BusinessDay 01 May 2020

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news you can trust I ** friDAY 01 may 2020 I vol. 19, no 554

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omentum is building in government circles in Nigeria towards a marketdetermined foreign exchange management regime which will also see a convergence of the country’s multiple exchange rates, senior government offi-

cials told BusinessDay last night.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow has virtually dried up for Africa’s biggest economy with one of the deterrents of fresh inflows being the country’s resistance to have a marketdetermined rate for its currency.

That may now be about to change with the clearest sign being a commitment made to the International Monetary Fund

(IMF) that Nigeria would seek a more flexible and unified naira to respond to the external shock inflicted by the coronavirus pandemic.

BusinessDay also learnt from government sources that the reform of the foreign exchange market has been uppermost in recommendations of the Presidential Economic Advisory Council set up last year.

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“A unification of the multiple exchange rates will be a big boost for the economy,” said Ayodeji Ebo, managing director of Lagos-based investment bank, Afrinvest Securities Ltd. “There will be a reduction in foreign portfolio outflows and we will see fresh inflows. It will also reduce pressure on naira Continues on page 4

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For Nigeria, momentum builds towards market-reflective Fx rate

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FG considers home care for COVID-19 patients as bed space becomes a challenge …receives interim report on Kano mass deaths, deploys medical team, equipment …Kano denies dumping COVID-19 infected Almajiri kids on Kaduna TONY AILEMEN, SOLOMON AYADO, INNOCENT ODOH, GODSGIFT ONYEDINEFU (Abuja) & ADEOLA AJAKAIYE (Kano)

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ederal Government says it is now considering allowing COVID-19 patients to be catered for at home as bed space becomes a challenge, particularly in Lagos, the epicentre of the disease in Nigeria.

Chikwe Ihekweazu, directorgeneral, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), said at the daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 on Thursday in Abuja that governContinues on page 4

Inside

Nigeria to make huge savings from merger, closure of MDAs P. 2

L-R: Herbert Wigwe, GMD/CEO, Access Bank plc; Ajoritsedere Awosika, chairman, and Sunday Ekwochi, company secretary, during the bank’s 31st Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos, yesterday.

Nigeria risks 23% fall in GDP if COVID-19 outbreak, global economic recession P. 2 deepen – Dalberg

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news Nigeria to make huge savings from merger, closure of MDAs MICHAEL ANI

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igeria could save a sizable amount of its finances and deliver greater efficiency with the move to limit the number of its Ministries Department and Agencies (MDAs).

Faced with the realities of dwindling finances from the coronavirus induced fall in crude oil prices as well as demand,president Muhammadu Buhari yesterday directed the implementationof recommendations in the Oronsaye report that calls for the trimmings of government ministries, departments and agencies, This is as concerns mount on the government over Nigeria’s ability to keep up with a high cost of governance in the wake of fallen revenues.

“The government cannot keep up with the numerous agencies it has especially given the fact that the country is constrain financially,” said Oluwapelumi Joseph, head of investors relations at Lagos- based advisory firm, Africapractice said.

“The cutting down of these agencies would help in driving efficiency and freeing up funds to be channelled to relevant sectorsoftheeconomy,”Josephsaid When the report was drafted in April 2012 by a committee, headed by the former Head of Civil Service of the Federation,

Stephen Oronsaye, the committee noted there were 541 statutory, non-statutory federal commissions and agencies, which make the average cost of governance ranked among the highest in the world.

Fast Forward to 2019, the number of ministries, departments and agencies have ballooned to over 1100, data from the budget office shows Then, the committee recommended the abolition of 38 agencies, merger of 52 and reversion of 14 agencies to departments in the relevant ministries.

It also recommended the management audit of 89 agencies through capturing of biometric features of staff and the.

With an agency number over 1000, analysts wonder whether President Buhari would make a deeper cut or stick to those specified in the report, given it was drafted in 2012 with a number around 500.

The decision to review recommendations from the report comes a few days after the International Monetary Funds (IMF) approved a $3.4 loan to Nigeria to help in solving its balance of payment deficit which analysts said could swell to $9 billion by year end.

Critics say the decision to cut down the country’s ballooning cost of governance which is ranked as one of the highest in the world, could come as a recommendation from the fund.

Nigeria risks 23% fall in GDP if COVID-19 outbreak, global economic recession deepen – Dalberg ... Proposes 4 ways to mitigate economic impact LOLADE AKINMURELE

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alberg, a leading international development advisory group, said in a report Thursday that Nigeria could contract by as much as 23 percent this year if the COVID-19 outbreak and the global economic malaise deepen.

In a moderate scenario, however, where there’s “a quick and efficient COVID-19 response and an oil price war détente”, then the economy is estimated to contract by 4 percent, Dalberg said.

The International Monetary Fund expects the Nigerian economy to contract 3.4 percent this year while McKinsey & Co. is projecting a 3.5 percent slump that will see Africa’s largest economy con-

tract by the most since 1987.

In arriving at its forecast, Dalberg employed a comparator methodology based on both the sector-disaggregated experience of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone during the Ebola Virus outbreak from 2014 to 2016 and Nigeria’s economic performance during past recessions and slowdowns (triggered in the past 20 years by global recession or oil price dynamics).

“Nigeria’s economy is still in recovery from the last recession; thus COVID-19, the likely global recession, and the low oil price will put further pressure on the economy,” said Nneka Eze, partner and Nigeria director at Dalberg Advisors.

“Past analyses may have underestimated the potential economic impact of COVID-19

in Africa. For Nigeria, we quantify the potential impacts of both COVID-19 and the global recession, using recent examples from the West Africa (Ebola) andNigeria(pastrecessionsand slowdowns) experience,” Eze said. “Our analysis focuses on the role of and potential impacts on MSMEs as they contribute to 50 percent of Nigeria’s GDP and employ nearly 80 percent of the country’s workforce.”

The report also included a section on micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and highlighted the structural inequality in Nigeria that suggests COVID-19 will differentially affect the poor, and groups such as women and youth.

The report highlighted that while sectors such as agriculture and healthcare might record increased focus and

Kayode Fayemi (r), Ekiti State governor, with Femi Adeoye (of the Father Rejects Son viral Video), when the governor received him in his office in Ado-Ekiti, yesterday.

FG plans 2-week progress watch for phased easing of lockdown in key states ... Lagos BRT to carry 21 passengers from Monday Joshua Bassey & Segun Adams

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heFederalGovernment will evaluate outcomes after two weeks from Monday to determine if it would maintain, reverse or further ease the lockdown in Lagos, Abuja and Ogun State, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has said.

In a document by Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 (PTF) titled “Guidelines and Recommendations on Reopening the Nigerian Economy”, NCDC explained how the subnational economies would gradually reopen.

“Each phase (of lifting lockdown) is proposed for an initial two-week period with progression on to the next phase subject to review of progress,” the disease control agency said, noting that there would be a two-week evaluation period between phases.

States and the Federal Government would work with NCDC guidelines to determine progression to a subsequent phase. Decisions would be made by evaluating data on active cases and the progress in the key sectors

within the state.

Following the two-week period, a decision would be made whether to tighten the lockdown protocol, remain at the current phase or move onto the next phase, NCDC said.

This means the period from phase one to phase two could span six weeks.

PresidentMuhammaduBuhari had on April 27 announced that the lockdown in the key states of Lagos, Abuja and Ogun would be eased starting from Monday, May 4 to soften blows to the state economies.

The president also announced a two-week lockdown in Kano and a ban on interstate travels except for moving food, drugs and a few other essentials.

Under the first phase, NCDC said activities in select sectors like agricultural sector, public works, air and road transportation would resume subject to an 8pm-6am general curfew while selected offices would open from 9am to 2pm.

Use of facemasks has been mandated as well as socialdistancing practices, while individuals below 15 or above 49 are advised to stay indoors. www.businessday.ng

investment to secure food security and to increase healthcare capacity, increased strain on the economy could leave sectors such as trade, and arts and entertainment without economic recovery support.

Further, interventions may unwittingly exclude women and low-income individuals when they require access to bank accounts, identification, or collateral, or do not take into account the hardest to reach groups in their design.

Tohelpmitigatetheeconomic impacts in Nigeria, Dalberg proposes priority actions that are sustainable and inclusive.

The proposed actions include: • Addressing the usual suspects. These actions include investing in infrastructure and high-potential sectors to support local productivity.

Underserved population worst hit as COVID-19 exposes Nigeria’s failed education system ... Experts call for collaboration to tackle gaps post COVID-19 KELECHI EWUZIE & MICHEAL ANI

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he coronavirus pandemic which has crippled economic activities across the globe has laid bare Nigeria’s failed education system.

The sector has been one of the biggest losers since the outbreak of the pandemic forced the government to enact a total closure and disruption of academic activities across the country.

Chukwuemeka Nwa-

jiuba, minister of state for education, said the pandemic has so far exposed the weakness in the country’s educational system with a more devastating effect on the underserved populace.

Unlike other countries of the world that have resorted to the use of intensive technology to facilitate e-learning process and tame the economic and financial impact of the pandemic on their education sector, Africa’s largest economy has been

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left in the shade due its high infrastructural deficit, high poverty levels and widening inequality gap that has cast a spell on the nation’s ability to use digital technology to drive an inclusive learning for its burgeoning population.

These are issues of serious concern to both private and public sector players in Nigeria’s education space who, in a webinar session put together by BusinessDay in collaboration with telecommunications giant @Businessdayng

MTN Nigeria on Thursday, joined voices together in brainstorming on ways the country’s educational sector could better avert any impending dangers that might stem from the pandemic.

The session, which is the fourth in a row, was moderated by Yinka David-West, a professor at the Lagos Business School.

It hosted stakeholders in Nigeria’s education sector who spoke on the theme Continues on page 4

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NEWS

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MDAs to open 3 days weekly, as level 14 officers and above resume work May 4 TONY AILEMEN, Abuja

F Hope Uzodimma, governor, Imo State, receiving Covid-19 palliative support from Augustine Uwakwe, the Ag. vice-chancellor of Gregory University, Uturu (GUU), during a visit and presentation of Covid-19 palliatives at Sam Mbakwe Exco Chamber, Imo State Government House, Owerri

How Nigeria, other African countries are easing COVID-19 induced lockdowns ... continent-wide partnership aims to conduct one million tests monthly STEPHEN ONYEKWELU & ANTHONIA OBOKOH

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n March 21, Rwanda became the first subSaharan African country to impose a nationwide lockdown after the Central African country confirmed 17 cases of the novel coronavirus. In no chronological order Ghana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria followed suit.

After this initial wave of nationwide lockdowns to contain the spread of COVID-19, African countries have started to ease the lockdown and to gradually reopen economies.

“National and regional lockdowns have helped to slow down the spread of COV-

LEKOIL, Optimum agree to restructure OPL310 development SEGUN ADAMS

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EKOIL, oil and gas exploration and production company with a focus on Nigeria and West Africa, has announced that further to the Company’s announcements on January 21, March 25, and April 3, 2020, it has reached an agreement with Optimum Petroleum Development Company, operator of the OPL 310 licence, on deferring the final tranche of payment of $7.6 million due on or before May 2, 2020.

Speaking on the agreement, Yusuf N’jie, managing director, Optimum Petroleum Development Company, said, “The current challenges in the oil industry - the unprecedented supply and demand shock brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, requires true partnership and collaboration and we

ness for testing and prevention of transmission. Other African countries such as Nigeria and South Africa have also started the process of easing the nationwide lockdown beginning with a phased reopening of the economy. Several factors have emboldened Nigeria and other African peers to ease the lockdowns.

At the continental level, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, an organ of the African Union, under the Partnerships for Accelerated COVID-19 Testing (PACT) the Africa CDC, aims to conduct one million tests every month and 10 million tests in four months.

This initiative aims to deploy one million health workers for contact tracing and to

ID, but it remains a considerable public health threat,” said Matshidiso Moeti, the World Health Organisation (WHO) regional director for Africa. “Lockdowns are being eased in some parts of Africa, but we cannot just revert back to how things were before the outbreak. If governments abruptly end these measures, we risk losing the gains countries have made so far against COVID-19.”

According to the Africa Centres for Disease Control (and Prevention), the continent has 37,393 confirmed cases, 1,598 deaths and 12,228 recoveries.

About two weeks ago, Ghana started the process of easing the nationwide lockdown, citing better prepared-

are pleased to work with LEKOIL in this regard.”

Over the years, LEKOIL and Optimum have worked together to develop OPL310, located on the Dahomey Basin.

As previously announced on January 21, 2020, LEKOIL agreed that a final payment of $9.6 million, in aggregate, would be made to Optimum to cover sunk costs and consent fees. This final payment was to be made in two tranches with the first payment of $2 million completed as announced on April 3, 2020.

For the second and final payment of $7.6 million, Optimum and LEKOIL have agreed a deferred payment schedule as follows: the sum of $1 million to be paid on or before July 15, 2020; the sum of $2 million to be paid on or before September 2, 2020, and the sum of $4.6 million to be paid on or before November 2, 2020.

COVID-19: Edo salutes health workers, applauds their sacrifice, resilience amid pandemic

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standardise and deploy new technologies for surveillance to help reopen economies.

PACT is also designed to establish Africa-wide pooled procurement, storage and distribution hubs.

In a document, COVID-19 Pandemic Updates West Africa Private Sector Regional Call the Africa CDC has outlined an Africa-wide strategy grounded on three pillars. operationalised by the Africa Coronavirus Taskforce (AFTCOR) with an estimated total budget of $430 million the three pillars include – preventing transmission, which targets procurement of surveillance, diagnostic and infection prevention and control (IPC) supplies.

do State governor, Godwin Obaseki, has hailed health workers on the frontlines of efforts to manage the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the state, noting that their commitment, resilience and sacrifices are enviable and commendable.

The governor said this in commemoration of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work marked every year by the United Nations (UN) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO), as well as other UN organs.

According to Obaseki, “We have done a lot to ensure that Edo people are protected from coronavirus by imposing restrictions and ensuring safety and good hygiene, but those who have stood on the frontlines of this fight are the health workers.

These immensely valuable set of workers have continued to mount a formidable shield against the coronavi-

rus pandemic and have done an excellent job at managing the spread of the virus.”

The governor said the state government had provided in-service training, life insurance and special allowances to the health workers managing the coronavirus pandemic in the state and would continue to ensure that they are well motivated to perform even more effectively.

“We have some of the best set of hands working in the healthcare sector in the state.

A lot of these persons spend time away from their families and loved ones. They are working tirelessly to ensure that we do not record fatalities among those who contract the virus.

“One of the key observations we have made in the past three weeks is that all those who are being treated at our isolation centres have recorded 100 per cent recovery.”

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ederal government on Thursday said Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs) of government would open three days in a week - Mondays Wednesdays and Fridays.

A statement on Thursday by the Head of Service (HoS) of the Federation, Folasade Yemi-Esan also directed officers on Grade Level 14 and above, including those on essential services, to resume work with effect from Monday, May 4, 2020.

The statement signed by Olawunmi Ogunmosunle, director, information in the office of the HoS, said the directive was further to President Muhammadu Buhari’s broadcast on a phased and gradual easing of the lockdown measures occasioned

by COVID-19.

According to the direc-

tives, “Offices are to open three (3) times a week, namely Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. The closing time shall be 2.00pm on each day.”

The statement directed the concerned officers to ensure full compliance with the directives and advice on the prevention of the COVID -19 pandemic.

“These measures include maintenance of social distancing, regular washing and/or sanitising of hands and wearing of face masks.

Officers are to limit the number of visitors they receive to the barest minimum. They should also ensure that the visitors comply with safety and health advices/directives.

“Permanent Secretaries and CEOs are also advised to ensure that hand washing and sanitation facilities are placed at entrances and strategic points in their MDAs.

Workers mark May Day without rallies as TUC, NUPENG lament state of healthcare system JOSHUA BASSEY

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or the first time in several years, workers across the world are today marking this year’s May Day without the usual fanfare and rallies.

The workers would be constrained to mark the day, also known as ‘Workers’ Day’ indoors due to the ravaging Covid-19 pandemic that has led to the death of thousands of people across the world, forcing lockdown of several countries.

The May Day dates back to the late 19th Century in Chicago, where workers went on strike to protest their long, gruelling working hours in unsafe factories, construction sites, and other environments. The day is marked to commemorate the workers’ plight.

Speaking on this workers’ day, Quadri Olaleye, president, Trade Union Congress (TUC), laments the state of the Nigerian health system 60 years after independence, say-

ing it is time to fix it.

Olaleye calls on the government to intervene in the prices of food and other essential commodities to help Nigerians, as the country begins a gradual easing of lockdown.

“Covid-19 pandemic met us in a state of unpreparedness. The chief of staff to the president died of coronavirus complications. Abba Kyari’s death presents us a great opportunity to revisit our health sector challenges. All existing federal teaching/specialists hospitals should be upgraded and equipped with the state of the art medical equipment to meet the modern day standards and the new emerging disease conditions,” Olaleye says.

The labour leader also appeals to the government to set up standard state of the art hospitals in each of the six geopolitical zones to ensure the pandemic does not consume more Nigerians. This, the TUC leadership believes, will create accessibility to all Nigerian.

Glo assures workers of better times ahead

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igeria’s fully integrated telecoms firm, Globacom, has called on Nigerian workers not to feel discouraged by the current situation of things in the country, assuring that better times would still come.

Globacom said this in a goodwill message to Nigerian workers on the occasion of this year’s May Day. The company said even though the entire world was confronting the problem of a highly infectious disease, COVID-19, which had closed down most industries, there was certainty that better times @Businessdayng

would come soon.

Globacom urged Nigerian workers to see the current challenges as an opportunity to reflect over their past and redouble their efforts for better successes in the coming months.

The telecom company charged Nigerian workers to remain committed to the task of building the Nigerian nation of everyone’s dream.

“As you join your counterparts across the world to celebrate yet another Workers’ Day, Globacom wishes to congratulate you for being undeterred by the challenges workers face all over the world.

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insight FG considers home care for COVID-19...

Continued from page 1

ment was also struggling to

L-R: Solomon Adeola, chairman, Senate committee on finance; Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning, and Jibrin Barau, after a meeting at the National Assembly to brainstorm on 2020 Budget, in Abuja.

For Nigeria, momentum builds...

Continued from page 1

and reduce the incentive

for round tripping.”

To attract FDI, however, Ebo said Nigeria would need more than just a unification of exchange rates to create vehicles for investment and improve the ease of doing business.

Nigeria maintained a plethora of exchange rates or “windows” with the official rate at N306, whereas the rate on the Importers and Exporters (I&E) window was seen by investors and business leaders as the more independent.

There was an adjustment to the exchange rate last month when the monetary authorities moved the official rate to N360 to the US dollar.

In an April 21, 2020 letter of intent to request a $3.4bn funding from the IMF, the Nigerian government pledged to adopt currency flexibility and accepted that this would help protect dwindling international reserves and avert economic distortions.

“We are committed to

maintaining this more unified and flexible exchange-rate regime, which will operate in a market-determined manner and be allowed to respond to shocks, with the Central Bank of Nigeria only intervening to smooth large FX fluctuations,” the government said in a letter contained in the IMF’s staff appraisal of the financing request.

The letter was signed by Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed and Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele.

In its own recommendation to President Muhammadu Buhari, the Doyin Salami-led Economic Advisory Council had welcomed the recent review of the official exchange rate by the CBN but urged quick movement towards a more determined mechanism for exchange rate management because of the situation that Nigeria found itself.

It also requested the president to abolish the practice whereby private companies including oil companies are

Underserved population worst hit...

Continued from page 2

“Rethinking education in Nigeria: The way forward post COVID-19”.

In their various contributions at the dialogue, the stakeholders observed that the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic has amplified the challenges of access, funding, teacher quality and inequity that Nigeria’s education sector grapples with.

They therefore called for a national emergency to rescue this pivotal sector. They also called on the government to build the capacity of teachers,

access to learning infrastructure and ICT and the deployment of such technologies.

For the rich who could afford some of the best private schools, the lockdown offered an avenue to explore the use of digital learning processes, but for the poor who make up the larger chunk of the country’s population, it could be an another devastating move that would increase the country’s outof-school children which as at 2015 was estimated at 10.5 million.

“With digital learning, the role of teacher is not www.businessday.ng

compelled to sell their foreign currency to the central bank.

This way, the companies can sell directly to deposit money banks in Nigeria.

The council said a more market-reflective rate would help Nigeria and its tiers of government make the painful adjustment to current fiscal realities, allowing the federal, state and local governments more naira proceeds to cover vital requirements to save the country from social upheavals.

According to the council, the change would also help Nigeria improve its competitiveness so it could better take advantage of emerging opportunities in a post-COVID-19 global market place.

Thirdly, the council said the adoption of market-determined rates and the convergence of rates would help Nigeria advance gains so far recorded in the emerging revival of the agricultural sector by facilitating fair pricing for farmers and their labour.

Asking that the I&E window be adopted as the only exchange rate in Nigeria, the advisory council said the na-

tional currency should not be allowed to become overvalued in the future because of the negative impact on economic growth and capital formation.

On April 28, the IMF approved $3.4 billion of emergency funding for Africa’s biggest oil producer, the single biggest disbursement for any country yet with the coronavirus pandemic.

Nigeria has now fallen off the table of top five FDI recipients in Africa where Egypt (1st), South Africa, Congo, Morocco and Ethiopia now hold sway in that order.

According to a report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), “FDI to West Africa declined almost 20 percent in 2018 largely due to Nigeria where inflows plunged 43 percent.”

Even smaller African peer, Ghana, now tops Nigeria on the FDI table.

Total FDI into Nigeria as a percentage of gross fixed capital formation has plunged to a mere 3.8 percent compared with Ghana where it is at 22 percent.

just about delivering content because content is everywhere, but about facilitating relationships,” said Folawe Omikunle, CEO, Teach for Nigeria.

To tackle the challenges of access to quality education, quality of teachers, there is a need to find leaders across all sector, Omikunle said.

Bunmi Lawson, managing director, Edfinance Microfinance Bank, called on the Federal Government with support of the private sector to provide critical infrastructure.

Lawson said government needs to change the structure of education funding, calling for a con-

trol to achieve the most efficient manner of funding.

Sim Shagaya, founder of U Lesson, said Nigeria must in the face of COVID-19 show a willingness to experiment with new ways to deliver education and scaling He, however, said the good thing about the crisis is that Nigeria does not have a choice than to use the opportunity of the coronavirus to try new things about learning.

Other members of the panel include Yoyin Adesina, CEO, Corona Schools Trust Council, and Adetunji Adegbesan.

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make bed spaces available to some extent in Kano and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), but said the “biggest challenge is in Lagos, where bed spaces are really tight”.

There are about 3,500 bed spaces available for COVID-19 patients across the country, Ihekweazu said, but added that FG was working with Lagos State government to make more bed spaces available.

Due to this shortage, Ihekweazu said government was considering home care in Lagos State.

“We are struggling at the moment, ultimately we might have to change their strategy a little bit and start considering home care in certain circumstances, to provide a room where a patient can be managed sufficiently and, secondly, we are able to support the care by enabling health care workers come to that,” he said.

He further said the NCDC is scaling up testing for COVID-19 by deploying more health workers to go into communities to collect samples of cases that meet the case definition.

He said all health-care workers have now been trained to go in quietly not to attract a lot of attention, particularly in Lagos, FCT and Kano States with ongoing community transmission.

He urged every citizen within community to accept and give the healthcare workers the needed cooperation to enable them carry out their jobs.

The DG informed that response in Kano was improving, saying there are now two laboratories functioning and a third one would be activated by the weekend.

Ihekweazu also admitted that the proposed Infectious Diseases Control Bill which has received enormous pushback since it passed second reading in the House of Representatives on Tuesday still requires more consultation, if it must serve the purpose for which it’s being created.

He said passing such bill in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic is not advisable, but should be done carefully after the crisis, with wide consultations with stakeholders to draft a bill that will serve the country now and in the future.

Also speaking, Osagie Ehanire, minister of health, informed that the Federal Government has received an interim report on the mass deaths in Kano State and would soon make the details public.

Ehanire said already, a medical team and equipment including ambulances, thermometres, ventilators, personal protective equipment (PPE), among others had been deployed to Kano to provide emergency services in the state, while the full report on the Kano deaths was being awaited. @Businessdayng

Boss Mustapha, chairman, Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 and secretary to the government of the federation, confirmed that isolation and treatment centres with holding capacity for 274 persons have been established in Kano State.

Mustapha said the PTF on COVID-19, in the immediate, has further strengthened the statetoscaleupitsresponsewith the provision of necessary facilities and medical equipment to diminish the fight against the pandemic in the state.

He said the medical equipment released and transported to Kano to beef up the response include two oxygen concentration and three ventilators, 280 protective gowns, 51 face shields, 538 examination gloves, 25 boot covers, medical masks and surgical caps and IR thermometres. “​I am confident that the above collaboration complemented by the lockdown directed by the president will be effective in slowing down the spread while we continue to test, detect, isolate, contact trace and manage cases. Also, the on-going investigation into the causes of the recently reported high number of deaths will be pursued to a logical conclusion,” Mustapha said.

To totally contain the situation in Kano, Ehanire said the Federal Ministry of Health is supporting Kano State COVID-19 Task Force with necessary material, training and human resources.

“The material and human resources include assembling and dispatching a technical team from FMoH and virus infectious disease specialists from Irrua Specialist Hospital to join a technical team from Lagos Ministry of Health that is already on ground in Kano at the request of H.E. the Governor of Kano State,” Ehanire said.

“The Ministerial Task Team sent on a fact-finding mission to Kano has sent an interim report, which provided information on the needs, strengths and weaknesses of the Kano response system.

While I await a full report, this will guide the FMoH in supporting Kano State COVID-19 Task Force with necessary material, training and human resources,” he said.

The minister said there would therefore be a good pool of very experienced hands-on experts to support the leading role of Kano State in the response.

“An emergency medical team from FHoH has left Abuja with ambulances, five of which were kindly donated

by FRSC, on their way to Kano to provide emergency response in view of movement restrictions arising from the lockdown,” he said.

Consequently, he urged all Kano citizens to observe safety guidelines so as to keep safe and prevent spread of the virus.

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RESEARCH&INSIGHT A WEEKLY PUBLICATION OF BUSINESSDAY RESEARCH & INTELLIGENCE UNIT(BRIU)

In association with briu@businessday.ng

08098710024

As coronavirus pandemic worsens, inflation rate increases in Nigeria rate increased by 0.03 percentage point to 11.64 per cent in March 2020 from 11.61 percent in February 2020, a major contributor to that index is the prices of food. At the same time, the index rose by 0.80 per cent, an additional 0.04 percentage point from the 0.76 per cent increase recorded in the previous month.

The percentage change in the average urban index for the twelve-month period ending March 2020, over the average CPI for the previous twelve-month period ending March increased by 12.15 per cent in March 2020 (this is 0.12 percentage point higher than 12.03 per cent reported in February 2020), while the corresponding rural inflation rate in March 2020 was up by 0.05 percentage point to 11.14 per cent in March 2020 compared to 11.09 per cent recorded in the previous month.

ADEMOLA ASUNLOYE

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he w orld pres ently battles COVID-19 pandemic, which has ravaged so many countries of the world, and which in turn have put in place almost homogeneous measures to mitigate the spread of the novel virus. These preventive measures have inadvertently adversely affected economies and health systems of the countries hit by the virus. At present, over three million individuals have been infected across the globe with attendants 220,414 deaths. The United States of America, Italy, Spain, United Kingdom and France are the worst hit. In Nigeria, 44 individuals have been killed by the novel virus and the country has recorded 255 recoveries.

