BusinessDay 03 Apr 2020

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news you can trust I ** FRIDAY 03 april 2020 I vol. 19, no 534

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Coronavirus: Broken health centres in villages put 100m rural dwellers at risk

…Lagos discharges 11 more patients ODINAKA ANUDU & ANTHONIA OBOKOH

O Femi Gbajabiamila (r), speaker, House of Representatives, in a meeting with Sale Mamman (m), minister of power; Dafe Akpeneye (l), representative of the management of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), and some principal officers of the House over the poor power supply during the on-going lockdown to curb spread of coronavirus, at the National Assembly, Abuja.

Reprieve for Nigeria as oil prices jump on Trump’s intervention

Saudi/Russia may cut production, end price war Saudi calls emergency OPEC+ meeting

ISAAC ANYAOGU & DIPO OLADEHINDE

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il prices jumped on Thursday after United States President Donald Trump said he expected Saudi Arabia and Russia would agree to capping oil production, providing much reprieve to countries like

Nigeria worst hit by the scramble for bigger market share among producers.

Brent, the internationally traded benchmark crude, traded at $33.44, up $8.70 a barrel at a point, while the US grade WTI sold for $25.58, up 25.95 percent. Both have now settled slightly lower in US trading.

Brent had fallen over 50 percent since January with the coronavirus-driven lockdowns in China, Europe and the United States leading to fallen oil demand.

Trump said he expects Saudi Arabia and Russia to cut oil production by about 10 million to 15 million barrels, but he didn’t specify whether the production

cut would be per day.

While there has not been confirmation from either Russia or Saudi Arabia, the scintilla of hope offered for the possibility of a truce was enough to send prices up.

Saudi Arabia is now calling for an “urgent meeting” of the Organisa-

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bitti, an oil-rich community in Ohaji Local Government Area of Imo State, has only one health centre which is now a beehive of activities for snakes, scorpions and termites.

It has no single doctor, no drug, and the place looks abandoned for ages, BusinessDay investigation shows.

Leave Obitti and navigate towards Umuokanne, another community, and you will find a general hospital that is supposed to serve many communities in the LGA. Built by the Ibrahim Babangida military regime in the 1980s, the hospital has been abandoned by successive administrations, and

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Inside How Nigerian companies, government can respond to Covid-19 – McKinsey P. 6 Farmers say lockdown hampering essential inputs supply P. 6

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Covid-19: House Committee on Aviation appeals to airlines to review its ‘No Pay Directive’ IFEOMA OKEKE

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he House Committee chairman on Aviation, Nnolim Nnaji, has appealed to airlines and private organisations within the aviation sector not to abandon their staff in this period of uncertainties occasioned by Covid-19 pandemic.

Nnaji, who represents Nkanu East/West Federal Constituency of Enugu State, said he was disturbed by the memo issued to its staff by Max Air to the effect that it would not pay them salaries for the period of the two weeks lockdown directive by the Federal Government.

He noted, “The memo which has now gone viral further stressed that the state of no pay would extend if the situation persisted and my major worry is that other organisations may do same if care is not taken.”

He however appealed to the management of the airline to reconsider this hard line posture by retracing its action in this regard, and equally urged other organisations in the sector to see this trying period as a time of sacrifice and show extreme compassion to their staff.

“I am aware that elsewhere, governments are providing palliatives for employers of labour to cushion the impact of this pandemic but because of our peculiar circumstances the Federal Government may not

immediately offer such at the moment,” he said.

He said he was optimistic that some form of relief would definitely come at the end of the day to assist the airlines, and urged Hadi Sariki, the minister of aviation, to step in and hold talks with the various stakeholders in the industry to avoid ripple effects of Max Air action.

The Committee chairman also used the opportunity to call for understanding among the people and leaders of the South East Region over the aborted reopening of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA) Enugu before Easter as planned.

He lamented that the development was caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has forced the workers of both the contractor and consultants handling the project out of site.

The aviation committee chairman assured that as soon as the prevailing pandemic died down works would resume at an accelerated speed and new date of commissioning of the airport would be unveiled.

He was equally full of praises for the Governor of Enugu State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, for the way he had mobilised materials and human resources to curtail the spread of virus in the state.

He also urged the citizens of the state to cooperate with Enugu State government by sticking to the instruction given on the stay at home and social distancing.

news Rencap expects naira to depreciate further at N420/$ in 2020

Covid-19: NIMASA, NSC collaborate to sustain shipping business in Nigeria

…11% devaluation from current rate

AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE

ENDURANCE OKAFOR

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igeria’s currency could come under more depreciation pressure and become weaker against the dollar to trade at N420/$ in 2020 amid crash in crude price, according to projections by emerging and frontier markets focused firm, Renaissance Capital.

That would mean the naira will be devalued by 10.53 percent as against the current official rate by the Central Bank of Nigeria at N380/$.

“Our estimate value for the naira is N420 to a dollar.

This implies that we expect the currency to come under depreciation pressure in 2020,” Yvonne Mhango, subSaharan African Economist at Renaissance Capital, said on Wednesday.

The crash in the price of crude oil and dwindling revenues as a result of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the global economy poses as a risk to CBN’s ability to keep the naira competitive against the US dollar.

Nigeria’s external reserve, which shows the nation’s ability to weather external shocks, dropped to $35.9 bil-

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lion from a $36.02 billion level on Tuesday, March 17, according to central bank’s data.

That is the lowest in 29 months, since October 2017, when the country managed to limp out of a five-quarter negative growth. External reserves at the time stood at $34.3 billion.

With two currency devaluation under his belt, the current central bank governor, Godwin Emefiele, eventually implemented a ‘currency readjustment’ in March after it fought to stabilize the strength of the naira for two years.

The Central Bank of Nigeria moved the FX sales rate in the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window to N380.2/$, from N366.7/$, in a move that suggests a technical devaluation of the naira. Under the new dispensation, the CBN would make the dollar available to the BDCs at N378, which would be sold at N380.

Nigeria’s currency traded at N383/$ at the I&E on Thursday as compiled from the data by the FMDQ. But the naira weakened to N410 per one dollar at the black market after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) suspended sales to Bureau De Change (BDCs).

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hile Federal and State governments work to contain the spread of Coronavirus, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the port economic regulator, Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), have agreed to join forces towards ensuring the smooth port operations during the 14day lockdown in Lagos.

According to a statement signed by Philip Kyanet, head, corporate communications of NIMASA and made available to newsmen on Thursday, Bashir Jamoh, directorgeneral of the NIMASA, said the agency had to issue new guidelines for vessel calling at the Nigerian ports to ensure shipping activities continue in a way that would not allow the spread of Coronavirus.

Jamoh stated this when the executive secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Hassan Bello led some stakeholders including shipping companies to the NIMASA head office in Lagos.

While the Federal Government is concerned about the lives of the citizens in the country, the economy must be sustained, hence the need for collaboration with relevant agencies, like the @Businessdayng

Shippers’ Council to ensure continuous shipping, he said.

“We are in trying times and all hands must be on deck to sustain the Nigerian economy. Let me assure all stakeholders and the shipping community that on our part as a regulatory Agency, we will continue to embrace collaboration. This is a phase and it will soon be over, because today’s pains are necessary for tomorrow’s gains,” Jamoh said.

Speaking further on the guidelines, Jamoh noted that it was issued based on consultations with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and in line with best global practices, adding that the guidelines were still open to review for the best interest of everybody involved.

“The world was not prepared for the pandemic and that is why we are trying to ease the pressure on our industry, while taking necessary precautions to safeguard lives. We will continue to review these guidelines where necessary to ensure that shipping does not suffer, especially when it comes to movement of medical facilities through the sea,” he said.

On his part, Bello appealed for more cooperation and collaboration from the shipping companies and stakeholders in the sector.

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news

How Nigerian companies, government can respond to Covid-19 – McKinsey LOLADE AKINMURELE

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here are four critical steps that Nigerian companies could take to ensure business continuity while the government must prioritise five things amid the ongoing coronavirus-induced economic meltdown, according to global consulting firm, McKinsey & Company.

McKinsey’s recommendations, published this week, are based on the firm’s discussions with risk and health professionals in more than 200 companies across various sectors.

For companies, the steps revolve around the creation of nerve centres that can coordinate their responses on four key dimensions – which are to

protect workforces, stabilise supply chains, engage customers and street-test financials.

In protecting workforces, the focus is to guarantee continuation of employment in a safe working environment; adjust to shift or remote work with the required tools; and preserve the employees’ health through safe working facilities and strict isolation of suspected cases.

To stabilise supply chains, companies need to guarantee business continuity through transparent supplier engagement, demand assessment and adjustments of production and operations.

Meanwhile, in engaging customers, companies can hone their crisis communication and identify changes

in key policies, ranging from guidelines to guarantee social distancing, to waivers of cancellation and rebooking fees.

Finally, stress-testing financials entails developing and assessing relevant epidemiological and economic impact scenarios to address and plan for working capital requirements.

They will also need to identify areas for cost containment across the business.

Beyond their own businesses, private-sector firms also have a critical role to play in supporting governments to tackle the pandemic and its economic fallout, according to Mckinsey. This is especially true of large business and business associations, which will need to work hand-in-hand

with governments to manage and mitigate the crisis.

Across the continent, there are examples of business stepping up. One example is the Nigerian Private Sector Coalition Against COVID-19, formed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in partnership with private-sector and philanthropic organisations including the Aliko Dangote Foundation and Access Bank, the country’s biggest bank. The Coalition is mobilising privatesector resources to support government’s response to the crisis, and raising public awareness. The CBN said on Wednesday that contributions to the relief fund it set up had reached N15 billion, a sign that

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Lagos, Abuja, Ogun get most of Jack Ma’s relief materials to fight coronavirus ANTHONIA OBOKOH & MICHAEL ANI

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agos, Abuja and Ogun State got the highest number of medical relief materials donated to Nigeria by Chinese billionaire businessman and philanthropist, Jack Ma, in support of the fight against the coronavirus pandemic.

Jack Ma’s relief materials total 130,912 items, comprising 100,000 ordinary face masks, 20,000 reagents for testing, 9,999 coverall gowns and 913 face shields.

These have been distributed across different states, the Nigerian Centre for Disease and Control (NCDC) said.

Lagos, being the state most hit with the virus, got the highest number of relief materials, with a total of 30,439 items consisting of 27,678 face masks, 2,596 coverall gowns, and 165 face shields.

Abuja comes next having collected 16,182 items comprising 14,115 face masks, 1,906 and 161 coverall gowns and face shields.

Ogun got a total of 5,104 of the items, comprising 4,375 face masks, 671 coverall gowns and 58 face shields.

The states of Bauchi, Edo, Ekiti, Osun, Oyo and Rivers got 2,309 relief items each comprising 1,912 face masks, 291 coverall gowns and 26 face shields.

The remaining 28 states

each got 1,500 face masks, 110 coverall gowns and 20 face shields. The states are Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Benue, Borno, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Enugu, Gombe, Imo, Jigawa, Kaduna, Kebbi, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Ondo, Plateau, Sokoto, Taraba,Yobe and Zamfara.

The Jack Ma Foundation and Alibaba Foundation, owned by Jack Ma, had on March 22, 2020 donated medical supplies to Africa to aid the fight against the coronavirus pandemic which has infected over 700,000 people around the world.

The billionaire businessman donated to the African continent 5.4 million face masks, kits for 1.08 million detection tests, 40,000 sets of protective clothing and 60,000 sets of protective face shields.

Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy, got 130,912 of the donated items shared across its 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Meanwhile, Nigeria has recorded a total of 174 confirmed cases of the virus, including two deaths and nine discharged cases, as of 1:10pm Thursday, based on NCDC data. The country’s commercial centre, Lagos, has recorded the most numbers, with 91 confirmed cases, followed by Abuja with a total of 35 cases, Osun 14 cases, and Akwa Ibom five cases.

These 3 real estate segments are most at risk of coronavirus impact ENDURANCE OKAFOR Hope Uzodimma, governor of Imo State, receiving donations from oil companies operating in the state, in Owerri.

Farmers say lockdown hampering essential inputs supply JOSEPHINE OKOJIE & CALEB OJEWALE

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reparations for this year’s planting season may have started in some parts of Nigeria, particularly in the South, but if farmers fail to get inputs such as seeds and fertilisers in time, the country could be faced with a food crisis whenever the coronavirus pandemic is over.

Lagos, Ogun, and Abuja are home to about 5 million farmers who are currently in need of key inputs as they commence clearing, tilling and ploughing of their farmlands for the 2020 planting season, but the current implementation of a 14-day lockdown in these states by the Federal Government to curb the spread of the deadly coronavirus is disrupting the flow of direly needed inputs to these farmers, experts say.

The experts say any form of obstruction in the production and distribution of seeds, fertilisers, herbicides, and other agro-chemicals could adversely impact farming activities and, by extension, food production.

“As far as agriculture (in Nigeria) is concerned, this is the time for planting in some places and this is already disrupted,” Matthew Omidiji, MD, Premier Seeds Limited, told BusinessDay. Since President Muhammadu Buhari’s national broadcast on Sunday announcing the lockdown of Lagos, Abuja and Ogun, input producers and suppliers in these places have been at a loss as to how they can get the essential items to farmers without harassment from law enforcement officers. Added to this, different state governments had announced their own restrictions on movewww.businessday.ng

ment, imposing curfews, and even outright closure of their borders to inflow or outflow of human and material traffic.

Tunde Kayode, GM/group head of farm inputs, Elephant Group plc, told BusinessDay that there have been reports from stakeholders who have input consignment but cannot move, because transporters are not allowing their trucks to leave the yards. He added that “even for areas not affected by lockdown, they say no because they don’t want to be stranded”.

Kayode said “farming by nature has its logistics side, so if inputs cannot get to the end user at the appropriate time, there’s no gainsaying it is going to affect the entire chain”.

“Some of our members have been arrested for distributing and selling fertilisers and seeds to farmers already in some states that only gave the stay-at-home directives,

you can now imagine our situation with the total lockdown in Lagos and Abuja,” Kabiru Fara, president, Nigerian Agro Inputs Dealers Association of Nigeria (NAIDA), said in a response to questions.

“We were not specifically included on the essential service exemption lockdown list announced by the president and this is dangerous for us as a country,” Fara said.

AfricanFarmer Mogaji, head, agribusiness group, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), told BusinessDay that Nigeria was not producing enough currently and so could not afford anything that would jeopardise its food security quest.

“To see that happen, we must include producers, suppliers, and distributors of agro-inputs in the exclusion list because agriculture is timely,” said Mogaji, who is also the CEO of FarmCredit.

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ike other real estate industries globally, Nigeria’s property market is not immune to the heat from the coronavirus outbreak as industry investors are already adopting a wait-andsee attitude amid uncertainty in the sector.

The unknown outcome of the pandemic which has put Nigeria’s property market in limbo is making industry players pause on their decision to make any real estate investments, as compiled from an industry survey.

“We had a client who wanted to buy a property, and we had already finalised everything but due to the virus outbreak and currency uncertainty, he said he would want to wait for the next 90 days to watch the market,” Chidi Etoniru, managing partner at Joe Etoniru and Associates, a real estate development company, said.

In order to curtail the spread of the deadly coronavirus, President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday announced “the cessation of all movements in Lagos and the FCT for an initial period of 14 days with @Businessdayng

effect from 11pm on Monday, 30th March 2020”, with Ogun State due to join Friday.

The president directed residents of Lagos, Ogun and FCT to “stay in their homes”, while all businesses and offices within these locations were ordered to fully close during the lockdown, with the inclusion of financial institutions.

Nigeria, Africa’s largest producer of crude oil, has seen its revenue projection come under threat after oil prices slumped below $30 a barrel, lower than the government’s $57 target.

The global fight against the spread of coronavirus and a price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia are the catalysts of the lower oil price.

Meanwhile, history has shown that prolonged periods of depressed oil prices do not only push the Nigerian economy south but also affect the country’s real estate market.

Nigeria’s real estate sector was largely affected by the commodity price crisis of 2015/2016 which sent oil prices below $30 in early 2016. The sector is yet to recover from the 12-quarter recession it entered due to the meltdown.

Friday 03 April 2020

BUSINESS DAY

news Lagos selects Teksight Edge as technical partner on SDGs Volunteer Corps Jumoke Akiyode-Lawanson

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agos State government, through the Office of Sustainable Development Goals and Investment (Lagos Global), has concluded plans to launch the Lagos State Volunteer Corps, an initiative designed to encourage Lagosians to support efforts geared towards the attainment of the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Solape Hammond, special adviser to the Governor on Sustainable Development Goals and Investment, who made this known during an interactive session with the technical partners on the project, Teksight Edge and Zeno Lynk Technology Limited, noted that the state government sought to promote the use of short, medium and long term volunteering to sup-

port the development agenda of the state.

Explaining further, Hammond said the Lagos State Volunteer Corps would address the gaps in essential service delivery, provide an opportunity for people to give back to society, build positive community relations, and improve employability prospects of youths through job experience, among other noble objectives.

The initiative is informed by the desire of the government to leave no segment of the society behind in the development of the state by ensuring equal distribution of resources to meet their needs, she said.

According to Hammond, volunteering for a project of interest is easy and flexible and can be done online, real-time, through the website (lsvc.ng), adding that Online Volunteering allows the government to

tap into a wide range of skills and expertise as students, people in the Diaspora and others can volunteer from anywhere. The programme also targets retirees, people who are actively engaged in the labour market and people with disabilities.

“Government is seeking support from residents in Lagos to volunteer their time and get involved in any projects; education, environment, health, information technology, social work - any area that appeals to them as detailed in the T.H.E.M.E.S Agenda of the present administration”, Hammond said.

Speaking on the development, Charles Edosomwan, CEO of TekSight Edge Limited, said as an innovation-driven public relations agency the company deployed technology as much as possible to assist brands deliver value.

Covid-19: Enforcement team seals Chinese firm in Lagos Joshua Bassey

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nforcement team of Lagos State government has sealed a Chinese company for allegedly violating the presidential two weeks’ stay-at-home directive to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Covid-19 began in a Chinese city of Wuhan from where it spreads to other countries around the world.

Thecompany,SPNPackaging, located at Plot B, Israel Adebajo Close, Ikeja, was sealed alongside a brothel at 8, Omitola Panada, Street, Agege, for going against the government order to shut down.

The Lagos enforcement team is consist of Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) Lagos Safety Commission and the Rapid Respond Squad (RRS).

Lanre Mojola, director-general of the Lagos Safety Commission, speaking on the de-

velopment, Thursday, said the enforcement was carried out following a tip-off received from good-spirited individuals that some firms directed their workers to resume duties in flagrant disregard to the subsisting order to shut down their operations.

He described the non-compliance with the presidential directive by some organisations as unpatriotic, noting that the essence of the directive was to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in Lagos.

“In following one of the tipoffs to the factory of PSN, a Chinese packaging firm, the team discovered that some Chinese nationals and their Nigerian workers were inside the factory while production was ongoing, contrary to an earlier claim that the premises were empty.

“They were immediately directed to stop production before the company was eventually sealed,” said Mojola.

Condemning the action of the business owners that forced their employees to defy presidential directive, Mojola noted that the enforcement team would not be deterred by the antics of some selfish people who were determined to endanger the lives of others through their unbridled greed.

While revealing that the enforcement team also dislodged a group of over 50 commercial sex workers at Supreme Brothel before sealing off the premises, Mojola warned residents of the area to desist from patronising such crowded locations to prevent the spread of diseases, especially the lethal Coronavirus.

Speakingalso,DolapoFasawe, general manager of LASEPA, said the enforcement team had been receiving lots tip-offs from concernedcitizensabouttheactivities of some unscrupulous organisations contravening the lockdown directive in the state.

Covid-19: Edo mulls closure of borders to contain spread IDRIS UMAR MOMOH & CHURCHILL OKORO, Benin

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n a bid to slow the spread of Coronavirus disease (Covid-19), Edo State government says it may close its borders with neighbouring states if the need arises.

Patrick Okundia, the state commissioner for health, disclosed this on Wednesday at an on-the-spot assessment of the Edo State infections disease isolation centre in Stella Obasanjo Hospital, Benin City.

Okundia said the closure of borders was one of the plans to slow the spread of virus in the state.

“What we have is a partial lockdown but when it becomes

absolutely necessary we may take that decision for a complete lockdown.

“Knowing fully well that Edo state is bordered by many other states. So, if Anambra State lockdown its borders, Delta State also blocked their borders, they have also helped us blocked our borders. But when it becomes absolutely necessary our state government will take that decision”, he said.

Speaking on the isolation centre, the commissioner noted that the centre, ready for operation, was well equipped with 13 ventilators and capable of han-

dling any Coronavirus case.

While describing the isolation centre as a small facility with 12-bed capacity, he said that it was for six males and six females.

He further said the state government was not resting on its oars as a 28-bed capacity with two large wards and about four private wards was near completion.

“This centre has been ready for operationalisation for about three to four weeks now but the only thing is that we do not have any patient yet and currently all the personnel are undergoing training; so, today, tomorrow is facility training and they are all at the centre now”, he said.

NCAA suspends issuance, processing of Air Operating Certificate, others IFEOMA OKEKE

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he Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has suspending the issuance and pro cessing of Air Operating Certificate (AOC) and other related certificates as a result of the increasing spread of Covid-19.

In a letter dated April 1, signed by Musa Nuhu, director general, NCAA , and issued to stakeholders, the authority stated that inspections and audits paid for by clients were suspended until June 30, 2020.

The authority further stated that no applications or ongoing applications shall be processed durwww.businessday.ng

ing this period for Air Operator Certificates (AOC), Ap p rov e d Ma i n t e n a n c e Organisations (AMO), Aircraft Type Certificate Acceptance, Aircraft Registration and Related Matters, Modifications and Repairs, Airworthiness Certificates, Maintenance C learance Certificates (MCC), among others. https://www.facebook.com/businessdayng

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news Coronavirus: Broken health centres in villages...

Continued from page 1

Noimot Salako Oyedele (m), deputy governor of Ogun State, with Tomi Coker, commissioner for Health; Femi Ogunbanwo (3rd r), commissioner for special duties and intergovernmental affairs; Dimeji Osingunwa (2nd l), and other top government officials and Red Cross representative during the donation of 200 mattresses to Ogun State government by Mouka for coronavirus (COVID-19) isolation centres in Abeokuta.

Reprieve for Nigeria as oil prices jump ...

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tion of Petroleum Exporting Countries plus Russia and other unnamed countries.

The global oil price crash is setting up a bleak second quarter for many nations including countries like Nigeria whose economies are heavily dependent on oil receipts. Nigeria is particularly vulnerable. Its fiscal and monetary buffers are nonexistent today and it does not have capacity to join in the dog fight for market share following years of neglect and huge capital flight away from its oil industry.

So this comes as cheering news for Nigeria, already feeling the squeeze by the price war and the outbreak of coronavirus. Nigeria has offered its biggest export crude grades, Qua Iboe and Bonny Light, at a discount of $3 below the benchmark, yet it was struggling to find buyers for its April cargoes.

With lower oil revenue, the economy is reeling, squeezing resources to fight the pandemic and keep government0 functioning. The Federal Government has almost exhausted the excess crude account and external reserves have fallen below $36 billion, touching its lowest levels in 30 months.

This complicates the task of the Central Bank of

Nigeria which is trying to resuscitate the economy.

It had devalued the naira leaving official exchange rate at N360/$1 and it would change at N380 per dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) forex window.

The Federal Government has also reviewed downward the benchmark price of crude oil and cut 20 percent recurrent and capital expenditure of the budget to assuage fallen oil incomes.

If the agreements stick and output caps are restored, Nigeria will have resources to combat COVID-19, pay government workers and restart the economy after the pandemic is over.

The outsized nature of Nigeria’s government means that dwindling revenue has dire consequences for the economy as government’s inability to finance critical projects and make budgetary disbursement would shrink the economy and crimp private enterprises who rely on government contracts.

“The market is hoping that this US intervention will bring us closer to an agreement between Saudi and Russia in cutting production,” said CMC Markets analyst Margaret Yang, adding that bargain hunting is also lifting oil prices.

Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com, believes that talk of a truce in the oil price/supply war is lifting sentiment, but he “cannot help but sense a dead cat bounce”.

“Trump always claims he is close to a deal,” said Wilson, in a morning note.

“From what we can glean from the chatter, Russia is not raising output but the Saudis are not backing off and have increased output to record levels.”

Trump also said he had invited American oil executives to the White House to discuss revival measures which would aid the oil industry that is hurt by a slump in demand due to both the coronavirus outbreak and the price war.

The oil strategy meeting would include CEOs from Exxon, Chevron, Occidental Petroleum, Devon Energy, Phillips 66, Energy Transfer Partners and former Continental Resources CEO Harold Hamm, according to CNBC. The collapse in prices has threatened the once-booming US drilling industry with bankruptcies and significant layoffs and Washington has scrambled for ways to protect the sector.

With markets facing 15 million barrels per day (bpd) of oversupply in the second quarter and storage maxing out in April, extraordinary

curtailments of oil supply will be needed in May and June, said Kang Wu, head of Asia analytics at S&P Global Platts. Saudi Arabia supports cooperation between oil producers to stabilise the market but Russia’s opposition to a proposal last month to deepen supply cuts has caused market turmoil, a senior Gulf source familiar with Saudi thinking told Reuters.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia raised its oil production to its maximum level on Wednesday: above 12 million barrels per day. The world’s biggest oil exporter supports a deal for stabilisation, but production cuts would have to be shared among all oil producers, including Russia.

The Trump administration is pursuing several avenues to convince Riyadh and Moscow to back down from the price war.

Speaking at a government meeting on Wednesday, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said that both oil producers and consumers should find a solution that would improve the “challenging” situation of global oil markets.

Goldman sees around 20 million barrels a day flowing into storage in April, while IHS Markit expects the world will run out of space to store oil by the middle of the year.

How Nigerian companies, government can respond...

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the private sector is indeed committed to supporting the government in these trying times.

South Africa’s largest business association, Business Unity South Africa, is also coordinating largescale private-sector involvement in addressing both the health and economic aspects of the crisis. Individual

companies across sectors also have a critical role to play. Examples include beverage producers switching production lines to hand sanitiser; apparel manufacturers producing face masks and hospital robes; telecommunication companies adjusting their data offering; and banks adjusting tariffs.

Many companies have also made monetary contribu-

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tions to solidarity funds for the most vulnerable. According to McKinsey, more such commitment will be needed.

For government, McKinsey outlined five priorities in managing the impact of the virus on economic activity.

First is to set up national nerve centres.

Governments, with the close involvement of the private sector and other

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key stakeholders, need to take rapid action to set up or build out national nerve centres to coordinate and accelerate their response to the crisis. These nerve centres should bring together crucial leadership skills, organisational capabilities, and digital tools – giving leaders the best chance of getting ahead of events rather than reacting to them. @Businessdayng

snakes and termites now play host to daring visitors.

Most of the major pieces of equipment in the hospital have been stolen and the remaining items are being pilfered by thieves.

The immediate past government of Governor Rochas Okorocha in the state left that hospital and built another one at Amafor community in the LGA, yet the new hospital is also abandoned without any facilities.

Nigeria is already in the throes of the coronavirus pandemic, with over 170 people infected as at Thursday. While the government is doing its best to contain the spread of the virus, including a lockdown of Lagos, Abuja and Ogun State, there are fears that rural dwellers would have no defence if the virus hits villages.

“We are finished in this country if an outbreak occurs in the villages around here,” a 48-year-old nurse in Awara, another community in Ohaji LGA which also has no health centre, told BusinessDay during a visit.

Many communities in Africa’s most populous country have no hospitals at all and those with health centres have no doctors, bed spaces or facilities needed to treat patients.

The absence or terribly poor state of health centres and general hospitals in Nigeria’s rural areas puts the lives of 100 million villagers at risk should coronavirus pandemic spread to communities.

Available statistics show that 49.66 percent of Nigerians live in rural communities. Out of 30,000 health centres in Nigeria, only 10,000 are functional while the rest 20,000 are abandoned, leading to heavy traffic to the specialist hospitals, Isaac Adewole, former minister of health, said in May 2019.

The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) says the country has only 40,000 doctors in an estimated population of 200 million. There are four doctors to 1,000 patients in Nigeria, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

From South-East to SouthSouth, down to North-West and South-West, many communities do not have functional primary health centres and resort to self-medication when sick.

“The problem is that the hospitals, the facilities, the doctors are not there in rural areas,” Una Azih, a medical expert, said.

“Rural communities have many old people and a good number of them have health issues. This also puts them in danger should there be an outbreak,” he said.

Primary Health Centres

(PHCs) are established to provide accessible, affordable and available primary health care to people, in line with the Alma Ata Declaration of 1978

by WHO member nations.

They are supposed to be the first points of contact for most Nigerians. But they are barely available, and when available, one doctor who comes once in a week attends to villagers from three to five communities in a day.

Doyin Odubanjo, chairman, Association of Public Health Physicians of Nigeria, Lagos chapter, said there is a need to make the primary health centres functional so as to enable them to provide some level of services when needed.

Francis Faduyile, NMA president, said the solution to the problem of Nigeria’s health sector lies at the PHCs where the majority of Nigerians live.

“There is a need for the government to hasten its plans for the primary healthcare centres in area of prevention of many of the diseases that will cause more complications at the secondary level. So if we can meet it at the board, at the primary healthcare centre, it will improve it,” he said.

Roughly 95 percent of Nigerians are accessing health care through out-of-pocket payment to meet their health needs. Less than 5 percent of Nigerians are covered by National Health Insurance Scheme, according to a 2014 study by the World Bank.

Most rural communities have no good roads which makes access to doctors difficult. There is slow response to emergencies as doctors live in cities where there are electricity, water, and other basic infrastructure.

Health workers, especially those who will be deployed in rural communities in case of an outbreak, do not have insurance.

Umar Sanda, president, Healthcare Providers Association of Nigeria (HCPAN), believes that mandatory health insurance in Nigeria is the only way forward for health sector in the country.

“When you are on the health insurance scheme, it means you have prepared yourself for any unforeseen health issues, because your health insurance will take care of it when you are sick,” said Sanda recently.

Meanwhile, Lagos State Governor Babajide SanwoOlu on Thursday announced the release of 11 more coronavirus patients from its facility in Yaba.

In a tweet via his official handle @jidesanwoolu, the governor said the discharged patients have fully recovered and have tested negative to #COVID19 and have been allowed to return home to their families.

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A destiny among the nations (2) (Being the Concluding Part of a Lecture Given at the Haske Foundation Colloquium Held at Yar’Adua Conference Centre, Abuja, Saturday 21 March, 2020) THE NEW WEALTH OF NATIONS

Obadiah Mailafia

T

he late French agronomist, René Dumont, once lamented that African nations have no purpose. I would imagine he was starting from the premise that the majority of our countries emerged as colonial contraptions that did not follow the linear path of nation building and political evolution followed by the European Westphalian state. With regard to Nigeria, many commentators refer to “the mistake of 1914”.

My friend Tony Nnaji, a jurist of uncommon erudition, has made the valid point that the 1914 amalgamation did not involve any plebiscite or consultation with the peoples so affected.

