BusinessDay 04 Mar 2020

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news you can trust I ** wednesDAY 04 march 2020 I vol. 19, no 512

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Imo: Uzodinma remains governor as Supreme Court dismisses Ihedioha’s application … affirms Jan. 14 judgment … parties in case to bear their costs … decision will haunt country’s electoral jurisprudence – Justice Nweze Felix Omohomhion, Abuja

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he Supreme Court on Tuesday affirmed its January 14 judgment which sacked Emeka Ihedioha as Imo State governor.

In a judgment of six to one, the apex court dismissed the application by Ihedioha and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) which sought to review the judgment of January 14, saying the application lacked merit.

Ihedioha was declared winner of the March 9, 2019 governorship election in Imo by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after having won majority of lawful votes cast at the governorship poll.

Ihedioha’s election was upContinues on page 38

Inside

US Fed cuts rates by half point in emergency response to virus P. 2 Amotekun Bill: Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, Osun await governors’ assent P. A10

L-R: Oscar Onyema, chief executive officer, The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE); Abimbola Ogunbanjo, president of council, NSE; Mojisola Adeola, council secretary, NSE; Aigbojie Aig-Imokhuede, ex-officio, NSE, and Catherine Nwakaego Echeozo, second vice president, NSE, during a Court Ordered Meeting (COM) and an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) in Lagos, yesterday.

Nigerian banks squeezed by 40% effective CRR HOPE MOSES & LOLADE AKINMURELE

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igerian banks are having to park so much money with the Central Bank that it may scuttle a lending surge that some economists predict would give the

As CBN debits lenders N1trn economy a much-needed boost.

Sources tell BusinessDay that the effective Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) for banks in Africa’s largest economy is between 40-50 percent even though the official rate is 27.5 percent.

The CRR, which is the amount in percentage of total deposits that the banks must keep with the CBN, has always been above the official rate but has jumped further following the CBN’s hike in CRR to 27.5 percent from

22.5 percent at its first meeting of 2020.

In sticking to its higher effective CRR, the CBN debited the banks of some N700 billion and another N400bn for Open MarContinues on page 38

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news Actis acquires majority stake in Rack Centre

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ne of Nigeria’s biggest data centre, Rack Centre has been acquired by Actis, a leading investor of private capital into global emerging markets.

Actis’s decision to acquire the data centre collocation and cloud services provider was taken after a detailed assessment of the players in the African market. It is said to have selected Rack Centre with the most significant potential to grow and expand in Africa.

Rack Centre was established and wholly owned by Jagal, the highly respected Nigerian conglomerate holding that operates leading energy businesses and manages a diverse portfolio of investments.

Since commencing operations in Lagos in 2013, Rack Centre has consistently set the quality bar in the industry in Africa, being the first on the Continent to be Tier III Constructed Facility Certified in April 2017 with a global reputation for excellence and consistently, winning global awards. Rack Centre has the largest installed capacity in West Africa with a range of over 80 blue chip international, multi-national and local clients. With over 35 carriers, Internet Service Providers, Mobile Network Operators present, and hosting the Internet Exchange Point of Nigeria; it is the most connected, carrier neutral, Tier III certified data centre in Sub-Sahara Africa, with every country on the Atlantic coast of Africa directly connected.

Commenting, David Mor-

ley, head of real estate at Actis, said: “We have been tracking the data centre market in Africa closely, building relationships with key operators and customers. Africa is at an inflection point and we expect to see an explosion in growth of demand for hosting capacity in independently owned data centres across the continent.

“We are excited about this new partnership with Rack Centre and its parent company Jagal. Together they have built a strong business of international repute, hosting a compelling mix of customers ranging from leading Nigerian corporates to global cloud majors.”

Maher Jarmakani, CEOof Jagal said “Jagal is excited with its new partnership with Actis.

Rack Centre has developed into a leading and respected African brand and it is now at a critical stage for investment and growth. Actis understands global and emerging markets and will be a fantastic partner for the next phase of the Rack Centre journey.”

Ayotunde Coker, the managing director of Rack Centre said that it has been a great honour to lead the growth of Rack Centre to become one of the most respected carrier neutral data centre brands in West Africa; a household name with global recognition.

Rack Centre is now at a key juncture and my team and I are excited with being part of the future growth. With over 750kW of installed capacity, it is now doubling capacity to 1.5MW of IT power at the current location on a trajectory to 10MW.”

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he US Federal Reserve delivered an emergency halfpercentage point interest rate cut, Tuesday, in a bid to protect the longest-ever economic expansion from the spreading coronavirus.

“The coronavirus poses evolving risks to economic activity,” the Fed said in a statement.

“In light of these risks and in support of achieving its maximum employment and price stability goals, the Federal Open Market Committee decided today to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 1/2 percentage point,” it said.

The central bank also

...stocks rebound from year-low with second-biggest gain in 2020 OLUFIKAYO OWOEYE & SEGUN ADAMS

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anking stocks were the toast of investors on Tuesday on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange as renewed appetite and bargain hunting drove the banking index, the gauge used to measure the performance of banking stocks, to a 7.99 percent gain, the biggest since June 20, 2016 when it gained 8.07 percent.

Tier-1 lenders led the pack with Access Bank gaining 9.74 percent; Zenith Bank gained 8.59 percent; Guaranty Trust Bank gained 7.03 percent, and UBA gained 6.20 percent. Investors’ interests in banking stocks also propelled the benchmark

index 1.70 percent to the highest since January 9, 2020.

The renewed interest in banking stocks is coming a few days after the release of annual financial reports of Zenith Bank, UBA, and GTBank.

According to Gbolahan Ologunro, an analyst at CSL Securities, investors are taking advantage of a significant moderation in the price of these Bellwether stocks and positioning themselves.

“With the results pouring in, the dividend yield of these banks in doubledigit gives an attraction to investors,” Ologunro said.

According to BusinessDay calculations, GTBank’s dividend yield stood at 11 percent; Zenith Bank 14 percent, and UBA

12 percent.

Dividend yield tells an investor how much dividend income such investor gets in relation to the price of the stock.

The rally in bank stocks comes as the Nigerian equity market saw its biggest gain since early January to lift the market from its lowest point in the year.

The stock market rose 1.7 percent on Tuesday following gains in banking stocks including MTNN which gained by almost 5 percent in the day.

Stocks had plunged to their lowest in the year, after the best start to a year since 2013 at least, paving the way for investors to buy cheap as the world fights to control the coronavirus disease spread and weaken its economic impact.

The IMF and the World Bank on Monday said they stood ready to support countries facing immediate financing needs arising from the virus crisis.

Similarly, the representatives of the world’s seven most industrialised countries (G7) will meet to decide on an effective response to the threat posed by the COVID-19 outbreak to global economy.

On its part, OPEC and its members are expected to announce deep cuts to oil production that would prop up price this week.

Already, Brent has pared some of its losses last week and risen to $53.26 per barrel ahead of the announcement.

•Continues online at www.businessday.ng

•Continues online at www.businessday.ng

US Fed cuts rates by half point in emergency response to virus SEGUN ADAMS

Banking index sees biggest gain in 4yrs on renewed investor appetite, bargain hunting

L-R: John M. Gwong, senior general manager, operations, Dangote Cement Obajana Plant; Uchechukwu Sampson Ogah, minister of state, mines, steel and solid minerals; Abubakar Mohamed, Kogi State commissioner for solid minerals development, and Devakumar Edwin, group executive director, strategy, capital projects & portfolio development, Dangote Industries Limited, during the minister of state for mines, steel and solid minerals visit to Dangote Cement Obajana Plant in Kogi State, yesterday.

said it is “closely monitoring developments and their implications for the economic outlook and will use its tools and act as appropriate to support the economy”.

The vote for the emergency cut to a range of 1 IHEANYI NWACHUKWU & percent to 1.25 percent ENDURANCE OKAFOR was unanimous. igerian shareThe Fed also said in holders are few the statement that the steps away from “fundamentals of the U.S. j o i n i ng t h e i r economy remain strong”. peers in 56 other ExchangThe Fed acted hours es globally who are reaping after Jerome Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve, and the reward of a demutualfinance chiefs from the ised bourse as members of Group of Seven nations Nigerian Stock Exchange said they would “use all (NSE) have assented to appropriate policy tools demutualisation.

The NSE members to achieve strong, sustainpassed requisite resoluable growth and safeguard tions for the demutualisaagainst downside risks”.

That echoed a statement tion of the Exchange at a Court Ordered Meeting Powell made on Friday.

NSE demutualisation holds these 3 benefits for shareholders

… as members assent, appoint Ogunbanjo chairman, Onyema MD/CEO

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(COM) and an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) held in Lagos on Tuesday.

At the COM, members voted and assented to the re-registration of the Exchange as Nigerian Exchange Group plc; the transfer of its securities exchange licence and other assets required to carry out the securities function to Nigerian Exchange Limited, and the establishment of a separate subsidiary company to be charged with the regulatory functions of the Exchange

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post-demutualisation to be called NGX Regulation Limited, the total share capital being N1.250 billion comprising 2.5 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each to be registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).

The members also assented to the allotment of 1.964 billion ordinary shares to dealing members and ordinary members on the basis of a ratio of 78:22, respectively; the provision of Claims Review Shares totalling 40.083 million ordinary shares, rep@Businessdayng

resenting 2 percent of the Issued Shares of Nigerian Exchange Group, will be set aside for allotment to parties who are adjudged as being entitled to shares in the demutualised Exchange; and the transfer of the assets of NSE Consult Limited, NSE Nominees Limited and Coral Properties Limited – existing subsidiaries of the NSE – to the Nigerian Exchange Group plc.

Following the COM, members reconvened for the EGM to determine the Board of Directors of the Continues on page 38

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Rethinking Microfinance model and methodology (2) Small Business handbook

Emeka Osuji

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t is so easy to be distracted from one’s trajectory, especially when one is in an environment dominated by distracted or downright confused people or entities. Even governments get disoriented when self-seeking praisesinging renteers flood its corridors and dish out falsehood, intended for self-aggrandizement, as wisdom.

Examples are not far-fetched. There have been governments headed by people regarded widely as forthright but they end up as disasters for the people, due to the activities of people around them. We have also seen people who are largely regarded as epitome of high integrity run entities that turn out to be cesspits of corruption.

It is therefore important that we take the environment into consideration because it often plays an important role in shaping the outcome of events.

As the operating environment in Nigeria continues to worsen, at least for microfinance institutions and access to finance becomes more and more difficult for the most vulnerable and poorest of the poor active citizens, microfinance providers need to rethink their role in the whole idea of poverty reduction.

Although microfinance has been around since the 1970s, many still do not clearly understand its role in the economy. There are still some blind spots, or knowledge gaps, regarding its mission, strategies and tactics for accomplishing its goals. To a large extent, microfinance still conveys the picture of microcredit, even to some operators, and that could be a major drawback to the pursuit of real microfinance.

All that some operators do is book small loans for small businesses and they raise a banner of microfinance institution. There is more to it. We now need to also bother about how these small loans are booked and how they are delivered to the clients. Microfinance service providers need to open up their minds more widely to embrace the flood of technology racing towards them as Fintech transforms financing activity around the world.

Microfinance is an agent for financial inclusion and the Nigerian government, and indeed many others around the world, has made financial inclusion one of its main economic priorities. To be an effective part of this plan, microfinance institutions must first focus, not on the making of loans but on how technically equipped they are. Fintech is going to make life both simple and difficult for operators, and how you are hit depends on what you are doing right now.

This is the time to train as much as possible, and learn all you can in the technology field. The influence of financial technology (Fintech), “which is simply any company that provides financial services through software or other technology, and includes anything from mobile payment apps

to cryptocurrency”, is a growing one.

It is ripping through the world of financial services like a hurricane, in a very exciting manner, enabling so much capacity on the part of users. It would eventually be the power behind certain financial services enablers like credit scoring and the determination of what products are needed by different categories of people in the market.

Although still in its early stages in our environment, Fintech promises to change the face of microfinance.

It will take business away from operators while arming them to more powerfully and effectively deliver their services. “The exciting development from Fintech will be the use of credit scoring algorithms based on social media footprints for lending to small-and medium-size businesses”.

Microfinance is about reaching the poorest of the poor with financial and other enabling resources It is about reaching the “missing middle” – those entrepreneurs, no matter how small, who are employing other people but can’t get access to finance because of their inability to prove their qualification to financiers.

Evidently, considerable disorder has happened on the microfinance industry, and for the most part, due to no fault of the operators. For one, the failure of government to protect the citizens of Nigeria has heightened in the last few years, making nonsense of the poverty reduction efforts of both the government and institutions like those in microfinancing. The arrival of commercial microfinance by for-profit institutions seems to have diminished the social function of operators, shifting focus to those already served but away from the unbanked

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Although still in its early stages in our environment, Fintech promises to change the face of microfinance.

It will take business away from operators while arming them to more powerfully and effectively deliver their services

Dr Osuji is head of the department of Economics at Pan Atlantic University Lagos. eosuji@ pau.edu.ng @Emekaosujii

Looking back to see ahead

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ith the continued absence of a vital subject like History from our nation’s school curriculum, our youth cannot be held entirely to blame for the ignorance they sometimes display and neither should we be surprised with their alarming choices of role models. History would go a long way to establish a template of good character; suggest a benchmark for personalities worthy of emulation; national heroes. Our children will discover and learn from the escapades of people of exceptional moral character and even people without; discovering why some names will always be written in gold while others will never be, no matter how much power or wealth they managed to accumulate in their lifetime.

Reading, filled with much national pride about great achievers, those of selfless disposition who refused to sacrifice conscience or country, but always put their nation first. In a nutshell, patriots.

Model citizens. Great men and women. They will also be given the opportunity to become more acquainted with the gruesomeness of war, unimaginable losses people suffer, resultant starvation from severely limited food supplies and heart rendering stories about the separation of families.

All teach important life lessons.

The much-awaited reintroduction of History into the curriculum will no doubt help the Nigerian child to understand who he is and where he’s coming from. The level of self-assurance that comes from knowing and accepting one’s identity cannot be overemphasised. In the absence of self-identity, there’s a tendency for one to devalue oneself. There’s a likelihood that one’s standards of acceptable moral behaviour may be more fluid and not entirely set in stone. The African saying of, “remember whose child you are” is not just referring to the biological parents who bore you, but your lineage, your stock, and the socially acceptable behaviour of the community your ancestors hailed from. It implies an expectation for one to

represent in an honourable manner, the customary behaviour of one’s people; and even what it has come to mean, over the years, to be a Nigerian.

There is no getting away from the fact that one’s ethnic group still plays a significant part in dictating one’s ethos and outlook to life and there’s absolutely nothing wrong or necessarily retrogressive about this. As someone who spent the better part of his formative years in the southern part of the United Kingdom, I can tell you categorically that northern Brits are quite different to those from the south. Perhaps toughened up by the perennial inclement and thoroughly unforgiving weather of the north, cruelly accompanied by the indisputably harsher economic climate, the northerners fairly or unfairly, see the southerners as softies; those who apportion too much time to fanciful matters and supposedly civil behaviour, because they already have it so easy.

In like manner, the southerners have a tendency to view the northerners as generally less refined and less accustomed to what they regard as couth behaviour. Southerners have always regarded themselves as more genteel and pride themselves in their pursuit of a more cultured lifestyle. Amongst some other things they all have in common, no matter which part of the country they come from, there’s one I’ve always loved about the Brits; something I believe in many ways, sets them apart from other nationalities, and it’s this; the Brits are always the first to make fun of themselves as they don’t believe in taking themselves too seriously. But make no mistake; you just speak one disparaging word about their country, as a foreigner, and you’ll discover very quickly that they still regard themselves as one. They’re wise enough to realize that they have fought too many wars, too many battles and stood together to overcome too many challenges as one, not to.

They are Brits first, and they’re very proud of it.

Learning from both our disparate and common history as a people, Nigerians would, I

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believe, become more aware of their heritage; acknowledging and understanding the things that make us different while becoming increasingly conversant with the things which forge us together; coming to the realisation that though there are things which make us different from each other, they should not set us apart, as we have become one people.

Many of our disillusioned youth who see nothing good in their country may have turned out very differently had they been privileged to immerse themselves, through study, in the acts of valour and patriotism of heroes’ past. Admittedly, it always sounds like a cliché when people say this but it’s true; how can you possibly make a well-informed decision regarding where you want to go when you don’t have a clue where you’re coming from? The chances of you repeating the same mistakes your forefathers made, are that much higher, as you haven’t been fortunate enough to discover, by studying the past, to know what they did. Our compass to the promised land we all yearn for must take its bearings from both the past and the present to direct us correctly to the desired future.

Just in case some take offence, I hope they’ll find a way to forgive me for saying this, but the African American has always felt out of sorts in a country dominated by the white man, and many, in a desperate bid to have a better understanding of who they are, have tried to trace their lineage back to the motherland. It’s an understandable search for a fuller sense of identity. They want to know their stock and the culture which they were so cruelly deprived of, when their ancestors were herded off to a foreign land as slaves. This has created a big hole in many, which they continually seek to fill by knowing their history, prior to the dislocation of the slave trade. What part did their lost culture play to form their character, their seemingly inexplicable likes and dislikes, their philosophies, strengths, as well as weaknesses.

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and undeserved.

There is need therefore for microfinance institutions to assume their real role as partners with the members of society at the bottom of the pyramid.

There is need also for operators to return to model-driven microfinancing.

In that regard, operators must decide whom they want to serve, which by regulation, are the active poor. They also have to decide on the method by which such financing shall be delivered.

Successful microfinance is built around the ability to lend effectively without collateral but is not to say that collateral lending is not possible in the industry. With the introduction of the collateral registry, there is more capacity on the part of borrowers to secure their loans with movable chattels and increased incentive for lenders to do more. Indeed, it is illegal to lend an amount above N50,000 without securing it.

The idea here is to focus operators on the active poor and encourage small loans. This is a faster route to financial democracy than large loans.

It also helps to bring in the women who dominate the poverty clan. Usually, wherever you find poor men you can be sure there are poorer women behind them. This is why in microfinance; women seem to be the ubiquitous element of concern. Many very successful microfinance programmes totally exclude small and medium enterprises from their clientele. They have interest only in microenterprises.

That is my favourite model.

Character Matters with Daps

Dapo Akande Without the benefit of history as a form of anchor to our psyche, we have witnessed an alarming distortion in societal values and it’s not looking like this will abate anytime soon; unless we do something about it.

The tired argument that History had become a less attractive subject because not many are looking to become Historians lacks merit. The importance of history goes beyond the superficial which looks only at career courses, as it helps us to know who we are, and that to me, is priceless.

Before fixing your sights on a given ambition, no matter how noble it might appear to be, it would do both you and your society a world of good to first know who you are. Besides, despite their inglorious involvement in the Second World War, did the Germans consider it wise to hastily discard of History in their school curriculum? No. Instead, they embraced their past, both the good and the bad and learned from it. The offer of History as a University Degree program has not in any way adversely affected their technological advancement, for which they continue to be renowned on the global stage. History is sacrosanct, if we’re to get better bearings of ourselves, where we want to get to and how best to get there.

Changing the nation...one mind at a time.

Akande is a graduate of the University of Surrey, UK, author of the acclaimed book: The Last Flight: A personal journey to discovering values. Contact: dapsakande25@ gmail.com

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A failure of change management FOLA FAGBULE

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t is now almost seven years since about $3 billion in private capital was invested into the Nigerian electricity sector, to acquire the disaggregated assets of the former government-owned utility. That seminal event was heralded at the time as the beginning of a new era in the country’s dysfunctional electricity supply industry. It now appears that we were all sadly mistaken.

Less than a decade later, according to credible news sources, the Nigerian government appears to be considering a “review” of those asset sales, due to poor performance in improving power supply. Any wholesale reversals would be a sad mistake and a step in the wrong direction.

At the risk of appearing to say, “we told you so” - early in 2011 (long before the asset sales were ever consummated) I worked with senior colleagues at AFC to publish a white paper titled “Nigerian Power Distribution: The Commercial Imperative”. That document is still available on our website and is worth re-reading for the key principles that were laid out therein, as well as for its prescience in relation to how events have since unfolded. Sadly, several of the outcomes that we wished could be avoided have in fact emerged.

In a nutshell, what has happened in the Nigerian electricity privatisation is a failure of change management.

This is particularly so in relation to the critical commercial coal-face of the energy sector, electricity distribution.

Firstly, it is always important to start with some context. Prior to the “big bang” sale of assets in 2013, there was very little practical experience or expertise in Nigeria of large,

grid-based electricity supply systems running on the basis of sustainable economic principles. In practice, this meant that even under the best of circumstances, the immediate aftermath of privatisation was going to be challenging. This simple reality was the (admittedly not terribly contentious) thesis of our paper in 2011. Reality has proven to be even more difficult than we could have ever imagined; what with currency devaluations, major global economic volatility, political change and weaknesses in regulatory governance over the period.

Secondly, it is just as important to avoid the danger of a single story. Despite the incredible headwinds which faced the industry, there have been success stories worth noting. Whether it be in the area of reducing technical and commercial losses, or in expanding plant capacities and improving energy delivery; great progress is being made. In our many meetings with sponsors and management teams of previously government-owned assets over the years, it is not difficult to see the amount of enterprise, effort and dedication that is being invested into improving the financial and operational performance of these difficult properties. Private enterprise, expertise and capital (mostly home-grown) is being deployed in very difficult circumstances to solve Nigeria’s most important infrastructure challenge. It is worth pausing to appreciate this in itself as a milestone en-route to the ultimate solution that we all care about: stable and sustainable energy supply.

Of course, even the best efforts are not enough; results are what matter, and this brings us to the underlying failure of change management which I believe is responsible for the current state of affairs.

There is no value in pointing fingers as to the source of the problem. In any event, there is more than enough blame to go around. Whether or not it was realised, what Nigeria attempted in 2013 was its most ambitious change management initiative possibly since transition from military to civilian

rule. The commercial framework of an entire (highly critical) industry with intimate grassroots touchpoints was upended overnight. New counterparties emerged, each with differing objectives, incentives and capacities. From a situation in which total dysfunction and opaqueness was taken for granted; all of a sudden, it (rightly) mattered very much whether or not energy consumed at multiple levels was being delivered, accurately measured, with bills calculated and paid on time.

An entire back and middle-office infrastructure to cater for the commercial imperative has had to be designed and constructed from scratch.

The fundamental basis of relationship between buyers and sellers of energy changed dramatically at every level: from grudging tolerance and resigned resentment, to an adversarial and often legally charged one. This has been an extremely complex change management project, and it is safe to say that it has failed to meet with the expectations of the most important stakeholder: the ordinary paying consumers.

If we accept the problem definition, we might now focus on what the options are for resolving it (and it is extremely resolvable). Borrowing from the principles outlined in our 2011 white paper (in which we shared experiences from a success story in Lesotho), I will make a few suggestions. The first thing is to bear in mind the most important stakeholder in this change management project.

And that is the average, paying, voting customer. This customer perspective must be a critical design principle for every step contemplated. Without a genuine understanding of customer requirements (and widespread buyin for major changes), very little real progress can be made. That is why “Communication Strategy” was the first principle we highlighted in 2011 and it remains valid today. For change to be bought into and effective, key commercial stakeholders across the value chain (and on both the public

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There is no value in pointing fingers as to the source of the problem. In any event, there is more than enough blame to go around.

Whether or not it was realised, what Nigeria attempted in 2013 was its most ambitious change management initiative possibly since transition from military to civilian rule

Fagbule, is Senior Vice President, Africa Finance Corporation. His Twitter handle is @ folafagbule

Collaboration is the new competition “Collaboration is the new competition, the new cool. The new normal. At this, you will share both the pains and gains to avoid burnout syndrome...” came across this quote by Maymunnah Kadiri, my friend who is a mental health advocate, and I am reminded of some instances at Aspire Coronation Trust (ACT) Foundation, when we would recommend grantee collaboration especially among grantee nonprofits that share similar or complementary objectives. A strong reason for this stems from the idea that alone we can go fast, but together we can go further. Also, we have encountered situations of program duplication which, if a shared strategy was adopted would have yielded more in terms of impact maximisation.

Another reason we encourage our grantees to work with their counterparts is the important function of advocacy and policy influence which only a mobilised alliance of non-profit organisations working on shared agenda can possibly wield as a result of their collective resources.

In the business world, collaboration among competitors takes many forms, like product licensing and joint ventures. A good example is the Nigeria Inter-bank Settlement System (NIBSS), a company owned by all licensed banks in Nigeria, sharing a single infrastructure

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for handling interbank payments. Joint ventures are very popular in the oil and gas sector as well as the health sector. Every now and then we read news of two or more pharmacies working to release new medicine. Rival auto mobile companies General Motors and Toyota have jointly produced vehicles. One time, industry rivals in the technology sector, Samsung and Sony leveraged their individual expertise to create what has been tagged a highly celebrated and successful partnership by jointly producing the liquid-crystal display (LCD) technology. While Samsung had the panels, Sony’s technology ensured that the TV pictures were crisp and of high quality.

Competition in business appears to be the norm. A common reason why this is so is the fight to gain a huge percentage of the market share, enjoy first mover advantages and in the long term generate income and boost profit.

However, with the fast pace of technology, changes in consumer behaviour and the day to day new complexities managers are forced to deal with, more and more businesses are depending on mutual partnerships. If they were to tackle these challenges individually, can they independently pull off the resources involved in driving disruptive innovation if that was the case? Where the business environment promotes a “winner takes all” attitude, can manag-

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ers of competing organisation devise strategies to promote equally beneficial partnerships?

Like the collaboration between Samsung and Sony, most times collaborations between competitors may lead to a major upscale or upgrade for the entire industry especially when they address threatening issues.

Collaboration should be the new cool. If done properly, there are multiple benefits; from access to new markets and resources, shared costs and risks, access to knowledge which can be expressed through additional product lines and of course, a robust bottom line. However, some organisations do not welcome co-options because in all honesty this sort of arrangements do not always end up successful. There is the risk of transfer of competitive advantage or of one party getting the short end of the stick! This is why it is highly necessary to have well defined set objectives when considering embarking on this sort of alliance. Examine your current state as well as that of your prospective rival-partner.

What are your strengths and what are your needs? What is your value proposition? What are their strengths and weaknesses? How can they fill the gaps you have identified?

When both parties have agreed to go on with the arrangement, it is imperative to document every and any critical information because in as much as partnerships between competitors can

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and private sides of the industry) need to be signing from the same hymn sheet at all times. To put it mildly, this has sadly not been the case to date.

Next, as was pointed out in 2011, there are still no substitutes for industrial expertise, both in key regulatory positions and in the governance or management teams of each industry operator. The authority to govern the quality of the boards of directors and management teams of each operator ultimately lies with the industry regulator. As with the banking industry, this ought to be one of the most powerful change management tools judiciously deployed by that body. Information accessibility and transparency is another key principle we highlighted in 2011.

It is a concept that links closely to communication strategy and management of the most important stakeholder. Customers need to be trusted and empowered with a full, accurate and single picture of the costs, challenges and profit margins involved in delivering the energy they consume.

There can be no effective change management on such a national scale without effective, coherent and consistent communication of industry realities in a simple and easy to digest manner. Finally, “aggressive transition to pre-payment systems” was the last piece of advice we offered in that 2011 paper. This is advice that remains valid in 2020, for reasons that must now be obvious to everyone concerned.

The Nigerian electricity change management project can be made to work, and the result will be even large flows of private capital, energy and expertise into this critical industry, to fix Nigeria’s most important infrastructure problem. Making it work must be the approach to take, not just for this sector but for other areas of infrastructure delivery. That is why a wholesale reversion of privatisation would be a terrible idea, and a big step backward for Nigeria.

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be beneficial, there is only a tiny line between collaboration and competition. Communicate expectations. Protect your organisation. Sign non-disclosure documents. Set boundaries.

Share information on a need to know basis.

Business to Business(B2B) experts advise that when rival companies pursue a partnership a separate and independent joint venture should be formed. This entity will be responsible for the new business and will only be existent throughout its life.

Partnerships can also happen with the small organisations. Managers in this class can pull resources in order to team up with the others in the same category to compete with or attract the bigger organisations. Through strategic collaborations, non-profits can attract donors and increase their chances of getting the essential support that they need.

Establishments are run by human beings.

Not to discount the need for competition because it can be a healthy method of encouraging invention nonetheless, like Kadiri rightly inferred, when we are working under a constant state of competition, tracking our competitors to outrun them we burn out fast!

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Wednesday 04 March 2020

BUSINESS DAY

Editorial Publisher/Editor-in-chief

Frank Aigbogun editor Patrick Atuanya

Too sluggish and costly: Economic diversification in Nigeria Fastest growth since 2016 recession unimpressive, far from potential

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

T

he latest indicators on the economic performance of Nigeria coupled with shocks in the global economy re-echo how vital diversifying the Nigerian economy is. For the current administration diversification has remained a rocket science, a fancy word it talked up on its agenda for the economy upon resuming office. How long does it take an administration to successfully diversify an economy; 4 years, 8 years or forever?

Data on the 2019 gross domestic product (GDP) released last week shows an annual growth rate at 2.27 percent the fastest since 2016, but still below population growth rate of 2.59 percent. And all thanks to oil.

But more and more Nigerians are poor and unemployed.

Despite the hard work of some in the public and private sectors to push the economy forward. Pushing a car to

jump start it works sometimes, but if the engine is broken no amount of pushing will replace the engine. The economy is broken, it has to be fixed otherwise growth will remain sluggish.

The outbreak of a coronavirus (covid-19), a new virus, is battering the global economy. It has caused the price of crude oil, the major source of dollars for government to plunge to $50.69 per barrel, the lowest level since July 2017. This is below Nigeria’s budget benchmark of $57. Some of the immediate implications are pressure on the exchange rate, depletion of external reserves, and a higher federal budget deficit which could mean more government borrowing to fund its budget.

All of which will take a toll on the economy.

We can blame this on Nigeria’s slow response to diversify its economy among other factors.

The Nigerian economy isn’t void of sectors with potential; instead these sectors are

starved of patient investment in the form of foreign direct investment (FDI. Instead the Nigerian monetary authority through its unorthodox policies fuelled by the obsession to defend the naira at all cost has chosen to pursue foreign portfolio investment (FPI), the so-called hot money, as a priority. On the fiscal side, the federal government hasn’t shown seriousness in attracting FDI into the country with policies market-driven reforms that make the economy right for investment. Two big sectors that employ a lot of low skilled labour, agriculture and trade, continue to struggle. Agriculture continues to grow at near the slowest pace in two decades and the trade sector remains in a technical recession no thanks to the border closure.

A closer look at the 2019 GDP report reveals some bright spots. The telecommunication sector, for example, has a lot of potential to attract lots of investment. The level of investments

in a sector largely determines the growth potential of that sector.

Other sectors could benefit from the reforms and regulation that boosted investment in telecommunication. Opening them all up for investments will help Nigeria break loose of its shackles to an uncertain crude oil market.

Take for example the motion pictures, sound recording and music production sub-industry in the ICT sector. It has recovered from a decline (minus 0.4 percent in 2018) to growing again at 0.2 percent. This was buoyed by the growth in revenue generated from the number of movies and music produced last year. The growth achieved last year is nothing to cheer, government policies had nothing to do with it.

If deliberate efforts are made to fix the economy, for instance, fix electricity supply which will help reduce the cost of making movies and music backed with strong anti-privacy policies, growth in this sector as well as others is better be imagined.

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Wednesday 04 March 2020

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2.27 percent GDP growth: Should we celebrate?

Franklin Ngwu

W

ith the announcement that Nigeria achieved a GDP growth of 2.27 percent in 2019, higher than the 2.1 percent projected by IMF, there seems to be an air of elation, like yes, we did it in some circles! But should we celebrate the minute success or is it even a success?

When exam results are announced, high performing students celebrate their performance when compared to other students.

In our West African class and using reports from African Development Bank, Senegal achieved about 6 percent, Ghana about 7.1 percent, Cote d’Ivoire 7.4 percent, Mali 5 percent, Guinea 6.2 percent, Burkina Faso 6 percent, Guinea Bissau 5 percent, Gambia 5.4 percent, Niger 6.4percent, Mauritania 6.7percent and Benin Republic 6.7percent. Overall, in this 2019 West African class of 15 students, Liberia and Nigeria are the least performing students with about 0.4 and 2.3 percent respectively. As revealing and disappointing as the above comparison can be, it is important to remember that we also failed using the growth target of 3.2% that was agreed in 2019 budget and below our population growth rate of about 2.60 percent. As the father of such a child called Nigeria, PMB will and should not be happy!