For now, the economic lockdown continues to bite harder, Nigeria is not left behind in this because the economic effects of the mitigation measures put in place by the President of Nigeria, , Muhammadu Buhari have immediately impacted the commodity markets resulting in a higher inflationary trend. With some of these measures still in place, there is a high likelihood the rising trend will continue in the months ahead.

The pandemic effect before the 5-week lock down in some states The economic impact of COVID-19 in Nigeria became more apparent in March 2020 following its first case in February 2020. The impact in March 2020 is a toddler compared to that of April 2020 as the lock down and other major disruptions in normal economic activities of several states were not captured in this article because it is limited to the report of March 2020 alone. The lockdown effect this month will be spotlighted in April 2020 report.

Source: NBS, BRIU The consumer price index, (CPI) which measures inflation increased month-on-month (MoM) by 0.84 per cent in March 2020.

This is 0.05 percentage point higher than the rate recorded in February 2020 (0.79 per cent).

At the same time, the inflation rate increased year-on-year (YoY) by 12.26 per cent in the same month, representing a 0.06 percentage point increase over the YoY rate recorded in February 2020 (12.20 percent) just before the initial 2-week lockdown in Abuja, Lagos and Ogun states.

The percentage change in the average composite (rural and urban) CPI for the twelve-month period ending March 2020, over

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the average CPI for the previous twelve-month period ending March 2019 was 11.62 per cent.

This represents 0.08 percentage point increase over 11.54 percent recorded in similar average for February 2020.

In the urban area, inflation rate increased by 12.93 per cent YoY in March 2020; a 0.08 percentage point increase from 12.85 per cent YoY change recorded in February 2020. On a MoM basis, the urban index rose by 0.88 per cent, up by 0.06 percentage point from 0.82 per cent recorded in the previous month. This MoM growth is largely the contribution of “food prices” to the overall consumer items.

Similarly, the rural inflation

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How did it affect selected foods prices?

From the selected Food Price Watch data in March 2020, the average price of 1 dozen of agric eggs (medium size) increased year-on-year by 0.29 per cent and month-on month by 2.87 per cent to N461.15 in March 2020 from N448.26 in February 2020; while the average price of 1 piece of agric egg (medium size) increased MoM by 1.53 per cent to N39.90 in March 2020 from N39.29 in February 2020. This price represents a decrease of 4.83 per cent YoY. Similarly, the average price of 1kg of tomato increased by 6.25 per cent YoY and by 5.60 per cent MoM to N255.33 in March 2020 from N241.78 in the corresponding month last year. The same price fluctuation was recorded for rice and yam where the average price of 1kg of rice (imported high quality sold loose) increased by 21.21 per cent YoY but decreased by 1.21 per cent MoM to N438.66 from N444.04 while the average

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price of 1kg of yam tuber increased both YoY and MoM by 2.61 per cent and 8.75 per cent respectively to N206.12 from N189.53, all to March 2020 from February 2020.

The “Food” index (for both urban and rural) rose by 14.98 per cent YoY in March 2020 compared to 14.90 per cent in February 2020.

This rise in the food index was caused by increases in prices of bread and cereals, fish, potatoes, yam and other tubers, oils and fats, vegetables, and fruits.

On a MoM basis, the “Food” index was up by 0.94 per cent in March 2020, a 0.07 percentage point increase from 0.87 per cent recorded in February 2020. The average annual rate of change of the “Food” index for the twelvemonth period ending March 2020, over the previous twelve-month average was 14.11 per cent, 0.13 percentage point from the average annual rate of change recorded in February 2020 (13.98) per cent.

On a YoY basis in March 2020, food inflation was highest in Sokoto at 16.81 per cent; Edo, 16.63 per cent and Ogun 16.39 per cent, while Jigawa with an index of 13.69 per cent; Bauchi, 13.40 per cent and Lagos at 13.06 per cent recorded the slowest rise in index.

Quite the contrary in the same month, on a MoM basis, food inflation was highest in the following states: Bayelsa (2.36 per cent), Kogi (2.18 per cent) and Kebbi (2.17 per cent). Kano (0.22 per cent) and Cross River (0.09 per cent) recorded the slowest inflation index while only Lagos recorded a price deflation or negative inflation of 0.51 per cent. This implies that there was a general decrease in the general price level of food in Lagos alone in March 2020.

Food prices were generally highest in Bayelsa, Kwara and Ogun while the same was generally lowest in Bauchi, Jigawa and Katsina.

Friday 01 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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Coronavirus and personal responsibility Tales from the main road

Eugenia Abu

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s we continue to battle Coronavirus collectively as a nation, I have had cause to explain to a number of people that government and organisations will continue to do their bit but the ultimate responsibility for their safety is theirs. I have spoken with several seemingly educated people and others who seem to be in denial and are asking everyone else other than themselves to take responsibility for their safety. The comments range from government should ensure people keep safe distances in public places and place a safe distance officer in place, to government should give all Nigerians enough food to keep us all at home for three months. I am at my wits end on this matter and if anyone can help me untangle this position, please send me a mail. If you go to a public place and another person refuses to keep their social distance, then keep shifting backwards and speak up when someone tries to get in your face. We come from a traditional communal society where we hug and pump hands in a handshake.

In fact, in my Igala community we hug so much, it is unprecedented. We are very similar to Italians; we hug when

we see and are very warm with each other placing family above all things.

See what happened in Italy.

This is not the time to love up on your brother or sister who lives a quarter of a mile off. We can all speak on the phone.

You have no idea where they have been and what they have touched. If you are staying home, you have no idea where your brother has been or if he has been careless. Stay away from each other. You do not love him any less. Stay in your house and do not encourage people to visit you. Passing the buck for personal safety is pretty irresponsible. Going to places that can place you at high risk places all your family members at risk.

If you are a father, take your young kids for a walk all wearing face masks on a lonely street, if you needed them to get some sunshine or fresh air and take that walk near your house. I watch in trepidation young families arrive all together at a pharmacy. Why do you need all your kids, nine, four and two running round a pharmacy where you cannot properly keep them on a leash? Here is what they touch. The pharmacy door handle, the stair case railing, packets of stuff already touched and they are not wearing gloves.

What are you doing?

Last week, I turned up at one of Abuja’s most patronised Pharmacists and I was shocked to find that only half of their staff were wearing masks. The other half walked into you on the aisle like broken cars until you dodged them as you made your way through. Clearly untrained and unhinged, they simply carry on like business as usual. As if that was not enough, I found that the guy at the entrance who takes customers tem-

peratures with a temperature device was not wearing a mask. He approaches you with the device totally unfazed and when he was asked why he was not wearing a mask proceeded to be rude and idiotic by choosing not to answer. In the middle of all of this, at least six people walked in without getting a temperature check placing more people at risk.

This drama continued for all of five minutes and customers who recognised me went into a full Nigerian mode by telling me “Ah, Aunty it’s okay…” rather than join me to form a critical mass and deploy citizen action. In the meantime, my spouse went to get the manager. This manager…hmmm did not seem to know what he was doing. In the end, I had to report to the FCT task force on Covid 19 to get them to behave. Once the task force had gone the Pharmacy returned to its anti-covid 19 attitude. It’s all about the money I will think, the nation is second place. I have often wondered if these complaints to assist us all to be compliant should be borne by just a few.

No one needs to tell responsible persons what time it is under this virus situation.

We are in the middle of a Pandemic and people are still taking money from the poor and depleting whatever has been donated or what their due is. It’s insane. We are in a pandemic and there are some persons responsible for keeping us at home compromising because they know your cousin or for a mess of pottage. If we continue in this casual irresponsible manner, we not only hurt the nation, we hurt our families. I have heard in the grapevine that equipment previously available in some quarters have gone missing as soon as the pandemic

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The Spanish flu claimed a lot of lives in the first wave but reports show that the second wave claimed ten times more people when the lockdown was relaxed.

This is because people began to gather again…

Let us learn the lessons of history

became a thing. When you steal from those who need it most, you will come face to face with the law of karma. Somewhere your family member becomes ill and you have sold what could have been used. Our systems need shoring up.

Our people need to stand up to be counted. Our health workers need to be protected. Our media persons need to be protected. Essential workers are doing their best. Our security need training in non-war civil/ security relationship.

Let us all take responsibility for keeping everyone safe. We are learning under this pandemic that there are so many things we can do without. You do not need that party at this time and where you need to go has to be absolutely important and crucial otherwise stay home. Take responsibility. Report what you see that may put us all at risk. This disease is not child’s play, is no respecter of persons, status, tribes or national borders. Stop passing buck. Do your bit. Do the needful. Take responsibility!

The Spanish flu claimed a lot of lives in the first wave but reports show that the second wave claimed ten times more people when the lockdown was relaxed. This is because people began to gather again, love and backslap each other, began to hug again and failed to keep social distance. Let us learn the lessons of history. The world will never be the same after Coronavirus.

Get your brain in gear. Don’t be a Covidiot!

Eugenia Abu is a broadcaster, writer, trainer, band and multimedia strategy expert and media consultant. Contact. abu_eugenia@yahoo.com

How vulnerability is a leadership strategy (1)

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hen a leader makes unexpected mistakes, they are plagued with varying emotions and the fear of reactions from people who look up to them, haunt them. They are faced with a tough decision: to share their mistakes with their followers and risk being perceived as a failure or hide the truth and face the ripple effects of the mistake alone. Leaders who choose the former enjoy the relief of a Shared burden and all the encouragement they need to get past that phase while those who chose the latter continue to struggle to get past that phase and continue to wallow in fear. This could lead to irritation at work, grumpiness, transfer of aggression to subordinates, increased tension in the workplace and intense fear of being discovered.

As a leader, you can avoid these negative consequences altogether by doing the needful: sharing the burden with your followers by admitting that you made a mistake and you won’t always have the answers. Not only will this admission of truth help you as a leader, but it will also incur support and understanding from those who look up to you. Leaders are not superman; they have struggles and shortcomings that they are sometimes scared to share and overcoming this fear requires courage. The courage to admit that you don’t have everything figured out and you are afraid to say it. The willingness to learn from colleagues and subordinates even when you are in a position of authority indicates that you have passed the true test of leadership.

Teamwork is an essential factor that makes an organisation thrive amid industry challenges. As simple as teamwork sounds, it can be very nightmarish for a leader to unify people of varying backgrounds, intellects, expectations, and experience to work as a team to achieve a common goal, but it is very possible if leaders position themselves as a ‘people’ person and open themselves up to vulnerability.

Leaders who are not afraid of showing their weaknesses earn an unrivalled commitment and

solidarity from their associates, with everyone bringing their best to the table so that things won’t fall apart. When burdens and struggles are not hidden, it breaks the hold they have on the victim. There are less tension and more transparency. Sprouting challenges in the workplace can be easily nipped in the bud before it blows out of proportion because everyone got each other’s back. No employee in the organisation will feel left out or unappreciated because the leader makes everyone feel special and important to the overall success of the organisation.

When a boss is known for not hiding the truth and reality of good and bad situations from his staff, this emboldens others to speak up when they are struggling with challenges at the workplace and it becomes a cultural norm. Your followers will confidently approach you for help and support rather than bottling the issues for fear of being reprimanded. This creates a better working environment that fosters sincerity and truthfulness where those considered as “weak links” can step up their game and become more productive because of the anticipated positive response they will get when they seek assistance.

This culture is preserved and becomes a norm in the workplace. There is no fear of being shamed for mistakes made and employees are encouraged to desist from sugar coating the truth of workplace situations just to please their leaders.

When leaders express their vulnerability without shielding it from those closest to them, it breaks the cycle of fear imminent in the workplace and reduces workspace tension and fosters effective communication. Communication is vital to the smooth running of any workplace; it is the foundation of human relationship and dissemination of information across various arms of the organisation. It brings leaders closer to their followers and deepens workplace connection for effective collaboration and increased productivity.

Leaders who communicate effectively with their followers are considered easy to work with www.businessday.ng

and they earn the unreserved commitment of their subordinates. Show me leaders who are not afraid of showing their vulnerability and I will show you those leaders who are loved and respected by their people. Such leaders do not only lead any organisation, but they also enjoy the dividend of open communication. Their associates are not afraid to correct them constructively when such leaders are wrong and they also suggest new ways to make the workplace a more effective place because such associates know that their ideas will be welcomed and received with open arms.

The building of trust is essential for an organisation to continue to grow and succeed, especially in a world that can oftentimes be unstable. Having trust between the leaders and followers makes work go smoother and creates an environment that is conducive for innovation and expansion of knowledge. According to Nienaber, when it comes to building trust there two ways to express vulnerability: either by being passive in terms of reliance behaviour or being active in terms of disclosure behaviour. In practice, this might mean leaders reducing control mechanisms and monitoring systems and sharing of important strategic data and information.

Vulnerability demystifies the air of ferocity that is known with leadership positions, as often people have this image of leaders being stuck up and ruthless when it comes to achieving things.

However, many successful leaders have shown that vulnerability does not take away from your tenacity it only enhances it. It builds bridges of communication and sustains a long-lasting work experience that is fun yet impactful at the same time. The followers under such vulnerable leaders connects deeply with the goals and vision of such organisations and are less likely to withdraw themselves from the scene of decision making in the workplace.

Showing your weakness as a leader does not diminish your reputation or abilities, rather it gives you a balanced approach towards lead-

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Toye Sobande ership and further gives room for increased productivity at the workplace. This increased productivity is possible when leaders create a welcoming and open environment where ideas can flow more freely, by being vulnerable and leading by example. The need to be vulnerable is becoming more and more important especially as we live in a world where changes occur more often than they have ever done before.

Being vulnerable allows leaders to be honest, and to be open to getting the ideas and resources they need to be better at their jobs while also encouraging followers who might not be giving their best because they are afraid of failure. In the end, leaders who are vulnerable are those willing to take risks, and in doing so, they are showing the courage it takes to realign and go onto accomplish greater things. Conclusively, vulnerability in leadership doesn’t translate to weak leaders who are baring their inadequacies to garner pity or accept defeat, but to break the fear of being misunderstood, the fear of making mistakes and admitting that they are humans first before they became leaders. Brené Brown, the vulnerability expert, rightly encapsulates it thus: “Vulnerability is not winning or losing; it’s having the courage to show up and be seen when we have no control over the outcome.

Vulnerability is not weakness; it’s our greatest measure of courage.”

Sobande is a Lawyer and Leadership Consultant. He is a Doctoral Candidate at Regent University, Virginia Beach, USA, for a Ph.D. in Strategic Leadership. He can be reach through Email: contactme@toyesobande.com

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Friday 01 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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Viruses and civilisation THE NEW WEALTH OF NATIONS

Obadiah Mailafia

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he history of our planet has been a titanic struggle between viruses and human beings. Viruses probably played a role in the disappearance of dinosaurs that failed to adapt to a changing eco-system. The first settled civilisations appeared some 5,000 years ago around Mesopotamia.

Then we had the predominantly black civilisation of ancient Egypt and the great kingdoms of the Nile Valley – Kush, Punt and Meroe. Greece and Rome, China, the Indus Valley and the Incas and Aztecs of the Americas.

Archaeologists have found evidence of plagues that devastated entire communities in ancient times. Around 430 BC, the Greek historian Thucydides recounted the story of a plague that killed more than half the population of his native Athens: “people in good health were all of a sudden attacked by violent heats in the head, and redness and inflammation in the eyes, the inward parts, such as the throat or tongue, becoming bloody and emitting an unnatural and fetid breath”.

The Antonine Plague in ancient Rome inflicted had a death toll of 5 million between 165-180 AD. The Bubonic Plague inflicted a catastrophic devastation on the Byzantine Empire during the reign of Justinian, around 527-565 AD while the “Black Death” wiped out 60 percent of the population of Europe during 1346-1353. The Spanish Flu of 1918-1920 killed more than 50 million across world. More than 100,000 Nigerians were among the victims.

Our 21st century global industrial civilisation has made giant strides in science, technology and medicine. The discovery of penicillin and antibiotics has led to the manufacture of many

effective vaccines that have helped in reducing deaths from epidemics. The discovery of the molecular structure and mapping of the human DNA promises even greater advances in future.

But we also now live in the Anthropocene Age. Humanity has the capacity to alter our eco-system in a manner that spells doom for our common future.

My generation grew up under the shadow of a thermonuclear holocaust.

The Cold War is over. But we face new dangers. Unless global collective solidarity becomes the norm, we may be heading for collective suicide. There has never been a weapon that human beings invented without ever using them. If, in the unlikely event of an allout nuclear war by accident or design, the devastation could be so catastrophic as to force our earth to shift on its axis. The earth might become either too hot or too cold for human habitation.

God is the greatest geometer of all. He created the earth and set it at precisely the right angle within the solar system to humanity, made in His image, would flourish and prosper.

Today, it is possible to manufacture viruses in a laboratory. There has been mutual recrimination between Beijing and Washington on that score. Nothing can be ruled out.

In the 1970s American Secretary of State Henry Kissinger prepared a report detailing population control as a principle of America’s Africa policy. Perhaps this partly explains the drive to impose genetically modified food in Africa and the fanatical obsession with producing vaccines targeted at Africans.

Two French medical researchers were recently debating on TV about testing new vaccines in Africa as they had done for HIV/AIDS. My gentle readers would recall that the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer was convicted of killing more than 200 children in Kano as guinea pigs for their experimental drugs.

The West have lost the moral ethics underpinning their Christian civilisation. Today, they see we Africans as mere custodians of untold mineral wealth that is their patrimony by right.

Some of their scientists seriously believe that the ideal population of the planet should be no more than 1 billion. We are now 7 billion, heading

for 10 billion by 2050. Africa, with the second largest continental landmass, comprises 1.3 billion people, about 18.57 percent of the world total. Africa’s GDP of $2.58 trillion is a mere 3 percent of the global total of $84.4 trillion. Ours constitutes a mere 4 percent of global trade. We consume barely 2 percent of the world’s natural resources.

There are rumours that some people want to link a new vaccine with a digital implant that could destroy the African population. Melinda Gates was recently quoted as saying, “I see dead bodies in the streets of Africa”. We recently saw video clips of Chinese police hounding Africans out of their hotels and homes.

It was heart-breaking seeing the picture of a homeless mother holding her infant in the harsh cold. The innate racism of the Chinese is coming to the fore at last. There is ground to believe they may be deliberately exposing Africans to the pandemic as part of some sinister experiments.

The truth is that China needs Africa more than we need them. All they have brought us are Shylock loans and dumping of substandard and even dangerous goods. Now is the time to revise our ties with Beijing. We must also be vigilant against the evil machinations of world powers that would opportunistically use the current crisis to undermine our continent.

According to the latest count, the victims of Covid-19 number some 2.923 million globally, with more than 200,000 dead. America and Europe top the list. By contrast, the bleak prognostications being made for Africa have not materialised. We have 1,182 recorded cases in Nigeria, with 35 dead. I worry about the stories we are hearing from Kano. The numbers may well be more than what we are being officially told.

Be that as it may, I am persuaded that the God who has Africa will preserve us still.

This is also why I think that the lockdown that is currently being imposed in Nigeria, may be doing more harm than good. There is anecdotal evidence that the velocity of the spread actually increased with the lockdown compared with before. It is evident that simply transposing an approach that seemed to be working elsewhere may not be

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My generation grew up under the shadow of a thermonuclear holocaust.

The Cold War is over. But we face new dangers. Unless global collective solidarity becomes the norm, we may be heading for collective suicide

sustainable. We must remember that the lockdown in China was largely restricted to Wuhan and environs rather the entire country.

Forcing people to stay at home in our sprawling urban slums, is synonymous with imprisoning a family of seven to huddle together in one ramshackle hovel. It is the easiest way to spread the plague. Hunger also remains a real threat, without adequate palliatives that would cushion a grave situation. And now that the rainy season is here, if farmers cannot go to their farms, we face the prospect of famine.

What I would suggest is a partial lockdown. All crowded markets and halls that draw large crowds must remain shut. Corner shops that sell food and basic necessities can open, with the strictures of adequate social distancing.

There should be a curfew from dusk to dawn while intercity travel should be controlled. Nobody should be allowed out without a prosper face mask. Government should commandeer tailors across the country to mass-produce face masks for all citizens. Testing equipment should be expanded and more volunteers recruited to help out in a time like this.

Africa is blessed with untold reservoirs of traditional herbs and local knowledge systems. We should tap into these. Shea butter oil, bitter cola, ginger mixed with lemon and garlic, and dogon yaro/lemon grass have all been mentioned as possible immuneboosters. We must mobilise all our resources to ensure that we win this war.

Above all, leadership is of the utmost importance. Now is the time for the real leaders to stand up and be counted. If in times past, we divided our people through a strategy of divide et impera, now is the time to bring them back together again; building on that reservoir of social capital and solidarity that will guarantee our resilience and survival. We will not only survive; we shall prevail!

Dr. Mailafia is a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, a development economist and public finance expert with a DPhil from Oxford obmailafia@gmail.com; 08036590990 (text messages only)

Emotional intelligence

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e have been told we are on statutory lockdown for just few days. I am sure more guide lines even to that will be released soon. Many people breathed a sigh of relief. I wonder if this is not the beginning of voluntary shut down instead. We are going to have to be very circumspect, deciphering non-verbal communication among many other things. In this period our compassion grew and is still growing. This is why I believe before we all get back to work, we all should be increasing our emotional intelligence levels. Emotional intelligence (EI) refers to someone’s ability to perceive, understand and manage their own feelings and emotions” (Chignell, 2018).

The experts say, there are five distinct components of EI, Self-awareness. Self-regulation, Internal (or intrinsic) motivation, Empathy and Social skills.

EI may seem like a new buzz word in the work place but it has been around since the 1980s-90s. Interest in it has grown exponentially since then-especially in its application in the workplace. Daniel Goleman in the USA is an expert in EI and he said in 2012 that, “The interest in emotional intelligence in the workplace stems from the widespread recognition that

these abilities – self-awareness, self-management, empathy and social skill – separate the most successful workers and leaders from the average. This is especially true in roles like the professions and higher- level executives, where everyone is about as smart as everyone else, and how people manage themselves and their relationships gives the best and edge” A lot of research conducted in both the western world and in Africa points to two main reasons why EI is a vital consideration in the workplace. There is apparently higher job satisfaction for those with high EI as well as employees who work with or are managed by those with high EI. EI is also associated with job performance.

Another EI expert Bailey, in 2015 identified how EI leads to high performance. I am sure that as you go down the list, you will agree. This again is research based. He said, increased job performance when there is EI, is as a result of emotional stability, a greater ability for the worker to manage their own emotions and tolerate stress. Also, conscientiousness, the tendency to be diligent, hardworking, control impulses is also an EI by product.

Extraversion, the personality trait that makes people more open and better at establishing

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relationships with others is another. Another EI trait that leads to high performance is something called, ability EI, this is the individuals’ ability to perform emotion-related behaviour, like expressing emotions, empathizing with others, and combining emotion with reasoning.

Cognitive ability, IQ; studies suggest there is at least some overlap between the IQ and EI. General self-efficacy, confidence in the ability to cope with the demands of the job and Self-rated job performance were his findings.

Below are some examples of EI in the work place. We know that high EI/EQ in the workplace is an advantage, but how do we know it when we see it? What does it look like? An upset employee finds a compassionate ear. People listen to each other in meetings. People feel free to express themselves openly and be creative.

Where EI is practised most change initiatives work. There is flexibility. (I keep using this word over and over again). People meet out of work time. If your people don’t form strong bonds in and out of the office, there is a high likelihood of your organisation being low in EI. All the above clearly impacts the workplace but wait, there is more. EI translates to better control of our motivation, and perhaps even more motivation for team members. Those high

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Olamide Balogun in EI are able to more effectively understand and communicate with others, which makes it easier to develop and maintain a common team vision. Highly emotionally intelligent people can handle the stress, uncertainty, and anxiety that comes with working in business.

Clear communication is a sign of EI, and it contributes to better relationships, an easier time getting help from others, and more effective persuasion and influence of others Finally self-leadership, leading others, influencing others-all of these are vital for those in business.

Note: The rest of this article continues in the online edition of Business Day @https:// businessday.ng Balogun is the founder of Box & Cedar Ltd a boutique Recruitment and HR Consulting firm Www.boxandcedar.com

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Ekwegh is a private legal practitioner with over 15 years

Friday 01 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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Dateline Lagos Saturday 14th September 1918: Pandemic!

HumanAngle

Femi olugbile

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strange disease arrived the shores of Lagos, capital of the colony and protectorate of Nigeria, on the 14th of September 1918.

It was a disease such as nobody had ever seen before.

It came through the sea, travelling on the Atlantic Ocean.

The first arrivals who showed the tell-tale signs and symptoms were crewmen from a merchant ship.

Influenza A, Virus subtype H1N1, nicknamed “Spanish Flu”, swept into town like an ill-wind, and very soon everybody was aware that there was an invisible enemy abroad. A great fear gripped the land.

The three sailors who were discovered to be sick, with fever, cough, weakness and signs of pneumonia were immediately conveyed by officials in charge of health and sanitation to a newly created Isolation Centre in Ikoyi.

The colonial authorities in Lagos had been warned about the deadly pandemic which had been raging for several months by that time, and which had recently landed in Sierra Leone, with devastating consequences on the local population. Because of this, and invoking the Public Health Ordnance of 1917, a protocol was instituted, requiring pre-

landing boarding and screening of ships, passengers and crew, especially those arriving from Britain. People found to be ill were to be conveyed to the Isolation Centre. The ships themselves were to be quarantined offshore.

For these first arrivals, and a few other that came after them, the “Lagos protocol” was assiduously followed, limiting the danger to Lagosians.

And then a merchant ship, the SS Bida, sailing from the Gold Coast (Ghana) with two hundred and thirtynine passengers, berthed at the Lagos quays. The ship’s captain knew Lagos well. Instead of pausing offshore and allowing his ship to be boarded by health and sanitary officials, he manoeuvred the ship directly inland to the Customs wharf, with local officials apparently turning a blind eye. Two hundred and thirty-nine passengers, many of them infected with the influenza virus, passed through Customs and dispersed, not just into Lagos, but farther afield, into the vast hinterland of Nigeria. It was, so to say, a failure of ‘Containment’ of the most epic proportions.

Stories of people falling ill and even dropping dead began to crop up with alarming frequency in the town. Some showed up in clinics run by private medical practitioners, infecting staff and other patients.

The Medical Officer of the Colony had earlier put out public notices about the impending epidemic through a government gazette and notices in the newspapers of the day, principally “The Nigerian Pioneer”, owned by Sir Kitoye Ajasa. On the 24th September, the Director of Medical and Sanitary Services, Dr Hood, convened a meeting of stakeholders to draw up strategies for slowing the spread of the disease. Public

Awareness measures were to be taken to obtain the cooperation of the public in reducing public gatherings, while at the same time keeping open the economic lifelines of the city. Many of the ideas that had the most impact came from indigenous private medical doctors.

On the 7th October 1918, a public meeting was addressed by colonial health and sanitary officers, as well as Obasa, one of the local doctors. It was resolved that a house-to-house search be carried out to identify and evacuate sick persons who were a danger to the rest of the community. A volunteer force was raised for this exercise.

Unfortunately, work was hampered by the stigma and shame attached to the disease. People hid their ill relatives.