It is self-evident that the British had no noble intentions in bringing us together. They did it for reasons linked to Weberian administrative rationality, including the need to build a wareconomy at the wake of World War I. The mysterious of hand of Providence is often at work in human affairs, as Cambridge historian Sir Herbert Butterfield has reminded us. And if Hegel’s Elements of the Philosophy of Right is anything to go by, I believe that the unseen hand of Fate was at work in the making of Nigeria.

Albert Einstein noted that “God does not play dice with the universe”. Nigeria is God’s biggest and perhaps most extravagant thought experiment. The Almighty was trying to explore how a country evenly split between Christians and Muslims and comprising more than 200 ethnic communities can live together as a prosperous democracy in our glorious continent of Africa.

It has been, if truth be told, a rather

costly experiment. During our tragic civil war, we lost more than 2 million souls. Since 1999, we have lost more than 100,000 from ethno-religious pogroms. The insurgency in the north east and the murderous herdsmen militias in the Middle Belt have unleashed terror on an unarmed and defenceless people; creating more than 3 million internally displaced persons (IDPs).

The human and material devastation are one thing; the other is the erosion of trust and destruction of the social capital that has hitherto held communities together in organic solidarity. We have become deeply fearful and suspicious of one another -- in the manner of ships that pass each other at night in the silences of the deepest ocean.

It is a fearful thing when members of the same community begin to view each other as enemies in the manner understood by the German political philosopher and jurist Carl Schmitt.

Conflict can exist between members of the same community. Among a free people, politics is the vehicle for resolving conflict and for the authoritative allocation of values. Between enemies there can be no politics but only war.

And a house divided against itself can never stand.

How do I speak about destiny in these frightful times of bitterness, fear and Coronavirus?

The Almighty meant Nigeria to be the leader of Africa and of the black race.

By 2030 our population is forecast to be 410 million. We will be the third most populous nation on earth, ahead of the United States and only behind India and China. If we can intelligently harness our natural resources, invest in our people and build the requisite infrastructures and enabling eco-system, there is no reason why we cannot become a world power in the coming half-century.

But it is clear that it will not happen automatically. There are world powers out there that are both scared and envious of our Nigeria’s rise. Late elder statesman Yusuf Maitama Sule, revealed what one of the Western leaders told them when the then Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, sent himself

and Shehu Shagari as emissaries to seek assistance in prosecuting the civil war: “We know why you are here, you have come to seek our favour and support for your cause. But let me tell you, we do not care about you, all we care about are your resources. If we could get robots to exploit your resources for us to develop our economy, we would not mind a lot of you being eliminated.

You Nigerians are a peculiar case; you have the population (and) resources; and we know your resources more than you do know about them. All you need in Nigeria is a fairly long period of say ten to twenty years and you will be able to make it. You will become a very strong economy; will join the economic powers. But you need this period of uninterrupted peace and stability. But we will not allow it, because within that period, you will use your brains, and Nigeria has got brains.

You will work hard and you are hard-working people; you will exploit your resources and you have them in abundance and you will develop your economy. Developing your economy needs market and you have no problem with that because of your huge population, in addition, you will have the entire West African region as your market. If that happens, you will be a thorn in our flesh; we would lose our source of raw materials because you would be using them in your factories. We would lose our market because you will be the market and also get other markets in West Africa. So, even after your civil war, we would create one problem after the other for you so that you may not enjoy the peace and stability that will enable you develop and become such a strong country.”

The world is envious and fearful of Nigeria. We are a gifted people, with cultures that are as old as the Egypt of the Pharaohs. Our students consistently top their cohorts in world Ivy League institutions. We have a self-confidence that irritates a lot of people. Our energy and can-do spirit are second to none.

There is no telling what this country can be if only we have leadership of vision, courage and purpose.

But we cannot blame outsiders for

‘

If we can intelligently harness our natural resources, invest in our people and build the requisite infrastructures and enabling eco-system, there is no reason why we cannot become a world power in the coming half-century

all our misfortunes. We are, in fact, are our own worst enemies. Our disastrous policy choices and leaderships failures are more than enough to guarantee system collapse in the coming decade.

To avoid inevitable calamity, we must evolve a new governance ethos anchored on Enlightenment, social justice and development. We have no choice but to re-engineer our constitution and federal structure. The 1999 constitution is a piece of legal fiction, because we the people never sat anywhere to agree a new consociational compact. It was forged in the smoke-filled barracks of General Sani Abacha’s brutal and corrupt autocracy.

It is also self-evident that our federal structure, as currently constituted, is programmed to fail. Majority of the states could not possibly survive without federal handouts. Power must therefore be devolved to the regions. I propose five new regions: Sharia North; Yoruba West; Igbo East, Niger Delta; and Middle Belt.

Each region must be allowed to develop in accordance with its own cultural and ethno-religious mindset. The federal centre should focus mainly on national defence, foreign policy, customs and monetary economics.

Our Nigeria of today is a juggernaut without a soul – without collective purpose or direction. Our leaders are bereft of vision; governing on the basis of exclusion and narrow, sinister agendas. People who feel alienated and excluded will sooner or later rebel. The American political scientist, Barrington Moore Jr, famously observed that a scientific approach to human affairs must of necessity be anchored on the refusal to deal merely in hope. Things can only get worse if we continue on this sordid path. We need enlightened leaders who understand the clarion call of a higher destiny. It is the biggest task of nation building and statecraft for our generation.

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)

Covid-19 and teleworking

W

hen you talk about “rapidly changing times”, we are in it. These times are sweeping everybody along rapidly regardless of preparedness to be moved or preparedness to change.

I feel it will be remiss of me if I did not speak about this virus and how it has aided and or hindered work.

A few months back I was talking about the fact that the offices of the future will work more remotely than the old ones. I said then about how the millennial workers would prefer a more flexible way of working and that as such, they really could be anywhere on the globe and still deliver on their assignments. Then I said that this would clearly not be for all workers.

Amazing that we have almost all been forced to work remotely. I am sure you know that working remotely has come to stay. This is when many things will become obvious to each organisation. This new way of working is called teleworking.

Even though teleworking has been thrust upon us suddenly, management support is key to its success. According to the ILO, the effective management of teleworkers requires a resultsbased management approach. This involves identifying objectives, tasks, and milestones, and then monitoring and discussing progress

without overly burdensome reporting requirements.

Last article was talking about training on how to manage others working under you.

Delegation is one of the key components of supervisory training. Correct delegation includes the above. Knowing how and what to delegate and how to get the best results.

In this dispensation, many schools and day care facilities now closed, it is important to factor in some adjustments in performance targets for those teleworkers with care responsibilities.

However, this will not always be like this, the children will go back to schools even though this may take a while. Even if the teleworker does not have child care responsibilities, some target concessions should still be given because the home environment is not the same as the workplace.

Management should provide appropriate tools and training. This includes having access to appropriate equipment such as laptops and apps for teleworking, adequate tech support, and training for both managers and teleworkers. Given the real risk of social isolation that is associated with full-time teleworking, every effort should be made to help teleworkers stay connected with supervisors, colleagues and the organisation as a whole. This may not neces-

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sarily be fully in place right now because this covid-19 era came upon us all suddenly. They best that management can do should be done.

All parties need to be clear about the results that teleworkers are expected to achieve, their conditions of employment, hours of work and contactability, how to monitor progress and report results. For example, it is essential to set clear ground rules about when workers are or are not available for work – and then respect those rules. The fact that the worker is available does not mean you should call him or her at all hours.

The workers should be given the flexibility to do their work at the times and in the places that are most convenient for them, while remaining contactable during the normal business hours of the organisation only. This flexibility is essential for making telework effective because it allows teleworkers to schedule their paid work around their personal responsibilities. There will be personal responsibilities just because they are home.

I will give you the example of my daughter.

Working from home last week, she had to go with her dad to the hospital because he was unwell. I was in self isolation because I travelled and just came back. she was unavailable for some time during he work day and could not

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Olamide Balogun be contacted at the time but she finished her assignment on time even though not during work hours.

On the side of the employees, management needs to advice that them that it is essential for teleworkers to create their own personal strategies for effective management of the boundary between paid work and personal life.

This should include a dedicated workspace free from disruptions, and the ability to disconnect from work at specified times reserved for rest and personal life.

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

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Covid-19 and the conspiracy theories HumanAngle

Femi olugbile

O

n Friday 31st January 2020, this column made a first excursion into the domain of what has now become the most expensive, most dreaded, and most discussed topic all over the world. The piece was quaintly titled “From ‘the year of the pig’ to ‘the year of the rat’ – a new virus is born in Wuhan.” The story was about the emergence of a new disease in Wuhan, China, just as the Chinese were getting ready to celebrate the end of one year – astrologically known as “The Year of the Pig”, and the arrival of a New Year – “The year of the Rat”.

The general wisdom was that the virus had mutated in the animal host and “jumped” into a human victim, leading to the illness now known as COVID-19. Alternatively, a relatively benign version of the virus could have “jumped” from animal to man, and thereafter mutated into the killer virus we know within the human body. The animal “hosts” held in suspicion in this morbid traffic were bats and pangolins retailed at a popular “wet” market in Wuhan.

A lot of water has passed under the bridge since that time. Thousands of

Chinese have died. So have thousands of Italians, and Spaniards, and Americans, and other nationals. Much of the world’s population is in full or partial lock down. Economic activities have been virtually grounded in many of the world’s cities, and many countries are facing recession. Air traffic has been reduced to a trickle. There is an unmistakable smell of fear in the air.

It is a situation the like of which nobody can remember. Natural and manmade catastrophes tend to be localised – an earthquake here, a tsunami, even a shooting war. COVID-19 has rattled the entire planet. And it is not over yet.

A rash of conspiracy theories have been spawned to explain and understand the disease.

One of the early conspiracy theories was widely circulated in a gripping video. It showed a Chinese anchor speaking in a rush of excitement, to a background of gory images that purported to come from Wuhan. The locked-down city looked like a ghost-land. The only people visible were grim-looking figures covered head to toe in white protective clothing. They were spraying everything in sight from massive geysers. They did not look like health workers sanitizing the environment.

Rather, they resembled an extermination squad going about its unsavoury business. The camera panned to a set of rooms in the distance. The anchor disclosed that citizens of Wuhan who were ill with the virus were locked away in these rooms without any treatment or food. At a point, out of sight, there was the sound of gunshots. The implication was clear. China was culling its citizens, committing mass murder on an industrial scale. Perhaps it was trying to reduce its population drastically.

Something very sinister, very evil, was going on in Wuhan.

Other conspiracy theories spread rapidly, principally on WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram, especially as the virus began to spread rapidly across international borders. The virus was really a biological weapon, created in the laboratory by the Americans, and deliberately exported to China to cause havoc. The proponents of this cited as evidence the fact that an international military sports competition recently took place in the Wuhan province, to which America sent a large contingent who won no medals. These soldiers, the story said, had deliberately released the virus into the densely populated market.

Yet another theory had it that the Chinese developed the virus and were planning to export it as part of a trade war with the USA, which had seen the Americans imposing tariffs and victimizing the Chinese innovation flagship, Huawei.

As the devastation of the rampaging virus increased world-wide alarm, more elaborate religious and political angles came into the conspiracy theories. The symptoms of the virus were really an immune reaction induced by the effect of 5G radiation. China, as everyone knew, was an outlier in 5G technology.

One popular explanation laid it all at the feet of the “Illuminati” – a shadowy sect out to manipulate and control the world. The danger was not the fever and cough, they averred. The real danger was in the vaccine, which had been stockpiled and would be compulsorily inflicted on the population when everybody was ill enough. A microchip would be implanted in eve-

‘

In moments of great social Anxiety, it is a wellknown fact of Psychology that the human mind suspends rational logic, leading even the most intelligent of the species to think and act in bizarre ways.

It is difficult otherwise to fathom how anyone could believe a microchip could be embedded in a vaccine

ryone through vaccination, fulfilling the prophecy in the Book of Revelations.

People were warned not to allow themselves or their families to be vaccinated.

Big names were involved in the plot.

Hillary Clinton was The Witch. Barack Obama was neck deep in the plot. The current Pope was the anti-Christ who wanted to tear up the laws in the Bible to satisfy popular sentiment. Only one man stood against the tide of this terrible plot. Donald J Trump.

One widely shared message from a Nigerian man with an American accent declared that COVID-19 was a plot to keep Trump from winning a second term in office. But the great man was standing firm. If the epidemic got so devastating elections could not be held in October, he would automatically rule for another four years, concluding his mission of holding the fort.

In moments of great social Anxiety, it is a well-known fact of Psychology that the human mind suspends rational logic, leading even the most intelligent of the species to think and act in bizarre ways. It is difficult otherwise to fathom how anyone could believe a microchip could be embedded in a vaccine. In any case, it is common it is public knowledge that no vaccine against Covid-19, funded by Bill Gates or any other “culprit” has yet been made, tested and approved.

None of such reasoning will dissuade the believers of conspiracy theories, especially as long as COVID-19 continues to cause havoc all over the world. And as long as DJT continues to loom large on the political landscape everywhere.

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

Corporate lockdowns: Managing teams and performance remotely

S

ince panic is not a strategy, it’s time for innovation!

First of all, if you are the MD of a small business, I believe you have just paid your staff before or right about now, especially for us living in cities on lockdown, just so they can also stock up their households too.

It’s only fair that way. This lockdown should be around for at least a month. But first, I think you should first have a “moment of clarity” meeting with your team by given them work condition options just when you are paying them for this month that is about to end.

Depending on the nature of your business and how solid your finances are, the options should be that they can go on an indefinite break henceforth without pay pending when the pandemic ends or they can work remotely with pay but with clear cut terms for their next salary. If you’re to still have a business with jobs, I will strongly suggest that payment should be done by performance. This brings me to today’s article. It’s on Managing Work and Performance remotely. Let’s explore the steps.

Performance and parameters for working from home should be spelt out. Since activity is not productivity, focus on outcomes and not activities. Communicate and supervise regularly. I think it’s best and mutually beneficial to both the employees and employers to make it a case of Management by Objectives (MBO).

Choose and define your virtual team and communication technology. You can either use a mere WhatsApp Group, Active Collabo software, Time Doctor App (for remote screen monitoring) or Slack backed by shared Google Drive for data storage and file sharing. And then you can use one of the free virtual meeting softwares like Zoom, Free Webinair app

or Google Hangout for videos and the likes of Trello and Bitrix 24 for task and project management. Bigger teams can see how scalable their ERPs are.

As regards monitoring your team, esepcially their work and performance, let me suggest the following Hexavian Business Tips: 1. Have a daily virtual check in and check out routine systemized (just like they do in the office). Also once a document or information is shared on your virtual platform or WhatsApp group, there should be an acknowledgment of all documents sent in on your virtual platforms (that’s really the only way you can know that they are still working and following up on task).

2. Activate more aggressively the adherence to weekly reports: a template of that weekly report should be developed by you or the HR (it must contain a column for all that was achieved last week, what is to be achieved the coming week. This should be on a unit-by-unit basis). With this, the heads of unit can submit it to a general grid or make shift dashboard and they can also track who is doing what and what happens and how well it was done afterwards.

Reports are a key part of strategic management (generally broken into formulation, implementation and evaluation). Generally, reports (whether daily or weekly reports) are professional statements that help the team quantify daily/weekly or any timeframe duration directed at implementing strategy. In other words, it helps management see how hard you strive to make productivity and growth happen and what they need to do to help you achieve the target. Sometimes, it may also include ways you think the company can contribute to your goals.

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3. Let everyone send in their Daily Reports: Also, beyond weekly unit reports as stated above, individually from henceforth will need a daily report on what was done the previous day and to be achieved the current day. It must be sent by the the start of the day.

A detailed report of your daily activities serves as your own VISION BOARD – the more detailed it is, the more sense it makes, the clearer your goal. It helps you see what you have achieved in a day, what you spent your time doing, how much time you spent doing it and if it actually contributes to the overall goal of your team.

You can easily spot out your challenges and work on them. It makes you more effective and your growth becomes “like light from a lamp that cannot be covered”. Build an intellectual team, that also documents processes and submits reports. Set goals/targets and meet them daily. Find joy in being an achiever. Stay safe 2. Have a logistics/delivery team (maybe outsourced). I will suggest two optional dispatch delivery firms to ensure smooth logistics of orders.

3. Have more budgets for digital marketing, especially for Instagram marketing this period. More people are likely to be home and will access the Internet and social media more. This is the best to engage people actually. More sales can come from this part. If you run a retail store that delivers essential products and services, you may need to consider setting up a select few personnel you may call the “essential team” in your store (you can give those a “Hazard allowance” to motivate them if necessary. They are mainly to process/prepare stocks for delivery. They can be supported through 1.Teleconferencing person(s) from home to take orders, manage

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EIZU UWAOMA

transactions and enquiries. Communiqués and posts can be placed at shop floor doors redirecting customers online ( and that you are still open to take orders and deliver) when you have to shut down..

4. A sales and enquiry reporting templates that the “essential” back office guys can monitor. This brings me to recalibrating work processes for back office people.

5.Set targets and penalties: targets should be numerical and timeline based. And penalty should clearly state consequences on what happens whenever this is failed. Rewards should also be given on exceptional performances. “` In other news, always remember that panic is not a strategy. Try to stay off too much news and social media. More importantly, stay calm, stay hydrated, healthy fit and sanitised and positive. I look forward to helping you and your teams in creating the best framework to manage productivity for your operations while you all are working from home this season.

We have a special and affordable consulting package for this. Keep your business going and growing while everyone is indoors. Feel free to chat me up this season.

Uwaoma is a start-up, corporate restructuring and strategy consultant. contacteizu@gmail.com

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Friday 03 April 2020

BUSINESS DAY

Editorial Frank Aigbogun

Making the most of the lockdown for citizens

editor Patrick Atuanya

These times demand large-heartedness from individual and corporate citizens

Publisher/Editor-in-chief

DEPUTY EDITOR John Osadolor, Abuja 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

N

igerians entered this Monday the first week of the lockdown declared across the country.

It commenced on Thursday 26 March in most states. The call is on all citizens to stay home to curtail the spread of the coronavirus.

Many issues arise from the near-total shutdown of the civic space. A government order has compelled business and social activities to collapse. Everyone agrees that it is for a good cause, citing instances in countries such as Italy. However, the price for this prize differs from country to country and from one location to the other even in the same country.

We commend the proactivity of most state governments following the unprofessional delay of the federal government. That delay allowed many officials to travel to Covid-19 afflicted countries and to return with the infection that they have now spread across the country. The nation would have to address the irresponsibility of its elite some

other time.

A primary concern now is how citizens forced to stay home can make the most of the experience.

While they observe social distancing, citizens must remember to ensure there is social caring and social connection. Our culture speaks to the imperative of caring for one another in all conditions.

What can we do? There are many approaches, tried and tested in some climes, that Nigerians can adapt to meet the needs of the moment. The underlying principle is the need to ensure that Nigerians look out for each other in their various communities.

The background is that as the state governments forced shutdowns, not one of them spoke of how citizens would manage the process. Indeed, many state governments forced economic deprivation on small scale operators of many private sector businesses such as transporters, restauranteurs and others who depend on daily earnings. There was no mention of any palliatives.

These times demand large-

heartedness from individual and corporate citizens. We need more corporate social investments in the provision of health facilities such as GTB, Access Bank and others have done. We also need the collaboration of philanthropists with corporates to deliver structured assistance to citizens and communities.

Relief funds. Banks, insurance companies and similar organisations should consider alliances with unions to provide relief funds for those rendered out of work by the current measures.

Food banks. We need to cultivate the habit of providing food banks where the poor can turn to for meals. A few entrepreneurs have attempted this in the past in Nigeria. Many high net worth Muslims also practice this as a stipulation of their faith. We now need to go beyond this and create food banks in the inner cities to assist citizens to overcome the physical challenges of the period.

Remote teaching. Many students at primary and secondary school levels rushed home without taking their qualifying examinations.

Professionals forced to stay at home should assist with teaching services of not more than 15 enrolees in each case. Utilise the period productively to the benefit of your community and mankind.

Shared infrastructure. Organisations have compelled many knowledge workers to work from their homes. As with the governments, however, many employers did not make any provisions for how such workers can do so. The fact is that many cannot be productive given the failings of providers of power, data and telecommunications as well as costs. We enjoin citizens with a little extra to open services such as data to others through arrangements. Some of these are easier to do within estates and similar closed communities. Dedicated efforts will show the way.

Necessity being the mother of invention, we look forward as a medium to report positive developments and initiatives that communities and citizens would lead this period. Buzz us with your news. Let’s make the most of the challenge.

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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Covid-19 and a casual nation Tales from the main road

Eugenia Abu

I

t is important to truly get into it and say those things about us that most people are polite about. As a people we tend to take alarm bells rather casually. So they say don’t use that bridge, it is 90 percent gone. We are going to first of all deploy our democratic right to use it and apply intellectual rigour to the rest of it. Although a professor of political history, we shall apply our academic prowess to the bridge and dare anyone who says it’s not strong to come forward.

In fact, if perchance we were on the committee that was part of building it ten years ago, we shall speak a lot of English on the political histrionics of the bridge and how the powers in the state are working assiduously to fix it and how it is safe. In fact, on a full blown television interview, we will praise the state government for its steadfastness and assure the state citizens of the safety of the bridge. Yet we are not Engineers.

Two weeks later, the bridge will fall on pedestrians and careless Nigerians who take no heed and also poor Nigerians who spoke no English and had no choice. Visits will be paid to the families of the deceased. Compensations will be touted and then we move on. We are neither a people of deep analysis nor a people of data and therein lies our tragedy.

That Nigeria has quite a number of very intelligent people in sub Saharan Africa does not change that fact. With our brilliant minds we still tend to believe in ourselves, ignore science and often times live in the rumour mill. Our self-entitlement and ostrich behaviour does not help matters.

Enter the Coronavirus. Wash your hands… we act like we cannot hear.

Sanitise… like what? All of a sudden there are all kinds of emulsions popping up. We are now selling cream mixed with groundnut oil and “kain -kain” to our citizens and we call it sanitiser. Last week I walked into a facility where I was offered hand sanitiser that felt like glue. After I left, I felt like my hands were dirtier than when I went in and had to scrub and scrub before I had some peace of mind.

All over the internet are fly by night doctors and experts in Coronavirus. Everyone is speaking at once and those addicted to social media including mischief makers are everywhere giving idiotic advice and reposting what they do not know anything about. I have also seen people refusing to heed government advise and acting like, Hey I am Covid -resistance. My friend, get indoors and stay there if you have nothing doing on the street.

At first everyone thought it was a joke or that Nigeria is immune and yet our people are some of the most travelled citizens of any black nation in the world. We are everywhere returning from everywhere so now most of our Covid-19 cases are imported. Sad. Very Sad. But what about those of us who did not go anywhere minding our business this side of the divide. After that index case, we could have immediately begun to shut down entries. Now we have no choice but to stay home and stay safe.

About a week ago, I went to the bank and the bankers were tearing their hair out just trying to get Nigerians to stay a few metres away from each other but like everything else we felt like if we moved away from the man in front of us on the queue, someone will get in the space for social distancing. So my compatriots stood resolute behind each other within breathing space of each other.

To tell you the truth, I fled the bank.

People stood against each other like sardines. It was a spectacle. In other public spaces, coughing people do not care and cough on everyone. In other parts of the world they would employ citizen’s arrest, mob action or call the police and shove the coughing fellow out of the premises.

Even the service spaces like supermarkets and banks did not think it wise to have a health check officer whose duty it is to send snivelling, sneezing and coughing persons out of the promises. A day before lockdown ago my daughter came home with a hilarious story. A coughing citizen who did not care about others was coughing all over the place at a pharmacy she was about leaving.

You heard right, a pharmacy. Then staff of the pharmacy began to offer everyone some hand sanitiser. Really? I was as crazily amused as you all are. My daughter asked them as she fled. How does hand sanitiser help anyone who is inhaling this man’s cough. They did not shove him. What kind of silly politeness is that? Then add the sanitiser. How bizarre!

I also hear that in this lockdown regime, some persons are insistent on infecting others and most are religious leaders and others who insist on marrying in the time of Covid and gathering crowds. These people have been shut down by security personnel. Then there are those who do not believe. I am at my

‘

It is time for us to be selfdisciplined and do as we have been told.

The health minister has been doing his best. Listen to the authorities, do as you have been told.

The centre for disease control has its updates and are doing their best. Pay attention and the Presidential task force has also joined

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

Your business and the storms

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he other day someone asked why I was so calm and seemingly unflappable in these crazy COVID times.

I smiled.

Am I concerned? Of course I am. But you see, when you decide to venture into business, it would be remiss and even naïve to think that it will always be rosy. As a matter of fact, if you are truly doing business, then you must know that it is a constant battle. Agitations, tantrums and nervous breakdowns don’t help you through. The calm helps you assess and make the important next steps.

Understanding that the environment of business is flux filled, discerning business owners conserve as much as they can when the going is good, because there will be times when the reserves will be needed to tide over the storms. The storms do not last forever. The mistake is to eat all you have in a particular period because you believe you will make the same amount or even more in the next period. This is another reason why as accountants we are always preaching budgeting.

You see, if it wasn’t COVID-19 today, it

could have been something else. It could have been an unprecedented invention making your product or service obsolete, it could have been death of key stakeholders in the business, it could have been an adverse government policy, it could have been anything.

After COVID-19, there will be many more storms! That is the environment of business.

It is as unpredictable as it is enabling.

Now that you are faced with COVID-19, and you were totally unprepared, what do you do?

Your first action is not to fire your staff!

This, in my opinion, is always the easy way out. The reason why I never subscribe to this as a first resort is that there are other elements to your total expenses. You do not want to give the impression to your work-force that human resource is dispensable, because when the storm is over, you will not attract the right kind of talent, seeing that your bad reputation now precedes you. In dealing with human resource, you need to know that whatever strategies for growth you want to execute, you will need the right kind of human resource to implement them. Making your staff priority www.businessday.ng

during the storm is how you consolidate for growth in the aftermath. It is true you may have to explain delays in payment, but it is only a temporary situation.

Salary is just one item in your Statement of Profit or Loss. You need to know what the other components of your total expenses are, then make the decision to cut down as much of them as possible in the coming months. For instance, if you are still thinking of spending on a huge vacation later this year, you need to scale down that plan considerably and plough that money into multiplying revenue and consequently net profit.

Also, now may be the time to evaluate your inventory position and set a plan in motion to clear out all slow moving items by cutting down selling price. You need the cash to be injected into fast moving items.

Yes it is a temporary loss, but you recover it by turning around that freed up money as much as possible.

After the storm, you need to expand your playing field. You have stored up energy in the lock-down, so you need to run as fast as you can, collaborating with individuals and

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wits end. With pictures from all over the world? Merde!

I have been wondering why some returnees who claim to be big men and women who failed to submit themselves for temperature tests have not been arrested or those who returned and failed to self-isolate.

A lot of this boils down to how we believe money can be thrown at everything and how undisciplined we can be. Well, in the event you have not heard, Coronavirus knows no friend, knows no status and takes no prisoners.

It is time for us to be self-disciplined and do as we have been told.

The health minister has been doing his best. Listen to the authorities, do as you have been told. The centre for disease control has its updates and are doing their best. Pay attention and the Presidential task force has also joined. Listen! Listen! And report yourself if you are not feeling well. This is not the time for parties or that girlfriend or that roadside fish. Stay home. Learn more about your wife, spend time with your husband. Learn about your children and let your children try and understand their parents! I know we are a communal nation, we hug, we shake hands, we touch each other’s cheeks. No more. We can do this and only together can we succeed. Let us not allow anyone give us a bad name to hang us. We did it with Ebola, we can do this! And don’t carry rumours, you will hurt someone and it could be your family.

In the middle of all of this, Nigerians can still laugh at themselves. The coronavirus humour is unflappable.

Stay safe everyone and this too shall pass. Amen.

Jovita Madojemu

businesses that will give you a wider reach and make as much money as possible, so you can conserve it!

Remember, there will always be storms, so do not eat all of your harvest! The saddest thing that can happen is for you to forget this lock-down period in a hurry and repeat the same mistakes of not conserving for the rainy day.

Multiply and conserve. That should be what we keep in the fore of our mind going forward.

It is okay if you have lost income now. A temporary loss of income is not the end of your business. What you must do is to keep your mind alert and prepared for the next open window. Then you must run as fast as you can, because there will be another storm yet. It’s business; what else did you expect?

Cheers to immortalizing your business!

@Businessdayng

14

Friday 03 April 2020

BUSINESS DAY

AgriBusinessInsight Market Insights

Analysis

Commentaries

Experts/Industry Views

Commodities watch

Policy Reviews

Send in Commentaries to caleb.ojewale@businessdayonline.com

Poultry industry at risk of collapse over lockdown, farmers lament Stories by CALEB OJEWALE Twiiter: @calebtinolu

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h e Pou l t r y A ss o ciation of Nigeria is lamenting what it describes as negative impacts of various actions by some state governments, which are adversely affecting the poultry industry and ability of producers to meet the dietary requirements of Nigerians.

A statement by Ezekiel Ibrahim, PAN president, noted that restrictions of inter-state movement of vehicles by various state governments would worsen the food and protein supply required for healthy living by Nigerians especially as food is considered an essential item for human health and survival.

While the poultry body says it is in support of the Federal Government on “all measures taken so far to improve the health and economy of the nation and to curtail the further spread of the deadly virus”, it however wants movement of poultry products and inputs to be accorded ease of passage as an essential service.

The poultry association further stated the industry risked

collapsing if urgent steps are not taken to remove the restriction on the movement of vehicles conveying critical poultry like Day-Old-Chicks (DOCs), Meat and Eggs, Poultry feeds and drugs, which are daily needed by all Nigerians. According to the body, the poultry industry, which is on the path of becoming the mainstay of the Nigerian livestock industry, is becoming unstable and “might be com-

pletely destroyed”.

Ibrahim in the statement, also said PAN has been trying to communicate the close relationship between food producing companies that are considered system relevant and other sectors that are tightly connected and without which the food supply chain cannot be sustained.

“It is important to relax and make flexible, the rules that

restrict movement of all kinds of vehicles” he said, while appealing to Government at the Federal and State levels to adjust the regulations to allow transports - trucks and buses carrying inbound supplies or outbound products of food, chicken and Day-Old- Chicks (Docs) and other FMCG products. He however noted that these trucks must have means of identification to enable law

enforcement agencies identify them easily.

Government (at all levels) was implored to consider the plight of poultry farmers, by relaxing the restrictions on movement of vehicles for all means of transportation carrying Day-old-chick (Docs), and Eggs. In addition, poultry feeds, input and any other production inputs like Maize, Soyabeans and Offals for the continued production of poultry products, emphasising “poultry is food and therefore should be considered as essential items and services”.

In addition to the request that movement is eased, the poultry association also implored the Government to consider granting some palliatives to Egg and Day Old chicks producers who are unable to sell their chicks, eggs and feeds as a result of the lock down caused by the measures already taken by some state governments in restricting inter-state transport movement. Not left out are the input suppliers and other category of farm service providers who are critical to the food security survival of the country, and have become adversely affected.

