Republic of Kosovo, Behgjet Pacolli.

The government’s effort to improve power generation in the country, especially through renewable energy, also got a boost last May when it received a grant of $7.84 million (N2billion) from the government of Japan. The donation under “The Project for Introduction of Clean Energy by Solar Electricity Generation System” was granted to Nigeria for the provision of solar electricity generation systems and to tackle climate change.

Besides wooing foreign investors, the government has taken practical measures to involve local investors in the efforts to solve the country’s electricity crisis. To this end, the NERC recently issued two new regulations that empower states, local governments and communities with the financial muscle to generate and distribute electricity. Through the regulations entitled: “NERC Regulation on Embedded Generation 2012”, the government has practically relinquished its exclusive rights over power.

Meanwhile, recent investigation reveal noticeable improvement in power supply in many parts of the country, on the strength of government’s interventions in the sector. Certain areas that experienced severe outages are now enjoying hours of power supply daily.

Prof. Nnaji, who declared that the improvement in power supply in parts of the country is not a fluke, vows to sustain the tempo. “We will certainly sustain what we have achieved and we are taking deliberate steps to attain this. We have a programme to recover as soon as possible lost capacities at existing power plants. Coupled with the scheduled inauguration of some plants being built under the National Integrated Power Project, we are optimistic of achieving the target of 6,000mw in 2012,” he said.

In conjunction with other economic team players, the minister has taken proactive measures to tackle inefficiency in the power sector. One of such measures was the placement of all chief executives of the 18 PHCN successor companies on performance indicators to engender efficient service delivery. “Every CEO who meets the expectations of the people will be rewarded and any CEO who fails to justify the confidence reposed in him will have to go elsewhere. Competence is the guiding principle,” Nnaji said.

To demonstrate that he meant his words, the minister had sacked non-performing managers and chief executives in the sector, replacing them with more competent ones. And since he started wielding the big stick, services across the distribution and transmission channels have improved tremendously.

Agricultural revolution on courseApparently piqued by the country’s spending of well over N1.3 trillion per annum on the importation of foodstuffs which it could produce locally, President Jonathan is determined to end the importation of rice before the end of his tenure in 2015. “Before we leave office in 2015, we must stop the importation of rice. There is no reason Nigeria should be importing rice. We have all that is needed to grow enough for domestic consumption and have a surplus we can export to

other countries,” the President assured.

True to his pledge, Dr Jonathan handed the Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, the task and the tool with which to transform the sector, guarantee food security and reduce decreasing the country’s embarrassing food imports. The agenda also involves making agriculture, together with manufacturing, the lynchpin of the Nigerian economy.

As a commitment to his mandate, Dr. Adesina recently declared that his ministry has come up with a new strategy for achieving a hunger-free Nigeria through an agricultural sector that drives income growth, accelerates achievement of food and nutritional security, generates employment and transforms Nigeria into a leading player in global food markets.

According to him, the government is focusing on the agriculture value chain where Nigeria has comparative advantage. “We will focus on collaborating with state and local governments; inter-ministerial collaboration, private sector, farmer groups and civil society as well as targeting the youth and women for equitable growth,” the minister said.

The transformation from rustic farming to mechanized agriculture which requires empowering local farmers to adopt modern and cost-effective technologies is now vigorously pursued.  The Ministry of Agriculture is working towards engendering improved quality and distribution of fertilizers; marketing reforms; innovative financing and developing commodity exchange; research and development; competitive exchange rates; and development of storage infrastructure. These new measures are aimed at liberating the country from food insufficiency and making it a major food exporter in the nearest future.

Interestingly, the National Economic Management Team has unveiled an Agriculture Transformation Agenda (ATA) which has the capacity to generate over 3.5 million jobs. “To ensure food security and create wealth, 11 commodity value chains: rice, sorghum, cocoa, maize, soybean, oil palm, cotton, cassava, livestock, fisheries and horticulture, have been formulated as part of plans to achieve huge increase in production, starting from 2012,” he said.

The government is also assisting companies to raise funds from banks to finance input purchase with about N30 billion earmarked for the programme in this year. In addition, government has agreed to pay 10 per cent achievement fees for companies meeting 100 per cent of supply of seeds and fertilizers to farmers.