In reviewing our poor performance, a key question that arises is if the outcome should be attributed more to internal or external factors. As other West African countries somewhat face the same external factors, suggestions

that our challenges are more of internal than external gain more validity. Many factors contributed to 2019 outcome.

These include the general elections, delay in the appointment of ministers, pervasive insecurity and heightened tribal divisions escalated by absence of inclusive government, the delay and later signing of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).

Also significantly contributing to the outcome are border closure, unconventional policies from CBN and lack of a coherent and robust fiscal policy exemplified in the poor articulation and execution of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).

A better way to properly understand our dire situation is to recollect the basic teachings in Economics. As our GDP grows lower than the population, our poverty challenge will compound.

With Nigeria already classified as the poverty capital of the world and about 22million Nigerians unemployed, the 2019 GDP growth of about 2.3 percent is therefore neither a success nor worthy of celebration. It should serve as a cause for sober reflection given the consequences of such sluggish and disappointing growth on our national, individual and general wellbeing. What has happened to the Giant of Africa, a Scottish friend sarcastically asked?

With 2019 in the past and 2020 in the present, the focus is how to ensure that the poor performance is not repeated in 2020 and beyond. Are there options that Nigeria can use to achieve over 5 percent growth? Yes, there are and they are plenty!

To accelerate the development and growth of any economy, three key policy fronts must be robustly and jointly pursued. These are monetary, fiscal and supply-side policies. While monetary and fiscal policies are somehow clear, supply-side policies are sometimes overlooked or inadequately attended to. It is generally referred to as specific policies through which government enhances the productivity and efficiency of an economy. With success measured based on the extent to which aggregate

‘

To accelerate the development and growth of any economy, three key policy fronts must be robustly and jointly pursued. These are monetary, fiscal and supplyside policies

supply is increased to ensure higher long term economic growth, it is a set policies that when effectively combined and executed with monetary and fiscal policies, the economy will experience higher productivity and employment rate, lower inflation, more foreign direct investment, improved trade and balance of payments. To move Nigeria to over 5percent GDP growth rate, the below options deserve serious attention.

First, a detailed and well-articulated monetary policy with good inputs from relevant stakeholders and guided by the concept of forward guidance is imperative. While the efforts of the CBN for better Nigeria is most commendable, a situation where one is left a bit confused as to the evident expansion and reactionary interventions of the CBN might not be the best for a struggling economy like Nigeria. For more real investors to embrace Nigeria, some level of certainty and clarity especially on the monetary policy front is pertinent.

Second, as the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) expires this year, it is important and urgent that a more detailed and realistic short-tolong term economic development plan that is anchored on devolved socioeconomic development framework is quickly formulated, adopted and utilized. Given our size, complexities and peculiarities, a patriotic review aimed at moving some items such as electricity, waterways, mining, railways from the exclusive list to the concurrent list will immensely enhance Nigeria’s growth and development outcomes.

Third, with about N2.7 trillion of our 2020 budget allocated to only debt service and our national debt getting close to $90billion, it is a public knowledge that the potential debt crisis must be addressed for Nigeria to record meaningful economic growth. To tackle this challenge which will help in freeing more money for capital expenditure, a bold move focused on removing some subsidies, selling off some assets and reducing the cost of governance need to be pursued. A situation where the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE)

seems not very active while assets running into millions of dollars remain either underutilized or unutilized and wasting is sad.

Fourth, while the reasons and immediate benefits of the border closure are not in doubt, the challenge is in the long-term impacts of the policy on our economy. From all indications, it seems that a better policy focus will be on improving the competitiveness of Nigerian products and effective monitoring of our borders than outright closure.

With other internal challenges we have such as insecurity that has reduced agricultural output, the continued closure of the border might reverse all the benefits so far achieved.

Fifth, with pervasive insecurity and tensed divisions across all parts of Nigeria, a review of the current security architecture of the country is most urgent.

This becomes even more apparent with the increasing formation of regional/ tribal security groups which supports the need for an urgent review and the need for an inclusive management and governance of our security sector.

Sixth, as formulation and execution of government plans depend to a large extent on the quality of leadership and key people in government, it might be important that a critical review of the performance of all the ministers, permanent secretaries and heads of all the agencies of the government is carried out to ensure that only people with the adequate capability and patriotism are appointed to pursue the needed growth.

Seventh, with the above and other reforms such as power/energy, regional industrial development, further budget reforms to enhance execution, addressing challenges in issues of rule of law, regulatory quality and general government effectiveness, achieving a growth rate of over 5 percent like other West African countries will be very feasible.

Dr. Ngwu is a Senior Lecturer in Strategy, Finance and Risk Management, Lagos Business School and a Member, Expert Network, World Economic Forum.

E-mail- fngwu@lbs.edu.ng

Investment opportunities in Africa’s emerging health innovation capital

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igeria is Africa’s largest economy and most population nation. It is an emerging health innovation hub which requires adequate public, private and philanthropic health investments to build a highly productive and competitive workforce that can contribute to sustained economic growth in the 21st century. The country’s low public investment in health has slowed progress as reflected in low life expectancy at birth and poor maternal and child health indices. The status quo offers opportunities to deploy new approaches to mobilize resources from domestic and external sources to scale data-driven solutions that can reduce disease burden, improve citizens’ wellbeing and raise national productivity.

Maternal and child mortality rates are prominent indicators of socio-economic development.

According to the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey, 1 in 8 children died before their fifth birthday in 2018 compared to 1 in 6 deaths in 2008. This represents a 16 percent reduction in child mortality rate over a decade compared to a 36 percent reduction between 2003 and 2013 based on NDHS data. These rates decline with better education for mothers, higher household income and residence in urban areas. The decade of action for the Sustainable Development Goals could spur accelerated progress.

There is some improvement in maternal health. The proportion of women receiving an-

tenatal care from a skilled provider increased by 15 percent from 58 percent in 2008 to 67 percent in 2018. Only 39 percent of women deliver at health facilities: public facilities take twice the number of deliveries at private facilities. There was an 11 percent increase in the number of facility-based deliveries between 2008 and 2018.

These have implications for innovative products and services targeting facility-based delivery. Six out of 10 deliveries take place at home with nil or limited access to obstetric care to detect and respond swiftly to complications. Most home deliveries take place in rural areas where there is an opportunity to reach the last mile through community-based tools and health workers.

Communicable diseases, maternal, child health and nutritional conditions are responsible for 63 percent of all deaths while noncommunicable diseases and injuries account for 29 percent and 8 percent of deaths, respectively according to 2016 data from the World Health Organization. Geographical, financial, cultural and health system barriers including trust and quality issues limit access and use of health services in Nigeria. Beyond disease-specific interventions, there is room to improve system governance, invest in research and health information system, and enhance supply chain management. Prospects abound in training, equitable distribution and retention of health workers especially in underserved areas. Health finance innovations can help reduce out-of-pocket expenditures by

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household through pre-paid risk pooling approaches.

While current health indices may appear discouraging, they represent opportunities to create timely solutions that leverage public, private and philanthropic investments to reduce maternal and child deaths as well as ameliorate a double disease burden.

The government is investing in primary healthcare through annual health allocations at national and subnational levels with additional resources from the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund (BHCPF). The BHCPF is at least one percent of the consolidated revenue before it is split across levels of government. There are also attempts to increase health insurance penetration to reduce financial barriers to health services through national and state-led health insurance schemes harmonised under the “Health Insurance Under One-Roof”. These initiatives require context-relevant process and product innovations hinged on effective public-private partnerships to improve wellbeing of citizens and contribute to increased productivity across all sectors.

New investments in public health system strengthening can leverage complementary private and blended capital to improve health outcomes hinged on a right-based approach that guarantees health for all. The private health sector represents a significant share of the health market in Nigeria – covering roughly two-

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Abiodun Awosusi thirds of service delivery. The sector comprises private pharmacies, health facilities, health maintenance organizations, manufacturers and distributors of health products, and ancillary health businesses. There is also an increase in the number of digital health enterprises and startups developing solutions to system challenges within the framework of existing tools and laws.

In many parts of the country, the private sector provider is usually the first point of contact with the health system.

There is ample opportunity to design new solutions to improve the efficiency of the public and private sectors for synergistic, high-quality health service delivery at all levels of care. The Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria and the Nigerian Healthcare Federation work with stakeholders to harmonize structural improvements and investments in the private sector through a multi-stakeholder approach that complements strategies and progress in the public sector.

Note: The rest of this article continues in the online edition of Business Day @https://businessday.ng Abiodun Awosusi is a TEDMED Research scholar and health economist at Health Systems and Development Enterprise.

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Wednesday 04 March 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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Origin taps tractor hailing service to address Nigeria’s mechanisation problem Josephine Okojie

O

r i g i n Automobile W o r k s ( O AW ) , a n indigenous firm based in Lagos, has created a platform for Nigerian farmers to order for tractors irrespective of where they are located via an app on their mobile phones.

The firm is currently i nv e s t i n g h e av i l y a n d pa r t n e r i ng w i t h s o m e tractors assemblers in the countr y to get enough farming machines on its platforms for its farmers.

With the initiative, Origin will be able to support the country in addressing its mechanisation problems by ensuring that farmers easily access tractors to perform timely farming operations and achieve economies of scale in food production.

“We have launched our tractor hailing service so that farmers in the country irrespective of where they are located can order for tractors using their mobile phones,” Prince S.J Samuel, president, Origin Group said.

“We hope to address the issues around mechanisation in Nigeria and Africa at large,” Samuel said.

He stated that the firm already has over 1,000 tractors on board and would increase the numbers as demand rises.

The firm also has established tractor service centres across the six geopolitical zones for servicing and maintenance and it plans to replicate it across

every local government area of the country.

The centres are solarpowered and provide other support to farmers such as training, after sale repairs and inputs.

According to the organisation, the centre will provide a complete farming support to smallholder farmers where they are located.

When measured in 2003 by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), 17

SMW: Stanbic IBTC holds master-class for agriprenuers Josephine Okojie

I

n a bid to boost agricultural productivity and reduce poverty, Stanbic IBTC held an agric-tech youth empowerment master-class program for agripreneurs.

The master-class which took place during the S o cial Me dia We ek h e l d re c e nt l y i n L a g o s highlights opportunities in the agricultural sector and how new technologies can become solutions to the country’s food security problems.

Experts, who spoke during the master-class, maintained that no strategy of economic reform can succeed without sustained and broad-based agricultural development, which is critical for raising living standards, alleviating p ov e r t y , a s s u r i n g f o o d security, generating a buoyant market for expansion of industry and services and making a substantial contribution to the national economic growth.

To this end, they stressed that the future growth in agriculture must come from new technologies that are

not only cost-effective but also in conformity with the natural climatic regime of the country.

These include data improvements for better research, better results, and sustainable planning among others.

Sp e a k i n g d u r i n g t h e programme, Wole Oshin, head of agribusiness, St a n b i c I BTC P L C s a i d that the agribusiness value chain is large and represents significant opportunities for agripreneurs.

Oshin defined agriculture as the act and practice of growing crops and rearing of animals while defining agribusiness as businesses that cut across the value chains.

In providing debt and equity financing, he spoke about how the fintech firms are raising funds formally and informally for actors, thereby helping to bridge the financial gap in the sector.

He said that Stanbic IBTC is currently working with some fintech firms to raise more funds for the sector.

He advised the agriprenuers to take advantage of the opportunities that would be created by the www.businessday.ng

proposed establishment of Crop Processing Zones across the country to create wealth and employment.

Osin noted that the bank has come up with a satellite monitoring technology to monitor farmlands, noting that the bank is willing to support any viable agribusiness with adequate finance. “ There is a need for creating structures to tailored agricultural opportunities that emerged,” he said.

Each stage of the agriculture value chain, he explained, has its rewards as well as risks.

Also speaking, Segun O w o r u , p ro j e c t l e a d e rdigital farming, Bayer Nigeria said that data has become new oil and digitalising the country’s agriculture involves the inclusion of tools and technology to boost productivity.

Oworu stated that the p ro b l e m w i t h Nig e r i a’s agriculture is not just to improve productivity but efficiencies along the food systems, saying that the country loses about 60percent of food produced owing to inefficiencies in the food systems.

years ago, Nigeria had only 30,000 tractors.

African largest economy is currently adding 1,000 new ones each year, which is still not considered sufficient in replacing the aging, worn out, and broken down ones.

This means on a per capita basis, Nigeria ranks 132nd out of the 188 countries worldwide measured by FAO / United Nations in terms of the number of tractors in the country.

Nigeria has fewer tractors

than minnow countries like Serbia & Montenegro, with 400,000, Pakistan with 320,000, or Uzbekistan with 170,000 tractors.

But, it is not that Nigerian farmers are not interested in using tractors; they are faced with some challenges that limit their use.

W i t h t h e O AW a p p - TO GWorld, Niger ian farmers who have in the past struggled to get tractors can now have fast and reliable options to get machines for their farmland.

Sa mu e l s a i d a c c e s s to mechanisation would reduce drudger y and promote sustainable agronomical practices.

He said farmers needed greater access to affordable yield-enhancing inputs to increase productivity, profitability, and sustainability of their farms.

Olakunle Dabiri, general manager, OAW, said the company’s primary focus was the provision of advanced mechanisation technology solutions aimed at eliminating the persistent high human drudgery by providing manufacturing, sales, and servicing of farm machinery.

In line with this, the company established the Origin Automobile Internship Programme to train and develop a home-grown team of agric engineers and other professionals for local manufacture, support, and development of tractors.

The programme, which involves local and foreign, runs for three months and the graduates are taking through rigorous, qualitative and hands-on training on the assembly, diagnosis, maintenance, and repairs of agricultural machines.

The firm inducted 50 graduates who were selected from 3,000 applications and plans to induct a total of 150 before the end of the year.

Dabiri noted that the aim of the graduate internship programme is to move the firm from its current status of assembling tractors imported in semi-knocked –down ( SKD) forms into a completely-knocked-down (CKD) form.

He said the programme gives participants the knowhow and confidence to start their business, adding that there is a market for farming mechanisation services.

Nutrition takes centre stage at AERC, CBN Senior Policy Seminar Josephine Okojie

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n a bid to tackle the burden of malnutrition and hidden hunger in Nigeria, the African Economic Research Consortium (AERC) has partnered with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to hold its Senior Policy Seminar (SPS) on agriculture to discuss ways to increase micro-nutrients in most staple foods in the country.

The seminar which is scheduled to take place from March 9th –10th, 2020 in Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, is unique, as it brings senior polic ymakers from subSaharan African countries together with economic researchers to share knowledge and debate on urgent policy issues relating to the sustainable development of African economies.

Innocent Matshe, director of training, AERC stated that the seminar was going to be highly impactful for all participants.

“The importance of agriculture and food policies

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towards positive nutrition outcomes for all Africans is vital to sustain and grow economies as we move into a new decade,” Matshe said.

“With our unique approach of bringing topicmatter research experts in the field of agriculture and nu t r i t i o n to g e t h e r w i t h senior policymakers across the continent, we believe the discussions and debates will help countries across the region begin to implement policies to foster and support this sector,” he said.

“Also, to help policymakers learn from each other through shared knowledge around policy successes and failures,” he added.

T h i s y e a r, t h e f o c u s of the AERC seminal is on Agriculture and Food Policies for Nutrition in Africa a d d re s s i n g a g r i c u l t u ra l growth patterns, the burden of malnutrition, diet diversities, climate-smart agricultural practices, market access, food security and the effect of agriculture on health and nutrition among others.

The two-day seminar will @Businessdayng

feature four synthesis papers and a policy roundtable discussion featuring noted researchers and policymakers globally.

Since 2016, with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, AERC has implemented several research activities under the Analysis of the Impact of Agricultural, Food and Nutrition Policies on Nutrition Outcomes in Africa (AFPON) programme.

This research is aimed at linking agricultural policies to various nutrition outcomes such as stunting, wasting, anemia, child mortality, micronutrient deficiencies, obesity, and malnutrition.

It also examines how gender access to productive agricultural resources, such as land, affects the nutrition of individuals and households i n su b -Sa ha ra n A f r i ca n countries; how agricultural productivity, agricultural extension, and advisor y ser vices affect nutrition outcomes and establishing the policies and practices that would best improve food security and nutritional status.

Wednesday 04 March 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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How $4bn global ginger market creates opportunity for Nigerian farmers, exporters Josephine Okojie

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igerian farmers can tap into the $3billion global ginger market to earn foreign exchange as the country explores opportunities to grow its non-oil export.

Also, exporters can take advantage to create wealth while earning FX in exporting the crop fresh, dried and process.

Ginger, one of the most widely used food seasonings in modern diets could play a vital role in earning substantial dollars for the country as local and global demand for the crop continues to rise.

It is a crop that is largely grown in Kaduna, Nasarawa, Benue, Niger, Gombe, and Kano state. It serves as a byproduct to numerous food and beverage industries and used for the production of ginger wine and food seasoning in most Asian countries.

“There is a great export opportunity in ginger production for the country.

Nigeria has one of the bestflavoured varieties globally,” said AfricanFarmer Mogaji,

chief executive officer, Farm Credit Nigeria. “ The $4billion global market is an opportunity that farmers can tap into, especially now that the country is in need of growing its export,” Mogaji said who is also the agric head, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).

He stated that for the c o u nt r y t o i n c re a s e i t s production of the ginger crop, the government must support farmers to enable them to expand their production areas and boost productivity.

Ginger is one of the most widely used food seasonings in modern diets.

Cormart, Barry Callebaut partner to support cocoa farmers, bakers SEYI JOHN SALAU

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ormart Nigeria Limited has recently announced a partnership agreement with Barry Callebaut to provide bakery solutions and decorations for bakers across the country.

The partnership between Barry Callebaut-manufacturer of high-quality chocolate and cocoa products and Cormart will also provide technical support to cocoa farmers in cleaning and drying of beans, to improve the quality of the crop.

Similarly, farmers will be given comprehensive training along the horeca value chain of the Nigerian foodservice industry.

Johannes Flosbach, general manager, Cormart Nigeria said the partnership is aimed towards ensuring quality products along the pastry value-chain.

“It is with great pride that we formalize this agreement w i t h o u r p a r t n e r, B a r r y Callebaut. Working hand-inhand, we will strengthen our joint commitment to ensure that top-notch chocolate and

knowledge will be provided for Nigerian bakers,” Flosbach said.

According to Flosbach, Cormart will focus more on advising customers on how to use Callebaut chocolates.

“Our biggest customers would be companies that produce chocolate cookies, those that bake wedding cakes and so on, and we would teach them how to make the best use of the different types of chocolates.”

Adriaan Verbeke, MD, B a r r y Ca l l e b a u t Ni g e r i a said with the partnership, Callebaut has set up a permanent base in Nigeria.

According to him, the company currently source cocoa beans and sell chocolate. “ We w i l l c o n t i n u e t o develop our activities in this promising country and hope to be able to develop the cocoa and chocolate industry to new levels,” said Verbeke.

Ve r b e k e o p i n e d t h a t Callebaut long term objective was to backward integrate to a level where cocoa beans will be sourced and produced locally in Nigeria, however, there is still the challenge of getting quality cocoa beans. www.businessday.ng

It is actually part of the plant family that includes turmeric cardamom that has huge health benefits.

Ginger can be consumed in different forms which include in powder form or in fresh – peeling before consumption.

The plant is used as a spice and a major ingredient in a

wide array of dishes.

Powdered ginger is used in the production of flavour which is utilised in a variety of recipes such as cakes, cookies, bread, crackers, ginger ale, and beer.

Its root is used as a raw material in manufacturing health products, drinks and by bakery industry.

Nigeria’s ginger production is put at 31 million metric tons while demand is put at 65 million MT, leaving a supplydemand gap of 34 million MT, according to data from the Ministry of Agriculture.

The country exports the majority of its ginger which makes Nigeria the third highest exporter of the crop globally.

Despite the potential in the production of the crop, the country is yet to fully harness the economic benefits from growing ginger, on account of lowquality seeds and low use of technology, say farmers.

“Most ginger farmers are not using tractors and other machines for land preparation. This is hindering our ability to increase our ginger production because

farmers cannot increase their farming areas owing to the huge manual labour involved but with tractors, we can farm on a larger scale,” said Zackari Mohammed, a ginger farmer in Kastina.

“We are still using local knife to split harvested ginger rhizomes but in China and India, there is a machine for that. We lack modern processing machines for washing, peeling, splitting and drying kilns.

“Getting quality seeds is also a major issue for us farmers. It is difficult to get quality ginger seeds and most of the seeds in the country are of low quality. These are some of the reasons why we are yet to increase our yield per hectare.

He stated that the demand for the country’s ginger is increasing yearly but the production to meet up with the huge demand has been stagnant.

This shows that there are opportunities for investors who would want to invest in seeds and in the provision of easily fabricated machines in splitting the harvested ginger rhizomes.

Experts urge youths to engage in agribusiness SIKIRAT SHEHU, Ilorin “When farmers harvest the products, they do most of the bulk of work, which includes the drying of the product after it ferments. They often dry this on the floor and when they do, there are little bits of sand that stick to it and this makes it very difficult to export,” said Verbeke.

Speaking further on the capacity building for local p l ay e r s i n t h e i n d u s t r y , Verbeke said her organisation will be very supportive of players in the horeca foodservice industry in providing product application support and training.

“This is an excellent step to enable us to assist our customers accordingly,” he stated.

Speaking also, Felicia O nabanjo, business unit head for Cormart food and nutrition department, said the partnership with Barry Callebaut will help bridge the gap between a premium chocolate brand and local manufacturers in Nigeria.

“The products are used by many professionals for its workability and typical taste, which has remained constant over the decades,” said Onabanjo.

E

xperts in the agricultural sector have urged youths in the country to engage in agribusinesses to create employments and generate wealth while impacting the nation’s economic growth.

Umar Oba Adelodun, chief executive officer and c o - f o u n d e r, H e a r t a n d Capital Limited, advised on the official launch of its new agribusiness project called ‘Eterno’ which was held recently in Ilorin, Kwara State.

According to Adelodun, the innovative agricultural startup in cashew investment called Eterno Programme, allows individuals and corporate bodies to have direct access to returns from a cashew plantation investment for over 20 years.

He added that the Eterno programme is making this possible through the use of modern technology to build the bridge between the farm and the investors.

“I want to call on students, young school leavers, other Nigerian youths and big investors to take advantage

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of this Eterno investment opportunity to create wealth for themselves,” he said.

Eterno is planne d to re d u c e u n e m p l o y m e n t , improve the economic life o f p e o p l e a n d p ro m o t e afforestation through the planting of cashew and other cash crops, he said.

“As an investor, you are not only earning returns on your investment, you will also be contributing to something bigger by mitigating social and environmental factors affecting Nigeria and the world at large such as unemployment and climate change,” Adelodun added.

He e x p l a i n s t hat t h e company in partnership with some tertiary institutions on agribusiness initiative has led to the training of about 4,000 youths yearly as part of efforts to promote agriculture among youth in the state and the country at large.

In his submission, A b d u l q u a w i y O l o d o d o, president and co-founder of the organisation, says that Kwara State University is the first tertiary institution his organisation partnered with.

“We get to train about 4,000 youth, young farmers @Businessdayng

every year on opportunities in agribusiness. We are young and we can understand language comprehensible to young adults,” he said.

“Agriculture had gone beyond hoes and cutlasses, farming and waiting for ha r v e s t. A w h o l e va l u e chain exists from planting to processing, marketing, and others that our youth should be part of these processes,” he added.

Olododo said that individuals can invest in one unit of cashew tree for as low as N10, 000.

“O n e t h i n g t h a t s e t s Eterno apart is the robust return on a one-time investment that spans 20 years. Interestingly, investors will not only start earning returns in the first year, but they will also earn as high as 30 percent in the first three years,” he further said.

“On Eterno, investors’ capitals are guaranteed b e cau s e t h e re a re f u l ly insured. What we have done is to digitize the investment t h ro u g h o u r i n t e g ra t e d investment platform, Assetmart, which allows investors to monitor and evaluate their investment at any given time”, he said.

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BUSINESS DAY

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Wednesday 04 March 2020

BUSINESS DAY

COMPANIES & MARKETS

17

COMPANY NEWS ANALYSIS INSIGHT

MANUFACTURING

Dangote’s fertiliser plant, world’s biggest, begins commercial production in May OLUSOLA BELLO & DIPO OLADEHINDE

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resident of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote has announced the world’s biggest fertiliser plant located in Ibeju Lekki, Lagos Nigeria will begin full commercial production in May 2020.

With a capacity of 3million tonnes per annum, the $2-billion Granulated Urea Fertiliser plant has been classified as the biggest project in the history of the fertiliser industry.

Speaking during a tour of the facilities with the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, Dangote told journalists that the fertiliser plant which will begin operations fully in May 2020 will also be one of Nigeria’s highest foreign exchange generating companies going forward.

This project means Nigeria will be the biggest and only Urea exporter of about 4 million in the whole of sub-Saharan Africa which will bring in about $2.5 billion in terms of forex.

“I think we must thank President Muhammadu Buhari for his policies. I thank the CBN governor and management for bringing down interest rates to encourage more entrepreneurs to go into mega projects like this,” Dangote told journalists at the facility.

... plant expected to generate $2.5bn forex The CBN governor, Emefiele, said the fertiliser plant would stop importation of fertilisers, as about 25 per cent of its products would be used for domestic consumption to boost agriculture in the country, while the remaining 75 percent would be exported.

According to him, the plant will also generate a minimum of $750 million through export annually.

He disclosed that apart from the low-interest rate regime, the government was also putting other policies in place to rejuvenate industries and create employment opportunities for the citizenry.

Already, Dangote Fertiliser has started receiving gas supply from the Nigerian Gas Company and Chevron Nigeria Limited under the Gas Sale and Purchase

Agreement to supply 70 million standard cubic feet per day (Scf/d) of natural gas, the company said.

The project is expected to create thousands of direct and indirect jobs in the construction and related fields as well as provide a major boost to the agricultural sector by significantly reducing the importation of fertiliser in Nigeria.

Concerning the

650,000BPD-capacity refinery, Emefile noted “when operational, the refinery will not only satisfy local consumption but will also position Nigeria as a major exporter of petroleum products”.

“Nigeria is so central, and this refinery will serve almost the whole of Africa, which will lead to cheap cost of freight. This project is so strategically positioned

L-R: Tayo Williams, chief executive officer, PricePointe; George Ogbonnaya, group head, SME banking, First City Monument Bank (FCMB); Emeka Mordi, chief operating officer, Carbon; Odun Eweniyi, chief operating officer, PiggyVest, and Seyi Amao, senior product (Advertising) Officer, FCMB, during the Harvesters Entrepreneurs Forum sponsored by FCMB held on February 29, 2020 at Gbagada in Lagos.

that it will even make the final price of petroleum within Nigeria and even outside Nigeria to be lower than those imported outside the African continent,” Emefile said.

Nigeria currently imports the majority of its refined petroleum due to a lack of domestic refining capacity in the country.

With this new facility, Nigeria’s refining capacity will double and help in meeting the increasing demand for fuels while providing cost savings.

The refinery’s location at Lekki Free Trade Zone along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean will allow for smooth transshipment of refined petroleum products to international markets, and ultimately eliminate the overreliance of fuel import from other regions into Nigeria.

Estimated to cost about $18billion, the refinery will produce Euro-V quality gasoline and diesel, as well as jet fuel and polypropylene. During different phases of the project, a total of 4,000 direct and 145,000 indirect jobs will be generated. International and local contractors like MAN Diesel & Turbo, Schneider Electric, C&I Leasing, Honeywell UOP, and Air Liquide Engineer ing & Construction has benefitted from the building of the refinery.

TELECOM

9mobile deepens customers interface with multi-location activation KELECHI EWUZIE

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igeria Telecommunication Company, 9mobile as part of effort to create a rewarding experience for its customers has over the weekend expanded its 4G-LTE coverage awareness campaign to the vast Low Cost Housing Estate in Abesan, Ipaja, Alimoso Local Government Area of Lagos State.

The funfair was put together to sensitise customers of the deployment of 9mobile 4G LTE now in 16 cities and towns across Nigeria and also to empower customers and residents

alike through the presentation of gifts.

The Abesan funfair was the climax of series of activations in Lagos as part of the multi-location activations of the launch of 9mobile 4G LTE in additional 10 cities and towns across some locations in Nigeria as well as the upgrade of 4G LTE in existing six cities and towns including Lagos. Other locations are Aba, Abuja, Nasarawa, Calabar, Enugu, Kaduna, Kano, Niger, Onitsha, Owerri, Port Harcourt, Sokoto, Uyo, Aba and Ogun.

Godswill Nnaji, Manager, Data Services, 9mobile speaking at the event, said, “This 4G LTE launch from 9mobile www.businessday.ng

is another way of redefining customer experience and restating our service delivery mantra of listening to our wonderful customers and putting their interest first at the core of our operations.

“Our customers are key to us hence, we have listened to them. The customers said they wanted more, which is why we have brought 4G LTE to their neighbourhood to ensure fast and seamless browsing experience. The customers said they wanted us to bring fun, and that is what we have done, we have brought fun, games and music, from Nigeria’s hiphop icon ‘MI’ and hip-hop crooner Mr. Real, to ignite

our communities”.

Nnaji opines that in alignment with its reputation as an innovative and caring network, 9mobile was set to rollout exciting offers to reward customers for their continued loyalty to the brand over the past 11 years.

G re e n Fi e l d Play i ng Ground, Abesan Estate, was lit up in frenzy as MI and other local acts like ‘Mr Real’ dished out lyrical renditions to the delight of the crowd including new and existing 9mobile customers, fun seekers and residents, who came to enjoy the fun at the weekend gig under the auspices of 9mobile Funfair. Activities at the event included

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raffle draws, fun games and dance competition in which participants went home with fantastic prizes including a 220-volt power generating set as the grand prize.

The grand prize winner of a 220-volt generating set, Dupe Adeyemi, disclosed that it was her daughter, Ireti Adeyemi, that encouraged her to attend the show. She said with excitement: “9mobile thank you o!, I am very grateful. I didn’t know that I will win, it is my daughter who convinced me to go and enter for the raffle. I believed my number would win and now I am a winner of a generator. I am so grateful. Thank you to 9mobile” @Businessdayng

Other prizes won buy customers who could not hold their joy and appreciations for 9mobile included 5kg gas cylinders, 10kg bags of rice, 5-liter groundnut oil rechargeable standing fans, sewing machines, microwave ovens, electric kettles, pressing irons, cordless electric kettles and table refrigerator.

The dazzling stage performance by the winner of the rap challenge, Ifeanyi Favour Ofomata aka I-Rhay, also wowed the audience while the young act was handsomely rewarded with studio recording offer by MI under his record label to encourage the upcoming artiste in his music career.

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COMPANIES&MARKETS MANUFACTURING

Business Event

LG Electronics rewards winners of OLED TV Gaming challenge with N2m prize AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE

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etermined to take the gaming experience of its customers to a new height, LG Electronics, has rewarded winners of its OLED TV Gaming Challenge with about N2 million worth of cash and TV prizes.

LG was the first consumer electronics brand to independently launch a gaming campaign-LG OLED Gaming challenge, making it one of the largest e-sports competitions in Nigeria for game lovers.

The gaming challenge, which was initiated in 2018, the 1st season of the competition for gamers, has since then turned out to be an annual contest for gamers to show their skills, experience the fantastic features of OLED and battle with one another for a prize and OLED TV. Speaking at the finals held in Lagos at the weekend, Vanjamin Kim, general manager, Home Entertainment Division, LG Electronics West Africa, said the initiative was to create opportunity for

lovers of video game to demonstrate the beauty and the uniqueness of the ‘depth of black’ in OLED TV, especially when gaming on it.

“We intend to have more of this kind of gaming challenge in order to engage more of our consumers who love gaming. It’s an avenue to reward our customers and promote LG OLED TVs as the best TV for gaming. With exceptional picture quality, low input lag and an ultrafast response time, LG OLED TVs have already earned a reputation for delivering an optimised gaming performance,” he said.

Hari Elluru, head of Corporate Marketing, LG Electronics West Africa, said the addition of NVIDIA G-SYNC compatibility raises the bar once more for the company by guaranteeing even more immersive big-screen PC gaming on the company’s industry-leading 4K OLED models, available in 55 to 77 inch screen sizes.

“G-Sync and other VRR technologies help eliminate flicker, tearing or stuttering on displays when used to

play games that are built using VRR. With the G-SYNC firmware there is no lagging, tearing or stuttering while playing super-fast games and watching fast moving contents,” he said.