Understanding how to trade agriculture commodities like stocks using ComX

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rowd funding platforms in agriculture emerged a few years ago and many individuals have been turning to them as a way of investing in the sector. However, when AFEX commodities launched ComX about two weeks ago, it presented yet another way of investing in agriculture, one the company emphasises is not in any way crowd funding.

For instance, as an individual, one could go on ComX and buy Maize or Soya Bean on the spot market. When a person (or entity) buys those products, the transaction occurs at a certain price. The prices of those commodities however change daily based on demand and supply (just as share prices on the stock exchange). Therefore, in three months time, such an individual could sell that product and then make or lose money based on the price changes. “It works exactly like the stock market,” said Ayodeji Balogun, country manager for AFEX Commodities Exchange Limited in an interview.

When the app is downloaded on a device, even without committing funds, there is access to a demo account that allows users to interact with the platform and trade without actually

putting in money.

This is expected to provide a prospective investor some measure of knowledge and market understanding, as well as those of the function of the app.

This, the company expects will guide prospective users and then ensures they have a smooth user experience while using the platform. “One of the things that we push in ComX is to put the user at the centre of the design of the system,” said Balogun. This he says is to ensure that investment “has a soul and has an emotional connection” but also for users www.businessday.ng

to be able to connect and trace it directly to the impact they are creating in terms of food security for the nation, and empowering lives of smallholder farmers.

As the system works like a stock market, users can of course lose money. Balogun explains any user on the platform is investing against price appreciation and depreciation. Therefore, if prices move against them, they will lose money. However, if prices are appreciating, such users will equally make money, depending on the commodities they

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have invested.

He however explained that, understanding that Nigeria is a country where agriculture is predominantly rain fed, and where grains are produced around the same time. It implies demand both peaks and declines around the same time that can be easily deduced. This, he says makes it easy to manage risks when trading on the platform.

In a three-year average comparison, Balogun says it was discovered that returns on the AFEX All Commodities Index (ACI) was 19 percent as compared with 4 percent on the All Share Index (ASI) of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, describing the ACI as an investment capable of giving about five times what the ASI would return.

Differentiating itself from crowd funding or other unregulated schemes, Balogun had explained that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) subjects the company, first to regulation, since AFEX is part of the capital market structure in Nigeria. Second is the balance sheet requirements for it as an entity plus the size and robustness of its field operations that back it, making it stand out in terms of credibility, operational @Businessdayng

efficiency and capacity to scale.

The third attribute, as he explained is an important element of an exchange, which pertains to fungibility of assets; that is, ability to transfer ownership among players. When a person buys a treasury bill or a company’s stock, they can always transfer the ownership to any other entity very easily and very efficiently. It does not have to be held for a long term from the beginning to the end, or as Balogun describes it “be stuck with it like what you will find in crowd funding”. The platform allows players to come in and invest in assets that are listed and traded, and also allowing exit at will.

The platform also has physical products stored (in its network of warehouses), with Balogun asserting these are very well wrapped around with “several risk guarantee mitigants and world class collateral management system”. These he says are attributes required by regulation to give investors protection.

“For us to bring this to the market, it is a very rigorous process that we have to go through, and where SEC has to be assured that everything we are doing conforms with regulations,” he said.

Friday 03 April 2020

BUSINESS DAY

FINTECH News

Products Review

15

In association with

Technology Review

Personality Review

Company Review

Nigeria grows mobile money accounts amid delay of PSB licences FRANK ELEANYA

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igerians opened more mobile money accounts in 2019 than any other year, according to a new report from GSMA. This is despite the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) delaying the full participation of mobile network operators (MNOs) with the issue of Payment Service Banks (PSBs) licence.

MNOs are said to be the key to expanding access to financial services to over 40 million excluded Nigerians, according to the World Bank Findex Report.

Also important to note that MNOs were largely responsible for the growth of mobile money recorded in 2019. In that year, the number of registered mobile money accounts reached 1.04 billion.

The 2019 State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money released in March by GSMA, showed that sub-Saharan Africa is the epicenter of mobile money adding over 50 million registered accounts to take its total to 469 million in 2019.

The transaction value was at $456.3 billion representing 27.5 percent of the $690 billion transacted globally last year.

The region’s dominance also reflects in transaction volume and value as sub-Saharan Africa accounted for over 60 percent of the $690 billion transacted through mobile money services last year.

Although East Africa remained the capital of mobile money activities accounting for 53 percent of total accounts in 2019, West Africa saw strong growth recording 21 million new accounts representing 35 percent while Central Africa sae 6 million new accounts - about 10 percent.

The GSMA predicts that

adoption across sub-Saharan Africa will remain strong and that the region will surpass the half billion mark by the end of 2020.

The Nigerian Central Bank is yet to issue PSB licences to MNOs, however, last year it issued a super agent licence to MTN and an approval in principle for a PSB licence to

Gloworld and 9Mobile.

Unlike other MNOs, MTN has since put its super agent licence to some use. The telco began offering mobile money transfers through its agent network in August 2019 after receiving it’s licence.

But without a PSB licence there is a great limit to telcos’ participation in the mobile money space. A PSB licence allows the MNOs to offer payments and remittance services, issue debit and prepaid cards, deploy ATMs and other technology-enabled banking services.

In countries like Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire where MTN is permitted to offer full mobile money services, the company was able to launch its Homeland remittance service in 2019, facilitating money transfer between Europe and Africa. Consequently, remittances can be sent via the MTN Homeland app on iOS or Android to mobile money accounts in six markets (Cameroon, Congo, Ghana, Guinea, Rwanda and Uganda).

The interoperability this service provides, enables customers to transact with more users across more use cases.

As a result, MTN users in these countries were able to plug into the $7.3 billion mobile money-enabled international remittances processed in 2019.

Nigeria’s delay of PSB licence also means it is missing out on the MTN Group’s open MoMO API programme available in seven countries.

Benin, Cameroon, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Uganda and Zambia benefited from the programme which fosters innovation and enhance financial inclusion More than 3,700 developers have already registered in the programme, driving millions of digital transactions.

As the coronavirus pandemic brings Nigeria’s most populous state Lagos, its capital Abuja and Ogun to a grinding halt, mobile money would likely be the most preferred channel for payment.

However, with MNOs playing at the fringes, the impact may likely not go deep enough.

With the MNOs over 180 million voice subscribers it would have been easy to enable access to financial services to millions of Nigerians thereby deepening financial inclusion.

How online lenders can ease pressure on borrowers amid coronavirus FRANK ELEANYA

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hese are not the best of times to be an online lender nor a borrower.

With countries and economies around the world mostly on forced lock down, households and individuals’ primary income and emergency funds are under severe pressure.

A prolonged stay-at-home could see personal funds run out and demand for loans skyrocket.

Traditional bankers are already seeing the potential of huge loan default rates. As of Tuesday, the National Center for Diseases Commission (NCDC) said it

has confirmed 139 coronavirus cases and it is still contacting thousands of potential cases.

In view of this, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) granted a further moratorium of one year on all principal repayments of its intervention funds, effective March 31, 2020, being part of measures to contain the impact of Covid-19.

The CBN also granted Deposit Money Banks leave to consider temporary and timelimited restructuring of the tenor and loan terms for businesses and households most affected by the outbreak, particularly oil and gas, agriculture and manu-

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facturing.

Unlike traditional banks, online lenders which are much smaller may consider the CBN measure as a big step that could have a major impact in the future of their businessi postcoronavirus.

But failure to act may not only increase the chance of higher default rates which puts the lenders at greater risk, it is critical to future customer and employee relationships, and could also damage public image if not well handled.

There are ways online lenders can help customers: Short term flexibility in

loan repayment.

Carbon, former Paylater told BusinessDay that it is adjusting its maximum loan amount from N1 million to N500,000 in hope that this reduces borrowers’ exposure to large loans and also ensures that the lender is able to help as many people as possible during the period.

Apart from announcing it’s staff will work remotely to continue to provide seamless service, Carbon appears to be the first and only online lender so far to proactively take steps to cushion the impact of the virus on its customers.

Most other lenders have

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only publicly promised their borrowers that services will be uninterrupted despite working remotely.

But beyond capping maximum loans, flexibility in repayment could go a long way in showing customers that a lender truly cares. Best Egg, a US credit firm, set up a page with links offering a number of payment options to help affected borrowers, including waive late fees and two-month loan extensions.

Offer to help While a loan moratorium could be a long stretch, the coronavirus crisis does present an opportunity for online lenders

@Businessdayng

to put on their CSR cap. Lenders can post helplines on company homepages, and communicate options via company servicing portals.

NetCredit, another US lender, put out a list of questions about the coronavirus to its FAQ page, noting that affected customers can adjust their due dates or apply to refinance their loans to reduce their payments.

These actions to help consumers have consequences for the bottom lines of lenders, but so it’s waiting for borrowers to do the “right” thing when current situation is pushing them to the wall.

16

Friday 03 April 2020

BUSINESS DAY

COMPANIES & MARKETS

Company news analysis insight

Markets

MTN, BUA shares reverses to IPO price as coronavirus selloffs deepen … Airtel shares now trading below IPO price IFEANYI JOHN

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TN Nigeria a n d B UA Cement shares have reversed to their Initial Public Offering (IPO) price of N90 and N35 respectively as Airtel Africa shares is now trading below IPO price as coronavirus selloffs deepens.

MTN made history when it became the first mobile operator to list on the Nigerian bourse, becoming the second largest company on the exchange in terms of market capitalization.

The investor excitement bore out a desire to own a piece of the country’s biggest telecommunication company set the stage for a spike in the telco’s share price.

The high demand for the scarce MTNN shares led to a rise in the value of the stock by 20% in just two days of trading and 60% on the fourth day. On the sixth day the stock peaked rising from its IPO price of N90 to

trade at N149 per share.

The entry of the Telco giant raised some eyebrows with public investors and stakeholders reportedly alleging market manipulation speculating that either

shares were being hoarded to propel a higher share price before any share offering through an IPO or that the Exchange was conniving with existing shareholders of the company to

avoid releasing larger share volumes for trading.

H o w e v e r, s i n c e t h e outbreak of the coronavirus in Nigeria, MTNN has dropped about 28 percent from N125 on January 24 to

N90 on March 30, reversing all gains earned since the company’s IPO. Investors fear that with the continued increase in total number of confirmed ca s e s a n d t h e c ou nt r y

From left: Representative of Baale of Ajah, Babatunde Ashafa; head, client experience, commercial banking, Ecobank Nigeria, Temitope Wilcox; Oba Hafeez Olakunle Badru, Elejigbo of Lamgbasa; Head, Branch Network, Ecobank Nigeria, Titi Olarinde; chairman, Eti Osa Indigenous Forum, Abideen Lawal and regional head, Lagos Island, Ecobank Nigeria, O’tega Odjegba at the flag off of Ecobank’s customer service week at Ado Badore branch, Ajah, Lagos.

nearing a total lock down, analyst foresee the stock dropping even further as a slowdown in economic activities weigh on stock performance in the country.

BUACEMEM, the third largest company on the bourse by market capitalization also traded at its IPO price of N35 yesterday reversing all gains. BUACEMEN since the coronavirus outbreak in Nigeria has dropped 700 basis point to trade at N35.30k on the March 30 2020.

Meanwhile, AIRTELAF another newly listed company on the Nigeria Stock Exchange traded below IPO price at market close on March 30 2020, having dropped 37 percent since it peak on the first day of trading at N399.30k. The fourth largest company by market capitalization on the Exchange opened at N363 on its first day of trading but currently trades at N298 per share amidst deepened coronavirus selloffs posting a negative return of 31% since its IPO.

Oil & Gas

Shell slows down on refining, takes up $800m hit after oil price crash OLUFIKAYO OWOEYE

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head of its first q u a r t e r re s u l t , oil-giant Shell said it will write down up to $800 million in the first quarter of 2020 after a drop in oil demand due to the coronavirus.

According to Shell, the global lockdown of 3 billion people - roughly 40percent of the world’s population, demand for fuel has been in free fall, forcing it to lower its refining output by around 13percent.

“Refinery utilisation is expected to be between 80% and 84% with availability expected to be be-

tween 93% and 96%. Refining margins are expected to be weaker compared with the fourth quarter 2019. Oil Products sales volumes are expected to be between 6,000 and 7,000 thousand barrels per day,” Shell said.

The company earlier this month said it would lower spending by $5 billion to $20 billion or less and suspend its vast $25 billion share buyback plan in an effort to weather the downturn.

Shell’s first quarter oil production was expected to fall by 4.5% versus the fourth quarter of 2019, while liquefied natural gas (LNG) volumes were set to

decline by 2.3%.

In integrated gas, production is expected to be between 920 and 970 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day, including additional volumes from the Egypt offshore assets that were previously reported in the Upstream segment.

“The impact of the dynamically evolving business environment on first quarter results is being primarily reflected in March with a relatively minor impact in the first two months. We expect to provide further updates about the impact on our outlook in the first quarter results announcement,” the state-

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ment said.

It however allayed concerns by investors noting that its liquidity remains strong.

“Reflecting the Shell Group’s prudent balance sheet policy and to enhance financial flexibility, Shell has a new $12 billion revolving credit facility commitment. This is in addition to the $10 billion credit facility signed in December 2019. Together with cash and cash equivalents of circa $20 billion, available liquidity will rise from $30 billion to more than $40 billion, with access to extensive commercial paper programmes,” the oil-giant assured.

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Company release

Multichoice Nigeria commits N1.2bn in fight against CONVID-19 OLUFIKAYO OWOEYE

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ultichoice has announced a total of N1.2 billion in support against the fight against Coronavirus in Nigeria.

Of this N200 million would go to the Federal Government throughly the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Lagos State would get N50million, donation of 10, 000 testing kits to the NCDC; public service announcement on COVID-19 prevention in major langu ag e s a n d i nve nt o r y @Businessdayng

worth N550 million highlighting NCDC’s various activities.

The company joins a list of corporates who have made financial donations in fight against the pandemic.

Friday 03 April 2020

BUSINESS DAY

COMPANIES&MARKETS

17

Business Event

NIMASA donates 20 ventilators, N50m to fight Coronavirus outbreak ... volunteers 6 vessels, 4 ambulances, medical consumables AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE

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he Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) said it has donated 20 ventilators to fight the spread of Coronavirus otherwise known as COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria.

Bashir Jamoh, director general of NIMASA, who disclosed this in Lagos, also announced the donation of a total sum of N50 million to fight the virus in the country.

He explained that N30 million will be going to the Federal Government Committee on COVID-19 Intervention while N20 million will go to the Lagos State Government to aid its effort to control the spread of the virus in the state.

According to a statement

by Isichei Osamgbi, head, public relations unit, NIMASA equally volunteered its six fast intervention vessels to be committed to facilitating transport logistics support in

the maritime sector.

He said the volunteers from the agency will be deployed to join the first responders from the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Lagos and other states in managing the spread of the pandemic.

“The Coronavirus pandemic is upon humanity.

It came suddenly upon a virtually unprepared world, and demands drastic actions from all and sundry to contain the spread and salvage our common humanity. We are concerned about the effect of the pandemic on the socio-economic life of the country, especially at a time NIMASA, Nigeria’s maritime industry regulator, is driving a Blue Economy campaign, to make maritime a key part of President Muhammadu Buhari’s economic diversification agenda,”Jamoh stated.

He further stated that the agency has also volunteered four fully equipped brand new ambulances, four Hilux trucks and four 36 seater

coaster buses to support and facilitate land based logistics in the Federal capital Territory, Lagos, Delta, Rivers, Cross River and Kaduna States.

Other medical equipment the agency donated to enhance the fight against the COVID-19 in Nigeria include, 60 beds, 20-patient ICU monitors, 20 oxygen concentrator, 10 infusion pump, 10 syringe pump, 20 oxygen giving set, 10 suction machine and 100 set of personal protective equipment (PPE).

“This is our little contribution to aid the robust efforts of the Federal and State Governments to fight the virus. It is our token of love, concern for Nigerians and a gesture of appreciation to the authorities’ proactive measures in this collective fight against a common enemy,” Jamoh added.

COVID-19 is currently ravaging the world with cases hovering around 600,000 people and in excess of 30,000 deaths.

L-R: Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Social Development and Gender Issues, Mrs. Ehi Joy Ebhodaghe; Permanent Secretary, Cabinet, Mrs. Julie Olatunji; Coordinator, Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Camp, Edo State, Pastor Solomon Folorunsho; Secretary, Edo State Chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Sir. Humphrey Iriabe, and the Coordinator, Edo State Civil Society Organisation, Omobude Agho, during donation of the items to the IDPs at the camp premises, in Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State.

Auto mechanic and spare part village (Apo mechanic) shut down to compliance with federal government lock down to coutail the spread of COVID 19 in Abuja. picture by TUNDE ADENIYI.

Operations will continue at our seaports despite lock-down, says NPA AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE

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he Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has assured all stakeh o l d e r s t hat a rrangements have been put in place for operations to continue in the nation’s seaports in Lagos, Apapa and Tin-Can Island Ports, without hindrance.

This was in line with the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari that Lagos seaports should remain open

in the duration of the two weeks lock-down of Lagos State alongside with Abuja and Ogun State.

According to a statement issued recently by Jatto Adams, general manager, Corporate and Strategic Communications of NPA, safety procedures, which will guarantee the wellbeing and security of stakeholders and staff, have been put in place.

He however advised all stakeholders including port users to kindly comply with

directives of port officials.

“All other government agencies responsible for smooth operations in the ports are enjoined to be at their respective duty posts to discharge their functions in line with the presidential directive of maintaining operations at the Lagos ports,” he said.

Jatto however assured stakeholders of the Authority’s commitment to facilitate trade in Nigeria through the seaport.

SEC warns against Ponzi schemes, names 12 operators OLUFIKAYO OWOEYE

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he Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has alerted stakeholders and the investing public against the activities of some unlawful/unlicensed market operators and promoters of other fraudulent schemed.

SEC in a circular, said the investing public is advised against dealing with 12 fraudulent Ponzi scheme operators with their bogus investment and return claims. “ The commission, in recent time, has observed the proliferation of the o p e rat i o n o f u n l aw f u l / unlicensed investment

schemes, with promises of huge, but unjustifiable returns on investment.’’ SEC said in a circular.

According to SEC,these activities are perpetrated by suspected promoters of Ponzi and other fraudulent schemes under the following identities:Loom Nigeria Money; Box Value Trading Company Ltd; Now-Now Alert ; Flip Cash Investment ; Result Investment Nigeria Limited; Helping Hand and Investment; No Failure Development and Empowerment Nig. Ltd; MBA Forex and Investment Ltd; Federate Investors Trading Company; Jamalife Helpers Global Ltd; Flexus Global Soluwww.businessday.ng

tions and Investment Ltd; United Capital Investment Company Limited Members of the public are to note that by virtue of the provisions of Section 38(1) of the Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2007, only persons registered with the Commission can engage in capital market activities, thus making the actions of these entities listed above unlawful.

Consequently, the general public is hereby advised to refrain from investing in any scheme of the entities listed above, and WARNS that any person who invests in an unlicensed/unlawful scheme does so at his own peril.

L-R: Peter Kaka, chief of Gafere Community in Kuje Area Council; Tayo Erinle, executive director, Tabitha Cumi Foundation (TCF), and Wunmi Tewobola, program officer, TCF, during a sensitization for Covid-19 by TCF, at Kapagye Village in Kuje Area Council in Abuja, yesterday. Pic by Tunde Adeniyi

L-R: Lovina Eneh, treasurer, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Enugu State branch; Anene Ojinta, chairman, NBA Enugu; Emelue Chiedu, controller of Correctional Service, Enugu Command, and Monday Emeka, public relations officer, Enugu State Command, during the presentation of the 2019 Correctional Service Act to the NBA Chairman at Nigerian Corrections Service Enugu state headquarters. NAN

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BUSINESS DAY

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Friday 03 April 2020

BUSINESS DAY

Health Business&Life Privedoc donates N240m, test kits to curtail COVID-19 spread in Nigeria Anthonia Obokoh

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o catalyze a comprehensive response to the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, PriveDoc has donated about N240,000,000 (£500,000) to the government to support the curtailment of the novel virus in the country .

L a n re O l a i t a n , C E O, PriveDoc CEO and Founder Lanre Olaitan said “We commend the efforts of the government and we are keen to partner and contribute our resources to the collective effort. This will ensure that the response to the pandemic in Nigeria is swift and effective,” Lanre Olaitan, CEO, PriveDoc said.

“This global pandemic must bring Nigerian citizens and residents, governments and business leaders across the board together and this must be done quickly,” Olaitan said.

“As we see rapidly increasing numbers of cases of the Coronavirus in Nigeria, the private sector has to work hand in hand with the Nigerian government in limiting the spread,” he added.

PriveDoc’s physician-led telemedicine will be crucial in providing direct access to medical care and advice and it is in compliance with social distancing requirements.

By offering PriveDoc’s video call and online chat

services through their app you can check if you have symptoms of COVID-19 and avoid visiting clinics and hospitals for non-urgent situations.

Additionally, they offer contactless prescription delivery services so you can stay at home and your medication will be brought to you and left at your doorstep.

Through simple steps of downloading the PriveDoc app either from the Google Play Store or Apple App Store,

you can be connected to a team of medical professionals from around the world –– many who are volunteering their time to ensure that we come together as humans to defeat Coronavirus.

Finally, PriveDoc is donating its first 1,000 COVID19 test kits to support populationwide testing for the virus.

Their donations will provide significant and much needed support to Nigeria by supplying relief materials, financial support, test kits, and aiding in reducing the burden that critical care facilities will face over the upcoming weeks.

Olaitan, an Accident and Emergency NHS physician, emphasized that ‘we are in this together Nigeria and we are united to combat Coronavirus, from his experience he highlighted the importance of protecting existing hospitals and clinics by staying at home and self-isolating when necessary.’

Coronavirus: Kwara Polytechnic produces hand sanitizer SIKIRAT SHEHU, Ilorin

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he Kwara State Polytechnic has produced Anticorona hand sanitizer to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic in the country.

A release by Ajibola Jimoh, head of information and publication division of the institution stated that the hand sanitizer produced has been presented to Kayode Alabi, deputy governor and chairman of the Kwara State Taskforce on Coronavirus.

O E Adeyemo of the department of Science Laboratory Technology explained that the anti corona sanitizer was designed after realising that some of the available ones in circulation do not comply with specified standard by World Health

Organization (WHO).

The elated deputy governor and the commissioner were full of praises to the Polytechnic for the timely intervention at this crucial time.

They appealed to other well-meaning Nigerians to emulate the laudable gesture.

Abdul Jimoh Muhammed, the rector of the institution explained that the Polytechnic sprang into action, to assist the governments at all levels in curtailing the spread of the killer virus.

Mohammed pledged to keep supporting the governments to curtail the virus.

Th e Re c t o r a d v i s e d member of the public to heed on government’s directive by staying at home and maintain hygienic environment.

Nigerians should adopt offensive, defensive approaches to curb COVID 19 - Kolawole Kolawole Olatunji Matthew is a Professor of Medical Virology, University of Ilorin. In this interview with SIKIRAT SHEHU, he analyses issues surrounding Coronavirus pandemic, recommends urgent need to establish additional laboratories for testing for COVID-19 across the country as well as engaging professionals who are knowledgeable in viral infectious diseases. Mathew stresses the need for Nigerians to adopt offensive and defensive approaches to contain the spread of the global scourge, warning individuals to desist from self-medication and drug abuse. Exerpts: Let’s have an overview of COVID-19 oronavirus is a pathogen that targets the respiratory tract of humans.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARSCoV-2).

COVID-19 is the seventh member of the coronavirus family and is classified as a member of the subfamily orthocoronavirinae forming a clade among the subgenus sarbecovirus.

COVID-19 symptoms often occur after an initial five days incubation period. It often takes between 6 to 14 days for onset of symptoms to death.

However, this is largely dependent on various factors such as age of patient and presence or absence of compromised immunity.

Analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic shows that patient above 70 years of age show more severe symptoms to COVID-19. Common symptoms after the onset of disease includes; cough, fever and general fatigue.

This could be followed by dyspnea, diarrhea and hemoptysis. As at 25th March 2020, a total of 414,179 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and over 20, 000 deaths have occurred globally, with 51 confirmed cases and 1 death recorded in Nigeria.

What are the preventive measures to be taken to ensure adequate precaution from viruses especially Covid-19?

According to World Health Organisation (WHO), the best practice to avoiding contract-

C

ing and spreading COVID-19 are: Wash your hands frequently, regularly and thoroughly, clean your hands with an alcohol-based hand rub or wash them with soap and water. Maintain social distancing, maintain at least 1 meter (3 feet) distance between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing.

Also, avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth, touching many surfaces can pick up viruses. Once contaminated; hands can transfer the virus to your eyes, nose or mouth.

From there, the virus can enter your body and can make you sick.

Practice respiratory hygiene, make sure you, and the people around you follow good respiratory hygiene. This means covering your mouth and nose with your bent elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze, then dispose of the used tissue immediately. www.businessday.ng

If you have fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical care early. Stay home if you feel unwell. If you have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical attention and call in advance.

Follow the directions of your local health authority; stay informed and follow advice given by your healthcare provider; stay informed on the latest developments about COVID-19; follow advice given by your healthcare provider, the national and local public health authority or your employer on how to protect yourself and others from COVID-19.

How will you react to the Federal and States governments’ response, considering the rate in which Nigerians are affected with the virus, having reached 131 confirmed cases?

Mixed feelings. While the government have done a few things right in terms of closure of borders, enforcement of social distancing, tracing of contacts etc, some of these actions came rather late.

However, there is a need for more robust approach to solving this pandemic.

My recommendations to the government are as follows; Government needs to take the lead in the containment of this pandemic especially now that cases of local transmission have started to occur.

Both offensive and defensive approach should be used to curb this situation. Temperature screening and laboratory services should be provided in all states.

Currently, only five laboratories have the capacity to test effectively for COVID-19 which might prolong the time for testing and receiving results.

There is urgent need to establish more laboratories capable of testing for COVID-19 in all states of the federation.

Isolation centers should also be provided and properly equipped in all states due to the increase in the numbers of cases.

All borders (internal and external) must be closed in order to achieve substantial results via contact tracing.

Also, while local transmission is being curtailed, there is a need to close all inter-state borders (land, sea and air).

Training of designated healthcare workers to handle cases in the facilities in all states must be done urgently.

There is an urgent need to establish Emergency Operation Centers (EOC) in all states with good communication

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link to the national EOC and professionals who are knowledgeable about viral infectious diseases should be engaged in these centers.

This is not the time to play sentiment using people who have no knowledge and experience with regards to COVID-19 containment. The Presidential Taskforce should also galvanize expertise across the country for advice and review of situations.

The ban on public gatherings, which is already in effect, is highly commendable and must be enforced nationwide.

To ensure that the ban on public gatherings achieve the desired outcome, it is necessary to stop inter-state and intra-state movement. This will be the only way to exclude non-essential travels which is the intended purpose of sitting at home.

Your message to Nigerians generally There is a need for all to be calm and follow all rules as regards respiratory and personal hygiene.

Others include; Individual should maintain clean surroundings and use hand sanitizers while coming out of public places.

In a bid to prevent the disease, individuals should desist from unwholesome practices such as self-medication and drug abuse.

There is a need to be at alert and to inform the health facilities of any suspected case.

Community leaders of all ranks as well as the media can, and should, play a key role in public awareness about personal and respiratory hygiene.

It is the responsibility of all @Businessdayng

and sundry to help limit the spread of the virus by avoiding gatherings of large numbers of people above 10.

Recommend those who are professional experts to government. Our collective success depends on an apolitical approach, as we need to use the right people to handle critical responsibilities.

Donors are needed to provide financial support for the purchase of survival materials, laboratory reagents and consumables.

On purpose of lockdown and the way forward Asking people to stay at home and shutting down population movement is to buy time and reduce the pressure on health systems.

However, these measures will not extinguish the epidemics. The point of these actions is to enable the more precise and targeted measures that are needed to stop transmission and save lives. Therefore, states that have implemented this approach “lockdown” is to allow and implement measures to attack the virus.

There are six key actions that are recommended by WHO: expand, train, and deploy your health care and public health workforce. Implement a system to find every suspected case at the community level ramp up production capacity and availability of testing.

Others are: identify, adapt, and equip facilities you will use to treat patients and develop a clear plan and process to quarantine contacts and refocus the whole of government on suppressing and controlling COVID-19.

Friday 03 April 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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Health Business&Life Kwara dedicates Specialist Hospital as Covid 19 response centre

Tips on travel and breastfeeding Executive Travel Health

SIKIRAT SHEHU, Ilorin

K

wa ra St at e G overnment has announced the evacuation of the Sobi Specialist Hospital and dedication as a COVID-19 response centre in the state.

Kayode Alabi, deputy governor and chairman of the Kwara State Technical Committee on COVID-19 stated this while briefing journalists recently in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital “In addition to the facilities on ground, the government is evacuating the Sobi Specialist Hospital and dedicating it entirely as COVID-19 response centre, among other steps,” he said.

“The various wards at the facility with about 20 patients are being moved to nearby government hospitals with all services intact.”

Alabi, however, commended corporate bodies and individuals for their donations to the government saying, “The government expresses its appreciations to all those who have made various donations to the administration.

“While also calling on more corporate bodies and private individuals to support this effort, the government commended Senator Sadiq Umar (Kwara

Adeniyi Bukola Q-life Family Clinic

T North) for donating N5million and Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), for donating N10m to curtail the spread of the virus.

Others commended are Unifoam for the donation of 175 mattresses; Access Bank for the donation of 100-bed isolation tent; International Tobacco Company for donating 10, 000 bottles of hand sanitizers and 7,400 face masks; Rajrab Pharmaceuticals for giving the state 68 cartons of hand sanitizers and Kwara State Polytechnic for donating 200 bottles of hand sanitizers.

These donations will complement the 15million litres of sanitizers, 40,000 litres of anti-virus solution, and 200 infrared thermometers already purchased by the Kwara State government, among several other things, the

deputy governor said.

Similarly, 121 oxygen cylinders have been filled and deployed to Sobi Specialist Hospital, while 500-KVA transformer has just been installed to provide constant electricity there. We will continue to make public all donations made to us for the sake of accountability and transparency, he added.

The deputy governor had while thanking everyone who have made any form of donation confirmed that the state has not confirmed any cases of COVID-19 at the moment.

Alabi assured that the committee will continue to be on the alert as he urged the public to be as specific as possible when offering intelligence to the medical team.

Mouka donates 700 mattresses to Abule Ado victims, COVID-19 isolation centres

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ouka, Nigeria’s leading manufacturer of mattresses and bedding products, has brought relief to victims of the Abule Ado gas pipeline fire explosion in Lagos with the donation of 200 mattresses.

In the same vein, 500 mattresses were donated to Lagos State towards equipping its isolation centres used for the treatment of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

The socially responsible organisation has risen to the occasion by providing comfort to victims as the wellbeing of Nigerians is at the core of its mission.

“The wellbeing of the Nigerian people is the reason why we are in business. Mouka exists to provide comfort to Nigerians and we stay true to our mission even at this period of national crisis,” said Raymond Murphy, chief executive officer of Mouka Foams.