Many, especially among the elite, feared they would forfeit their properties to the government if they allowed themselves to be taken away for isolation. Some ailing people “escaped” out of Lagos – travelling overland and on the railways, in the process spreading the virus all over the country.

It is estimated that half of the population of the colonial territory of Nigeria was exposed to infection. Five hundred thousand of them died.

The parallels, then and now The parallels between the 1918 pandemic and the coronavirus pandemic of 2020 are remarkable.

There is more knowledge in 2020, though there is still no real treatment.

There was no vaccine in 1918, and there is none yet in 2020.

The diseases are remarkable for their high toll on the lives of health workers. In 1918, so many in the sanitation gang employed to fumigate Lagos streets abandoned the job because of the high infection and death rates among their colleagues that a saying

‘

There is more knowledge, capability and grit in Lagos 2020 than there was in Lagos 1918, and, despite a few hiccups here and there, the city, and the state, are poised to stare the virus down.

The tragedy is that such knowledge, capability and grit are not evenly spread across Nigeria

went round town “Owo re iku re, oyinbo pe e ko wa gba” (taking this job is throwing away your life).

The story of SS Bida, and how the virus ‘escaped’ into the community through the irresponsible behaviour of a few passengers and officials has a familiar ring in 2020.

“Stigma” and the shame of going into a public “isolation facility” led some “big” people in 1918, as in 2020, to “hide illness” or seek treatment in unsuitable places, thereby spreading the virus further in the community.

But there is more knowledge, capability and grit in Lagos 2020 than there was in Lagos 1918, and, despite a few hiccups here and there, the city, and the state, are poised to stare the virus down. The tragedy is that such knowledge, capability and grit are not evenly spread across Nigeria.

(Much of the historical detail in this story is derived from the excellent paper ‘Managing Epidemic: The British Approach to 1918-1919 Influenza in Lagos’ by Jimoh Mufutau Oluwasegun, published in the Journal of Asian and African Studies, June 2015) P.S. In the course of the last week, the sad news came of the death of three eminent medical practitioners in Lagos (of causes not necessarily related to the subject of this piece) – Professor Funmi Ajose (Dermatologist), Dr Tosin Ajayi (Medical Entrepreneur) and Dr Akinlemibola (Radiologist). This writer had cause to interact closely with each of them over the course of several years and is deeply grieved by their passing. May their souls rest in peace.

Olugbile is a writer and psychiatrist. synthesiz@gmail.com

Corporation models and the three economic questions re-imagined

W

ho remembers the good old high school economics as a subject?

It had in it, a topic that laid the foundation to everything in business. The SS1 Econs topic was referred to as the Three Economic Questions that every business must define clearly their answer through their business model?

1. What to produce?

2. How to produce and?

3. For whom to produce?

Once we define it, we stick to it. But to innovate is to consistently adjust at least 2/3rd of your answer at every shake up of your market and even the countries or world economy. Right now, the world has that shake up. We are about to witness the world’s first medical induced global recession in 100 years. Those shake up demands that we revisit our answers to those three questions of what to produce, how to produce and for whom to produce. Just like almost everything, there are winners and losers. The biggest losers of the lockdown and pandemic includes those in any value chain or supply chain related to aviation, religious organisations (their services and churches), entertainment, transportation & their unions, sports, education, health, Non-essential retail and artisans. But to every loss, there is always a winner.

The winners in this case will include dealers in the food & household items, Telcos, lending, logistics and distribution, payment fintechs, streaming companies (music & films, games). But in total, to stay afloat is to reimagine the questions of what, how and for whom we produce, a type of Innovation happens when we try answering two of the three questions differently from the industry norm. Every time the questions are answered differently innovation happens.

And if it makes the entire product and general pricing lower and cheaper, we call it disruptive

innovation. In other words, disruptive innovation is any improvement that creates a new market and value network and eventually disrupting an existing market.

Post COVID, most markets will have big players losing market to lesser players. This happens as the users and customer’s search for more valuable yet cheaper alternatives. Take for example, some people who had their kids in very expensive schools may lose their jobs and then begin to find cheaper alternatives for their kids’ school. This will be seen in healthcare, housing and almost everything. It’s a battle of efficiency.

So, if you’re the cheaper alternative to those who the recession will force to make an adjustment, there is an opportunity for you. You should start by should crashing your prices by reducing your cost of production first. Also, by building a prospect list and access for them to test your service by turning what could have been premiums to freemiums. Also, as lockdown has forced digital transformation and made us seek more convenience and time saving alternatives, attempt to see how you can reduce cycle time for production, create convenience and make a digital version or product of what you do.

Furthermore, is to create mass accessibility and affordability for what was originally expensive to most people.

A major part of disruption and reimagining your economic question is about cost saving, speed and convenience. And a variable for this is speed and efficiency. Outsourcing creates this. But a type of it is called Unbundling the Corporation Model.

Hagel and Singer in 1999 while observing this phenomenon referred to it as “Unbundling the Corporation”. They traced its long history to the 1978, when the company Apple launched the Apple II PC, unlocking the door for new businesses specialized in providing hardware and

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software components. This led to David slaying Goliath episodes, as giant corporations who were generalists began to wither. The advantages — size, reputation, integration — possessed by giant corporations were replaced the advantages – creativity, speed, flexibility – possessed by the new specialized corporations.

Unbundling the Corporation stems from the philosophy that every company or industry at its core process – the cross-functional work flow that cuts across its value system is divided into three businesses, namely; the customer relationship business, the product innovation business, and the infrastructure business (Hagel & Singer, 1999). A very good example is the Nigerian power sector, while NERC is the infrastructure side of the sector, managing the power plants, distribution companies in different regions of the country serve as the relationship side of the sector, and other companies like Conlog are responsible for the technologies (like the prepaid meters). This opportunity is created by a reduction in Interaction Costs. According to Hagel and Singer (1999), Interaction costs are the friction in the economy; they refer to time and money spent whenever people exchange goods, services and ideas. This exchange can be within organisations or among organisations, or between organisations and their customers. As external interaction costs drop, it creates opportunities for businesses to have strong relationships.

ICT has been instrumental in the reduction of interaction costs. Take for example how technology made the following happen, Bitcoin is the world’s biggest financial institution, but unlike the regular banks, it has zero cash or no branch.

Uber, the world’s largest taxi company owns no taxis. Airbnb, the largest accommodation provider owns no real estate. Netflix, a world’s largest movie house owns no cinemas. Skype, the largest communication owns no physical telco

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EIZU UWAOMA infrastructure. Alibaba, world’s most valuable retailer owns no inventory. Facebook, the most popular media owner with the largest peer-topeer information shared creates no content.

Apple, the largest software vendors don’t write the apps. There seems to be a business model pattern emerging across industries and disrupting the traditional business models. That model is disruptive innovation by unbundling the regular corporation model. It’s a whirlwind and new wave we all need to learn to ride the tide.

One can only imagine what may happen with the coming of the 5G network, it might lead to more convenience, speed, reduction in cost of operations and more so, a drastic reduction in interaction costs. Hence, it will create an opportunity for more unbundled companies and disrupt others with traditional business models.

There are many giants to be slain across sectors.

The key questions that we must continue to ask ourselves are those coined by Peter F. Drucker (in some regard, the father of management); What is our business? What will our business be? What should our business be? These old strategic questions will guide us in staying relevant and making the right unbundling decisions.

Note: The rest of this article continues in the online edition of Business Day @https:// businessday.ng Uwaoma is a start-up, corporate restructuring and strategy consultant. contacteizu@gmail.com

@Businessdayng

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Friday 01 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

Editorial Frank Aigbogun

Containing COVID-19 spread amid lockdown easing

editor Patrick Atuanya

Easing of restrictions will show the reality of Covid-19 in Nigeria

Publisher/Editor-in-chief

DEPUTY EDITORS John Osadolor, Abuja Tayo Fagbule NEWS EDITOR Chuks Oluigbo MANAGING DIRECTOR Dr. Ogho Okiti EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OPERATIONS Fabian Akagha EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, STRATEGY, INNOVATION & PARTNERSHIPS Oghenevwoke Ighure ADVERT MANAGER Ijeoma Ude FINANCE MANAGER Emeka Ifeanyi MANAGER, CONFERENCES & EVENTS Obiora Onyeaso BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER (South East, South South) Patrick Ijegbai COPY SALES MANAGER Florence Kadiri DIGITAL SALES MANAGER Linda Ochugbua GM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (North)

Bashir Ibrahim Hassan

GM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (South) Ignatius Chukwu

T

he Federal Government’s move to ease lockdown measures with the push of the 36 Governors is a calculated risk that would undoubtedly deliver some home truths in a few weeks. Whether the result would be positive or negative would depend on what the states do in the management of the new orders. The states have been hands-on partners in the management of the coronavirus in the country.

First, we acknowledge the Morton’s Fork before the government. Given the structure of our informal economy, continued closure for another one week was probably the most to expect. Push the people further, and there may be an unpleasant pushback of citizens in an economy dependent on daily wages. Yet. The political solution in the choice between two dreadful alternatives presents a considerable risk that the move may put significant numbers of human lives at the risk of contracting the deadly virus.

Citizens in the two cities may now be test cases for herd immunity

without the benefit of a protocol such as vaccines. Lagos and FCT may need other stringent measures to enforce even the limited restrictions that come with the new order.

The federal government approved on Monday, 27 April a phased and gradual easing of the COVID-19 lockdown measures in FCT, Lagos and Ogun States. They will come into effect on Monday, 4 May. According to the president, selected businesses and offices can open from 9 am to 6 pm; there will be an overnight curfew from 8 pm to 6 am, which means prohibition of all movements during this period except essential services.

Furthermore, “There will be a ban on non-essential inter-state passenger travels until further notice.

Partial and controlled interstate movement of goods and services will be allowed for the movement of goods and services from producers to consumers, and there will be mandatory use of face masks or coverings in public in addition to maintaining physical distancing and personal hygiene”.

The relaxation of the lockdown comes when COVID-19 cases are increasing rapidly in the epicentres

of Lagos and the FCT. At 1002 out of the 1532 cases, Lagos and Abuja account for a high 65 percent of cases. The Lagos incidence rate is disturbing as it continues to grow with increased testing.

The surge brings to the fore Nigeria’s lack of efficiency in attaining a full appraisal of the current reality.

The most recent situation report of the NCDC shows Nigeria has tested just 12,004 samples. South Africa and Ghana with lesser population, have carried out more than 20 times and ten times more tests than Nigeria has done. This data speaks for itself.

An appraisal showed that the lockdown failed in many areas. Our value system was the chief culprit.

Characteristics of the Nigerian Value System on display during the lockdown were indiscipline, disregard for lawful instructions, abuse of office by law enforcement and other officials and failure of service delivery.

Palliatives went only to a few.

Citizens travelled across the country aided by corrupt law enforcement that looked the other way. The travellers served as vectors to introduce the disease to new areas.

We worry about the indicators of 4 May and after that. It is mute

debating whether the lockdown should have continued. Officials must manage it to avoid a spike in numbers of infections and deaths.

According to President Buhari, the easing, “will be followed strictly with aggressive reinforcement of testing and contact tracing measures while allowing the restoration of some economic and business activities in certain sectors.”

We also advise the FG and state government to fully implement safety measures as it concerns hygiene in public places, bus terminals, use of face masks, and sanitizers.

The Lagos State government has an even more difficult task of managing the curfew. Lagosians on social media doubt the feasibility of a 6 pm cut off for the city. Lagos State government must ensure adherence to the curfew times, whatever it would take. Part of that would be enhanced traffic management, communication and strict enforcement.

Citizens must see themselves among the living as we enter a testy period from 4 May. The risk is high. They should cooperate with a government that must do all it can to enforce the rules. Stay safe, stay home and stay alive, dear Nigerians.

HEAD, HUMAN RESOURCES Adeola Obisesan

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Imo Itsueli Mohammed Hayatudeen Afolabi Oladele Vincent Maduka Opeyemi Agbaje Amina Oyagbola Bolanle Onagoruwa Fola Laoye Chuka Mordi Mezuo Nwuneli Charles Anudu Tunji Adegbesan Eyo Ekpo Wiebe Boer Paul Arinze Boye Olusanya Ayo Gbeleyi Haruna Jalo-Waziri Clement Isong

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Friday 01 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

FINTECH News

Products Review

In association with

Technology Review

Personality Review

Company Review

Four lessons Nigeria’s payment space learnt from lockdown

It is through government patronage of fintech services that the businesses achieve scale.

“As an extension of the overall government, the regulators have done a great job in encouraging digital payments, and we envisage that the wider arm of government will continue to leverage on digital payments to carry out its socio-economic activities.”

FRANK ELEANYA

T

he past one month t hat Ni g e r i a n s have spent under lockdown ordered by the government to protect people from the coronavirus, has highlighted a few lapses in the country’s payment space that needs addressing.

There is also some positive news from the crisis for players in the sector. For one, the lockdown has established the importance of electronic payments.

Sydney Aigbogun, the founder of CashBox, a fintech platform in Nigeria, says COVID-19 has shown that the world is going online and companies have realized working from home is not as bad as they thought.

“At Kuda we are seeing a significant increase in the adoption of our digital only banking product,” said Babatunde Babs Ogundeyi, founder and CEO of Kudabank. “As a cloud-based bank we are technologically positioned to accommodate this sudden increase in traffic. We also operate a multi-digital channel strategy for our customer support, which runs 24/4, an important factor under ‘normalcy’ but a huge deal during a lockdown.”

The lockdown also highlights a few areas that need better attention. This is despite efforts made by authorities to fix them.

The Central Bank of Nigeria had released a statement on 30 March - same day President Buhari ordered a lockdown in Lagos, Ogun and

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FCT - urging the banking public to limit the use of cash and rather utilise alternative payment channels such as mobile banking, internet banking, mobile money, Point of Sale (POS), and USSD. The apex bank also assured that financial institutions will remain operational during this period and therefore should guard against panic withdrawals from their banks.

Despite the assurances, consumers’ experience throughout the lockdown is anything but satisfactory.

We identified four lessons that can be learnt.

Financial service needs a collective response One thing everyone agrees with is the coronavirus pandemic caught all sectors, including financial services, unawares.

“For Financial Service Providers, we are reminded that we play a critical role in

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society. We need to do more to be ready for all that life and nature will bring. We weren’t prepared enough this time,” said Salami Abolore, founder and CEO of Riby Finance, a digital Banking platform for Cooperatives Globally, payment systems - including the most sophisticated - in different countries have also struggled to keep pace with the impact of the virus.

The difference, however, was the financial regulator in those countries had a robust and well engaged financial system to fall back on. By tapping into the strengths of the various stakeholders, banks, MFBs and fintechs firms, and building a reliable electronic payment system these countries - example the US - have been able to reduce the impact on the sector and consumers.

In Nigeria, the CBN tried to collaborate but while it

practically dragged the banks along, the fintech firms were not given equal attention.

Left to fend for themselves, the fintech firms introduced all manner of self-help measures which ultimately affected the quality of service they provided.

Government needs to use more fintech services This much was evident with the distribution of the palliative. Instead of using the existing electronic payment channels, the government at different levels preferred to hand out cash to beneficiaries in the different states.

“Efforts at boosting financial inclusion will be undermined if the government goes the way of handing cash to the bottom of the pyramid during this pandemic rather than find a way to leverage electronic transfers,” said Toyin Sanni, CEO Emerging Africa Capital Group.

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Payment infrastructure needs urgent investment The deficiency of Nigeria’s payment infrastructure shot out like a sore thumb, days after the CBN had assured consumers of a smooth digital banking experience. On 3 April, the financial regulator issued a new statement directing Interswitch to suspend refund activities for failed Visa and Verve card transactions, pending the duration of the lockdown.

The result was that refunds for failed Visa and Verve card transactions on POS terminals for instance would not be processed until the lockdown is lifted.

The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) in a statement it issued on 22 April, said it has received a lot of complaints from consumers on issues bordering on failed electronic banking transactions within the period of lockdown.

Investors seem eager to invest in payment infrastructure as shown by TLcom which invested $1 million in Okra, a Nigerian-based payment infrastructure provider that is

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looking to scale its operations.

But the financial services could also benefit from players like MTN and Airtel which are waiting for a Payment Service Bank license to get into mobile money services.

Scaling training in consumer experience It was a missed experience for many consumers of financial services. Most banks that run skeletal services had many customers frustrated from not picking or returning dropped calls to not providing any solutions to complaints made about products and services.

“User experience in any product being developed should be emphasized on, ease of use, and all that. Because a cumbersome product will only drive users away,” said Aigbogun of CashBox. Nevertheless, some financial services providers in Nigeria have reacted positively and in many cases with empathy during the crisis. Some have reduced their fees, creditors are adjusting debt repayments and many have donated and raised money for the vulnerable.

“In order to support our borrowers during this difficult period, we’ve reached out with phone calls and surveys to understand their challenges,” Stephanie Peter-Omale, marketing specialist, Quickcheck. “Like everyone in the world, we are coping with not knowing when we can return to normalcy, but we are working round the clock to implement possible relief measures that will help them maintain their creditworthiness.”

14

Friday 01 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

MONEYINSIGHT

Barely 4 months it launched, Okra secures $1m pre-seed from TLcom FRANK ELEANYA

O

kra, a Nigerian fintech platform that is pushing to build Africa’s payment infrastructure for the next wave of fintech innovation, has secured a $1 million pre-seed funding from TLcom Capital.

Founded in January 2020, Okra built the first Application Programming Interface (API) in Africa to retrieve real-time financial data from a bank account to any web or mobile app.

Currently, developers and organisations in Africa do not have access to real-time banking data, creating large hurdles during the onboarding and verification of customers. Okra is the first in Africa to bridge this gap, delivering a new layer of transparency between organisations and users in the lending, personal and corporate finance, and real estate sectors.

The company plans to use its latest investment from TLcom to recruit more talent and expand

its operations as demand for its services grows.

Fara Ashiru Jituboh, CEO and CTO of Okra says that given that there are approximately 125 million bank accounts in Nigeria alone — but over the course of the next two years that figure would rise exponentially, which presents huge opportunities for growth.

“Our thesis is simple — financial innovation cannot exist without the proper infrastructure, which is data. Essentially, how far the African fintech sector can grow is intrinsically tied to

V

isa Inc. a global player in digital payments has introduced Visa Secure (previously known as Verified

by Visa), which the company says is an updated program to help make online payments more secure.

Available across the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEMEA) region, Visa Secure provides rules and policies merchants and issuing banks have to follow to authenticate eCommerce transactions and verify cardholder identity before a transaction can be authorized, according to a statement by the company.

It further stated that Visa Secure uses the latest EMV 3-D Secure (3DS) specification, which is the new industrywide messaging protocol designed to promote frictionless consumer authentication. It enables consumers to verify their identity with their issuing bank or other entity (issuer) when making card-not-present (CNP) eCommerce/online payments. The additional security layer helps prevent unauthorized CNP transactions and helps protect merchants from exposure to CNP fraud.

Kemi Okusanya, vice president and country manager, Visa West Africa said “Visa has

been helping online merchants and issuers identify potentially fraudulent transactions with 3DS for nearly 20 years”. As eCommerce in Nigeria is growing rapidly, she explained consumers expect always-on connectivity with mobile devices and rely on retailers to provide payment experience both secure and frictionless. “That is where the new Visa Secure program comes into effect.

Visa Secure offers significant enhancements in eCommerce fraud detection capabilities for issuers and merchants and can reduce friction for cardholders at checkout,” she said.

The company says Visa Secure has been designed to provide increased fraud protection, minimize cardholder friction, and increase the completion of sales, leading to a better experience for all parties involved. For merchants, Visa Secure delivers greater fraud prevention by sharing up to ten times more data with issuers for better risk analysis and advanced decision making.

This helps both merchants and issuers detect and avoid fraud more effectively. Consumers can also benefit from a smoother and consistent user experience across multiple payment channels, including mobile web, in-app and digital wallet payments, without any compromise in security. www.businessday.ng

Read more TLcom plans fresh startups investment as Tide Africa fund closes at 71m “We are always looking for startups with the potential for high value-generation and Okra’s technology provides the foundation for new fintech solutions in Africa for years to come,”

Muforo, said. “Equally, it was important for us to know that their leadership had the entrepreneur-led focus which is crucial for execution. Fara’s background was vital here — she’s an expert in over 20 programming languages, worked with multiple Fortune 500 companies, and is a great example of why we’re committed to investing in more female founders. She leads by example and we have seen her and David build a really exciting business, in a little under a year, we’re excited to help them grow further”.

Okra marks the latest company to take advantage of Open Banking initiatives across the globe, which has attracted increasing attention from investors. In the USA, Plaid, which allows users to connect their bank accounts to an app, has been acquired by Visa for $5.3 billion since launching in 2013. Yodlee, an American company offering a similar service, secured more than $140mn of funding before being acquired by Envestnet in 2015.

Post COVID-19 Nigeria will need new trade partners

Visa secure targets improved online experience, payment security CALEB OJEWALE

the success of infrastructure like Okra and with our core market in Nigeria, we’re opening the door to another level of innovation in Africa’s largest market” Jituboh said in a statement BusinessDay received.

Supported by the strong engineering background of their founding team, Fara Ashiru Jituboh (formerly of Fidelity Investments and Canva) and David Peterside (from UCML Capital and Fashion Map), the company’s technical expertise has already seen them connect

with all of Nigeria’s commercial banks as well as the likes of Branch, AIICO Insurance PLC, Travelstart, Bamboo, Renmoney and Swipe (YC) amongst others.

With the capacity to onboard new clients in under 24 hours, the startup has seen a 175 percent rise in demand since March 2020 as more companies digitise their services due to COVID-19 and are seeking to expand across Africa.

The $1 million investment in Okra marks TLcom’s first investment in the fintech sector and as part of the deal, Andreata Muforo, Partner at TLcom, will join Okra’s board. Ido Sum, also a Partner at the venture capital firm, will join as a board observer.

BAGUS WICAKSENA

C

ovid-19: A Business Impact Series” was published by KPMG Nigeria on March 30. It is mentioned that Nigeria will face a twin shock during this uncertain time: a Covid-19 pandemic induced domestic and oil price shocks.

These will impact the economy through three channels: supply, demand, and financial.

According to some data in the article, the Nigerian economy has been potentially vulnerable, given the fact that about 25% of its total imports are from China, 22% are from the U.S.A. and 19% are combined from Netherland, Belgium, and Germany. Having a total percentage of those figures, over 60% of its imports are coming from those five countries.

Therefore, the alarm on supply shock has been raised since the first wave of Covid-19 started in China in early 2020 and spread to European and the U.S. The second shock comes from the oil-price slump. As we may know, Nigeria’s economy still highly relies on the oil sector, given the fact that around 80% of its exports are from crude oil.

As a price-taker country, Nigeria “takes it as it comes” when the oil price plunges by 35% to record low in the last 40 months. This condition will adversely affect the economy as the influx of foreign exchange (forex) will slow.

Additionally, the Nigerian government imposed a containment policy (as has become common around the world) for a certain period to curb the spread of Covid-19 across the country.

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This will lead to more pressure on domestic demand.

The second shock will also dampen the ERGP (i.e. Economic Recovery and Growth Plan) initiative that aimed to switch from oil-based to non-oil based economy. The low influx of forex will force the banks to reduce dollar spending limits to secure national reserves. As a consequence, the local currency (Naira) has fallen by 7% against the US Dollar in just one month.

Import reduction will take place in the economy as one of the austerity measures. Accordingly, manufacture and agricultural sectors will face uncertainty to expand due to the restriction on raw materials and machinery importation.

This is a gentle reminder not to put “all your eggs in one basket”. First, being highly reliant on certain countries in trade will not create resilience. In this case, Nigeria needs to start creating more opportunities to cooperate with other countries that can share comparative advantages.

Second, being a highly oildependent does not necessarily make a country resource cursed.

In this regard, Nigeria can start to look for a long-term partnership to support its ERGP initiative.

Therefore, a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (FTA) might be able to be one of the best longterm solutions.

My present duty is to promote mutual trade between Indonesia and Nigeria; we can recall the spirit of mutual Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) that has been proposed since 2017.

This PTA can be an important milestone to the next level of a @Businessdayng

comprehensive FTA between the two countries. Some factual reasons are: Indonesia is the tenth largest oil importing country from Nigeria; the average annual total trade of both countries were up to US$ 2 million in the last five years, the largest in the Economic Community of West African States.

Nigeria enjoys a trade surplus (with Indonesia) at an annual average of US$ 1.5 million in the last five years; and Indonesia has been more intense to cooperate with African countries, including Nigeria since the Indonesian Africa Forum took place in Bali in 2018.

Both countries can mutually trade to meet domestic demand.

The PTA will eventually increase national welfare by more than US$ 10 million of which 99% of the welfare will be transmitted to Nigerian consumers. Beyond that, the PTA will be enriched with the spirit of the historical Asian African conference as well as the framework of South-South cooperation that promotes mutual benefit.

Besides, investment relations can be promoted. As it is, the PTA can go the extra mile to break the resource curse as well as be an enormous solution to support the ERGP initiative.

The so-called twin shock has been in place until these uncertain times. Nigeria, like all nations of the world, is managing its resources to withstand the current economic turbulence.

Bagus Wicaksena, dead of Indonesian Trade Promotion Center in Lagos

Friday 01 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

COMPANIES & MARKETS

15

COMPANY NEWS ANALYSIS INSIGHT

Fidelity Bank grows Q1’ 20 earnings by 5.7%, as non-interest income decline amid regulatory headwinds OLUFIKAYO OWOEYE

F

i d e l i t y B a n k ’s first quarter gross earnings for the period ended 31st March grew by 5.7 percent to N51.1 billion from N48.4 billion in the previous quarter. Profit before tax declined by 1.4 percent to N6.6 billion.

Profit after tax declined by 1.3percent to N5.9 billion.

Net Assets grew by 20percent to N242 billion from N202 billion.

Gross loans and advances to customers increased by 3.5percent during the quarter. NPL ratio also rose to 4.7percent from 3.3percent in December 2019.

A l s o, d e p o s i t s r o s e 10.4percent with low cost deposits accounting for 78.8percent compared to 79.8percent in December 2019.

Ne t i nt e re s t i n c o m e surged 48.8percent Year-onyear supported by higher

interest income up 11.4percent year-on-year and falling interest expenses down 15.6percent Year-on-year.

The growth in interest income relates to increased

income from loans and advances up 16.4percent year-on-year in line with the 19percent Year-on-year loan growth.

Also, the lower inter-

A

rdova Plc, formerly Forte Oil, has announced the donated solar energy systems to isolation centres in Lagos and Abuja as part of its contribution in the fight against the deadly Coronavirus.

According to Ardova, this to ensure that the medical teams have an uninterrupted power supply while working to save the lives of infected patients and prevent further spread.

Olumide Adeosun, chief executive officer, Olumide Adeosun, said fuel has also been donated to power other isolation c e n t re s a n d p a n d e m i c nerve centres in Lagos.

In addition to this, Ardova also donated N50 million to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s (NNPC) collective industry fund, through the

Non-interest income w e a k e n e d 2 7 . 4 p e rc e n t year-on-year dragged by lower fees and commission income down 27.5percent year-on-year and net FX

L-R: Dapo Oluwaseyi Adelegan, chairman, Creativexone Limited; Aruya Temilade, assistant director, public affairs, Lagos State ministry of information; Doyin Adewumi, MD, Creativexone Limited; Owolabi Mustapha, executive director, iFEST, and Jahswill Osondu, MD, Mind Innovations, at the launch of iFEST in Lagos, yesterday. Pic by Olawale Amoo

COVID-19: Ardova Plc donates solar systems to Lagos, Abuja isolation centers OLUFIKAYO OWOEYE

est expenses reflected the 36.7percent Year-on-Year and 18.7percent year-onyear declined in interest costs on term deposits and debt securities respectively

Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), to aid the upgrade of hospitals and building of isolation centres.