As part of fixing the challenges in the sector, the Nigeria Incentive Based Risk Sharing System for Agriculture Lending (NIRSAL) is expected to leverage N450 billion from banks into agricultural value chains. Marketing Corporations are being established for selected agricultural value chains to coordinate the production, investments, grades and standards, market price stabilization, among others for selected value chains in Nigeria. These efforts are geared towards realizing the government’s target.

To ensure that the target is met, the Agric Ministry has developed four key principles in executing the programmes.  The first principle called ‘subsidiarity’ touches every part of the country’s agricultural value chain would   simultaneously. The second approach, involves working within a

framework of strategic partnerships with the private sector, civil society and particularly farmers.  The third principle is to treat agricultural endeavour as an investment which must generate return like any other viable business, while the fourth focuses on using bottom-top approach to engender accountability and delivery of results in the entire programme.

Dr Adesina, other ministries, departments and agencies are equally contributing to the success of the agricultural revolution project. “We are going to produce an agricultural scorecard in which we will look at the progress we are making and not just the Federal Ministry of Agriculture but a lot of ministries that are critical to making that sector work; the issue of power, water and roads, so we are going to come up with a plan in which there is will be accountability at all levels,” he said.

Transport sector revivalLately, Nigeria’s transport sector has shown signs that the reforms initiated by the federal government over the years have started yielding fruits. This follows marching orders by the federal government for the completion of all ongoing projects as a matter of urgent national priority. The projects include the dual-carriage Abuja-Abaji-Lokoja road; construction of Oju-Loko-Oweto bridge linking Nassarawa and Benue states; dual-carriage Kano-Maiduguri road; construction of the 2nd Niger Bridge in Delta/Anambra states; rehabilitation of the Shagamu-Ore-Benin dual carriageway; and the rehabilitation of the Onitsha-Enugu-Port Harcourt dual carriageway.

Government has also unveiled plan to finance six critical road projects in the six geo-political zones in addition to the introduction of a new mass transit bus scheme with the proceeds accruable from the partial deregulation of the oil sector through the SURE Programme.

Apart from massive rehabilitation of roads and airports across the country, the federal government has also initiated policies to make the transport sector a private sector-driven through a Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) model. In what looks like a major milestone, the federal government on May 14 announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership deals with foreign and local investors to rehabilitate and construct major roads across the country.

Minister of Works, Mike Onolememen, said three important projects, the Apakun (Oshodi)-Murtala Muhammed Airport Road, Lagos, the Second Niger Bridge in Delta and Anambra states and the Nupeko Bridge in Niger State, have been earmarked for execution through the PPP-funding model.

According to him, there are positive responses from local and international investors to the advertisement by the ministry in December 2011 for Expression of Interest by consultants wishing to act as Transaction Advisors and would-be concessionaires. “The final stages of the selection of successful transaction advisors and commissionaires are on-going. Many more projects under the PPP funding model are being prepared for procurement as the Outline Business Case (OBC) for each of them had been completed,” Onolomemen said, adding that the ministry had been able to attract foreign investors.

“The ministry has also been actively engaged in foreign investment drive in which potential

investors from the USA, France, China, Egypt, etc, are encouraged to intervene in the road sector. Already, Expressions of Interest had been received from several of them and are currently being assessed,” he added.

Aside executing road projects across the country, the federal government has intensified efforts towards fixing the railways, with the commencement of Mass Train Transit Service (MTTS) on several routes, among which is the Lagos-Ilorin train service which began operations recently. The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has taken practical steps in its efforts to resume goods haulage across Nigeria following the launch of Ewekoro-Ilorin weekly cement haulage. The Minister of Transport, Alhaji Idris Umar, recently disclosed that the corporation has finalized plans to commence the haulage of petroleum products and agricultural produce across the country.

“The haulage activity of the NRC is to cover every aspect of our economy. The Lafarge/WAPCO Cement Company only partnered with the corporation.  And we are going to embark on the movement of petroleum products and agricultural produce among others,” the minister said, adding that the ongoing railway revitalization and modernization is designed to enhance economic growth of the country.