He further said that the newest OLED TVs offer blazing speed and stunning colour reproduction through NVIDIA G-SYNC, adding that LG’s OLED TVs are the first and only in the market today that are G-SYNC compatible.

According to him, latest LG OLED TV models support a variety of popular HDR formats that further elevate the gaming experience. “Users can play compatible titles in dynamic HDR10 or Dolby Vision (at up to 120 frames per second for Full HD content) taking advantage of HDMI 2.1 specifications such as auto low latency mode (ALLM), enhanced audio return channel (eARC), and variable refresh rate (VRR).”

Imaji Faruna, the champion told newsmen that it is quite tough and an interesting battlefield but that he was elated to emerge as the winner.

L-R:Oluwasola Ajisafe, value creation specialist, Interswitch Limited; Adaobi Okerekeocha, group portfolio manager, core services and platforms, Interswitch Limited, and Olukunle Iyanda, managing partner/ CEO, DesignThinkers Group, West and Central Africa, at the conclusion ceremony of Design Thinking for Digital Transformation workshop, in Lagos . Pic by Pius Okeosisi

L-R: Balogun Olafisayo, medical director, Reddington Hospital Ikeja; Tunde lalude, group medical director, Reddington Hospital Group, and Tokunbo Babajide, occupational health physician, Reddington Hospital Group, at a press conference to refute claims of Corona Virus patient at Reddington Hospital Ikeja held at Reddignton Hospital corporate office, Victoria Island, Lagos.

CSR

Standard Chartered and Educare partner towards revamping and empowering the education sector HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE

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tandard Chartered Bank Nigeria Limited entered into a unique partnership with Educare Technology Solutions Limited and have together developed a unique educational solution called SC EduEdge.

The 3-years alliance with Educare, an industry leader in school administration software, positions the Bank as an industry leader connecting with a wider network of prospects as it offers a compelling value proposition to educational institutions (Primary & Secondary) in strategic locations across the country including Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt.

This initiative was developed by the Business Banking segment of the Bank’s Retail Banking arm with a team of seasoned professionals dedicated to providing relevant banking solutions to meet the business needs of existing and prospective clients. Speaking at the signing ceremony, Ben Dike, Business Banking said, “We are very excited about this new partnership and the potential benefits it brings to

the children of our existing and prospective clients and also to all stakeholders in the educational ecosystem including schools, employees, parents and guardians. This is a 360-degree proposition that provides tangible value to the educational sector, a sector that is crucial in the development of the country’s future leaders. For us at the Bank, this ties in closely with our priority to be the best financial advisers to our clients; it reiterates our commitment to developing countries where we have footprint and serves as one of the many ways we are Here for good.’’

Some of the current unique offerings to clients under SC EduEdge include a dedicated school account with fee waivers (zero Account Maintenance and local transfers fees); an opportunity for students to participate in the 2020 Liverpool Football Club (LFC) Youth Cup tournament, with the winning school team traveling to Anfield, United Kingdom to watch a live LFC match (all-expense paid); participation in the Bank’s newly developed SCB Reward for A’s programme (credit of $1 for every A scored by each student, www.businessday.ng

with funds kept in a dedicated account for the pupils/students) and the Bank’s Annual Reward for A’s Scholarship ($1,000 education grant through a draw for students with a minimum of 7 A’s for the session – eligible for SSS 3) open to children of accountholders with the Bank.

Alex Onyia, CEO, Educare added ‘’As the best school management system in Nigeria, and a specialist in edutech industry, we are delighted to partner with Standard Chartered Bank (SCB) who have a complimentary/ International specialist practice in Banking and are also committed to supporting education around the globe. The outcome for this Strategic Partnership (educare-SCB, edu-edge) will grant our customers/partner schools the ability to have the best and most flexible school management portal to run their schools swiftly at a reduced cost.

In addition to that, our customers/partner schools will be able to participate in the National Robotics Competition and this year’s Liverpool Inter-school football competition which sees the winner school to an allexpense paid trip to Liverpool, United Kingdom,

L-R: Olorunleke Odubote, National Director, JCI Nigeria Let›s Do It!; Eunice Akhigbe, Chief Operating Officer, African Clean-Up Initiative; Alex Akhigbe, Chief Executive Officer, African Clean-Up Initiative; Olajumoke Otitoloju, Local Government Inspector, NYSC, Eti Osa Local Government; Irebami Taiwo, Operations Manager, Wecyclers, at the launch of the Clean-Up Naija project, sponsored by The Coca-Cola Foundation, this Saturday.

L-R: Ibiyemi Okuneye, head, transaction banking Standard, Chartered Nigeria; Amit Kansal, group treasurer, Olam International Singapore; Adenike Emiloju, treasurer, IHS Towers Nigeria, and Sola Bakare, acting head, global banking, Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria, at the annual Global Trade Review (GTR) conference titled “GTR West Africa Conference 2020” which in Lagos, recently.

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Wednesday 04 March 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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Wednesday 04 March 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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Roads

Volume, parts freeze fears grip OEMs over COVID-19

Hyundai appoints Bang Sun Jeong New VP of MEA

MIKE OCHONMA Transport Editor

MIKE OCHONMA

…GIMS cancelled as preventive measure

W

ith the freeze on new automobile supplies from Korea and China, compounded by the situation that all auto makers have limited stocks that are blocked for customers for the next three months, there are indications that, there is no definite timeline as to when the industry will come out of the woods as the Coronavirus infection spreads.

Automotive is a capital intensive industry that attempts to operate without major stockpiles of parts, making it especially vulnerable to the coronavirus’ spread beyond China.

One twist in the supply chain can cause widespread disruption and can quickly cost millions or billions in lost production, which is why auto companies are hastily searching to find alternative solutions to avoid irreparable catastrophy.

In what is best described as a global emergency, automakers are scrambling to find spare parts and prevent shortages in their supply chains as the spread of the coronavirus rattles markets and threatens to shake the manufacturing processes globally.

The first production plants outside of China to be impacted by parts shortages were in Japan and South Korea where the operations of Nissan, Hyundai, Kia and GM had to temporarily shut down.

General Motors identified a potential parts shortage and airlifting supplies for its truck production, according to United Auto Workers officials. A company spokesman declined to comment on specifics, but confirmed the plants are operating as normal.

While Fiat Chrysler has said it is seeking alternative suppliers, others like Toyota Motor auto suppliers;

H

Dana and Aptiv have established teams task forces and war rooms to closely monitor the COVID-19 epidemic.

“Everyone right now is working hard and scrambling to figure out optionality and assessing the risk on which parts are at highest risk,” said Razat Gaurav, CEO of supply chain analytics firm Llamasoft.

Moody’s Investor Service cut its global vehicle sales forecast earlier this week to be down 2.5 percent in 2020 instead of from 9 percent drop due to the coronavirus.

COVID-19 has taken its toll on automotive stocks forcing both GM and Ford Motor shares down double digits this year, including roughly 12 percent declines since last week and share of Tesla, which are up 59.7 percent this year falling 25.9 percent since February 21.

World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 a global health emergency last month. The virus has spread substantially beyond

China and is now confirmed in at least 37 countries across the world with over 85,000 confirmed cases and at least 2,933 deaths.

It also has caused financial markets globally to plummet this week, including the Dow falling more than 12 percent being its biggest weekly percentage loss since 2008, The S&P 500 declined 11.5 percent and NASDAQ dropped 10.5 percent as at last week.

Geneva International Motor Show (GIMS) scheduled to start tomorrow was canceled over the weekend following the coronavirus outbreak that is quickly spreading across the world.

“This comes as a precautatative measure in response to the coronavirus epidemic raging in Europe and now in Switzerland,” Maurice Turrettini, chairman of the board that runs the Geneva auto show, said in a video posted on the organization’s website.

GIMS was canceled after Swit-

zerland announced that it was banning events expected to draw more than 1,000 people to curb the COVID-19 epidemic from spreading.

“We regret this situation, but the health of all participants is our and our exhibitors’ top priority.

This is a case of force majeure and a tremendous loss for the manufacturers who have invested massively in their presence in Geneva.

However, we are convinced that they will understand this decision. ,” Turrettini said” As precautionary measure, automaker like BMW, Porsche Bentley have decalred that, they are debuting their hottest new cars online after organizers of the Geneva International Motor Show canceled the event that will last from May 5-15.

Automakers around the globe are as a matter of strategy and convention uses global autoshows to unveil new products and generate attention for the company and vehicles.

F-Pace gives new Canon EOS high-performance work-out MIKE OCHONMA

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aguar has teamed up with Canon Europe to capture the F-Pace in cinematic 5.9K clarity using the latest camera technology. Dynamic footage of Jaguar’s performance SUV was captured during the professional debut of the new Canon EOS C500 Mark II camera.

The film captures the F-Pace range including the 405kW, V8 supercharged SVR model and its breadth of luxury and performance where the SVR rendition showcased its dynamic ability, courtesy of its specially tuned chassis, on the twisting hairpin bends of Velefique in Southern Spain.

The powerful SVR accelerates from 0-100km/h in 4.3 seconds.

Jaguar worked with Canon to build the ultimate camera vehicle for the shoot. The crew rigged an F-PACE with a highly-advanced Russian Arm which is a remote-controlled camera

crane fitted with Canon’s new EOS camera. The vehicle was covered in a purposeful matte black body wrap to minimise reflections in the subject vehicles during filming.

For Andy Hunt Cooke, Jaguar Global Brand Communications: “Filming a technologically advanced and powerful SUV like F-Pace calls for a state-of-the-art camera system.

It’s a privilege for Jaguar to be the first car manufacturer to put the newgeneration Cinema EOS System to www.businessday.ng

the test and this film really captures the dynamic character and luxurious interior of the award-winning performance SUV”.

Just as the professional-quality camera can be fine-tuned to suit a variety of complex filming tasks, customers can also personalise the driving experience of F-PACE using Jaguar’s Configurable Dynamics. The intuitive technology allows drivers to tailor the vehicle set-up to suit their personal preference by choosing

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normal or sports settings for the suspension, throttle response, gearbox and steering.

F-PACE features double-wishbone front and Integral Link rear suspension to provide dynamic handling and comfort which are attributes that helped the camera rig maintain its composure on the twisting mountain roads.

The Advanced Electronic Image Stabilisation of the Canon EOS C500 Mark II and Dual Pixel Auto Focus functionality ensured both SUVs remained perfectly in focus throughout, with the camera suspended from the highly manoeuvrable arm of the crane system.

The new camera shoots 5.9K quality footage at up to 60 frames per second. When travelling at its 283km per hour top speed, the F-Pace SVR covers 78.7 metres every second, which means the performance SUV would travel just 1.31m in the time taken for the advanced new camera to capture a single frame. @Businessdayng

yundai Motor Company has appointed Bang Sun Jeong as the new vice president of the Middle East and Africa region.

Based at Dubai’s regional headquarters in the United Arab Emirates, Jeong will oversee the day-to-day operations and will be responsible for strengthening Hyundai’s presence and brand value across the MEA region.

Jeong has accumulated abundant experience at Hyundai Motor Company that will help maximize results in his new position.

In his previous role, he had served as Hyundai’s vice president of Asia Pacific, Africa and Middle East Operations Division and also held the position of executive director for sales and marketing for Hyundai Motor India. He also held positions in Poland and Turkey.

Reacting to his new appointment, Jeong said: “I am delighted be named as the new vice president of Middle East and Africa for

Hyundai Motor Company. It is a company that I know very well having gained vast knowledge of the brand during my career.

“As the vice president of Middle East and Africa at such an important phase, I am compelled by a strong responsibility to confront the challenges ahead of us. In 2019, we made solid progress and moved forward despite the challenges faced in the previous year.

“It is essential we build on this success in 2020 and I forward to helping sustain our growth momentum to reach our best sales record and in doing so, we hope to set a new milestone in our journey’’.

Jeong replaces Mike Song, who has been promoted and will now work with the Genesis Division Headquarters.

Song said: “Jeong has strong knowledge of Hyundai Motor Company and I have no doubt that he will take the brand to the next level in the Middle East and Africa region.

“In what was a challenging 2019 year for the whole industry, Hyundai still made significant sales and at the same time, the company cemented its position as a global brand in the automotive industry’’.

Wednesday 04 March 2020

BUSINESS DAY

21

TRANSPORTation Motoring

RailBusiness

ModernTravel

Roads

passengers signLingering rail project reduces Lagos More up to Bolt’s new app train services by 75 percent MIKE OCHONMA

MIKE OCHONMA

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n abysmal 75 percent shortfall in the number of daily passenger train trips between from the Iddo terminus in Lagos to Agbado, Iju and Kajola is being recorded by the Lagos district of the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC). This reduction is on account of the ongoing Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge rail project being executed by the Chinese Civil Engineering and Construction Corporation (CCECC).

Before the commencement of the 156.5 kilometer Lagos-Ibadan standard gauge rail modernisation project in 2017, the district does 16 trips on 14 passenger coaches.

This number reduced to eight trips in the midst of mounting operational and environmental changes as a result of impediments as the project progresses. As at the time of

filing this report, the number of passenger trips has further reduced from eight trips per day to four.

While admitting that nothing can be done at this point since the ongoing project is for the interest of every Nigeiran and the traveling public, Jerry Oche, Lagos rail district manager expressed optimism that, whatever is the shortfall in terms of shortfall in revenue and inadequate carrying capacity currently experienced will be recovered when the project is fully completed and put to use.

Vice president Yemi Osinbajo had in March 2017 during the ground breaking ceremony for the take-off of the LagosIbadan standard gauga railway project said that, it will be completed by December 2018. The federal government paid its counterpart funding of N72 billIIion out of the (N458billion) for the project take-off handled by the CCECC. During the ceremony inside

the NRC yard, Ebute Metta, Lagos, Osibanjo described the project as a very historic one that signified the determination of the President Muhammadu Buhari to modernize the national railway system.

According to him, “The President in his January 2016 visit to China re-opened negotiation on the Chinese support for this project, second this ceremony also mark the commencement of our plan to move speedily to improve link with Lagos which is the national economic nerve centre and major port to other state capital cities across the country’’.

“Thirdly, our ground breaking today reflects the plans of the government to build a globally competitive economy with first grade infrastructure. The critical roles of infrastructure and for this purpose railway in this strategy are underscored by our economic recovery and growth plan as well as 2016 and 2017 budget,” he said.

The vice president was con-

fident that the national rail project will create up to half a million jobs and facilitate the movement of up to 3.2 million tons of cargo per annum. It will also reduce the burden on national high ways thus reducing deterioration of the road network and increasing the life span of our roads.

Osinbajo noted that, the railway network will support efforts to diversify the economy and enhance export potentials., adding that just as several of the Nigerian cities have been known as railway towns in the past, it is expected to boost economic activities within the railway lines that will eventually cut across the entire country’.

“To achieve this objective, the Ministry of Transportation has completed feasibility study for up to 13 routes identified for connecting state capital and major commercial centres to the rail network , we should begin to see significant activities in this regards very shortly’’.

The vice president declared.

B

olt has added new functionality to its ride-hailing app, allowing users to request rides with stops at up to three locations with an estimated fare for the entire journey with more than 1.5 million customers signeingup over the second half of 2019.

There are over 30,000 drivers already on-boarded to the platform with more being vetted and trained every day. The multiple destinations feature is being rolled out globally to Bolt users on Android and iOS this month.

The new apps cater especially to groups of passengers requiring different final destinations along a route and for customers collecting people on the way to a shared final stop.

Bolt offers an XL category

in London with access to vehicles suitable for groups of up to six passengers.

Customers create additional stops by selecting the small plus sign on the right side of the address box when searching for a destination in the latest version of the app.

The driver will see the route with all the stops in their Bolt driver app after the ride has commenced.

The new multiple destinations feature makes it easy for customers to stop along their route while having confidence in knowing the estimated fare before beginning their journey.

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cityfile

Aba traders’ protest: Leader says govt not market leaders imposed levy GODFREY OFURUM, Aba

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hairman of Eziukwu Road Market, Aba, Abia State, Kingsley John has denied imposing multiple levies on traders in the market which led to a protest in the Aba last week.

John reacting to the allegations during a session with journalists in Aba, explained that the leadership of the market never asked for an additional levy outside the N18,000 consolidated revenue, which was approved by Abia State government for all markets in the state.

He broke down the N18,000 annual market levy is as follows, personal income tax N3,600, sanitation levy N3,000, infrastructure levy 2,000, business premises N2,000, market development levy N2,000, advertisement and signage fee (ABSA) N2,000 and fire service levy of N2,400.

He explained that all the outlined levies are contained in the government consolidated revenue. On the allegation of taxing traders for the construction of a market hall, John, said that he did not ask anybody to contribute money for a market hall.

“We are not the only traders that government asked to pay these levies. All the markets in Abia State are paying the same levies”.

He advised traders in the market to contribute to enable government build roads and provide other infrastructure in the market and city.

Petty traders from Eziukwu Road Market, last week protested the imposition of multiple taxes on them, by the executive of the market. They also condemned the blockade of their shops, by soldiers, engaged by the market taskforce, led by one Hilary Anucha, against court order.

Wielding placards with inscriptions such as “Soldiers have taken over our market; No rule of law in Abia State,” they appealed to the state government to instruct the market’s taskforce chairman to withdraw soldiers from the market, as well as remove barricades, leading to their shops to enable them carry on with their business, which is their only source of income and livelihood.

They argued that sealing of their shops was contrary to the ruling of the court, which ordered the central chairman of the market to open the

Sanitation: C/River to partner vigilante group

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ross River government is seeking synergy with the state command of Vigilante Group of Nigeria (VGN) on sanitation and enforcement of environmental laws in the state.

Commissioner for environment, Mfon Bassey, stated this on Monday when the leadership of the VGN command visited him in Calabar, the state capital.

According to the commissioner, said the partnership became necessary following the state government’s priority in environmental protection, cleanliness and greenery of the state.

He told the VGN command that the state government has committed a lot of resources to the maintenance

of a clean and green environment in Calabar.

“I want to say that we have been assigned a magistrate court to help us tackle issues of environment and punish those who break the law.

“We really need the court to enforce some of these laws because we must punish offenders of environmental laws with a view to making sure the right thing is done.

Explaining the choice of the court, he said “we opted for a magistrate court because of its seriousness and readiness to work with us.”

The commissioner frowned at cases where some residents dump their refuse into the drains instead of using the bins at various locations across the state metropolis.

Why I went back to crime -Ex-convict confesses

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n ex-convict, Ali Mohammed has confessed that he went back crime after leaving the prison to raise money in order to help his sick grandmother.

Mohammed who pleaded guilty to stealing a woman’s handbag in a Grade I Area Court in Kubwa, Abuja, on Monday, said that he fell into the temptation without thinking twice.

He pleaded with the judge, Muhammad Adamu, to temper justice with mercy.

But Adamu sentenced Mohammed to one year imprisonment without an option of fine, insisting it would serve as

a deterrent to others who may wish to indulge in similar crime.

The prosecution counsel, John Okpa had told the court that the complainant, Chinyere Akuchie reported the matter at the Kubwa Police Station on February 26, 2020.

He said Mohammed criminally trespassed into the complainant’s shop and stole her handbag containing an Infinix Phone, valued at N45, 000, on the said date.

The prosecution counsel further said Mohammed had been arraigned and convicted in Grade I Area Court, Kubwa and Upper Area Court, Zuba for similar offences in the past. www.businessday.ng

Agro Rangers Squad of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in Cross River State showcasing their skills during the celebration of the 2020 International Civil Defence Day in Calabar on Monday.

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Coronavirus: Group solicits awareness in local, pidgin language … as Lagos reaches out to grassroots JOSHUA BASSEY

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hristian Empowerment Forum, a non-governmental organisation, has urged the media to disseminate information on Coronavirus (COVID-19) in local languages, especially Pidgin English and other major languages.

This is also as the Lagos State government is escalating awareness campaign to the grassroots, deploying health officers in the 20 local government areas and 37 local council development areas of the state.

The state commissioner for health, Akin Abayomi, who confirmed this, said taking the

awareness to the grassroots was of utmost importance in the state’s determination to contain the spread of the disease.

The first index case of the deadly disease, an Italian, was confirmed in Lagos on Friday, February 28, 2020. He is currently being quarantined at the state disease isolation centre, at Yaba.

On the need to adopt multiple languages in the campaign, Ifunnaya Ogbonnaya, the executive director of the Christian Empowerment Forum, argued that spreading information on the signs and symptoms, dangers, and prevention measures against the virus would help in the fight According to him, this should not be left to the elites

in society but also the illiterates.

“It is the elites of the society that know about the outbreak of the Coronavirus in China way before it entered Nigeria.

“It is still this exposed group in the society that is being alerted of its presence in the country and on possible ways to prevent it.

“The uneducated, especially those in the villages who have no access to modern facilities such as television, radio sets, smart phones and even newspapers should be carried along.”

He argued that spreading the news via the various Nigerian languages and in pidgin language would bridge the gaps in communication and create more awareness.

Ogbonnaya also advised parents and guidance to educate their children and wards on the virus, its signs, symptoms and prevention measures.

He said that the job of creating awareness and preventing the spread of the virus could not be left alone to the government.

“Everyone has a role to play in this fight; from the media to parents and guidance, school authorities, religious bodies, medical outlets and hospitals and both private and public job institutes and establishments.

“If everyone plays their part effectively, we may just be recording the first and the last case of the virus in Nigeria,’’ he said.

Obaseki inaugurates Small Claims Court IDRIS UMAR MOMOH, Benin

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overnor Godwin Obaseki has inaugurated the Edo Small Claims Court and unveiled the practice directions and handbook of the court.

Edo is the third state in the country after Kano and Lagos States to inaugurate the small claims court.

Speaking during the inauguration on Monday, the governor said the establishment of the court was a way of simplifying the legal system and providing quick justice dispensation for small business owners.

According to him, the small claims court will take the legal system to the door step of the people and enable the residents of the state to access justice with ease.

“With the small claims court, you can walk to the magistrates’ court close to you without a lawyer and within 60 days you will get justice,” he said Obaseki urged the residents of the state to own and patronise the court as it was geared towards improving ease of doing business.

The governor said the state would continue to improve the working

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conditions of judges and magistrates, noting that a strong dispute resolution mechanism was needed for economic growth.

He said that in line with ongoing reforms in the state judiciary, his administration had awarded contracts for the rebuilding of 16 magistrates’ courts.

The governor added that the state government planned to rebuild all the magistrates’ courts in the state.

Cheif Judge of Edo, Esther Edigin, said the inauguration of the court would create a platform where small business owners could easily access justice @Businessdayng

over commercial disputes.

Edigin explained that the entire period of proceedings in the small claims courts from filing to judgement would not exceed 60 days.

“Small claims courts are designed to resolve liquidated debt disputes of N5 million and below in a speedy, informally, less expensive and simple manner,” she explained She added that the courts were spread over different Magisterial Districts in the state, namely, Oredo, Egor, Evbuoriaria, Ogbeson, Ekiadolor, Okada, Ekpoma, Uromi, Sabongida-Ora, Auchi and Igarra.

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Tuesday 03 March 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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Wednesday 04 March 2020

BUSINESS DAY

Harvard Business Review

ManagementDigest

One last chance to fix capitalism Scott LaPierre

TO AVERT UPHEAVAL WE NEED POLICY CHANGE AND PRIVATE-SECTOR LEADERSHIP. oughly two-thirds of the way through “Reimagining Capitalism in a World on Fire,” Rebecca Henderson’s prescription for reversing some of the damage business has done in the past half-century, the Harvard Business School professor rates the chances that environmentally iffy industries might effectively self-regulate. “This is a story of hope followed by despair,” she says, “followed by the glimmerings of renewed hope.”

That pretty much sums up the sweep of emotion I felt recently as I curled up with some sobering, often damning nonfiction on the current state of capitalism and finance. In my head, the working title of this article went from the chirpy “Fixing Capitalism” to the slightly panicked “Can Capitalism Be Fixed?” to the downright baroque “Capitalism Sure as Heck Better Fix Itself, Because No One Else Can, So Here Are Some Last-Ditch Ideas.”

For anyone still unsure that big, important things are now broken, several new titles paint a convincing portrait of grossly unsustainable inequality, corrupt political processes, and a looming crisis — much of it stemming from a financial system that for 40 years or so has prioritized short-term profit over all else and systematically removed any checks on its own worst impulses in pursuit of that goal.

“How Money Became Dangerous” reminds us that the financial sector was once a quaint service industry, humbly facilitating the greater economy’s stability and growth. The banker Christopher Varelas, who began a long career at Salomon Brothers as a summer intern in 1989, takes us on an autobiographical, picaresque tour of modern finance’s original sins (written with Dan Stone), showing, for example, how the shift from private partnerships to public corporations irresistibly tempted banks to make bigger and bigger bets with what was now other people’s money.

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“Should we be expected to be good,” Varelas asks early on, “if no longer constrained by the threat of losing one’s own capital?” His answer is yes, but he and his fellow bankers wrestle with exactly how to be good in a system that incentivizes greed.

After all, in less-scrupulous hands this dynamic has led directly, if unsurprisingly, to some very bad behavior. In “Sabotage: The Hidden Nature of Finance,” the political economists Anastasia Nesvetailova and Ronen Palan of City, University of London point out that a truly efficient, fair and competitive market would provide little opportunity for profits beyond operating costs; therefore companies — or, more precisely, their leaders — strive to win by bending, breaking, or changing the rules. These authors offer some delectably vile case studies, from the Royal Bank of Scotland’s swindling of its own customers to Bear Stearns’s demise at the hands of unethical rivals, to illustrate the point: “If you want to make money — real money — in finance, you need to find ways of sabotaging either your clients, your competitors or the government.” The highest achievers here manage to sabotage all three of them at once.

To return to Varelas’s adjective, this type of market manipulation is dangerous, and most immediately so to the www.businessday.ng

people it exploits. While those at the very top of the finance superstructure have enjoyed huge gains, inordinate amounts of risk and loss have been offloaded onto middleand lower-class workers.

High-interest credit cards, mortgages and car loans are the least-exotic examples of how finance, in the words of the sociologists Ken-Hou Lin and Megan Tobias Neely, “nips income away from consumers and revenue away from the producers and merchants.” In “Divested: Inequality in the Age of Finance,” Lin and Neely argue that today “the sole purpose of money is to make more money,” as opposed to creating something of value.

Meanwhile, “spider webs” of personal debt have replaced the social safety net, leaving a great many of us in a moreprecarious financial position.

Outsize profits, salaries, and bonuses “are not driven by this sector’s contributions to the economy,” the authors add, “but by the concentration of market power, political entanglement, and the private intermediation of public policies.” So the average consumers of financial products are, in effect, paying a lot more for a lot less — the exact opposite of what free markets are thought to deliver.

The overall picture that emerges is one in which wealth is being redistribut-

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ed — from the poor and the middle class to corporations and the superrich, who use the spoils to further cement their advantage. Historically, this process has not reversed on its own. Looking to the past for guidance, we can find good news and bad news. The good news: Throughout history, inequality and economic dysfunction have swelled to crisis points, and we’ve usually managed to reform. The bad news: That has generally happened after a violent rupture.

In “Capital and Ideology,” Thomas Piketty’s magisterial survey of the central role that ideas and discourse have played in alternately justifying and questioning societies’ inequities, we are reminded that political uprisings, financial collapses and wars — think the French Revolution, the Great Depression and World War II — are what drive change. To address extreme inequality, Piketty says, “societies need institutions capable of periodically redefining and redistributing property rights.”

If those are lacking, or fail, it “only increases the likelihood of more violent but less effective remedies.”

So, about those glimmerings of renewed hope? All the economists and historians mentioned here agree that the single most important step is re-empowering governments, though they diverge on @Businessdayng

whether that means more-effective regulation, progressive taxation, wealth taxes or other measures. “In a nutshell, markets require adult supervision,” Henderson writes.

But unless political paralysis and regulatory capture somehow magically disappear, it will be up to future-minded business leaders to start putting out the inferno. Henderson offers inspiring case studies (counterpoints to those in “Sabotage”) of purpose-driven executives who manage to create value for multiple stakeholders (including, yes, shareholders) without rapacious extraction, exploitation or environmental damage.

And this is the heart of her fix for capitalism. She wants managers to have better tools for measuring businesses’ true (too often hidden) costs and more-nuanced, inclusive metrics for describing success. The message is clear: It will take good, determined individuals to force the system to recalibrate before an upheaval.

Private-sector leaders — especially those who have profited from the market’s decades of inefficient value creation and wealth distribution — should be leading the charge.

Scott LaPierre is a senior editor at HBR.

Wednesday 04 March 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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BANKING Banks leverage IFC’s facility for business growth Stories by HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE

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n most recent time, Nigerian Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) are seen leveraging guaranteed facilities from development institutions to meet the various financing needs of their customers.

On February 27, 2020, IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, announced a $25 million local-currency investment in a risk-sharing facility to expand Union Bank’s lending to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria.

Also at the weekend, IFC announced a $40 million trade finance guarantee facility to Coronation Merchant Bank under its Global Trade Finance Program.

Uche Olowu, president/ chairman of council, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) said what the banks are doing is to mobilise liquidity for onlending to the critical sector of the economy.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in July 2019, introduced the policy requirement that targeted Loan to Deposit Ratio (LDR) at a minimum of 60 percent by the end of September 2019 and later increased it to 65 percent by the end of December 2019.

The IFC – Union bank facility, which will cover as much as 50 percent of the risk of the bank’s loans to

entrepreneurs, aims to help Nigerian businesses grow and create jobs.

With IFC’s support, Union Bank plans to offer more products and services to women-owned businesses, especially in Nigeria’s conflict-affected Northern and Delta regions, where entrepreneurs face particularly difficult challenges accessing finance, and more than half the population is excluded from the financial system.

Emeka Emuwa, chief executive of Union Bank, said, “Union Bank continues to develop sustainable products and services that promote enterprise and address poverty and finan-

cial inclusion. This is in line with our commitment to support the communities within which we operate.

The IFC facility is a welcome development which will further deepen our efforts to support Nigerian SMEs and women.”

Commenting on the initiative, Eme Essien Lore, IFC’s Country Manager for Nigeria said; “IFC’s risk sharing facility will help Union Bank increase its focus on Nigeria’s underserved areas, positioning it as one of the leading banks that provides customized services to SMEs that are driving job creation and growth across the country.”

Although small busi-

nesses provide over 80 percent of Nigeria’s jobs, a recent World Bank survey found that only 15 percent of SMEs in the country reported having a bank loan or line of credit. It also found that more than half of the women-managed firms surveyed named access to finance as a major obstacle to growth.

For Coronation Merchant Bank, the facility will enable it to establish and expand correspondent banking partnerships with several international banks in IFC’s trade finance program, broadening access to finance in Nigeria.

IFC’s Global Trade Finance Program (GTFP)

will offer confirming banks full or partial guarantees to cover the trade-related payment obligations of Coronation Merchant Bank. The program supports trade with emerging markets worldwide, allowing participants conveniently finance their imports and exports and promotes the flow of goods and services between developing countries.

Commenting on the partnership with IFC, Banjo Adegbohungbe, acting managing director of Coronation Merchant Bank stated that “The GTFP partnership is a critical milestone for us in our journey to become a leading financial institution in Nigeria. We are delighted to partner with the IFC in providing trade finance solutions to our customers and we assure all our clients of our continued support to enable them achieve their business objectives.”

“We welcome Coronation Merchant Bank to the Global Trade Finance Program, which has been very active in Nigeria in the past.

This relationship will help improve the bank’s trade with other countries, and create new economic opportunities in Nigeria,” said Kevin Njiraini, IFC’s director for Southern Africa and Nigeria. “The partnership attests to the continued growth of the Nigerian financial sector and restates IFC’s commitment to emerging markets around the world

GTBank increases focus on digital payment space

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uaranty Trust Bank will continue focusing on caring about human feelings to win the digital payment space in future, said Segun Agbaje, chief executive officer.

Agbaje made the statement while discussing the topic,” Going beyond the Digital Experience” at the Social Media Week (SMW) held recently in Lagos.

The weeklong event provided brands, agencies and technology providers with latest insights, trends and best practices, together with access to a global community of marketing decision makers. ”I will be lying if I tell you that the bank that will win the payment space in future is one with the best technology.

“So, the person that is going to win, whether a FinTech, a Telco or a bank, is one that is

going to build the right technology that can leave customers with that feeling that there are people who care about them and not artificial intel-

www.businessday.ng

ligence, ” Agbaje said.