The donation to Abule Ado victims was made through the Lagos State Government to affected families who are in dire need of assistance due to havoc wrecked by the pipeline explosion.

The 500 mattresses for the isolation centres were presented to the Taiwo Olufemi Salaam, permanent secretary, Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs,

HBL Team

who represented Wale Ahmed, the commissioner of the Ministry, at the state secretariat complex, Alausa.

Present to receive the 200 mattresses for Abule Ado victims, was Damilola Oke-Osanyitolu, director general, Lagos State Emergency Management Authority (LASEMA), at LASEMA office.

Murphy affirmed that as a responsible organisation, the management of Mouka deemed it necessary to assist the government in bringing succour to victims of the Abule Ado pipeline explosion that led to the loss of lives and property, as well as Nigerians infected with the COVID-19 virus, who are currently being treated at the various isolation centres in Lagos.

“Mouka sees itself as a partner of the government during this crisis. We need to play our part in providing the necessary support required by victims of the gas pipeline explosion. We commend the effort of the Lagos State Government in rehabilitating the victims of the fire. We pray for the departed souls, may they rest in peace. We also pray for those who were injured, may God perfect their healing, and for those who have lost their property, may God replace in many folds”.

The company’s CEO mentioned

that the donation of mattresses to isolation centres for COVID-19 was aimed at enhancing government’s effort in providing appropriate treatment for infected persons and also at curtailing the pandemic which has been at the front burner of world leaders.

While receiving the products, Salaam, who was elated at the enormous support, said the intervention was timely, as assistance from private organisations is needed at this crucial time to boost the state’s healthcare facilities.

Also, Oke-Osanyitolu commended Mouka’s effort towards reducing the anguish of victims of Abule Ado fire disaster which has rendered many homeless and in severe health conditions, stating that the donation would be distributed effectively.

Mouka has also joined the Federal and State Governments in appealing to citizens in the country to adhere to measures at combating the spread of COVID-19.

As far back as early February 2020, Mouka had begun raising awareness for Coronavirus prevention on its social media platforms.

The company advises citizens to wash their hands regularly, stay at home, and keep to social distancing guidelines when in public, among others.

he medical preparation of a traveller who is breastfeeding depends on whether the mother and child will be separated or together during travel.

Breastfeeding mothers should be encouraged to continue breastfeeding during travel. For the first 6 months of life, exclusive breastfeeding is recommended. This is especially important during travel because exclusive breastfeeding means feeding only breast milk, no other foods or drinks, which potentially protects infants from exposure to contamination and pathogens via foods or liquids.

Frequent, unrestricted breastfeeding ensure the mother’s milk supply remains enough and the child’s nutrition and hydration are ideal.

Travelling without a breastfeeding child Before departure, a breastfeeding mother traveling without her breastfeeding infant or child may wish to express and store a supply of milk to be fed to the infant or child during her absence.

Building a supply to be fed in her absence takes time and patience and is most successful when begun gradually, many weeks in advance of the mother’s departure.

A mother’s milk supply can diminish if she does not express milk while away from her nursing child.

It is advised that the mother visits her clinicians who would help her determine the best course for breastfeeding based on a variety of factors, including the amount of time she has to prepare for her trip, the flexibility of her time while traveling, her options for expressing and storing milk while traveling, the duration of her travel, and her destination.

A mother who returns to her nursing infant or child can continue breastfeeding and, if necessary, supplement as needed until her milk supply returns to its prior level. Often, after a mother returns from travel, her nursing infant or child will help bring her milk supply to its prior level.

However, nursing infants or children who are separated from their mother for an extended time may have difficulty transitioning back to breastfeeding. Mother might therefore need support in reuniting with her infant or child.

Breast pump safety Mothers using a breast pump should be sure to follow proper breast pump cleaning guidance (www.cdc.gov/healthywater/ hygiene/healthychildcare/infantfeeding/breastpump.html) to minimize potential contamination. Related guidance for cleaning infant feeding items such as bottles and the nipples, rings, and caps that go with them is available at www.cdc.gov/healthywater/hygiene/healthychildcare/ infantfeeding/cleansanitize.html.

Hand washing with soap and water prior to pumping and handling expressed milk is best, but if safe water is not immediately available, an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60percent alcohol

ANTHONIA OBOKOH / Reporters. Email: obokoh.anthonia@businessdayonline.com

may be used. If cleaning the pump parts between uses will not be possible, mothers should bring extra sets of pump parts (for example, flanges, membranes, valves, connectors) to use until thorough cleaning of used parts is possible.

Mothers may also consider packing a cleaning kit for breast pump parts, including a cleaning brush, dish soap, and portable drying rack or mesh bag to hang items in to air dry.

Air travel X-rays used in airport screenings have no effect on breastfeeding, breast milk, or the process of lactation.

Airlines typically consider breast pumps as personal items to be carried on-board, like laptop computers, handbags, and diaper bags. Before departure, people who will be traveling by air and expect to have expressed milk with them during travel need to carefully plan how they will transport the expressed milk.

Airport security regulations for passengers carrying expressed milk vary internationally and are subject to change.

In the United States, expressed milk and related infant and child feeding items are exempt from Transportation Security Administration (TSA) regulations limiting quantities of other liquids and gels.

The Infant and Child Nourishment Exemption permits passengers to carry with them all expressed milk, ice, gel packs (frozen or unfrozen), and other accessories required to transport expressed milk through airport security checkpoints and on-board flights, regardless of whether the breastfeeding child is also traveling.

At the beginning of the screening process, travellers should inform the TSA officer and separate the expressed milk and related accessories from the liquids, gels, and aerosols that are limited to 3.4 oz (100 mL) each, as subject to TSA’s Liquids Rule (available at www.tsa.gov/travel/ security-screening/liquids-rule).

Travelers may find that having on hand the related TSA regulations for expressed milk (available at www. tsa.gov/travel/special-procedures/ traveling-children) facilitates the screening process.

Travelers carrying expressed milk in checked luggage should refer to cooler pack storage guidelines in “Proper Handling and Storage of Human Milk” on CDC’s website (www. cdc.gov/breastfeeding/recommendations/handling_breastmilk.htm).

Expressed milk is considered a food for individual use and is not considered a biohazard. International Air Transport Authority regulations for shipping category B biological substances (UN 3373) do not apply to expressed milk.

Travelers shipping frozen milk should follow guidelines for shipping other frozen foods and liquids. Travelers planning to ship frozen milk may need to bring along supplies such as milk storage bags, coolers, shipping boxes, labels, packing tape, resealable bags, newspaper or brown lunch bags for wrapping frozen milk, and gloves or tongs for handling dry ice. Some shipping carriers provide temperature-controlled options that can be used for transporting expressed milk.

Travelers should make sure in advance that transporting expressed milk will meet customs regulations, as these can vary by country.

To be continued next week Consultant Family Physician and Travel Medicine Physician Q –Life Family Clinic. qlifeadvisory@outlook.com.

I David Ogar, Graphics

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Friday 03 April 2020

BUSINESS DAY

LEADINGWOMAN

Coronavirus Nigerian female healthcare workers in the diaspora tell their stories

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irst time I heard about COVID-19 was last year, when it affected China terribly. A Doctor I work with who is from China, had relatives back home and he was very concerned, at that point, I knew it was only a matter of time before COVID-19 hits USA and the rest of the world.

This is an extremely difficult period for everyone especially health care workers on the front lines. I have had to cancel and postpone my elective procedures( surgeries) and fertility treatment consult so I can share my time working overtime at the COVID-19 floor, while still attending to my primary patients.

Also, some of my fellow physicians sleep in their cars and don’t go home because the Doctor’s lounge is packed and it isn’t their shift.

They sleep in their cars so that they don’t put their families at home at risk and because we don’t have sufficient Medical supplies. That’s scary as we think of the USA as one of the well-resourced places in the world when it comes to many things including health care, but it goes to show that when there’s a sort of widespread panic, regular supplies can be depleted fairly quickly.

At my place of work, we’ve had a Doctor’s death as a result of COVID-19 and few are infected alongside some nurses. I work in a state; it’s the headquarters of CDC and a hospital where it’s the first liaison.

During the first week that it broke out, we had to wait 48-72 hours before we got test results back, it’s much better now. We have enough test kits.

I’m pretty sure, our Hospitals( 2 branches) was the first to report the first cases in the state. One of which I worked permanently and the other occasionally. As a practitioner, I would be honest, it was very scary seeing how rapid COVID-19 infected people. It was

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I

Kemi Ajumobi

Feyishara Kuku MD

Consultant; specialties include Obstetrics and gynecology, cervical and ovarian oncology, fertility and orthopedics

certainly airborne. We ran out of beds and medical supplies and we were at full capacity. Paramedics were attending to patients in their vans. It was crazy.

I panicked for sure but I knew I had to be strong for people. I was especially scared for my kind of clients. Pregnant women were more at risks. We initially assumed younger and those without preexisting health conditions were low risks, not until we started recording deaths of patients with perfect lungs. No history of intoxication on alcohol and smoke, good health and never travelled, this was when I began to really panic, especially when we don’t have vaccines ready for COVID-19.

t has been a sad experience globally and I believing an end will come soon because the number of lives lost on a daily basis is alarming.

It pains my heart when I see these figures daily in America. We as healthcare workers are doing our best and can only keep hoping. Coronavirus really took the world by surprise.

Remember it was made known to all at the end of 2019 from a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan, a city in the Hubei Province of China. From there, it spread like wildfire, became an epidemic in China and now in various countries of the world.

The virus became COVID-19 in February 2020, as announced by the World Health Organisation. It is interesting to know that people are becoming more aware of the virus and are eager to find out what it is all about. Even patients are now better informed.

Those who have recovered are sharing their stories and symptoms they experienced, including their healing period so that others can learn from it.

Having said that, it hurts more to know that thousands of lives are being lost and many countries are not left out.

In different parts of America, the figures are alarming. The numbers of lives lost in Missouri are not as much as other states in America. In Missouri, the government and the healthcare workers are consistently creating awareness and doing their best to control the mobility and mortality rate. My colleagues in Florida do

Maryjane Uju Amaechi Nurse at St Joseph Manor, Connecticut

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y experience is different from other health care workers because we are in different areas.

My experience so far is that of horror, fear and uncertainty. My work place has provided us with what we need to face this monster. But outside the work place is the uncertainty that stares us in the face. My advice to all Nigerians is to please stay at home however; we must be active while you do so, wash your hands regularly and eat healthy meals. My tips, avoid cold water and air conditioner, drink mostly www.businessday.ng

call to share their experiences with me and it is truly heartbreaking knowing the number of patients they have seen die and that they have come in contact with. It is the oath we swore, we will do our best to protect lives and I pray God brings us out of this situation faster that we hope for.

I have family in Nigeria and I reach out to them to check on their wellbeing as they do to me too. We need to reach out to family and loved ones in times like this. Love indeed is what we need. It is obvious now that life is very fickle, you can be here today and gone tomorrow.

I will advise that everyone must take washing of hands seriously, use alcohol based sanitizers and most of all stay at home. I can’t emphasize that enough, stay at home, keep safe so that as the healthcare workers are doing their best to save the patients brought in with the virus, the numbers do not have to continually increase.

y role as a critical care nurse includes caring for patients in critical care environment, performing basic patient assessment and care plan and working with the Multi Disciplinary Team (MDT) to plan and implement care to patients in the critical care unit.

Caring for patients with noninvasive and limited invasive ventilation and also caring for patients with single/multiple organ failure.

This Covid-19 season is a very difficult time for everyone, especially essential workers. We are working tirelessly day and night to save as many lives as possible and to help stop the spread of the virus.

UK is on a lockdown just like many other countries, we as healthcare professionals are managing the situation by encouraging people to stay at home, working tirelessly to treat the sick people and trying to prevent death where possible.

It is incredibly difficult to practice social distancing when saving lives but using the Personal Protective Equipments (PPE) provided is all we can use and hope to God it is enough to protect us.

One of my fears is that a vaccine may not be available for a few months (according to the

WHO). I am hoping for a cure or a vaccine to be made as soon as possible so the world can get back to normal.

My advice to Nigerians is to stay indoors and only come out for essential travels such as going to get food or to exercise. As it is difficult to stay inside for days at a time, it is advised to come out for 1 hour a day to exercise and breathe fresh air, and when out to maintain a safe distance (2 meters).

There are a number of things the government could do to help one of which is to start local production of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for the essential/ key workers that will be at the front line during this unprecedented times.

warm to hot water to keep your airways and respiratory system clear.

Remember this virus is a respiratory infection and warm to hot drinks can flush down any buildup mucous. Support your immune system; this is very important by taking vitamin C, garlic, ginger and lemon. This is not a medical advice but it has helped me, my family and friends.

I work every day, I am even mandated to work extra hours. Life as it is this few weeks is scary and uncertain. My ways of keeping my self and family safe and healthy

is first to stay home when I don’t have to work.

Secondly, by constantly washing our hands and sanitize my house every other day. I and my husband do the same type of job; my family is in a greater danger every day we work.

I make some home remedies that I learned.

Garlic and honey, we take one spoon everyday including my children. I mix garlic, ginger, lemon plus honey, we take that twice daily. We also take vitamin C and magnesium. When we come back from work, we keep our clothes in a bag and keep

them outside the house until when I am ready to do laundry. I am doing everything humanly possible to keep myself and family safe from this virus, but at the end of the day, God has the final say, we pray and believe God for his protection.

For those who still doubt the existence of this virus, please this is not the time to be fooled by what you think, take every advice serious. This virus knows no boundaries, has no respect for class or royalty. Help those in the frontlines by staying at home and practice standard hygiene.

Oyenmwen Edo-Ohonba, MD Family Health Center, MO, Columbia

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@Businessdayng

OBY OKORIE Registered senior staff nurse under the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) United Kingdom

Friday 03 April 2020

BUSINESS DAY

MoneyInsight

23

Barely a month away, Bitcoin Halving excitement is running out FRANK ELEANYA

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he excitement that greeted Bitcoin Halving from the beginning of 2020 is gradually waning as dramatic declines continue to bog down the prices of top cryptocurrencies since the coronavirus was declared a pandemic.

Bitcoin (BTC) ended the first quarter of 2020 down from the start of the year, but not as badly as the record-setting losses suffered by global equities, according to Coindesk.

Bitcoin Halving is the event where the number of generated Bitcoin rewards per block will be divided by two. The total number of bitcoin mined by miners per block will reduce from 12.5 to 6.25 BTC in the next Bitcoin Halving.

Also the number of bitcoin found per block will become more scarce and this halving reward ensures that bitcoin total supply will reach 21 million.

Expected to happen around 11 May, the halving event in 2020 has had investors and operators in the market very upbeat, with soaring prices the top among the list of expectations.

Previous Bitcoin Halvings took place in November 2012 and July 2016. At the time of the first halving event, the price of Bitcoin was $12.31. The following after the first halving in 2012, the price began to climb dramatically, reaching a new all-time high of over $1,100 in 2013. However, the price crashed down to the $220 and $240 range where it remained for many years until the next halving.

Also at the time of the second

halving event, the price of Bitcoin was $650.63. It would be recalled that the Bitcoin Halving in 2016 preceded the market’s epic run in 2017. The price of bitcoin hit an all-time high of over $19,000

by December 2017.

Miners have a critical role to play in every halving. Essentially, halving ensures that miners have to spend more time to mine each bitcoin. Invariably, the miners would likely push up the price of the cryptocurrency to compensate for the extra effort.

But last week unprofitable miners turned off their rigs after

the price crash of two week ago that sent prices below $5000 for the first time in 18 months. The development led to the largest drop in mining activities. Bitcoin’s largest drop in mining difficulty happened on October 31, 2011.

While this is not entirely bad news for the market as it could lead to scarcity in supply of the cryptocurrency, it however poses a challenge for expectations of surge in prices post-halving.

As of press time the price of Bitcoin was at $6,300.

“The Bitcoin Halvening event is already a stressful period for

miners as their revenue stream effectively halves, causing low profitability miners to go out of business. Add a recession to the equation and tightening credit lines may put a lot more “zombie” Bitcoin miners out of business in a Credit Crunch type event,” said Charles Edwards, a cryptocurrency analyst.

Analysts at Luno, said in a review that the development can also be necessary adjustments to keep the block time around 10 minutes and show that Bitcoin is working as it should, even under these extreme market conditions.

Although many analysts remain bullish on the possibilities of seeing an all-time-high by the end of 2020, the options market sees a very low probability - about 4 percent - of the cryptocurrency hitting a new record high by December. In fact, options prices are now indicating only a 16 percent probability for bitcoin to be above $10,000 by the end of June 2020.

Currently, investors are looking to shed the risk they are exposed to, which makes it hard to imagine that the event would attract new money to the cryptocurrency market.

How defaulting on easy micro-loans harm credit scores STEPHEN ONYEKWELU

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ahinde heaved a sigh of relief, she had just paid off a micro loan of N30, 000 spread over a three month payment period at 20 percent interest rate per month with Carbon (formerly Paylater), a Fintech Company.

Seven days afterwards, she got this message from KwiMoney, another Fintech Company “You’ve been selected for an instant loan! Visit get. kwicash.ng for KwiCash and borrow from N1k to N100k.

Your loans grow with good payment.”

This got Kehinde thinking. She has great payment

history with Paylater. In fact, she makes it a point to pay off her micro loansbefore it www.businessday.ng

is due and her current microloan with Paylater has come at 12.50 percent per month a

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difference of 7.50 basis points from what she paid on the last loanshe took. So, the interest rate charged on her loans is falling because of her payment history.

This is not the story of her colleague Linda. Linda took her first micro-loan with Branch International, a fintech company. However, she defaulted on her payment by over seven days. The company persuaded her to meet her financial obligation, she eventually did.

Before she paid off the micro-loan, she attempted to take another with Paylater but she was told she did not qualify. She was very surprised @Businessdayng

how this could be. In addition, Branch International downgraded her status by reducing the range of micro-loan she can access.

With the advent of bank verification number, credit scores and history will become easier to track and this will have significant implication for personal finance.

A credit score, also known as a credit rating, is a number that reflects the likelihood of an individual paying credit back.

Lenders like banks and credit card companies will look at your creditfile when they calculate your creditscore, which will show them the level of risk in lending to you.

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Friday 03 April 2020

BUSINESS DAY

entertainment

Deyemi Okanlawon; the engineer turned actor Obinna Emelike

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he story of Deyemi Okanlawon is quite interesting. He is one of the brightest science students in his secondary school days and went ahead to graduate with a degree in Chemical Engineering from University of Lagos.

The intrigue is that Deyemi, who could get a job in oil companies, based on his good result and connections, decided to follow his passion.

Today, he is a man of many parts; he is a sales and marketing executive, a creative entrepreneur and most importantly, a chemical engineer turned actor. He vigorously pursued a sales career for years. From his undergraduate days at the university, to leading the marketing team at OLX, and heading the distribution for Nollywood movies and international independent movies at Silverbird Distribution, Deyemi has always enjoyed sales and marketing job.

Explaining his shift in career, he said, “I did not drop Chemical Engineering for acting, but transited from Chemical Engineering to sales and from sales to acting.

It is not about what you studied in school, life is really about what you know and what you are passionate about”.

However, he combined his sales career with his passion for acting, and has done well for himself on the screen, featuring in some notable movies, such as ZR7 and The Grain, where he played lead roles, and few short

Deyemi Okanlawon

films that got him popular, as well as, made him to take a year off from his sales job to hone his acting craft.

He went further to attend the New York Film Academy Acting for Film Training, which held in Lagos. It was at the training that he understood core principles in acting, and also where the foundation for acting for him was laid.

Recently, he featured alongside Nollywood greats such as Joke Silva, Toyin Abraham, among others in an enthralling movie titled ‘2Weeks in Lagos’ where he played the character of Joshua, a somewhat central figure and stabilizer among a group of friends.

The role, was not difficult as he

was often made to play the ‘bad guy’ role in films.

Speaking on the role, Deyemi explained that, “When I read the script, I really identified with the character because I have done a lot roles in movies where they tried to play me as the bad guy.

But it was one of the real times that I felt to have identified with the character”.

For him, ‘2 Weeks in Lagos’ unraveled unique issues. “What I am really interested about is the level of professionalism we deployed in handling those issues.

If there is an issue, the first thing you do is to communicate; you can be solving a problem without anybody knowing what

you are doing.

And we were able to see problems in ‘2 Weeks in Lagos’”, he said.

He thinks that starring alongside some movie veterans made his day.

“For years, whenever anybody ask me who my Nollywood crush is, I tell the person that it is Joke Silva. With all honesty, I love her character and career.

She is a mother to all of us in the film industry. Working with her was so much fun”, he confessed.

Moreover, he noted that Toyin Abraham was an inspiration for him in the movie industry.

“The way you see her is the way she is. Life is never a dull moment with Toyin. She brought fun into the film production. She has a beautiful heart. Working with a diverse range of actors on this set was really fun”.

Speaking from facts available to him as a movie distributor, Deneye said that the Nigerian film industry is experiencing an exciting time right now.

“If you look at the box office in recent times, you will realize that we are progressing. But we still have challenges in film contents and commercial viability of our content. You may look at the quality of a film, yet it is not commercially viable, and this is not good”, he said.

Aside commercial viability, he noted that lack exhibition is a challenge in the Nigerian movie industry.

“We do not have enough cinemas and film schools. We need to expand the network of our cin-

emas to accommodate screening of some the films to enable them recoup their investments”.

He also decried low budget in movie production.

“We know that limited budget is a big challenge in the Nigeria film industry.

There are bigger film players but most of us work with small budgets. One of the solutions we apply in Silverbird Distributions, which is different from what other distributors are doing is that we do not tell you there is a one-side script, and all marketing you must do for your film. We watch the specific movie with the producer that points out the area the audience will be interested in the film and where we can speak to them and market the film so that they can come to the cinema and watch the movie based on the budget of the producer”, he explained.

Deyemi has no regret leaving engineering to following his passion for acting, rather he insisted that he is applying the analytical skills he learnt from engineering to sales, movie distribution and acting.

“In Chemical Engineering, I learnt the ability to think analytically. As an engineer, you analyze a single thing consistently”.

From being a creative entrepreneur, marketer, movie distributor, and actor, the father of two is looking to add more to his career.

However, he urged movies lovers to always watch out for Deyemi is blockbuster movies, as he has come to stay and make impact in Nollywood.

Nasty C signs to Def Jam Records, releases first single

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t’s powerful to be a part of the Def Jam family.

It’s an iconic record label and has made the careers of many of the artists I look up to.” – Nasty C Nasty C, the #1 most-streamed South African artiste on Apple Music for four years in a row, has signed an exclusive contract with Def Jam Recordings through a joint venture with Universal Music Africa. Nasty C makes his official U.S. debut with “There They Go,” his brand new single, which premier­ed on March 26, 2020 at 4:30 p.m. (ET) with Ebro on Apple Music Beats1.

“There They Go,” with producer Cxdy at the controls, is the first advance track from ZULU MAN WITH SOME POWER, Nasty C’s forthcoming album.

“Nasty C is a unique and forward-thinking artiste who is at the forefront of a new generation of rappers emerging from Africa,”

said Jeff Harleston, interim chairman & CEO, Def Jam Recordings.

“Def Jam is a globally recognized brand synonymous with excellence in hip-hop, and we are excited to welcome Nasty C - an international star with real vision and talent - into the family.”

“It’s powerful to be a part of the Def Jam family,” said Nasty C. “It’s an iconic record label and has made the careers of many of the artistes I look up to.”

The video for “There They Go” was shot on location in Nasty C’s hometown of Durban, South Africa. Director Andrew Sandler (who has worked with Lil Wayne, Chris Brown and others) has focused a new lens on the region, where Nasty C’s most recent (second) multi-platinum album Strings And Bling was #1 for three consecutive weeks.

With over 120 million streams, Strings And Bling was far and away the most streamed South www.businessday.ng

Nasty C

African and African album on the Apple Music streaming platform in Sub-Saharan Africa. The album spawned three multi-platinum

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singles: “King,” “Jungle,” and the radio smash, “SMA,” as well as the platinum title track, “Strings And Bling.” A further 14 songs @Businessdayng

off Strings And Bling were certified gold.

An unstoppable force of nature, 23-year old youth phenom Nasty C’s profile earned him a berth on the Forbes “Africa Under 30” list, and the prestigious Musician Of the Year accolade from GQ magazine. He boasts brand endorsement affiliations with top-shelf companies Puma, Red Bull, and Mercedes.

Nasty C has always sought to make the globe even smaller through his music. He has toured Africa, Asia, Europe, Australia, and North America. He has brought his own live performance headline package, the Ivyson Tour, to Kenya, Zimbabwe, Namibia and more. The most recent six-city Ivyson Tour last year was a sold-out smash with over 16,000 attendees in each of the four cities in which it was held (Durban, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Namibia).

Friday 03 April 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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entertainment

Business etiquette

Managing the crisis Covid – 19 Etiquette

Janet Adetu

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till very challenging times worldwide with no exception. So much fear mounting up and anxiety even from the medical professional. Every-where you turn the news is unpleasant, this pandemic crisis is one that urgently needs to managed at home, in the places of work and economically.

Worldwide we are in a “stay home” ultimatum to help curb the spread of Covid 19 – Corona Virus.

For many the fight to protect family members is now so real that anything and everything is taking place to survive the challenging moments.

As a worker you may be operating skeletal services or working remotely from home. As a mother you are tasked to maintain the home, become a teacher overnight, keep your sanity and still be positive about life.

As a business owner your thoughts will be on how you can still run your business in the midst of all this chaos without going bankrupt.

What will happen post Corona Virus is on the minds of us all. Truly it is daunting and so much uncertainty is lurking around. It is a call for staying focused and instead of seeing the bad paying more attention on the possible good.

I put together a few ways that I feel will help to manage the crisis as best you can:

Be There Being there for your family is a must as best possible, It is ensuring you keep in touch with all family members by making continuous phone calls or communicating electronically through WhatsApp and other means. At a time where the children are away from home schooling abroad or local long distances they will need you to call them very often, especially if they live alone or are not near close family. This is also the time to keep the family platform active making sure that everyone participates. If you do have members that are silent the quietness at times is for a reason, awaken everyone.

Crack jokes and keep the humor with all, post engaging not frustrating material. Ask specifically about how they are and look out for any unusual signs. Also take time if they need anything.

Stay Safe We have all heard of the need to wash hands several times a day under running water. We also know about the importance of the hand sanitizer; I would add the use of antibacterial soap in the home too.

Every member of your family should have a bar of antibacterial soap while the hand sanitizer can be placed in strategic places around the home for all to use often not just to look at it.

There are now sanitizer sprays that are being marketed to use in your homes and spaces. This is the time to do that needed extra spring cleaning all around the house and external environs too with a lot of emphasis on the kitchen.

Fiokee celebrates 20 years as guitarist, 10 years of Afrobeats recording

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fiok Effanga, who is unarguably Africa’s No1 guitarist, has for 20 years proven to be one of Nigeria’s finest guitarists who has endeared into the hearts of music lovers all over the world.

The foremost guitarist, who stages as Fiokee, started playing the guitar in the year 2000 in Delta State. He was taught the skill by a taxi driver in the state where he was a student of PTI. His career kicked off officially when he won the 2008 edition of “Star Quest with the group “DIAMONDS”.

Afterwards, he went on to record the smash hit song “Scape Goat” which helped propelled Dbanj’s career at that time. He further went on to work on groundbreaking collaborations with Davido on “Gobe” “Orente”, “Pick up” by Adekunle

Ifiok Effanga

Gold, “Woju” “Laye” by Kiss Daniel , “Johnny”, ‘Kissing” by Yemi Alade among others.

Fiokee continued to be the spice of Afrobeats that everybody wanted to have a piece of in their various body of works. In 2017, Fiokee began to release his personal singles with his first single “Independent Woman” featuring Jumabee, he went on to release “Very Connected” featuring Flavor, afterwards he released “Sweetest thing” with Ric Hassani, Dumebi Featuring Davido & Peruzzi, then his latest hit single “Osan” featuring DJ Coublon & Teni, which is receiving massive airplays and streams since it was released.

Truly, it has been 20 years since Fiokee has been the spice of the afrobeats music, which fans have always crave for and that has made him a major influencer in making Afrobeats acclaimed worldwide.

Fiokee has recorded over 500 songs in the space of 20 years, some of which have grown to be hit songs and evergreen songs. As he enters another decade in his music career, his fans look forward to getting more of their melodious sound and rhythm with the help of Fiokee’s magic fingers. www.businessday.ng

‘

Educate All There is so much information spreading about COVID 19 Corona Virus, so many instructions all over.

Some of this information may not be entirely correct but this does call for pruning out only the relevant information relying on the authentic sources. It is still important to keep informed and to hear about new developments of the virus. Do not get overwhelmed or bugged down by new information, just remain positive. In educating all I mean your close nuclear family, do not take for granted that children are aware of the situation. Educate them as best you can in a child friendly manner as possible. Domestic staff need the most education let them be aware of what is necessary around the home to help everyone.

Secure Security The security personnel in your homes is another area to manage well. Once they are properly educated, they will also do their jobs diligently. Being outside they will need extra precautionary measures, like latex gloves, and possibly masks. Hand sanitizers need to be used permanently by the security men themselves and they ensure that others entering use too, this

As a mother you are tasked to maintain the home, become a teacher overnight, keep your sanity and still be positive about life.

As a business owner your thoughts will be on how you can still run your business in the midst of all this chaos without going bankrupt

also applies to family members that need to step out for any reason. They should be very aggressive and diligent about maintaining to the rules for COVID-19 even when others seem to be slacking.

Be Healthy This is not a time for any excesses; but a time to be more creative health wise. Exercise is still a necessity to keep your mind and body in check.

This can be done in your immediate gated environs or within your own home. Get creative with cooking, ensure the necessary fruit and vegetables are on the meal plan. As instructed hot liquids have been advised hot beverage and beverages should be taken regularly. Be mindful of the food ordered externally, make a duty to know the source and take extra caution.

Occupy Your Mind Finally, for now to manage the crisis you will need to proactively occupy your mind with positive things.

This can be done by reading interesting books, watching educative and engaging videos and programs, logging on to virtual teachings acquiring certificates, exercising, praying and listening to good music. You may also where possible join the many productive zoom meetings that will keep you engaged with others, join conversations online and participate not just listen. This the best time to use to “rethink”, “refocus” and “rejuvenate”.

Wishing you the best during these trying times.

Watch out for yourself and all your loved ones.

Janet.adetu@gmail.com @janetadetu @jsketiquette

Rosie and Kachi win Ultimate Love reality TV show

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fter seven weeks, filled with a whirlwind of emotions, the duo of Rosie and Kachi have emerged winners of the maiden edition of the Ultimate Love reality TV show. This was announced at the live grand finale show on Sunday, 29 March, 2020.

The couple also known as Roksie, polled a total of 46.33 percent of the overall votes in the final week beating 10 other couples to clinch the grand prize of N5million cash, a paid for traditional wedding ceremony worth N10million and a house. The traditional wedding will be redeemed when the couple declare their intent to get married within 90 days after the end of the show; and the house, after they have lived together as a married couple for one year. In addition, they also won a cash sum of N150,000 when they revealed the content of their portmanteau.