The corporation is expected to take delivery of 20 pressurised tank wagons it ordered last year for the haulage of petroleum products across the country. This would also come side by side with the introduction of special wagons for the movement of agricultural produce in the country. Efforts are also in top gear to ensure that construction companies (China Gezhouba Group Corporation (CGGC), Esser Contracting and Industry Ltd and Lingo Nigeria Ltd) handling the rehabilitation of the 2,119-kilometres three Eastern rail lines meets the 10 months completion deadline.  The three Eastern lines, comprising 463 kilometres rail lines from Port Harcourt to Makurdi; 1,016 kilometres rail lines from Makurdi to Kuru, with the inclusion of spur line to Jos and Kafanchan; and 640 kilometres rail lines from Kuru to Maiduguri were awarded at a cost of N67,337,252,898.30.

Alhaji Umar insists that the completion of the contracts, whose scope covers a comprehensive rehabilitation of the tracks, bridges and culverts within the 2,119 kilometres track lines, would be the climax of the comprehensive rehabilitation campaign embarked upon by the Jonathan administration a year ago.

Apart from the ongoing rehabilitation of the entire fixed and movable assets of the rail transport industry with the 1,315 kilometre Lagos-to-Kano track, the government has procured 25 new general electric locomotive engines and workshop equipment; installed three generators of 1,000KVA, 750 KVA and 5,000 KVA; and refurbished 500 wagons and coaching facilities.

The federal government has also made tremendous progress in repositioning the country’s aviation sector with the completion of the first phase of airport rehabilitation project. The N38 billion-worth project which involves remodeling of 11 national airports have reached completion stage, with the second phase commencing in June.  Some of the airports being remodeled in the first phase are the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos; Nnamdi Azikiwe Intenational Airport, Abuja; Sam Mbakwe Airport, Owerri; Yola Airport and Benin Airports.

Minister of Aviation Princess Stella Oduah explained that the facility upgrade at the designated airports was part of the comprehensive programme of the government aimed at making the country’s aviation industry the best in the continent. “We want to make sure that we don’t play with customers’ safety at all times, which is why we are doing total reconstruction of the airports. Every airport going forward will be branded new with double capacities. Every airport in the country would be remodeled”, she promised.

She also reiterated the commitment of the present administration to seeing that air travelers using the nation’s facilities enjoy value for their money. “We want to ensure that passengers have safe of transportation and value for their money. Most importantly, we want every Nigerian and stakeholder to be proud of our airport environments. It is a total transformation of the aviation sector,” the minister said.

Interestingly too, the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) is being repositioned to deliver on the expected capacity building needed by the sector as well as for export.

In the maritime sector, government has equally initiated reforms to tackle the rot in the Nigerian ports. The reforms, which came in various phases, were geared towards eliminating the hiccups in the operations of the nation’s seaports in Onne, Calabar, Warri, Lagos, Koko and Sapele.

Investment HavenBeing Africa’s largest market with a population of about 160 million people and 25% of the continent’s GDP, Nigeria is gunning to become, not only the largest economy in Africa but a top 20 economy in the next decade. To achieve that, the country requires massive foreign direct investment estimated at US$10 trillion. The Jonathan administration’s quest for- an- nvestment-driven economy led to the creation of a Ministry of Trade and Investment which is already bearing good fruits. Since the creation of the ministry, there have been worthwhile investment commitments in the power, manufacturing, agriculture, petroleum and mining sectors, among others worth trillions of dollars.

In a bid to fast-track the inflow of Foreign Direct Investment into the country, the government also created Trade and Investment desks within Nigeria’s main embassies to act as facilitators, first points of contact and sources of information for investors. Besides, the ministry is also collaborating with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to develop commercial objectives for the country’s main embassies. To this end, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has approved that genuine foreign investors entering the country be given multiple entry visas at the point of entry. It is the first time such a policy would be put in place in Nigeria.

The move appear to be yielding positive results, going by the ministry’s reports on embassies’ operations. This move, according to many Nigerian ambassadors abroad, has made them busy and opened up the economy for a turnaround.