The energy company had earlier activated intense monitoring across its offices when the index case of COVID-19 was announced in Nigeria.

“Being an energy provider means we have to remain operational during the lockdown, as transport fuels, lubricants, and cooking gas are essential to everyday life for Nigerians.

“A s s u c h , w e h a v e heightened safety & hygiene standards at all our facilities: staff at our retail stations, lubricants. and chemical plants have been provided with the necessary Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), to ensure that they are protected while getting their jobs done,” the statement read.

Ardova is also taking a step to support the most vulnerable adults and children in their areas of operation, by partnering with Five Cowries Initiative to make donations to community-focused causes.

Adeosun expressed support for the Government’s decision to remove fuel subsidy, noting that in a period like this, it could be channelled to other critical sectors of the economy for greater impact.

He commended other private sector initiatives for cushioning the effects of the pandemic on the country and encouraged Nigerians to hold on as the crisis period would soon come to an end.

“When some semblance of normalc y returns, we all must continue what we started in this unparalleled time; the work of building a socially inclusive world,” he said.

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gains down 35.6percent year-on-year.

The decline in fees and commission reflect 34.5 percent year-on-year and 13.4 percent year-on-year fall in E-Banking and ATM fees respectively, on the back of a recent review of fees by the CBN. The combined impact of higher operating costs which grew 29.6 percent year-on-year, surge in loan loss charges and lower noninterest revenue down 27.4 percent year-on-year. Pressures from the mentioned income statement items offset the 48.8 percent year-onyear growth in net interest income during the review quarter.

Operating expenses rose 29.6percent year-on-year leading to a jump in cost to income to 71.3percent from 68.4percent in Q1’19.

Loan loss provisions also increased to N2.1 billion, leading to hig

Linkage Assurance amidst Covid-19 lockdown continues to meet claims obligations MODESTUS ANAESORONYE

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nderwriting firm, Linkage Assurance Plc has continued to meet its claims obligation to individual and corporate clients despite the Covid-19 lockdown across the country.

This has become possible following full implementation of the Company’s business continuity plan, which has enabled it attain to customers through digital channels, while the staff continues to operate from remote locations.

Daniel Braie, managing director/CEO of Linkage Assurance Plc speaking on how the company was relating with its customers during Covid-19 lockdown, said: “for us at Linkage, we realise the serious impact that the Corona virus pandemic is having on both individual and corporate lives of people here in Nigeria, and all over the world.

“As a caring corporate organization, we will continue to be with our customers and the insuring community, to ensure that the Covid -19

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pandemic does not disrupt their businesses so badly.

Braie noted that, the Company immediately before the lockdown activated her digital platforms that enable the collaboration of various workforce (underwriters, claims administrators, relationship managers, customer services IT etc.) to work together and attain to customers need in these challenging times.

“Our business continuity group has continued to work from remote sites and locations particularly with brokers to provide risk management services especially to corporate clients.”

According the MD/CEO, the Company continues to provide insurance services particularly ensuring that claims are paid promptly.

As a matter of fact, from the inception of the lockdown period we have paid millions of naira on claims to our clients that have filed claims for various losses.

We have also received 98 claims notifications on diverse types of losses from our customers, and where loss adjusters are needed, @Businessdayng

they have continued to relate with our underwriters who are working to ensure the claims are paid quickly.

Braie further stated that Linkage Assurance will continue to support all industry initiatives geared towards helping government confront the Covid-19 pandemic, having initially supported industry provision of life insurance cover to 5,000 frontline health workers in the fight against Covid-19.

The nation’s insurance industry, it will be recalled supported the federal government with life insurance cover valued at N11 billion for death benefits to the 5000 frontline workers in the Covid -19, with full premium paid by insurance companies.

For Daniel Braie, “we will continue to seek other means to provide palliatives to our customers and communities all over Nigeria. We urge all Nigerians to adhere strictly to the precautionary measures stipulated by the NCDC and other health authorities to flatten the curve of the virus infection in our country.”

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Friday 01 May 2020

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INTERVIEW ‘WarnerMedia, TMA partnership will help produce locally-based programmes that can travel out of Nigeria’ GUILLAUME COFFIN covers all sales activities for the WarnerMedia Group in Africa, France, French-speaking territories and Israel. These include channel distribution, advertising and digital media income. In this interview with IFEOMA OKEKE, Coffin speaks about the benefits of the new partnership between WarnerMedia and Trending Media Africa (TMA), Nigeria’s leading sales representatives for major media platforms.

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hat does the partnership b et w een WarnerMedia and Trending Media Africa (TMA) portend for both organisations?

The partnership between WarnerMedia and TMA will benefit the audience, persuading them to make sensible media investment through TMA. The partnership will benefit the media industry as one that is being represented by professionally trusted company such as TMA. It is interesting to look at how WarnerMedia has been operating in the continent in the past years.

The more we progress, the more we want to invest in local production. Recently we had a competition with creators on the continent and asked for animated content to be produced for Cartoon Network. We picked three of the best creative talents in the continent to produce short-format programming, and in the long term, when we have established their success with our viewers, we will consider producing long form programming. It is pleasing to know that one of the three winners was a Nigerian creator. We aired those short- format animations at the beginning of this year and the three animated shorts outperformed some of Cartoon Network and Boomerang’s favourite shows in the same month. So, this is really a very good trend for us showing that local content is wanted. In the past we have produced local content in the continent but it was not necessarily produced in Nigeria, but other African countries.

But what we have seen is that more advertisers that have local establishment, or that want to do more things that are relative to Nigerians as opposed to pan- African biddings, will create a drive for us to produce more locally based programmes out of Nigeria. At this stage, our economies are a bit more balanced and tilted towards South Africa but we see that the Nigerian market is really booming and moving very fast and for us, this is a big opportunity because we know that there are a lot of creators there and if the advertising market grows as well, it is a good thing for us. We are will-

ing to invest even more and grow our local presence and our brands. We have started with Cartoon Network but there is also Boomerang for which we have in the past produced pieces out of Kenya and we can do the same for Nigeria.

So, for us, it is a big opportunity in terms of revenue, and I think it is also a way to connect with the media industry in Nigeria.

How much investment are you looking at putting into Nigeria through this partnership?

We generally do not disclose financial numbers but I can tell you that one of the important things to keep in mind is that we have a habit to produce shows from local places across the world. We have produced in the United States, in Europe and in Africa. We don’t only produce for the local markets; we want to produce for the whole world. We have Cartoon Network in Nigeria, but we also have Cartoon Network in Italy, Spain, the US and all over where we generally try to bring the best of the world to our customers everywhere with the same tone and feel. So, if tomorrow we see that there is a creator with some potential in Nigeria, what we want to do is produce content that has the same level. It is the same content we will produce from the US. We will do so with the same local voice and local story telling and we hope the local content will travel well and we will be able to air it in France, in the UK or in Latin America amongst others. This gives you www.businessday.ng

an idea of the kind of money we are prepared to invest in content for the whole world.

What measures are you putting in place to ensure that this partnership is sustainable in Nigeria?

This is where we will be relying on TMA to help us. We will need to get the money coming in for us to keep investing as much as we can. We have great hope in the TMA team.

We know they are really good, dynamic and very efficient and are professionals in the advertising industry and the more money they help us bring back to the company, the more we can invest. We really needed to find the right partner for Nigeria and we hope that TMA will help us with this.

In addition to that, TMA has a dedicated team that understands the purpose of this great partnership and can achieve these amazing results. TMA is working round the clock to ensure both companies get mutually beneficial feedback in terms of revenues and growing the market and some of the things that TMA will be doing periodically is to have quarterly review of the channels, an audit of all accounts for transparency purpose and also manage our media expectations. The account executives from the agency side will give clients the experience which will make them come back.

What are some of the solutions that WarnerMedia provides that supersede those of its com-

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petitors?

We are very humble and may not want to brag about our channels but if you look at the history of our channels when we were able to get the ratings in South Africa and the rest of Africa where we work with Multi Choice, we are the number one provider for kids’ content. We have Cartoon Network in South Africa rating more for kids than the whole of the other channels together and this is unique. Our brand is very strong, but also, if you add that this is not only attracting kids but also adults, then you get something that is really very specific of Cartoon Network because in general, kiddies brands are targeting younger demographics and the parents are not necessarily engaged with the channels. We did a bit of research last year and we discovered that we not only get good ratings on kids, but also on adults. We have great viewership also on people that are 15+ and 25+ and even without kids at home. This shows that the type of content we provide from our studios are great for kids but also attract adults and young adults. We also have a lot of brands that people already know from their childhood that resonate with viewers and this is something you will find in Boomerang where we have Tom and Jerry and Scoobydoo. We have some shows like Bat Man, Superman, Ben -10 amongst others. So, we have this great content that you will not be able to find anywhere else because they are produced by WarnerMedia.

That is something that is quite unique to us and if you want to associate your brand with one of those franchises, you have to come to us. We also have TNT which is the home of American blockbuster movies and you will find movies that people love and will entertain the family. WarnerMedia is a very big group and has a very big history. One of our studios has been producing a lot of movies in the last century. This is our legacy.

How many countries is WarnerMedia present in?

The main country we are focusing in with the TMA partnership is Nigeria, and after we have launched in Nigeria, we will extend to other parts of Africa. But for the purpose of the first stage of our partnership, @Businessdayng

our main focus is Nigeria. However, we will look at other countries where TMA is looking to develop as well. We are present in the whole of Africa through our partnership with DStv and GOtv but we are also present in the whole of Europe, America, Asia and Latin America.

As a leading sales representative in Nigeria, what brands does TMA manage in the country?

TMA is a media sales representative and it represents big brands. On the client side, we represent brands like MTN, Cadbury, Nestle, Airtel, Zenith Bank, Dettol and Procter & Gamble to name a few. We bring value and the platform together and we provide solutions.

What do you think Nigeria stands to gain from this partnership?

Nigeria stands to gain good content in terms of value and quality of production that WarnerMedia is bringing to the table. They stand to gain high quality distinctive programming which makes it more available on demand with variety. For brand managers and the agencies, this is a new phase and a new angle.

Who is your target audience in Nigerian market?

Until December, Cartoon Network was carried only on the DStv bouquet and the target market we had for the channel was mainly the high income household of Nigeria, but we discussed with our partner in Multi Choice and decided to increase the reach through the GOtv platform which is reaching a higher number of households in Nigeria making our main target more massmarket. This is the target group we are going for.

What do you think are some regulatory frameworks that need to be put in place for the industry to blossom in Nigeria?

In general we do not get involved in local regulatory processes. We are very respectful of what governments want to do for the local industries.

But in general, what we hope for any country is that there is protection of intellectual property which is always important.

Piracy is never a good thing for producers of content.

Friday 01 May 2020

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May Day: When virus fears shroud joy of celebration ZEBULON AGOMUO

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he Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is known for its loud ceremonies.

The leaders, who call themselves comrades, always talk in commanding tones.

They believe that is how to better get their message passed. Like many human rights activists, labour leaders in Nigeria speak tough and sometimes employ intimidating words even when referring to government or its representatives.

Every huge gathering offers them the opportunity to employ all manner of vocabulary to whip up sentiments, particularly, when it comes to the issue of unpaid wages, and conditions of service for their members.

Today, the stage will not be there for them to speak. All the usual swelling words and gyrations are likely not to feature. Like everything else, the coronavirus (COVID-19) seems to have taken the shine off what used to be a great opportunity for workers to unwind.

Workers’ Day, popularly referred to as May Day, has always been marked with pomp and ceremony. Political figures in charge of labour and employment usually represent the government to address workers at elaborate occasions at the Federal and state levels.

Today, there is going to be nothing like that. What should be expected is a broadcast, a press release or joint media briefing by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Nwabueze Ngige, and the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), represented by Ayuba Wabba, the national president.

When the Federal Government Tuesday announced Friday (today) a public holiday, some observers said it was unnecessary because given the lockdown and the threat of the coronavirus pandemic, nobody should be expecting such a holiday.

That was also the same reaction that trailed the two-day public holiday declared by the Federal Government for Friday, April 17 and Monday, April 19, 2020 in commemoration of the Good Friday and Easter.

But informed minds were quick to point out that such holidays are statutory and must be declared by government accordingly to avoid running into some trouble waters in the future.

For many weeks now, some states have been under total or partial lockdown, occasioned by

the coronavirus pandemic. It has affected both public and private sectors of the nation’s economy.

A number of firms have been so hard hit that they have reportedly sent many of their staffers home; salaries have either been cut or not being paid at all.

The effects of the COVID-19 have been catastrophic on the revenue of the Federal, state and local governments. The implication for Labour is that state governments are reneging on the agreement signed with labour to implement the N30,000 minimum wage and its consequential adjustments using poor revenue inflow as a justifiable excuse. This is more likely given that many of the state governments only reluctantly signed to pay the new wage, ab initio.

Adolphus Okenyi, a social affairs commentator, said given the prevailing circumstance in the country, the Nigerian worker that used to be enthusiastic about celebrating the May Day, has a much more challenge to bother about than thinking about celebration.

“Nobody is talking about celebration at this time. It is a war situation; when you are on the run, do you remember celebration? The Nigerian worker is on the run; running from an invisible enemy; what time does he/she has to celebrate May Day? It is life first before celebration, and it is only the living that celebrates,” Okenyi said.

He further said that many Nigerian workers are at the moment www.businessday.ng

panicking as they do not know what would befall them after the pandemic.

“I want to tell you that many people are apprehensive at the moment. It is already been said that there would be job losses, salary cuts and other measures that could affect the Nigerian worker. So, what is the point of celebration? A worker celebrates when his/her salaries are sure; when the conditions of service are favourable and when the future of his/her career appears bright, not when there is uncertainty in the air,” Okenyi further said.

On Tuesday, the leadership of the NLC had cautioned govern-

‘

In reciprocation of the enormous sacrifice made by workers, we urge employers of labour to show solidarity with the sacrifice of our workers and people by ensuring wage protection, income support, and social inclusion at these trying times

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ment at all levels not to contemplate stoppage or reduction in staff salaries.

Wabba said many health workers were currently on the frontline of duty salvaging the country from the coronavirus, hence, it would be illogical to cut workers’ pay at this trying moment.

His warning came against the backdrop of the commemoration of the International Workers’ Day, which is observed every May 1st.

This year’s commemoration, which has as its theme, as ‘Stop the Pandemic at Work’, came amidst the global fight against the novel coronavirus disease, otherwise known as COVID-19.

Although many nations are grappling with how to contain the virus, it has already taken a serious toll on world economies, prompting speculations that workers might become the worst victims either through mass sack or pay cut.

But Wabba said: “In reciprocation of the enormous sacrifice made by workers, we urge employers of labour to show solidarity with the sacrifice of our workers and people by ensuring wage protection, income support, and social inclusion at these trying times.”

According to him, “This is not the time to stop or deduct from workers’ salaries. Such an action would be both illogical and illegal as workers’ salaries are core elements of employment contracts and collective bargaining agreements.”

He dropped what sounded like @Businessdayng

a mild threat: “We have asked our affiliates and state councils to resist any salary deduction on account of COVID-19.”

Today, neither the Federal workers nor state civil servants would be cheerful enough to mount lavish celebration. It is said that even if there was no lockdown, there would be no money for elaborate merry-making given the plunge in the oil price at the international market. The development has also jeopardised the chances of states paying the new minimum wage that has since become a subject of controversy.

Whereas President Muhammadu Buhari signed a N10.59 trillion 2020 Budget, on the assumption of oil production of 2.18 million barrels per day with an oil price benchmark of $57 per barrel, oil price has nosedived to $30.39 per barrel as at Friday, March 20. As at Wednesday, April 29, 2020 it was $22.9 per barrel. It has been oscillating. There have been no buyers, even with Nigeria offering a discount.

Nigeria’s government and the 36 states are heavily dependent on crude oil to fund their annual budgets. Monthly, finance commissioners from the 36 states race to Abuja to receive their share of the national revenue from Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).

Given the falling oil prices, the FAAC allocation in the months ahead is bound to further plunge.

This is bound to further limit the ability of the federal and state governments to meet their obligations as projected in their 2020 budgets.

More than 21 state governments have either signed to pay the new wage or are in negotiation with their workers to pay.

The labour movement comprising the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) had handed to their state councils a template in line with the agreement reached at the national level, which the state insist the state must adhere to.

The minimum wage law was signed into effect in April 2019,

by President Buhari. It prescribes N30,000 as national minimum wage below which no employer in the formal and public sectors of the economy should pay its workers.

Recently, President of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) Quadri Olaleye was quoted as saying that the labour movement will continue to insist on the payment, irrespective of the level of revenue accruing to the federal and state governments as its implementation borders on complying with the law of the land.

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entertainment

Manny Norté: African diaspora artiste on the rise Obinna Emelike

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n today’s world, almost everybody has one big dream or ambition to pursue.

For most, identifying their passion and walking in their purpose is an experience they never get to realize. Only a few people get to achieve this and at a very early stage. Manny Norté, Ghanian-born DJ, presenter and music producer, is one of such lucky individuals. He is one of United Kingdom’s most established and respected music figures, and has almost become synonymous with Hip-Hop and R&B in the UK music scene.

Fans can always catch him on the airwaves spinning their favorite genres and latest music across the world.

Over the last decade, Norté has garnered enormous connections and experience to make it impossible to mention urban music in the UK without mentioning his name. From being the tour DJ for international music titans such as Jay Z, Rhianna, Naomi Campbell and Beyoncé, to winning a MOBO Award, presenting his own show on Capital XTRA, DJing at urban club night ‘The Get Down’ at Tape London,

Manny

to joining the team at Polydor’s urban department across A&R, marketing and promotions, Manny Norté has become utterly immersed in the global music culture.

With his experience and vast knowledge of music, Manny is able to effortlessly determine

the sounds, genres, beats and artistes that will blend magically on any track. Not doubting his talent, he recently brought some of music’s hottest artistes worldwide together on one track he tagged ‘4AM’. He skillfully combined RnB with the notable Afrobeat’s baseline to give a

Maxxiebaby, new kid on the block, debuts with single

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mid the challenging times, the Nigerian music industr y has ushered in a new kid on the block. On April 24, 2020, Victor Akachukwu Maxwell, a Nigerian Afro-fusion singer, debuted in the scene with the release of his debut single titled, ‘Paradise’.

With ‘Paradise’, the young musician, who stages as Maxxiebaby

delivers an epic sound, which encapsulates the power love possesses to transcend tongue and creed, and heal broken walls of scarred relationships.

In a simple yet intoxicating blend of strings, he takes you on a journey without you knowing, and delivers his message of love and hope in a fresh out melody, which gets you humming at the bridge of the song.

Maxxiebaby www.businessday.ng

One unique thing about the new kid is his use of falsetto, which is a rare find these days, in the music industry. The rare gift shows that with every passing day, there buds new talent around whose vibes grace ears with new musical directions.

‘Paradise’ can be said to be one of these masterpieces.

Produced by Andrea Vibez and Teezsmart, ‘Paradise’ describes how love recognizes no barriers and hurdles, and brings hope.

Musing over his debut single, Maxxiebaby, who is signed to Dezbilly Entertainment said: “Love saved me. It is here to save us all and will bring me great joy to see marriages, relationships and family rekindled by love once more. That is why I love regardless of tribe or scars. We can light up the world like fireflies, and that is why I share ‘Paradise’ with you.”

Paradise was released on April 24, 2020, and is available for streaming and download on all music platforms.

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perfect fusion on his first major offering as an artiste. Placing itself perfectly across the genres and cultures, ‘4AM’ features artists from Atlanta, London and Nigeria.

Produced by Manny Norté himself, the track implores the vocal stylings of LVRN’s very

own 6LACK, Nigeria’s rising star, Rema and the UK’s Tion Wayne for a first of a kind collaboration that is set to take over every club playlist. The visuals for the track, set in Teshie, Accra, Ghana, West Africa, Manny Norté’s hometown, follows the group across the vibrant planes of the city, as they are immersed in the local surroundings and culture. The visual perfectly complements the track as it details the allure, beauty and captivating essence of a woman.

Obviously, ‘4 AM’ trails Manny’s identity from his days as a kid born to Ghanaian parents, to when he ventured into music and thrilling West London partygoers with rap and R&B records.

“It is actually me,” he says. “If you listen to the song you know I’m about this life. It’s just real genuine shit with me. Whoever knows me, I like you to see that I genuinely care about what I’m doing”.

Moreover, with an unparalleled understanding of urban music, Manny Norté, who is also Capital Xtra DJ and host, uses this relaxed, yet up-tempo track, directed by Meji Alabi, to give a raw reflection of his identity, displaying how rich and intertwined music, culture and family really are.

Afro-fusion artiste, GOODGIRL LA releases new single ‘JEJE’ IFEOMA OKEKE

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f ro - Fu s i o n a r t i s t e, GoodGirl LA is on a clear path to becoming one of the finest acts in the country, as she releases her first single of the year, titled “JEJE”.

The female singer has been on a steady win this year, from crossing 1 million views YouTube views on her single, “Bless Me”, to having few of her songs featured on Inkblot’s latest movie “Who’s the Boss” and being one of the 30 recipients of the emPawa initiative by musician/ entrepreneur Mr. Eazi.

Born Euphemia Ekumah, on February 20, 1997, GoodGirl LA grew up in a family of four children in Ajegunle and Festac areas in Lagos. She is originally from Cross River State. “Find joy in every moment” is a mantra GoodGirl LA strongly believes in, and this is what she shares on her new record. @Businessdayng

“Jeje” reaffirms GoodGirl LA’s stand and position, despite the hate and bad talks, she is unstoppable and not ready to let go even when it comes to love. It is a slow tempo track with sing along lyrics.

It was produced by young music genius P. Priime, additional bass guitars by Tony John, with mixing and mastering done by Swaps.

The song is available on all digital music platforms.

Friday 01 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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Hotels

Top BusinessDay Partner Hotels Four Points by Sheraton Hotel (Oniru Chiefatancy Estate,Lekki) Tel: +234 1 448 9444

Transcorp Hilton Abuja 1 Aguiyi Ironsi Street Maitama, Abuja Tel: +234-708-060-3000

The Wheatbaker #4 Onitolo(Lawrence Road), Ikoyi, Lagos.

Tel: 01 277 3560

Why discount, budget will determine hotel patronage post coronavirus OBINNA EMELIKE

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ith many hotels shutdown long ago, and those that have managed to stay afloat with essential services now closed, it is evident that coronavirus (Covid-19) has dealt a deadly blow on the global hospitality sector, and particularly, the once burgeoning Nigerian hotel market.

Moreover, the mounting impact is expected to last long after the virus is curtailed, putting the acclaimed resilience of the tourism and hospitality industry to test.

But as governments, global economies and businesses marshal out their recovery plans, the hospitality sector is not left out; though business will never be the same post coronavirus.

First, the hospitality sector, which depends on huge inflows from air passengers, corporate events and business travelers, will wait for a while as people will be reluctant to travel soon after the virus is curtailed.

When nor malc y returns, businesses open their doors and people begin to travel again, the few people who will step out of their comfort zones, will be looking for great deals from hotels.

It is obvious that with the grounding of economies, many businesses will collapse during coro-

navirus scourge, leaving companies bankrupt, millions of employees sacked and sufferings following.

The sad reality would be low purchasing power for many across the world, and the collapse of the ‘middleclass’, which has become target of many companies in recent time.

With the low or no purchasing power, budget offerings will become key market across hotels in the world. Budget hotel brands such as Ibis, Best Western, Red Roof Inn, Extended Stay, among others will soar as guests will be looking in their directions.

Top global brands will also position their budget offerings to lure guests.

The likes of Golden Tulip Essential, Hampton by Hilton, Park Inn by Radisson, Double Tree, among other budget to middle scale offerings by top hotel chains will also be in business shortly after coronavirus scourge is over.

“It is expected that many people will not be willing to travel soon after the scourge is over because of safety concerns, fear and most importantly, low purchasing power. So, travel will be skeletal and on budget after coronavirus”, Kachi Etokwu, a hospitality expert, explained.

He maintained that many hotels would be offering essential services long after coronavirus because patronage, which has been impacted by low purchasing power, would take long to improve.

For Femi Ogunyombo, www.businessday.ng

a hotelier, the anticipated low purchasing power among guests across the world would force hotels to further scale down their services to match budget at the interim while luxury offerings would be abandoned until economies and businesses start to boom again.

“The likes of luxury hotels and resorts, four and five-star offerings would suffer the worst patronage after the virus is curtailed because many people and even corporate organisations will resort to budget travel to match their low purchasing power and to cut costs”, Ogunyombo, disclosed.

Aside budget travel, another trend that will rule the global hospitality scene after coronavirus scourge is curtailed is heavy discounts to lure unwilling guests to stay in hotels.

Recently, the management of Kempenski Hotel Gold Cost City, Accra, Ghana, slashed its room offerings with heavy discounts to woo guests to take advantage of the lull in business occasioned by the huge impact of Coronavirus to enjoy the hotel, which for many, is surprisingly still open.

U nt i l May 1 5 , 2 0 2 0 , guests can enjoy Superior Single room for $160, while Superior Double room goes for $180 inclusive of bed and breakfast at Kempenski Accra.

The rooms, which before now go from $250 and $300 respectively, are witnessing almost 50 percent discount,

which has never been offered before even during the annual Ghanian independence anniversary.

It is expected that the rates would be slashed even more after May 15 if patronage did not improve as expected; all in effort to stay afloat.

According to RoomOne, a hotel data outfit, it is going to take time for hotels to restart after coronavirus is over and when they do, it would be more of essential services, heavily discounts offerings and guest-friendly mode to lure unwilling guests back to the hotel.

The outfit noted that guests should expect as much as 70 percent discount to entice them back, and that luxury offerings will be shelved for now, while rates would starting picking up when global economies rebound.

Andrea Hughs, a Sandton, South Africa-based general manager, disclosed that there would be no standard rating post coronavirus as most hotels would be willing to sell luxury rooms at standard room rate if guests insist.

“If a hotel gets 20 guests who insist on staying in superior room but would pay standard room rate, it would be a bad business decision to decline such offer when over 100 rooms are empty”, Hughs said.

He explained further that post coronavirus era, many hotels would be in reopening or opening mode, hence huge discounts are allowed to woo guests.

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Tel: +234 9 4603900, +234 805 7522500

Lagos Continental Hotel Plot 52, Kofo Abayomi St, Lagos Tel: 01 236 6666

Radisson Blu Hotel Ikeja #38/40 Isaac John St, Ikeja GRA100271, Ikeja Tel: +234-908-780 5555

206 Exclusive Hotel Plot 206 Oladipo Diya Road Opposite Olympia Estate

By Games Village Second Gate Durumi2 Abuja

Novotel Port Harcourt Address: 3 Stadium Road Rumuomasi, Port Harcourt Rivers State, Tel: 0809 713 5734

Radisson Lagos Ikeja #42-44 Isaac John Street, GRA Ikeja, Lagos

Southern Sun IkoyI Hotel Address: 47 Alfred Rewane Road, Ikoyi, Lagos Tel: +234 1 280 5200 / +234 1 280 0630 Email: ssikoyi.reservations@ tsogosun.com

Radisson Blu Anchorage Hotel 1A,Ozumba Mbadiwe,Victoria Island. @Businessdayng

24

Friday 01 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

AGRIBUSINESSINSIGHT Market Insights

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Farmers watch helplessly as animals die in droves over drugs, feed scarcity CALEB OJEWALE Twiiter: @calebtinolu

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nable to access medicines for their animals, some livestock farmers in Lagos and Ogun States are watching helplessly as their animals die one after the other. For some, a few dozens, and for others, hundreds have died and may continue to die until the situation improves because of lockdowns across the country to curb the spread of Coronavirus.