Following the announcement, a visibly excited Kachi was given a moment to decide if he would take his newly found love with Rosie to the next level with a formal declaration of his intent to propose within 90 days. The a 32-year-old

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serial entrepreneur from Imo State received the wrist corsage and made his commitment to his lady, bringing the first-of-its-kind love journey to a momentous end.

Iykeresa (Iyke and Theresa) emerged first runner-up while Bolar (Bolanle and Arnold) and Double Chris (Chris and Chris Ville) emerged second and third runners up respectively.

As with all the couples who were on the show, they each unlocked their portmanteaus to @Businessdayng

reveal its content. In cash winnings, Iykeresa went home with N300,000, Bolar N250,000 and Double Chris won N400,000.

With its premiere in February 2020, the Ultimate Love reality TV show was aimed at bringing single male and female strangers together with the hopes of finding life-long love. The show was hosted by Nollywood actress, Dakore Akande Egbuson and media personality, Oluwaseun P. Olaniyan.

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Friday 03 April 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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

Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham Abuja 1 Uke St, Garki, Abuja.

Tel: +234 9 4603900, +234 805 7522500

COVID-19: Safety for hotel guests, employees OBINNA EMELIKE

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t is sad that the world is on lockdow due to the devastating impact of the outbreak of Conoravirus (COVID-19). The pandemic has so far killed many people, while grounding busineses and the global economy. It has also impacted negatively on hospitality business across the world as governments enforce safety measures to curb the spread of the virus, especially travel restrictions, which now hold back many guests.

Though the risk of guests who may be infected staying in hotels is currently very low because of the dwindling hotel occupancy across all brands in the world, some guests still find solace in hotel rooms.

Some guests such as business travellers with ongoing projects and investments and tourists on long stay, especially at some remote resorts and game reserves, are trapped in some hotels already.

These categories of guests cannot travel back to their destinations now

because of the travel ban, hence are forced to stay back in their hotel rooms.

However, considering the fact that guests still sleep in hotels, especially those trapped overseas by travel bans from their respective countries, it is important that the hotel provides guests with information about COVID-19 to prevent spread upon their arrival to the hotel and insist on strict adherence to health safety measures in place. The hotel can refuse a potential guest access to property or even check-out guest who disobeys the orders in order to curb an imminent spread of the virus from a careless guest.

As well, hotels need safety measures now to also protect their employees who are most vulnerable in contracting the virus from unlikely guests who test positive.

Some of the safety measures include: Guests in self-isolation If your guests need to self-isolate in a hotel, it is important that staff take precautions. The risk to staff should be low if they wash their hands well and www.businessday.ng

the guests do not have symptoms. Staff should avoid close contact with these guests, but it is safe to be in the same room (at a distance) without protective equipment when delivering food, which we recommend that guests have in their room.

Cleaning guidelines Cleaning staff should avoid close contact with guests who have self-isolated. They should wear gloves while cleaning and use alcohol hand rub before and after wearing gloves. As an added precaution, your cleaning staff may wish to wear a surgical mask while cleaning the room. Before entering the room, cleaning staff may inquire if people are well and ask them to put on a surgical mask.

Guests who become ill If a person who has self-isolated or has been in a country or area of concern in the past 14 days develops symptoms, they should urgently phone Healthline’s dedicated COVID-19 numbers, contacts and emergence helplines. It is also important to phone ahead to the hospital or doctor to get advice.

If you need to get ur-

gent medical help for your guest ; call emergenc y health numbers and ask for an ambulance, tell the ambulance officers that your guest may have COVID-19 infection.

Staff should avoid contact with guests who become unwell and seek appropriate medical advice if this occurs.

Anyone who has visited countries or areas of concern in the previous 14 days who develops symptoms of fever, cough or shortness of breath should seek medical advice by phoning healthline dedicated COVID-19 numbers and designated contact numbers.

Moreover, where a hotel cannot guarantee, it is advised that it scales down its operations or shutdown to safeguard lives. At the moment, many global hotel chains are scaling down to essential services, shutting down some hotels and are considering total shutdown if the impact persists.

No matter the option, hotels are advised not to compromise safety measures because their staff members and families can be infected.

Stay safe!

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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

Friday 03 April 2020

BUSINESS DAY

27

Sports Spurs announce 20 percent wage cut amid Covid-19 crisis Stories by Anthony Nlebem

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ottenham chairman, Daniel L e v y , ha s a n nounced 550 non-playing staff at the club will see their wages cut by 20 percent for the next two months on the same day it was revealed he was paid 7 million pounds ($8.7 million) last season.

Spurs accounts to June 30, 2019 revealed Levy was paid a 3 million pound bonus, which was due on completion of Tottenham’s new 62,000 capacity stadium, on top of his 4 million pound salary.

T h e n e w To t t e n ha m Hotspur stadium opened in April last year, eight months later than scheduled and well over budget at a cost of 1 billion pound.

Levy is among the staff members taking a 20 percent wage cut, but called on Tottenham’s players to also do so to ease the financial crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Players at Barcelona, Ju-

ventus and Bayern Munich are among those to have taken either a significant wage cut or deferred payments.

Football in England is suspended until at least April 30 and a meeting of Premier League clubs on Friday is expected to push that date further back.

“Having already taken steps to reduce costs, we ourselves made the difficult decision, in order to protect jobs, to reduce the remuneration of all 550 non-playing directors and employees for April and May by 20 percent,” Levy

said in a statement on the Spurs website.

“We hope the current discussions between the Premier League, PFA (Professional Footballers’ Association) and LMA (League Managers Association) will result in players and coaches doing their bit for the football eco system.”

Tottenham earlier this month posted profits of 6 million pound for the year to June 2019 on the back of a run to the Champions League final and the stadium move.

However, Levy said those numbers bore little rele-

vance, with the club facing a difficult period and uncertainty among sponsors and media partners.

“When I read or hear stories about player transfers this summer like nothing has happened, people need to wake up to the enormity of what is happening around us,” he added.

“We maybe the eighthlargest Club in the world by revenue according to the Deloitte survey but all that historical data is totally irrelevant as this virus has no boundaries.”

Tottenham sit eighth in the Premier League table and would therefore miss out on the riches of Champions League football for the first time in five years next season if the league were to be curtailed as it stands.

However, economic factors are behind the desire of Premier League clubs to finish the campaign, even if it means doing so behind closed doors.

According to reports, the clubs would have to reimburse broadcasters to the tune of 762 million pounds if the season is not completed

Pape Diouf dies after contracting Coronavirus Anthony Nlebem

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ape Diouf, a former president of French soccer club Marseille, has died in Senegal after contracting the deadly coronavirus. It was the West African country’s first COVID-19-related death, according to the health ministry. He was 68.

Diouf, was president of Marseille from 2005-09, had been treated since Saturday in intensive care in Dakar, health minister Abdoulaye Diouf Sarr said.

Senegal President Macky Sall wrote on his official Twitter account that he had followed Diouf’s health closely after he was admitted for treatment.

“I pay tribute to this great figure in sport,” Sall wrote.

“I pay tribute to the medical staff at Fann Hospital who spared no effort to save him.”

Relatives said Diouf was meant to be moved to France. He had recently traveled to several countries in the West Africa region.

In its most recent count, Senegal has reported 190

cases of the coronavirus, with 45 of those having recovered.

Diouf was a charismatic and popular leader who was close to the fans and players at Marseille, the only French team to win the European club title.

“Pape will forever remain in the hearts of Marseille people and (is) one of the great architects of the club,” Marseille wrote under a photo of Diouf.

Shortly before his time at

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the club ended, Diouf signed Didier Deschamps as the new coach and Deschamps won the French league title and League Cup in his first season in charge. It was Marseille’s first league title in 18 years.

Deschamps, who coached France to World Cup success two years ago, described Diouf as “a man of convictions, a spirited man, passionate about football” adding that his “sudden and brutal death deeply saddens me.”

“I could measure his popularity, which was immense with the Marseille people whose hearts he had won,” Deschamps said on L’Equipe’s website.

The French soccer league called Diouf’s death “a moment of immense sadness for French soccer.”

Diouf was born in Chad to Senegalese parents. After arriving in Marseille at the age of 18, he became a sports journalist and then a players’ agent.

Diouf was not afraid to take risks in signing unheralded players, such as the diminutive Mathieu Valbuena from third-tier side Libourne in 2006 when he was 21.

The 1.67-meter (5 feet, 5 inches) Valbuena went on to prove Diouf right, and all the doubters wrong, playing 52 times for France.

“A great man with a great heart,” Valbuena said. “We were hypnotized by his speeches, he had a lot of charisma.”

Diouf was awarded the French Legion of Honor medal in 2012, one of the country’s highest honors.

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LaLiga games to resume in July

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he Spanish league has been postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic, which has led to more than 8,400 deaths in Spain and more than 42,100 globally.

Roures, the chief of one of LaLiga’s broadcast partners, hopes it is back underway in July.

“I hope football returns in July and I say July because, among other things, everyone’s health must be guaranteed,” he told Cadena COPE on Tuesday. “It will return without an audience, surely,

but before that they have to do a pre-season. After so long at home, they can’t go out and play as if nothing happened.”

Barcelona held a twopoint lead over Real Madrid when the LaLiga season was stopped.

While Roures believes it could resume in July, he warned a positive test for COVID-19 from a player after that would see the campaign ended. “If once LaLiga resumes a player tests positive for coronavirus, they will have to throw in the towel and say goodbye to the season,” he said.

Real Madrid not considering wage cut

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s the days go on, reports of the financial impact that the coronavirus crisis will have on football clubs have become increasingly worrying.

However, for the moment, Real Madrid will not have to take any drastic measures.

The Bernabéu board are certain that Madrid’s robust financial position will allow it to withstand the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, which has had devastating effects on other LaLiga clubs, who have been forced to cut player’s wages or put them on Spain’s temporary redundancy scheme, known as ERTE. In LaLiga’s last meeting with clubs, representatives discussed the growing possibility of a worst case scenario in which the season will not be completed. In such a scenario, it was agreed that the clubs would have to come together to decide on how to avoid bankruptcy of the industry amid the prospective loss of 500 million euros yet to be collected from TV broadcasting contracts.

As it stands, Real Madrid is considering neither asking players to accept salary cuts nor the possibility of temporary redundancies under ERTE. However, the club will align with any consensual decision adopted by LaLiga @Businessdayng

in its negotiations with the Spanish Footballers Association. It is also not being ruled out that the Spanish government would be called upon to arbitrate by means of a decree that would establish how to move forward to ensure the survival of the industry – an industry on which many families are dependent in this country.

At Madrid, therefore, they are waiting for events to play out. Many at the club already feel that we could already be in the worst case scenario, where the season is already lost. And it is estimated that, within a week, the Spanish government will step in to take action on the matter.

However, in the short term, the Bernabéu board is calm thanks to club’s strong financial buffers.

The European Club Association recommends an Efficiency Ratio (a club’s total salary bill in relation to its operating income) of 70%.

According to the latest accounts approved by Madrid (those of 2018-19) that ratio is at an incredibly satisfactory 52%. The total wage bill is 394 million euros, while operating income is 757 million euros.

Of the total salary bill of 394 million euros, 283 million euros is paid to the coaching staff and players from the first team.

28

Friday 03 April 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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.’

UBA’s records fastest profit expansion among peers BALA AUGIE

I

t isn’t easy for lenders to thrive in an unfriendly regulatory and macroeconomic environment as policy makers introduce acrimonious and discordant policies that crimps earnings.

These policies, combined with an unstable economy, makes it practically difficult for companies to break even, not to say, deliver the desired returns to shareholders in form of bumper dividend and share appreciation.

In G.R.R Martins award winning book, “The Game of Thrones,” fans favorite, Tywin Lannister, told his nephew and boy King Joffrey that “Monsters are dangerous and, just now, kings are dying like flies.”

Despite the myriad of challenges, United Bank for Africa (UBA) is flourishing as it recorded the fastest profit expansion among peers.

UBA’s net income increased by 13.32 percent as at December 2019, thanks to an uptick in interest on loans and advances, which means the pan Africa bank is leading to the critical sectors of the economy.

That compares with Guaranty Trust (GTBank)’s net income expansion of 6.57 percent; Zenith Bank, 7.97 percent ; First Bank Holdings Plc, 3.93 percent, and Access Bank, 2.66 percent.

Despite a low yield environment as yields on short term government securities started a sharp fall since early 2018, UBA’s interest income on loans and advances to customers spiked by 11.45 percent, the largest expansion in the industry.

Financial Statement review for 2019 For the year ended December 2019, UBA’s gross earnings spiked by 13.10 percent to N559.80 billion from N494.94 billion as at December 2018.

The growth in gross earnings was largely driven by an 11.55 percent increase in interest income and similar charges to N404.83 billion in December 2019 amid a precipitous drop in yields.

Non-interest income spiked by 21.32 percent to N124.41 billion in December 2019 as against N102.55 billion the previous year, as the lender continues to grow transaction counts and volumes across all channels.

Fees and commission income spiked by 22.22 to N80.00 billion in the pe-

Kennedy Uzoka, UBA, group managing director/CEO

riod under review as against N65.44 billion the previous year while interest expense was up 16.33 percent to N182.95 billion In December 2019 from N157.27 billion as at December 2018.

Nigerian Banks are caught in a conundrum as a slew of stringent regulations continue to squeeze them.

Banks regulatory woes started in 2014, when a precipitous drop in crude oil

price battered the economies of oil producing countries with Nigeria slipping into its first recession in 25 years in 2016, but the introduction of a new foreign exchange window by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in June 2017 helped the country exit downturn in the third quarter of 2017.

Fear ate greed for lunch over the last 14 months as the central bank introduced stringent policies that are inimical to banks financial sector, but the regulator had said that the reasons for such rules is to force lenders to extent credit to the economy.

First, the Apex bank hiked the minimum loans to deposit ratio of Deposit Money Banks (DMB s) to 65 percent, with hefty fines for those to meet the requirement.

Second, the regulator pus hed local private and institutional investors out of the Open Markets Operations (OMO).

Third, the central bank hiked the cash reserve ratio to 22.70 from 22.50 percent

as it seeks to raise more zerocost funding from the banks.

The apex bank reduced bank charges, a major source of revenue for lenders in Africa’s largest economy.

Increased transaction volumes buoy profit UBA’s profit before tax (PBT) increased by 4.23 percent to N111.28 billion in December 2019 from N106.76 billion the previous year; the growth in profit was largely driven by efficient balance sheet management and increased transaction a volume s across the lender’s optimised digital banking channels.

Profit after followed the same growth trajectory as it spiked by 13.32 percent to N89.09 billion in the period under from N78.60 billion the previous year.

UBA’s return on average equity increased t0 16.20 percent in the period under review from 15.20 percent as at December 2018; the lender driving improved asset quality, cost efficiency and transaction fees to deliver results.

Cost to income ratio improved to 62.70 percent in the period under review as against 64.0 percent the previous year; what this means is that the lender has been able to curtail costs while growing profit.

To t a l o p e r a t i n g e xpenses were up 10 percent to N2178.16 billion in the period under review from N197.34 billion as at December 2018; the growth in expenses are lower than January inflation figure of 12.13 percent.

Strong Balance Sheet validates loan growth UBA’ total assets grew by 15.07 percent to N5.60 trillion in December 2019 from N4.86 trillion the previous year; the expansion in asset was largely driven by the growth in loans and advances to customers.

Loans and advances to customers increased

BD MARKETS + FINANCE Analysts: BALA AUGIE www.businessday.ng

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@Businessdayng

by 20.16 percent to N2.06 trillion in December 2019 fromN1.71 trillion as at December 2018; The Bank’s loan book focuses on corporate, commercial and retail customers, geographic, sector and customer diversification that reinforces the quality of the portfolio, with less vulnerability to macro and market volatilities.

Deposits to customers were up 14.45 percent to N3.83 trillion in December 2019 from N3.34 trillion the previous year.

“I am indeed excited about the synergy we have built within the UBA Group and the significant progress we have made in our transformation drive. We have positioned the Bank as a truly pan-African banking franchise, leveraging our operations in France, the UK and the USA, to deepen intraAfrican trade, and facilitate capital flows between Africa and the rest of the world. In 2020, we will pursue aggressive deepening of market share in all our subsidiaries, leveraging technology, rich human resources and our customer-first strategy to win in all the markets we operate, notwithstanding the challenges of our operating environment,” said Kennedy Uzoka, Group Managing Director/CEO of UBA. Historical Background United Bank for Africa Plc is a leading Pan-African financial institution, offering diverse banking and payments services to more than eighteen (18) million customers, across 1,000 business offices and customer touch points in 20 African countries. With presence in New York, London and Paris, UBA is connecting people and businesses across Africa through retail, commercial and corporate banking, innovative cross-border payments and remittances, trade finance and ancillary banking services.

Friday 03 April 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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cityfile Kano: Agency secures conviction of 28 drug peddlers

T Law enforcement agents enforcing the directive of the federal government on social distance on motorist carrying overload to curtail the spread of Covid-19 along Dei-Dei /Kubwa expressway in Abuja.

Picture by TUNDE ADENIYI

Rainstorm destroys homes, markets, others in Enugu REGIS ANUKWUOJI, Enugu

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downpour preceded by a devastating windstorm has destroyed houses, markets, power lines and other properties in Enugu city, the capital of Enugu State.

The rain which lasted for about an hour on Tuesday also pulled down a filling station under construction close to a drainage channel on O’Connor Street as well as billboards

at Okpara Square in Independence Layout, Ogui road, Chime Avenue in New Haven.

Roofs of several houses and markets in some parts of the state capital were also blown off.

The incident also result to heavy gridlock at the Miliken Hill road leading to Ngwo in Udi local government area and other parts of the state as trees blown off by the windstorm blocked the road.

Officials of Enugu Capital Territory Development

Agency (ECTDA), led by its general manager, Ken Onoh, who moved in after the windstorm were seen demolishing the affected filling station after the rainstorm.

Onoh also directed all shops and buildings on the drainage channel to vacate or face demolition.

Some of the residents could be seen pleading with the agency to allow them more time to secure alternative location to move their property.

One of the affected res-

idents, Joseph, said that the directive had thrown him off balance as he had no place to go but his village.

“Where do I go with my family? The notice is too short especially this time of coronavirus pandemic.

“We are begging the governor to come to our aid,” he said.

However, some of the affected residents have commenced removal of their belongings amid the lockdown to contain the killer virus.

COVID-19: Kaduna residents decry hike in prices of food items ADEOLA AJAIKAYE with agency report

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esidents of Kaduna have decried sudden hike in the prices of food items, following the stayat-home order imposed by the state government to curtail the spread of Covid-19 pandemic.

Some of the residents in separate interviews, Wednesday, described as alarming the rate at which prices of foodstuff was rising.

Governor Nasir ElRufai, had on March 23, ordered civil servants to work from home and later imposed a curfew in the state on March 27.

A civil servant, Mary Isaac, said that traders have taken advantage of the current situation to

exploit consumers.

“I came to the market to buy a bag of rice which was sold at N22,000 two weeks ago but to my surprise, I was told that a bag of rice was N27,000 and I had no option but to buy.

“I was able to buy, but what about others who can’t afford that, how will they cope?” she said. Isaac appealed to traders to always think about an average person.

Another resident, Musa Liman said he knew that traders would increase the prices of food items “as they have no fear of God.” According to Liman, the prices of corn, maize, tomatoes and rice have increased in just two weeks and even traders with old stocks have increased their prices without thinking of www.businessday.ng

those who do not have the resources.

“People complained that the government does not care about the common man. But it is the common man that lacks compassion for his neighbour,” he lamented.

Liman pleaded with the government to stop the traders from the habit of increasing prices of food items whenever the country is faced with difficult situations.

A motorcyclist, Amos John, said it had not been easy feeding his family since the state government gave the stay-at-home order and the ban of motorcycles from the road.

“I pray this situation will not lead me to beg in order to feed my family, because I do not know

where I will get money as the prices of food items have increased and there is no work for me.

“If a measure of garri can be sold at N300 as against its former price of N90, then how will people survive in this lockdown,” he said.

John called on the government to regulate the prices of food items in the market.

He, however, commended the effort of the federal and state governments towards containing the spread of the coronavirus “This is the time to help each other, as every Nigerian is in one way or the other affected by this pandemic, it’s not only those who have tested positive for it,” John said.

https://www.facebook.com/businessdayng

he National Drugs Law E n f o r c e ment Agenc y (NDLEA) says it has secured the conviction of 28 drug peddlers in Kano State from January to date.

Commander of the agency in Kano, Abdul Ibrahim disclosed this on Wednesday. He said the agency during this period also screened 38 traditional title holders from the Kano emirate council to ensure they were not drug addicts.

Giving the breakdown of arrests during the period under review, he said the command nabbed 203 suspects – 178 males and 25 females.

He explained that out of the number, 25 persons were standing trial in the Federal High Court.

“During the period, we

also seized over two tons of exhibits which include 1,801kg of Cannabis Sativa, popularly known as Indian hemp.

“We also seized 200kg of psychotropic substances during the period.’’

He added that the agency had provided a brief intervention for 209 drug users in the state and another eight brought by their parents and guardians.

The NDLEA commander said that as part of the command’s efforts to reduce drug abuse in Kano, it conducted an awareness campaign across 12 schools in the state.

On the issue of COVID-19, he said the command had discharged inmates with low profile cases and taken necessary measures to prevent the spread of the disease. NAN

COVID-19: Benue fumigates major markets in Makurdi

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enue State government has begun the fumigation of major markets in Makurdi, the state capital as part of the measures to curtail COVID-19.

The state governor Samuel Ortom announced the measure while addressing traders at Wadata, Wurukum, North Bank and Makurdi modern markets on Wednesday.

Ortom urged the traders to comply with the government’s directive of staying at home for 14 days.

“Today we are begging you to obey the directive, but as from tomorrow, the security agencies will be enforcing it.

“We need your cooperation in order to achieve our desired target,” he said.

The governor, who noted that the directive was in the public interest, added

@Businessdayng

that “we do not want our people to be infected by the coronavirus.

“The disease does not have a cure. So, we have to give you advice to enable you to take precautions.”

He advised them to wash their hands often with soap under running water, use hand sanitisers, cover their mouths when coughing or sneezing and maintain social distance.

“Anyone who notices that he or she is coughing, sneezing, having high body temperature, should report to the Federal Medical Centre, Apir and Benue State University Teaching Hospital, Makurdi for testing.

“Do not be afraid or be shy of going to the designated centres for testing when you are experiencing those signs. The government will pay all the medical bills,” Ortom said.

30 BUSINESS DAY

Friday 03 April 2020

news

Covid-19: Lenders worry over mortgage loan defaults as economy weakens CHUKA UROKO

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ike many others, the mortgage industry in Nigeria is at the receiving end of the ravaging impact of the coronavirus pandemic that has weakened the country’s economy and squeezing lenders.

The lenders are worried that the virus is taking toll on household and national economy, meaning that nobody is thinking of taking up mortgage while the capacity of those who have already taken is being eroded by governments policy measures put in place to curtail the spread of the disease.

“Yes, we see loan repayment default. Coronavirus is a global problem that is affecting everybody. Now it has moved from being a financial to an economic crisis. What we have at hand is a health crisis. People are now more concerned about their survival than anything else,”

Niyi Akinlusi, CEO, Trustbond Mortgage Bank, explained to BusinessDay. Continuing, Akinlusi noted that “if people are not healthy, they cannot work and if they cannot work, they cannot earn income and don’t forget that mortgage is given to people based on their income.” He added that even those who are healthy cannot go out because of government’s sit-at-home order.

Clearly, coronavirus is a great threat to the economy given that people are no longer spending having been confined to their homes. “It is through spending that an economy grows,” Akinlusi emphasised.

He is, however, optimistic that nations, including Nigeria, would come out of this scourge stronger and better having learnt a couple of lessons. He hopes too that after the crisis there will be increased demand for housing, noting that, at the moment, not

many people have good houses and easy access to water.

The worry in the mortgage industry is also palpable in the housing sector where developers are concerned about their sector in particular and the economy in general.

“My major concern is the well-being of every citizen and that we are all safe. As a CEO and an investor, I am concerned about what comes after the pandemic. I am also concerned about what would be the state of the economy and how it will affect our business?” Olawale Ayilara, founder/CEO of LandWey Investment, said.

Ayilara, who spoke in an interview with BusinessDay last weekend, wondered how businesses would recover from the pandemic. He was not sure what measures government would put in place to ensure investments and that of their clients were secure.

“But, more importantly, how can we innovate our business to ensure that the economic impact is minimal,” he queried, disclosing that, as a forward thinking and innovative company, they had earlier discussed the option of operating virtually.

“We had begun plans towards implementing that for Quarter 3. Really, what this pandemic did was to move up the timeline we initially set. We’ve also had to reschedule major organizational activities to support the efforts of the government in curbing the spread. At the moment, our employees are safely working from home, the business is fully operational and our virtual operations platform is active,” he said.

At a time like this when other investment asset classes, especially equities, don’t hold out much hope and promise, Ayilara advised yield-hungry investors to think real estate.

GPAAN commends FG, urges residents to observe sit-at-home order in Lagos, others Iniobong Iwok

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embers of the Guild of Public Affairs Analysts of Nigeria (GPAAN) led by Ayo Baje wish to express their unflinching support for the lockdown in Lagos, Ogun states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), that will last 14 days as declared by the Federal Government of Nigeria.

In a statement signed by Victor Anya, general secretary, the group notes that the lockdown is aimed at containing the spread of the new deadly coronavirus that has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Though, the lockdown is a painful decision but it is a sacrifice that must be made by the citizens of the areas affected by the lockdown. This is also to prevent community transmission of Covid-19, which the WHO has said it would be catastrophic if it does occur.

“Though, the lockdown is commendable but we the members of GPAAN are however, worried that there are no palliatives to mitigate the foreseeable sufferings the citizens will undergo during the lockdown.

“The reason for this worry is because many Nigerians are in the informal sector of the economy who get their daily bread by selling wares in the markets, hawking goods, riding commercial motorcycles, tricycles, buses

and doing menial jobs in order to eat daily. With the lockdown, they can no longer go out to seek their daily bread and without palliatives, it will be impracticable to expect Nigerians to stay indoors for 14 days if there are no foods for them to eat.

“To this end, for the lockdown to be effective, we suggest that the various donations from within and outside the country be fairly distributed to the vulnerable Nigerians through the instrumentality of the Bank Verification Number, Drivers’ Licence, Voter’s cards and National Identity Cards so that these underprivileged Nigerians can get relief in this trying times,” the group said.

It also said it was not enough for Nigerians to stay indoors, adding, “There should be creation of more testing centres so that Nigerians can volunteer themselves to be tested for the COVID-19 so that they can ascertain their coronavirus status.”

The group also noted that “There are certain lessons to be learnt from the outbreak of COVID-19. The first lesson is that there is an urgent need for a centralised data base which can be achieved by harmonising the various data fractions such as the Bank Verification Number; Drivers’ Licence; Voters’ Cards and the National Identity Cards. If these fractions of data are harmonised, this will give us a workable centralised data base.

Coronavirus: Dawn Project canvasses support to tackle climate change KELECHI EWUZIE

D Where are the Trucks and Containers?The 14 days lockdown by the Federal Government to curb the spread of COVID-19 has made this ever busy Ijora/Apapa Bridges in Lagos free from gridlock it is usually identified with. Pic by Pius Okeosisi

Covid-19: More corporate Nigerians rally round NCDC in fight against pandemic SEYI JOHN SALAU

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s the battle to minimise the impact of the global pandemic in Nigeria wages on, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has continued to receive support from companies and private individuals alike. This has become increasingly evident that all hands must be on deck to effectively contain the virus that currently threatens global economic activities.

MTN Nigeria recently joined the list of corporations that have merged forces with NCDC in the fight against the Covid-19. The NCDC announced via its official Twitter handle that it had received support from MTN to ensure that mobile users were receiving verified information on Covid-19.

The recent support from MTN was to boost the Centre’s Surveillance, Outbreak Response Management and Analysis System (SORMAS) tool, which helps to digitalise disease surveillance by capturing,collatinganddisplaying data for prompt decision making.

Tobechukwu Okigbo, chief corporate services officer of MTN Nigeria, says the company will continue to engage with the governmentandrelevantstakeholders

in pursuit of new ways to leverage its core expertise, technology and infrastructure to support government’s efforts to keep citizens safe.

‘In the next few days, we believe that the various conversations around partnerships will start yielding visible results,” Okigbo states.

Donation from MTN included 1,200 SIM packs, provision of N100,000 airtime and 3GB data monthly for an initial period of six months; 38 toll-free lines (premium numbers) and 38 MTN Smart feature phones for the tollfreelines;10MiFidevices;anddaily COVID-19preventionmessagesto all MTN subscribers from NCDC. According to Okigbo, the support is an immediate intervention which key into a bigger Yello Hope Package initiative aimed at supporting its customers and government in the battle against the pandemic.

Remember, GTBank had earlier announced its collaboration with the Lagos State Government in the conversion of Teslim BalogunStadiumtoanIsolationCentre, while United Bank for Africa Plc., announced the donation of $14m across Africa to catalyse a panAfrican response to controlling the spread of the pandemic across the continent. www.businessday.ng

BoI records N39.33bn profit, disburses N234bn to 10,145 enterprises GBEMI FAMINU

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ith N234 billion disbursed to 10,145 enterprises, thus facilitating creating of an estimated 1 million direct and indirect jobs, the Bank of Industry (BoI) has recorded a profit of N39.33 billion for the 2019 financial year.

Indeed, the 2019 financial account of the BoI reflects a strong balance sheet as well as sustained business growth in line with both regulatoryrequirementandglobal best practices.

It also indicates a strong alignment with the strategic objectives of the Federal Government, especially in the areas of industrial growth and job creation.

The group’s total equity as at year ended 2019 was N293.09 billionshowinga13.4%increaseover 2018 position of N258.24 billion.

In the same vein, profit before tax of the group grew to N39.33 billion marking a year-on-year growth of 7.2% over N36.66 billion of 2018. The increase in profitability is as a result of improvement in loan book, as well as the efficient management of the group’s other assets and liabilities.

Despite a slow start in the first quarter of the year due to the

build-up to the 2019 general elections, loans and advances grew by 16.7%fromN634.11billionin2018 to N740.03 billion in 2019.

Interest income and interest expense increased by 20% and 54% on a year-on-year basis, respectively, due to increase in loan book as well as the impact of borrowings (full-year impact on the interest expense in 2019, while 2018 impact was for six months).

Intheyear,thebankdisbursed a total of N234 billion to 10,145 enterprises, thus facilitating the creating of an estimated 1 million direct and indirect jobs.

The disbursement to the Micro,SmallandMediumEnterprises (MSME) segment increased fromN33.9billionin2018toN53.0 billion in 2019, representing a remarkable 56.3% year-on-year growth.

The bank also consolidated its role as the managing partner of one of the Federal Government’s Social Investment Programmes, Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP). N8.2 billion was disbursed to beneficiaries in 2019, thus bringing the total disbursed amount since inception to N36.9 billion to 2.3 million beneficiaries nationwide.