He said the bank was well placed to win, as it had the required digital platforms. ”We have GT-Connection,

GTPay, GABS-Lite, we have all the digital platforms required.

“In addition, we have “Habari”, a digital platform for children. No matter what the people say, it is the most successful interactive platform in Nigeria today. ” On it we have music, on it we have E-Commerce, on it we have the credit, we have the most successful of all endowed things on that platform.

“We are going to put travels, event management and you are going to come into our ecosystems and you will believe that we care about you,” Agbaje said.

The CEO said another reason that the bank was going to win was that it never stopped interacting with people. According to him, the idea of Fashion and Food fair is so that the bank can engage with

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small businesses that are in those segments. For each of these events, we bring more than 250,000 people in two days and continue to engage them and try to understand what they want. ” So already, we are beginning to put that balance together between a digital platform and a human experience; we care about our people and we have the ability to build a successful business platform,” he said.

Agbaje said what was driving the payment space was the people and SMEs. “We have 180 million SMEs in Africa doing 4.5 billion transactions a day, so when you take the young population, you take the huge proliferation of SMEs that you have, then you see the engine of growth that is really driving the payment space,” he said. @Businessdayng

Unity Bank advocates increased investment in creative industry

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igeria’s commercial lender, Unity Bank Plc has advocated more investment in the creative industry to drive its contribution to the Nigerian economy.

Opeyemi Ojesina head, personal and SME, Unity Bank Plc, made the call in Lagos on Wednesday while speaking at a panel to explore financing options for the music industry at the just concluded Social Media Week.

Nigeria’s music industry witnessed an explosion over the past decade, growing by 9 per cent in 2016 to hit $39 million, and is set to grow by 13.4 per cent by 2021, with an estimated worth of about $73 million, according to statistics.

Highlighting impediments to flow of credits and investment, Ojesina stated that the music industry

with the involvement of stakeholders in financial services sector needs a deliberate action plan to boost investment that will grow opportunities for entrepreneurs in the sector.

“To attract the required funding in the music industry, all the stakeholders involved must be deliberate about it. But most importantly, the people in the industry must begin to understand the business of their craft and build the necessary structure that would enable financial institutions to make an informed investment decision’’, Ojesina said.

Also speaking, the head of digital, events and sponsorships, Unity Bank Plc, Bashir Salami reiterated that the Bank has been exploring several financing strategies to support musicians and grow the industry.

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Wednesday 04 March 2020

BUSINESS DAY

MARITIMEBUSINESS Shipping

Logistics

Maritime e-Commerce

APMT Nigeria to invest US$100m in acquisition of 20 new cranes for WACT …Selects Konecranes to build AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE with agency report

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ollowing the earlier announced terminal capacity expansion project, APM Terminals Nigeria said its perfecting plans to put US$100 million investment into the acquisition of 20 new rubber tyred gantry (RTG) cranes for the West Africa Container Terminal (WACT).

This was in line with the recently announced plans

by WACT to upgrade its container handling operation from reach stackers to RTGs in order to achieve greater stacking density, increase throughput and productivity.

“This is part of our earlier announced expansion of the existing terminal capacity, a US$100 million investment, that started last year and that will be fully in place shortly. The expansion plan

will deliver sufficient capacity to meet the envisaged growth in East Nigeria for the next 15 years,” said Mohammed Ahmed, managing

director of APMT Nigeria.

To achieve this, the leading terminal operator has selected Konecranes to build the 20 new rubber tyred gan-

Transport business needs more women, says De Werd, Maersk Executive amaka Anagor-Ewuzie

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nita De Werd, head, marketing and business development, African Region of Maersk, has called for greater participation of women in the maritime and logistics sector.

She made the call in Lagos on Wednesday when Maersk hosted a group of young professional women in the maritime and logistics industry, as part of the company’s initiatives aimed at getting more women to participate and at-

tain top managerial positions in the industry.

De Werd, who also led the women on a visit to APM Terminals Apapa, said Maersk chose to identify with young female professionals in the industry to enlighten them on its operations as the global integrator in container logistics and encourage them to build career in the sector.

“It is important to have more women in the logistics and maritime industry especially in Africa where we have a lot of capable women.

What I have seen is that for

L-R: Okhidievbie Ayodele Keren; Anita De Werd, head, Marketing and Business Development, Maersk Africa Region and Anuli Ejiogu, who participated in a programme for Young Professional Women in the Maritime and Logistics Industry organised by Maersk in Lagos recently. www.businessday.ng

a lot of young professionals, it is difficult to find out what is happening in the industry, and how they can play a role that could be fitting in the capabilities and interests they have. So, we have brought them together to sensitise them on who we are as a company with hope to ignite their interest,” she said.

According to her, Maersk is constantly addressing how to accommodate and help women professionals climb up the ladder of reaching top management positions.

“A lot of household decisions are made by women and if we don’t bring different perspectives to the table, then we are creating products that may not be fit for market, especially because women are important decision makers,” she stated.

Martin Jacob, managing director of APM Terminals, Apapa, who received the young women at the terminal, said the company is committed to promoting gender diversity.

“The port industry is typically seen as a male dominated industry but we are trying and pushing to change that so that women can compete effectively with men,” he said.

try cranes for WACT. According to the company, the order was booked in two parts, the first in December 2019 and the second

in January 2020 while delivery is scheduled for fourth quarter of 2020 and second quarter of 2021.

The Konecranes RTGs that were ordered are dieseldriven, 16-wheel machines stacking 1-over-5 high and 7 containers + truck lane wide.

They would be equipped with active load control, auto-steering and auto-TOS reporting.

Recall that BusinessDay reported recently that WACT, which has become the most preferred container terminal outside the Lagos area and the gateway to Eastern Nigeria, said it has perfected arrangements to begin the Phase 2 of its terminal upgrade within the next 18 months.

The report has it that Noah Sheriff, commercial manager of WACT, said the Phase 2 upgrade will consist of the acquisition of three additional Mobile Harbour Cranes (MHCs) to bring the number of MHCs at the

terminal to five; acquisition of 20 Rubber Tyre Gantry Cranes (RTGs); three Reach Stackers; 13 terminal trucks and trailers as well as an empty container handler.

He said the upgrade will include deployment of reefer racks with 600 plugs capacity, as well as expansion and paving of the current yard by 13 hectares, building new workshop and new terminal gate complex.

“We anticipate additional volume growth as more and more shipping lines, importers and exporters continue to develop confidence in our ability to handle their cargo. This further investment is to ensure that we are well prepared to handle the additional business in the future,” he said.

WACT is located in Onne Port, part of the Onne Oil and Gas Free Zone in Nigeria. It was one of the first container terminals to be built in Nigeria under public, private ownership.

NIMASA acquires special mission vessels to fight maritime crimes amaka Anagor-Ewuzie

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etermined to rid the nation’s waters of criminal activities, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency NIMASA (NIMASA) and Nigerian Navy have taken delivery of the Special Mission Vessels under the Deep Blue Project.

The vessels, DB Lagos and DB Abuja, which were brought into the country recently, are equipped with sophisticated intelligence gathering capability for timely detection and response to illegal activities in the Nigerian maritime domain.

“Piracy is an act inimical to the growth of the Nigerian maritime sector and we are prepared, more than ever before, to give it all it takes to end this nefarious act,” said Ibok Ete-Ibas, Chief of Naval Staff.

Represented by the Chief Security Officer, Western Naval Command, Rear Ad-

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miral Murtala Bashir, he stated that the officers who would man the vessels will be given adequate training under the Deep Blue Project to enable them utilise the special features of the vessels adequately for combating maritime illegalities.

On his part, Dakuku Peterside, director general of NIMASA said pirates and other criminals on the country’s maritime domain up to the Gulf of Guinea would soon meet their waterloo, with the arrival and installation of these critical assets under the Deep Blue Project.

Peterside, who was represented by executive director, Operations, Rotimi Fashakin, disclosed that aside these two special mission vessels, 10 Fast Interceptor Boats have also arrived the country and seven more are expected later in the year.

“Today marks a new dawn for a more secure and stable maritime environment in Nigeria. This milestone in asset delivery @Businessdayng

inches us closer to full operational take-off of the Deep Blue Project, hence it marks a huge victory for the Nigerian maritime sector in the fight against maritime insecurity,” he said.

He said the DB Abuja and DB Lagos, which were built to be intelligently operated, also served as mother vessels to Fast Intervention crafts that are able to respond to distress calls swiftly. “Each of the interceptor boats has a combined engine capacity of 900HP and can do up to 55 nautical miles and would be commanded by a Navy captain with full complement of naval personnel.

Recall that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) granted approval for a holistic maritime security architecture, which is a multipronged approach towards fighting piracy. Aside the sea assets, there are also land and air assets, which are still expected in the country before the end of the year.

Wednesday 04 March 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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Maritime e-Commerce

FG plans to end abuse of waivers on importation of humanitarian goods …As stakeholders seek SOP for ease of clearance at ports amaka Anagor-Ewuzie

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orried by abuse of import duty waivers granted on charitable goods, the Federal Government has concluded plans to control the misused of these waivers by importers of such goosds.

This is as stakeholders demanded for a comprehensive standard operating procedure (SOP) for the shipment and ease of clearing humanitarian goods at Nigerian ports.

These were the outcome of a one-day stakeholders’ meeting on ‘Ease of Doing Business’ at the ports, organised in Lagos recently by the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) in collaboration with other agencies, to brainstorm on modalities to ease shipping and clearing of charitable items.

Ovie Omo-Agege, deputysenate president, said import waivers on charitable items have been misused and abused not just by businessmen, but also by some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and civil society organisations (CSOs).

According to him, it was

evident that these anomalies do not only affect Nigeria but also some of her neighbors whose consignments of charitable items come through Nigerian ports.

“The result is that often, charitable items get entangled in high demurrage charges sometimes caused by delays in clearing due to denial of import duty waivers by relevant government ministries/agencies, late application of necessary documents by non-profit organisations, among others,” said Omo-Agege, stating that these often cause undue loss of items and financial losses.

Represented by Modupe Ozolua, senior assistant on NGOs and CSOs Affairs, OmoAgege said given the present rise in the number of internally displaced persons (IDP) in Nigeria, the material and humanitarian losses can only be imagined.

“Charitable items are gifts donated by individuals, organisations or governments to the less privileged, usually through not-for-profit organisations, faith organisations or individuals. The items in turn come in different forms such as clothing, foodstuffs, medications, and assets and services,” he stated.

Rotimi Ameachi, minister

of transportation said there was need to improve on the process and procedures for shipping and clearance of charitable materials at the Nigerian ports.

“We are equally aware that these aid items enjoy duty waiver, however experience has revealed that the process of obtaining duty waiver on these items takes time and such delay do translate to accumulated demurrage and rent charges on these chari-

table materials,” said Ameachi, who was represented by Victor Ewase.

Ibrahim Yahaya Oloriegbe, chairman senate committee on Health and deputy chairman senate committee Diaspora and non-governmental organisations, said non-state actors both local and international organisations should collaborate to resolve the crisis and issues within the sector, so that charitable items could be cleared to point of destination

without delays.

Hassan Bello, executive secretary of NSC, said that the essence of the gathering was to deliberate on how to transmit charitable items to their final consumers without difficulties.

He however charged the National Assembly to make laws and regulations in that regards.

“We have to come together to deliberate on the transmitting of these cargoes either

R-L: Idris Abubakar, executive director, Engineering & Technical Service, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA); Hadiza Bala Usman, managing director, NPA; Lola Shoneyin, publisher of Qinda Books; Sokonte Davies, executive director, Marine & Operation, NPA; Joshua Asanga, former GM Marine & Operations, NPA, and Nana Yakubu, representative of the executive director, Finance & Admin, during the presentation of the book titled “The Business of Becoming The Best You” by NPA in Lagos recently.

here in Nigeria or even across our borders because we are under certain obligations. I remember two years back, Niger Republic was given some cargo and NSC was to help the exit but we faced some challenges,” he said.

Meanwhile, the ministry of Finance pointed out the need for importers of these items to comply with required conditions which includes; provisions of cooperation agreement, letter of donation, evidence of registration with Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), packing list, and bill of laden, which must revalidates yearly as stipulated in the law.

Also, stakeholders including Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigerian Ports Authority, and Ministry of Humanitarian agreed on the need to improve on timeliness of shipment of goods and provision of adequate compliance education to NGOs in the country.

On their parts, International NGOs and NAFDAC stressed the need to reduce cost of inspection by deployment of the latest radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology, and soliciting penalty for agency that unduly delay charitable items.

Maersk secures US$5bn credit facility from a syndicate of 26 banks amaka Anagor-Ewuzie

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P Møller-Maersk has secured a new sustainability-linked revolving credit facility of US$5 billion through a syndicate of 26 selected banks.

It was reported that this is the first bank refinancing arranged by Maersk after

its transformation from a diversified conglomerate to a global container logistics company.

The selected banks include Barclays Bank Plc, BNP Paribas, Citibank N.A. London, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Deutsche Bank, DNB Bank ASA, J.P. Morgan Securities Plc and Morgan Stanley Bank International Limited joined

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as lead arrangers among others.

The facility refinances which amounts to US$5.1 billion facility, will be maturing in 2021 and has a tenor of five years that may be extended by up to two years and it will be part of the company’s liquidity reserve.

“We have received strong support from our global relationship banks. The facility

was substantially oversubscribed, and we are pleased with the terms and conditions of the new facility,” said Henriette Hallberg Thygesen, chief executive officer of Fleet & Strategic Brands.

Maersk says the credit margin under the facility will be adjusted based on the company’s progress to meet its target of reducing CO2 emissions per cargo moved

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by 60 percent by 2030, which is significantly more ambitious than the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) target of 40 percent by 2030 (all 2008 baseline).

I n 2 0 1 9 Ma e r s k a n nounced its commitment to becoming carbon neutral by 2050. The new finance facility affirms Maersk’s efforts to drive sustainability into its operations and supply

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chains.

“Given the lifespan of our fleet, we need to find new and sustainable solutions to propel our vessels within the next 10 years. To realise this ambitious commitment, we are partnering with researchers, regulators, technology developers, customers, energy providers – and now banks,” explained Hallberg Thygesen.

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Wednesday 04 March 2020

BUSINESS DAY

Corporate governance

Customer satisfaction: The road to increasing shareholder value Olayimika Phillips

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he maximization of shareholder value occupies a dominant space in corporate governance.

In fact, the performance of the board of directors of many corporates (the Board) is often determined by the value brought to the investments of the shareholders. Boards that declare sizeable yearly dividends can be guaranteed re-election and strong shareholder confidence than those who do not. Accordingly, the advancement of the economic interests of shareholders and increasing share value, most times, influence the decision making of the Board, even when at the expense of the most critical stakeholders, the company’s customers.

In a rush to deliver returns to shareholders and other investors, the Board sometimes compromises the company’s relationship with the company’s customers by imposing extraneous charges on products or services. Also, without putting customers’ needs and satisfaction into significant consideration, the Board approves cost-cuts that affect the quality of the company’s products and services.

Customers are indeed important stakeholders of a corporate. It is the customers who purchase and consume the company’s products or services and in return, they provide the company with revenue and profits which directly impact the value of shares. Thus, without customers who patronize a company’s products or services, the existence of such company would become threatened.

Notwithstanding the indispensability of customers to the financial growth of a corporate, the directors’ minds are often fixated at increasing the value of shares, ignoring the fact that without customers, no real value could be enjoyed by the shareholders.

It is on this basis that satisfying the needs of customers

becomes more important than increasing share value since customer satisfaction is a key determinant of the value that would be enjoyed by shareholders. A good Board would therefore hinge its decision making towards ensuring that the needs of the company’s customers are always catered for. A company that gives priority to its customers’ needs and satisfaction ends up earning massive customer loyalty.

Such a company would also witness an increase in its customer base, which would in turn impact its revenue and profitability.

A good Board must therefore evince an understanding of the indices surrounding the company’s customers. It should, at the minimum, understand the number of the company’s customers, how often they make purchases, their attraction to a specific product or service of the company and their complaints and feedbacks. The above would help a Board understand how to improve the company’s customer experience. It would also be helpful in retaining customers and attracting new ones to the company.

The stark reality, as of this moment, is that all markets www.businessday.ng

have become overly competitive and market players compete for the same target of customers. A company that gives its customers the best experience tends to stand tall amongst its competitors in terms of revenue and profitability including the addition of value to its shareholders.

Where a company fails to accord substantial importance to the needs, satisfaction and experience of its customers, competitors are likely to poach the customers away. Even without poaching, the customers

‘

A company that gives its customers the best experience tends to stand tall amongst its competitors in terms of revenue and profitability including the addition of value to its shareholders

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are likely to defect on their own to competitors that offer better satisfaction and experience.

Whilst customers would typically want more quality for less value, these same customers would not hesitate to pay the price quoted by a company that has demonstrated consistency in delivering maximum satisfaction and value.

The base and loyalty of customers is also relevant for the purpose of attracting investors into a company. A typical investor who seeks to invest in a company, for instance, would be interested in knowing the customer metrics of the investee. This would include the popularity and acceptability of the company’s products by its customers, whether the company is losing or gaining customers and the ability of the investee to attract new customers.

The Board, in its quest to increase shareholder value must therefore understand that earning customers loyalty takes priority. The Board must therefore put in place policies that seek to constantly improve customer experience, satisfaction and value. This also includes the Board getting everyone on board by passing this message from the top to @Businessdayng

the lowest level of employees.

Ideally, employees on their own enjoy fulfilment when customers acknowledge the value and satisfaction they derived from the consumption of the company’s offerings.

Whilst the extant Codes of corporate governance in Nigeria require relevant companies to consider the interest of stakeholders including customers, there is however no specific requirement for companies to consider or report on customer satisfaction.

Thus, beyond box-ticking the requirements of the Codes of corporate governance, a good Board would ensure that customer satisfaction occupies a considerable part of its corporate governance system.

The popular saying “customer is always right” which has now become synonymous with all kinds of business all over the world, speaks volume as to the importance of customers.

It shows that from time immemorial, customers have always been the backbone of every business venture. This reality must therefore always resonate within the board room. Since the purpose of any business organisation is to make profits for its owners, what better way to guarantee that than by maximizing the satisfaction of persons who provide the required revenue.

Olayimika is a Partner in the law firm of Olaniwun Ajayi LP and has over 34 years of professional experience. She specializes in corporate governance, providing pragmatic solutions to the diverse challenges which confront corporates at different growth stages and serves on the board of several companies (listed and privately held).”

Wednesday 04 March 2020

BUSINESS DAY

29

INTERVIEW ‘JA Nigeria’s partnership with First Bank has created platform to spotlight our students’ Junior Achievement Worldwide is the largest global non-profit economic education organisation operating in over 120 countries dedicated to empowering students on financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship through experiential, hands-on programmes. In Nigeria, the organisation, which goes as Junior Achievement Nigeria (JAN), started operations in the last quarter of 1999, and since then has reached over 990,000 students in over 2,000 schools across the country. Considering JAN as a veritable platform, First Bank partnered with the non-profit organisation to implement its Future First programme, which has enabled the bank to assist students in different locations across the country, providing them with practical business experience under three pillars of financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship. In this interview with OBINNA EMELIKE, Simi Nwogugu, executive director, JAN, speaks on the impact of the organisation since inception in Nigeria, the junior stars it has raised, projections for the future and support from corporate organisations, especially First Bank, among others. Excerpts:

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hat led to the introduction of JA in Nigeria and how has the journey been so far?

The idea of bringing Junior Achievement to Nigeria was born after I volunteered for JA while working in the United States.

After seeing the impact of the programs on the students, I was moved to start conversations about establishing Junior Achievement Nigeria, which led to a meeting in 1999 where Junior Achievement International, backed by grants from Procter & Gamble and Citi Foundation invited several managing directors of leading companies who went on to be the organization’s founding board members. Since then, Junior Achievement Nigeria (JAN) has become the nation’s fastest-growing non-profit economic education organization and has reached over 990,000 students nationwide with its financial literacy, work readiness, entrepreneurship and digital literacy programs delivered through a wide network of volunteers in several classrooms in all 36 states across the country and the Federal Capital Territory. I must confess that it has been a rewarding journey so far.

What are the various JAN initiatives and what is the impact level across the country?

Junior Achievement Nigeria has several programs cut across its core pillars of financial literacy, work readiness, entrepreneurship and digital literacy for elementary, secondary and out-ofschool youth. Some of which include the JA Company Program, Be Entrepreneurial, JA Career Success, Leadership Empowerment Achievement and Development (LEAD) Camp for girls and the Venture in Management Program (ViMP) among so many others. These programs prepare young people to own their future and teach them skills that make them stand out from their peers.

Our programs have also made great impact over the years as we have our alumni either in top management positions or leading notable organisations.

We have people like Iyinoluwa Aboyeji of Andela&Flutterwave, Tunji Elesho of CCHub, Adenike Adeyemi of FATE Foundation, Ngover Ihyembe-Nwankwo, chairperson, WIMBIZ and so many other JANigeria alumni doing very well in leadership positions and making waves in their various sectors.

What impact has been made with the Company programme and by extension the National Company of the Year competition?

JA Company Program is our flagship program. It is a school-based entrepreneurship education curriculum that teaches

opment as they have sponsored several initiatives. First Bank who has been with JANigeria as a board member for about ten years also sponsors the Company Program in Ebonyi State and has further sponsored the National Company of the Year (NCOY) competitions for three years in a row. Since First Bank took up sponsorship for NCOY, we have recorded tremendous progress; in 2018 our NCOY champions, Inventive Explorers of Caro Favored College, Ajegunle who produced hand-held LED traffic lights came first place at the Africa competition. 2019 saw TC Achievers of Taidob College Abeokuta, producers of the Gas Leakage Detectors, in addition to winning several outstanding awards, came third place at the Africa competition, which held in Ghana. Not only has this partnership yielded success for JANgeria, it has helped create a platform to spotlight our students through the marketing support provided. This in turn has put First Bank at the fore front of our program showcasing them as being invested in raising the next generation of conscientious business leaders through the beneficiaries of the program.

Simi Nwogugu

senior secondary school students how to start and run their own business, develop a product or service, market their brand and carry out CSR activities from the proceeds of their business. At the end of the program the students submit an annual report to JANigeria in order to qualify for a regional competition and the best student company from each region will represent their school in the National Company of the Year. The National Company of the Year (NCOY) is the culminating point for the implementation of the JA Company Program and accompanying regional competitions. It brings together outstanding student companies from across Nigeria to compete for the opportunity to represent Nigeria at the JA Africa Company of the Year competition.

Over the years JA Nigeria student companies have performed tremendously well at the Africa Company of the Year (ACOY) competitions as our student companies have been winning several awards at the Africa level. Apart from our outstanding performance at the Africa competition, our program has great impact individually on our participants as it gives them the platform to gain skills that make them stand out and attract opportunities for their future endeavors. An example is the story of Bright Dikko, a JA Company Program alumnus who through his active participation in the program was noticed and recommended to the African Leadership Academy and since www.businessday.ng

then he has been on a journey towards achieving great things.

JAN partners with different stakeholders including businesses and governments. How would you describe the level of support from your partners over the years?

Junior Achievement Nigeria partners with various organizations from financial institutions, corporate bodies to governments like the Ogun State government and government agencies like the US Consulate and the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports. Our partners have been very supportive towards all our programs and it is due to their generosity that we have been able to achieve all that we have set to achieve as an organization. JANigeria stands on the shoulders of several organization and corporate bodies that support us in various capacities from being board members to partners in development, some even support in both capacities.

The support has been tremendous and we are proud to be affiliated with our stakeholders.

First Bank has been at the forefront in promoting the Company Programme and has solely sponsored the NCOY consecutively in three years, has this commitment been beneficial?

First Bank is one partner that supports Junior Achievement Nigeria both as a board member and as a partner in devel-

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Do you plan to assist the winners in commercializing their products and growing their companies, particularly rechargeable handheld LED traffic lights by Caro Favored School Ajegunle and the Gas Leakage Detector by Taidob College?

We believe in the potential of our students so we always promote them and their products in order to create opportunities for investors and mentors to notice them and help take their ideas to the next level. We seek out opportunities on how our student companies can better their product to be acceptable in a larger market. Recently, we introduced the students from Caro Favored College to an expert who talked to them about patenting their product, raising awareness about the importance of trademarks, brands and the dangers of counterfeit products. With the help of the expert, they were able to create a dramatic sketch which they used to showcase their products at the Intellectual Property Symposium organized by the U.S Mission in Nigeria and the American Business Council sometime in September 2019. We plan to expose our current NCOY champions to similar and even better opportunities in the coming year.

In the 20 years of JA Nigeria, what are your projections for the future?

These past twenty years have been wonderful and we are more than hopeful that through strong partnerships like our partnership with First Bank we would record more milestones in the future.

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Wednesday 04 March 2020

BUSINESS DAY

insurance today

E-mail: insurancetoday@businessdayonline.com

NAICOM inaugurates Working Group for effective implementation of IFRS 17 …targets 1st January 2022 for take off Modestus Anaesoronye

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he National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) has inaugurated the Insurance Industry Financial Reporting Working Group (IIFRWG) to develop guidelines that can be adopted by the Commission for effective implementation of IFRS 17 in the nation’s insurance industry.

IIFRWG headed by Bareneka Thompson, director, Inspectorate in NAICOM and made up of key stakeholders and development parterres from KPMG, PwC, EY, Bekoda, Chief Financial Officers of selected insurance Companies, actuarial experts from NAICOM and the Accounting Technical Committees of the Nigerian Insurance Association (NIA), were mandated to formulate a workable guideline of international best practice that could be comparable to other jurisdictions.

Implementation of IFRS 17 is expected to commence in Nigeria on 1st January 2022.

Sunday Thomas, acting commissioner for Insurance/CEO of NAICOM speaking at the inauguration ceremony in Lagos said IIFRWG is an advisory and consultative team being constituted by NAICOM for the purpose of seamless adoption of IFRS 17 in Nigeria.

Thomas said the role of the Group is to support the Commission in providing technical advice on the adoption of IFRS 17 Insurance Contract and IFRS Interpretations on insurance specific matters and their application within Nigeria.

“The Working Group will also provide specialized knowledge to enhance an understanding of insurance specific issues and technical assessment of proposals by advising

Modestus Anaesoronye

A L-R: Adamu Balanti, director, Lagos office of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM); Yetunde Ilori, director general, Nigerian Insurers Association; Sunday Thomas, acting commissioner for Insurance; and Barineka Thompson, director, Inspectorate, NAICOM; and Njum Onyemenam during the inauguration of the Insurance Industry Financial Reporting Working Group in Lagos

and supporting the Commission/ Industry in the following areas”/ He said that the IFRS 17 Insurance contracts establish the principles for the recognition, measurement, presentation and disclosure of insurance contracts within the scope of the Standard. “The objective of IFRS 17 is to ensure that an entity provides relevant information that faithfully represents those contracts. This information gives a basis for users of financial statements to assess the effect that insurance contracts have on the entity’s financial position, financial performance and cash flows.”

Thomas said that the standard will have significant implications on information technology systems, strategic management, business

processes, actuarial services, and treasury and employee skills.

In all of these, there are a lot of challenges that will be faced by the insurers, stating that transition is going to be comprehensive and complex, but developing business plan before the effective date will be critical, he said..

In May 2017 the International Accounting Standard Board (IASB) issued the international Financial Reporting Standard 17 (IFRS 17) Insurance Contract. This standard will replace the present IFRS 4 on accounting for insurance contracts by January 01, 2022, therefore beginning from January 01, 2022, all insurance and reinsurance contracts must be reported in accordance with IFRS 17.

Consolidated Hallmark’s N1.057bn Rights Issue opens Modestus Anaesoronye

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oremost Insurance company, Consolidated Hallmark Insurance (CHI Plc), has received the approval of Regulators to raise an additional sum of N1,056,900,000 to further beef up its capital base.

The Securities and Exchange Commission gave the approval to the General Insurance and Special Risks underwriter to offer a total of 2,032,500,900 units of 50 kobo each at 52 Kobo per share through a Rights Issue to existing shareholders. The offer opened on Monday, 24th February, 2020 and is to run for a period of five weeks, with closing date of 1st April, 2020.

Shareholders of the Company who were listed on the register of members as at close of business on 3rd February, 2020 qualify to take advantage of the offer on the basis of one new share for every existing four units currently being held.

The Rights Issue is one of the series of steps approved by Shareholders of the Company at an Extra-Ordinary General Meeting in November, 2019 where the Directors were unanimously given the mandate to embark on various measures to meet the new N10bn required minimum capital base of operators in the general business and special risks category.

Consolidated Hallmark has had very suc-

Africa Re completes first Cohort for Young Insurance Professionals

cessful outings in its recent capital raising efforts due to a firm belief by shareholders in the intrinsic value of the company. The company in the last two years, in consideration of the need for higher working capital and risk retention capacity, had proactively embarked on fund raising through a Rights Issue and Private Placement, both of which were fully subscribed.

The lead issuing house to this offer is Planet Capital Limited, supported by SFS Financial Services Limited and IWorld Financial Services Limited as joint Issuing Houses, while Meristem Registrars acts as the Registrar to the offer.

Eddie Efekoha www.businessday.ng

Obinna Ekezie, Chairman of the company, sees the recapitalization program as a welcome development that will lead to a more virile insurance sector with improved performance and also ensure that the company captures a larger market share and give better returns to all stakeholders.

Eddie Efekoha, managing director/CEO of Consolidated Hallmark who is also the current president of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), is optimistic of a very successful outing based on the keen enthusiasm from shareholders.

According to him, “we are very confident of having a successful outing because our shareholders believe in us. We have shown commitment to shareholder value creation and paid dividend time and again.” He recalled that the company is one of the most consistent dividend-paying publicly quoted firms amongst listed companies generally, and particularly in the insurance sector. He enjoined the shareholders to exercise their rights in full.

Efekoha also said that the company is rapidly expanding its operations into other financial services business with various subsidiaries that are contributing to revenue. The latest subsidiary that has been added to the stable is the CHI Microinsurance Limited, a Micro Life Assurance company recently granted approval in principle by NAICOM and set to commence operations by the second quarter of this year.

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frica Reinsurance Corporation has announced the completion of its first Young Insurance Professionals Programme (YIPP).

The programme was initiated by the Africa Re and co-financed by the German development finance institution DEG – Deutsche Investitions - und Entwicklungsgesellschaft mbH, from funds from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The YIPP is a 9-month programme which gathered 250 young insurance professionals from 45 countries across Africa.

It started in October 2018 and ended in October 2019. The programme is an online training academically designed by the London School of Insurance in conjunction with Africa Re to fulfill its mission to foster the development of the insurance and reinsurance industry in Africa .

The programme is designed in two languages (English and French) for young professionals from various fields (economics, insurance, law, actuarial science, engineering, finance, accounting, business and medicine) and made up of 14 courses covering insurance, reinsurance, leadership and management.

With support from the Africa Re Foundation, the training of the 2nd cohort of YIPP commenced in February 2020, but due to the burning desire to further enhance the capacity of the young insurance professionals and facilitate the development of the insurance industry, Africa Re increased the number of trainees for the 2nd cohort from 250 to 1,000.

Corneille Karekezi, the group managing director/CEO of Africa Re, while signing the certificates of completion stated “the African insurance and reinsurance industry is developing rapidly and therefore needs sufficient and skilled professionals. We are proud to have initiated this training program which targets the very young Africans entering the industry because they are the future of our industry” Development Bank Group (AfDB), the African Reinsurance Corporation (Africa Re), the leading reinsurance company in Africa and the Middle East, is a pan-African financial institution whose shareholding is split between African shareholders (75%) and non-African investors (25%).

African shareholding comprises 41 African states, the AfDB and 114 African insurance/reinsurance companies from the 41 member countries.

Headquartered in Lagos (Nigeria), Africa Re has a continental network of regional and local offices in Lagos (Nigeria), Casablanca (Morocco), Nairobi (Kenya), Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire), Ebène (Mauritius), Cairo (Egypt) and Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) as well as two subsidiaries: Africa Re (South Africa) Ltd in Johannesburg and Africa Retakaful Ltd in Cairo (Egypt).

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insurance today E-mail: insurancetoday@businessdayonline.com

Pandemic cat bond prices to drop again on coronavirus spread - analysts

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e c o n d a r y m a rket pricing for the World Bank’s pandemic catastrophe bond notes are set to decline, significantly for one tranche, after the coronavirus outbreaks spread resulted in a second triggering condition being met, Plenum Investments believes.