From poultry to pig farmers, some of whom Agribusiness Insight interviewed, the tales of losses are the same, and even when there are no complaints of mortality, they are unable to sell their livestock due to reluctance of buyers to venture on the roads for fear of extortions.

Okusanya Olayiwola, a poultry farmer in Ago Iwoye, Ogun State at the time of being interviewed last week, had lost over 300 Turkeys and 10 Broiler birds. The dead Turkeys represented more than 60 percent of his entire farm stock, as he is a smallholder farmer.

His birds got sick during the lockdown, saying they were diagnosed with Chronic Respiratory Disease (CRD) and E Coli.

He would usually sell a mature turkey at N10,000 and would have realized at least N3 million from the lost birds, but they died at six weeks which would cost N1,500 each if sold to others who would rear them to table size, making it a N450,000 loss.

“Due to circumstances beyond control, my birds were sick and the only drugs I could get were locally made, unlike imported ones that are more effective,” said Olayiwola, who says his company, Aare Productions Ltd is located in the Old Cooperative Building in Ago Iwoye.

“The complain of the veterinary doctors was that no importation is allowed so we are left to rely on local drugs,” he said.

Olayiwola lamented that the COVID-19 lockdown has really affected him being a farmer that relied on making sales on a weekly basis for sustenance. At inception of the lockdown, he was able to stock feeds with the little money he had, hoping that the lockdown will not take long. He has now run out of feed to sufficiently take care of his remaining 200 Turkeys and 100 Broilers.

“It was a great loss to me as a small farmer. The problem now is how to feed the remaining birds with the lockdown,” he said, also saying his bank (a new generation bank popular with young people) does not give loan to farmers.

“Don’t get me wrong, the lockdown is what Nigeria needs now, but government should help me out,” he said. Asked how he is coping with the fear of surviving birds also getting infected, Olayiwola responded: “I rely on God’s mercy.”

The tales of woe are the same even for many pig farmers.

Adebimpe Adisa, owner of Adisa farms in the Oke Aro Pig Farm Estate in Lagos State lost 70 animals within the first two weeks of the lockdown. The African Swine Fever had infected his animals causing him to lose 70 out of 200 pigs (35 percent of his stock), estimated at N1.75 million with each pig having a market price of N25,000.

Since the lockdown started, Adisa, like other farmers has been unable to get access to medicines to tend to sick animals. Even if animals infected by the virus could not be cured, with medicines, others like he explained could have their immunity boosted to resist getting infected. A helpless Adisa watched as the virus killed off his investment in bits, one animal at a time, without access to medicines to limit the vulnerability of surviving ones. Not just to the ASF but even other diseases, as other farmers have reported.

“Access to medicines is very hard because those supplying now say production is very low,” he said.

For medicines that are usually imported, they have also been told those cannot come in. For instance Gentamicin, a drug he used to buy for N1,800 per 100ml bottle now is N2,800 and this he says cannot cure 20 animals at a dosage of 4 or 5 milliliters each so he has to buy up to 4 bottles. When one buys up to this, there is already a markup of N4000 on the drugs and in the end, many animals are still lost as the care in www.businessday.ng

inadequate to curb diseases from spreading.

Dubbed the largest pig farm in West Africa, Adisa at the time of being interviewed said over 1,500 pigs had been lost in the Oke Aro cluster. Before losing the animals they showed symptoms, and the farmers as he explained are only just trying their best, since there is no known vaccine for ASF in particular.

Ayo, who is also a farmer in the Oke Aro cluster had lost over 100 animals which he said were all imported and had a value of over N6 million. For him, “what we need now is nothing but financial assistance from government, because a lot of us have lost our fortune.”

While acknowledging there have been sporadic reports of losses by pig farmers, Femi Malomo, secretary of the Pork Producers Association of Nigeria, however said the occurrence at Oke Aro “may be an isolated incident.” For those at the cluster, it appears to be affecting many in West Africa’s largest pig farm cluster.

Lack of buyers compound mortality woes Stanley Chigemezu Okoro, a 400 level student of Sociology at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun state had combined farming and schooling since his first year in order to see himself through school.

Transportation, sales, mortality, insecurity and inability to purchase drugs had over the years made his experience as a farmer less pleas-

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ant than he may want it to be. However, with the current lockdowns across the country, all factors have gotten worse and he is stuck with livestock he can neither afford to feed nor sell.

“The Turkeys are ready for sale and I am not ready to feed them anymore because there is no more money,” said Okoro who had to hire a Sienna car for N7000 (instead of N2,000) to transport some of his birds to Ibadan where he ended up selling at what he says was a low price.

He was carrying four small cartons originally used for packaging for Apples, containing 48 turkeys of 5weeks old. As there were no buses loading in the garages, he had to charter the sienna which initially agreed to collect N6000 but along the way insisted on being paid N10,000, and threatening to go back if he did not agree. He ended up paying N7,000.

Purchase of drug is one of the major problems Okoro, like other farmers have been faced with. To get simple drugs for the birds is usually an interstate journey from Ogun to Oyo, one that is now hard to even embark on.

“Throughout last week I called all the people who buy Turkey from me but they all said they are not ready to buy because of lockdown,” said the university student trying to make ends meet. “Though I am almost discouraged but not yet,” he concluded.

For Akanimodo Korede, owner of GTG farms, while prices of table @Businessdayng

ready birds have yet to decline, there is low patronage as buyers are locked down in their respective states. However, the same cannot be said of day old Turkeys that have reduced from N550 to N270 (even N200 at some point).

Desperate resort to sharp practices “The easiest way to get the rid of the virus is to sell the affected ones out because it is contagious to others,” said one of the pig farmers interviewed. “The ones that don’t show symptoms are given antibiotics so that they don’t react to the disease.”

The farmer had explained that infected animals are sold at a cheaper price so that it will not affect other animals. However, because of the current lockdown this particular farmer was not able to get buyers who would have purchased his infected animals, and ended up losing all of them.

“Initially we sell for N480 per kilo for live animals, though it won’t be noticeable to the buyer (that they are sick) but we know and can then sell for N460 per kilo,” he said.

This way the buyers are able to clear everything and according to him, “we will be on a safer side and not lose much. Even if we are going to lose our profit, we are not going to lose our capital.”

This was the practice in getting rid of sick animals before the lockdown, but now, neither healthy nor sick animals can be easily sold and many livestock farmers are recording unprecedented losses.

Friday 01 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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ARTS & LIFE Boredom and imagination: The unsung champions of your child’s creativity Polly Alakija

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he usefulness of technology for engagement and education is more evident in this period of social separation and physical distancing. However, the negative effects on the mind, especially the malleable mind of a child, is almost imperceptible. While technology keeps us together virtually and creates the illusion of community in this age, our unintentional use, allows it to destroy a most critical thread in the fabric of our society - the wonder of the child’s imagination, which is critical for innovation and development of creative skills, and for which structured education was initially developed.

Formal, systemised education is great; it encourages peer-learning and engagement, while providing the opportunity for structured, well thoughtout lessons, especially for those who would ordinarily have no access.

However, the education system we have created has reinforced structural stereotypes, creating unsustainable, uncaring systems and a society where success is based on one-dimensional outcomes. More than ever, the pervading thought is that children need more formal educational activities and less free time, and by giving more free time, parents are losing the opportunity for child development. In contrast, however, when children are bored and are not bombarded with external stimulation, they are likely to invent new forms of engagement.

Those who are able to discover more creative ways for entertainment at an early age, are more likely to develop healthy problem-solving and conflictresolution habits. Recent child development research shows that, although done in love, many structured and

technological activities are doing the opposite of what is intended. They are stifling child creativity and creating social robots.

For example, following its research, in 2016, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released its guidelines for child use of media, stressing face-to-face interactions, family-time, outdoor play, exercise and sleep as some of the important activities for child development. The AAP suggests limited media time, with parental interaction, for children. For toddlers younger than 18 to 24 months, digital media should be totally avoided, except for video chatting. Parental co-viewing with children between 18 and 24 months is encouraged because they learn by watching and talking.

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Screen use limited to just 1 hour a day of high-quality programming is best for preschool children aged 2 to 5, with co-viewing and lessons reinforced in the real world.

In April, we shared thoughts about the changing face of education in the real world and the new skills required for the 22nd century – care, community, connection and culture. Our children will only be prepared to meet the challenges of the 22nd century and

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succeed if we are intentional about creating the right environment. The creative mind needs space to wander on imaginative journeys away from interference. This will not be achieved by immersion in technology-driven programming or regimented learning.

Our cities and systems must reinforce community and push back on the perceived need to occupy kids all the time, when what they need is space for the mind to wander and develop

@Businessdayng

freely, and community.

As Chairperson of the Lagos State Council for Arts and Culture, I have had the opportunity to participate in meetings with other culture departments of various cities, including London, New York, Milan, Shanghai, Seoul, Chengdu, under the World City Culture Forum. Each city has had a different experience of the COVID-19 pandemic. Leaders are developing city policies that respond to the new “distancing culture”, which give an indication of the changes to come globally - social and religious structures and spaces will have to operate differently; and schools will not be left out.

As discussions on the return to school progress, there is unanimous agreement that the crisis affords the world an opportunity to address systemic issues and effect required changes. This is an opportunity to de-construct education; taking as much classroom activity outdoors and breaking up classroom sizes. School schedules could change drastically to reduce the number of students in school at any given time. Teachers may take on the role of community leaders within and outside the classroom, as cities enlist other members of the community, especially creatives, to run community educational programmes.

While much of this presents the ideal situation, as many of these countries do not have the demographic and infrastructural challenges Nigeria and many developing societies have, it reinforces the need for us to reimagine our education system. We must start to envision the role of other community members, especially parents and creatives in the education of our children.

We must prepare and create the systems we desire, now. For enlightened well-to-do families, it could mean less screen-time and more one-to-one interactions, facilitated by community outdoor programmes. For the less privileged, for whom technology has been a gap-amplifier rather than an equaliser, it would literally mean an opportunity to level the playing field.

One of the ways the Five Cowries Initiative is encouraging this and responding to the needs of all children currently, is through its creative worksheets. We are partnering with creatives, media publications and other relevant organisations to develop, print and distribute the worksheets physically and online to under-served communities. With limited resources, such as pencils, paper, plastic bottles, and other found materials, parents can allow their children engage creatively, without interference or distraction Children need balance. While technology is not the enemy, its use must be encouraged within healthy boundaries. The skills required to develop the complex technological feats we see today were engendered by the simple mind-wandering imaginations of a child. We must allow our children to wonder for the development of our world.

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Friday 01 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

cityfile

Shortage of reagents delaying Covid-19 tests in Oyo –Makinde

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overnor Seyi Makinde has said the shortage of reagents is delaying the processing of Covid-19 tests in Oyo State Makinde said as a result, there is a backlog of 300 out of 775 samples collected, apologising, however, to those waiting for their test results.

The governor appealed for patience, assuring that the state government was mobilising sources to secure the chemical required for the testing procedures.

“Due to a shortage of reagents required to process COVID-19 tests, we currently have a number of pending results. Of the 775 samples collected so far, 300 are awaiting results.

“We are already in the process of acquiring more reagents in the shortest possible time to enable us clear the backlog. We appeal for patience from

those awaiting results.

“Meanwhile, we will continue conducting tests at the drive-through/walkthrough testing centre at Adamasingba Stadium,” Makinde tweeted.

The governor also said that the state government was also on course to opening up testing centres in other areas for the much-needed coronavirus mass testing.

“In a bid to continue ramping up testing, from next week, we will be moving to other zones in the state to conduct tests. Details of the schedule will be provided in due course.

“We are grateful to IHS Towers for the donation of an ambulance to the state government. We also thank all individuals and corporate organisations that have continued to donate in cash and kind to government’s effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” he said.

Kaduna: Group begins door-todoor delivery of antiretroviral drugs

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group known as Network of People Living with HIV/ Aids in Nigeria (NEPWHAN) is undertaking door-to-door delivery of antiretroviral (ARVs) drugs to members who cannot access health facilities due to the lockdown.

Bala Samaila, the coordinator of the group in Kaduna, lamented that many of the embers have been unable to get their ARVs refill because of the current lockdown to contain the spread of coronavirus.

“We are doing this because our members are weak, some are elderly and some are sick and can’t come to the facilities for their drugs.

“They need to take ARVs 24/7 and they need food to improve their health,” Samaila said.

He called on the state government to assist the group with vehicles for easy movement and include its members as beneficiaries of government’s palliatives as most of them are vulnerable.

The entrance of Oyo State Government Secretariat in Ibadan, as workers on Grade Level 13 and above were ordered to resume work.

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Oyo undertakes 2nd phase of ‘Light-Up’ project Remi Feyisipo, Ibadan

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yo State government has approved the commencement of the second phase of the ‘Light-Up Oyo State’ project aimed at erecting street lights on 70 roads totalling 223.42 kilometres across the state.

The approval was given at the weekly State Executive Council (SEC) meeting held via video-conferencing in Ibadan.

Commissioner for public works, infrastructure and transport, Raphael Afonja, said the initiative would further spread the gains already recorded in the first phase in the area of security and socioeconomic development.

According to Afonja, the council also approved the ‘Operation Zero Pothole Initiative’ in line with the desire of Governor Seyi Makinde to fix all potholes in the state starting

from Ibadan, the state capital.

“About 70 roads have been captured for the installation of this LED streetlights and majority of roads in the state will feel the impact.

“One of the reasons for the project is that Governor Makinde believes in the security of the society. So, the initiative came up for security reasons.

“Also, we believe the project will have impact in socioeconomic terms as we saw in the first phase,” he said.

The commissioner added that with the project, residents would feel better secure coming from their homes or going to the office, places of business, hospitals or wherever across the city.

“The second project is the Zero-Pothole Initiative that the administration has embarked upon. The governor believes there is the need to quickly fix the potholes before the commencement of the rains, starting with Ibadan metropolis.

“As we all know, most traf-

Contractor to deliver East Street, Aba in 2 weeks GODFREY OFURUM, Aba

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ng o i ng re ha bilitation work on the failed portion of East Street road, Aba, the commercial hub of Abia state, will be completed in the next two weeks, Stanley Ubani, an engineer with Track Care Global Construction Nigeria Limited, contractors to the project says.

Ubani in an interaction with Cityfile, attributed the failure of the said portion

of the road, which has an underground water channel to structural defect.

He observed that the original contractors raised the water channel with a hole-block and without reinforcement.

According to him, “it was structured with nineinches-hole-block with a slab without reinforcement. For a layman, they did not use iron-rods to reinforce the drain. They used only blocks, chippings, cement, sand and water to construct the water channel. www.businessday.ng

“So, the road has served the users for a long time and this is the time for it to tell them that it was not properly built.

“It was a mistake by those that constructed the road. There is no way someone will do a road like this without reinforcement. So, that is what made the road to fail”, he stated.

He, however, noted that they were awarded the contract to fix the road and correct the mistake made by the original builders.

“We will build it with

reinforcement, so that it will not happen again. We are doing it to standard and we are guaranteeing that it won’t fail again”.

He promised that the road would be ready for pedestrians before the end of the week, while motorists can access it in the next 14 days.

He advised traders and other residents to desist from dumping refuse into the drainages to allow easy flow of storm water, to sustain the drains and prevent flooding of the area.

Recall that a commer-

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fic congestions experienced in the past have been due to people being extra careful when they are driving because they don’t want to hit the potholes.

“So, the executive council approved the commencement of patching of potholes, starting with Ibadan metropolis,” he said.

The commissioner said the executive council also recently approved the decentralisation of Oyo State Road Management Agency (OYSROMA) to enable it have offices in across five zones in the state, to allow for effectiveness in terms of fixing potholes across the state.

“There are other initiatives when it comes to potholes fixing that will follow this which will go all the way to the grassroots.

“Initially, people think it is only in Ibadan but we should thank the governor because it is now expanding to other zones in the state,” Afonja said.

Speaking on the rehabilita-

tion of dump sites, Kehinde Agboola, the commissioner for environment and natural resources, said the council approved the award of contract for the rehabilitation of two dumpsites in Ibadan under the new Solid Waste Management Architecture launched by the governor recently.

Agboola also revealed that the selection process for the Private Sector Participants (PSPs) that would drive the waste management project had already been concluded.

“The council has approved contracts for the rehabilitation of two waste dumpsites in Ibadan. There is one at Ajakanga, Oluyole local government and the second one is at Awotan near Apete in Ido local government.

“The contractor has, as I speak to you, moved to site and work has commenced.

“The idea is to expand the capacity and enhance the efficiency of our solid waste collection and disposal efforts,” he said.

cial bus fell into the ditch, two weeks ago, after that portion of the road caved in after a heavy downpour.

Although the driver of the vehicle came out unhurt, but he lost the day’s proceeds and mobile phone, to hoodlums, who attacked him rather than rescue him from the accident.

The incident which occurred at a point where East Street storm water connects to the Aba River has prevented commuters and other residents from accessing Aba city centre, from Aba/Ikot-Ekpene road.

Daniel Victor, driver of the vehicle, explained

that the incident occurred at about10.00pm on Saturday, when he was going home after the day’s work.

“This incident happened around after 10.00pm, when I was returning from work. The rain was ver y heavy.

The first rain came and stopped and I decided to go home before the second rain catches up with me.

“I passed through the road in the day and when I was driving, I never had it in mind that the place has demarcated. I was not on a high speed, because it was raining, but I didn’t see the hole, because I wasn’t expecting such,” he said.

@Businessdayng

Friday 01 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

27

FEATURE Nigeria: Why the economy must not be destroyed fighting Covid-19 Evans Woherem, PHD

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A worldwide pandemic he world entered into the year 2020 with great expectations and could not foresee the crisis that it was entering into – the Novel Corona virus (COVID 19) crisis.

The novel virus has thrown the whole world into a war-time like situation with the implementation of citywide and country-wide lockdowns as containment measures by almost all countries of the world. There have been several confirmed cases and death tolls worldwide, with the USA currently being impacted the most, with a staggering number of confirmed cases and deaths which stood at 1,010,507 and 56,803 respectively (as of Tuesday 28th April, 2020).

Countries like Italy, Spain, France, UK and Germany have all been equally heavily impacted. African countries are also slowly being heavily and worrily impacted The pandemic is real and countries are thus facing a new kind of challenge and so need to employ unique strategies for dealing with this novel reality. With the alarming number of cases being reported, the health systems of practically all the countries of the world are being overwhelmed. Not only that, global and local economies stand at their worst in decades. Infact, the world economy is now declared to be in a recession by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. The plausible fear is that it could even degenerate into a world-wide depression.

National response A Pandemic that is capable of causing the evinced staggering damages to the economies of practically all the countries of the world, should not be treated with kids’ glove. It should be treated drastically, aggressively and holistically. Accordingly, whatever Think Thank or Task Force that will deliberate, recommend and manage the responses on how to cope with the pandemic ought to comprise of experts from many key disciplines.

In most African countries, as well as here in Nigeria, our national actions towards fighting COVID 19 have largely been similar to the actions of the more developed countries of the world, in Europe and Asia, as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). This, to me, is a mistake because of our unique different cultural settings, as well as the differing levels of infrastructural and economic development between us and those more advanced countries of the world. Decisions being taken by each country should be unique and peculiar to the unique situations of each of those countries. Cutting policy recommendations that are used in the developed World and pasting them here in Nigeria will not work well for us. In fact, it is more likely to

make things worse for us.

The key recommendation from the WHO, which we have adopted hook, line and sinker, revolves mainly on the need to undertake “Social Distancing”- which many countries are practicing maximally through “Lockdowns” and through maintaining a physical distance of at least six feet with others when out in the public. Other measures are washing of hands with soaps using running water or using alcohol based hand sanitizers, using of face masks when outdoors and avoiding of touching of our mouth, eyes and nose. I don’t actually have a problem with all the above measures, apart from the total lockdown of cities or of our country.

I believe that a total lockdown is counter-productive. It is tantamount to “throwing away the baby with the bath water”.

Yes, this pandemic is an evil that is capable of wreaking a heavy havoc on the health and lives of our citizens and thus an enemy we should fight hands down. However, in doing so, it must not be to the detriment of our economy. Truth be told, ours is a peculiar environment, where keeping to all the WHO recommendations on how to overcome the Pandemic would be a tall order. According to WHO, the six areas that nations need to master in order to ease the lockdown recommended by them are in the areas of control of transmission, guaranteeing the condition of health workers, minimizing the risk of infection in open spaces, introducing preventative measures in offices and schools, controlling the possibility of imported cases, as well as ensuring that members of the public are constantly informed of the dangers the virus presents. Here in Nigeria, we have not put enough in place to control the transmission of the virus.

Nigeria’s health workers and health care facilities have suffered neglect by successive governments. Therefore, the state of our health infrastructure in the country cannot guarantee the realization of the WHO guidelines towards a successful lockdown.

So, in the case of a highly populated, poor developing country like www.businessday.ng

Nigeria, I do not think that locking down the country for several weeks or even months is the best approach. If lockdown we must, the best approach would have been to lock the country down for only between three to four weeks, so as to embark on massive testing during that period and so that we can also use that period to urgently and rapidly ramp up most of the deficiencies in our healthcare infrastructure to ensure that we are more ready to cater for those that need to go to the hospital amongst those testing positive to the virus, especially those that would need to be taken to the ICUs for a more rigorous and closer healthcare attention, especially those who may need oxygen and ventilators.

However, the pace at which testing is going on at the moment in the country is not encouraging at all. For Nigeria to have conducted less than 15,000 coronavirus tests in a population of about 200m people since the outbreak of the virus in the country is to say the least disappointing. If as a country with over 200m citizens, since the lockdown was imposed (on March 30, 2020 – 4 weeks), we have tested just over 11,300 persons, how long do we think it will take to achieve the results of the lockdown model adopted? The presidential task force on Covid-19 said they hope to increase testing from 1500 per day to 3000. If we juxtapose this with our 200m capacity, it will take 66,666 days (183 years) to test the entire Nigerian populace. Yet, we are being told that the country is massively in need of new test kits.

Very disturbing!

A total lockdown is perhaps good for many of the countries of the West, but not so for our country. It is difficult to observe a total lockdown here because of our peculiarities. In Nigeria, nearly 80% of the people rely on their daily wages to survive. In a country where over 100m people fall within the working class, a total lockdown is not workable. When you lock them down, the over 100m poor, together with others, you breed criminality, unrests and upheavals. And this is exactly what has started to occur in

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many parts of the country currently.

What some other countries are doing A few good countries inside and outside of Africa have implemented COVID-19 national strategies that resonate well with the intent and spirit of this submission. In West Africa, Ghana has been able to test more than 100,000 people. It is now making use of drones to fetch test results from test centres scattered all over the country, even in rural areas, to the two key cities of Accra and Kumasi. Senegal decided to task their indigenous creativity, and have thus produced their own local test kits and ventilators, which they are now using in the thousands. Outside of Africa, countries like Sweden and South Korea, rather implemented no lockdowns, but are ensuring that they are testing widely and maintaining social distancing, wearing of masks and adherence to all the hygiene etiquettes Challenges Nigeria has relied on oil for too long. Unfortunately, the price of oil at the international market has now fallen to uneconomic levels. We are therefore going to be in trouble as a nation if we cannot find buyers of our crude at profitable levels. As a mono product economy, we were already in trouble before the lockdown. As it stands now, and if the glut in the oil market continues as it is presently, the Federal Government will no longer be able to continue with the monthly distribution to the Federal, State and Local governments from the FAAC account. This therefore is a perfect time for the State Governors to rethink their economies. They need to think out of the box and come up with how they can continue to make their states economically viable, as well as how to ensure that they are self-reliant and able to provide for themselves the needed physical and social infrastructure required for their states. Equally, this period provides the opportunity for governments at the state level to explore and develop products that will ensure their economic and development sustainability.

The price of crude oil tumbled like never before in the last 20 years. It is currently below $15 per barrel from above $60 just before the pandemic. It has never been this bad in the last two decades and this has made a mess of the Nigerian federal government’s budget estimates for 2020; making salaries payment, debt obligations and other projections uncertain. This is clearly so because the price of crude oil, which contributes over 90% of Nigeria’s externally-generated revenue, now hovers below $20 per barrel, which is far less than the budget’s benchmark of $57 per barrel, and this therefore signifies tough times ahead for the country.

All the years gone by, Nigeria depended mainly on its oil to service the economy, instead of diversifying @Businessdayng

the economy. This has exacerbated the challenge we are now facing. Even without COVID 19, the economy was already doing badly, due to the drop in oil price. If we continue the lockdown and contain model which we are currently pursuing, the implications therefore is that no other sector of the economy is going to be producing or yielding serious national incomes, thus leading to poverty and lowering of the standard of living of the people. This will inadvertently lead to increase in depression, criminalities and riots – as already being witnessed in Lagos, Delta and Ogun states. We will be toying with fire if we continue with the lockdown. We should now come out with a workable exit strategy that will hopefully assist us to step down one wrung of the lockdown ladder at a time.

What we must do We need to pay attention to how to stop this pandemic in Nigeria, without continuing to lockdown our economy, as well as how to use this opportunity to rejig our economy.

A closer look at the deaths resulting from the coronavirus outbreak shows that only 10 -15% of the cases end up in the Intensive Care Unit (ICUs) – these are mainly older people of over 65, and people with underlying health issues. The majority of the population do not belong to the above percentage. We should therefore not lockdown everybody in order to curb the spread of the disease. If we have to lockdown, we can lockdown, say, people who are 65 years above or people with underlying health conditions.

We should improve our ICUs, get more oxygen and ventilators, and make sure our healthcare infrastructure is appropriately ramped up.

Testing should be intensified because currently, the pace at which this is done is absolutely disappointing.

We must get thousands of test kits, perhaps from places like Senegal or quickly start producing ours.

I have always advocated for an economy that would place priority on aggressive building of social infrastructure, hospitals, housing, roads, and other transport infrastructure, as well as the advancement of all our institutions. You don’t build the economy by telling people who are supposed to be working hard at work, advancing our economy and their standards of living, to stay at home. It is an anomaly. It is tantamount to killing our economy. Yes, fight COVID-19 we must, but we should not “throw away the baby with the bath water”.

While defeating COVID-19 is very paramount and requires our absolute commitment and diligence, we must ensure that we are doing so intelligently, and not to the detriment of our economy, as the repercussion of that will be too onerous and difficult to ponder. No matter what, we have to ensure that post Covid-19 we still have a healthy economy to fall back to.

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Friday 01 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

NEWS

Bauchi governor offers remedy for COVID-19 Godwin Obaseki (r) Edo State governor, receiving items from XiangHai Zhang, managing director, Yongxing Steel Company Limited, at the Government House, in Benin City, Edo State.

INIOBONG IWOK

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COVID-19: Tolaram Group deepens support with N1bn to strengthen fight DANIEL OBI

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he rapid spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) around the world has left authorities struggling to contain the spread of the pandemic.