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etermined to tackle the growing concern of climate change today as Nigeria and the world battle the Coronavirus (Covid-19) attack, the Dawn Project, as part of its awareness drive, has unveiled an essay competition titled ‘A Plea,’ which is a poem written

by Pamela Ajayi.

The competition is aimed at raising greater awareness, advocacy and education among citizens on the importance of environmental consciousness.

According to the organisers, “The Dawn Project’s has a unique approach to the climate crisis as proposed in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Nos. 13 Take Urgent Action to Combat Climate Change and its Impact is through the adoption of Art (spoken, written, musical, visual and/or movement) as a means of expressing the issues and seeking creative solutions”.

Pamela Ajayi, speaking at the official launch of the poem recently in Lagos, said this had become necessary as a result of the happenings around the world, which is a clear negligence on the impacts of negative actions on mother earth.

Ajayi, while commenting on the guidelines to the Dawn Project, said primary school pupils and secondary school students were to write between 75 to 300 words creative essay on the interpretation of the poem, ‘A Plea’. “What ideas and feelings does it evoke? What are the solutions or suggestions to address the issues identified?

She said that pupils were expected to think broadly about @Businessdayng

the threat of climate change in their lifetime, community and country as the put pen to paper, as entries would close April 22.

The Coronavirus pandemic serves as a dawn of a new conscience that should make people get in tune with their environment, she said, adding that there is a strong relationship between the health of the world and medicine.

On the relevance of the poem to COVID-19, “As a medical practitioner, what I have found out is that there is a strong relationship between the environment and our health.

Globally, when there is climate change, the negative changes have negative impacts on our health.

“It is high time people realised this simple phenomenon. We may not realise it, but there are certain things that come with global climate change,” she said.

According to Ajayi, pupils between the ages of seven and 14 will win a cash prize of N50,000, N20,000 and N10,000 for the first, second and third positions, respectively, including consolation prizes and a grand prize of N100,000 for the best creative design in that category.

She said students between the ages of 15 and 18 will win cash prizes of N100,000, N50,000 and N20,000 for the first, second and third positions respectively and 10 consolation prizes, while adults will smile home with cash prizes of N200,000, N100,000 and N50,000 for the first, second and third positions respectively with five consolation prizes of N20,000.

Friday 03 April 2020

BUSINESS DAY

news Covid-19: Access Bank introduces DTS to meet customers’ funding needs Hope Moses-Ashike

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ccess Bank plc has introduced a Dual Transaction Service (DTS), an enhanced debit card service that provides access to credit at the same time, to help its customers meet their funding needs as citizens continue to observe the government’s stayat-home order.

The DTS is a bundled service designed to allow preapproved customers access a credit line through their existing debit card.

“This is the first time any bank in Nigeria will be providing this kind of combined essential service to its customers.

We have been encouraging our customers to stay safe and connected by going cashless while using our various digital channels,” said Victor Etuokwu, executive director, retail banking, Access Bank plc.

“We know these are trying times and our customers may need an extra boost during this period so rather than have them go through the rigorous process of applying for a credit card, we will give them access to more funds using their existing debit cards,” Etuokwu said.

He said the service is available to all Access Bank customers who earn from N20,000

and above.

“Customers can also access three times the value of their salary during this period of restricted movement. This is a remarkable feat and we will continue to promote digital transactions and discourage branch banking until we completely come out of the pandemic times,” he said.

To activate the service, the bank said all the customers need to do is dial *901*14# from the comfort of their homes, choose credit as account type on any POS or ATM terminal during any transaction to access the credit line through their debit card.

“The dual card service from Access Bank plc is the first-ofits-kind on the continent. The features of the dual transaction service represents another milestone in our mission to transform banking and demonstrates how far we have come in such a short time,” Etuokwu said.

Access Bank recently donated N1 billion as part of its contribution to fight coronavirus in Nigeria. The bank has also reached out to its customers via several communications channels (SMS, emails) to go cashless by using the Access Bank electronic and digital platforms during this period of the pandemic to remain safe.

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95% of coronavirus cases in Lagos are mild … patients are administered antiviral medicines for recovery ANTHONIA OBOKOH & MICHAEL ANI

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bout 95 percent of the 82 persons diagnosed with the coronavirus pandemic in Lagos State are suffering from mild cases of the virus.

Very few of these cases are chronic, explaining why the recovery rates have been commendable, according to Iorhen Akase, a specialist of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Immunology at the infectious disease unit, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, Lagos.

“What we have seen is the fact that most people being treated have mild cases of the virus, only about three chronic cases have been seen in Lagos so far,” Akase said.

Nigeria’s biggest commercial city, Lagos, has been the most hit by the virus, accounting for 60 percent of the over 151 persons the Nigerian Centre for Disease and Control (NCDC) said had so far been tested positive of the

virus, as of Wednesday, April 1, 2020.

That is a wide gap when compared with the 28 cases recorded in Abuja, the country’s second hit city. President Muhammadu Buhari had since on Sunday directed a total lockdown in the aforementioned state and city.

Osun State came third after recording 14 cases; while Oyo State, whose governor had tested positive for the virus, has recorded eight cases.

Both Ogun and Edo states have recorded four cases each; Kaduna three cases; Enugu, Bauchi and Ekiti have two cases each; while Rivers and Benue both have one case each that had tested positive for the virus.

But despite the high numbers of positive cases emanating from Lagos, there have been commendations as to how the state has handled the pandemic, with the state so far discharging a total of nine persons struck with the virus.

Akase, who spoke with other doctors on a Webinar session

hosted by Synlab, said although there had been no cure to the virus, however, the Lagos State government had succeeded in administering some antiviral medications as well as other supportive care that had so far helped patients in recovering from the disease.

Akase however did not mention the names of these antiviral drugs.

Nigeria has only six accredited centres in which it tests people for the coronavirus, based on NCDC data, but it is working on ramping up the numbers to 13 in order to meet up with the growing list of Nigerians seeking to get tested.

The centres, according to the disease control agency, include NCDC National Reference Laboratory, Abuja; Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Edo; Nigeria Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), Lagos; Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos, University College Hospital, Ibadan, and African Centre of Excel-

lence for Genomics of Infectious Disease.

Akase noted that due to the shortage of centres, not everybody would be allowed to get tested.

According to Akase, only those who are showing symptoms of the disease or those who have travel history to any highrisk country with widespread community transmission of the pandemic are tested.

He commended the Federal Government’s directive of the lockdown, noting it would help in properly containing the spread by removing those who were developing symptoms of the virus.

“There are the symptomatic and the asymptomatic carriers of the virus. The later might have the virus but might not show any symptoms while the former are those who show signs of the system. The 14 days will allow us to identify those with the symptoms so they don’t spread to more and more people,” he said.

Lagos disinfects Ikoyi-Lekki link bridge, Lekki Tollgate, others JOSHUA BASSEY & AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE

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isinfection of public places is continuing in Lagos, Nigeria’s largest commercial city with the highest cases of the Covid-19 pandemic.

By Thursday, April 2, Nigeria has recorded a total of 174 confirmed cases of coronavirus with Lagos having 91. The state government last week began the disinfection of public places as a measure to contain the spread of the virus.

The disinfection team yesterday moved to Eti-Osa Local Government where it sprayed the railings of the Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge and Lekki Tollgate.

The exercise is expected to move in the coming days to Ikorodu, Lagos Mainland, Ajah, Apapa and the Igammu axis as the 14-day lockdown continues.

Amid the lockdown, residents of Lagos have started moving out to the streets in search of livelihood. In some parts of Alimosho metropolis, they were seen on Thursday engaging in various trading activities to earn a living.

Oluwasegun Benson, vector control consultant, Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, said the exercise was to ensure a clean environment and protect the citizenry against contracting the virus.

“Mr Governor, who is the incident commander, mandated us to disinfect the whole of Lagos State, especially the parks and areas that are prone to infection spread, due to the handling of hand railings at bus

stops and the likes.

“We disinfected the Lekki Tollgate and the Lekki/Ikoyi link bridge hand railings where many people jog. We felt it was necessary because a lot of hands touch the railings to reduce the possibilities of being infected when normal activities resume.

“We disinfect at night to ensure effectiveness and ensure the chemicals used will have no adverse effect on human health as it remains one of the means to kill the virus,” he said.

He explained that there were differences between disinfection and fumigation, depending on chemicals used and proper dilution rate.

“Disinfecting is sanitising or applying disinfectant that would kill viruses, while fumigation is using insecticides to kill pets.

“The viruses are invisible to the eyes, preferably such samples of disinfectant chemicals are Sodium hypo chlorides, Sulphur with a mix of hydrogen peroxide to make it effective for sanitising.

“That is why we are encouraged to make use of our hand sanitisers which contains about 70 per cent of alcohol; these are all the substances that kill viruses on surfaces,” Benson said.

Meanwhile, three days into the 14-day lockdown imposed by the Federal Government, residents of Lagos have started moving out to the streets in search of food.

Compliance with the social distancing directive is also ebbing as many were seen on Thursday socialising and drinking together.

L-R: Acquaye Matilda, sales manager, Multipro Consumer Product Limited, Central Region Abuja; Muhammed Abubakar, marketing manager, MCPL; Enu Jubril, sales manager, MCPL; John Oladejo, incident manager, Covid-19 NCDC; Gbenga Joseph, assistant director, logistics, NCDC, and Ali Hawal, head of store, NCDC, during HYPO donation of 200 cartons of bleach to NCDC, Abuja.

Aluko’s Residence by Ogelle offers comic relief amid coronavirus panic BUNMI BAILEY

T

he outbreak and rapid spread of the deadly coronavirus have put major cities across the world on lockdown, including Lagos and Abuja, Nigeria’s two most prominent cities, as well as fast-industrialising Ogun State which enjoys proximity to Lagos.

Nigeria’s Federal Government last Sunday pronounced a 14-day lockdown on two states and the Federal Capital Territory, forcing citizens in these areas to stay at home.

In order to help citizens cope w ith the boredom occasioned by the stay-athome order, Ogelle.com, Africa’s first user generated content platform with 100

www.businessday.ng

percent focus on African content, has continued a weekly release of episodes of its flagship comedy series, Aluko’s Residence.

Aluko’s Residence premiered at the Genesis Cinema, The Palms, Lagos on March 8, with film-goers and enthusiasts thrilled by Season 1 of the web-audience comedy series.

Ev e r y M o n d a y s i n c e then, a new episode of the series has been released online exclusively on www. ogelle.com.

Aluko’s Residence, produced by Reddot Television Network, parent company of Ogelle, is the story of a newly married young couple with rather faulty marital foundation. Ola Aluko (played by Jimi Odukoya)

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falls on hard times but is convinced by a pastor that getting married is the solution out of his stagnant career. His fiancée Ovie (played by Uru Eke), a successful wedding planner, bails him out as she sponsors their wedding with the promise that he will repay as soon as fortune smiles on him. The couple agree to keep this a secret and both families are not aware of this arrangement. The upheavals arising from this arrangement, the interference of family members who feel entitled, and the antics of the security man at the gate, Bill Gates (played

by Mong Kalu), are what make the drama tick.

In addition to Aluko’s Residence, Ogelle also released four other shows to @Businessdayng

help ease tension during the ‘compulsory holiday’.

“Ogelle has released four exclusive shows to support your stay at home: 4Some – 6 episodes; The Lounge – 6 episodes; Life on the Plus Side – 6 episodes, and Health Hup – 7 episodes,” Osita Oparaugo, CEO of Reddot Television Network, said in a WhatsApp message.

He said Ogelle urges its audiences to stay safe by obser ving the necessar y guidelines as outlined by government and its relevant agencies.

“Social distancing WORKS! Please isolate yourself and live! Stay home, stay safe. The world will win, God willing,” Oparaugo said.

Friday 03 April 2020

Harvard Business Review

BUSINESS DAY

33

ManagementDigest

Virtual off-sites that work Bob Frisch and Dan Prager

A

CONNECTING re “off-sites” off for the foreseeable future? Amid the current pandemic, social-distancing recommendations and travel restrictions have made it difficult, if not impossible, for organizations to convene teams of any size within their offices, much less at sessions outside them. So we need to learn how to do them virtually, just as we’re doing with every other vital work process.

The foundation of an effective virtual off-site remains basic meeting management: clear objectives, a well-crafted agenda, concise preparatory materials, a well-chosen group of attendees, documented decisions and specific next steps. Drawing from our decades of experience running in-person and virtual off-sites, we’ve distilled additional practices you can employ to make yours more effective: — DISPLAY A WELCOME SCREEN: As attendees sign on, welcome them with helpful instructions. Using Zoom, you might greet attendees

this way: “Welcome! Please exit full screen (but maximize your viewing window), open your chat window (by clicking on ‘chat’ in the toolbar) and raise your hand (by clicking ‘raise hand’ in the toolbar).”

— MAKE IT INTERACTIVE: An activity or icebreaker at the start connects participants and makes them comfortable with the virtual setting.

— SET CLEAR GROUND RULES: Rules commonly used for in-person off-sites still apply: return from breaks on time, be candid, headline your comments, use tricks for

cutting people off. Others are specific to virtual meetings: “raise hand” instead of jumping in, stay on video throughout, mute when possible (but no need to apologize for the occasional barking dog or crying baby).

— TAKE MORE BREAKS: We find that 15-minute breaks every 90 minutes give people time to reset.

— MINIMIZE PRESENTATIONS, MAXIMIZE DISCUSSION: Long presentations can destroy a meeting’s momentum. Background information, whenever possible,

should be well edited and provided in advance. If a brief presentation or update is required, use screen sharing to show the material so everyone can follow along.

— USE TECHNOLOGY TO MAXIMIZE ENGAGEMENT: Gathering input during a virtual off-site is critical, especially since visual cues are more difficult to read. The features included in videoconferencing software and other survey and collaboration tools provide numerous ways to capture the thinking of attendees. Here are a few tech-

niques we’ve employed: 1. BREAKOUTS: Putting attendees in small virtual groups helps to break up the day and provides a more intimate setting to solve problems.

2. VOTING: Allow participants to respond anonymously to questions in real time.

3. STAMPING: Letting participants annotate or “stamp” a shared screen is a way for them to provide feedback, indicate preferences or identify where they have questions.

4. CHAT: Chat provides an additional forum for attendees to offer opinions to the full group or directly to the meeting facilitators.

With the right preparation, a focus on good meeting practices, careful use of various tools, some rehearsal and a willingness to experiment, it’s relatively easy to conduct virtual off-sites that allow you and your team to productively tackle even the toughest issues. And it’s likely you may have to do just that for quite some time.

Bob Frisch is the managing partner of the Strategic Offsites Group, where Cary Greene is a partner and Dan Prager is a senior manager.

7 questions to raise immediately after you’re laid off Susan Peppercorn MONEY

W

ith unemployment claims surging past the 3 million mark this March — the highest number in U.S. history — anxiety about job loss looms large.

Since the first case of COVID-19 was reported in the U.S. in January, nearly 1 in 5 American workers has been laid off or has experienced hours reductions, according to Marist. And the worst may be yet to come.

According to Moody’s Analytics, nearly 80 million people in the U.S. are at a moderate or high risk of being laid off as a result of the pandemic — meaning more than half the workforce could be facing job losses in the months ahead.

I polled several human resources experts and executive coaches about the questions that workers should ask their employers if they’re laid off during the pandemic. Here are

their collective suggestions: — WHEN WILL I RECEIVE MY LAST PAYCHECK? WILL I GET PAID FOR MY UNUSED VACATION TIME? Find out when you’ll receive your last paycheck.

Verify details on benefits with HR, such as whether you’ll get paid for unused vacation time.

Apply for unemployment insurance as soon as possible.

— WILL I RECEIVE SEVERANCE PAY? Severance packages usu-

ally consist of a lump sum paid to employees after their last day of employment. No federal laws currently require businesses to offer severance to terminated employees, but don’t assume you can’t ask for more than the company is offering.

— HOW LONG WILL I HAVE TO EXERCISE MY STOCK OPTIONS? Holding your stock options until the market rebounds may make good sense if your

severance plan allows an extended period to exercise them.

— IS THE COMPANY OFFERING HEALTH CARE COVERAGE AFTER MY LAST DAY OF WORK? If so, make sure to ask HR what type of coverage your employer will provide, for how long, and what the costs will be to you.

— WILL YOU PROVIDE A REFERENCE FOR ME? Prospective employers will want to speak directly with your references before extending an offer to you, so be sure to line up your recommenders before your last day on the job.

— HOW CAN I GET COPIES OF MY PERFORMANCE REVIEWS, AND BY WHEN? If you haven’t saved copies of your performance reviews, ask your employer to send them to you before your last day. Concrete examples of your accomplishments and words of affirmation from

your manager in writing are invaluable.

— WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO MY 401(K)?

If you’re a high-income earner and can afford to funnel more toward your longterm savings, ask your employer if you can contribute the maximum amount to your 401(k) plan before your last paycheck. What happens to your retirement plan after you leave the company varies depending on the type of plan you have.

Losing your job, even when the reason has nothing to do with you, can bring feelings of loss, powerlessness and grief.

By asking your employer the questions above while you’re still employed, you can regain a sense of agency and learn what to do to take care of yourself.

Susan Peppercorn is an executive career transition coach and the author of “Ditch Your Inner Critic at Work.”

34

Friday 03 April 2020

BUSINESS DAY

Culinary Delights COVID-19: The effects of Coronavirus on the restaurant business in Nigeria

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n late December 2019, news of a rapidly-spreading pneumonia-like virus in China started spreading across the world. The novel coronavirus, now called COVID- 19, which causes respiratory illness was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organisation on March 11. It has spread to at least 170 countries, infecting over 600,000 people and killing more than 30,000 people. Nigeria recorded its first case in February of 2020, and life as we know it has changed drastically.

As the numbers of infected people keeps rising, individuals and businesses alike are suffering greatly and are having to improvise.

Restaurants and food businesses around the country are not left out of the economic effects of COVID-19 . Because public safety is the number one priority for all, many restaurants and eateries have taken the decision to close indefinitely, while others have chosen to only operate delivery services.

While the restaurant business adapts to the changes, it is clear that COVID-19 is affecting the industry greatly; innovation will

play a huge part in how businesses are able to lessen the economic impact. Restaurants typically make their money on a daily basis from walk-in customers and with the social distancing regulations this has drastically reduced or stopped altogether. Before the coronavirus pandemic, you could stop by any restaurant or eatery at lunchtime on a normal day and get a sense of its success. The past few days paints a much dimmer picture as most restaurants are closed until further notice.

Due to social distancing rules as a way to curb the virus, delivery options have become imperative for all restaurants who choose to stay open during this time. While most restaurants have decided to close due to the high risk to both their staff and customers, many have decided to only operate on a delivery or pick up basis. Food delivery requires innovative logistical interventions that may include buying new delivery bikes or using existing delivery companies. Restaurants are listing their meals on Jumia Food and others, while others are creating their owns apps to aid with delivery. Popular restaurant Nuli Lounge founder Ada Osakwe said “The ongoing health pandemic has caused us to close our restaurants to all visiting customers. We are still delivering your favorite Nuli Products across the mainland and island. Please order on our Nuli app.”

Instagram/ Twitter @lehlelaimiere

Lehle Balde works at BusinessDay in the department of Strategy Innovation and Partnerships, she is also a financial inclusion advocate and impact investing radio anchor.

Originally from Senegal Lehle has a passion for culinary experiences.

Follow @bdculinarydelights on Instagram.

Like many of you working from home, I have been doing a mixture of cooking myself and ordering food from restaurants I trust. Here are five of my favorite places on the island to order from in Lagos during the coronavirus shutdown: Cafeteria, Circa Non-Pareille, Z Kitchen, Toasties, Memories of Ethiopia, Mint By GC. If you google any of these places or visit their websites you can find the contact information.

Tips for consumers 1. Don’t be afraid to call up the restaurant to find out about their hygiene adaptations if they are offering delivery.

While most restaurants have made public statements on their websites and social media handles. Still feel free to call and make inquiries to make you more comfortable. Thankfully according to the World Health Organisation, there is no evidence that COVID-19 can be transmitted through food, however, it is

important to note that it can be transmitted through infected surfaces. As always, and especially at this time, sanitise your hands frequently, disinfect all surfaces including cutlery and avoid touching your face. If you have to receive food, please ensure you wear gloves and disinfect the takeaway packages.

2. Stock up on essential foods While ordering food is great, it is unsustainable and given the unpredictability of the pandemic, if you are able to, I suggest you go to your favourite super-

market and stock up on essential foods that can last you for two weeks. While doing so remember to practice social distancing and to wear protective wear and use a sanitiser often.

3. Don’t panic, cook at home Given the 14-day lockdown which started on March 30, in Lagos, Abuja, and Ogun, this is the perfect time to spend time cooking at home if you can. Nutrition is key during this time. So, why not make time to cook your favourite dishes? Culinary Delights recipe edition which is brought to you by Maggi features delicious and diverse Nigerian recipes such as Efo riro, Edikaikong, Dambun Shinkafa, Ofe Akwu and others with very easy to follow instructions. You can find all the recipes online on our website.

Cooking at home will give you full control of the state and condition of your food and preparatory conditions and will make you an even better cook because remember that practice makes perfect! Ensure to eat al immune-boosting foods such as citrus fruit, fresh vegetables, almonds, yogurt, garlic and ginger. Lemon water as well as saltwater have been said to help as well.

Tips for restaurant owners • Put health and safety first As difficult as this time is, it is important that you remember that it is your responsibility to put people’s health first. We understand that the lack of movement is slowing down your sales, but fear not this too shall pass and you will be back on your feet in no time.

• Technology and digital integration will be key Ensure to stay in

touch with your customers digitally. Send emails, update your social media handles and websites. Keep your customers informed on what hygiene changes you are adapting and if you have to close, inform them of the reasons why and what alternatives you may be providing. Consider building an app or registering or Jumia foods.

• If you are going to stay open, ensure you have your best manpower dealing with orders The staff you choose to work at this time is crucial.

Ensure you equip them with the necessary precautionary equipment. Keep in mind that people that have to work during this time are under enormous pressure and anxiety. Take it easy on them and ensure they are healthy and check on their mental health as well. Try to organize transport to and from their houses if you can, to make it easier on them.

To all our dear Culinary Delights readers, we hope you stay strong and healthy during this time. Please also ensure to take care of your mental health by trying to exercise at home and keeping in touch with your loved ones.

I really look forward to continuing physical restaurant reviews when this pandemic is over and we are able to access public spaces again, in the meantime Culinary Delights will focus on showcasing the delicious delicacies that Lagos has to offer through delivery.

You can protect yourself and help prevent spreading the virus if you: • Wash your hands regularly for 20 seconds, with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub your nose and mouth • Cover with a disposable tissue or flexed elbow when you cough or sneeze • Maintain at least 1 metre (3 feet) distance between yourself and anyone who is coughing or sneezing • Stay home and self-isolate from others in the household if you feel unwell touch your eyes, nose, • Don’t or mouth if your hands are unclean

To make recommendations or for collaborations please send an email to lehle.balde@businessday.ng www.businessday.ng

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@Businessdayng

Friday 03 April 2020

BUSINESS DAY

35

FEATURE Nigeria’s Nasidi and America’s Fauci: Two virologists of a kind in the fight against a novel virus Bashir Ibrahim Hassan

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n the panicky moment of the Covid-19 pandemic slowly setting its wicked grip around the country’s socio-economic life, nothing is needed more than heeding to the advice of health experts. And expert suggestions are not in short supply from medical and health authorities.

One of the experts who have been providing such advisories in recent time is Prof. Abdulsalam Nasidi, arguably our own Dr. Anthony Fauci. In a recent interview that he had with one of the national business dailies, the Professor of virology has called on President Buhari to talk to the nation and to take lead in the fight against Covid-19, as his predecessor did the case of Ebola epidemic outbreak some years back.

Last Friday March 29th, the President heeded this call and addressed the nation. He announced proactive measures, such as imposing lockdowns on FCT and two states — Lagos and Ogun. On Monday March 30th he signed a 5-page quarantine act that gave him the power to lock down the three locations mentioned above.

Prof. Abdulsalam Nasidi graduate of medicine did his housemanship in 1977 in Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. After his housemanship, he did his masters in epidemiology in the year 1979 and obtained a Ph D in Virology in 1983. He then worked at the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Yaba, until 1986, when he was appointed by the Federal Ministry of Health to head its vaccine production centre from 1986 to 1990. He became Nigeria’s chief epidemiologist for Nigeria for 16 years.

He was appointed director public health in the ministry 2008. He retired and by 2011, but was called back by the ministry to establish and serve as its pioneer CEO of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

Dr. Antony Fauci is the face of the US’ war against Covid-19. His CV reads like that of our own Prof.

Nasidi. He is an American physician and immunologist, who has served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAD0) since 1984. Since January 2020, he has been one of the leading members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force addressing the 2019-20 coronavirus pandemic in the US. As a physician with the National Institute of Health (NIH) of the United States, he has served public health in various capacities for over fifty years. He has made contributions to HIV/ AIDS research and other immunedeficiencies, both as a scientist and as the head of the NIAID at the NIH.

Abdulsalam Nasidi

Like Fauci, our Prof. Nasidi has a lot of advice for federal and State governments on containment efforts so far put in place. But, without mincing words, the bottom line is these levels of governments need to do more in the face of the viral nature of the disease in question.

Before we take a glimpse at his perspectives, let us examine last Friday’s speech of the President.

The speech was reassuring as far as taking the public along on the efforts the government is making in the fight against the pandemic and the kind of resource it is committing is concerned.

Overall, the speech focused mainly on efforts put in place to diagnose and track the contacts of confirmed cases, patient and some of the measures taken to ameliorate the hardship that is bound to follow people’s movement restrictions Government is putting in place.

What the speech fall short of highlighting is what preparation have we put in place to manage the victims apart from designating stadia and pilgrims’ camps as isolation centres. It is from this perspective that I found the advice of Prof. Nasidi quite imperative. The learned virologist advises both the Federal and State Governments to be proactive and be prepared for the eventualities of major outbreaks by ensuring that the following are sourced well stocked. He also emphasized the need for coordinated approach to the response against COVID 19 by both the Federal and State governwww.businessday.ng

ments. Similarly he called for harmonization of public and private sector and non-governmental organizations contribution. Other advise for the two governments structures is ensuring availability the following: • Enough masks • Respiratory machines • Well-equipped isolation centres • Disinfection to decontaminate surfaces • Protective gears to protect the health workers in the front lines of containment • Enough laboratory reagents (beyond those donated by WHO and the US Centre for Disease Control (CDC).

• Hand sanitizers • Necessary drugs needed by the victims • Intensification of the tracking of the primary and secondary contacts

‘

I have directed that the conditional cash transfers for the next two months be paid immediately. Our Internally displaced persons will also receive two months of food rations in the coming weeks

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of confirmed cases to prevent contamination of other citizenry In the light of the 15 billion naira set aside by the Federal Government and the flurry of donations from the private sector, one will expect more to have been achieved in terms of preparations to manage the rising number patients (131 as I write this article) beyond the current containment phase.

Prof. Nasidi has commendations for the NCDC’s readiness from the perspective of diagnostics. In his words, “We are using the laboratories that we established at LUTH to fight Ebola. It is what we are using to confirm the Coronavirus and sequence the virus, including the one at the NIMR. So, you can see that from the diagnostic point of view, we are ready, and in positioning manpower, we are also trying. At least we are using the NCDC team and the team in Lagos.”

But beyond the containment phase, we don’t seem to be well prepared. When next the President speaks to the nation, we will expect he will heed the advice of experts like Prof. Nasidi on what need to be on ground in preparation of possible outbreak.

The two-step approach to tackling the pandemic, the President explained in his speech, is alright.

That is, to protect the lives of our fellow Nigerians and residents living here and, second, to preserve the livelihoods of workers and business owners to ensure their families get through this very difficult time in @Businessdayng

dignity and with hope and peace of mind.

Within the context of the first approach, it will be good if the President takes cognizance of two major phases to fighting Covid 19 containment and treatment. We have done relatively well according to experts like Prof. Nasidi on containment, but relatively poorly in preparing for treatment when the need arises.

In his speech the President addressed how he plans to help the most vulnerable in society saying: “I have directed that the conditional cash transfers for the next two months be paid immediately.

Our Internally displaced persons will also receive two months of food rations in the coming weeks”.

In his next address to the nation, we will expect what provisions his government has made to cater for those lying critically in the hospitals suffering from the debilitating agony of Covid 19.

He has also hinted on how he plans to build the human resource capacity to face the pandemic where he said: “I also requested, through the Nigeria Governors Forum, for all State Governments to nominate Doctors and Nurses who will be trained by the NCDC and Lagos State Government on tactical and operational response to the virus in case it spreads to other states. This training will also include medical representatives from our armed forces, paramilitary and security and intelligence agencies”.

Beyond the Presidential Task Force that is working to address the current Covid 19 pandemic, we need to take lessons from the way the pandemic surprised the world by putting robust mechanisms in place that will monitor occurrence of such outbreaks in future. Here I am suggesting a Presidential Health Intelligence Committee of sorts. The committee will be independent, even though it will work closely with established health institutions and relevant stakeholders. As the name suggests, the committee will report directly to the President and engage him proactively in identifying health red flags and advising what needs to be done to contain them before they become epidemic.

In his speech last Friday, the President acknowledged the role of expert advice in these words: “As a Government, we will continue to rely on guidance of our medical professionals and experts at the Ministry of Health, NCDC and other relevant agencies through this difficult time.”

It now remains for the NCDC to extend similar recognition for the advice of the many experts we have in the country, which it can pass on to President Buhari.

• Hassan wrote this piece from Abuja

36

Friday 03 April 2020

BUSINESS DAY

FT

FINANCIAL TIMES

World Business Newspaper

America shuts the barn door too late on the epidemic

The division in tackling coronavirus in the US is not based on politics but on competence Edward Luce

E

veryone knows the drill about the barn door closing after the horse has bolted. From Italy to Britain and the US, governments have prevaricated lethally in sight of the oncoming coronavirus.

The puzzle is why the next in line do not learn from their predecessors’ mistakes. On Wednesday Florida, Mississippi and Georgia became the latest US states to declare stay-at-home orders that should have been imposed weeks ago.

Florida’s infection rate is way higher than Australia’s. Georgia overtook Japan 10 days ago. Texas only took the plunge on Tuesday.

Even then, the stay-at-home order was riddled with holes. Greg Abbott, the Texas governor, insisted on including churches in its list of “essential services”. One thing every pathogen loves is a congregation.

As America’s south goes, so goes Brazil and Mexico, each of which is stubbornly ignoring the lessons from elsewhere.

The mystery is why. Partly it is economic dread. Florida draws much of its revenue from tourism and retirees. Ron DeSantis, the governor, kept the beaches open for tens of thousands of college students to converge on the US south-eastern state for last month’s spring break.

Disney World, which is in the centre of Florida, also stayed open.

At its reluctant closing, employees gathered closely for a photo, prompting Abigail Disney, a family heir, to tweet: “Are you f***ing kidding me?”

Mr DeSantis may have upheld

New York, which has the highest number of coronavirus deaths in the US, lagged behind many other big American cities in instituting restrictions © Reuters

spending numbers for March.