In a bid to boost the country’s investment potential and competitiveness in business environment, the Government, through the Ministry of Trade and Investment, has mapped out a four-year plan. According to the ministry, the government had set up two committees - ‘Doing business and

competitiveness’ and ‘Investor-care’; with numerous terms of reference as a first step in a series of well laid-out plans to achieve the set targets. The ambitious programme, which enjoys the support of the UK Department for International Development, World Bank and other international organisations, involves clearing all bottlenecks inhibiting the full actualisation of Nigeria’s trade potential and repositioning the country’s trade to serve as a catalyst for job creation, wealth generation and economic transformation. 

“Nigeria is a very green area for investors”. Basically from 1999 to date, we have established a democratic government. For investors, Nigeria has strong laws and media. No president can just change laws that can affect investors. There has never been a better time to invest in the country than now,” President Jonathan explains.

Social developmentThe government is not relenting in its resolve to provide basic amenities for its teeming population. Plans to kick of massive housing and road construction projects, which will serve as a great potential for job creation, have reached advanced stage.

Education is equally a top priority of the Jonathan administration. Dr Okonjo-Iweala recently reiterated government’s commitment to improve the quality of education in the country. According to her, Dr Jonathan’s administration identifies education as a pivotal sector that deserves priority investment for the creation of a competitive labour force.

To this end, the government is undertaking holistic measures to improve quality of learning at all levels, increase secondary enrolment and completion rates by 10%, with special focus on women. Education Minister, Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufai believes that “provision of quality education to Nigeria will become a reality within the next five years, while the overhaul of the education sector will be completed in 10 years provided the education reform agenda is dutifully implemented.”

She posits that the focus is on two primary issues: access and equity, as well as standards and quality assurance. “Whatever we are going to do right from primary, junior secondary, secondary and tertiary, we have to actually focus on the quality of education vis-a-vis the issue of access to schools”.

Another area that government is desperately trying to improve is the health sector. Aware of the fact that good health contributes to economic growth, government is seeking to improve the implementation of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). It is equally taking practical steps to ensure that the country meets the MDGs target on health. To this end, efforts have been geared towards improving the quality of health care services offered in government hospitals, while providing the enabling policy environment for private health care practitioners to offer quality services.

Actualizing Vision 20: 2020The goal of the Vision 20:2020 policy is to restructure the economy by diversifying its productivity base for greater domestic content and value. This way, the economy will be on track towards making Nigeria one of the world’s top 20 economies by 2020.

Minister of Planning and Vice Chairman of the National Planning Commission (NCP), Dr Shamsuddeen Usman believes Nigerian is on course: “with the little we have done, the Nigerian economy has moved from 44th position in 2009 to 41st,” he says confidently.

The NPC has outlined medium-term implementation plans that would enable it to embark on proper growth targets and evaluation. About N35 trillion would be required to achieve the 2011 - 2015 medium-term plan, funding for which will be provided by the federal, state and local governments as well as the private sector. “Government has directed the tracking of performance of MDAs at the federal and state level, out of which 92 MDAs were evaluated. We must begin to imbibe international best practices,” Usman says.

Following the fresh marching orders of President Jonathan on the transformation project, the minister has assured that the country’s that it growth targets will be met especially as the government is determined to encourage more private sector participation in the economy, while plugging leakages to save funds for implementation of the growth projections.

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. Participants at an Investment Conference in London have endorsed the economic policies and the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan. The Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, said this at the Federal Executive Council meeting chaired by Vice President Namadi Sambo at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on wednesday.

At a post-FEC briefing by the Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, leading investors that attended the recent investment conference expressed confidence in the economy of Nigeria and interest to invest in the country.

Maku said the minister of finance also told FEC that the world was appreciative of ongoing reforms in Nigeria, as the country's macro-economic policies were some of the best in the world, and that Nigeria was becoming the first choice investors' destination in Africa.

Maku noted that the special investment conference on Nigeria, which was put together by the Bank of Industry in partnership with other institutions, was attended by Nigeria's ministries and departments concerned with providing infrastructure and easing investment procedures.

He said: "The Coordinating Minister of the Economy told us that the world is very appreciative of the present reforms taking place in Nigeria. Specifically, she said global investors believe that the micro-economic policies of Nigeria are presently some of the best in world."

The Minister of Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji, also briefed the FEC on Tuesday's close of bidding for power generation and distribution companies in which 79 firms showed interest.