Currently, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases inch towards three million across the globe, with more than a thousand cases in Nigeria. Governments are finding their resources stretched to control the situation, and support from the private sector is essential not only to fight the spread of the virus but also to support millions of people who are impacted economically by the pandemic.

In response to the present situation, Tolaram Group, promoter of Indomie Noodles, Power Oil, Hypo bleach, Kellogg’s, Dano, Colgate, and many more household brands in Nigeria, has announced a donation of N1 billion worth of cash and products to the Nigerian government. The donation is to combat the spread

of COVID-19 as well as for the treatment of diagnosed individuals in Nigeria.

Speaking on the donations, Haresh Aswani, managing director, Tolaram Group, in a statement, says, “We believe that no amount of support is too much during this trying global challenge. We also believe our contribution will go a long way to expand the health capabilities on the ground, especially testing, isolation, provision of treatment facilities, and the humanitarian palliative measures which are essential to curb the spread of the virus and support Nigerians in its aftermath.”

He commends government’s effort so far and states that the company will continue to explore other areas of intervention to support the cause, noting, “It is a difficult moment for any government globally, but so far, our government has done remarkably well in her fight against COVID-19 and must be commended.

“Tolaram will continue to collaborate with the government and all relevant agencies

at both the federal and state levels to jointly combat the effects of the virus.”

Aswani further stresses that the Group in collaboration with Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has also embarked on an enlightenment and awareness campaign to educate Nigerians on COVID-19 through various media channels, based on World Health Organisation’s (WHO) guidelines for safety at this period.

The managing director further lauds the sacrifice and effort of medical personnel who risk their lives daily caring for infected people and helping curb the spread of the virus. He urges Nigerians to continue to abide by the advice prescribed by the WHO, NCDC and Federal and State Health Agencies, so that the spread of the virus can be halted.

This donation, he says, is in addition to the thousands of cartons of food products and Hypo disinfectant previously donated to multiple state governments, NCDC and Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN).

The Group has also been

May Day: Pensioners decry non-payment of 16 months pensions, gratuities amid COVID-19 crisis RAZAQ AYINLA, Abeokuta

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oing by the vulnerability and high risks of exposure of the aged and senior citizens to Coronavirus pandemic, pensioners under the auspices of Contributory Pensioners Association, Ogun State branch, have urged President Muhammadu Buhari to direct the Pension Commission (PenCom) as well as the various Pension Funds Administrators (PFAs) to offset 16 months accumulated pension arrears and gratuities for all pensioners.

The group of senior citizens, who spoke with some journalists in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, ahead of May Day celebration on Thursday, accused PenCom

and Federal Government of being irresponsible, callous and unresponsive to the plight of dying pensioners, who according to World Health Organisation (WHO) reports on COVID-19, were the most vulnerable set of people to the pandemic.

Speaking with journalists in Abeokuta, Lanre Irhiemi, chairman, Contributory Pensioners Association, Ogun branch, said it was imperative for pensioners to cry out to President Buhari on the harrowing experience for non-payment of their pension arrears, having undergone the much-talkedabout pensioners’ biometric capturing exercise, which allowed pensioners to be paid since July 2018.

Irhiemi, who disclosed that they had earlier sent

Save-Our-Soul message to the Presidency, National Assembly, among other stakeholders in Abuja and across the country, said, “This month makes it one year and four months (16 months) since we retired as the Federal Government workers without receiving a dime up to date as our pensions and gratuities.”

While citing some sections of Pension Act 2004 and Reformed Pension Act 2014 that guide operations of Contributory Pension Scheme, which say pensioners should get paid six months after retirement date, Irhiemi noted that all the pensions and gratuities of the concerned pensioners could not be more than N15 billion and pension funds accrued in PenCom coffers were well over N10 trillion.

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involved in the feeding of internally displaced persons, police professionals, and providing product support to medical personnel in Lagos and Abuja along with setting up of disinfectant tunnel in 20 major markets across Lagos to prevent the spread of the virus.

Furthermore, the Group, in collaboration with other private sector companies, has contributed to setting up a 110-bed intensive care centre, fully equipped with all necessary world-class medical equipment including ventilators, for the treatment of infected and recovering people.

The medical facility had since been handed over to the Lagos State government and commissioned by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the statement notes.

He concludes by reiterating the Group’s consistent commitment of making life better for Nigerians, and affirms that the N1 billion support for the fight against the pandemic is just a step further in the same direction with many more to come.

ollowing his recent recovery from the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, the Bauchi State governor, Bala Mohammed, yesterday authorised the use of Zithromax and chloroquine as medication for the treatment of Covid-19 patients in the state.

Governor Mohammed disclosed this while providing an update on Covid-19 in the state at the Government House, Bauchi.

Mohammed, who was the Covid-19 index case in the state, said he was treated with chloroquine and Zithromax, saying, “I have given you the directive that you must use something that I have used to get well, just as you have used for all other cases that got well.”

The governor, however, pledged to take responsibility for the directive, stressing that he did not want anybody

to die in the state, saying it was for the reason of using the said drugs that Bauchi had not recorded any death.

According to Mohammed, “Our medical team is using their own ingenuity to use chloroquine and Zithromax to treat the patients, even though in some places, they said it is against the protocol.

“As the Governor, I’m taking responsibility for that because I don’t want anyone to die. Rather than saying that something is harmful, we should not follow what the white people are saying by not taking anything and die.

“We are used to taking chloroquine in Nigeria. We are going to use them. We have taken responsibility and I have taken responsibility.

“Zithromax and chloroquine are not harmful to our body, our physiological system has adapted to it. If you are having a fever you take chloroquine.”

Over 9.5m Nigerians use FirstBank’s *894# USSD banking service

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irst Bank of Nigeria Limited has announced that its *894# Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD), Quick Banking service has hit over 9.5 million customers.

This is in clear demonstration of its acknowledged leadership in e-Banking.

The bank’s USSD banking service, launched in January 2015, is an easy to use, convenient, fast, userfriendly mobile banking channel through which various banking activities are carried out on a mobile phone – across the four major GSM network operators in the country – without the use of the internet.

Customers are able to enjoy a wide range of

banking services using the Bank’s *894# USSD banking. These services include; Data and Airtime top-up for self and third-party individuals, Quick Balance Enquiry, Fund Transfers, BVN Enquiry, BVN Linkage, Mini-statement, Account Number Enquiry, Account Opening, Merchant Payment and FirstAdvance loan service. The FirstAdvance loan service enables salary earners take a loan up to 50% of their monthly salary.

In the words of Chuma Ezirim, FirstBank’s Group Executive, e-Business & Retail Products, “At FirstBank, we are excited about the impact our innovative solutions are making in the Nigerian payment landscape.

COVID-19: EKO Disco suspends aggressive disconnection of customers OLUSOLA BELLO

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ko Electricity Distribution Company says it would continue to support the wellbeing of its customers, stating that there is no aggressive disconnection during the lockdown on account of non-payment of bills.

The organisation also debunked the insinuation that some privileged people in the society were given priority in terms of electricity at the expense of majority of the consumers.

It also stated that crazy bills had reduced a lot within its franchise area, as the deployment of meters had greatly improved.

The utility company, which takes between 12 and 15 percent of the supplies to the national grid, said it deployed about 90 percent of the energy it used when

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industries and other commercial activities were up and running to its consumers without any discrimination during this COVID-19 period.

Adeoye Fadeyibi, managing director/chief executive of the company, who was taking members of the Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Energy Resources and Information that paid courtesy visit to the organisation through it operations and the contribution the firm had made to alleviate the suffering of the masses during this lockdown, said the allegations by the committee members that the company was given preferential treatment in terms of supply of electricity to certain people in the society was not true.

“We take it as a responsibility that we are the first phase of the market. The @Businessdayng

market is quite large, behind us, there is the grid and there is the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), generating companies whether is hydro or thermal, system and market operators which are both commercial and technical. All these get the supply to us which we have to distribute effectively,” he said.

In doing this, he said the company had been fair to its customers when it came to distribution of electricity.

He said in terms of supply of power, “Eko measures itself in terms of energy it receives from the grid. It continues to take between 12 and 15 percent of the power allocations from national grid.”

He stated that when you look at the previous months to COVID-19 debacle, the company was averaging between 270 million and 300 million of energy in-take.

Friday 01 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

NEWS MFBs lose N42bn uncollected loans to COVID-19 lockdown HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE

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icrofinance banks (MFBs) operating in Nigeria are losing about N42 billion uncollected loans as a result of the Covid-19 lockdown.

Nigeria’s government has locked down its economy for five weeks as part of measures to combat the spread of coronavirus. There are 913 MFBs across Nigeria that serve the low income earners in the society.

Rogers Nwoke, president, National Association of Microfinance Banks (NAMB), estimated N42 billion loans loss for MFBs in response to BusinessDay’s inquiries.

“In a lockdown like we have now, we are not able to see our customers. So, we clearly have matured loans that we are unable to collect giving rise to delinquency.

Also, there is threat to in-

come as revenues thin out against existing very high costs. Clearly there will be capital erosion due to losses occasioned by very high portfolio at risk,” Nwoke said.

The board of trustees of the NAMB last month drew the attention of the regulator to the fact that micro entrepreneurs and small businesses would be most affected in the economic lockdown given that the active poor and most vulnerable persons in the economy were found in this sub-sector.

However, in consideration of the impact of Covid-19 on the economy the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Wednesday extended the deadline for compliance with the capital requirements for the MFBs by one year.

The CBN stated this in a circular to all MFBs dated April 29, 2020, and signed

by Kevin Amugo, director,

financial policy and regulation department.

Consequently, MFBs operating in rural, unbanked and underbanked areas (tier 2) are expected to meet the N35 million capital threshold by April 2021 and N200 million by 2022.

MFBs operating in urban and high density banked areas (tier 1) are expected to meet the N100 million capital threshold by April 2021 and N200 million by April 2022.

State MFBs are to increase their capital by N500 million by April 2021 and N1 billion by April 2022, while national MFBs are expected to meet minimum capital of N3.5 billion by April 2021 and N5 billion by N2022.

MFBs through its Association had last month appealed to the CBN to grant an extension of time till the year 2023 for them to meet the new capital requirements.

Konga debuts first ever live online auction in Africa JUMOKE AKIYODE-LAWANSON

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omposite e-commerce company, Konga, has recorded another first in Africa’s e-commerce market, with the launch of a live online product auction.

The initiative, another ground-breaking innovation from Konga, will debut this Friday, May 1, 2020 by 5pm on its online platform – www. konga.com and across its social media channels – Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Equally important, the live auction is a monthly feature, which will afford eager shoppers a chance to stake their claims for the exciting products on offer on a monthly basis.

Already, anticipation and excitement is high for the debut edition of the auction tagged Konga Last Price.

Nnamdi Ekeh, co-CEO, Konga Group, says the initia-

tive is further proof of Konga’s boundless strategies to raise the bar in the e-commerce market and excite its customers globally without stories. ‘‘This live online auction across social media and our website is another first from Konga. This is another addition to being the first to pioneer the marketplace structure in the African ecommerce market six years ago for others to follow and the fusion of online and offline in creating a world-class composite retail platform, among others. ‘‘With this live auction – Konga Last Price, the first in Africa, we are further expanding the scope of e-commerce and giving our customer base an additional reason to smile.

It has certainly come to stay as a monthly feature and we encourage all Nigerians to join us on the various social media channels and on the Konga website for this exciting initia-

tive. It promises to be a worldclass and unforgettable experience, with a huge number of genuine products across categories to be auctioned at mouth-watering prices,’’ he states.

For this inaugural edition, Konga has put up a number of beneficial products across multiple categories for Nigerians to purchase after weeks of the lockdown occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Also in store for participants is a surprise product.

As a matter of fact, the Konga Last Price live auction will feature three sessions. They include a live auction across its social media channels – Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube; a timed auction on the Konga website and a flash sale on social media involving no bids which will run concurrently with the social media live auction,” Konga notes in a statement sent to BusinessDay.

CACOVID sustains interventions, hands over isolation facilities in Rivers, Kano

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ustaining intentional efforts towards ensuring the coronavirus is contained, the private sector-led Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) is set to hand over isolation facilities set up in Rivers and Kano states to their respective state governments.

The fully-equipped isolation centres have been set up by CACOVID as part of complementary efforts to expand the scale of testing facilities and recoveries, as well as ensure the coronavirus does not spread any further.

Zouera Youssoufou, CEO, Aliko Dangote Foundation

(ADF), had mentioned in a recent press briefing that CACOVID was ready to roll out in all parts of the country having commenced building and equipping of isolation centres in some states.

According to Youssoufou, there are currently three testing platforms for molecular testing in Nigeria, one of which is the “Open PCR machines”, which the Coalition has ordered for 10 units, with eight laboratories certified to conduct COVID-19 tests.

“Open PCR machine is currently the standard platform. Eight labs in Nigeria are certified to conwww.businessday.ng

duct COVID-19 testing; 10 new PCR machines and 150,000 extraction kits have been ordered. The other is Roche Cobus Platform with 6 Machines in Nigeria, each capable of testing 960 samples at a time. We have also ordered for the supply of 250,000 test kits while 10,000 test kits ordered by UNICEF arrived on Thursday, April 16,” Youssoufou had said.

CACOVID is looking to hand over isolation facilities in Lagos, the FCT, Borno and Enugu on May 4, in order to enhance testing and treatment capacity across Nigeria. https://www.facebook.com/businessdayng

@Businessdayng

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Friday 01 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

FT

FINANCIAL TIMES

World Business Newspaper

US jobless claims hit 30m on coronavirus lockdowns

More than 3.8m Americans filed new claims for first-time benefits in week six of lockdowns

The number of Americans who have successfully filed claims and been approved for unemployment insurance rose to a record 12.4 per cent of the entire workforce © Mark Lennihan/AP

report difficulty getting their jobless benefits, for reasons that range from problems with computer systems to the huge backlog resulting from the record number of claims.

Eugene Scalia, the labour secretary, on Wednesday acknowledged at an event with President Donald Trump that “the states have had some challenges with their computer systems”. He said the federal government was working with states to help resolve the problems.

Stay at home orders, job losses, decline in wages and a dour nearterm outlook for the US economy prompted Americans to severely curtail spending in March. The 7.5 per cent decline in household spending compared with economists’ expectations for a 5 per cent drop.

Georgia, where 264,818 residents filed jobless claims.

Pennsylvania, which bore the early brunt of the crisis after the governor moved early to implement a tough lockdown, had 131,282 claims, roughly one-third of the state’s peak four weeks earlier.

Illustrating the harsh jobs landscape, Boeing on Wednesday said it would cut its 160-000-strong workforce by 10 per cent. Cities across the country have also had to furlough their workers as the health crisis and collapse in economic activity have devastated municipal budgets.

The government will on May 9 release unemployment data for April, which will show the fullest picture of the number of Americans who have lost their jobs because of the crisis. The rising unemployment comes as Americans continue to

That came as incomes slid two per cent month-on-month in March from the previous month, the commerce department said. That compared with economists’ expectations for a 1.5 per cent drop.

“Given that the lockdowns didn’t really begin until the middle of the month — and that the high frequency card transaction data show a short burst of panic buying ahead of those lockdowns — we fear a 10 per cent month-on -month decline in real consumption in April,” Paul Ashworth, economist at Capital Economics, said.

Even after assuming modest rebounds in May and June, he anticipates consumption in the second quarter to decline at a 40 per cent annualised pace and expects “decline in second-quarter GDP to be around the same magnitude”.

DEMETRI SEVASTOPULO AND MAMTA BADKAR

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o re t ha n 3 . 8 m Americans filed new claims for unemployment benefits last week, bringing the six-week total since the start of the lockdowns to curb the coronavirus pandemic to more than 30m.

The number of initial jobless claims fell from 4.4m the previous week, the US labour department said on Thursday, against expectations of 3.5m.

The proportion of Americans who have successfully filed claims and been approved for unemployment insurance rose to a record 12.4 per cent of the entire workforce by April 18.

The commerce department said separately that household spending tumbled a worse-than expected 7.5 per cent in March from the previous month — the most severe decline since records began more than six decades ago.

The jobless and household spending numbers underscored the widespread collapse in the economy, as states try to curb the spread of the virus by implementing stay-at-home orders and companies lay off or furlough their workers.

“The coronavirus fear, the social distancing measures, the financial volatility and plummeting confidence have taken a severe toll on consumers’ ability and willingness to spend,” Gregory Draco, economist at Oxford Economics, said.

The growing ranks of unem-

ployed came one day after the government said the economy had shrunk at an annualised 4.8 per cent in the first three months of the year, the sharpest fall since the end of 2008.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday warned of “considerable risks to the economic outlook over the medium term” and pledged to take additional measures to support the economy if needed, having already deployed a more drastic response than it did during the financial crisis.

Kevin Hassett, a top White House economic adviser, this week said the jobless rate would rise to as much as 20 per cent by June, which would be the highest figure since the Great Depression nine decades ago.

12.4% Proportion of American workforce approved for unemployment insurance

The latest weekly jobless report comes as states debate the balance between the health and economic risks as they consider when to start reopening their economies.

Large areas of Florida, which saw 432,465 residents file jobless claims last week, will reopen from May 4.

Other states, such as Georgia, have already started reopening despite not meeting the federal guidelines for when they should start to lift restrictions on residents.

Florida recorded the most number of claims in the week, eclipsing California, which had suffered greater job losses than all other states in previous weeks.

In the latest week, California had 328,042 claims, a sharp fall of more than 200,000 from the previous week. One of the few states to see a rise from the previous week was

China faces wave of calls for debt relief on ‘Belt and Road’ projects Bankers will consider suspending interest payments but writing off loans is unlikely JAMES KYNGE AND SUN YU

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hina has received a wave of applications for debt relief from crisis-hit countries included in the “Belt and Road Initiative” as coronavirus strains the world’s biggest development programme.

Chinese policy advisers and bankers told the Financial Times that Beijing was considering a number of responses, including the suspension of interest payments on loans from the country’s financial institutions. But they also warned against expectations that China would forgive debts outright.

“We understand a lot of countries are looking to renegotiate loan terms,” said a researcher at the China Development Bank, a Chinese “policy bank” that — along with the Export-Import Bank of China — spearheads hundreds of billions of dollars in lending to BRI projects around the world.

“But it takes time to strike a new deal and we cannot even travel abroad right now. The BRI loans are not foreign aid. We need to at least recoup principal and a moderate interest,” said the researcher, who did not want to be named.

“It is OK for 20 per cent of our portfolio projects to have problems,” the researcher added. “But we can’t tolerate half of them going under. We might consider extending loans and giving interest relief.

But in general our loans are issued according to market principles.”

The BRI, which was launched in 2013 as the signature foreign policy initiative of President Xi Jinping, is aimed at building infrastructure and boosting China’s influence around the world. Most of the 138 countries that have officially signed up to the BRI are developing nations, many with the weakest credit ratings in the world.

China releases few of the financial details in BRI infrastructure projects. But RWR Advisory, a Washington-based consultancy, www.businessday.ng

estimated that total announced lending by Chinese financial institutions to BRI projects since 2013 was $461bn. Even allowing for the low completion rates of announced projects, such a sum makes the BRI by far the biggest development initiative in the world.

Several of the countries that have applied to Beijing for debt relief are understood to be in Africa, where the Chinese government, banks and contractors have lent $143bn between 2000 and 2017, according to the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies.

China signed up to a G20 agreement this month to freeze bilateral loan repayments for low-income countries until the end of the year. The G20 initiative said that it covered “all official bilateral creditors”, a definition that appeared to include lending from Chinese policy banks.

However, diplomats said that the process of identifying which loans in which countries would be eligible has only just begun

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and that negotiations were being undertaken with China on a bilateral basis — handing a great deal of leverage to Beijing.

A policy adviser to the Chinese government, who declined to be identified, said that Beijing’s preferred option in dealing with national requests for debt relief would be to “suspend interest payments” on loans.

However, some borrowers with “good market order” may be allowed to reschedule their loans.

Forgiving debt permanently would be a “last option”, the adviser said.

Mei Guanqun, a researcher at China Center for International Economic Exchanges, a government think-tank in Beijing, said China had not formed a plan on dealing with the growing requests for debt relief.

“But there are a few rules of thumb,” he said. “First, China’s commercial banks like [Bank of China] and [Industrial and Commercial Bank of China] are unlikely to forgive loans because @Businessdayng

they are under pressure from Beijing to meet financial targets,” Mr Mei said.

“Second, China Development Bank and China ExIm Bank may provide sovereign loan relief to countries that are friendly with us,” Mr Mei added. “We may cut interest rates by a few percentage points or have it removed. We could also reduce principal payment by a moderate amount. The idea is to keep borrowers from going under, which may undermine our interest.”

With so much in flux, China faces a delicate balance between maintaining relationships with BRI countries and attempting to limit the haircut it takes on debt repayments.

Andrew Davenport, chief operating officer at RWR Advisory, said that Beijing was sensitive to the perception that the BRI facilitated “predatory economic behaviour”

by China, claiming valuable assets as collateral when countries fail to pay debts.

Friday 01 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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FINANCIAL TIMES

COMPANIES & MARKETS

@ FINANCIAL TIMES LIMITED

US stocks carve out best month since 1974 in global rebound Central bank support and reasons for hope on coronavirus spark rapid rallies R I C H A R D H E N D E R S O N, R O B I N WIGGLESWORTH AND KATIE MARTIN

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S stocks are poised to complete their biggest monthly rally since 1974, taking the coronavirus-driven losses on the S&P 500 this year to just 9 per cent, despite an economic shock that towers over the great financial crisis.

While grim data trickles out of every major economy, stock markets have notched up healthy gains in April, pushing the FTSE All World index of global stocks to its best month since 2008 and nudging UK blue-chips into a bull market, up more than 20 per cent from their recent lows.

Some investors are reluctant to believe that the rallies can run much further, but are equally reluctant to bet against the unprecedented dose of medicine administered by central banks around the world.

“This rally in equities is clearly not driven by fundamentals — it’s driven by the liquidity support from the Federal Reserve,” said Torsten Slok, chief economist for Deutsche Bank Securities. “Companies are getting cash to keep the lights on through the significant support to credit markets.”

The rally has further bolstered the titans that dominate the US stock market. Amazon has gained 28 per cent since March 23, while Netflix is up 24 per cent, both benefiting from the shutdowns around the world that have kept

Every stock market in the world has now notched up healthy gains in April despite an array of poor economic data © FT montage; Bloomberg

billions of people indoors, reliant on home delivery and streaming entertainment.

“The best buy out there is Amazon — if the virus continues, Amazon wins; if the virus stops, Amazon wins,” said Andrew Left, a short seller who runs Citron Research. He has trimmed his negative bets on US stocks and put more money into the Seattlebased company in recent weeks.

“The markets are on a sugar high right now,” he added. “They’re not making much sense to me.”

Gilead Sciences, the Californiabased pharmaceutical group, is also among the best performing stocks this year with a gain of 28

per cent. The company added to the optimism on Wall Street on Wednesday after a trial found that its antiviral drug Remdesivir hastened patients’ recovery from coronavirus.

For weeks investors labelled the run in stocks that began after markets hit their lows on March 23 as a “bear market rally” — a short jump before another drop.

However, this has been replaced by a “fear of missing out” as the effects of trillions of dollars in government spending lift markets.

“You have the FOMO. Once you get this strong rebound then you get more and more people nervous about missing out on

the rally,” said David Riley, chief investment strategist for BlueBay Asset Management.

Mr Riley and others point to a big gap between signals from the commodities and bond markets — which indicate expectations for a long period of low growth — and stocks, which are pricing in a strong rebound for economic growth and corporate earnings.

“It’s a tug of war between [central bank] policy and fundamentals, and right now, policy is winning,” he said.

That support from central banks is not the only fuel for the rises in stocks, although such actions do tend to boost riskier

assets. By firing up bond prices and crushing yields, it also helps to make stocks more alluring.

Meanwhile, investors have been encouraged by the slowing spread of the virus and the prospect of a vaccine, however distant.

“The rollout of an effective Covid-19 treatment could contribute to a sustainable end to lockdowns, improve consumer confidence, and boost the global economy and markets,” said Mark Haefele, chief investment officer for UBS Global Wealth Management.

In addition, expectations for economic growth and corporate health are already so low that even the release of dire data and corporate profits are not enough to foster disappointment. “Earnings are dreadful, but we know that,” said Mr Riley at BlueBay. Still, deep concerns persist.

US companies’ earnings are set to drop 16 per cent in the first quarter, according to Credit Suisse estimates, and may not fully recover for years. The US economy is also facing a sharp contraction, with 26m Americans losing their jobs in the past five weeks.

On Wednesday, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis revealed that first-quarter economic activity fell at an annualised rate of 4.8 per cent, a swifter and deeper drop than feared.

“Once you get into the second quarter, you will get more earnings, more guidance, more defaults picking up and maybe that provides the catalyst for a pullback,” said Mr Riley. “But right now, the pain trade is higher.”

Shell cuts dividend for first time since second world war Oil price collapse triggered by coronavirus pandemic almost halves Anglo-Dutch group’s earnings ANJLI RAVAL

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oyal Dutch Shell cut its dividend for the first time since the second world war as the coronavirus pandemic halved quarterly earnings and forced the oil major to confront a new longer-term reality for the energy industry.

Oil companies are in crisis mode as lower energy prices and a collapse in demand for fuels and chemicals puts intense pressure on their finances, with severe lockdowns and travel bans in place across much of the world.

Thursday’s cut in the payout by two-thirds is part of a “reset” of the Anglo-Dutch group’s dividend policy, not a short-term measure, amid persistent concerns about economic growth and questions over future oil prices in a world that shifts towards cleaner fuels.

The company is taking the first steps of a “fundamental shift for Shell over the next 30 years”, chief executive Ben van Beurden told reporters, “balancing short-term needs with long-term goals” to become a net-zero emissions business

by 2050. He said it was “hard to say” if oil demand would ever return to previous highs.

The first oil “supermajor” to cut its dividend, Shell reduced its quarterly payout to 16 cents per share from 47 cents. Shares in the company, which was the biggest dividend payer on the FTSE 100 in 2019, closed 11 per cent down on Thursday.

“Today is a very difficult day for the company,” said Mr van Beurden. “But it is the prudent thing to do . . . We absolutely want to preserve the financial resilience of the company even though we have no idea what could happen.”

Net income adjusted for cost of supply — Shell’s preferred profit measure — dropped to $2.9bn in the three months to March 31. This compared with $5.3bn in the same period the previous year and analysts’ estimates of $2.3bn.

Shell said the situation would be “more severe” in the second quarter, with oil prices at the start of the year likely to be a “high point” for 2020. Brent crude, the international benchmark, is trading around $24 www.businessday.ng

a barrel having hit an 18-year low last week.

“We do not expect a recovery in oil prices or demand for our products in the medium term,” Mr van Beurden added.

Energy consumption worldwide could drop 6 per cent in 2020, the International Energy Agency said on Thursday, equivalent to India’s total annual demand.

Shell was already under pressure before the coronavirus outbreak with weaker refining and chemical margins and challenging economic conditions forcing the company to slow shareholder distributions and re-evaluate debt reduction targets.

Since then, in response to the pandemic, Shell has said it will suspend its share buyback programme altogether and announced that capital expenditure would fall to $20bn or less this year, from initial plans for $25bn. It also said its operating costs would decline by $3bn-$4bn.