But at what expense? One in four of Florida’s residents is over 65, which is 50 per cent higher than the national figure. Mr DeSantis, too, has deemed churches “essential services”. The cost to Florida of gratuitous deaths is surely higher than last month’s tourism receipts.

That same miscalculation applies to the White House on a far larger scale. Donald Trump wasted weeks dismissing the virus in the vain hope of talking up the stock market. As a result, the US has now been forced to take far more economically damaging measures to contain it.

Coronaviral denialism knows no partisan boundaries. Neither Ohio’s Mike DeWine nor Maryland’s Larry Hogan — both Re-

publican governors — waited for Mr Trump before taking strong measures.

Bill de Blasio, the Democratic mayor of New York City, which has accounted for by far the highest number of America’s coronavirus deaths, was at least as complacent as Mr Trump. He had to be forced to close the city’s St Patrick’s day parade last month. New York’s schools only closed after several other cities, including San Francisco, had already done so. The time Mr Trump and Mr de Blasio squandered can be measured in lives.

Coronavirus business update How is coronavirus taking its toll on markets, business, and our everyday lives and workplaces?

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Sign up here The tragedy will probably roll from America’s coasts into its heartlands. Twelve states, including Oklahoma, Alabama and South Carolina, have yet to issue shelterin-place orders. The longer they wait, the worse the toll. After economic dread, the biggest explanation for hesitation is incompetence.

Few pundits can resist the temptation to draw morality tales from the global pandemic. In its early stages, western commentators blamed China’s authoritarian system for quashing early warning signs about the virus. Now China and Russia are gleefully pointing to deficiencies in liberal democratic culture.

Similar morals are glibly drawn within the US. Conservatives have

accused the worst-hit coastal Democratic states of overreaction. The US loses many more to car crashes and ordinary influenza, they say.

Those voices will fade as the virus moves from blue state to red state America. At that point, liberals are bound to say that America’s churchgoers are tasting the fruits of their ignorance.

The real division, as Francis Fukuyama has argued in The Atlantic magazine, is between competent and incompetent states. Freedomloving America was as late in waking up to the threat as repressive China. By contrast, liberal democratic Germany and authoritarian Singapore reacted early and well.

What divides success from failure, argues Fukuyama, is “trust in government”.

Editor’s note The Financial Times is making key coronavirus coverage free to read to help everyone stay informed. Find the latest here.

Those words sound like a daydream in today’s America. In the next 24 hours, the global number of tested coronavirus infections will exceed 1m. America’s share is about a quarter of that — roughly five times where it would be on a per capita basis. In the past few weeks, everyone has become an expert on how to flatten the curve.

People pore over charts with the same attention they used to read star signs.

Here is a new one: the greater a society’s trust in its government, the lower its infection rate. Call it the barn door chart. The next time Mr Trump, or Mr DeSantis, are warned about a looming disaster, they should worry about hanging on to that horse.

US jobless claims smash through record as lay-offs accelerate More than 6.6m first-time claims filed as coronavirus-related losses hit 10m in two weeks Mamta Badkar, Colby Smith and Brendan Greeley

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he number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment benefits doubled to more than 6m, hitting a record high for a second consecutive week as lay-offs stemming from the coronavirus shutdown accelerated and spread into new industries.

Initial jobless claims jumped to 6.65m in the week ending March 28, the labour department said on Thursday. That eclipsed economists’ forecasts for a rise to 3.7m.

The figure more than doubles last week’s total of 3.31m claims, the previous record high. The new data published on Thursday takes the two-week total to 10m job losses.

As states and cities shut down non-essential businesses, retailers and restaurants facing a collapse in revenue laid off employees across the country.

States reported that shutdowns

continued to primarily affect the service sector, but the pain has spread to the healthcare and social assistance, manufacturing, wholesale trade and construction industries as well.

According to early state-level estimates that have not been seasonally adjusted, California reported the largest number of jobless claims at 878,727, while Pennsylvania reported 405,880. New York, which has emerged as the biggest US hotspot for Covid-19, reported 366,403 claims.

All three states have asked residents to stay at home to try to curb the outbreak’s spread. Florida, which on Wednesday announced a statewide order for its 21m residents to stay at home, reported 227,000 claims.

“On the one hand these numbers are extremely frightening, and they speak to the size of the shock and the acute nature of the downturn,” said Michelle Meyer, chief US economist at Bank of America. “On the other www.businessday.ng

hand, they tell you there’s a government response that’s working, that there’s money to flow into the hands of the people who need it most right now.”

Ms Meyer said it would be difficult to know whether companies were willing to rehire until lockdowns begin to ease, and managers get a better sense of what will happen as people begin to spend money again.

The $2tn coronavirus relief legislation passed by Congress last week widened eligibility for state unemployment funds to include self-employed and gig-economy workers, and added $600 per week to existing benefits. The rapid growth in claims shows that some businesses are still choosing to let workers go as they await federal support through the Small Business Administration and a fund for larger companies. “[Thursday’s claims number] tells you that government programmes are too late, and com-

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panies have already reacted,” said Torsten Slok, chief economist at Deutsche Bank Securities. “That doesn’t mean that companies can’t go back and hire people, it just means that C-suite America couldn’t wait for the life vest.”

The jobless claims suggest that employment may have dropped by more than 6 per cent in the past two weeks alone, according to calculations by Paul Ashworth, chief US economist at Capital Economics.

That could mean the April unemployment rate will reach 10 per cent, he added, which would compare with the financial crisis peak.

Over the past month, weekly jobless claims figures have become an important bellwether for policymakers and forecasters, as they provide the most up-to-date snapshot of the US labour market.

Friday’s non-farm payroll report is expected to show a smaller hit to the American workforce since the survey period ended in early @Businessdayng

March, before the worst effects of the coronavirus-related shutdown were beginning to be felt.

US president Donald Trump has warned that the nation’s coronavirus death toll could reach almost a quarter of a million people. He has told Americans to be ready for a “painful” two weeks.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the US has surpassed 215,000, with fatalities climbing above 5,000.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury note yield remained about 0.05 percentage points lower, at 0.59 per cent. US stocks opened slightly lower, with the S&P 500 index down 0.27 per cent.

Jeff Kleintop, chief global investment strategist at Charles Schwab, said the “huge” number indicated people were getting access to necessary benefits. “It shows the ability of local bureaucracy to process paperwork and to get money to people,” he said.

Friday 03 April 2020

BUSINESS DAY

37

FINANCIAL TIMES

COMPANIES & MARKETS

@ FINANCIAL TIMES LIMITED

Oil prices rally as Trump spurs hopes for Russia-Saudi Arabia pact Kremlin rejects US president’s remarks that deal could be agreed within a ‘few days’ Anjli Raval and Henry Foy

B

rent crude rallied more than 12 per cent on hopes of a supply deal among major oil producers led by Saudi Arabia and Russia to alleviate a price collapse triggered by the coronavirus outbreak.

US president Donald Trump on Wednesday said he had spoken in recent days with the leaders of Russia and Saudi Arabia and believed a deal to end a price war — that has taken Brent to the lowest level since 2002 — would be made in a “few days”.

Riyadh had pushed for a deal to deepen and prolong production curbs ahead of a March meeting of oil ministers, but it was met with reluctance from Moscow. This prompted Saudi Arabia to pursue a “pump at will” strategy to shock the market, dramatically cutting prices for its crude and raising production to record levels.

“I think that they will work it out over the next few days . . . Both know what they have to do,” Mr Trump told a White House press conference on Wednesday, without giving any further details.

On Thursday, however, the Kremlin rejected Mr Trump’s remarks. Talks with Saudi Arabia “have not begun” and “are not planned”, Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian presi-

Some market analysts say the oil demand collapse is so severe that any supply cuts by major producers would have a limited impact © AFP via Getty Images

dent Vladimir Putin, told reporters.

“So far, no one has started talking about any specific or even abstract deals in exchange for Opec+,” he said, adding that “no one is happy with this [oil market] situation”.

The US has put pressure on Saudi Arabia to scale back its supply surge, which has contributed to a price collapse and ricocheted across the shale industry where lots of companies are on the brink of bankruptcy.

Mr Trump said he would meet US oil executives to discuss aid

measures.

Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, rose as much as 12 per cent to a high of $27.88 a barrel before paring gains by mid-morning on Thursday to trade at $27.44 — an 11 per cent rise. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate, which hit $22.55 a barrel, eased to $22.37 a barrel — a 10 per cent gain.

Saudi Arabia and Russia still back co-operation between producer nations, yet it seems there is little sign of a strategy shift just yet. The kingdom raised production to above 12m barrels

a day, its maximum level, on Wednesday.

Mr Putin is in daily telephone contact with his oil minister Alexander Novak regarding the situation, Mr Peskov said. Mr Novak spoke with his US counterpart on Wednesday, following a call between Mr Putin and Mr Trump.

Saudi Arabia is hiring oil tankers to carry its crude into the global market and has told the state energy company to prepare for a prolonged fight. Saudi Aramco has informed oilfield services contractors to be ready

to provide support as it seeks to keep production at heightened levels.

People close to the kingdom say the world’s biggest oil exporter still wants a deal, despite a multiyear oil alliance between Saudi Arabia and Russia coming to an end last month. But any production curbs would need to be shared between all producers, including Russia.

“The political hurdles to any supply deal are as large as the balance problem itself,” said analysts at JBC Energy.

Some market analysts have said the demand collapse is so severe, amid global lockdowns and travel bans, that any supply cuts from major producers would have a limited impact.

The global oil industry is facing its biggest consumption hit in history as the coronavirus pandemic forces people stop using cars and planes, with traders forecasting crude demand could fall as much as 25 per cent next month.

Global storage tanks are filling up fast and refiners are turning away additional barrels as demand for refined products — from petrol to jet fuel — takes a hit.

With oil prices at these levels, analysts say companies may be forced to shut-in production.

WoodMackenzie, a consultancy, says a 10th of world oil production is unprofitable with Brent crude around $25 a barrel.

Shale group Whiting files for Chapter 11 US oil and gas sector suffers first big casualty of turmoil sparked by coronavirus pandemic Joe Rennison, Derek Brower and James Fontanella-Khan

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S oil and gas group Whiting Petroleum has filed for bankruptcy protection, becoming the first big independent shale producer to succumb to turmoil triggered by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Denver-based company had been due on Wednesday to repay $262m left outstanding on a convertible bond. The Financial Times reported in March that it had begun exploring restructuring options.

The case is likely to herald a wave of bankruptcies in the US oil and gas sector as producers are hit by soaring financing costs as their cash reserves dwindle, according to bankers working with several North American explorers.

“Others will be following — $30 [a barrel] just doesn’t work for these companies,” said John Freeman, an analyst at investment bank Raymond James. US crude oil was trading at around

Whiting is a major producer in the Bakken formation in North Dakota and Montana © AP

$20 a barrel on Wednesday.

Shale gas pioneer Chesapeake Energy, California Resources and Gulfport Energy have each recently hired advisers to help them reduce their debt piles.

“It’s symbolic of the bigger picture of what is going on in energy,” said Kevin Baer, co-founder of CKC Capital in New York. “The big takeaway is how far-reaching the damage can be from everything that is going on. It can be a very quick fall from grace for companies that have a lot of leverage. www.businessday.ng

Whiting is the poster child for how this is playing out.”

Bradley Holly, Whiting’s chief executive, said the oil driller had taken steps to reduce costs and improve cash flow but the downturn driven by the pandemic and the duration of the Saudi-Russia oil price war had made filing for Chapter 11 inevitable.

“Through the terms of the proposed restructuring, we believe a right-sized balance sheet will enable us to capitalise on our enhanced cost structure, high-

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quality asset base and successfully compete in the current environment,” he said in a statement.

Whiting is a major producer in the Bakken shale formation in North Dakota and Montana, and holds a large position in Colorado’s DJ Basin. Its output last year was roughly 120,000 barrels of oil and gas equivalent a day.

“They’ve been in trouble for a while,” said Mr Freeman. “They were over-levered for several years.” Last month Whiting announced a 30 per cent cut in its planned spending for 2020.

The convertible note due on Wednesday had a fixed stock price in which it could be converted to equity of $156 per share, agreed five years ago when the company’s shares traded at roughly $140. But a long decline left Whiting’s share price at just 67 cents at the end of the first quarter.

Whiting last week drew $650m of a credit line provided by a group of banks led by JPMorgan as it sought to prop itself up. The company has more than $2.4bn in outstanding bonds due to mature @Businessdayng

over the next six years.

Editor’s note The Financial Times is making key coronavirus coverage free to read to help everyone stay informed. Find the latest here.

Whiting’s bankruptcy has sent the default rate for high-yield energy companies over the past 12 months up to 11 per cent, according to rating agency Fitch, with many issuers struggling in the face of lower oil prices and the spread of coronavirus.

Other explorers have been desperately trying to cut their capital expenditure and dividend payments. Occidental Petroleum, the largest US oil producer, which less than a year ago splashed $56bn to acquire rival Anadarko Petroleum, recently cut its dividend by 90 per cent, slashed capex and trimmed executives’ salaries.

Moelis & Company, Kirkland & Ellis and Alvarez & Marsal are advising Whiting on the restructuring process. PJT Partners is acting as financial adviser for the noteholders, while Paul Weiss is providing legal advice.

Friday 03 April 2020

BUSINESS DAY

FT

38

ANALYSIS

China, coronavirus and surveillance: the messy reality of personal data Efforts to track cases have been haphazard but technology companies face pressure to hand over information Yuan Yang, Nian Liu, Sue-Lin Wong and Qianer Liu

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hree days after the Chinese government locked down Hubei, the province at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak, a local government official more than 1,000km away received data from telecoms carriers alerting her to a list of people who had left Hubei and entered her town.

The data included traces of the estimated locations of users’ mobile phones, showing that many had driven back along the highways from Hubei to Guangdong province in southern China, where the official works in a small town. The location data helped the official’s team “more or less” pin down everyone who came back from Hubei, she said.

But for another Guangdong town, the information it was able to get hold of was much less comprehensive.

“We did identify one man from Hubei on the list who was high-risk.

We searched everywhere for him but just couldn’t track him down,” a second official told the Financial Times, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Officials went door to door searching for the man. Finally, they found him — in a neighbouring municipality, where he had not been included on its list of highrisk people.

To the outside world, China can often seem like a monolith, with edicts from Beijing ruthlessly implemented by the rest of the system. US officials regularly accuse the Chinese government of having access to all data held by companies in the country. When dissidents are involved, the surveillance is often swift and decisive — partly because the police and other security services have the greatest power within the government to marshal different sources of data.

Extensive coronavirus-related censorship — and punishment of whistleblowers — contributed to the spread of the virus and the public’s inability to protect themselves.

The coronavirus pandemic has also demonstrated a much messier reality. Although China has tools that many other governments would not be able to usually deploy to track potentially infected people, such as location data from individual phones and facial recognition technology, the state’s ability to access personal data is at times limited.

Co-ordination between different areas of the public sector is often sporadic and sometimes marred by bureaucratic rivalries — as the experience of the two Guangdong towns shows. Wary of alienating middle-class customers, whose lives now revolve around a series of apps on their smartphones, many private sector companies are reluctant to be seen handing over data.

And before the coronavirus crisis gripped the country, there was a growing debate about the need for increased protection of

personal data — a shift in both laws and attitudes that was encouraged by cyber space regulators.

However, Chinese authorities are now putting considerable pressure on private companies to hand over sensitive data for anti-epidemic purposes and some privacy advocates fear the surveillance measures implemented during the pandemic could become permanent.

“There is no single government repository of all data. Some government departments have a history of not sharing data with each other,” says Samm Sacks, a cyber security fellow at the New America thinktank. “This is not surprising given the tremendous political power that certain kinds of data can yield in the Chinese system, and the differing objectives of different government agencies.”

For all the talk about China as a science superpower, the technology that has made a difference in the outbreak has been the most simple: online questionnaires to relay medical information from citizens to authorities.

The printed QR codes that now hang over many residential compound entrances in China are an example of such informationgathering channels. Put up by building managers, residents are encouraged — but not forced — to scan the codes with their phones.

From there, they are directed to links to apps or websites for residents to report their health status and recent travels to their building manager or local authority.

“What is interesting is how old school the party’s playbook has been. This hasn’t been a tech health triumph, this has been a triumph for the party and their old school methods,” says Ryan Manuel, managing director of research firm Official China.

Epidemiologists say robust tracing of potential virus carriers is essential for containing the early www.businessday.ng

stages of an outbreak.

While telecoms data has helped some local governments pin down potential coronavirus cases, there have been many problems with the information. Carriers track phone locations through the transmission towers to which users connect.

The location data is not always accurate: depending on cell tower coverage, the estimated locations can be out by as much as 2km.

“We give location data from cell towers, but compared to the GPS data from Alipay, WeChat, Meituan, it’s not that accurate,” says an employee of China Mobile, one of the country’s three telecoms operators, referring to the most downloaded apps for payments, messaging and food delivery respectively.

In other words, state-owned telecoms companies no longer have the lion’s share of accurate user data in China. The best data lies in the hands of private companies such as Alibaba and Tencent.

Taken together, the apps used by the average Chinese city dweller over the course of a day could plot not only their GPS location but every store they had shopped at, meal they had ordered, ride they had hailed, friend they had messaged for meet-up plans and even the rental-bike handles they had touched.

But local governments face obstacles to accessing data from private companies, which have proven even more reluctant than state-owned telecoms groups to hand data over to middle-level officials.

One reason for the difficulty is the complexity of China’s governance system, where different levels have different incentives and tools. Another reason is that privacy concerns have become a surprisingly important issue for parts of the government, as well as for private investors and customers.

Since the implementation of

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China’s Cyber Security Law in 2017, Beijing has gradually rolled out consumer privacy standards.

The Cyberspace Administration of China, a central government regulator which can shut down tech companies overnight, has named and shamed giants from ByteDance to Baidu for poor user privacy practices. The CAC recently issued a notice warning government agencies not to share data for pandemic-prevention purposes that is out of line with data protection standards.

Handing over data is often against companies’ commercial interests, particularly as the likes of Alibaba and Tencent are expanding overseas and do not want to be perceived as being too close to the ruling Communist party, says Mr Manuel.

“We spend a lot of effort resisting Chinese authorities’ attempts to convince us to give over our data,” says an executive at a Chinese technology company.

On top of this, companies understand the risk of data leaks once they share it with any part of the Chinese government. “Tencent and Alibaba don’t want to hand over user data because they see the risk that some middle-manager could sell that data on the black market,” says Philip Beck, chairman of venture capital firm Dubeta.

Mr Beck is a veteran of China’s marketing industry, where stateowned telecoms operators in the mid-2010s once set a precedent for unauthorised selling of user data.

Such transactions are rarer after a series of police crackdowns, but the black market for data still exists.

“Hong Kong and NY-listed tech companies are sensitive to any accusation that they are lax with data security,” Mr Beck adds.

At times, it has been complicated for the tech companies to manage the different demands. The local government of Hangzhou, where Alibaba and its payments af@Businessdayng

filiate Ant Financial are based, was the first to launch a “health code” webpage that gives users a red, yellow or green status based on a selfreported health questionnaire, as well as tracking user locations. The page was embedded in Ant Financial’s Alipay app, and users could voluntarily fill in the questionnaire to gain access to highways and public transport. Beijing’s municipal government followed suit, putting a similar health code app on Tencent’s WeChat messaging service.

Both Alibaba and Tencent firmly deny they provide any of their own users’ data — China’s biggest gold-mine of user behaviour — to the government’s “health code” apps. The companies point out that the government health-code apps hosted on their platforms ask for user consent to share location.

Pandemic-tracking apps are now proliferating as local governments have started trying to gain access to phone GPS location data through the apps, which are more accurate than carrier location data.

The test version of the national government’s online services platform links to at least 12 provincial- or major city-level governments’ own health code apps, as well as providing a national-level app.

As is often the case when multiple bureaucracies collide, the health apps have overlapping coverage. On arriving back in Beijing from a trip out of the city, one FT reporter was told by their district authority to ignore the Beijing municipal government’s app and register on another health app used by the district. “One person, six codes”, ran the headline of a local media feature lamenting the multiplication of district- and municipal-level apps.

Citizens can be barred from workplaces and highways in Hangzhou based on the colour of their

Continues on page 39

39

Friday 03 April 2020

BUSINESS DAY

FT

NATIONAL NEWS

Germany conducting more than 50,000 coronavirus tests a day Other European nations struggle to match Berlin’s focus on finding out who has CoBen Hall and Tobias Buck

G

erman laboratories are conducting more than 50,000 coronavirus tests a day, according to data released on Wednesday that laid bare differences in strategy and capacity across Europe.

The Robert Koch Institute, which is co-ordinating Germany’s public health response to the pandemic, said the total number of tests conducted since the start of the crisis had reached at least 918,460. That number was likely to be revised upwards as some laboratories processing test results had yet to pass on data from earlier weeks, it added.

Germany has led the way in Europe with large-scale testing of its population for the virus, which is one of the reasons why the country’s Covid-19 mortality rate is lower than its neighbours.

So-called antigen tests are carried out on people showing even mild symptoms as long as they are referred by a doctor.

Britain, France and Spain, by contrast, have limited their testing to the very sick or have been constrained by a shortage of testing kits, the chemicals that go into them, and laboratory capacity, among other things. There has been an outcry in all three countries about the lack of testing for doctors, nurses and social care workers who risk spreading infection to patients. The three countries are all rushing to ramp up testing despite the supply bottlenecks.

Germany has led the way in Europe with large-scale testing of its population © Matthias Schrader/AP

Over the past week, Germany conducted 354,521 coronavirus tests, a small increase on the 348,619 carried out in the prior seven days. Some health officials have estimated the weekly testing rate to be even higher, suggesting Germany was conducting as many as 500,000.

According to the Robert Koch Institute, last week’s test data were based on information from 143 laboratories, while the previous seven days involved information from 176. It was not immediately clear whether this mismatch had affected the overall count.

One reason for the comparatively large number of tests — but also the time lag in publishing data on testing — is the country’s decentralised testing regime and laboratory infrastructure.

Tests are carried out not just in hospitals and doctors’ practices but in special drive-in test stations.

France, by contrast, is among Europe’s testing laggards despite having one of the most effective and well-resourced health systems in the world.

According to the latest weekly data from Santé Publique France, the public health body, and published on March 26, the country had carried out 101,000 tests in hospital laboratories and a further 6,500 in high-street diagnostic centres and private laboratories — fewer than even the UK. The British government on Wednesday said a total of 152,979 people have been tested in the UK. The French government had limited testing to patients admitted to hospital with acute symp-

toms, arguing that in stage three of an epidemic, when the infection is widespread, no health system would have sufficient capacity to accurately track infections.

But over the weekend, health minister Olivier Véran announced a change of strategy and a ramping up of hospital laboratory tests to 30,000 a day by April 6 and 100,000

by June.

In addition, he said France had purchased 5m rapid test kits that would double overall daily output.

Mr Véran said Paris was changing tack with a view to the eventual lifting of lockdown measures, when much more testing will be needed to prevent a second spike in infections.

France had initially confined testing to high-specification hospital laboratories. But rolling them

out to privately operated highstreet diagnostic centres should allow a rapid scaling up. The arrival on the market of new tests for high-throughput diagnostic machines will also help. Roche’s Cobas machine can churn out 1,000 test results a day. Another system developed by Lyons-based BioMérieux, which won regulatory approval last month, can produce results in 45 minutes.

Other European countries are struggling to increase testing.

Editor’s note The Financial Times is making key coronavirus coverage free to read to help everyone stay informed. Find the latest here.

The Spanish government withdrew thousands of China-made “quick” testing kits last week after they appeared to be defective.

Health minister Salvador Illa on Wednesday said Spain was carrying out 15,000 to 20,000 tests a day. Madrid had acquired several types of tests, which it was in the process of reassessing before use, added Mr Illa.

Italy, the first European country to be hit by the disease, has conducted 541,000 tests. Its national guidelines propose testing Italians showing symptoms, or people in close contact with those who have tested positive. But health is a responsibility of Italian regions — as in Spain or Germany — and every area acts differently.

In Lombardy, which accounts for well over half of all deaths from Covid-19 in Italy, many medical staff and other people showing symptoms cannot access a test.

Neighbouring Veneto is testing far more intensely.

China, coronavirus and surveillance: the messy reality of personal data Continued from page 38 health code, yet the algorithm behind it is opaque. Users have complained that their codes flicker from green to red, or vice versa, without any explanation.

For all the professed reticence of the companies, the government has used the coronavirus crisis to push for greater sharing of data from private and public sources. Indeed, some in China fear that some of the gains for consumer privacy in the past two years could be lost.

“We have faced challenges combining government and business data during the pandemic since we haven’t done it before,” says one executive at a Chinese tech company who spoke on condition of anonymity. “Data from companies is being used to complement [the government’s response].” One example was information about online purchases in Wuhan in February.

Some privacy advocates are concerned that China’s push to

increase surveillance and datasharing could last beyond the pandemic. Events including the Beijing Olympics, the Tibetan protests in 2008 and the Urumqi riots in 2009 were used to ramp up the development of China’s surveillance state, says Maya Wang, senior China researcher at Human Rights Watch.

There is ample precedent for the state expanding its surveillance under the guise of medical care: in some parts of Xinjiang, where some 1.8m members of China’s Uighur Muslim minority have been detained in camps in recent years, officials collect DNA from residents through a health checkup programme.

Privacy violations have already occurred in a more rudimentary way too: Lisheng Yu, a freelance writer from eastern Jiangsu province who has been to Wuhan, accused authorities in Jiangsu of leaking his personal information in an Excel spreadsheet of Wuhan returnees sent to various WeChat groups. www.businessday.ng

Victims of similar leaks have come forward on social media, some saying they were harassed through phone calls after their data was released. A government think-tank said that in January and February, 15 per cent or 300 of the 2,000 submissions to the CAC’s personal data infringements complaints platform were about pandemic-related apps.

“The difficult situation we find ourselves in now highlights the importance for China of creating an effective nationwide mechanism for protecting personal information”, says Wu Shenkuo, a cyber law expert at Beijing Normal University, adding that leaks of information could reduce trust in the government.

Under pressure from local officials to control infection rates, building managers have installed more video cameras to track residents who are meant to be in quarantine. At one complex in Beijing, magnetic sensors have been installed on residents’ doors.

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In another case, a resident was asked to install a webcam inside her living room: she refused. She had a camera installed outside her door instead.

Some buildings and train stations have installed infrared surveillance cameras to screen visitors for fevers. Several facial recognition companies claim they have expanded their offerings to recognise masked people.

Hong Yanqing, a law professor at Peking University who helped draft the data privacy standards, said in an article written with other government affiliated scholars that data collected for anti-pandemic efforts should only be used for that purpose and “deleted after the pandemic is over in accordance with regulations”.

Throughout the public health emergency, the authorities have used records of private WeChat messages and other information shared on social media to identify and punish people. At least 452 people have been punished for @Businessdayng

“spreading rumours” about the outbreak, according to Chinese Human Rights Defenders, a Hong Kong-based group.

Wuhan police intimidated people who first tried to warn about the virus late last year. The most famous case was of Li Wenliang, a doctor who died from the virus and became a hero to millions after being punished by the police for raising the alarm about the new disease.

Tencent has previously denied storing user messages, but activists and journalists have reported that their WeChat messages were monitored by the police — in some cases years later.

“We can see from how coronavirus has been handled that the police get most of the information because they are the ones who run this mass surveillance infrastructure,” says Ms Wang. “But part of the surveillance project is for the Chinese government to push for integrating data across different departments and systems. Whether this will be successful is an open question.”

40

Friday 03 April, 2020

BUSINESS DAY

Live @ The Exchanges Market Statistics as at Thursday 02 April, 2020

Top Gainers/Losers as at Thursday 02 April, 2020 LOSERS

GAINERS Company

Closing

Change

MTNN

N98.4

N92.8

-5.6

NB

N24.8

N22.5

-2.3

STANBIC

N24.3

N23.9

-0.4

VOLUME (Numbers)

0.06

ZENITHBANK

N11.4

N11

-0.4

VALUE (N billion)

0.01

INTBREW

N5.35

N5

-0.35

Closing

Change

DANGCEM

N116.8

N128.4

11.6

FLOURMILL

N19.15

N20.2

1.05

N4.4

N4.8

0.4

LIVESTOCK

N0.64

N0.7

UNIONDAC

N0.25

N0.26

GLAXOSMITH

Company

ASI (Points)

Opening

Opening

DEALS (Numbers)

MARKET CAP (N Trn)

21,121.20 4,418.00 255,592,473.00 2.864

Global market indicators FTSE 100 Index 5,480.22GBP +25.65+0.47%

Nikkei 225 17,818.72JPY -246.69-1.37%

S&P 500 Index 2,517.41USD +46.91+1.90%

Deutsche Boerse AG German Stock Index DAX 9,570.82EUR +26.07+0.27%

Generic 1st ‘DM’ Future 21,153.00USD +413.00+1.99%

Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index 2,780.64CNY +46.12+1.69%

11.007

Stock market halts three-day loss path ...driven by Dangote Cement, Flourmills, others Stories by Iheanyi Nwachukwu

A

mid the absence of major positive event or news that is capable of lifting investors confidence around the globe, the Nigeria stock market on Thursday April 2 halted a three-day downward slope.

Investors leveraged the o p p o r tu n i t y o f b a rga i n hunting existing in some value counters like Dangote Cement Plc, Flourmill Nigeria plc that recently reached record lows.

The shares of Dangote Cement Plc recorded the highest gains on the Bourse after rising from N116.8 to N128.4, adding N11.6 or 9.93percent ; followed by

Flourmill Nigeria Plc which m ove d u p f ro m N 1 9 . 1 5 to N20.2, adding N1.05 or 5.48percent.

On the decliners’ list, MTNN Plc led others after it dropped from N98.4 to N92.8, losing N5.6 or 5.69percent followed by Nigerian Breweries Plc which dropped from a high of N24.8 to N22.5, losing N2.3 or 9.27percent.

“We expect the risk-off sentiments to continue, given the current state of the global economy and investors flight to safety.

“Also, we believe investors might continue to position in healthcare names, due to investments made by government and private sector in fighting COVID-19,” according to United Capital research analysts in their

recent note to investors.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All Share Index (ASI) increased from 21,100.54 points recorded the preceding trading day to 21,121.20 points on Thursday while the value of listed stocks increased from N10.996trillion to N11.007trillion, which implies about N11billion gain.

In 4,418 deals, stock dealers exchanged 255,592,473 units valued at N2.864billion.

Zenith Bank, GTBank, FBN Holdings, Transcorp and UBA were actively traded stocks on Thursday April 2.

The Debt Management Office (DMO) postponed the auction for the April 2020 FGN Savings Bond, until conditions are right to resume. This is as a result of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

COVID 19: Seplat, Waltersmith donate medical items to Imo

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s countries around the world including Nigeria continue to fight the recent global pandemic; Coronavirus (COVID 19), the government at all levels have continued to put measures in place to ensure that this pandemic is contained.