While the pandemic cat bond issued by the World Bank has not yet been triggered and so no payout is due at this time, the news of the rising number of cases and deaths in countries overseas from the epicenter in China is set to pressure pricing, these investors believe.

The novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV or Covid-19) outbreak that began in the city of Wuhan in Hubei province China poses a growing threat to the World Bank’s $320 million IBRD CAR 111-112 pandemic cat bond transaction.

The pandemic cat bond provides a source of insurance, or reinsurance like, capital to back the Pandemic

L-R: Chiadi Nnoka, AGM, National Databank Management Dept. of PenCom; Polycarp Anyanwu, head, ICT Dept., PenCom; Peter Aghahowa, head of corporate communications.PenCom; and his wife, Bunmi Aghahowa; Wilson Ideva, CEO, High Street Consulting Ltd; Carol Alex-Uzoma, AGM Corporate Communications Dept, PenCom; Ehimeme Ohioma, head, Surveillance Dept of PENCOM at the celebration of life of late Pa. Garrick Aghahowa in Benin City, Edo State.

Emergency Financing Facility (PEF).

With the coronavirus outbreak having the potential

to become an eligible event, under the terms of the World Bank’s pandemic cat bond notes, the increasing sever-

Anchor deepens product distribution, awareness to meet N10b growth projections Modestus Anaesoronye

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nderwriting firm, Anchor Insurance Plc said it has commenced the steps towards meeting its gross premium projection of N10 billion by year end, starting with awareness creation, product distribution and brand value enhancement.

According to the company, Anchor is value brand and therefore makes itself more available and accessible to the Nigerian public, hence its continuous engagement through awareness and road shows.

Ebose Augustine, managing director/CEO of the Company, weekend led management and staff into a fitness work and road show, commencing from its mainland office in Palmgrove, Ikorodu road to National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.

The staff who took part in the exercise shared handbills on the various prod-

ucts of the underwriting firm while engaging in discussion with the people who are willing to understand the details of these insurance covers and possible buy them.

Ikuomola Adebisi Adeleke, executive director, Technical Anchor Insurance Limited, addressing journalist after the event said: “Anchor is a growing brand. So, the Awareness walk-show is to further deepen the brand value of Anchor and looking at our ambitious growth plan of N10 billion target.

“So, we are putting every strategy in place to realise our target and this awareness walk show is one area

Ebose Augustine www.businessday.ng

to raise awareness on our products and services.”

He stated that this walkshow is in its second edition, promising that the company will continue to sustain it in a bid to keep the staff fit, as well as creating awareness that will in the long run lead to increase in the number of its policyholders.

He disclosed that the third edition will be held in November, 2020 and could be replicated in some of its branches nationwide, pointing out, that the firm has beat and even surpass expectations in terms of it profit growth in the last three years.

According to him, Anchor has no tradition for claims default, he said, the insurer takes seriously genuine claims which has led to increased claims payout in the last three years.

The company, he said, will leverage on technology to expand its reach, enhance its service delivery, while satisfying all its stakeholders in the process.

ity of the situation in recent days is set to increase pricing pressure it seems.

As we explained yester-

day, a second condition of the pandemic cat bonds trigger has now been met as the number of deaths in an

overseas country, namely Iran, has now risen above 20.

As a result, the pandemic cat bond notes that provide some of the insurance or reinsurance like capacity to back the pandemic financing facility appear more exposed to potential losses at this point in time.

Swiss headquartered catastrophe bond investment fund specialist managers at Plenum Investments said that, for both of the tranches of the pandemic cat bond, “the probability of a nominal loss of value has increased.”

Commenting on the number of deaths from the coronavirus outbreak reaching 26 in Iran yesterday and what this could mean for secondary market pricing of the pandemic cat bond notes, Plenum Investments explained, “This is the first time that a further criterion has been met and, in view of the high and still increasing number of cases and fatalities the probability of a nominal loss of value has increased.

Mutual Benefits sets June 2020 to meet recapitalisation requirements Modestus Anaesoronye

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nderwriting firm, Mutual Benefits Assurance Group has assured its customers and partners of the company’s plan to meet the industry recapitalisation requirement for its life and general business by June 2020.

Akin Ogunbiyi, chairman of the Company who disclosed this when the com-

pany hosted its customers recently said the recapitaliation exercise in the industry has come to stay, stating that the Company has put all machineries in motion to achieve it

by June 2020 target.

He said that the group has been able to recapitalize its subsidiaries: Mutual Benefits Niger; Mutual Benefits Liberia, Mutual Benefits Microfinance bank and believe that Mutual Benefits Life and General Insurance will not be

Femi Asenuga, Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc

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@Businessdayng

left out.

He however called on National Insurance Commission ((NAICOM), to focus more on enforcement, noting that enforcement will help to increase insurance awareness and increase penetration.

He explained that is not enough to increase capital base but the industry needs the commission to do more by ensuring enforcement is taken seriously.

On the company’s five years strategic plan set in 2017, he said it been achieved to over 60 percent.

He however noted that the recapitalization process has slowed the plan, but however assured that the strategic plan will commence at the end of the recapitalization process.

Poised to remain true to claims payment, the managing director/CEO, Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc, Femi Asenuga, announced that the Company paid a total of N21.54billion in 2019.

He said the company is committed to prompt claims payment to policyholder, adding that the company has plans to grow both its top line and bottom-lines.

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Wednesday 04 March 2020

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FINANCIAL INCLUSION

& INNOVATION

Nigeria’s 80% financial inclusion target is not feasible for these reasons Stories by Endurance Okafor

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o give Nigeria’s adult population access to useful and affordable financial products and services the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN) through its collaboration with industry stakeholders came up with the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) in January 2012.

The NFIS is a tool the central bank said it was going to use to ensure 80 percent of Nigeria’s adult population get access to formal financial services by 2020.

Eight years after, the probability that the central bank will achieve its 20 percent financial exclusion target remains low due to the following reasons.

Population growth rate Even though Nigeria’s 2018 inclusion data revealed that more people were beginning to have access to financial services, the pace of inclusion rate was however lower than the country’s population growth rate, a survey by industry players shows.

“What we saw between the 2016 and 2018 data was that more people were becoming financially included but not at the same pace as the population growth rate,” Dayo Odulate-Ademola, Head of innovation at EFInA said.

For this reason, EFInA believes the “80 percent financial inclusion target for this year or is unlikely to be met.”

The 2018 data by EFInA put Nigeria’s financial inclusion rate at 63.2percent, meaning that as much 36.8 percent or about 40 million adults still lack access.

If the apex bank is to achieve its objective through the strategy launched seven years ago, it would have to bridge the 16.8 percent inclusion gap before year-end.

But the CBN had in a

circular on July 2018, lamented that Nigeria was not meeting any of the financial inclusion targets agreed and contained in the 2012 Financial Inclusion Strategy.

Not only was the country not meeting its targets, but it was also declining in growth. For instance, while Nigeria achieved 60.3 percent in 2012, it declined to 58.4 percent in 2016 against a target of 69.5 percent translating to financial exclusion of about 41.6 percent.

To achieve a more inclusive financial inclusion at an affordable rate, industry experts have advised that Nigeria would need to leverage technology to give access to its excluded population.

“To achieve financial inclusion target that the CBN financial inclusion strategy has set up of 80 percent inclusion rate by 2020 technology has to play a massive significant role and what I see technology doing in terms of Nigeria’s financial inclusion is actually to democratize access that is the first thing it does,” Wole Adeniyi, executive

director at personal & business banking, Stanbic IBTC Bank said during a panel session at the Social Media Week on Monday in Lagos.

Policy roadblocks According to the consumer division of Citigroup, a multinational financial services provider Nigeria is among the countries that should grow fast in mobile money but have faced policy roadblocks.

“We now flag Nigeria as the market most likely to see rapid growth in the short term as we foresee an industry transformation following regulatory changes that will allow telco-led mobile money models,” New Yorkbased lender said.

As at the time Nigeria was considering the optimal approach needed to leverage new, innovative technology to deliver financial services to its people, the Central Bank analysed in some detail how to structure the guidelines and the regulatory environment to deliver the benefits on offer, without compromising the integrity of the financial system.

Africa’s largest economy

needed to see how the regulation of mobile money could evolve owning to significant volumes of currency that could be circulating in mobile wallets, and may not be visible to the regulatory authorities.

As such it was clear that a better balance between the market and the regulatory structures was required.

Meanwhile, since then there has been an explosion in mobile money wallet usage in Kenya and other Africa peers. Nigeria’s CBN was focused on an independent bank-led model that would supplement and support the existing banking system.

According to a report by the World Bank, mobile money drove financial inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Between 2014 and 2017, the World Bank noted that there has been a significant increase in the use of mobile phones and the Internet to conduct financial transactions which contributed to a rise in the share of account owners sending or receiving payments digitally from 67 percent to 76 percent globally while developing countries recorded 57 percent to

70 percent.

Kenya has about 60 percent mobile money service penetration, while Ghana has about 40 percent service penetration, and Nigeria with a lot more population numbers, remains at 1 percent owing to its bank-led model.

Ghana’s decision to have a Telco led model resulted in a 73 percent increase in registered mobile money customers in just one year, according to World Bank data, and has helped lift financial inclusion rates in Ghana to 58 percent in 2017 from 41 percent in 2014.

This was not different for Ivory Coast who has experienced a mobile money revolution. As a result, there are now more adults with mobile money accounts of 24.3 percent than with bank accounts of 15 percent.

Nigeria decided to eventually follow the footsteps of its African peers in 2019 as the largest economy in Africa loosed its policy to accommodate the mobile money-led financial inclusion model.

Telecommunication operators’ push to offer mobile money service officially got a nod by the central bank of Nigeria with the issuance of guidelines in October 2018 for players to apply for the licence to operate as payment service banks (PSB).

“The roll-out of Payment Service Banks guidelines that allows licensing of telco subsidiaries is welcome and should be implemented,” International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in April 2019.

Before October 2018, only banks and licensed financial institutions were allowed to provide financial services in Nigeria.

Although telecom operators and other Fintech companies indicated interests to operate in the market, the CBN policy would not allow them. The regulator eventually shifted because

of the increasing rate of financially excluded people in Nigeria and the lack of progress in getting banks to provide financial services to people living in areas that lack access.

“We now flag Nigeria as the market most likely to see rapid growth in the short term as we foresee an industry transformation following regulatory changes that will allow telco-led mobile money models,” Citigroup aid.

But after almost one year and a half since the apex loosened its policy to accommodate new players in Nigeria’s financial services industry; the direction of the mobile money initiative remains unclear.

Since October 2018 when the apex bank requested that industry players should apply for the licence to operate as a Payment Service Bank, only three firms; Hope PSB a subsidiary of Unified Payment, Globacom’s Money Master and 9Mobile’s 9PSB have been issued Approvalin-Principle (AIP).

A PSB license will allow the companies to among other things; maintain savings accounts and accept deposits from individuals and small businesses, which is covered by the deposit insurance scheme; carry out payments and remittance (including cross-border personal remittance) services through various channels within Nigeria; issue debit and prepaid cards, and operate an electronic purse or wallet.

According to London based Group Special Mobile Association (GSMA), “from a regulatory perspective, one basic requirement for mobile money to succeed is to create an open and level playing field that includes non-bank mobile money providers such as Mobile Network Operators (MNOs).

has a faster payment option and the merchant gets their money seamlessly.

Most importantly, the service is end-to-end secure.”

According to Olugbenga Agboola, Co-Founder and CEO, Flutterwave, the payment company is on a mission to simplify payments for endless possibilities

allowing everyone to grow.

“We’re excited to connect all businesses on Flutterwave to Paga’s rapidly growing customer base where a new wave of prosperity across Nigeria, Africa, and the World will be witnessed as a result of this and that’s why we are here,” Agboola said.

Paga partners Flutterwave for simpler payment solution

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a ga, a Ni g e r i a n Fintech company said it has collaborated with Flutterwave, an international Merchant payments platform to support simple and secure one-click payments for Paga wallet users at any merchant where the Flutter wave gateway is

enabled.

Following the partnership, Paga will now feature as a payment option for merchants that integrate the Flutterwave payment gateway, thus allow ing Paga’s customers to pay merchants from their wallet.

The collaboration also

opens up Flutter wave’s merchants bas e of airlines, media outfits, hotels, ticketing companies, and fashion retailers to over 14 million customers on Paga.

“At Paga, we build solutions to make it simple for consumers and businesses to access and use money.

By partnering with Flutter-

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wave on their gateway, we give our customers access to quickly make payments to an even larger pool of merchants,”Jay Alabraba, Paga Co-founder and Director of Business Development said.

Alabraba added that the partnership is a win-win situation. “The customer

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tax issues Andersen Tax urges taxpayers to proactively manage their Transfer Pricing affairs …refers to TAT ruling in Prime Plastichem versus FIRS case Iheanyi Nwachukwu

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xperts at renowned independent tax firm, Andersen Tax have asked taxpayers to be proactive in managing their Transfer Pricing (TP) affairs and engage seasoned experts for guidance in order to mitigate exposure to humongous TP adjustments. Their advice follows the Tax Appeal Tribunal (TAT) ruling on the first Transfer Pricing case in Nigeria.

The Tax Appeal Tribunal had on February 19, 2020 in the case between Prime Plastichem Nigeria Limited (Prime Plastichem or the Company) versus Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), delivered its first ruling on Transfer Pricing (TP) in Nigeria.

In the case, the Tribunal upheld additional assessments made by the FIRS on Prime Plastichem. The additional assessments arose from the Transfer Pricing (TP) adjustments made by the FIRS on a transaction between Prime Plastichem and its related supplier.

In reaching its decision, the Tribunal jettisoned the Transfer Pricing Method used by the Company in its 2013 Financial Year (Comparable Uncontrolled Price Method) and rather upheld the FIRS’ contention that the Transactional Net Margin Method (TNMM) using the Gross Profit Margin (GPM) as the Profit Level

Indicator (PLI) was the appropriate method for the determination of the arm’s length price (ALP) applicable to the transaction in the relevant Financial Year (FY). Thus, the Tribunal ruled in favour of the FIRS on all the issues raised for determination and consequently, dismissed the appeal of the Company in its entirety.

“The Tribunal’s decision in this case reiterates the provision of Regulation 6(10) of the TPR which places the burden of proof of the arm‘s length nature of a controlled transaction on the taxable person.

“In this case, the Company failed to convince both the FIRS and the TAT that its TP arrangement satisfies the arm’s length principle”, Andersen Tax said.

Prime Plastichem is a company registered in Nigeria which purchases industrial plastics and petrochemi-

cals from its related supplier, Vinmar Overseas Limited (VOL) and distributes to its customers.

The Company filed its TP Documentation for the 2013 and 2014 FYs in respect of the transactions with VOL. In 2013 FY, the Company applied the Comparable Uncontrolled Price Method (CUPM) in determining if its purchase price meets the arm’s length requirements.

However, in 2014 FY, the Company applied the TNMM to determine the ALP using the Operating Margin as the most appropriate PLI for the transaction.

Upon review of the Company’s TP Documentation, the FIRS was of the view that the Company had wrongly applied the CUPM in determining the ALP in 2013 as the comparable data for the said year did not strongly meet the comparability requirements

as provided by the Transfer Pricing Regulations, 2012 (TPR).

The FIRS further stated that although the Company had used the TNMM in the 2014 FY, it had wrongly used its Operating Margin as its PLI. According to the FIRS, the Company should have used its Gross Profit Margin in determining its ALP in 2013 and 2014 as this was the most appropriate PLI for the assessment of the arm’s length condition in both years.

Thus, the FIRS made TP adjustments to the relevant transactions and raised an additional assessment of over N1.7 billion on Prime Plastichem. This assessment was upheld by the FIRS’ Decision Review Panel (DRP). Dissatisfied with the decision of the FIRS, Prime Plastichem filed an appeal at the TAT challenging the imposition of the additional assessments.

The crux of the issues before the Tribunal was whether the FIRS was right in benchmarking the Company’s TP transactions with TNMM using the Gross Profit Margin as the applicable PLI for the 2013 and 2014 FYs and whether the FIRS could impose applicable interest and penalties based on the additional assessment raised. The Tribunal also determined the issue of whether the FIRS’ Decision Review Panel which upheld the FIRS’ position had been properly constituted in line with the provisions of the TPR. Prime Plastichem argued that CUPM was the most appropriate method to use in 2013 and the change

from the use of CUPM to TNMM in 2014 was only as a result of the lack of comparable data in 2014.

The Company also argued that the use of the Gross Profit Margin as PLI by the FIRS was wrong and unsupported by any law or prevailing practice. Regarding the interests and penalties imposed, the Company argued that the said interests and penalties should not apply because it had filed its Companies Income Tax returns when they were due.

Prime Plastichem further argued that the DRP had not been properly constituted as the FIRS did not issue any formal notification in this regard thus, denying the Company of its right to fair hearing under the law.

However, the Tribunal ruled in favour of the FIRS dismissing the Company’s appeal in its entirety. In reaching its decision, the Tribunal, relied heavily on the arguments of the FIRS and held that the TNMM was the appropriate benchmarking method for Transfer Pricing in this case.

The Tribunal also upheld the FIRS’ application of the GPM as the appropriate PLI for the said transactions. With respect to the FIRS’ application of interest and penalties on the Company, the TAT held that the FIRS has the power to disregard the TP method adopted by a taxpayer under the TP regulations and to also impose penalties enshrined in the relevant tax laws on the Company for failure to file their returns and pay the relevant taxes when due.

How to make the international tax system fairer Barbara Angus

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nder the French presidency of the G7, the theme for the Biarritz Summit in 2019 was combating inequality. In the area of economic policy, which has long been a major focus for the G7, the French presidency has identified as its priority the promotion of more fair and equitable trade, tax and development policies.

Consistent with this prioritisation, an important part of the discussion at the meeting of the G7 finance ministers and central bank governors in June was centered on making the international tax system fairer.

The focus of the finance ministers was the OECD-led initiative launched in 2019 with the aim of achieving consensus on significant alterations to the global framework for taxing international business income.

The impetus for the project is the tax challenges created by the growing digitalisation of the global economy.

However, the changes contemplated will have implications well beyond technology companies and digital business models, and will affect the broad spectrum of businesses, both large and small, whose economic

reach extends across national borders.

The first element involves revisions to the historical approaches for determining nexus and allocating business income among countries, with a particular focus on enhancing the share of income and corresponding taxing rights assigned to countries where customers or users are located.

The second element involves the establishment of a new system of global minimum tax rules for business income. To avoid creating barriers to the cross-border trade and investment that fuels the global economy, these changes must be

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made without giving rise to double taxation or increased uncertainty.

Three key factors are essential to the success of this initiative: Broad global consensus Both the G7 and the G20 have endorsed the OECD project. Currently, 137 jurisdictions are engaged in the work through the OECD’s Inclusive Framework. It is important that all parties are at the table and all perspectives are considered. Active participation in the dialogue is vital.

Not only must there be full consensus around the globe, but that consensus also must be fully informed.

High-level political commit-

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ment The stakes are high. Countries must accept changes in their rights to tax business income and in their ability to control the taxation of income earned within their borders.

For every country that will gain additional tax base in the application of the new rules to any given business, there will be at least one country that sees a corresponding reduction in its tax base from that business.

Equal commitment is required from both categories of countries. Commitment will require that countries make changes to their domestic tax laws and amend their bilateral tax treaties to incorporate the new rules.

For some countries, this will require modifying or eliminating existing measures that are inconsistent with the new rules. And commitment also will require good faith participation in robust new dispute resolution mechanisms.

Sound technical foundation Consensus and commitment must be built on a strong foundation.

The new rules should be principled.

They should be even-handed in their impact across industries and business models. The new rules need to be smoothly integrated into the overall global tax framework. Companies @Businessdayng

need to be able to apply the new rules with confidence, and tax authorities need to be able to administer them effectively.

Given the diversity of businesses that operate globally today, it is unlikely that one single formula could deliver appropriate results in all cases.

Agreement on the new rules must be grounded in the technical detail developed by the tax policy experts working together through the OECD’s Inclusive Framework process.

This initiative to change the global tax framework is an ambitious undertaking. Tax policy is a fundamental matter of national sovereignty. At the same time, coordination on the taxation of international business income is central to a global environment that is hospitable to cross-border trade and investment.

Collective action is difficult under any circumstance, and it is especially difficult when it involves fiscal matters. Seeking consensus, fostering high-level political commitment and ensuring a sound technical foundation will require the devotion of time and resources, and all are essential to achieving a lasting global solution.

Angus is EY Global Tax Policy Leader

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PrivateEquity &fundraising

Here’s what an S&P, Fitch, Moody’s negative outlook means for Nigeria MICHAEL ANI

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lobal rating agency, Standard & Poor’s (S&P) on Monday, revised downward Nigeria’s economic outlook from stable to negative, a move that holds serious implications for Africa’s largest economy who is awaiting senate’s approval to tap into the international market.

Aside downgrading the country’s outlook, the New Yorkbased rating agency lowered Nigeria’s long- and short-term national scale ratings to ‘ngA-/ ngA-2’ from ‘ngA/ngA-1’, and affirmed ‘B/B’ for the country’s long- and short-term sovereign credit ratings.

A national scale ratings of ‘ngA-/ngA-2’ means, the lowest risk business in the country is susceptible to adverse economic conditions although its capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is satisfactory.

On the other hand, a longterm and short-term sovereign credit ratings of ‘B/B’ means Nigeria remains in the noninvestment or speculativegrade as an obligor that currently can meet its financial commitments but could face difficulty in doing so in the face of adverse business, financial, or economic conditions.

The downgrade by S&P, adds among the list of other international rating agencies to slap Nigeria with a negative outlook for the year, citing weakness of current economic realities as reason.

Moody’s and Fitch had in last year, revised their outlook for Nigeria from “stable” to “negative” in what they said was due to Nigeria’s increasing vulnerability from its current macro policy setting and the rising risk of disruptive macroeconomic adjustment in the medium term amid continued real appreciation of the naira.

Moody’s also downgraded the outlook for Nigerian banks as well as their counterparts in other African countries. This sent stocks of listed firms to lower lows as investors reacted to the downward rating.

However, while Fitch in its forecast had a slightly higher rating at B+, both Mood’s and S&P had a much lower rating at B2 and B respectively.

But like Moody’s, the downward rating by Fitch has serious implications on the health

of Africa’s largest economy, especially at a time when the economy requires enough investment oxygen to breath, analysts who spoke to BusinessDay say.

These implications are highlighted below.

High Borrowing Cost Being downgraded can have a big impact on a country’s ability to borrow money from the markets, as investors see it as a riskier bet and demand higher returns to lend to governments, according to Gbolahan Ologunro, an equity researcher at CSL Stockbrokers.

“But for falling yields in advanced countries, Nigeria would have had to pay at a higher interest than it did on offshore borrowings,” he said.

Nigeria’s downgrade comes as the country prepares to tap into the international debt market for $3.3bn to plug its budget deficit for 2020 and refinance existing Eurobond.

The capital raise will see $2.786bn committed to financing capital projects in priority sectors of the economy that are including power, transport, works and housing, aviation, health, education, agriculture and rural development, said the Debt Management Office (DMO).

A part will also be used to finance existing $500m Eurobond that will mature next year.

Nigeria’s planned issuance comes after Ghana and Gabon’s successful Eurobond issuance which saw interests of 5x and 3x respectively.

A successful outing for Nigeria would raise foreign exchange reserve to at least $40.7bn and halt the steady decline in foreign currency holding since mid-January, which along with a longer a downward trend in reserves has brought fears of devaluation to the fore in recent months.

It would also raise Nigeria’s Eurobond debt stock to a minimum of $13.868bn with total external stock estimated by the Debt Management Office (DMO) to be $26.941bn increasing to approximately $30bn.

While foreign debt has been cheaper for the government due to low-interest-rate environment in the developed world, the International Institute of Finance (IIF) has warned several countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria, will face substantial debt amortization payments in coming years.

African Sovereign Eurobond issuance has surged in the last four years despite a decline to $25bn in 2019. Meanwhile, for Nigeria, issuance stood at a record high of $4.8bn and $5.4bn in 2017 and 2018 and is expected to stand at $2.5bn in 2020.

“The medium-term (debt amortization) peak will be reached in 2024-25, with $6.6bn and $7.4bn in repayments, respectively. In terms of individual countries, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Angola, and Zambia will feel the highest-burden,” IIF said in a January report.

In 2020, the sixteen countries studied by IIF will need to pay around $4.3bn in interest, compared to $1.6bn five years ago and only $300m ten years ago.

“Ghana, Nigeria, and the Ivory Coast alone are responsible for more than half of the 2020 total.”

For 15 of the countries studied by two-thirds of an outstanding Eurobond debt of around $75 billion will require repayment over the next ten years.

In the third quarter of 2019, Nigeria paid $263m as interest fee on its Eurobond, according to DMO. For Nigeria, a downturn of oil price remains a risk to foreign borrowing as it could cause a surge in debt levels and make repayments difficult. But this has not discouraged expensive short

term inflows into central bank (CBN) bills to finance growing budget deficits.

Already, in the 2020 budget, Nigeria plans to spend almost a third of its projected revenue to service its debt that has almost tripled to N25 trillion in the last four years.

With a revenue projection of N8.42 trillion in the 2020 fiscal year, debt servicing is expected to gulp N2.452 trillion or 29 percent, according to a statement

by Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning. That’s high when compared to the 14.5 per cent used in servicing debt in 2019.

With dwindling revenue in the wake of falling oil prices, it would become difficult for the government to meet up with its financial obligation.

According to Fitch, Nigeria’s debt remains on an upward path, while particularly low fiscal revenues and structural shortcomings in public finance management constrain the sovereign’s ability to support a rising debt burden.

Exchange rate pressure With the downgrade negative, from three of the world’s biggest rating agencies, the risk associated with short-term assets including the CBN’s OMO and the treasury bills will likely increase, thereby putting pressure on the exchange rates as portfolio investors scale down on exposure of Nigerian asset.

Last month, the Central bank barred non-bank local investors from participating in its N14 trillion OMO market.

This has resulted in an influx of non-foreign institutional investors’ scramble in the treasury bills market, crashing the average yields to as low as 7 per cent, according to FMDQ data.

With Inflation at a record high of 12.13 per cent in January, real yields stood negative at (-6 per

cent).

S&P said an estimated $12 billion of the Nigeria’s external reserve is held by Foreign Portfolio Investors.

With the fall in reserves and oil prices, S&P noted that the holdings of the CBN’s short term bills could be subject to changes in foreign investor sentiment and a potential sell-off, thereby creating risks to current reserve levels.

Given these risks, S&P said it has added the CBN bills to general government debt.

“Our estimate of general government debt, net of liquid assets, now stands at an average of 39 per cent of GDP in 2020-2023”.

S&P said in the rating.

Declining FX reserves The downgrade to negative can further lead to shrinking reserves as the country continues to cushion the effect of increasing outflows.

Last month, the CBN said it saw no adjustment in its exchange rate in sight, except its reserves fall below $30 billion while oil price, which accounts over 85 per cent of the countries exchange earnings fall below $45 per barrel.

Nigeria’s reserves as of 2nd march stood at $36.5 billion, according to CBN data, its lowest levels in more than one year.

Fitch noted that under Nigeria’s current economic framework, a sharp devaluation of the currency will stoke macroeconomic volatility and significantly weaken some of the country’s key credit metrics, including its gross domestic product per capita in dollars and its share of world GDP. The naira closed 364/$, Monday, at the I&E window, according to FMDQ data.

Fitch says the substantial appreciation of the naira over the last years is uncorrelated with macroeconomic fundamentals and is set to continue, driven by high inflation.

Weak investor’s sentiment The Nigerian stock market has fallen 3.8 per cent this year, based on data obtained from Bloomberg terminal, as investors weigh the likely impact of the deadly outbreak the Coronavirus which has claimed over 3,044 lives, would cause on global demand The downgrade to negative

by S&P, Fitch and Moody’s could further exacerbate investor’s already weak sentiments.

BusinessDay PRIVATE EQUITY & FUNDRAISING (Team lead: LOLADE AKINMURELE - Analysts: MICHEAL ANI, ... Graphics: David Ogar ) Businessday’s Private Equity and Fundraising section is a weekly publication that provides in-depth analysis on private equity trends and tracks deal activity in Nigeria.

Email the PE & F team loladeakinmurele@gmail.com

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Nigerian stocks rebound from year-low as global front to fight virus widens SEGUN ADAMS

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igerian stocks saw their biggest gain since early January to lift the market from its lowest point in the year, as global efforts to limit the economic impact of the Coronavirus spread intensifies.

The stock market rose 1.7 percent at the close of trading in Lagos on Tuesday following gains in blue chips including MTNN (+4.55%), Access Bank (+9.74%), FBNH (+9.57%), and Zenith Bank (+8.59%).

“Today, the local bourse rebounded as bargain hunting in bellwethers dominated the stock market,” said Afrinvest in a note to clients.

Stocks had plunged to their lowest in the year, after the best start to a year since 2013 at least, paving the way for investors to buy cheap as the world fights to control the disease spread and weaken its economic impact.

The IMF and the World Bank on Monday said they stood ready to support countries facing immediate financing needs arising from

the virus crisis.

Similarly, the representatives of the world’s seven most-industrialised countries (G7) will meet to decide on an effective response to the threat posed by the COVID-19 outbreak to the global economy.

On its part, OPEC and its members are expected to announce deep cuts to oil production that would prop up price this week. Already Brent has pared some of its losses last week and risen to $53.26 per barrel ahead of the announcement.

Kiddies channel debuts on StarTimes

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n a bid to deliver more entertainment to its subscribers, digital pay TV company, StarTimes, has announced the listing of ‘Baby TV’ to the already existing channels for subscribers.

StarTimes recently announced an upgrade of 14 new channel offerings that can be enjoyed in three different languages for the delight of television viewers across Africa at no extra cost.

The new content offering is an all-round entertainment

channel for the delight of television viewers across Africa.

BabyT V is the world’s most widely distributed TV network created specifically for toddlers and their parents in helping them discover the world around them. BabyTV is a special one among Fox channels full of stories, songs, rhymes, and loveable characters and fun for the whole family.

Some of the movies expected on the channel is Tutti Frutti, a musical series paying

homage to Laurel and Hardy’s street performances. Also, Rocco, the squirrel that lives in the forest and faces new challenges in every episode.

Young viewers can identify with Rocco’s challenges and experience his success.

Others include; TEENY & TINY, two happy and mischievous friends that share with us their riddles and games. Also, BEEP BEEP, Two cars and a road interact and find their friendship tested in each episode.

Anchoria Asset Management announces key changes to board SEGUN ADAMS

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nchoria Asset Management (AAM) has announced the appointment of Halima Buba and Douglas Enahoro to its board, two new Non-Executive Directors that will bring a wealth of experience and strengthen the board, it said.

“Halima and Douglas bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to bear in the task ahead,” said Niyi Adenubi, Chairman, Anchoria Asset Management Limited.

AAM is a specialist provider of active investment products and services to institutional and individual investors.

Halima Buba is currently Managing Director/CEO, Sun Trust Bank; a non-executive director of the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) and an Executive Director in TAJ consortium Ltd while Douglas Enahoro

Halima

is currently the head of the Group office and the Technical Assistant to the Group Managing Director, FBN Holdings, AAM said.

Buba, an alumnus of the Prestigious Lagos Business School (LBS) Senior Management Programme in Nigeria and an MBA holder from the University of Maiduguri, is a financial expert, entrepreneur and seasoned banker with over 20 years’ experience in a career spanning both private and public sector.

She has a BSc. Degree in Business Management from the University of Maiduguri and has attended several courses both home and abroad and is an honorary senior member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers (CIB), Fellow Institute of Management consultant.

Before joining TAJ consortium Ltd, Buba worked in Ecobank Nig. Ltd for Ten (10) years where she rose to the position of Regional Head, Public sector FCT & North.

The new ED was previously the Deputy Manager, CBD Regional Head, Public Sector FCT & North, Inland Bank Nig. Plc, Abuja. Buba also worked as an Assistant Banking Officer in Zenith Bank PLC, which she joined after spending three (3) years in All States Trust Bank. Her career started in Nigerian Export & Import Bank, Abuja and she had previously served on the Board of Adamawa Homes and Savings Limited.

Her counterpart, Enahoro, before joining FBN Holdings, was Senior Consultant, Business Advisory in Ernst & Young. He was previously the Principal Consultant, Business Advisory & Strategy Nextzon Business Services and started his career in KPMG Professional services where he spent three years.