The current environment stands in stark contrast to last year, when Shell’s cash bonanza prompted it to say that oil prices above $60 a

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barrel could enable the company to distribute at least $125bn to shareholders in the form of dividends and buybacks over the next five years.

Mr van Beurden said that pledge was “against a totally different backdrop”, adding that Shell was preparing for a deep and protracted downturn. Not cutting the dividend would have left Shell “without options” to reposition the company for the future.

The annual payout will fall from almost $15bn to just over $5bn, freeing up $10bn of capital.

Tom Ellacott at Wood Mackenzie said: “A permanent dividend reset could also accelerate the strategic pivot [from Big Oil] to ‘Big Energy’ through the reinvestment of more retained earnings in the youthful zero-carbon energy sector.”

Richard Buxton, head of UK equities at Merian Global Investors, who counts Shell among his top 20 holdings, said he was “absolutely delighted” at the cut, adding: “We could not square the circle of investing in the energy transition, managing long-term reserves and their ultimate decline with over@Businessdayng

distribution.”

Until now, oil companies had largely pulled on a series of financial levers, also including bond issuance and securing new credit lines, to safeguard their dividends.

Yet analysts said these measures were not enough to offset the hit to cash flows.

This week BP maintained its dividend despite a 66 per cent drop in first-quarter profits but said it would review the shareholder distributions in the second quarter.

Investors and activists have called on oil companies to take greater accountability for their role in enabling climate change and pivot to lower-margin greener investments, which had already put longer-term dividends in doubt.

“The decision to rebase the payout lower . . . will reopen the debate for BP and others,” said Stuart Joyner, analyst at Redburn.

Shell’s upstream earnings from oil exploration and production plunged 82 per cent in the quarter.

Its gas earnings took a 17 per cent hit, while oil products and chemicals also reported falls in profits.

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Friday 01 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

ANALYSIS FT India: the millions of working poor exposed by pandemic

More than 140m migrant workers have lost jobs since the lockdown began and now face destitution AMY KAZMIN AND JYOTSNA SINGH

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opal Das has laboured on construction sites in Mumbai for nearly two decades, helping build the office towers of India’s bustling financial capital. Though the rural migrant’s average monthly earnings were just Rs10,000 ($133), most was sent home to support his wife, two teenage children and ageing parents in the impoverished state of Bihar.

But for the past six weeks, Mr Das has felt less like a worker and more like a beggar, struggling to get by without wages during India’s strict anti-coronavirus lockdown. Trapped in Mumbai after a failed effort to get a train home before all public transport was suspended on March 22, the 41-year-old has relied on daily food handouts to survive in the Bandra slum, where he shares a single room with five others.

Some days, the labourer — who had just Rs500 in his hand when curfew was imposed — receives a daytime meal from a nearby temple, or charities that occasionally distribute food. Otherwise, he depends on the police, who come to the area most evenings to dish out boiled rice and dal to the hungry, restless residents. He says he has not had a cup of tea since lockdown began.

“I never thought I would have to live like this and depend on people’s charity for food,” Mr Das says.

He has just one goal now: escape the city and get back to his village and family as soon as possible. Once there, he says, he will not think of returning to the city for at least a year — no matter how tough conditions are at home.

“I will not put myself through such humiliation again,” he says. “I had never slept on an empty stomach in Mumbai before. But the curfew made me realise, ‘the city doesn’t care’.”

Mr Das’s ordeal is typical of the tribulations that India’s estimated 170m financially fragile, bluecollar and gig economy workers have endured since late March, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi overnight imposed one of the world’s strictest lockdowns to slow the spread of coronavirus.

Life has never been easy for India’s vast army of working poor — self-employed and casual labourers who typically work on short-term contracts, with little security. But with toil and frugality, they and their families have managed to survive. Now, though, with economic activity at a standstill, most have seen their incomes collapse to zero. The Centre for Monitoring the Indian Economy,

or CMIE, estimates about 140m people have lost jobs, pushing the unemployment rate up to 26 per cent from 8 per cent before the crisis.

Indian workers — and those who depend on them — are not alone in their hardship. Shutdowns to control the deadly pathogen have sparked food riots in countries such as South Africa and fuelled protests elsewhere, including Lebanon. The UN warned last week that the world faced a “hunger pandemic”, with millions facing starvation.

Even before the pandemic, about 250m Indians were not getting enough to eat, the UN’s World Food Programme estimates.

Stunting and wasting — symptoms of both chronic and acute hunger — were already afflicting millions of Indian children. Now, economists and social activists warn that India is facing a severe humanitarian crisis, unless desperate workers are either permitted to start earning money again, or provided with substantive government relief to cope with the calamitous loss of income.

To get by, working-class Indians have pared their diets, drawn down meagre savings, borrowed from money lenders and collected food handouts from charities and impromptu groups of citizens alarmed at the distress. In big cities, temporary community kitchens and food distribution centres — run by state and local officials, politicians, charities and even Mr Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata party — have drawn long queues, evocative of the breadlines and soup kitchens of the Depression.

“The scale of the humanitarian disaster is significant,” says Pratap Bhanu Mehta, a political-science professor at Ashoka University.

“While everyone understands the need for the lockdown, millions of workers were needlessly stripped www.businessday.ng

of their dignity.”

As India nears the end of a sixth week of the shutdown, Mr Modi’s administration is weighing the benefits of restarting the stalled economy against the looming threat of the virus, which is so far known to have infected more than 31,000 people in the country, leaving more than 1,000 dead.

New Delhi hopes to encourage economic activity in so-called “green zones” — districts with no sign of the virus, especially rural areas — while maintaining tight restrictions in “red zone” big cities such as Mumbai and Delhi and industrial hubs such as Surat in Gujarat where there are rising caseloads. Most public transport will remain suspended to prevent intermingling of people from different zones.

But industry groups warn that such a geographic segregation is unlikely to work well, as supply chains and labour markets will still be severely disrupted. “[They face] a horrible tradeoff,” says Tarun Ramadorai, an economics professor at Imperial College London. “Ease the lockdown so people can get out there and earn an income . . . [or] provide fiscal support so that people can stay at home. Either way, you will face the costs.”

So far, Mr Modi’s government has provided relatively little succour to its most vulnerable citizens. While other countries have rolled out massive relief packages to cushion families and businesses from the economic shock of coronavirus, New Delhi has largely left the population to fend for itself as it frets about its own finances, already weakened by the previous two years of a protracted economic slowdown.

“They seem to think that Indians are used to pain; they are used to hunger and as the economy

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opens up the pain and hunger of the last month will be forgotten,” says former finance minister P Chidambaram, of the opposition Congress party. “They have to first make up their mind whether they will do whatever it takes to mitigate the pain and hunger and starvation of people.”

Yet former revenue secretary NK Singh, like Mr Modi a member of the BJP, says New Delhi has little room for manoeuvre. Meeting this year’s fiscal deficit target of 3.5 per cent of gross domestic product already appears impossible given likely growth and revenue shortfalls, while the limited scope for fiscal measures leaves little space for stimulus. Analysts warn of the risk that India will face a downgrade of its sovereign rating if its public finances weaken.

“This current political leadership will not give in to the macroeconomic temptation for fiscal profligacy,” says Mr Singh. “It is quite conscious of our vulnerabilities, and how these things can get out of hand. Maintenance of macroeconomic stability must be the cardinal principle.”

Of the $22bn “relief package” unveiled in late March, much of it was accelerated disbursement of expenditure already budgeted for the year. Analysts estimate additional spending was less than $12bn — or about 0.4 per cent of GDP, one of the lowest levels of relief by any Asian economy.

New Delhi is providing small one-off cash transfers of Rs1,000 each to 30m senior citizens and disabled people, and Rs1,500 each to 200m rural women with no-frills bank accounts. It is also donating 5kg of free wheat or rice each month for the next three months to poor people who were already entitled to subsidised food through the country’s public distribution system. @Businessdayng

But these measures offer little solace to stranded migrants, whose food benefits are typically collected by families back home.

Nor will it help the likes of Aruna Mishra, a 36-year-old private tutor who has never needed subsidised food before but is desperate for it now. She does not know when she or her husband — a store-manager in a working-class district on the outskirts of New Delhi — will ever get paid again.

“On TV, they keep saying the government is providing dry food rations to people like us,” says Ms Mishra, a migrant from Bihar.

“Twice my husband has been turned down; they said bring your ration card. Our situation is very bad. We have no savings. We are on the brink of starvation. I have lost so much sleep thinking what will we do if we can’t go home.”

Many economists believe New Delhi must do more to cushion vulnerable families at risk of sliding into poverty. In rural areas, the demand to participate in a workfare scheme has begun to soar. Other relief could include tapping the country’s massive grain stockpile to distribute free or low-cost rice and wheat to all who want it, rather than just poor households already eligible before the pandemic struck, and cash transfers.

“India has done almost nothing on the fiscal front to save people from complete destitution,” says Mahesh Vyas, CMIE managing director.

“They will not lift the lockdown, and they will not help the poor.”

The state-owned Food Corporation of India has some 77m tonnes of cereals in stock, much of it now gradually rotting due to poor storage. But New Delhi is reluctant to distribute this widely, as it would bloat this year’s food subsidy bill.

Instead, cash-strapped states have been invited to buy the food, at market rates, for their own local relief efforts. “The government is clinging to this grain stock, hoping the states will buy it from them,” says Reetika Khera, an economist at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. “Their unwillingness to relent and give it free to the states is mind-boggling.”

Abhijit Banerjee, the Nobel Prize-winning economist, warns that if millions of households slide into chronic hunger and indebtedness they will be a drag on India’s economy for years.

“There has been a huge income shock to the people who are most illiquid and who will not be able to finance consumption by borrowing,” he says. “If they don’t revive their consumption, this then leads the whole economy to shrink. India should worry about a demand slump. Whenever the economy is allowed to revive, people will not have money to spend.”

Friday 01 May, 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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Friday 01 May , 2020

BUSINESS DAY

Live @ The Exchanges Market Statistics as at Thursday 30 April, 2020

Top Gainers/Losers as at Thursday 30 April, 2020 LOSERS

GAINERS Company STANBIC CADBURY WAPCO

Opening

Closing

Change

N27.5

N28.5

1

Company NB

Opening

Closing

Change

N31.05

N30

-1.05

N6.3

N6.9

0.6

BUACEMENT

N33

N32.6

-0.4

ZENITHBANK

N14.7

N14.3

-0.4

GUINNESS

N18.5

N18.4

-0.1

N21.1

N21

-0.1

N11.35

N11.7

0.35

GUARANTY

N18.6

N18.9

0.3

VITAFOAM

N4.25

N4.51

0.26

GUARANTY

ASI (Points) DEALS (Numbers) VOLUME (Numbers)

23,021.01

4,946.00 359,467,419.00

VALUE (N billion)

3.258

MARKET CAP (N Trn)

11.99

Global market indicators UKX:IND FTSE 100 Index 5,901.21GBP -214.04-3.50%

Nikkei 225 20,193.69JPY +422.50+2.14%

S&P 500 Index 2,897.05USD -42.46-1.44%

Deutsche Boerse AG German Stock Index DAX 10,861.64EUR -246.10-2.22%

Generic 1st ‘DM’ Future 24,153.00USD -413.00-1.71%

Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index 2,860.08CNY +37.64+1.33%

Fundamentally sound stocks seen enjoying positive patronage on Nigerian Bourse

UBA delivers impressive returns on investment, as shareholders applaud bank’s support in fight against COVID-19

...investors book additional N80bn gain

eading African financial institution, United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) held its Annual General Meeting virtually by proxy on Wednesday, April 29, 2020 – a first in UBA’s seventyone year history.

The meeting, which had in attendance shareholders, management and staff members, together with representatives of relevant regulatory bodies, was held using an Online Meetings Platform, in accordance with Guidelines issued by the Corporate Affairs Commission.

Opening the meeting, UBA Group Chairman, Tony O. Elumelu noted this was a very special meeting, held in extraordinary circumstances.

It was only right at the outset to express the Group’s deep appreciation to all the health workers across Africa, who are at the forefront of fighting the deadly pandemic. The Group Chairman also commended the Federal and State governments in Nigeria and governments across Africa, for their rapid actions against the threat.

He acknowledged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele for his various initiatives in mobilising

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Stories by Iheanyi Nwachukwu

T

hursday April 30 was indeed another day of positive returns to equity buyers as trading on Nigeria’s Bourse recorded increased patronage in favour of fundamentally sound stocks.

The stock market increased by 0.67 percent at the close of trading session.

Week-to-date, the market has yielded positive return of 2.45 percent. The 8.08 percent gain seen only in April helped to moderate the record negative return year to date to -14. 24 percent.

Again, investors raised bets in shares of MTNN Plc which increased by 4.28percent to N112.

Ardova Plc also increased by 10percent to N11.55kobo. Lafarge Africa Plc gained 2.61percent to N11.8kobo, while Access Bank Plc was up by 3.94percent to N6.6kobo.

On the decliners list, Nigerian Breweries Plc led the pack after its share price moved from day open high of N31.05 to N30, losing N1.05 or 3.38percent.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All Share Index (ASI) increased to 23,021.01points as

against preceding trading day low of 22,868.40 points, while the value of listed stocks increased by N80billion, from N11.917trillion to N11.997trillion.

With the gradual easing of the lockdown imposed by the Federal Government next week, market watch-

ers anticipate a gradual improvement in economic activities and expect a number of fundamentally sound stocks to continue to enjoy positive patronage in the near time.

In 4,946 deals, equity investors exchanged 359,467,419 units valued at N3.258billion.

I

Nigeria, said despite the challenging operating environment, Access Bank Plc did not only record improved results, but also rewarded shareholders with good a dividend that is very timely given the difficulties created by the COVID-19 pandemic.

For instance, Nwosu said Access Bank Plc had a good foresight by merging with defunct Diamond Bank Plc, noting that “the professional and seamless manner with which the integration was done should be commended and shareholders appreciate the board and management.”

According to him, the future remains very bright for the all shareholders, consideringthe www.businessday.ng

synergy the merger has brought to the Bank and the expertise the management and staff continued to deploy to ensure Access Bank maintain a leading role in the retail banking space.

Nwosu also commended leading efforts of Access Bank in the private-sector led Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID), supporting the Federal Government to fight the pandemic.

On her part, Bakare said unlike some of its competitors, Access Bank hasrecorded increased profit in the past three years, noting that shareholders have confidence in the board and management to continue to deliver improved performance, going forward.

the private sector to provide support, medical care and palliatives to reduce the effect of the scourge on citizens.

Elumelu said “Our commitment to improving lives in Africa is a long-term one, which we do not take lightly, as we assist governments in Africa to curb this pandemic and help sustain employment across the continent.

I want to also thank the UBA Board of Directors, who have been responsive in this time of crisis, as the Group donates $14million to assist governments to fight the COVID-19 Pandemic in Nigeria and Africa.” He also thanked executive management and members of staff, as he assured shareholders, that despite the pandemic, UBA had delivered an impressive performance in its just released first quarter results. He also noted that the Group was well prepared for the crisis, having put in place effective measures to ensure that its operations continue smoothly.

Elumelu underlined the fact that the Group’s exposure to the oil and gas sector was well within prudential guidelines.

Covid-19: Julius Berger revises corporate action in move to retain cash

Shareholders commend Access Bank’s 2019 performance at AGM held by proxy t was commendation galore at the 31st Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Access Bank Plc held in Lagos as shareholders hailed the Board of Directors, Management and Staff of the Bank for the highly impressive performance for the 2019 financial year.

The meeting, which was held by proxy due to the COVID-19 pandemic, had three leaders of various shareholders’ association present.

Sunny Nwosu of Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Owolabi Peters of Integrated Shareholders Association of Nigeria and Bisi Bakare of Pragmatic Shareholders Association of

... Shareholders ratify N1 total dividend

In his address, Group Managing Director/CEO, Access Bank Plc, Herbert Wigwe,said the Group delivered a 26 percent increase in gross earnings of N666.8billionfrom N528.7billion in 2018, comprising interest in-come growth of 41 percent fromprevious levels to N155.9billion despite declining interest rate environment.

“The effects of an enlarged loan book contributed significantly to the interest income growth of N155.9billion (+41 percent y/y), leading to strong bottom-line figures. The neteffect on operating income resulted in strong profit before tax (PBT) of N115.4billion as against N103.2billion in 2018.

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O

n March 13, 2020 Julius Berger announced a dividend pay-out of N2.75kobo per 50kobo share for the financial year ended December 31, 2019 and a bonus of 1 (one) new share for every existing 5 (five) shares held.

The dividend pay-out was based on the strong performance of Julius Berger for the financial year ended December 31, 2019, as was evidenced in the Audited Consolidated Financial Results released to the Market on March 16, 2020.

The Board, acting proactively, has decided that it is prudent to withdraw its previously announced intention to recommend the payment of a final cash dividend of N2.75kobo per 50kobo share, and instead recommend to shareholders at the 50th Annual General Meeting scheduled to hold on June 18, @Businessdayng

2020, a final cash dividend payout of N2kobo per 50kobo share.

The company said the savings from paying a cash dividend of N2kobo together with the measures taken with respect to operational costs and capex savings, will ensure that more cash will be retained within the business of the Group.

The unprecedented and novel COVID-19 global pandemic, and the ensuing lockdown and social restrictions, which is being experienced globally, Nigeria inclusive, is predicted would have operational effects on businesses and governments, and to lead to a global recession.

“Nigeria is not be immune from the unfolding global issues, especially when one also takes into consideration the additional crisis in the global Oil Market and expected declining revenues from Crude Oil Sales.

Friday 01 May, 2020

BUSINESS DAY

35

Markets + Finance

‘Providing proprietary research, commentary, analysis and financial news coverage unmatched in today’s market. Published weekly, Markets & Finance provides all the key intelligence you need.’

Will Seplat survive the headwinds?

BALA AUGIE

O

il price collapse triggered by coronavirus pandemic has deal a great blow on Seplat Petroleum Development Company as Nigeria’s largest indigenous oil and gas recorded its worst operating performance in five years.

The first quarter results of the company shows it is beset by a sharp reduction in revenue and rising operating costs that resulted in unprecedented losses.

Seplat recorded a loss of N34.62 billion in the first quarter (Q1) of 2019 from a profit of N10.02 billion the previous year.

It posted losses of N5.85 billion and N4.48 billion in 2017 and 2016 financial years when a sharp drop in oil price of mid-2014 and an attack on the oil facility by the Niger Delta militants undermined cash flows and earnings.

Seplat’s total operating expenses have exceeded sales, which was why it recorded an operating loss of N25.03 billion as at March 2019, from a profit position of 9.97 billion the previous

year.

Also, the company is spending more on input cost to generate each unit of revenue as total operating expense ratio stood at 99.14 percent in March 2019, from 61.87 percent the previous year.

What this means is that the firm has spent N0.99 on input cost to generate every

N1 in revenue, and put in another way, its total operating expenses of N42.40 billion nearly swallows total revenue of N42.40 billion.

Also, the unimpressive performance Seplat’s is largely driven by a huge impairment loss of N47.27 billion, an item that overwhelms revenue, but a benign leverage positive could

add impetus to future earnings.

The company said the impairment is primarily as a result of re-assessment of future cash flows from the Group’s oil and gas properties due to significant fall in oil prices.

The oil and gas giant expended N16.55 billion on the acquisition of property plant and equipment (PPE) in the period under review, a 239.17 percent surge from N4.88 billion expenses on item of PPE the previous year as it had envisaged the start of the year that oil price would be benign.

Its capital expenditures were $45.9 million in the period and included drilling costs in relation to the completion of three development wells, pre-drill and ongoing drilling operations costs for two development wells and associated facilities development and engineering costs.

Seplat is reeling from deteriorating margins as it is unable to turn each Naira invested in sales into higher profit.

Operating profit margins was (59.04 percent) in March 2020 from 20.30 percent as at March 2019.

Gross profit margin declined to 25.37 percent in the period under review from 51.05 percent the previous year.

What this means is that production cost of drilling wells is so high that it resulted in operating inefficiencies.

Analysts are of the view t hat S e p l at ’s s i t u at i o n would be “more severe” in the second quarter, with oil prices at the start of the year likely to be a “high point” for 2020. Brent crude, the international benchmark, is trading around $24 a barrel having hit an 18-year low last week.

Analysts at Chapel Hill Denham Limited in a recent report highlighted that they are now less constructive on

Seplat’s ability to maintain its current dividend policy of 5cents each as interim and final dividends.

“We also expect Seplat to book FX losses on its government receivables due to the recent devaluation in Nigeria, which was a similar case in 2016,” said analysts at Chapel Hill.

The analysts at the Lagos investment firm downgraded Seplat to a SELL from BUY previously with a 12-month target price of N406.05.

Oil companies are in crisis mode as lower energy prices and a collapse in demand for fuels and chemicals puts intense pressure on their finances, with severe lockdowns and travel bans in place across much of the world.

Royal Dutch Shell, the Anglo Dutch company, has cut its dividend for the first time since the Second World War as the coronavirus pandemic halved quarterly earnings and forced the oil major to confront a new

BD MARKETS + FINANCE Analyst: BALA AUGIE www.businessday.ng

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longer-term reality for the energy industry.

Norway’s Equinor became the first major oil company to cut its dividend, as the coronavirus crisis devastates demand for crude and forces producers to shore up their finances.

Occidental Petroleum Corp, a US oil giant, is mulling cutting its dividend by almost 90 per cent, in one of the most drastic reactions yet seen in the energy sector to the collapse in oil prices and equity valuations this week.

US oil supermajors ExxonMobil and Chevron have embarked an unprecedented capital expenditure cut, as the United States’ economy shrank by 4.80 percent, which signals the start of recession.

ExxonMobil announced it would cut capital expenditure by roughly a third to $23 billion. In late March, Chevron said it would cut its own capital budget a fifth to $16 billion.

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Friday 01 May , 2020

BUSINESS DAY

Live @ The STOCK Exchanges Prices for Securities Traded as of Thursday 30 April, 2020 Company

Market cap(nm)

Price (N)

Change

Trades

Volume

Company

Market cap(nm)

Price (N)

Change

Trades

Volume

PRICES FOR MAIN BOARD SECURITIES (Equities) BANKING ACCESS BANK PLC. 234,598.49 6.60 3.94 397 64,600,174 UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC 206,906.50 6.05 0.83 244 16,900,582 ZENITH BANK PLC 448,969.86 14.30 -2.72 603 25,546,850 1,244 107,047,606 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FBN HOLDINGS PLC 165,118.35 4.60 1.09 443 62,944,387 443 62,944,387 1,687 169,991,993 TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES MTN NIGERIA COMMUNICATIONS PLC 2,279,705.46 112.00 4.28 206 3,532,781 206 3,532,781 206 3,532,781 BUILDING MATERIALS DANGOTE CEMENT PLC 2,215,265.96 130.00 1.00 206 2,003,065 LAFARGE AFRICA PLC. 190,071.99 11.80 2.61 193 11,945,520 399 13,948,585 399 13,948,585 EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PLC 290,926.99 494.40 - 11 989 11 989 11 989 2,303 187,474,348 REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS (REITS) SFS REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST 1,386.00 69.30 - 1 55 UNION HOMES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST (REIT) 10,175.81 40.70 - 0 0 UPDC REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST 9,072.12 3.40 - 33 1,799,941 34 1,799,996 34 1,799,996 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS NIGERIA ENERYGY SECTOR FUND 411.91 552.20 - 0 0 VALUEALLIANCE VALUE FUND 3,312.39 103.20 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 34 1,799,996 CROP PRODUCTION FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC 440.00 0.20 - 1 5,000 OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. 52,512.75 55.05 - 9 26,281 PRESCO PLC 36,450.00 36.45 - 23 132,354 33 163,635 FISHING/HUNTING/TRAPPING ELLAH LAKES PLC. 8,500.00 4.25 - 0 0 0 0 LIVESTOCK/ANIMAL SPECIALTIES LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. 2,100.00 0.70 7.69 9 155,838 9 155,838 42 319,473 DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIES JOHN HOLT PLC. 198.47 0.51 - 1 1,874 1,903.99 2.93 - 0 0 S C O A NIG. PLC. TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC 26,827.67 0.66 -1.49 108 15,238,982 U A C N PLC. 19,880.95 6.90 1.47 57 1,024,404 166 16,265,260 166 16,265,260 BUILDING CONSTRUCTION ARBICO PLC. 381.65 2.57 - 0 0 0 0 INFRASTRUCTURE/HEAVY CONSTRUCTION JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. 34,056.00 25.80 - 64 489,881 165.00 6.60 - 0 0 ROADS NIG PLC. 64 489,881 REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PLC 2,000.76 0.77 - 6 33,797 6 33,797 70 523,678 AUTOMOBILES/AUTO PARTS DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC 954.53 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 BEVERAGES--BREWERS/DISTILLERS CHAMPION BREW. PLC. 6,341.89 0.81 - 4 40,100 GOLDEN GUINEA BREW. PLC. 829.98 0.81 - 0 0 GUINNESS NIG PLC 40,303.04 18.40 -0.54 141 1,327,322 INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. 134,310.34 5.00 4.17 60 2,209,186 NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. 239,907.06 30.00 -3.38 62 780,584 267 4,357,192 FOOD PRODUCTS DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC 149,400.00 12.45 - 41 217,294 FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. 86,107.97 21.00 - 16 51,088 HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC 7,930.20 1.00 - 5 13,499 MULTI-TREX INTEGRATED FOODS PLC 1,340.10 0.36 - 0 0 N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. 766.26 4.30 - 1 600 NASCON ALLIED INDUSTRIES PLC 26,626.86 10.05 - 30 251,228 UNION DICON SALT PLC. 2,993.06 10.95 - 0 0 93 533,709 FOOD PRODUCTS--DIVERSIFIED CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. 14,086.52 7.50 - 38 263,933 NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. 729,402.28 920.20 - 109 181,107 147 445,040 HOUSEHOLD DURABLES NIGERIAN ENAMELWARE PLC. 1,680.31 22.10 - 0 0 VITAFOAM NIG PLC. 6,204.19 4.96 - 39 754,819 39 754,819 PERSONAL/HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. 16,676.00 4.20 -1.18 35 864,470 UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. 60,322.56 10.50 - 40 327,622 75 1,192,092 621 7,282,852 BANKING ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED 81,655.50 4.45 -1.11 77 2,868,792 FIDELITY BANK PLC 51,864.89 1.79 -1.65 45 1,712,217 GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. 618,054.76 21.00 -0.47 604 36,134,559 JAIZ BANK PLC 16,205.34 0.55 - 11 316,894 STERLING BANK PLC. 36,851.74 1.28 - 19 1,709,772 UNION BANK NIG.PLC. 196,565.08 6.75 - 9 1,181 UNITY BANK PLC 5,143.31 0.44 - 11 96,119 WEMA BANK PLC. 22,758.93 0.59 -1.67 41 2,167,750 817 45,007,284 INSURANCE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES AFRICAN ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC 4,117.00 0.20 - 1 5,000 AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 9,743.98 0.86 1.18 11 178,118 AXAMANSARD INSURANCE PLC 16,590.00 1.58 - 3 4,900 CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE PLC 2,439.00 0.30 - 0 0 CORNERSTONE INSURANCE PLC 8,101.23 0.55 - 1 2 GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC 909.99 0.20 - 0 0 GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. 1,228.00 0.20 - 0 0 INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE PLC 487.95 0.38 - 0 0 LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. 1,977.33 0.27 3.85 14 3,580,000 LAW UNION AND ROCK INS. PLC. 4,296.33 1.00 - 5 60,000 LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC 4,240.00 0.53 - 0 0 MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. 2,234.55 0.20 5.00 47 13,928,517 NEM INSURANCE PLC 12,409.18 2.35 6.82 10 1,042,300 NIGER INSURANCE PLC 1,547.90 0.20 - 0 0 PRESTIGE ASSURANCE PLC 2,691.28 0.50 -9.09 1 100,000 REGENCY ASSURANCE PLC 1,333.75 0.20 - 1 271,500 SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC 2,272.89 0.20 - 0 0 STACO INSURANCE PLC 4,483.72 0.48 - 0 0 STANDARD ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC. 2,582.21 0.20 - 0 0 SUNU ASSURANCES NIGERIA PLC. 2,800.00 0.20 - 0 0 UNIC DIVERSIFIED HOLDINGS PLC. 516.46 0.20 - 0 0 UNIVERSAL INSURANCE PLC 3,200.00 0.20 - 0 0 VERITAS KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC 2,773.33 0.20 - 0 0 WAPIC INSURANCE PLC 6,237.84 0.26 4.00 6 153,049 100 19,323,386 MICRO-FINANCE BANKS NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 2,858.30 1.25 - 3 33,400 3 33,400