In Imo State, no case of the Coronavirus has been recorded, however in her usual manner and fulfilling her corporate social responsibility (CSR) in a time like this, Seplat Petroleum Development Company and Waltersmith Petroman Oil Limited are supporting the Imo State Government in the fight against the Coronavirus especially in preventing it from finding its way into Imo State.

They donated medical equipments worth millions of naira to the Imo State government.

The two leading oil companies with upstream operations in Imo State donated equipments which include Fumigation machines, Infrared Temperature kits, hand sanitizers, hand gloves, face masks, 10 drums of Ethanol, hydrogen peroxide, Chemicals, drugs and several medical equipments to combat the spread of the Coronavirus.

During the presentation at the government house in Owerri the Imo State Capital, the

chairman of Seplat Petroleum Development Company, ABC Orjiako who was represented by the Base Manager Eastern Assets, Emeka Onyeagba said the damage caused by the global pandemic (Coronavirus) since it found its way into the country cannot be overemphasized. He said Imo State as one of the oil producing states where Seplat operates the OML 53, as a responsive and responsible company cannot close its eyes to the global pandemic as it affects Imo State which has informed the decision to make available the medical equipments especially to combat the COVID 19 pandemic, even though Imo State has not recorded any case.

In his words “In view of the recent deadly Coronavirus ravaging countries across the world, the effect and impact on economies, government activities and the livelihood of people cannot be overemphasized. In line with our promise to continue to fulfill our corporate social responsibility in states where we do business such as Imo where we operate OML 53, we cannot close our eyes to the pandemic, and as such we are donating the magnitude of these medical items to support the state in www.businessday.ng

combating this deadly virus from finding its way into Imo.” Onyeagba said.

While advising Nigerians especially Imolites on taking precautionary measures to combat the Coronavirus from finding its way into the State, Onyeagba reiterated that the people need to adhere strictly to measures and directives given by the government and approved authorities such as washing hands regularly under running water with soap for about 20 seconds, avoid touching the eyes and nose regularly, maintain social distance, regular using of sanitizers, staying at home amongst others In same vein, the MD/ CEO of Waltersmith Petroman Limited, Chikezie Nwosu who was represented by the Assistant Community Relations Manager, Percy Oparaji noted that damage caused by Coronavirus pandemic which originated from China is no longer a news to many and since it found its way into the country, the leadership of the country and well meaning Nigerians and corporate companies can no longer fold their hands and see the deadly disease ravage the nation.

Waltersmith as a company has deemed it necessary to extend support to the Imo State

Government in her bid to fight the Coronavirus disease by donating medical equipments to the government even though the virus has not been recorded in Imo. He said “ Waltersmith as an indigenous and leading oil company in Nigeria and operating OML 16 in Imo State having always fulfilled our corporate social responsibility as a company in states where we operate decided to provide help to the state government in curbing this virus and according to our objectives, we value the lives of the people in our host communities more than the oil we get in the areas”.

He called on other oil companies operating in the state to emulate Seplat and Waltersmith by extending such important gesture to the state government in times like this.

The Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma who was on ground to receive the donations of the medical items described the gesture as a massive show of love and solidarity on the path of the two companies (Seplat and Waltersmith) especially in addressing the present challenges facing the state and the nation.

He added that that their kind donation will go a long way in assisting the state in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic.

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United Capital Daily Insight Stocks market in March 2020: …is the worst behind us?

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he performance of the Nigerian equ i t i e s ma rke t i n Ma rc h - 2 0 2 0 wa s broadly negative, as updates on the COVID-19 outbreak, tumbling crude oil prices and fears of naira adjustments fueled massive selloffs at the stock market.

Thus, the NSE-ASI declined 18.8percent month on month (m/m) (its highest monthly decline since Jan-2009) to settle at a record low of 21,300.5 points , while the year to date (YTD) loss worsened to -20.6percent, with investors losing N2.6trillion.

Sectoral analysis showed that four out of the five sector indices we track closed negative. The Consumer Goods index (-28.9percent m/m) declined the most, followed by the Banking index (-25.2percent m/m) amid a sustained tough operating and regulatory environments.

Also, the Industrial Goods (-14.4percent m/m) and Oil & Gas (-8percent m/m) indices fell, owing to the huge @Businessdayng

drop in crude oil prices and expectations of lower CAPEX spend in 2020, respectively.

The Insurance sector index (+2.7percent m/m) was the month’s only bright spot as investors position for gains ahead of the Dec-2020 sector recapitalization.

Elsewhere, aside from FY-2019 audited results and dividend release, we saw some buying interests in banking stocks, following rumors of potential mergers and acquisitions. Also, the recent policy measures against COVID-19 by the CBN and FG to boost the healthcare sector, sparked buying interests in listed healthcare/pharmaceutical stocks.

This month, we expect the risk-off sentiments to continue, given the current state of the global economy and investors flight to safety.

Also, we believe investors might continue to position in healthcare names, due to investments made by government and private sector in fighting COVID-19.

Friday 03 April, 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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@Businessdayng

41

Business South-South 42

BUSINESS DAY

C002D5556

Friday 03 April 2020

COMPLETE COVERAGE OF SOUTH-SOUTH / SOUTH-EAST

COVID-19: Commonwealth business women Nigeria, others donate items to women in Rivers

South East Chambers of Commerce demand equity, fairness in govt business policies

EFEGADIRIM MADU, Port Harcourt

REGIS ANUKWUOJI, ENUGU

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s part of measures to cushion the effect of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Commonwealth Businesswomen Nigeria (CBWN), in collaboration with Uplifting Women Through Farming (UWTF) and Uplifting Youths Through Agriculture (UYOTA) have donated food items worth at least N100,000 to about 60 women in Port Harcourt, Rivers State capital at the weekend.

Ikeoma Osuji, the founder of Alter of Jesus Intervention Ministry, who coordinated the programme, said the move was to ensure that women were not in lack as the stay-at-home order continues.

Osuji noted that the event was also aimed at strengthening the Commonwealth through building businesses and advancing women under one platform in Nigeria. According to her, the group was well structured; adding that it has able and upright women within the networks and the grassroots.

The woman cleric pointed out that one of their strategies was its connection with governments and private sec-

tor in terms of business activities. She further explained that women need economic empowerment, due to the role they play in the society.

“It is our pleasure to support the community at this moment of need.

The Coronavirus pandemic has attacked China and other countries, and now it has slipped into Nigeria,” she said.

In compliance with the Federal and state governments’ directives, she

called on the womenfolk to ensure that the orders were strictly adhered to as good ambassadors of Christ.

“We crave your indulgence to follow all the rules and precautionary measures laid out by our Governor, Nyesom Wike, as well as the World Health Organisation (WHO) in reducing the spread of this deadly virus. We must wash our hands with soap and running water. And please, we must stay at home, Osuji said.

The Alter of Jesus Intervention Ministry founder assured the women of her group’s determination to utilize the vast resources of the network to provide more donations for them.

She expressed satisfaction Clara Afoma Adigwe, the chairperson and founder of Commonwealth Business Women Nigeria and Uplifting Women Through Farming and Uplifting Youths Through Agriculture, over her commitment in the activities of the group.

Earlier, she had called on the women to continue to maintain personal hygiene by regularly washing their hands with heavy detergent until when such order would be relaxed.

NCC says poised to stop all cybercrimes Abia sets up committee for assessment, remittance of PAYE, Within Nigeria – says Danbatta cilitating the building and equipping of REGIS ANUKWUOJI, Enugu Emergency Communications Centres holding taxes from LGs, parastatals

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he Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) says it will effectively protect the interest of its consumers from unfair practices through availability of information and education to bridge the communication gap between the distressed and emergency response agencies.

The executive vice chairman of NCC, Umar Garba Danbatta announced this during the NCC’s day at the 31st Enugu International Trade Fair. He said that the Commission had evolved a solution called Do-Not -Disturb (DND) directing all mobile network operators (MNOs) to dedicate a short code ‘2442’ to enable subscribers take informed but independent decisions on what messages they wish to receive from their network by typing Stop to 2442 to stop the message or Help to choose the message they want.

Danbatta who was represented by Reuben Muoka, head economic analysis in NCC, also said that the Commission had proffered solution for cybercrime and e-fraud in which computers or networks were used as tools; saying that the Commission had recently hosted a cybercrime security enlightenment conference where telecoms stakeholders were enlightened on cybercrime and dangers associated with it. He warned parents to be mindful of child online protection, and be well equipped with the right knowledge they require to limit the exposure of their children to the negative aspects of internet use.

This he said is another issue confronting telecoms consumers that the commission has been educating parents on their roles regarding child online protection.

“To bridge the communication gap between the distressed and emergency response agencies in the country, the NCC has undertaken the task of fa-

(ECCs) in all 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory Abuja.

All telecoms operators are mandated to route emergency calls through the dedicated three-digit toll free number, 112, from each state to the emergency centre within the state. The operators who are resident in the ECC will then process the distress call and contact the relevant emergency response agency whose primary duty is to handle the case,” he said. Such response agencies are Fire Service, Police, FRSC, Ambulance, among others.

According to him, a total of 18 ECCs are fully operational and functional across six political regions of Nigeria.

The ECCs, he said would help to reduce response time during emergencies such as ongoing efforts to stem and deal with the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic.

He commended ECCIMA for choosing the theme: “Advancing the Growth of SMEs through Corporate Governance for Rapid Economic Development.”

He said it avails the Commission the opportunity to educate and inform Nigerians about its initiatives to ensure that telecommunication services got to the unserved and underserved areas of the country.

He said that as critical component to the overall socio-economic wellbeing of any nation and technological foundation for societal transformation, NCC was working hard to increase the tele-density in Nigeria by ensuring that telecommunication services in every part of the country.

“Businesses including SMEs have particularly taken advantage of sophisticated telecoms systems such as video conferencing, video calling and onlinemarketing to improve productivity, better customer services and increase growth which invariably have lifted the Nigerian economy extensively,” he said.

UDOKA AGWU, Umuahia

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n its bid to shore up its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), t h e Ab ia st ate g ove r n m e nt has inaugurated a five-member committee for the assessment and remittance of Pay as You Earn (PAYE) and withholding taxes for local Governments and parastatals receiving subventions in the state.

The committee which has Fred Udensi, Per manent S e cretsr y, Ministry of Finance as its chairman the Permanent Secretary, is expected to review the implementation of Pay as You Earn (PAYE) and withholding tax policy in the Local Government administration of Abia state among other terms of reference.

Anthony Agbazuere, chief of staff to the Governor, while inaugurating the five- member committee on behalf of the governor, Okezie Ikpeazu at the Government House, Umuahia, said the government could no longer sit by and watch revenue that should be due to it get wasted.

Ikpeazu charged the committee to ascertain the remittance of PAYE by all local Government councils in the state to the Board of Internal Revenue as well as to recommend a process to ensure regular remittance of PAYE and withholding tax by local governments and parastatals.

According to the Governor, the committee has three weeks within which to submit its report to the Government and would expected among other things to assess the

level of compliance of tax remittances by all institutions getting subvention from the government such as : Abia State University Teaching Hospital, (ABSU TH), Health Management Board, (HMB), Abia State Polytechnic, Aba, Abia State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (ASOPADEC), among others.

The Abia chief executive charged the committee to design a framework that would guarantee regular remittance of PAYE and other taxes due to the government as well as to recommend to the government other avenues that would improve collection of PAYE and withholding tax in-order to shore up government revenue.

He charged members of the committee to discharge their duty conscientiously and should not compromise.

Udensi, chairman of the committee thanked the Governor for finding them worthy to discharge the sensitive assignment, and promised to realize the goal of the government for setting up the committee. He commended the state government for its proactiveness in setting up the committee; noting that PAYE and Withholding taxes were some of the major windows of realizing huge funds for the government.

Other members of the committee are: Chioma Orikara, director of Finance of the Board of Internal Revenue; Okezie Ugboaja, chairman, Local Government Service Commission and Ndubuisi Agoh, special adviser to the Governor on Revenue.

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he South East Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (SECCIMA) have called for equity and fairness in every Federal Government policies that affect the ease-of-doing business in the country.

The president of SECCIMA, Humphrey Ngonadi who stated this during the SECCIMA day at the ongoing Enugu International Trade Fair, commended the Enugu Chamber for being the voice of the organised private sector in the south east region.

SECCIMA frowned at the situation where participants at the trade fair encounter negative effects at every fair, because of the non-establishment of a trade fair complex. The poor infrastructure at the Enugu trade fair ground needs to be replaced with a new trade complex. He called on the Federal Government to apply equity and fairness to ensure that the permanent site of Enugu International Trade Fair complex was fully completed, as had been done in other cities like Kaduna and Lagos trade fair complexes.

Other important business developing areas the organised private sector in the south East indicated include, the Onitsha Seaport in Anambra State which for a long time has been used for political games, Ntigha Dry Port in Aba, Abia State, among others.

“Let there be equity and fairness in every other policies of government that affect the business community in the south east region, the SECCIMA boss said.

Ngonadi also call on the south east governors to make policies that would be beneficial to the organised private sector, to not only enhance the economic development of the zone, but would also create opportunities for employments.

He emphasised the need for the governments to see the chambers of commerce as partners in progress to enable the chambers contribute to, criticize, commend and correct policies and programs of the governments.

“The chamber is always open for both private and public organizational collaboration. As a matter of fact, SECCIMA has been engaging with the south east governors’ forum (SEGF), PERL-DFID, policy development facility, 11 foreign embassies, etc, all aimed at ensuring that the goals and aspirations of the business community were actualized,” he said.

The regional chamber president noted that a healthy collaboration between the chamber and the government would go a long way in promoting locally made products since it is internationally remarkable that the chamber of Commerce is the only body empowered to issue certificate of origin on exportable products.

Speaking to BusinessDay on the idea of pulling the South East Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture together, the directorgeneral of Enugu Chamber of Commerce (ECCIMA) who also doubles as the SECCIMA director-general, Henry Nduka Awuregu said it was for them to understand a common challenge facing the ease of doing business in the zone and collectively proffer solutions to them.

Friday 03 April, 2020

BUSINESS DAY

43

Live @ The STOCK Exchanges Prices for Securities Traded as of Thursday 02 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. 195,498.74 5.50 -4.35 250 10,070,524 UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC 165,867.19 4.85 -2.02 230 13,383,852 ZENITH BANK PLC 345,361.43 11.00 -3.51 1,211 100,830,641 1,691 124,285,017 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FBN HOLDINGS PLC 132,812.58 3.70 -5.13 485 28,960,362 485 28,960,362 2,176 153,245,379 TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES MTN NIGERIA COMMUNICATIONS PLC 1,888,898.81 92.80 -5.69 201 1,330,793 201 1,330,793 201 1,330,793 BUILDING MATERIALS DANGOTE CEMENT PLC 2,188,001.15 128.40 9.93 230 2,544,336 LAFARGE AFRICA PLC. 148,191.72 9.20 - 77 652,979 307 3,197,315 307 3,197,315 EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PLC 320,408.06 544.50 - 3 760 3 760 3 760 2,687 157,774,247 REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS (REITS) SFS REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST 1,386.00 69.30 - 0 0 UNION HOMES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST (REIT) 10,175.81 40.70 - 0 0 UPDC REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST 8,405.05 3.15 - 5 55,440 5 55,440 5 55,440 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS NIGERIA ENERYGY SECTOR FUND 411.91 552.20 - 2 30 VALUEALLIANCE VALUE FUND 3,312.39 103.20 - 0 0 2 30 2 30 7 55,470 CROP PRODUCTION FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC 440.00 0.20 - 0 0 OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. 52,512.75 55.05 - 12 14,453 PRESCO PLC 36,450.00 36.45 - 8 18,989 20 33,442 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 9.38 15 833,700 15 833,700 35 867,142 DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIES JOHN HOLT PLC. 217.92 0.56 - 0 0 1,903.99 2.93 - 0 0 S C O A NIG. PLC. TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC 26,421.19 0.65 -9.23 85 13,426,829 U A C N PLC. 18,728.43 6.50 -2.99 25 372,317 110 13,799,146 110 13,799,146 BUILDING CONSTRUCTION ARBICO PLC. 423.23 2.85 - 0 0 0 0 INFRASTRUCTURE/HEAVY CONSTRUCTION JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. 29,106.00 22.05 - 32 194,308 165.00 6.60 - 0 0 ROADS NIG PLC. 32 194,308 REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PLC 2,468.48 0.95 - 5 80,800 5 80,800 37 275,108 AUTOMOBILES/AUTO PARTS DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC 954.53 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 BEVERAGES--BREWERS/DISTILLERS CHAMPION BREW. PLC. 6,263.60 0.80 - 8 800 GOLDEN GUINEA BREW. PLC. 829.98 0.81 - 0 0 GUINNESS NIG PLC 49,721.69 22.70 - 13 23,028 INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. 134,310.34 5.00 -6.54 56 663,281 NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. 179,930.30 22.50 -9.27 117 10,825,550 194 11,512,659 FOOD PRODUCTS DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC 106,800.00 8.90 - 25 186,557 FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. 82,827.67 20.20 5.48 53 2,170,109 HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC 7,137.18 0.90 -8.16 12 200,398 MULTI-TREX INTEGRATED FOODS PLC 1,340.10 0.36 - 0 0 N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. 766.26 4.30 - 0 0 NASCON ALLIED INDUSTRIES PLC 22,520.23 8.50 - 16 31,023 UNION DICON SALT PLC. 2,993.06 10.95 - 0 0 106 2,588,087 FOOD PRODUCTS--DIVERSIFIED CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. 13,335.23 7.10 - 28 433,143 NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. 606,382.03 765.00 - 85 147,299 113 580,442 HOUSEHOLD DURABLES NIGERIAN ENAMELWARE PLC. 1,680.31 22.10 - 0 0 VITAFOAM NIG PLC. 5,316.09 4.25 - 3 15,276 3 15,276 PERSONAL/HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. 17,470.10 4.40 - 25 533,808 UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. 56,875.55 9.90 - 32 159,624 57 693,432 473 15,389,896 BANKING ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED 71,563.25 3.90 -3.70 50 982,271 FIDELITY BANK PLC 49,257.15 1.70 -2.86 74 12,195,468 GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. 509,159.40 17.30 -1.42 428 34,183,367 JAIZ BANK PLC 14,142.84 0.48 - 3 121,900 STERLING BANK PLC. 31,957.36 1.11 0.91 24 2,158,044 UNION BANK NIG.PLC. 192,196.97 6.60 - 13 160,348 UNITY BANK PLC 4,909.52 0.42 - 5 17,958 WEMA BANK PLC. 18,901.49 0.49 2.08 19 621,032 616 50,440,388 INSURANCE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES AFRICAN ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC 4,117.00 0.20 - 0 0 AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 8,384.35 0.74 -1.33 10 345,875 AXAMANSARD INSURANCE PLC 18,375.00 1.75 - 4 6,620 CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE PLC 2,439.00 0.30 - 1 5,000 CORNERSTONE INSURANCE PLC 8,543.11 0.58 -3.33 5 1,009,428 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. 1,537.92 0.21 - 0 0 LAW UNION AND ROCK INS. PLC. 4,081.51 0.95 - 0 0 LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC 3,280.00 0.41 - 4 310,495 MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. 2,234.55 0.20 - 6 1,292,790 NEM INSURANCE PLC 10,930.64 2.07 - 5 135,000 NIGER INSURANCE PLC 1,547.90 0.20 - 0 0 PRESTIGE ASSURANCE PLC 2,960.40 0.55 - 0 0 REGENCY ASSURANCE PLC 1,333.75 0.20 - 0 0 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 5,997.92 0.25 -3.85 15 668,839 50 3,774,047 MICRO-FINANCE BANKS NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 2,629.63 1.15 - 0 0 0 0

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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 7,200.00 3.60 - 25 271,834 32,938.44 5.60 - 7 301,280 CUSTODIAN INVESTMENT PLC DEAP CAPITAL MANAGEMENT & TRUST PLC 495.00 0.33 - 0 0 28,713.93 1.45 -3.33 66 2,980,113 FCMB GROUP PLC. ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. 1,029.07 0.20 - 0 0 STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC 251,068.72 23.90 -1.65 21 260,209 12,300.00 2.05 -0.49 58 4,062,356 UNITED CAPITAL PLC 177 7,875,792 843 62,090,227

HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS EKOCORP PLC. 2,991.61 6.00 - 0 0 UNION DIAGNOSTIC & CLINICAL SERVICES PLC 923.82 0.26 4.00 2 107,113 2 107,113 MEDICAL SUPPLIES MORISON INDUSTRIES PLC. 593.50 0.60 - 0 0 0 0 PHARMACEUTICALS EVANS MEDICAL PLC. 366.17 0.50 - 0 0 FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC 5,299.36 2.54 - 18 555,750 GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. 5,740.21 4.80 9.09 29 675,035 3,692.00 2.14 - 6 139,034 MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC 911.60 0.48 - 2 50,540 556.71 3.62 - 0 0 NIGERIA-GERMAN CHEMICALS PLC. PHARMA-DEKO PLC. 325.23 1.50 - 0 0 55 1,420,359 57 1,527,472 COMPUTER BASED SYSTEMS COURTEVILLE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS PLC 710.40 0.20 - 7 1,306,050 7 1,306,050 COMPUTERS AND PERIPHERALS OMATEK VENTURES PLC 1,000.21 0.34 - 0 0 0 0 IT SERVICES CWG PLC 6,413.06 2.54 - 0 0 NCR (NIGERIA) PLC. 216.00 2.00 - 4 48 287.07 0.58 - 0 0 TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. 4 48 PROCESSING SYSTEMS CHAMS PLC 986.17 0.21 4.76 13 1,221,600 E-TRANZACT INTERNATIONAL PLC 10,962.00 2.61 - 0 0 13 1,221,600 TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES AIRTEL AFRICA PLC 1,123,311.48 298.90 - 7 115 7 115 31 2,527,813 BUILDING MATERIALS BERGER PAINTS PLC 1,941.82 6.70 - 1 2,000 BUA CEMENT PLC 1,195,411.70 35.30 - 0 0 CAP PLC 16,240.00 23.20 - 12 151,461 MEYER PLC. 265.62 0.50 - 2 954 1,769.32 2.23 - 0 0 PORTLAND PAINTS & PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC PREMIER PAINTS PLC. 1,156.20 9.40 - 0 0 15 154,415 ELECTRONIC AND ELECTRICAL PRODUCTS AUSTIN LAZ & COMPANY PLC 2,192.12 2.03 - 0 0 2,465.85 1.40 - 4 36,350 CUTIX PLC. 4 36,350 PACKAGING/CONTAINERS BETA GLASS PLC. 34,998.04 70.00 - 0 0 GREIF NIGERIA PLC 388.02 9.10 - 0 0 0 0 AGRO-ALLIED & CHEMICALS NOTORE CHEMICAL IND PLC 100,754.14 62.50 - 0 0 0 0 19 190,765 CHEMICALS B.O.C. GASES PLC. 1,685.79 4.05 - 2 5,000 2 5,000 METALS ALUMINIUM EXTRUSION IND. PLC. 1,781.64 8.10 - 3 10,000 3 10,000 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 5 15,000 ENERGY EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC 1,252.54 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 INTEGRATED OIL AND GAS SERVICES OANDO PLC 25,484.40 2.05 - 25 196,713 25 196,713 PETROLEUM AND PETROLEUM PRODUCTS DISTRIBUTORS 11 PLC 58,019.78 160.90 - 14 9,527 ARDOVA PLC 17,974.24 13.80 - 7 110,500 CONOIL PLC 9,125.47 13.15 - 7 13,960 ETERNA PLC. 3,116.91 2.39 - 4 21,000 MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. 4,206.05 13.80 - 0 0 TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. 32,695.95 96.30 - 24 16,735 56 171,722 81 368,435

ADVERTISING AFROMEDIA PLC 1,509.28 0.34 - 1 66,000 1 66,000 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 2,603.05 2.81 -3.10 10 311,851 TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. 421.96 0.90 - 0 0 10 311,851 HOSPITALITY TANTALIZERS PLC 642.33 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 HOTELS/LODGING CAPITAL HOTEL PLC 4,259.15 2.75 - 0 0 IKEJA HOTEL PLC 1,870.92 0.90 - 3 25,500 TOURIST COMPANY OF NIGERIA PLC. 7,076.28 3.15 - 0 0 TRANSCORP HOTELS PLC 30,401.62 4.00 - 0 0 3 25,500 MEDIA/ENTERTAINMENT DAAR COMMUNICATIONS PLC 3,960.00 0.33 - 1 3 1 3 PRINTING/PUBLISHING ACADEMY PRESS PLC. 205.63 0.34 - 1 696 LEARN AFRICA PLC 771.45 1.00 - 2 7,162 STUDIO PRESS (NIG) PLC. 1,183.82 1.99 - 0 0 UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC. 427.10 0.99 - 1 2,500 4 10,358 ROAD TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATED BUS COMPANY PLC 580.20 0.35 - 1 9,456 1 9,456

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Women in Business

Friday 03 April 2020

By Kemi Ajumobi

www.businessday.ng

NATASHA HADIZA AKPOTI

Irene Ochem Founder/CEO, AWIEF

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BUSINESS DAY

rene Ochem, is the founder and CEO of AWIEF, a premier Pan-African organisation bringing leading women entrepreneurs together and fostering sustainable women entrepreneurship in Africa through its initiatives and programmes.

She holds a bachelor ’s and postgraduate degrees as well as an MBA in International Management acquired at the University of London.

Ochem is inspired by her mother.

Living with her opened her eyes to the importance of women empowerment and why it cannot or should not be overlooked. According to her, “My mother was widowed very early in her marriage with five children to raise, educate and feed. I grew up and experienced firsthand, what it means and why it is imperative that a woman should be economically empowered” She says.

She understands the place of hard work but believes it takes more than that to succeed. “If wealth was the inevitable result of hard work and enterprise, every woman in Africa would be a millionaire.”

She says quoting writer and activist George Monbiot.

Irene’s focus is Africa’s most underutilised resource , women, and she is harnessing high-level, successful female entrepreneurs as well as young emerging businesswomen to create the unique AWIEF platform for women to connect and interface.

Her winning attributes are her track record, ability to tap into the knowledge and expertise gained globally, to network and understand the international development sector. She is fully aligned with the new SDGs that are taking the woman agenda to new dimensions.

Perfectly positioned to promote intraAfrican collaborations for women, she is set to stimulate a whole new momentum of meaningful change for women in Africa.

Irene’s qualities have brought her across countries and continents, through daunting obstacles and deepseated prejudices to where she now

stands, spearheading a highly influential pan-African women’s economic empowerment organisation and business network.

The seeds of this ambition were sown many years ago when working as a young volunteer at The International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP-UNESCO) where she encountered the desperate need for female inclusivity in sciences.

From there, extensive involvement in international organisations as conference organiser, administrative coordinator, research administration manager, international consultant and development specialist has steadily grown her vision to include the entire entrepreneurship ecosystem, from stakeholders and business experts to policy makers and aspiring entrepreneurs.

Irene understands that doing businesses can be ver y challenging, especially as a young start-up and that a lot of women business owners lack self-confidence, so her organisation helps women recognise their successes and achievements. According to her, “Part of what we do at AWIEF is provide skills, training and capacity building to women entrepreneurs. In doing so, we have found that to be a successful business leader, you need to have the right mind-set. It is important to be open to change and learning, persistent with your goals, as well as resilient.”

In addition, she says “Another important skill, which is good to have from the outset, is financial literacy. Unfortunately, many young businesswomen tend to lack this. We have found that a good deal of women business owners need to know how to better manage their finances and their cash flows. These are just some of the key skills that will allow you to succeed as a business leader.”

Irene holds postgraduate qualifications in project management, gender and trade-related issues. She speaks four languages and is a sought-after speaker and participant in international meetings on entrepreneurship, women and gender.

Founder, Builders Hub Impact Investment Program atasha Hadiza Akpoti (born in ing pale after donating 2 pints of blood 1979) is a Nigerian barrister, to patients who couldn’t afford any. That social entrepreneur and politi- moment defined my belief in helping the cian. She ran for the post of Kogi poor and it formed my rhetoric rational on Central Senatorial District (SDP) seat under becoming a social entrepreneur.”

Her continuous thirst for knowledge Social Democratic Party in the year 2019.

She contested in the Kogi State Governor- led her to acquire two professional cership election which held on the 16th of No- tifications in the energy sector namely; vember 2019. She is the founder of Builders Contracts Used in International PetroHub Impact Investment Program (BHIIP). leum Development, and Monitoring and Natasha is the second of four children, Regulation of the Upstream Petroleum and the only daughter of a Nigerian father Sector (Exploration and Production). Both and a Ukrainian mother. Her mother, programs were offered by the Center for Ludmila Kravchenk, is a Ukrainian from Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Rakitna in the region of Chernivtsi. Her Policy (CEPMLP), Scotland, UK. She also participated in a high-level father, Dr. Jimoh Abdul Akpoti, is from Obeiba-Ihima, Kogi State. She spent her workshop organised by the University of early years in Iyima, Okene Local Govern- Aberdeen, centered on the Bargaining ment. She lost her father in 1998 and the Zone, Anchor Points and Negotiation family had to relocate. She studied at the Tactics Preparation, First Moves and University of Abuja from 2000 to 2004 and Concessions, where Natasha scored the graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree. most accurate bargain during a delegateShe was called to the Nigerian bar in 2005 simulation.

Akpoti’s decision to become a social enupon graduation from the Nigerian Law School in Abuja. In 2011, she proceeded trepreneur and reformer in 2015 was born to the University of Dundee and graduated out of innate passion to position Nigeria on with a Master of Laws degree in 2012. She the fore of industrialisation and judiciously holds a Master of Business Administration harness the vast natural and human rein Oil & Gas Management from the Univer- sources, all in a bid to create employment and eradicate poverty in Nigeria. sity of Dundee.

Natasha knew most of her works would After graduation from the Nigerian Law School, she worked with Brass NLG as a circulate among the neglected local comlegal counsel from 2007 to 2010. In 2015, munities therefore, in 2016, she applied she established Builders Hub Impact In- for the INSEAD Social Entrepreneurship Program in Singapore where she acquired vestment Program (BHIIP).

In 2018, she declared her intentions to applicable knowledge on smart innovarun for the office of Senator representing tive sustainable solutions for tackling neKogi Central in the Nigerian Senate under glected problems at all levels of the society.

Understanding the importance of the umbrella of the Social Democratic innovating indigenous technology and Party (SDP).

Natasha spent her formative years as a building inclusive resilient economies, child growing up and being educated in her Natasha’s heart also rests with Start-Ups. native communities- Okehi and neighbor- This interest birthed a partnership between ing Okene, Adavi and Ajaokuta towns. Her the Niger Delta Development Commission most fascinating moments were lessons of (NDDC), Small, Medium Enterprise Develphilanthropy and empathy for humanity opment Agency (SMEDAN) of Nigeria and that her father taught by practically treat- Natasha’s Builders Hub Impact Investment ing the poor for free, paying tuition for Program (BHiiP) to establish Nigeria’s first thousands of school children, supporting integrated technology development and hundreds of local farmers and traders with business growth hub situated in the city of Uyo, in the coastal, oil producing part their businesses and so much more.

“My father came home one day look- of Nigeria.

N

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