Douglas has over 14 years of professional experience spanning business assurance, M&A, strategy, consulting, transaction advisory, investment banking and general management.

He has attended several specialized courses in Corporate Finance including, M&A, Valuation & Modeling in Ivy League Institutions including Wharton Business School, Kellogg School of Management and the Stanford Graduate School of Business in addition to other specialised training programmes.

Douglas is a graduate of Actuarial Science & Insurance from the University of Lagos.

Douglas

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Edo advocates investment in wildlife, ecotourism for economic development

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do State governor, Godwin Obaseki, has called on stakeholders to explore untapped opportunities in the wildlife and ecotourism sub-sector for economic prosperity and development of the country.

Obaseki was speaking on the commemoration of this year’s World Wildlife Day, celebrated on March 3 every year by the United Nations (UN) and its agencies.

With the theme, ‘Sustaining all life on Earth’, Obaseki said the necessity for leisure and finding solutions to environmental challenges, as well as seeking alternative sources of income have compelled most developed and developing economies to explore, invest in and utilise the sector for economic gains.

Obaseki said, “The animals and plants that live in the wild have an intrinsic value and contribute to the ecological, genetic, social, economic, scientific, educational, cultural, recreational and aesthetic aspects of human wellbeing and to sustainable development.

“This day, which is aimed at raising awareness of the multitude of benefits that their conservation provides to people, reminds us of the urgent need to step up the fight against wildlife crime and human-induced reduction of species, which have wide-ranging economic, environmental and social impacts.

“Other nations have fou nd t hat e co tour i sm helps in diversifying their economies, constituting a stabilising force for government revenues and reducing reliance on the sale of natural resources, hence there is the need for all

stakeholders in the country to collaborate with the federal and state governments to explore economic opportunities in this sub-sector amidst the continued decline in oil prices” The governor, however, reaffirmed the state government’s readiness to support wildlife conservation and promote ecotourism.

He added, “We are reforming the way people mine solid minerals, use forest resources and marine life in Edo State in line with the thrust of our policy on sustainable ecosystem management, designed to protect the environment from further abuse and over-exploitation of its resources.

“Shortly after assuming office, we embarked on an aerial survey of the state and found very disturbing images of abuse of natural water bodies, some of which have been turned into receptacles of industrial and domestic wastes, with huge negative impact on aquatic organisms. Our forest and land resources were also not spared.”

“Our aerial tour of the state was an eye-opener and informed most of the decisions we have taken in the environment sector in recent times, to check further threat to our flora and fauna,” he added.

According to the UN, the World Wildlife Day was proclaimed to be marked on March 3, which is the day of the adoption of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1973, which plays an important role in ensuring that international trade does not threaten the species’ survival.

11 plc to delist from NSE, announces new director OLUFIKAYO OWOEYE

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oard of directors of 11 plc (formerly Mobil plc) has announced plans to voluntarily delist from the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE).

The company in a notice to the exchange said the proposal is to be considered for shareholder approval at the company’s Annual General Meeting slated for June 2.

It also announced plans to restructure its business by transferring its real estate unit to 11 Hospitality Limited, while 11 plc will continue to focus on its downstream business.

With this announcement, 11 plc joins the growing list of public companies that have delisted from the NSE. The board also appointed Daniel

O. Aluko as an independent non-executive director with effect from February 27, 2020.

Aluko has a Bachelor’s degree in Geography from the University of Benin. He is also a graduate of the College of Energy and Petroleum Studies, Oxford, England, with a postgraduate degree in international oil trading and pricing.

In October 2016, the majority shareholder in Mobil Oil Nigeria plc, ExxonMobil Oil Corporation, announced the divestment of its shares and agreed to sell its 60 percent stake to Nipco Investment Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nipco plc. Following the acquisition, in May 2017, the new owners announced a change of name to 11 plc. Shares of 11 plc closed at N133.20 on the floor of the NSE on Tuesday. www.businessday.ng

COVID19: Chinese citizen on Ethiopian Airline flight to Lagos quarantined IFEOMA OKEKE & GBEMI FAMINU

… as UNIDO to aid China in fighting Covid-19

Chinese Citizen, Si Wenqhuan, is currently under observation for any symptoms of the dreaded Coronavirus (COVID 19).

Wenqhuan was reported coughing on board Ethiopian Airline flight en route Addis AbabaLagos Monday evening and at the arrival hall of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, he was also observed to have coughed twice.

According to reports, he was immediately separated from other passengers and after check by Port health officials, he was scheduled to undergo other test. He was immediately attended to by Port health staff and separated from other passengers.

The Lagos State Centre for Disease Control was immediately notified to carry out further test on the Chinese citizen.

Confirming the development, Victoria Shinaba, the MMIA manager, said, “We are still expecting the

results from Lagos State”.

However, after series of tests the Chinese proved negative.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) is making efforts to help China fight the COVID-19 by providing emergency response assistance and delivering protective equipment to the country.

This was made known during the signing of the project document

by Wang Qun, permanent representative of China to the United Nations in Vienna, and LI Yong, director-general of UNIDO. In its fight against the virus, UNIDO will provide 100,000 medical masks and 20,000 protective suits to China.

It will also provide medical waste decontamination equipment, with capacity to deal with 4 tonnes of medical waste per day, for a newly established hospital, as well as videos and other remote training materials which will be used to educate staff in hospitals and disposal centres in both cities and in rural areas on the safe man-

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agement of medical waste.

WangnotedthatYongwrotetothe presidentofChina,XiJinpingexpressing UNIDO’s readiness to provide full supporttotheChinesegovernmentin addressing the epidemic.

“There is an old saying in China that, misfortune tests the sincerity of friends. UNIDO’s precious support for China’s counter epidemic efforts isaclassiccaseinpoint,whichreflects the robust cooperative relationship between China and UNIDO. We thank UNIDO for its strong support.

TheoutbreakofCovid-19bringsnew challengestoChina,astheconfirmed and suspected cases are still increasing,” Yong said.

He further said that new infections needed to be minimized, especially among medical staff that are the backbone of the fight against Covid-19. As a result, protective equipment for medical staff is needed as well as ways to manage safely the hazards posed by medical waste, which he said UNIDO will significantly contribute to with the support conditions it has given.

“Currently, China’s anti-epidemic fight has entered the most critical stage. UNIDO’s donation is most timely, and will help China in its combat against the epidemic.

We will strictly follow the relevant procedures and make sure the supplies be delivered back to China’s health facilities and people with priority needs. It is our conviction that, with the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China, with the advantages of the Chinese socialism system, with all the Chinese people united as one, with the solid scientific, technological and material foundation accumulated since the founding of the People’s Republic of China 70 years ago, especially since the reform and opening up 40 years ago, with the past experiences in responding to public health emergencies, and with the vigorous support of the international community, including UNIDO, China has full confidence and capability to win the battle against the epidemic eventually”, Wang said.

L-R: Tokunbo Talabi, secretary to the state government; Bola Olayinka, WHO Africa regional office; Dapo Abiodun, governor, Ogun State; Noimot Salako-Oyedele, deputy governor, Ogun State; Tomi Coker, commissioner for health, and Oladipo Ogunbode, team lead, NCDC, when the governor met with a delegation from the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) and World Health Organisation (WHO), on how to tame the outbreak of the Corona Virus - COVID-19 in Ogun State.

Coronavirus: Lagos Assembly urges Sanwo-Olu to extend awareness campaign to schools Iniobong Iwok

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he Lagos State House of Assembly has implored Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to extend public enlightenment and sensitisation programmes on Coronavirus to schools, advising the citizens to stop attending church, mosque and parties for now.

The resolution was made after a motion was moved under matters of urgent public importance by Olusola Sokunle (Oshodi/Isolo 1) during plenary on and seconded

by Lukman Olumo (Ajeromi/ Ifelodun 1).

Sokunle, who chairs the House Committee on Health Services, stated that it was important that the governor should sensitise the people of Lagos State on the matter and implement the law passed by the 8th Assembly on Cancer

and Diseases Control Institute.

In the motion, the prime mover also called on the governor to direct the state commissioner for education to do proper awareness on Coronavirus in all public and private schools in the state.

While contributing, the Majority Leader of the House, Sanai Agunbiade (Ikorodu 1) said that residents of the state should be urged to comply with all the preventive measures to keep away from Coronavirus, adding that where any case is suspected, people should not fail to call telephone lines that had been released to the public for that purpose.

In his comment, Gbolahan Yishawu (Eti Osa 2) said that people should stop spreading fake news about Coronavirus.

Yishawu gave an exam-

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ple of where it was reported that the Italian man that was quarantined by the state government over Coronavirus wanted to escape from where he was being kept.

Abiodun Tobun (Epe1) thanked the state government for their efforts on the matter and advised the people not to spread the disease beyond where it is.

“It happened in China and not Nigeria; it is only one case that was reported in Lagos. We should know how to handle it.

We know what happened during the time of Ebola, when the state government curtailed it.

“We should take our health seriously. We have to take our hygiene seriously and protect ourselves from diseases.

“The people should be told the preventive measures.

We should also educate our @Businessdayng

people. Our healthcare centres should use completely disposable materials, and the state government should invest in disposable materials, when handling issues relating to Coronavirus,” he said.

Others who contributed to the matter included Wasiu Eshinlokun-Sanni (Lagos Island 1), Victor Akande (Ojo 1), Moshood Oshun (Lagos Mainland 2), Lukman Olumo (Ajeromi/Ifelodun 1), Adedamola Richard (Ikeja 2) and Mojisola Macaulay (Amuwo Odofin 1).

However, the Speaker of the House, Mudashiru Obasa, who thanked members for their contributions to the matter, said that issue of placing a ban on airlines from the countries affected

by Coronavirus had to be reconsidered due to the economic consequences.

Wednesday 04 March 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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FG, social partners set for review of extant labour laws … IAP, child-labour, sexual harassment at workplace on agenda JOSHUA BASSEY

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fter several years in operation, Nigeria’s extant labour laws are on the table for a review. Aside eliminating laws considered obsolete and no longer in tune with modern reality, the review will also seek to introduce new laws to comprehensively address issues of sexual harassment in workplaces, child-labour, health as well as occupational safety at work.

Other areas to be affected in the labour review are restructuring of existing institutions like the Industrial Arbitration Panel (IAP), National Labour Advisory Council (NLAC), and the office of the Registrar of Trade Union to ensure better and effective performance.

To ensure a broad based review, the Federal Government is working with its social partners - which include the

organised labour - represented by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), employers of labour, represented by Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), and the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

According to the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, the law review will ultimately enthrone international best practice in labour administration and decent work in Nigeria.

At a retreat in Lagos kickstarting the process, Chris Ngige, minister of labour and employment, said the review fell in line with the ILO’s recent launch of Nigeria Declaration Project (NIDEC), which aims at promoting democracy through fundamental principles of people’s rights at work.

The laws, when reviewed, will also strengthen local capacity to adopt a tripartite

approach to the resolution of labour issues through social dialogue.

Ngige said bills would also be introduced to deal with labour migration, promotion of gender equality, occupational safety and health.

“Like all labour legislation crafted in line with international labour standards, it is expected that the bills to be developed for enactment will promote right of work, encourage development opportunities for women and men in conditions of freedom, equity, security of human dignity and enhanced social protection for Nigerian workers,” the minister said.

Ayuba Wabba, president of the NLC, said in reviewing the extant labour laws, it was important to consider new laws that protect and promote the rights of the most vulnerable workers, women, children, young people and those living

with one form of disability or another.

“In very specific terms, this labour laws review would meet the expectations of millions of our people if we are able to firm the right of the ordinary worker to adequate compensation in the case of work-related injury, and termination of employment.

We would also be demonstrating affinity to the cause of workers and employers if we amend relevant sections in our labour laws to ensure the protection of workers from victimisation due to involvement in trade union activities.”

Wabba also raised the need to institutionalise tripartism and social dialogue in Nigeria in conformity with ILO Convention 144, and particularly lauded the proposal to establish National Labour Council, saying it would improve the overall industrial relations climate in the country.

Lagos to partner private sector to raise education standard - Sanwo-Olu JOSHUA BASSEY

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CHANGE OF NAME

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All former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

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General public please take note. www.businessday.ng

agos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, says his government will be collaborating with private players to transform the state’s education sector in line with the T.H.E.M.E.S agenda of his administration.

The governor said it was necessary for the private sector to uphold the structures laid out by the government for the advancement of education, saying the government alone cannot do it.

Sanwo-Olu stated this during a public-private partnership dialogue at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos, organised by the state ministry of education with the theme “creating a better future through education.”

He said the increase in the annual budgetary allocation to education from N65 billion in the previous year to N135 billion in 2020 was a demonstration of administration’s commitment to raise the quality of delivery in the sector.

“The questions today are what should we be teaching, who should design the curriculum, who should we include in the policy, where should we do the teaching? How do we manage the outcome, how do we assess pupils and how do we collaborate? Finally, how do we pay for all of these?

“The said answers to these posers were germane because the government could not do it alone. That’s why we have called ourselves here today,” he said.

He assured that his administration would continue to strengthen partnership with stakeholders to scale up capacity of the educational system through technology, infrastructure development in schools, among others, to guarantee a better future for the children.

He recounted some of the successes his administration has recorded in the ministry in less than a year of piloting the affairs of the state and reiterated that

he will continue to ensure that teaching becomes a competitive discipline in Lagos, saying that it was possible to pass world class knowledge to pupils.

“We’ve commissioned to build a total of about 60,000

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chairs and tables and we’re hoping that we’ll wrap it up to about 100,000 before the end of the year.

“We’re pushing infrastructure in about 300 schools this year.

We started with the first set of

@Businessdayng

about 60. We have also set up a whole unit which we call School Rehabilitation and Infrastructure Development just to face school rehabilitation and development and we’re working with the ministry on that,” he said.

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Wednesday 04 March 2020

BUSINESS DAY

news Nigerian banks squeezed by 40% effective...

L-R: Oyesola Oworu, CEO, AFRITEX; Emeka Nwajiuba, minister of state for education; Adoki Miebaka, vice chairman, AFRITEX, and Sunny Ochono, permanent secretary, ministry of education, during the EDTECH Summit and award 2020 on Educational Technology and it’s Piratical Application, held in Abuja, yesterday.

Pic by Tunde Adeniyi

Continued from page 1

Imo: Uzodinma remains governor as...

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held by the Imo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal and the Court of Appeal, in their concurrent decisions in the appeal filed by Hope Uzodinma, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

But the Supreme Court in its judgment on January 14, 2020 disagreed with the decisions of the lower courts and declared Uzodinma governor of Imo State.

Miffed by the decision, Ihedioha approached the apex court to reverse his sack on the grounds of nullity.

However, six justices of the Supreme Court on Tuesday held that the apex court lacked powers to sit on appeal in its own judgment.

The apex court held that the application by Ihedioha asking it to set aside its judgment of January 14 on grounds of nullity was an invitation on the apex court to sit on appeal over its own judgment, which the court cannot do.

In the majority ruling delivered by Justice Olukayode Ariwoola, the court held that granting the request of the applicants would open the floodgate by parties to all kinds of litigations.

The apex court insisted that by the provision of section 235 of the 1999 Constitution, its decision on any judgment based on merit was final and should not be reviewed once delivered under any guise, except for clerical errors.

The apex court also stated that by Order 8 Rule 16, the general law was that it has no power to alter any judgment and that such judgment once delivered on merit should remain forever.

“Certainly, this court has no inherent power to grant what is being sought; it is beyond the powers of this court. There is no constitutional provision for this court to review its own judgment,” Justice Ariwoola said.

“To say the least, this court has no competence and lacks power to sit on appeal in its own decision.

Finality of the Supreme Court is entrenched in the constitution and inherent power can only be invoked where there is law to do so,” he said. “This court cannot under any guise alter any judgment under any inherent power, as doing so would bring the court into disrepute and ridicule. The application is liable for dismissal and is hereby dismissed for want of jurisdiction and competence.”

The court, however, held that parties in the case should bear their cost.

In his dissenting judgment, however, Justice Centus Nweze set aside the January 14 judgment of the Supreme Court that removed Ihedioha from office as a nullity and in bad faith.

Justice Nweze held that Uzodinma mischievously misled the court into unjust conclusion with the unverified votes in 388 polling units.

“In my intimate reading www.businessday.ng

of the January 14 judgment, the meat and substance of Ihedioha’s matter was lost to timeframe.

This court once set aside its own earlier judgment and therefore cannot use timeframe to extinguish the right of any person.

This court has powers to overrule itself and can revisit any decision not in accordance with justice,” he said.

Justice Nweze said “the decision of the Supreme Court will continue to haunt our electoral jurisprudence for a long time to come”, adding that without evidence of meeting other constitutional provisions, the court misled itself into declaring Uzodinma as governor.

He held that the table in the 388 polling units, which gave Uzodinma the winning votes, was mischievous as it omitted votes for other parties.

“In the mischievous table, votes were in excess of the accredited voters,” he said.

“I am of the view that this application should succeed. I hereby make an order setting aside the decision of this court made on January 14 and that the certificate of return issued to the appellant be returned to INEC. I also make an order restoring the respondents as winner of the March 9 governorship election,” he said.

Arguing his application earlier, Kanu Agabi, Ihedioha’s lawyer, told the court that they were praying it to change its mind because of certain inherent errors in the judgment that removed his client

from office.

He claimed that the apex court did not consider the judgment of the Court of Appeal which struck out Uzodinma’s appeal for being incompetent, adding that as at the time the apex court gave its judgment, the decision was still subsisting.

Agabi, in pointing out another error he said was contained in the judgment, wondered where the issue of 388 polling units came about when in actual fact, Uzodinma had tendered results of 366 polling units which he claimed were excluded from the total figure of votes cast at the election.

He said “the judgment gave them credit in 22 polling units from nowhere”, adding that “contrary to all precedents, the number of votes cast at the election exceeded the number of accreditation by 129,000”.

He also argued that the judgment did not show that the APC had the necessary constitutional spread to be declared as winner of the election and that the appellants ought not to have benefitted from an election which they claimed was invalid by reason of alleged malpractices.

He therefore urged the court to set aside its judgment sacking Ihedioha and restore the verdict of the Court of Appeal.

Responding, Damian Dodo, counsel to Uzodinma and the APC, urged the court to dismiss the application for being incompetent and lacking in merit.

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ket Operations (OMO) Friday, leading to interbank rates more than tripling.

The higher CRR is in line with the CBN’s liquidity mopping efforts which have intensified this year amid rising inflation.

The problem with a higher CRR is that it contradicts the CBN’s stance to boost lending in an economy still reeling from a recession.

“It is not like the debit is a new thing as it is part of the normal liquidity management, but when they raise the rate at which they debit them, the immediate impact is that it will restrict or constrain system liquidity within the banking system,” Abiodun Keripe, an investment research analyst at Lagosbased financial advisory firm, Afrinvest Securities Limited, said.

“As a result of that you will see inter-bank overnight rate, open buy back rate jump up,” Keripe said.

Interbank rates surged from around 3-5 percent, to 15 percent Friday.

Overnight rate closed at 16.42 percent on Friday as against 2.50 percent on Thursday. Also, the OpenBuy-Back (OBB) rate also increased to 15.50 percent on the same day from 2.00 percent on the previous day.

“That is the impact it will have,” Keripe said, referring to the jump in interbank rates.

Efforts to reach the CBN for response were not successful as its spokesman did not respond to his call and text message.

Akintunde Olusegun, a financial market analyst at Polaris Bank Limited, said “the CRR debit led to liquidity squeeze in the market and consequently an increase in interbank rate”.

“The debit and continued excessive debit of CRR in that magnitude will to some extent limit banks’ ability to invest in government securities in size and will further push banks towards risk asset creation,” Olusegun said.

According to analysts at Renaissance Capital, Nigerian banks are caught in a conundrum and the squeeze will continue. A weak economy and tough regulations are core to understanding the dilemma.

Nigerian banking stocks fell to a four-year low this week on the back of falling oil prices and the coronavirus outbreak.

“Nigerian banks cannot afford to stay static, as we do not see the regulatory situation changing soon,” said analysts at Rencap, who went on to proffer solutions to how banks can survive despite mounting challenges.

They suggest banks scale growth in extant operations outside Nigeria, evolve into a holding company model with sizeable subsidiaries in fast-growth sectors, and build low-cost business models to penetrate the bottom of the pyramid.

“The banks would need to tailor these suggestions in a manner that best suits their individual circumstances,” the analysts at Rencap said.

NSE demutualisation holds these...

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demutualised Exchange and explore the implementation of an Employee Share Ownership Plan (ESOP).

During the business of the day, the following directors were nominated and appointed: Abimbola Ogunbanjo, chairman and non-executive director, and Oscar N. Onyema, chief executive officer and managing director.

O t h e r s a re Uma r u Kwairanga (member and non-executive director), Fatimah Bintah Bello-Ismail (member and non-executive director), Oluwole Adeosun (member and non-executive director), Chidi Agbapu (member and non-executive director), Patrick Ajayi (member and non-executive director), Okechukwu Crescent Itanyi (member and independent non-executive director), Nimi Akinkugbe (member and independent non-executive director), @Businessdayng

Enase Okonedo (member and independent non-executive director), Ikpobe Apollos Oghooritsewarami (member and independent non-executive director), and Ojinika Nkechinyelu Olaghere (member and independent non-executive director).

Onyema said by demutualisation and opening up of the Exchange, the NSE would run like any other corporate entity, meaning it would have board of directors, and have appropriate governance over management activities.

“There will be improvement in corporate governance, and because we are restructuring, we are going to be implementing a new business plan that is designed to allow the new entity to access all the forms of capital that can be available,” Onyema said.

•Continues online at www.businessday.ng

Wednesday 04 March 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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news

WAEC releases 2020 WASSCE results as 32.23% candidates record credit passes KELECHI EWUZIE

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he results of the 2020 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for private candidates first series released by the West African Examination Council show that only 32.23 percent of the candidates who sat for examination had credits and above in a minimum of five subjects including English Language and general Mathematics.

A breakdown of the result indicates these results were obtained by only 3,892 candidates out of the total of 12,075 candidates that sat the examination across various centres in Nigeria. Candidates seeking admission into Nigerian universities are expected to obtain credit in at least five subjects in WASSCE, two of which must English and Mathematics.

According to Olu Adenipekun, Head of the Nigeria National Office, WAEC, of the total number of candidates that sat the examination, 6,331 were male and 5,744, representing 52 percent and 47.57 percent, respectively.

Adenipekun while announcing the results in Lagos Tuesday said that the results of 548 candidates, representing 4.54 percent of the total candidature for the examination were being withheld in connection

with various reported cases of examination malpractice.

“The cases are being investigated and reports of the investigations will be presented to the appropriate Committee of the Council in due course for consideration”, Adenipekun said.

Giving a breakdown of the results, Adenipekun also disclosed that 9,438 candidates, representing 78.16 percent obtained credit and above in two (2) subjects; 8,125 candidates, representing 67.29 percent obtained credit and above in three (3) subjects; 6,713 candidates, representing 55.59 percent obtained credit and above in four (4) subjects and 5,251 candidates, representing 43.49 percent obtained credit and above in five (5) subjects.

Detail of the results according to the Head of National Office further shows that Out of the total number of candidates that sat the examination, 11,816 candidates, representing 97.86 percent have their results fully processed and released while 259 candidates, representing 2.14 percent have a few of their subjects still being processed due to errors traceable to the candidates in the course of registration or writing the examination.

Such errors are being corrected by the Council to enable the affected candidates get their results fully processed and released subsequently.

Border: Nigeria to abide by agreement reached with neighbours - Buhari ...as ECOWAS Bank capital hits $1.4bn Tony Ailemen, Abuja

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resident Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday expressed willingness of his administration to implement the decision of the tripartite committee made up of Nigeria, Benin and Niger, on the partial closure of the country’s land border as soon as the report is received.

President Buhari stated this at an audience with Bashir Mamman Ifo, outgoing President of the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) and his successor, George Nana Donkor, in the State House.

President Buhari explained that the partial border closure, which entered its fifth month in March, had given Nigeria a number of insights. These insights, he said, include the saving of millions of dollars by Nigeria, among others.

“We have saved millions of dollars, we have realised that we don’t have to import rice. We have achieved food security. We

have curtailed the importation of drugs and proliferation of small arms which threaten our country,’’ Buhari said.

The president used the opportunity to thank the outgoing ECOWAS Bank president for the improvements recorded in his eight-year tenure, and urged his successor to build on those achievements.

The outgoing bank chief informed Buhari that the bank had been transformed from loss-making to profit, with commitments from ECOWAS member-states doubling to $1.4 billion.

The incoming ECOWAS Bank president, Donkor, thanked the Nigerian leader and its people for their support in his emergence. ‘‘Without Nigeria, I could not have emerged,’’ he said.

He gave credit to President Buhari’s economic strategies captured under the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), noting that it had brought about economic recovery, stability and food security in the country. www.businessday.ng

Defaulting employers risk N2m fines, jail terms as Reps pass Labour Act Amendment Bill James Kwen, Abuja

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ny employer who disengages a worker after a period of six months from the date of first engagement without regularising the worker’s employment, in no distance time, will be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding two million naira or to imprisonment for a period of two years, or to both the fine and imprisonment, as the Court deems fit.

These sanctions which apply to both a natural person and corporate body employer are provided for in the Labour Act Amendment Bill that was on Thursday passed for a second reading in the House of Representatives.

Sponsored by Olawale Raji (APC, Lagos), the Bill seeks to

amend the Labour Act to prohibit and criminalise casualisation of workers after six months’ engagement by employers in Nigeria, outsourcing employment in core areas of operations.

According to the Bill, the principal Act is amended by creating a new Section 8 which stipulates that: “Every worker in Nigeria engaged or employed by and has remained in such employment for a period of not less than six months shall have his employment or engagement regularised by the Employer as a full and permanent staff of such employer with all its accompanying entitlements.

“Any Employer who disengages a worker after a period of six months from the date of first engagement without regularising the worker’s employment as in sub-section 1 of this section shall at the date of disengagement pay to the worker full

salary and all allowances and entitlements due to a permanent staff for six months as if the worker has been a permanent staff in the employment of the Employer for six months immediately preceding the date of disengagement provided the worker has not been found liable of any criminal act involving fraud resulting to financial loss to the company”.

The Bill also indicated that the Principal Act is amended by creating a new Section 9 which provides that: “an employer, who has obtained the Minister’s license, employment outsourcing by such employers within its core aims and objectives of operation is hereby prohibited.

It is an offence for an employer to pay another person, whether corporate or natural person for services rendered to it by its worker.

“Failure to comply with the

provisions of subsection (1) above, the employer shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to: “(a) in the case of a natural person, shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding two million naira or to imprisonment for a period of two years or to both such fine and imprisonment as the Court may deem fit without prejudice to the right of the worker to his full entitlements as provided under this section. “(b) in the case of a Corporate body, shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding two million naira or to imprisonment for a period of two years for each director of the Company or to both such fine and imprisonment as the Court may deem fit without prejudice to the right of the worker to his full entitlements as provided under this section.”

L-R: John Coumantaros, chairman, Flour Mills of Nigeria; Abdul Samad Rabiu, chairman, BUA Group, and Paul Gbededo, GMD/CEO, Flour Mills of Nigeria, during the courtesy call on the BUA chairman by the chairman of Flour Mills of Nigeria recently.

Dangote donates N200m to fight coronavirus in Nigeria GBEMI FAMINU

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liko Dangote Foundation (ADF) Tuesday pledged to support the Nigerian government current effort against Coronavirus (Covid-19) with a donation of N200 million.

The ADF’s intervention is considered the largest single donation by a corporate organisation in the country to contain the spread of coronavirus since a foreigner tested positive last month in Lagos.

It would be recalled that the Dangote Foundation also committed about N1 billion to the fight against the dreaded Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in Africa.

The Foundation directly supported the Nigerian government’s Ebola containment efforts through strategic invest-

ments that built the resilience and strengthened Nigeria’s health system in a manner expected to endure beyond the Ebola crisis period.

Among others, the Foundation during the Ebola crisis supported the government through the followings: Provision of funding for the establishment of the National Ebola Emergency Operations Centre (EEOC) in Yaba, Lagos; provision of 12 units of Thermal Cameras across Nigeria’s International Airports with training for 160 staff/personnel of the Federal Ministry of Health, Port Health Services Department, on the use of the Thermal Cameras; provision of W.H.O-certified Personal Protective Equipment, PPEs, against Ebola; donation of $3 million donation to support Africa Union’s intervention against Ebola in West Africa, and also complete logistics

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support for the returnee volunteers on Ebola intervention across countries ravaged by Ebola.

President Muhammadu Buhari had then commended Dangote for what he described as “remarkable sacrifices in eradicating Ebola virus disease and polio in Nigeria.”

Zouera Youssoufou, the managing director/CEO, Aliko Dangote Foundation, who was represented by the health and nutrition programme officer, Maryam Shehu-Buhari, at a donor coordinating meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, said the donation was part of the Foundation’s cardinal objectives.

The Foundation is also the only and the wholly Nigerian donor that attended the meeting and made monetary pledge.

To this extent, she said the Dangote Foundation has earmarked N124million that will @Businessdayng

support facilities to help prevent, assess and respond to health events at Point of Entry to ensure National Health Security.

Youssoufou said other areas the Foundation is supporting include surveillance and epidemiology where facilities worth N36million will be provided by the Foundation to support government’s effort.

According to her the ADF will also donate N48 million for case management training of health workers.

Speaking at the meeting facilitated by the World Bank, the bank’s country director represented by the operations manager, Kathleen Whimp, identified four thematic areas to tackling the spread of COVID 19. These are: Regular Communication with the public, contact tracing, training of volunteers and international co-operations.

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Prioritising HPV vaccine for girls, women will help curtail cervical cancer - Falowo ANTHONIA OBOKOH

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s Nigeria joins the rest of the world to commemorate International Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Awareness Day on March 4, a health expert has called on governments at all level to make compulsory the administration of the HPV vaccines for girls and women in the country to control cervical cancer.

Tolulope Falowo, founder and executive director, CancerAware Nigeria, a nongovernmental organisation, said HPV is the most common viral infection of the reproductive tract and most sexually active women and men will be infected at some point in their lives and some may be repeatedly infected.

She said at least 16 other African countries have introduced the HPV vaccine into their routine immunisation programmes, stating that Nigeria cannot be the exception, especially because the country has a huge burden of cervical cancer.

“Cervical cancer is by far the most common HPV-related disease. Nearly all cases of cervical cancer can be attributable to HPV infection. It is the secondmost common cancer among women in Nigeria. We believe

that prioritising this vaccine means we value the lives of our girls and women.”

“We are calling on the Government of Nigeria to introduce the HPV vaccine into the country’s routine immunisation programme so eligible girls can have access to it,” she said.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that countries should include routine HPV vaccination in their national immunisation programmes.

“Nigeria presently has no national HPV immunisation programme. The Federal Ministry of Health’s National Strategic Plan for the Prevention and Control of Cancer of the Cervix in Nigeria (2017 -2021) proposed that in Nigeria, girls between the age of 9 and 13 should receive the HPV vaccine.

This is yet to be implemented till date,” Falowo said.

Falowo added that presently in Nigeria, the HPV vaccine is only available at a few private and public health institutions and at a cost that is quite expensive (between N12000 to N15000 per dose) and beneficiaries will need between 2 to 3 doses.

“Since the charity launched the #14000Reasons HPV vaccination campaign in 2019, almost 40000 Nigerians have

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signed the online petition asking the Government to introduce the HPV vaccine so eligible girls can access it for free. Our aim is to get 100,000 signatures.

“In addition to this, we have also launched an e-book called HPV: Q & A Guide, an information and education resource with common questions and answers on HPV. We believe that with the right information, people can modify their lifestyles to prevent these HPV related cancers,” she said.

However, the majority of HPV infections do not cause symptoms or disease and resolve spontaneously. There are over 200 types of HPV. They are categorised into low- risk and high-risk HPV. Some of the highrisk HPV can cause several types of cancers including cervical cancer and cancers of the penis, anus, vagina, vulva and throat.

There are currently two vaccines which protect against both HPV 16 and 18, which are known to cause at least 70% of cervical cancers. The vaccines may also have some cross-protection against other less common HPV types which cause cervical cancer. One of the vaccines also protects against HPV types 6 and 11 which cause anogenital warts.