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MORTGAGE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES ABBEY MORTGAGE BANK PLC 6,784.62 1.05 - 0 0 ASO SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC 7,370.87 0.50 - 0 0 INFINITY TRUST MORTGAGE BANK PLC 5,671.82 1.36 - 0 0 2,265.95 0.20 - 0 0 RESORT SAVINGS & LOANS PLC UNION HOMES SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC. 2,949.22 3.02 - 0 0 0 0 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AFRICA PRUDENTIAL PLC 7,300.00 3.65 2.82 68 2,368,329 33,820.72 5.75 - 4 1,400 CUSTODIAN INVESTMENT PLC DEAP CAPITAL MANAGEMENT & TRUST PLC 495.00 0.33 - 0 0 34,060.66 1.72 1.18 88 35,156,612 FCMB GROUP PLC. ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. 1,029.07 0.20 - 0 0 STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC 299,391.57 28.50 - 44 503,104 14,040.00 2.34 -2.09 119 9,943,529 UNITED CAPITAL PLC 323 47,972,974 1,243 112,337,044 HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS EKOCORP PLC. 2,991.61 6.00 - 0 0 1,101.47 0.31 6.90 3 452,000 UNION DIAGNOSTIC & CLINICAL SERVICES PLC 3 452,000 MEDICAL SUPPLIES MORISON INDUSTRIES PLC. 593.50 0.60 - 0 0 0 0 PHARMACEUTICALS EVANS MEDICAL PLC. 366.17 0.50 - 0 0 5,111.58 2.45 - 11 222,100 FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. 6,397.94 5.35 - 24 182,211 MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. 4,658.13 2.70 - 10 50,274 1,139.49 0.60 - 10 135,127 NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC NIGERIA-GERMAN CHEMICALS PLC. 556.71 3.62 - 0 0 325.23 1.50 - 0 0 PHARMA-DEKO PLC. 55 589,712 58 1,041,712 COMPUTER BASED SYSTEMS COURTEVILLE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS PLC 745.92 0.21 -4.55 12 15,516,640 12 15,516,640 COMPUTERS AND PERIPHERALS OMATEK VENTURES PLC 911.95 0.31 - 0 0 0 0 IT SERVICES CWG PLC 6,413.06 2.54 - 0 0 NCR (NIGERIA) PLC. 216.00 2.00 - 41 608 TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. 287.07 0.58 - 1 1,900 42 2,508 PROCESSING SYSTEMS CHAMS PLC 1,080.09 0.23 4.55 8 1,110,400 E-TRANZACT INTERNATIONAL PLC 10,962.00 2.61 - 2 3,748 10 1,114,148 TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES AIRTEL AFRICA PLC 1,123,311.48 298.90 - 5 152 5 152 69 16,633,448 BUILDING MATERIALS BERGER PAINTS PLC 1,941.82 6.70 - 3 870 BUA CEMENT PLC 1,103,977.94 32.60 -1.21 39 1,413,754 CAP PLC 14,630.00 20.90 - 7 16,583 MEYER PLC. 265.62 0.50 - 1 598 PORTLAND PAINTS & PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC 1,769.32 2.23 - 0 0 1,156.20 9.40 - 0 0 PREMIER PAINTS PLC. 50 1,431,805 ELECTRONIC AND ELECTRICAL PRODUCTS AUSTIN LAZ & COMPANY PLC 2,192.12 2.03 - 0 0 CUTIX PLC. 2,131.20 1.21 0.83 6 214,572 6 214,572 PACKAGING/CONTAINERS BETA GLASS PLC. 34,998.04 70.00 - 2 207 GREIF NIGERIA PLC 388.02 9.10 - 0 0 2 207 AGRO-ALLIED & CHEMICALS NOTORE CHEMICAL IND PLC 100,754.14 62.50 - 0 0 0 0 58 1,646,584 CHEMICALS B.O.C. GASES PLC. 1,519.29 3.65 - 2 280 2 280 METALS ALUMINIUM EXTRUSION IND. PLC. 1,781.64 8.10 - 0 0 0 0 MINING SERVICES MULTIVERSE MINING AND EXPLORATION PLC 852.39 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 PAPER/FOREST PRODUCTS THOMAS WYATT NIG. PLC. 77.00 0.35 - 0 0 0 0 2 280 ENERGY EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC 1,252.54 0.20 - 4 1,908,281 4 1,908,281 INTEGRATED OIL AND GAS SERVICES OANDO PLC 30,829.90 2.48 5.53 54 3,675,805 54 3,675,805 PETROLEUM AND PETROLEUM PRODUCTS DISTRIBUTORS 11 PLC 58,019.78 160.90 - 5 2,512 ARDOVA PLC 15,043.66 11.55 10.00 56 1,185,178 CONOIL PLC 12,074.77 17.40 - 7 11,033 2,816.95 2.16 - 15 90,644 ETERNA PLC. MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. 4,206.05 13.80 - 0 0 TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. 32,695.95 96.30 - 13 2,378 96 1,291,745 154 6,875,831 ADVERTISING AFROMEDIA PLC 1,509.28 0.34 - 0 0 0 0 AIRLINES MEDVIEW AIRLINE PLC 15,796.05 1.62 - 0 0 0 0 AUTOMOBILE/AUTO PART RETAILERS R T BRISCOE PLC. 235.27 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 COURIER/FREIGHT/DELIVERY RED STAR EXPRESS PLC 2,686.42 2.90 - 10 316,150 TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. 421.96 0.90 - 0 0 10 316,150 HOSPITALITY TANTALIZERS PLC 642.33 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 HOTELS/LODGING CAPITAL HOTEL PLC 4,181.71 2.70 - 0 0 IKEJA HOTEL PLC 2,224.31 1.07 - 1 2,500 TOURIST COMPANY OF NIGERIA PLC. 7,076.28 3.15 - 0 0 TRANSCORP HOTELS PLC 30,401.62 4.00 - 0 0 1 2,500 MEDIA/ENTERTAINMENT DAAR COMMUNICATIONS PLC 3,960.00 0.33 - 0 0 0 0 PRINTING/PUBLISHING ACADEMY PRESS PLC. 187.49 0.31 - 0 0 LEARN AFRICA PLC 794.59 1.03 - 1 926 STUDIO PRESS (NIG) PLC. 1,183.82 1.99 - 0 0 UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC. 457.29 1.06 9.28 6 389,525 7 390,451 ROAD TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATED BUS COMPANY PLC 580.20 0.35 - 0 0 0 0 SPECIALTY INTERLINKED TECHNOLOGIES PLC 688.80 2.91 - 0 0 SECURE ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY PLC 1,126.31 0.20 - 0 0

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Friday 01 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

37

LEADINGWOMAN

Kemi DaSilva-Ibru, the gender balance advocate giving hope to survivors KEMI AJUMOBI

Dr. Kemi DaSilva-Ibru is a specialist Obstetrician and Gynecologist with a medical back-ground that extends to Public Health. She is a qualified physician with over 15 years’ experience in private practice, where she dedicates her time addressing the needs of expectant mothers and women.

DaSilva-Ibru also runs a non- profit organisation, the Women at Risk International Foundation (WARIF) that successfully tackles the issues of gender based violence, rape and trafficking of young girls and women in communities throughout Lagos State and across Nigeria.

She graduated from the College of Medicine, University of Lagos and completed her postgraduate training in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Howard University, Washington DC. She received her Master’s degree in Public Health from the Bloomberg School of Public Health, John Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland. She has expanded her expertise beyond the field of Obstetrics & Gynecology with her participation in post-graduate medical courses in various specialties, and is an alumnus of the Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos.

She is currently undergoing a PhD Degree in Gender based Violence; Public Health & Policy at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in the United Kingdom.

She is a member of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, the American Medical Association, Medical Women Association of Nigeria, the Association of Public Health Physicians Nigeria and the Faculty of Public Health; UK . She is also a member of the Institute of Directors, Nigeria.

Notable awards and recognition include WIMBIZ top 100 Most Influential Women in 2017, Leading Ladies Africa - 100 Most Inspiring Women in Nigeria 2018, Orange Active Citizen –2017 25 People Pioneers Brands, International Women’s Day 2018; recognition by British Council in Nigeria; Exceptional Women Past and Present ; Woman of the Year 2019 ; Her Network.

DaSilva-Ibru is a strong advocate of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls and is known for her unmitigated passion for women’s rights which has shaped her life and has led to her establishing WARIF. The Foundation is one of the nation’s foremost anti sexual violence organisations that raises awareness and addresses the prevalence of rape and gender based violence in Nigeria through the development and implementation of a series of initiatives, targeting both the intervention/treatment of affected girls and women, as well as providing effective preventive measures in reducing this problem.

Growing up and influence till date rowing up, I always had a special interest in healthcare as a future career as both my parents were healthcare professionals. The opportunity of being able to treat those in need is one I tend to gravitate towards, as my interest continued to grow. After medical school, I obtained my specialty in Obstetrics and Gynecology and my patient population became young girls and women. In time, I began to appreciate more and more the plight of disadvantaged women and their needs that were not being met. Although, establishing the WARIF organisation came later, I had already started to find means in my medical capacity of filling some of these gaps.

G

15 years dedicated to addressing the needs of expectant mothers and women I have had the opportunity to serve countless women in need of my professional assistance over the years and more so, the utmost privilege of delivering healthy babies. With my patient population being women, I have also had to offer assistance to patients that needed medical attention as result of physical or sexual violence perpetrated against them. This service was one I continued to offer, alongside my career as a specialist Obstetrics and Gynecology pro bono, in my private practice.

Over the years, I have con-

tinued my practice which I still run today and I have successfully been able to incorporate a weekly schedule that includes attending to the needs of both my OBGYN patients and the WARIF organisation.

in response to the high incidence of child sexual abuse and sexual violence against girls and women in various communities across the country. This overarching objective of the foundation is achieved through the implementation of immediate and preventive initiatives that all have the hallmarks of the successful ‘WARIF Approach”.

This unique strategy, addresses this multifaceted problem through the design and implementation of a series of initiatives under 3 pillars including Health, Education and Community Service.

Setting up WARIF Over the years in my practice, I have witnessed first-hand and assisted a large number of women and young girls who are survivors of rape, trafficking and different forms of sexual violence. Many of them, some as young as 2 years of age, endure these harrowing acts more than once, by individuals well known to them such as a family member and often times in safe havens such as in their homes and schools. As a result of this, a significant number of women deal with the immediate effects such as new onset of HIV cases and unwanted pregnancies as well as the long term consequences of a lack of self- worth, low esteem and adverse effects to their mental wellbeing like depression and suicide and their social development. To suggest this is a problem in Nigeria is a vast understatement where 1 in 4 girls before the age of 18 would have experienced at least one violent sexual encounter; however what appeared to be missing I felt was a structured and more holistic approach to addressing the challenges these women.

Appreciating the need to fill this gap, led to my establishing WARIF, a pan-African, non-profit organisation established in 2016;

Challenges The stigmatisation and the shroud of silence that surrounds cases of sexual violence and rape in our communities often times make it difficult for the young girls and women to seek help. She is made to feel guilty and is reluctant to visit the WARIF Centre to get the necessary medical and psychosocial care needed.

Funding is also a huge challenge and one we are constantly seeking. Being a Non-Government Organisation, all our services and initiatives are offered at no cost to the survivors we assist and we rely solely on donor funding from corporate bodies, private organisations and the goodwill of private individuals.

However, counter balanced by this, are the ever present proud moments of seeing the sheer joy and relief on the faces of young girls and women we serve, saving them from unspeakable horrors and watching as they raise their head, and speak out their truth without fear; or being able to change the narrative of young adolescent boys who had the prevailing mind-set that abuse was normal. Inspiring them through our programs to be protectors and not perpetrators. This is truly

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rewarding.

With the ongoing pandemic, what are the challenges that some women/girls are likely to experience?

With the COVID-19 pandemic and the restriction on movement as a result of the mandatory lock down, a volatile environment exists in households where survivors are forced to now quarantine with their abusers. This has led to an increase in the number of reported cases of violence against young girls and women. The added anxiety and frustrations over financial uncertainty with a large informal sector of our nation relying on daily earnings to survive; and worries about security and health, contributes to this volatile environment. This increasing isolation of women with violent partners as a result of the continued lock down, also separates them from the social networks and support groups that can help and limits the resources that can best assist them. This leads to a perfect storm for intimate partner violence behind closed doors.

This situation of the lock down, has also meant that schools have been closed and majority of children, who are survivors of child sexual abuse, and who use school as a refuge are now forced to stay home and locked in with their abuser, with no means of help and escape. This has also led to an increase in the cases of child sexual abuse.

Nigeria’s role in cases of gender based violence With the global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries are in lockdown, with around four billion people now sheltering at home. It’s a protective measure, but it brings another danger as we are now seeing a shadow pan@Businessdayng

demic of growing violence against women.

Nigeria is certainly not excluded. With the implemented lock down directive and the restricted movement issued in some States, including Lagos, this confinement has led to an increase in the number of cases of Gender based Violence being reported as more women are forced to quarantine with their abusers.

This precarious time fosters tension and strain in the house hold that is already volatile, with added anxiety and frustrations over health and financial uncertainty. The organisation in response to this has implemented safety measures. The key component is the WARIF Rape Crisis Centre, our Sexual Assault Referral Centre which we have successfully kept open. This is a safe and friendly facility where all survivors are encouraged to walk in and access our services free of charge. Located in Yaba, it is run by full time qualified personnel and offers immediate medical care, forensic medical examinations, medical tests such as HIV and post exposure HIV drugs were applicable.

Counselling services are also available to assist survivors and social welfare services are offered to survivors in need of accommodation, legal advice and aid as well as vocational skills acquisition.

During the COVID -19 pandemic, availability of PPE kits by the WARIF management to all frontline workers is paramount.

All medical personnel are provided with adequate protection when assisting women at risk as well as to prevent cross contamination between the frontline worker and survivors. This would limit the transmission of the infection in the community.

In spite of the skeletal service being run presently and the restricted movement, we have seen in one week, 10 survivors visit the Centre.

The WARIF 24-hour confidential helpline which is manned by experienced counsellors, during the third week of the lock down, noticed a 64 % increase in the number of calls. 72% were from women experiencing one form of violence or the other and 28% were male survivors. The highest percentage-41%, was as a result of domestic abuse.

Hope for the abused There is hope and even seen more now with organisations both international and local as well as governmental and non-governmental partnering and collaborating to address the issue of gender based violence together.

Final words Violence against women can happen to any young girl or woman.

Regardless of her circumstance, her race, colour, cultural or ethnic background, educational level, religious affiliation or socio economic class. We are all at risk and so we all have a role to play in the fight against gender based violence. It is our collective responsibility to live in a society free of rape and sexual violence.

38

Friday 01 May , 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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Friday 01 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

Neville voices fears over Premier League plans to resume matches Anthony Nlebem

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anchester United legend Gary Neville fears Premier League players’ lives will be put at risk if football is rushed back too soon after the coronavirus-enforced lockdown in Britain.

Premier League chiefs are aiming for a return to action in June and several clubs opened their training grounds to players this week as they work on “Project Restart”.

The English top flight is understood to be aiming to run a huge testing operation to keep footballers safe, with reports of 26,000 tests being lined up for players and staff.

But FIFA’s medical chief Michel D’Hooghe said that football should not be played until September and former Manchester United defender Neville is worried that Premier League stars will be put in danger by the rush to return.

“The FIFA medical officer said that football should not take place before September. I think if it was a non-economic decision there would be no football for months,” Neville told the Sky Sports Football Show.

“People are now assessing risk. How many people have to die playing football in the Premier League before it becomes unpalatable? One player? One member of staff goes into intensive care? What risk do we have to take? The discussion is purely economic.”

Neville voiced his particular concerns over the risk to players with existing medical conditions.

“If health comes first, there is only one outcome at this moment in time. How

many players have got asthma? How many players have diabetes?

“Have they assessed all of these things and are they willing to put those people at risk?”

The UK is among the worsthit countries in the global COVID-19 pandemic, with more than 21,000 deaths so far.

The country is on lockdown until at least May 7, but government officials have spoken in positive terms about a potential return for football if the virus is under control.

Germany’s sports ministers have said the Bundesliga could return next month but Dutch football chiefs have called an end to the Eredivisie season and the Belgian campaign is in the balance.

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said football would not return in his country until at least September.

In the Premier League, full training is reportedly slated for mid-May, with the plan to be discussed at a meeting of stakeholders on Friday.

However, Neville is concerned that the Premier League’s desire to conclude the campaign is being driven by financial motives, with the English top flight facing a huge hit if the 92 remaining fixtures are not played.

The former England international said if it were a non-economic decision there would be no football for months but he acknowledged that players at lower levels would want to play because the alternative was “bad”. “(A total of) 1,400 players are out of contract in three months so they’ll need football to resume so their livelihoods can continue,” he said.

“There’s huge economic loss. It clouds people’s minds in terms of the risk that they’re willing to take.”

39

Sports Postponing Olympic Games will cost IOC millions of dollars, says president Anthony Nlebem

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he postponement to 2021 of the Olympic Games in Tokyo because of the coronavirus pandemic will cost the International Olympic Committee (IOC) “several hundred million dollars”, IOC president Thomas Bach said.

“We already know that we have to shoulder several hundred million US dollars of postponement costs,” the German wrote in a letter to the Olympic movement, warning that, while the IOC would honour its financial obligations to Tokyo, it would probably have to make cuts.

“We also need to look into and review all the services that we provide for these postponed Games,” he said.

“The IOC will continue to be responsible for its share of the operational burden and its share of the costs for these postponed Games.”

The IOC, which has approximately $1 billion (926 million euros) in reserves, took the historic decision to postpone the Games, scheduled to open on July 24, until

A task force, which brings together the IOC and various partners, including COJO, “has established the priorities and management strategies to make these postponed Olympic Games feasible and successful”, Bach said.

These include creating “a safe environment with regard to health for all participants”.

“At this moment, nobody knows what the realities of the post-coronavirus world will look like,” he said.

“What is clear, however, is that probably none of us will be able to sustain every single initiative or event that we were planning before this crisis hit.”

He added that the IOC should also view the crisis as an opportunity.

“We can fairly assume that, in the post-coronavirus society, public health will play a much more important role. Sport and physical activity make a great contribution to health,” he wrote.

Bach also said the Olympic movement should consider its relationship with esports in light of social distancing.

“Whilst maintaining our principles by respecting the

Covid-19: UEFA releases €236.5m to help member associations Anthony Nlebem

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EFA will boost all of its member associations with a total cash injection of €236.5m to help them through the Covid-19 pandemic.

This HatTrick funding is usually distributed to the associations to cover running costs and to help develop specific and targeted areas of domestic football.

However, UEFA has decided to allow each of the 55 countries within its membership to use the money as they see fit with the football calendar disrupted to an enormous degree.

“Our sport is facing an unprecedented challenge brought about by the Covid-19 crisis,” said UEFA presi-

dent Aleksander Ceferin.

“UEFA wants to help its members to respond in ways that are appropriate to their specific circumstances. As a result, we have agreed that up to €4.3m per association, paid for the remainder of this season and next, as well

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as part of the investment funding; can be used as our members see fit to rebuild the football community.

“I believe this is a responsible decision to help as much as we can; and I am proud of the unity that football is showing throughout

this crisis. Without doubt, football will be at the heart of life returning to normal.

When that time comes, football must be ready to answer that call. “ The HatTrick assistance programme was launched in 2004 following that year’s Euros, based on the simple idea of investing a large proportion of the tournament revenue back into football development in three different ways: investment, education and knowledge-sharing.

FIFA recently announced that each of its 211 member countries would receive $500,000 (€462,750).

The FAI have received advances on UEFA funding in the last few months as they battle a financial crisis that precedes the outbreak of the pandemic.

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July 23 to August 8, 2021.

If the coronavirus pandemic is not brought under control within a year, the Games cannot be postponed again and will be cancelled, the head of the organising committee (COJO) Yoshiro Mori warned. @Businessdayng

red line, with regard to the Olympic values, we encourage all our stakeholders even more urgently to ‘consider how to govern electronic and virtual forms of their sport and explore opportunities with game publishers’,” he said.

Women in Business

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ifi Ekanem Ejindu is a Nigerian Architect, businesswoman and philanthropist. Born in Ibadan, Nigeria, she is the great granddaughter of King James Ekpo Bassey of Cobham town in Calabar, Nigeria, and her father, Professor Sylvester Joseph Una, is from Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

She studied Architecture at Pratt Institute, a private design college in Brooklyn, New York. In 1983, she graduated from Pratt, becoming the first black African woman to be awarded a B.Arch. from the institute. After graduating, Fifi took courses at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology before she went on to work at a private firm in New York City. Ejindu then returned to Pratt Institute to get her Masters in Urban Planning after which she returned to Nigeria.

On her return to Nigeria, Ejindu started the Starcrest Group of companies. The company started in 1995, and comprises Starcrest Investment Ltd., Starcrest Associates Ltd., and Starcrest Industries Ltd, all involved in real estate, oil and gas, and building construction.

She describes her style of architecture as neo-traditional, which she defines as “building a new project with new materials, but with traditional and old style details and features” and hence most of her projects are timeless.

According to her, “I love designing. I don’t do it for the rewards. I do it because it’s my passion and one of my professions.

I especially love Neo traditional projects, which is building with traditional and old style features, like round windows and arches, it brings back the renaissance period.” She says.

Starcrest Investments has initiated invest-

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By Kemi Ajumobi

cent work is an antidote to social exclusion across the globe,” she insists.

Fifi launched The African Arts and Fashion Initiative in August 2013, at The Dorchester Hotel, London, as a means of showcasing and promoting the rich

African culture and talent, and empowering her youths. The initiative organizes exhibitions and dialogues to advertise and promote the African arts and antiques, African fashion style, African music and all other things made in Africa.

tion and Ventures). She is also founder and CEO of I/O Spaces, an incubator for African diaspora in the U.S. She is also the Board Chair of AfriLabs and a founding member of the African Business Angel Network (ABAN).

AppsTech is a leading global provider

of enterprise application solutions. They offer a full spectrum of products and services to serve all their enterprise software requirements, from architecting a solution, license sales, implementation, integration, training and application management services.

Enonchong was born in 1967. Her father was Dr. Henry Ndifor Abi Enonchong, who was a well-known barrister in Cameroon. While Enonchong was growing up in Cameroon, her father helped create the Federal Cameroon Bar Association and its successor, the Cameroon Bar Association.

In her teens, Rebecca moved to the US with her family. While studying, she took up a job selling door-to-door newspaper subscriptions from the age of 15. She later became a manager at the same company at the age of 17.

Rebecca attended the Catholic University of America, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree and also a Master of Science degree in Economics.

After finishing her education, she went on to work for a number of organisations including Inter-American Development Bank (IaDB) and Oracle Corporation.

On her love for computers, she says she was working at a hotel in finance and accounting. She happened to have one of the powerful computers because she had to do a lot of financial analysis and modelling.

That was when she discovered her love for computers. She was one of those people who would be in line when a new version of software came out. “That’s really how it started. And I’ve never stopped loving technology. I adore it.” She says.

In 1999, Enonchong founded the company AppsTech, a Bethesda, Marylandbased global provider of enterprise application solutions. AppsTech is an Oracle

Platinum Partner and has customers in over 40 countries.

In 2002, The World Economic Forum of Davos, Switzerland named Enonchong a Global Leader for Tomorrow (GLT) along with other tech entrepreneurs such as Google co-founder Larry Page and Salesforce.com CEO Marc Benioff.

In 2013, Rebecca was recognized as a finalist for the African digital woman award. In March 2014, Forbes listed her as one of the ‘10 Female Tech Founders to Watch in Africa’.

Rebecca has spent much of her career promoting technology in Africa. She has carried out the work in both the U.S. and in Africa. She was the founder and Chairperson of the Africa Technology Forum, a non-profit dedicated to helping technology startups in Africa.

Sharing on managing her business, she has this to say “To be honest, for a long time, I didn’t handle it very well. I would say for the first 10 years I hardly slept. I kept really long hours. And it definitely took a toll on me. I would work myself to exhaustion and then be dysfunctional for weeks.

At some point, I knew this had to stop. So now, I programme time specifically to recharge.” she states.

Rebecca understood early enough, the intricacies with being a female African CEO, so at the early stage of her business, she admits that “it can be tough in the beginning when you are trying to get your foot in the door.” She further acknowledges that she hid behind a corporate structure nevertheless, after a while; she shrugged it off, there was no need to hide behind that anymore because according to her, “what matters is your ability to deliver. One of the reasons I love technology is that it is a great equalizer”. Rebecca says.

Founder/CEO AppsTech

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ment forums in the U.A.E to attract foreign investors to Nigeria. Prominent among them is that of June 11, 2012 where Fifi Ejindu invited the former Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo to lead a Nigerian delegation to an investment forum with 50 of the most influential businessmen in the U.A.E. This initiative led by Fifi, through her company, has encouraged several international business executives to diversify in numerous areas of the Nigerian economy in partnership with Starcrest Investments Ltd. Fifi is an Honourary patron member of the prestigious Icons Club of Dubai.

In 2013, she was awarded the African Achievers African Arts and Fashion Lifetime Achievement award. She is a winner of The Nigerian Golden Book Professional Icon Award, 2015.

Ejindu has been ranked as one of the female pioneers in the fields of Architecture and business on an appearance on CNN’s African Voices; and she is also a member of the Nigerian National Heritage Council.

On the importance of empowering the youths, she says “Africa has arrived and the future of Africa depends majorly on the extent to which we can empower our young people because they constitute a large percent of the population. Creating viable jobs opportunities for the African youth is critical to sustainable development in African countries and also for peace in the continent.” Ejindu advocates.

Still on youths and passion for Philanthropy, after her 50th birthday, she founded Hope Centres. “The idea is to get the youths off the street, so they can acquire skills with which they can sustain themselves. This should give them hope and inspire a sense of belonging by lifting them out of abject poverty. Access to de-

Rebecca Enonchong ebecca Enonchong is a technology entrepreneur and also the founder and CEO of AppsTech.

She is best known for her work promoting technology in Africa.

Enonchong, is the Chair of ActivSpaces (African Center for Technology Innova-

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Fifi Ekanem Ejindu Chairperson, Starcrest Group, Nigeria

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