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Live @ The Exchanges Market Statistics as at Tuesday 03 March 2020

Top Gainers/Losers as at Tuesday 03 March 2020 LOSERS

GAINERS Company

Opening

Closing

Change

NESTLE

N1017

N1080

63

MTNN

N110

N115

5

BUACEMENT

GUARANTY

N22.7

N24.5

1.8

DANGSUGAR

ZENITHBANK

N18.05

N19.6

1.55

N7.7

N8.45

0.75

ACCESS

Company

Opening

Closing

Change

N68

N61.4

-6.6

N37.15

N34.4

-2.75

N12.1

N10.9

-1.2

MANSARD

N1.68

N1.53

-0.15

NEIMETH

N0.46

N0.42

-0.04

OKOMUOIL

ASI (Points) DEALS (Numbers) VOLUME (Numbers)

26,255.11 4,901.00 387,895,040.00

VALUE (N billion)

5.076

MARKET CAP (N Trn)

1.,681

Global market indicators FTSE 100 Index 6,783.69GBP +128.80+1.94%

Nikkei 225 21,082.73JPY -261.35-1.22%

S&P 500 Index 3,086.43USD -3.80-0.12%

Deutsche Boerse AG German Stock Index DAX 12,101.46EUR +243.59+2.05%

Generic 1st ‘DM’ Future 26,640.00USD +172.00+0.65%

Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index 2,992.90CNY +21.97+0.74%

Market halts loss path as large cap stocks rally Stories by Iheanyi Nwachukwu

T

he Nigerian equities market halted its losing streak on Tuesday March 3, 2020, the day members of the Nigerian Stock Exchange passed requisite resolutions for the demutualisation of the Exchange.

The ASI saw massive sell pressure in the last six sessions as global market reacted to the spread of Coronavirus across the world.

However, with some fundamentally sound stocks trading below fair value, the domestic bourse experienced buying interest on Tuesday March 3, 2020 as investors took position in some of these names.

The market advanced by 1.70percent as investors raised wagers in largely capitalised stocks like Nestle, MTNN, GTBank, Zenith, and Access.

Increased buy decisions in favour of these equities and 16 others against 12 losers helped

L – R: Abubakar Balarabe Mahmoud, SAN, first vice president, The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE); Oscar N. Onyema, chief executive officer, Otunba Abimbola Ogunbanjo, president of Council, NSE; Mojisola Adeola, council secretary, NSE and Aigbojie Aig-Imokhuede, CON, Ex-Officio, NSE during a Court Ordered Meeting (COM) and an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) at the Civic Center, Lagos.

push the value of listed equities higher by N231.91billion. Yearto-Date (YtD) returns currently stands at -2.19percent. Weekto-date (WtD), the market advanced by 0.15percent.

In 4,901 deals, investors

exchanged 387,895,040 units valued at N5.076billion. GTBank, Zenith, UBA, FBNH, and Access Bank were actively traded stocks.

The NSE All Share Index (ASI) and market cap in-

Experts advocate for strong organisational culture in driving corporate performance

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xperts have expressed the importance of s t ro n g c o r p o ra t e governance practices in building organisational culture amongst issuers.

In making this expression, Bola Adeeko, head of shared ser vices division at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) joined others like Dave Eaton, globally recognised c u l t u re t ra n s f o r m a t i o n expert, and Ajibola Ponnle, Commissioner, Lagos State Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions.They expressed the importance of strong corporate governance practices at the recently held culture training organised

by SmithsWorks Limited.

The event held at the Stock Exchange House, Lagos was tagged, “A Live Session with David Eaton”.

Delivering his remarks at

the training, Adeeko said, “In today’s accelerating world of work, organisational culture has been identified as critical to the success of an organisation.

This is as a result of the need to adapt to evolving external forces, achieve internal integration and deliver on an organisation’s strategic objectives. In our experience, maintaining this intricate balance between internal and external forces in any organization can only be achieved through strong corporate governance practices. The NSE in its role as regulator and thought leader, therefore, provides various directives and initiatives that help drive the adoption of these practices among issuers.”

One of such initiatives is the NSE’s partnership with www.businessday.ng

the Convention on Business Integrity (CBi) to launch Nigeria’s foremost framework for ranking companies on issues related to corporate governance, the Corporate Governance Rating System (CGRS), in 2014. This rating system was designed to rate companies listed on the NSE based on their corporate governance and anticorruption posture, thereby improving the overall level of confidence and trust in Nigeria’s capital markets and business practices.

Defined as a set of basic values, perceptions, wants and behaviours learnt by a group of people within an ecosystem, organisational culture is of utmost importance in enhancing performance, promoting teamwork and achieving the organisation’s strategic aspirations.

creased to 26,255.11 points and N13.681trillion respectively. Nestle rallied most from N1017 to N1080, adding N63 or 6.19percent. Okomu Oil Palm declined most from N68 to N61.4, dipping N6.6 or

9.71percent.

With a number of mid/ large cap stocks closing significantly higher on Tuesday as evidenced by a positive market breadth, analysts anticipate continued bull-

ish trend as investors take position in some attractive tickers that dipped recently.

Though they did not rule out profit taking on the record gain seeing that the market is still largely soft.

SEC reiterates commitment to curb Ponzi Schemes

T

he Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has restated its resolve to ensure that illegal fund managers in the country are not allowed to operate.

This was stated in Abuja last weekend by the Acting Director General of the SEC, Mary Uduk. Represented by the head, office of the Chief Economist, Okechukwu Umeano, Uduk said the enforcement department of the Commission has intensified efforts to close these ponzi schemes and prosecute the promoters.

According to her, “Also, the Commission continues to create awareness through various media to educate investors about these schemes and urge people to avoid putting money into them. It is an ill wind that blows no one any good.

“The SEC has introduced a lot of innovative processes to

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clean up the market and make it easier and safer for investors.

Some of these measures and processes include the E-Dividend and Direct Cash Settlement and regularisation of multiple accounts among others.

“Other activities of the SEC such as Risk Based Supervision, encouraging automation, strengthening self-regulatory organizations (SROs) are all geared towards a better market and in turn improved investor confidence”.

Uduk said the Commission remains committed to its core mandate of protecting investors and assures the general public that it shall perform this function in line with extant securities legislation.

“We advise prospective investors to cross check properly before patronising any fund manager. Information about registered entities and @Businessdayng

investment schemes approved by the Commission can be found on the Commissions website www.sec.gov.ng or at any of the Commission’s offices” she stated.

The Acting DG expressed the optimism that the market will have a positive year, and thanked the Central Bank of Nigeria for its actions in pushing down sovereign yields and helping funds flow to the equities market thereby reducing the crowding out of corporate from the debt market. “ Their actions in the area of foreign exchange management and how they respond to rising inflation will play a huge role in determining market performance.

H o w e v e r, w e h a v e confidence in their ability to do what is best for the economy.

“Having said all these, the SEC will continue to do its bit to ensure our market continues to grow.

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FINANCIAL TIMES

World Business Newspaper

Finance ministers ‘ready to take action’ on coronavirus

Central bankers take first steps to ease policy as Carney warns shock ‘could be large’ Chris Giles, Martin Arnold, Sam Jones and Jamie Smyth

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inance ministers and central bank governors from the leading western nations pledged on Tuesday to use “all appropriate policy tools” to maintain economic health as coronavirus spreads around the world.

Following a conference call, finance ministers from the G7 group of leading economies issued a statement pledging action to be taken individually by each nation, although they did not detail any specific measures that would be adopted.

“Given the potential impacts of Covid-19 on global growth, we reaffirm our commitment to use all appropriate policy tools to achieve strong, sustainable growth and safeguard against downside risks,” the statement said.

The finance ministers pledged fiscal support to ensure health systems could respond to the disease and to tide economies over during what policymakers now believe is likely to be a serious slowdown for at least a few months.

The OECD warned on Monday that a prolonged outbreak of coronavirus could halve the forecast global growth rate from almost 3 per cent to 1.5 per cent this year.

Mark Carney, the outgoing Bank of England governor, said on Tuesday that the scale of the shock to the global economy “could be large”, with a big impact lasting one or two quarters.

Central banks across the G7 will “continue to fulfil their mandates,

Mark Carney and Christine Lagarde have both indicated that central banks are willing to act on coronavirus © Tolga Akmen/AFP/Getty

thus supporting price stability and economic growth while maintaining the resilience of the financial system”, the finance ministers said in their statement — a strong indication that monetary policymakers are preparing to cut interest rates and pump more liquidity into their economies.

The G7 backed the IMF and World Bank’s decision on Monday to open credit lines and emergency facilities to lend to countries facing a cash crunch when dealing with the virus.

“G7 finance ministers and central bank governors stand ready to co-operate further on timely and effective measures,” the statement said.

Global stock markets rebounded on Tuesday after last week’s succes-

sion of falls, as investors’ expectations intensified that the world’s major central banks and governments would act to soften the virus’s economic blow.

The Reserve Bank of Australia became the first major central bank to take action in response to the economic impact of coronavirus, cutting interest rates on Tuesday by a quarter of a percentage point to a new record low of 0.5 per cent. It was followed shortly afterwards by the Malaysian central bank, which cut its overnight policy rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 2.5 per cent.

The Reserve Bank of Australia said the outbreak was having a “significant effect” on the country’s economy. The Australian government confirmed on Tuesday that it was preparing a “targeted and

measured” fiscal stimulus package.

Predicting a “powerful and timely” global response, Mr Carney said: “It is reasonable to expect a response that reflects a combination of fiscal measures and central bank initiatives.”

Speaking to a UK parliamentary committee, Mr Carney said: “Across jurisdictions there will be some differences in exact form of those measures and exact timing but the response will share a common goal to achieve bridging — supporting the economy through a potentially challenging period.”

The lines of communications between the world’s biggest central banks “are wide open”, he added.

His remarks came the day after Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, said that it

was “ready to take appropriate and targeted measures” to address the economic impact of the coronavirus, signalling a growing willingness to intervene.

The European Central Bank is working on several ways to inject cheap money into the eurozone economy that would offer a monetary policy stimulus without cutting rates further into negative territory.

Danae Kyriakopoulou, chief economist at central banking thinktank OMFIF, said: “The ECB is more restricted than other central banks because its rates are already very low and so it is harder for it to cut them further.”

She said this made it more likely to look at alternatives, such as increased cheap lending to banks or more asset purchases.

One idea being looked at by ECB officials is to expand its programme of providing cheap loans to banks to incentivise them to keep credit flowing to companies via the targeted longer-term refinancing operation (TLTRO) programme which it relaunched last year.

The ECB could offer loans to banks at negative interest rates on the condition that the banks keep lending to small businesses affected by the disruption of the virus, either by repurposing its existing TLTRO programme or launching a new one.

Ms Lagarde hinted in her statement on Monday that the bank was considering such measures.

Another option that the ECB is expected to look at is to expand its bond purchase programme to buy more debt issued by companies rather than governments — aiming to ease any strain on corporate finance markets.

Joe Biden bets on black voters to rebuild ‘Obama coalition’ Super Tuesday will test whether South Carolina was a one-off or a consolidation of his base Lauren Fedor

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s Joe Biden took a victory lap on Sunday following his big win in South Carolina, the politician being hailed as the man of the moment in neighbouring North Carolina was Jim Clyburn.

“He has been deemed by many as a kingmaker,” Mitch Colvin, the Democratic mayor of Fayetteville, North Carolina, told congregants at Simon Temple African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. “And we saw him crown our king of South Carolina only yesterday, vice-president Biden.”

Exit polls showed the eleventhhour endorsement from Mr Clyburn, a longtime South Carolina congressman and the highest ranking African-American on Capitol Hill, was decisive in solidifying the black vote in South Carolina for Mr

Biden and delivering a 29-point victory in the state for the former US vice-president.

But with voters in 14 more states heading to the polls on Super Tuesday, the urgent question for the Biden campaign is whether South Carolina was a singular demonstration of Mr Clyburn’s powers in his home state, or a signal of a broad-based swell of support for Mr Biden.

The Biden campaign is looking to replicate its success in South Carolina, where 60 per cent of Democratic primary voters were African-American, in other states with large black electorates on Tuesday, including North Carolina, Alabama and Virginia.

But in order for Mr Biden to seriously challenge frontrunner Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination, the former vice-president must also be able to demonstrate he www.businessday.ng

can rebuild the “Obama coalition” of white and non-white voters, energising the left-leaning Democratic base as well as more moderate voters in America’s suburbs.

“As good as Biden did in South Carolina and as good as he might do in other southern states on Tuesday, the south is not enough,” said Kyle Kondik of the University of Virginia Center for Politics.

A Morning Consult poll published on Monday signalled that South Carolina had boosted Mr Biden’s national standing among likely voters. The former vice-president rose 7 percentage points in the national poll, conducted after Saturday’s primary, while all of his rivals lost ground.

Endorsements on Monday from Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar, two moderates who dropped out of the race after South Carolina, may also help Mr Biden make inroads

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with predominately white voters who were initially drawn to the two Midwesterners. Beto O’Rourke, the former Texas congressman, also announced he was backing Mr Biden on Monday — an endorsement that could boost the former vicepresident’s standing with Latino and African-American voters.

But Mr Biden will nevertheless need to solidify his support from non-white voters in a still-crowded field that includes Mr Sanders, Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren and the billionaire former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, who skipped the early voting states but will be on the ballot on Super Tuesday.

Public opinion polls show Mr Bloomberg, who has spent around half a billion dollars of his own money on his campaign to date, has risen in popularity among African-Americans in recent weeks, @Businessdayng

though many Democratic insiders question whether two disappointing televised debate performances and a resurgent Mr Biden will dent the former mayor’s chances.

Democratic presidential candidates who have commanded the most support from African-American voters have historically gone on to win their party’s nomination. Mr Biden has long been popular with African-Americans, in part due to his association with Barack Obama, while Mr Sanders has struggled to make inroads with older AfricanAmericans but is popular with many young black voters.

Many Democratic establishment figures have cautioned that having Mr Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, at the top of the ticket could hurt Democrats in down-ballot races and risk returning the House of Representatives to Republican control.

Wednesday 04 March 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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FINANCIAL TIMES

COMPANIES & MARKETS

@ FINANCIAL TIMES LIMITED

Cash-strapped US shale producers pray for Opec aid Hopes rise that oil cartel decides on deeper output cuts to support virus-hit market Derek Brower

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he sharp drop in the oil price since the coronavirus outbreak has left US shale producers hanging on for survival, and dependent on their big rivals in Opec to come to their rescue.

US producers do not have a seat at the Opec table, but would cheer if the cartel — due to meet in Vienna this week — decided to deepen output cuts to prop up the oil price. Saudi Arabia, the dominant member of the group, is said to be pushing to remove at least another 1m barrels of production a day.

A lot of cash-strapped US producers are at risk of bankruptcy if Opec goes the other way and decides to fight another battle for market share by keeping the taps flowing.

“If I were in their position I wouldn’t be cutting more,” said Doug King, London-based chairman of RCMA Capital’s Merchant Commodity Fund. “I’d sit it out and watch what happens.”

Analysts say US shale production is likely to grow comparatively modestly this year, if at all, which would mark a big change. Last year, output leapt by more than 1.2m barrels a day to a record high of 12.2m b/d, according to the Energy Information Administration, a division of the US Department of Energy.

But however significant all this has been for America’s strategic and economic interests, investors have not been so enthused.

Cutting back on drilling does not help shale producers much as more wells are constantly needed © Getty

US producers absorbed $400bn of capital between 2008 and 2018 without returning much of it, said Artem Abramov, head of shale research at Rystad, a consultancy.

Wall Street has now closed off the capital pipeline, tired of funding a business model that is better at pumping oil than profits. If crude prices — down more than 20 per cent since the turn of the year — stay subdued, casualties could emerge.

Or they will, unless Opec steps in.

“The whole industry’s investment case is predicated on Opec voluntarily ceding market share,” said Matt Portillo, a managing director at Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co, a Houston-based investment bank. He noted that a cut to support prices would bolster US

producers at a point of maximum vulnerability. “[West Texas Intermediate] at $50 a barrel does not work for US shale,” he said, referring to the US benchmark currently trading at just over $48.

But the other option is also tricky for Opec. The last time the cartel tried to take on America’s shale patch, things ended badly.

The last Opec onslaught began with the “Thanksgiving Massacre” of November 2014, so named because the Opec meeting fell on the day of the US holiday. Saudi Arabia announced an end to market intervention, deliberately allowing prices to drift lower to force rivals out of business.

Two years of oil-industry austerity and producer-country fiscal

pain ensued. By the time Saudi Arabia threw in the towel, US production had fallen by 1m b/d from its peak, to about 8.5m b/d.

Shale producers emerged leaner and fitter — and capitalised on the oil-price rally that followed Saudi Arabia’s reversion to the swingproducer role. Output rose in the years after by almost 50 per cent.

“Without another cut this week, it will be an even worse crisis for shale than in 2015-16,” said Christian Larochelle, an independent Boston-based analyst, especially given shale producers’ need to keep spending and drilling just to hold output steady.

Cutting back on drilling does not help much, because more wells are constantly needed to offset fast-falling output from existing

wells. So less drilling just “reduces future cash flows at a time when the capital markets are increasingly restrictive,” he added.

Key to the industry’s resilience in 2015-16 was its ability to slash costs. Producers moved into the most prolific acreage, picked the choicest wells, and honed efficiencies of scale and drilling techniques. Wall Street also stood by the sector, tiding it over until the Opec-engineered price recovery took hold.

But these days, neither the cheap credit nor the easy costsavings are available.

“What you don’t have now that you did have last time is an industry suboptimally producing shale,” said Mr Portillo. “The capital markets are closed and productivity is plateauing.”

Moody’s, the rating agency, noted last month that more than 60 per cent of the $86bn worth of shale debt coming due over the next four years was issued by junk-rated companies, implying a “higher degree of default risk for the industry”.

A string of corporate collapses in the shale patch would deepen investors’ distrust, worsening the funding problem, but it might not dent production significantly.

Much current US output comes from companies that went bankrupt last time around, but which restructured with cheap capital under US Chapter 11 rules.

And Opec would have to stick with the plan this time to keep producers in the US beaten back.

Even with WTI at $40 a barrel, it will “take months to make a difference to supply,” said Mr Abramov.

UBS chief Sergio Ermotti set to become Swiss Re chairman

Insurance group to appoint banker after 9 years in charge at Switzerland’s largest lender Stephen Morris and Oliver Ralph

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BS chief executive Sergio Ermotti is to become chairman of insurance group Swiss Re, ending growing speculation in Zurich that he would eventually step up to replace Axel Weber as chairman of the Swiss bank.

Mr Ermotti will join the Swiss Re board next month and become chairman in 2021, the reinsurer said on Tuesday. He will replace Walter Kielholz, a former chairman of Credit Suisse who has been on the board of the insurer for more than two decades and chairman since 2009.

Mr Ermotti’s contract with Swiss Re does not allow him to take on another chairmanship. He had been seen as a potential candidate for chairman of UBS when Mr Weber, who has been on the board of the bank since 2012, decides to step down.

Sergio Ermotti will join Swiss Re in 2021, replacing Walter Kielholz, a former chairman of Credit Suisse © CHRISTIAN BEUTLER/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

UBS said last month that Mr Ermotti would be replaced at the bank

by Ralph Hamers, chief executive of Dutch lender ING, one of several changes under way in the top management of European banks, including HSBC and Credit Suisse.

Mr Ermotti will leave UBS in November after nine years as chief executive, during which he shrunk

the investment bank and focused on growing wealth management.

His tenure was partly overshadowed by a €4.5bn penalty that a French court imposed on UBS last year in a tax evasion scandal.

The Swiss executive received SFr12.5m ($12.9m) in compensation from UBS last year, down 11 per cent from SFr14.1m in

2018. The cut reflected widespread shareholder protests at UBS’s high pay levels. His compensation at Swiss Re has not been disclosed yet.

Swiss Re has been talking to Mr Ermotti about the job since October last year. Although he has never run an insurance company, Mr Kielholz said that reinsurance was “not so different from banking”.

“Sergio Ermotti is very familiar with the asset side of our business,” said Mr Kielholz. “He’s marketsavvy, he knows about asset management and he understands corporate finance issues.”

He added: “What I like is his international network . . . with governments, financial institutions and multinationals. The company needs this international network.”

Swiss Re is recovering after a tough year in which profits were hit by natural catastrophes in the US, Japan and Australia. It has also been restructuring its corporate solutions business, which serves large companies, after a series of

heavy claims.

Mr Ermotti started his career as an investment banker with Merrill Lynch, and also had a stint with UniCredit before joining UBS in 2011. He was elevated to chief later that year after his predecessor stepped down.

Mr Kielholz took on the Swiss Re position during the financial crisis, shortly after the company received a capital injection from Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. Since then, Swiss Re has recovered, with the share price rising from SFr28 when he became chairman to more than SFr93 today.

Over the past few years, he has steered the reinsurance group through talks over a deal with SoftBank, which led to nothing, and the sale of ReAssure, its UK life insurance business, to Phoenix Group.

Mr Ermotti said that Mr Kielholz had “immensely furthered the development not only of Swiss Re, but the entire Swiss financial centre”.

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ANALYSIS FT ‘Knowing the right people’: the embattled concierge with elite connections Quintessentially, whose founders include the Tories’ co-chair, has faced claims of mismanagement Tabby Kinder and Daniel Thomas

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n invitation to an event at No 10 Downing Street? Not a problem.

A place at one of England’s most prestigious schools? Consider it done. The chance to mingle with Prince Harry at a Coldplay concert? Leave it to us.

These are the sorts of services that Quintessentially, a Londonbased luxury concierge service, claims to have arranged for its well-heeled clients. Boasting powerful connections across British society, the company has marketed itself for two decades as a personal assistant to the 0.1 per cent.

At the centre of the operation is the company’s 44-year-old cofounder, Ben Elliot, an old Etonian who moves effortlessly across a social circle that mixes the royal family, the Conservative party and the City of London.

The nephew of Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, he is frequently photographed with her husband, Prince Charles, the future king. Mr Elliot is also a friend of influential politicians including Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

That sort of access dovetails with the sales pitch from Quintessentially. The company advertises that it has secured clients a private dinner at Buckingham Palace hosted by Mr Elliot and invitations to events where customers might rub shoulders with political figures. Prince Charles is quoted in a promotional video for Quintessentially, praising its services.

Mr Elliot’s networking skills have proved to be useful. Last July, he was made co-chair of the Conservative party where his list of contacts helped raise funds for Mr Johnson’s triumphant election campaign in December.

He also has a growing presence in Whitehall. Mr Elliot was appointed in January 2019 as the government’s first “food waste tsar”, an unpaid role, to raise awareness about the issue. Quintessentially has also signed up the government’s Department for International Trade as a client of its door-opening services.

But behind Mr Elliot’s highprofile web of relationships and society image, his company has confronted difficult questions.

Quintessentially — which recorded losses in its last two sets of results — has faced allegations of financial mismanagement and has been accused of a macho, Mad Men-style working culture.

Late last year Quintessentially paid millions of pounds to settle a lawsuit brought by two of its senior female executives, the Financial Times can reveal. The claim contained criticism of the management style of Mr Elliot and the company’s other two cofounders, Aaron Simpson and Paul

Drummond.

The High Court petition, seen by the FT, contained accusations that Mr Elliot, who once described himself as a “relentless, bossy fucker”, and his co-founders created a hostile environment for the two women.

The lawsuit cited an independent report from 2018 by accountants Albert Goodman, alleging serious problems in the way the company was run. Quintessentially’s structure was “opaque and complex”, the report said, and it claimed that the group’s directors took “substantial” management fees and “aggressive” dividends from the operating companies.

The result of the payments had allegedly been to make Quintessentially’s events business “technically insolvent”, according to the report.

The lawsuit also cited a recording of a board meeting in February 2019 during which Quintessentially’s directors discussed the possibility of reducing a corporation tax payment, estimated to be £260,000. According to the legal complaint, Mr Elliot, who has cultivated the government as a client, was alleged to have said at the prospect of paying that amount in tax: “We can’t give the fucking thing to the government.”

Quintessentially told the Financial Times it “categorically denied” that Mr Elliot made the statement and said it was “simply untrue”. It denied all of the allegations contained in the claim and said the dispute had been “fully resolved”. Mr Elliot declined to be interviewed for this article. Mr Drummond did not provide any comment.

The secret to Quintessentially’s success, Mr Elliot has said, is “knowing the right people to contact, for the right favour”.

The company was born in 2000 in the shadow of the royal family.

After Eton and Bristol University, Mr Elliot was introduced to Mr Simpson, a former film producer, and Mr Drummond, a lawyer, through his cousin, Tom ParkerBowles, the Duchess of Cornwall’s son.

It offers clients “anything you

want, anytime you want it, anywhere you want it”, as well as access to exclusive events. Quintessentially’s latest brochure advertises “membership highlights” that have in the past included “access to an intimate charity event with Samantha Cameron at 10 Downing Street”, referring to the wife of the former prime minister, and “a personal invitation to a fundraiser hosted by HRH Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle”.

Ever-grander ideas have been dreamt up. In 2017, the company said it was building a 220-metre superyacht that would be the “world’s largest floating private members club for the global elite” — although the yacht has yet to materialise.

“He’s a big personality and a big person physically,” says someone who has worked closely with Mr Elliot. “He’s an impressive person to talk to and he’s good with clients. His challenge was managing people and working with staff, he has an abrupt manner.”

Quintessentially made a loss of £833,000 in its first year, but grew rapidly to more than 1,000 staff and 30 subsidiary companies that have included an art dealership, a florist, an estate agency and a chauffeur service.

From its roots reserving top restaurants and booking theatre tickets for individual members, the company has tried to branch out in different areas — signing up corporate clients and opening its contacts book for the British government.

Since 2016, the department for international trade has paid Quintessentially £1.4m to introduce Whitehall officials to highnet worth individuals so they can “network at the highest levels”, according to a contract seen by the FT. Quintessentially arranges “exceptional visits” for civil servants to meet high-net worth individuals and convince them to invest in the UK, according to the contract.

Quintessentially has also looked to corporate customers to fuel growth. One former senior employee says the majority of the 160,000 customers the company claims to have came through cor-

porate contracts. Quintessentially has disputed this but declined to provide the breakdown of members.

Several people close to the business say that a model tailored to individual needs sometimes suffered when applied on a larger scale.

HSBC, which offered Quintessentially’s services to its wealthy Jade account holders, and British Airways, which partnered with the company to promote its services in the first class lounge at Heathrow airport, did not renew their contracts in 2018.

HSBC said the bank had reviewed its relationship with Quintessentially and decided to move to a different provider after just 12 months.

Quintessentially says the BA and HSBC contracts were not renewed for “specific business reasons . . . unrelated to customer service or feedback”, pointing to a redesign of the airport facilities and a shift in strategy at the bank.

Other members have expressed disappointment. A publicist from Chicago told the FT she was offered three tiers of membership that started at $8,500 a year and rose to $40,000 for “Quintessence” — a 13-month invite-only subscription that included dinner at Buckingham Palace, VIP packages to the Sundance and Cannes film festivals, and a tennis tournament with Richard Branson on his private Caribbean island.

She signed up for its “bespoke elite” membership, which cost $21,000 per year. It promised 24hour global access to a personal “lifestyle manager” who would organise “travel, VIP event access, exclusive dinners, top hotel access, hard to get restaurant reservations” and more, according to emails seen by the Financial Times.

But the publicist did not feel it was value for money. “They promised anything, but . . . I ended up paying for one restaurant reservation and a PDF guide to London telling me to shop at Harrods.”

Quintessentially says it has an 88 per cent renewal rate for customers, and that its internal

monitoring system for member satisfaction shows a “net promoter score of nine out of 10”. It provided the names of three customers who were willing to share positive experiences about the company.

One of them, a well-known City businesswoman who did not want to be named, says she knew Mr Elliot before becoming a client and now pays “hundreds of pounds” a month as a retainer for Quintessentially services.

The company had helped her find a house and move her family from Scotland to London, as well as finding hotel rooms and a tutor for her child. “They got everything set up, got us a discount and even stocked the fridge,” she says.

Quintessentially prides itself on an ability to plan meticulously extravagant events — it claims to have helped a Saudi member host a party for 300 guests at the Pyramids in Egypt.

But several insiders say it has struggled to manage its own complicated empire of subsidiary businesses.

In 2015, according to several people familiar with the situation, Quintessentially talked to WPP about selling itself to the advertising group. A person close to WPP says the potential deal was called off at an early stage: “It was [like] a rabbit warren.”

In 2018 the founders launched a restructuring of the company’s web of businesses to consolidate dozens of subsidiaries under group control. This meant rolling about 30 of its subsidiaries, whose management teams held significant equity interests, into the group company, Quintessentially UK. The legal claim brought against Quintessentially last year was linked to that restructuring. The petition was issued by Anabel Fielding and Caroline VillamizarDuque, co-founders of Quintessentially Media, an events business that has organised parties for clients including the Prince of Wales and Facebook. The two women argued the shake-up unfairly devalued their stakes in the

Continues on page 47

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NATIONAL NEWS

Benjamin Netanyahu claims Israel election victory Exit polls show rightwing bloc approaching a 61-seat majority Mehul Srivastava

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enjamin Netanyahu claimed victory and a record fifth Israeli premiership as exit polls showed his rightwing bloc approaching a 61-seat majority and close to ending a year-long political deadlock despite a pending corruption trial.

Experts warned that an unexpected jump in turnout — in spite of it being the third election in less than a year — could make the exit polls unreliable.

Initial results showed Mr Netanyahu appeared to need only one more seat to remain prime minister. Within hours, all three main exit polls were revised downwards to a 59-seat haul for his rightwing bloc. A clear win could still elude him — in April polls, 60 seats eventually proved insufficient as coalition talks fell apart after months of haggling.

Nevertheless, Mr Netanyahu’s outright lead over his challenger, ex-military chief Benny Gantz, gave hisLikud party a sniff of victory while the country awaited the final results, which could be delayed until early Wednesday.

“They said the age of Netanyahu is over,” he told cheering supporters in Tel Aviv. “This is a night of a great victory, even sweeter because they had already written my eulogy.”

Polls showed Mr Netanyahu’s Likud on as many as 37 seats, with his deeply religious ultraorthodox allies garnering about 16 seats. A smaller party, Yamina, which appeals to rightwing settlers in the occupied West Bank, won as many as seven seats.

After having run neck and neck with Likud, Mr Gantz’s Blue and White party secured as few as 32 seats, while the

Benjamin Netanyahu may stay in office, but he faces the possiblity of a corruption trial this month © AP

Joint List of Arab Parties won 14 seats as Arab Israelis voted in higher than normal numbers after Mr Netanyahu embraced a US-sponsored peace plan that could see many of them stripped of their citizenship.

A possible victory could also set the scene for a historic first — the trial of a sitting Israeli prime minister for corruption, due to begin on March 17.

Mr Netanyahu is expected to face at least one legal challenge before he can proceed with the task of forming a coalition: it is unclear whether Israeli law allows an indicted member of the Knesset to take the lead in government formation. The Supreme Court sidestepped that question earlier this year, but analysts expect fresh appeals to land on the court’s step within days.

You don’t change a winning horse. We have never been in a better situation with regard to

the economy and international relations. I feel that 13 years in power is too much but there is no one else who can replace him Esther Levy, 78 “There is no doubt that prime minister Netanyahu has won a significant political mandate from the Israeli people,” said Yohanan Plesner, the president of the non-partisan Israel Democracy Institute. “At the same time, the country is heading towards constitutional uncertainty . . . (soon, Israel) will find itself in the unprecedented situation in which the man in charge of institutions of law and order will begin his fight to clear his name in court.”

In two previous elections, neither Mr Netanyahu’s Likud nor the Blue and White Alliance managed to find enough allies to cross the 61-seat threshold to form a governing coalition. In the interim, lawmaking came to a standstill and budgets were doled out month-by-month,

while Mr Netanyahu stayed on as caretaker PM. The ensuing year-long campaign paralysed decision-making with mud-slinging so acrimonious that the mild-mannered president, Reuven Rivlin, said on Monday that he was ashamed “of the awful and grubby” politics that had dragged Israelis to three back-to-back national polls.

In the last weeks Mr Netanyahu, a consummate survivor of Israel’s pugilistic political scene, ran a campaign that belittled his former army chief of staff as dimwitted and unwilling to defend Israel from Iranian aggression.

A journalist close to Mr Netanyahu wrote an unsourced story saying that Iran had hacked Mr Gantz’s phone to gain incriminating — and intimate — videos of the patrician general, leaving him open to blackmail.

Voters also appeared eager to break the deadlock, defying predictions of fatigue and fears

of coronavirus to throng the polls in record numbers. “You don’t change a winning horse,” said 78-year old Esther Levy, after voting for Mr Netanyahu’s Likud in Jerusalem. “We have never been in a better situation with regard to the economy and international relations. I feel that 13 years in power is too much but there is no one else who I feel can replace him.”

With a lead over Blue and White, Mr Netanyahu is likely to demand the first chance to form a government, allowing him the possibility of wooing defectors to get to 61 seats. In his victory speech, the 70-year-old vowed to double down on a promised rightwing agenda, including the unilateral annexation of vast swaths of land in the occupied West Bank.

He can also try to convince Avigdor Lieberman, a one-time ally, to give up his opposition to sitting in a government with Mr Netanyahu’s religious allies in order to prevent a fourth election.

Mr Lieberman’s Yisrael Beitenyu party, which mostly appeals to Russian-speaking Jews from the Soviet Union and secular security hawks, won as many as eight seats in one poll.

If the polls hold true — final projections usually come by the next morning — Mr Netanyahu is close to holding on to the prime minister’s office as he defends himself against three overlapping charges of corruption, including bribery, fraud and breach of trust, in a trial that is expected to take years to reach a conclusion.

He denies the charges, calling them an orchestrated witch-hunt designed to topple his rightwing government, and his attempts to grant himself legal immunity have complicated previous coalition talks.

‘Knowing the right people’: the embattled concierge with elite connections Continued from page 46 company.

The claim also alleged that Mr Elliot and his two co-founders supervised the movement of money between UK and overseas subsidiaries in a series of loans, share transactions and dividends to help fund the group. At one stage, cash flow difficulties left the group unable to pay its staff, the claim alleged.

“Due to a large payment, Q group has insufficient funds to make payroll this month (which would obviously [be] negative for the Quintessentially brand),” Mr Drummond said in an email to Ms Fielding and Ms Villamizar-Duque in November 2018, in which he requested their events business provide funds to support the group, according to their claim.

It also said a dividend paid to the founders from Quintessen-

tially Events “took the company very substantially into a deficit” of £602,000 in 2017. Citing the report by the external accountants, the claim said that the dividend “could be deemed to be illegal”.

The company disputes all of the allegations contained in the claim and says the matter has been “fully resolved”. It adds: “Any suggestion that the directors of Quintessentially UK have breached their fiduciary duties and/or they have failed to act in the best interests of the company are vehemently denied.”

Quintessentially settled the claim out of court. The resulting restructuring of the group left two charges over its assets that gave Ms Fielding and Ms Villamizar-Duque rights to equity in the group, according to people briefed on the matter and filings at Companies House. www.businessday.ng

Quintessentially UK Ltd — the holding company before the recent reorganisation — recorded a £3.1m loss in the latest available accounts and a £1.8m fall in revenue to £23.1m in the 12 months to May 2018. It blamed the drop in revenue on pulled corporate contracts and bad debts related to a customer that went bust. In 2017, the company made a loss of £2.8m, after a £359,000 profit the previous year.

The pressures on the business have made its headquarters near London’s Regent’s Park a sometimes turbulent place, according to several former employees. They have criticised the company’s leadership in interviews with the FT, citing a high turnover of staff, dissatisfaction over levels of pay and tirades by some of its directors.

In a typo-strewn email sent by Mr Simpson in 2018 to the heads

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of Quintessentially’s subsidiaries, cited in the claim brought by Ms Fielding and Ms VillamizarDuque, he wrote: “Anyone whop questions any decisions I am not making and doesn’t act on what I am saying is immediately fired for gross misconduct.” He added: “I am not FIGHTING OVER ANY OF THIS. You listen to what I say and you act on it for the greater good of all in this company. I don’t wasn’t any decision queries. I will be responsible for any mistakes I make, no you. Reply that I have full agreement and that you understand what I am saying.”

“There was so much masculine bravado at the top of the organisation,” one former staff member recalls. A separate former executive, who reported directly to the founders, says: “The place felt Mad Men-esque, it was old school.”

A third former employee adds: @Businessdayng

“Ben was a very different figure to the image of him we would read about in the media. Some of us found it quite hard to square the [public image of a] charismatic, charitable Ben with the man who shouted in the office and reduced some younger staff to tears.”

However, Annastasia Seebohm, who was appointed in 2018 to run the company, disputes this. “The culture here is so far from macho,” she says, citing her own rapid rise from a business development assistant in the group’s Athens office to global chief executive in under eight years while in her early 30s.

She points to the fact that 70 per cent of the group’s senior executive team are women.

“Some employees when they leave are disgruntled but we have a wonderful network of former employees that remain very close to the business and a happy team,” Ms Seebohm adds.

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BUSINESS

INSIGHT

COVID-19: Implications for business MATT CRAVEN, LINDA LIU, MIHIR MYSORE, & MATT WILSON

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he coronavirus outbreak is first and foremost a human tragedy, affecting hundreds of thousands of people. It is also having a growing impact on the global economy. This article is intended to provide business leaders with a perspective on the evolving situation and implications for their companies. The outbreak is moving quickly, and some of the perspectives in this article may fall rapidly out of date. This article reflects our perspective as of March 1, 2020. We will update it regularly as the outbreak evolves.

What we know about the outbreak COVID-19 crossed an inflection point during the week of February 24, 2020. Cases outside China exceeded those within China for the first time, with 54 countries reporting cases as of February 29.

The outbreak is most concentrated in four transmission complexes— China (centered in Hubei), East Asia (centered in South Korea and Japan), the Middle East (centered in Iran), and Western Europe (centered in Italy). In total, the most-affected countries represent nearly 40 percent of the global economy. The daily movements of people and the sheer number of personal connections within these transmission complexes make it unlikely that COVID-19 can be contained. And while the situation in China has stabilized with the implementation of extraordinary public-health measures, new cases are also rising elsewhere, including Latin America (Brazil), the United States (California, Oregon, and Washington), and Africa (Algeria and Nigeria). The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has set clear expectations that the United States will experience community transmission, and evidence is emerging that it may be happening already.

While the future is uncertain, it is likely that countries in the four mature transmission complexes will see continued case growth; new complexes may emerge. This could contribute to a perception of “leakage,” as the public comes to believe that the infections aren’t contained. Consumer confidence, especially in those complexes, may erode, and could be further weakened by restrictions on travel and limits on mass gatherings. China will mostly likely recover first, but the global impact will be felt much longer. We expect a slowdown in global growth for 2020. In what follows, we review the two most likely scenarios for economic impact and recovery and provide insights and best practices on how business leaders can navigate this uncertain and fast-changing situation.

Economic impact In our base-case scenario (Exhibit 1), continued spread within established complexes, as well as community transmission in new complexes, drives a 0.3- to

0.7-percentage-point reduction in global GDP growth for 2020.

China, meanwhile, continues on its path to recovery, achieving a near-complete economic restart by mid-Q2 (in spite of the current challenges of slow permissions and lack of migrant-worker capacity).

As other geographies experience continued case growth, it is likely that movement restrictions will be imposed to attempt to stop or slow the progression of the disease. This will almost certainly drive a sharp reduction in demand, which in turn lowers economic growth through Q2 and early Q3. Demand recovery will depend on a slowing of case growth, the most likely cause of which would be “seasonality”—a reduction in transmissions similar to that seen with influenza in the northern hemisphere as the weather warms. Demand may also return if the disease’s fatality ratio proves to be much lower than we are currently seeing.

Regions that have not yet seen rapid case growth (such as the Americas) are increasingly likely to see more sustained community transmission (for example, expansion of the emergency clusters in the western United States). Greater awareness of COVID-19, plus additional time to prepare, may help these complexes manage case growth. However, complexes with less robust health systems could see more general transmission.

Lower demand could slow growth of the global economy between 1.8 percent and 2.2 percent instead of the 2.5 percent envisioned at the start of the year.

Unsurprisingly, sectors will be affected to different degrees. Some sectors, like aviation, tourism, and hospitality, will see lost demand (once customers choose not to eat at a restaurant, those meals stay uneaten). This demand is largely irrecoverable. Other sectors will see delayed demand. In consumer goods, for example, customers may put off discretionary spending because of worry about the pandemic but will eventually purchase such items later, once the fear subsides and confidence returns. These demand shocks—extended for some time in regions that are unable www.businessday.ng

to contain the virus—can mean significantly lower annual growth.

Some sectors, such as aviation, will be more deeply affected.

In the pessimistic scenario, case numbers grow rapidly in current complexes and new centers of sustained community transmission erupt in North America, South America, and Africa. Our pessimistic scenario assumes that the virus is not highly seasonal, and that cases continue to grow throughout 2020. This scenario would see significant impact on economic growth throughout 2020, resulting in a global recession.

In both the base-case and pessimistic scenarios, in addition to facing consumer-demand headwinds, companies will need to navigate supply-chain challenges. Currently, we see that companies with strong, centralized procurement teams and good relationships with suppliers in China are feeling more confident about their understanding of the risks these suppliers face (including tier-2 and tier-3 suppliers). Others are still grappling with their exposure in China and other transmission complexes. Given the relatively quick economic restart in China, many companies are focused on temporary stabilization measures rather than moving supply chains out of China. COVID-19 is also serving as an accelerant for companies to make strategic, longer-term changes to supply chains—changes that had often already been under consideration.

Where business should focus Seven actions can help businesses of all kinds.

Protect your employees. The COVID-19 crisis has been emotionally challenging for many people, changing day-to-day life in unprecedented ways. For companies, business as usual is not an option. They can start by drawing up and executing a plan to support employees that is consistent with the most conservative guidelines that might apply and has trigger points for policy changes. Some companies are actively benchmarking their efforts against others to determine the right policies and levels of support for their people.

Leaders must communicate with

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employees with the right level of specificity and frequency.

Set up a cross-functional COVID-19 response team. Companies should nominate a direct report of the CEO to lead the effort and should appoint members from every function and discipline to assist. Further, in most cases, team members will need to step out of their day-to-day roles and dedicate most of their time to virus response. A few workstreams will be common for most companies: a) employees’ health, welfare, and ability to perform their roles; b) financial stress-testing and development of a contingency plan; c) supply-chain monitoring, rapid response, and long-term resiliency (see below for more); d) marketing and sales responses to demand shocks; and e) coordination and communication with relevant constituencies. These subteams should define specific goals for the next 48 hours, adjusted continually, as well as weekly goals, all based on the company’s agreed-on planning scenario. The response team should install a simple operating cadence and discipline that focuses on output and decisions, and does not tolerate meetings that achieve neither.

Ensure that liquidity is sufficient to weather the storm. Businesses need to define scenarios tailored to the company’s context. For the critical variables that will affect revenue and cost, they can define input numbers through analytics and expert input. Companies should model their financials (cash flow, P&L, balance sheet) in each scenario and identify triggers that might significantly impair liquidity.

For each such trigger, companies should define moves to stabilize the organization in each scenario

“

The COVID-19 crisis has been emotionally challenging for many people, changing day-to-day life in unprecedented ways. For companies, business as usual is not an option.

@Businessdayng

(optimizing accounts payable and receivable; cost reduction; divestments and M&A).

Stabilise the supply chain. Companies need to define the extent and likely duration of their supplychain exposure to areas that are experiencing community transmission, including tier-1, -2, and -3 suppliers, and inventory levels.

Most companies are primarily focused on immediate stabilization, given that most Chinese plants are currently in restart mode. They also need to consider rationing critical parts, prebooking rail/air-freight capacity, using after-sales stock as a bridge until production restarts, gaining higher priority from their suppliers, and, of course, supporting supplier restarts. Companies should start planning how to manage supply for products that may, as supply comes back on line, see unusual spikes in demand due to hoarding. In some cases, medium or longer-term stabilization may be warranted, which calls for updates to demand planning, further network optimization, and searching for and accelerating qualification of new suppliers. Some of this may be advisable anyway, absent the current crisis, to ensure resilience in their supply chain—an ongoing challenge that the COVID-19 situation has clearly highlighted.

Stay close to your customers.

Companies that navigate disruptions better often succeed because they invest in their core customer segments and anticipate their behaviors. In China, for example, while consumer demand is down, it has not disappeared—people have dramatically shifted toward online shopping for all types of goods, including food and produce delivery. Companies should invest in online as part of their push for omnichannel distribution; this includes ensuring the quality of goods sold online. Customers’ changing preferences are not likely to go back to pre-outbreak norms.

Practice the plan. Many top teams do not invest time in understanding what it takes to plan for disruptions until they are in one.

This is where roundtables or simulations are invaluable. Companies can use tabletop simulations to define and verify their activation protocols for different phases of response (contingency planning only, full-scale response, other).

Simulations should clarify decision owners, ensure that roles for each top-team member are clear, call out the “elephants in the room” that may slow down the response, and ensure that, in the event, the actions needed to carry out the plan are fully understood and the required investment readily available.

Demonstrate purpose. Businesses are only as strong as the communities of which they are a part. Companies need to figure out how to support response efforts—for example, by providing money, equipment, or expertise.

For example, a few companies have shifted production to create medical masks and clothing.

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POLITICS & POLICY

Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, Osun await governors’ assents …As lawmakers pass Amotekun Bill into law INIOBONG IWOK (Lagos), RAZAQ AYINLA (Abeokuta), AKINREMI FEYISIPO (Ibadan), KORETIMI AKINTUNDE (Akure) and JOHN OLANIYI (Osogbo)

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agos, Oyo, Ogun, Ondo and Osun States are now awaiting the governors’ assents to the Amotekun bill variously passed by the states’ Houses of Assembly Tuesday.

In Lagos, the lawmakers passed the states’ Security Network Agency Bill 2020 codenamed ‘Operation Amotekun’ into law.

The bill was passed after the Speaker, Mudashiru Obasa and his colleagues read it for the third time.

The bill seeks to unify the proposed law that would guide the security outfit jointly established by the Southwest governors.

Prior to the passing of the bill, the House of Assembly had organised a public hearing which was attended by top residents and other stakeholders in the state.

Recall that at the hearing, Speaker Obasa had declared that Amotekun was a security outfit that had come to stay.

“I’m sure we all recall the incidents before the establishment of Amotekun, the killings, maiming, kidnapping and their likes. In the wisdom of our governors, they decided on Amotekun.

Our race has spoken and we must stand by it but in line with the constitution,” he had said.

Some of the recommendations in the bill were that only indigenes, or residents that have spent 20 years

Oyo State House of Assembly members in ‘Amotekun’ regalia as the bill was passed yesterday.

in the area and can speak the native language, will be members of the Amotekun corps.

“That the recruitment into the Amotekun of the agency shall be open to indigenes of the communities, where they seek to serve or to residents who have spent not less than 20 years in the community and understand the native language, among others,” the law says.

The Ogun State House of Assembly has also passed bill and it is ready to be forwarded to Governor Dapo Abiodun for his assent.

The bill was passed barely 19 days after it was received from the Executive Arm, as part of its determination to stem the tide of crimes and criminalities in the state.

The bill marked ‘HB No 35/OG/2020; and titled: ‘A Bill for a law to establish the Ogun State Security Net-

work Agency and Amotekun Corps to Assist in Maintaining Law and Order in the State and Connected Purposes’ was passed during a plenary presided over by the Speaker, Olakunle Oluomo, following the presentation of report of the Special Adhoc Committee on Security and Strategy by the Majority Leader, Yusuf Sherif.

Sherif thereafter moved the motion for the adoption of the report which was seconded by Musefiu Lamidi and supported by the Whole (House) through a voice vote after which the bill was later read and adopted Clause-by–Clause by the Committee of the Whole (House).

The motion for the third reading of the bill was later moved by the Majority Leader, seconded by Olusola Adams, while the Acting Clerk of the Assembly,

Deji Adeyemo, did the third reading of the bill.

Oluomo, thereafter directed that the clean copy of the bill be forwarded to the Governor Abiodun for his assent.

The passage of the bill in Oyo State was rather dramatic as lawmakers converged on the chamber waering local armlets, armbands and charms in addition to leopard camouflage, all of which signify battlereadiness, and combative mood.

In the state, the Amotekun corps bill proposed by Governor Seyi Makinde was passed following a clause by clause consideration before third reading and final adoption on the floor of the house yesterday.

The House Committee on Security and Special Duties had earlier presented its report at the plenary.

The bill had earlier scaled through the first and second readings during an extensive debate on the floor of the House, after the draft bill was transmitted to the House.

More so, it was transferred to the Committee on Security and Strategy, headed by lawmaker representing Ibadan North West II, Akeem Obadara after which the House conducted a public hearing attended by traditional rulers, farmers, transport unions, and other stakeholders, on Monday 24th of last month.

Speaking on the floor on Tuesday, Obadara noted that the bill proposal was a product of extensive deliberation by critical stakeholders.

The lawmaker pointed out that its provisions were painstakingly subjected to clause-by-clause and pointby-point scrutinisation at the public hearing.

The Speaker at the plenary on Tuesday, Debo Ogundoyin expressed optimism that the bill when signed into law would stem the tide of kidnapping, banditry, armed robbery and other manifestation of criminalities that have continued to constitute hindrances to people’s normal social and economic life.

According to him, “By passing this bill, we have made history and we will be creating big strides towards providing and ensuring that all persons travelling along the highways, major roads, remote areas, hinterland and forest are free to participate in their normal social and economic life without

fear or hindrance.”

While saying the House has fulfilled its fundamental responsibility of making people-oriented laws that would guarantee adequate protection of lives and property of the people of Oyo State, the Speaker said: “One of the major concerns has always been the issue of kidnapping, banditry, armed robbery and all other forms of criminalities. We believe that this bill will provide the needed security for our people.”

Ogundoyin, who expressed confidence that Governor Makinde would be thorough with the implementation after assent, stated that “we can rest assure that the implementation will be thorough, because we have not passed this bill in vain. “ Yo u d o n ’ t n e e d t o preach to the converts. We have a governor who is an Amotekun himself and we have not passed the bill in vain, so you can assure that the law will be accorded speedy assent by the governor”.

The speaker, who further spoke on some amendments being sought to the final copy by members, said: “You can’t get a perfect law anywhere and if you pass a law and if it becomes problematic tomorrow, then the mechanism of amendment will set in.”

While commending the members of the security committee for the public hearing conducted, he stressed that they didn’t shortcut any of the stipulated rules of the House to arrive at the conclusion.

Group wants NUJ to caution journalist’s libelous publication against Obaseki IDRIS UMAR MOMOH, Benin

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Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) under the aegis of Edo Transformation League has called on the national leadership of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) to caution John Mayaki against alleged unprofessional publications against

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State.

The group’s call was contained in a statement signed by its national coordinator, Broderick Owamagbe, addressed to the National President of NUJ, Chris Isiguzo and made available to newsmen on Tuesday in Benin City. “ Ni g e r i a n p re s s h a s been the lifeline, inspirwww.businessday.ng

ing a sense of hope to most traumatised Nigerians. We urge the national president of the union to kindly summon a meeting to read or review all publications put in circulation in the name of Edo APC factional group allegedly championed by one John Mayaki”, he said.

Owamagbe alleged that the said former media aide

to the governor pride himself as Joseph Goebbels of Edo People’s Movement.

He bemoaned some of the recent publications credited to Mayaki to include ‘Trouble in Obaseki’s illegal Assembly’, ‘Embittered Okiye threatens to shut EDHA, run abroad’, among others.

He described the publications as mischievous

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and a figment of cruel imagination, aimed at bringing down all institutions of government in Edo State, while oiling the heartless ego of his paymaster.

While noting that there was no single truth in the publications, he added that they were geared towards enthronement of perception of hate-insurgency on the part of Edo people @Businessdayng

against Edo State government.

He however, pledged to produce on demand, hard or soft copies of the numerous publications against Edo State government.

“The depth of devious prevarications by the publications against Edo State government lives much to be desired for journalism in Nigeria,” he added.

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PRICES FOR MAIN BOARD SECURITIES (Equities) BANKING ACCESS BANK PLC. 319,907.03 9.00 2.27 191 12,437,356 UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC 234,266.04 6.85 -0.73 489 28,869,725 ZENITH BANK PLC 598,103.21 19.05 -0.26 933 43,318,951 1,613 84,626,032 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FBN HOLDINGS PLC 195,629.35 5.45 2.83 224 7,355,780 224 7,355,780 1,837 91,981,812 TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES MTN NIGERIA COMMUNICATIONS PLC 2,361,123.51 116.00 - 55 133,058 55 133,058 55 133,058 BUILDING MATERIALS DANGOTE CEMENT PLC 2,896,886.26 170.00 - 123 1,697,703 LAFARGE AFRICA PLC. 249,670.83 15.50 - 89 827,918 212 2,525,621 212 2,525,621 EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PLC 356,008.96 605.00 - 7 1,395 7 1,395 7 1,395 2,111 94,641,886 REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS (REITS) SFS REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST 1,386.00 69.30 -9.94 2 992,584 UNION HOMES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST (REIT) 10,175.81 40.70 - 0 0 UPDC REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST 8,405.05 3.15 -8.70 18 20,149,284 20 21,141,868 20 21,141,868 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS NIGERIA ENERYGY SECTOR FUND 411.91 552.20 - 0 0 VALUEALLIANCE VALUE FUND 3,312.39 103.20 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 20 21,141,868 CROP PRODUCTION FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC 440.00 0.20 - 0 0 64,865.88 68.00 - 18 25,928 OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. PRESCO PLC 49,850.00 49.85 - 5 6,601 23 32,529 FISHING/HUNTING/TRAPPING ELLAH LAKES PLC. 8,500.00 4.25 - 0 0 0 0 LIVESTOCK/ANIMAL SPECIALTIES LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. 1,890.00 0.63 -5.97 14 182,961 14 182,961 37 215,490 DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIES JOHN HOLT PLC. 217.92 0.56 - 2 23,486 1,903.99 2.93 - 0 0 S C O A NIG. PLC. TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC 36,583.19 0.90 -2.17 61 27,373,644 U A C N PLC. 24,491.02 8.50 1.19 80 1,929,900 143 29,327,030 143 29,327,030 BUILDING CONSTRUCTION ARBICO PLC. 469.26 3.16 - 0 0 0 0 INFRASTRUCTURE/HEAVY CONSTRUCTION JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. 29,568.00 22.40 - 56 873,556 ROADS NIG PLC. 165.00 6.60 - 0 0 56 873,556 REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PLC 2,312.57 0.89 -1.11 22 771,839 22 771,839 78 1,645,395 AUTOMOBILES/AUTO PARTS DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC 954.53 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 BEVERAGES--BREWERS/DISTILLERS CHAMPION BREW. PLC. 6,341.89 0.81 -7.95 9 266,400 GOLDEN GUINEA BREW. PLC. 220.45 0.81 - 0 0 GUINNESS NIG PLC 55,197.65 25.20 - 24 43,016 INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. 189,377.58 7.05 - 7 14,412 NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. 367,857.49 46.00 -2.13 43 462,819 83 786,647 FOOD PRODUCTS DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC 145,200.00 12.10 - 41 225,041 FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. 94,308.73 23.00 - 54 952,475 HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC 7,612.99 0.96 -2.04 7 1,006,498 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 34,442.70 13.00 - 17 100,807 UNION DICON SALT PLC. 2,993.06 10.95 - 0 0 119 2,284,821 FOOD PRODUCTS--DIVERSIFIED CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. 16,903.82 9.00 9.76 22 266,681 NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. 895,701.56 1,130.00 - 76 596,897 98 863,578 HOUSEHOLD DURABLES NIGERIAN ENAMELWARE PLC. 1,680.31 22.10 - 0 0 VITAFOAM NIG PLC. 5,641.31 4.51 - 13 66,700 13 66,700 PERSONAL/HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. 19,852.39 5.00 - 11 12,396 UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. 86,175.08 15.00 - 36 68,073 47 80,469 360 4,082,215 BANKING ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED 119,272.08 6.50 1.56 80 1,303,630 FIDELITY BANK PLC 59,398.33 2.05 0.49 81 5,913,973 GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. 788,755.60 26.80 -0.37 427 38,737,126 JAIZ BANK PLC 17,089.26 0.58 -7.94 20 1,825,319 STERLING BANK PLC. 42,897.72 1.49 -0.67 83 5,265,754 UNION BANK NIG.PLC. 200,933.19 6.90 - 26 279,976 UNITY BANK PLC 6,312.24 0.54 -6.90 12 312,994 22,758.93 0.59 - 12 286,640 WEMA BANK PLC. 741 53,925,412 INSURANCE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES AFRICAN ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC 4,117.00 0.20 - 0 0 AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 9,857.28 0.87 -9.37 42 2,143,936 AXAMANSARD INSURANCE PLC 18,900.00 1.80 - 12 188,122 CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE PLC 2,601.60 0.32 - 0 0 CORNERSTONE INSURANCE PLC 8,248.52 0.56 - 4 105,500 909.99 0.20 - 0 0 GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. 1,228.00 0.20 - 0 0 INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE PLC 487.95 0.38 - 0 0 LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. 1,757.62 0.24 -7.69 11 1,084,160 LAW UNION AND ROCK INS. PLC. 3,780.77 0.88 10.00 14 909,500 LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC 3,280.00 0.41 -8.89 11 546,000 MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. 2,234.55 0.20 - 4 222,157 NEM INSURANCE PLC 10,561.01 2.00 -3.85 29 1,635,600 NIGER INSURANCE PLC 1,547.90 0.20 - 0 0 PRESTIGE ASSURANCE PLC 2,960.40 0.55 - 4 205,850 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 - 2 59,125 VERITAS KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC 2,773.33 0.20 - 0 0 WAPIC INSURANCE PLC 4,282.48 0.32 - 18 265,691 151 7,365,641 MICRO-FINANCE BANKS NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 2,561.03 1.12 -9.68 6 434,205 6 434,205

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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 5,796.93 1.39 - 0 0 INFINITY TRUST MORTGAGE BANK PLC RESORT SAVINGS & LOANS PLC 2,265.95 0.20 - 0 0 UNION HOMES SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC. 2,949.22 3.02 - 0 0 0 0 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AFRICA PRUDENTIAL PLC 10,220.00 5.11 4.29 182 6,813,525 CUSTODIAN INVESTMENT PLC 32,056.16 5.45 - 8 24,028 DEAP CAPITAL MANAGEMENT & TRUST PLC 540.00 0.36 - 0 0 FCMB GROUP PLC. 34,654.74 1.75 -1.13 42 1,244,872 ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. 1,183.44 0.23 - 3 185,448 404,441.24 38.50 - 20 110,393 STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC UNITED CAPITAL PLC 20,100.00 3.35 0.90 217 10,110,594 472 18,488,860 1,370 80,214,118 HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS EKOCORP PLC. 2,592.72 5.20 - 0 0 UNION DIAGNOSTIC & CLINICAL SERVICES PLC 710.63 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 MEDICAL SUPPLIES MORISON INDUSTRIES PLC. 494.58 0.50 - 0 0 0 0 PHARMACEUTICALS EVANS MEDICAL PLC. 366.17 0.50 - 0 0 FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC 5,299.36 2.54 - 10 150,897 GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. 5,501.03 4.60 2.22 22 285,287 3,226.19 1.87 - 10 144,142 MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC 854.62 0.45 - 5 37,600 NIGERIA-GERMAN CHEMICALS PLC. 556.71 3.62 - 0 0 325.23 1.50 - 1 200 PHARMA-DEKO PLC. 48 618,126 48 618,126 COMPUTER BASED SYSTEMS COURTEVILLE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS PLC 781.44 0.22 - 1 19,000 1 19,000 COMPUTERS AND PERIPHERALS OMATEK VENTURES PLC 1,206.13 0.41 - 0 0 0 0 IT SERVICES CWG PLC 6,413.06 2.54 - 0 0 NCR (NIGERIA) PLC. 262.44 2.43 - 0 0 287.07 0.58 - 0 0 TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. 0 0 PROCESSING SYSTEMS CHAMS PLC 1,267.94 0.27 - 9 1,754,800 E-TRANZACT INTERNATIONAL PLC 10,962.00 2.61 - 0 0 9 1,754,800 TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES AIRTEL AFRICA PLC 1,123,311.48 298.90 - 4 9 4 9 14 1,773,809 BUILDING MATERIALS BERGER PAINTS PLC 1,956.31 6.75 - 6 71,051 BUA CEMENT PLC 1,215,730.31 35.90 - 21 178,658 17,220.00 24.60 - 2 3,350 CAP PLC MEYER PLC. 244.37 0.46 - 1 27,998 1,769.32 2.23 - 0 0 PORTLAND PAINTS & PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC PREMIER PAINTS PLC. 1,156.20 9.40 - 0 0 30 281,057 ELECTRONIC AND ELECTRICAL PRODUCTS AUSTIN LAZ & COMPANY PLC 2,192.12 2.03 - 0 0 2,465.85 1.40 - 13 83,878 CUTIX PLC. 13 83,878 PACKAGING/CONTAINERS BETA GLASS PLC. 34,998.04 70.00 - 1 500 GREIF NIGERIA PLC 388.02 9.10 - 0 0 1 500 AGRO-ALLIED & CHEMICALS NOTORE CHEMICAL IND PLC 100,754.14 62.50 - 0 0 0 0 44 365,435 CHEMICALS B.O.C. GASES PLC. 1,685.79 4.05 - 3 90,030 3 90,030 METALS ALUMINIUM EXTRUSION IND. PLC. 1,781.64 8.10 - 0 0 0 0 MINING SERVICES MULTIVERSE MINING AND EXPLORATION PLC 852.39 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 PAPER/FOREST PRODUCTS THOMAS WYATT NIG. PLC. 77.00 0.35 - 0 0 0 0 3 90,030 ENERGY EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC 1,252.54 0.20 - 10 2,298,336 10 2,298,336 INTEGRATED OIL AND GAS SERVICES OANDO PLC 39,531.89 3.18 - 80 1,563,699 80 1,563,699 PETROLEUM AND PETROLEUM PRODUCTS DISTRIBUTORS 11 PLC 48,031.29 133.20 - 12 15,096 ARDOVA PLC 21,751.43 16.70 - 8 8,238 CONOIL PLC 12,491.14 18.00 - 14 36,407 ETERNA PLC. 2,869.12 2.20 - 13 285,033 MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. 4,206.05 13.80 - 2 814 TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. 36,328.84 107.00 - 6 35,839 55 381,427 145 4,243,462 ADVERTISING AFROMEDIA PLC 1,509.28 0.34 - 0 0 0 0 AIRLINES MEDVIEW AIRLINE PLC 15,796.05 1.62 - 0 0 0 0 AUTOMOBILE/AUTO PART RETAILERS R T BRISCOE PLC. 235.27 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 COURIER/FREIGHT/DELIVERY RED STAR EXPRESS PLC 2,363.88 4.01 - 5 94,200 TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. 421.96 0.90 - 0 0 5 94,200 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 2,515.34 1.21 - 2 2,660 TOURIST COMPANY OF NIGERIA PLC. 7,076.28 3.15 - 0 0 TRANSCORP HOTELS PLC 30,781.64 4.05 - 1 512 3 3,172 MEDIA/ENTERTAINMENT DAAR COMMUNICATIONS PLC 3,960.00 0.33 - 0 0 0 0 PRINTING/PUBLISHING ACADEMY PRESS PLC. 223.78 0.37 - 0 0 LEARN AFRICA PLC 956.60 1.24 - 2 14,429 STUDIO PRESS (NIG) PLC. 1,183.82 1.99 - 0 0 UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC. 539.26 1.25 - 4 77,154 6 91,583 ROAD TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATED BUS COMPANY PLC 580.20 0.35 - 5 126,979 5 126,979 SPECIALTY INTERLINKED TECHNOLOGIES PLC 688.80 2.91 - 0 0 SECURE ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY PLC 1,126.31 0.20 - 0 0

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BUSINESS DAY Wednesday 04 March 2020 www.businessday.ng

International Women’s Day

Peterside’s strategy lessons for women and successful businesses

‘‘

Folarin Alayande

I

n management and in life, a picture always speaks a thousand words. A few months ago, a curious photograph surfaced online. It was posted by the veteran investment banker himself to celebrate the institution he built. In the past four decades of reading autobiographies, I have learned that great men and women are defined by only three things – the indelible character they exude, the institutions they build and the quality of offspring or protégés they nurture. Atedo Peterside is one man who appears to have done well if anything, he has built a great institution and no one can reasonably argue with that!

In the monochrome photograph he posted about the founding team of three women and three men in the bank he founded in 1989, the bank that has now become the IBTC in today’s Stanbic IBTC, most of the viewers simply ‘liked’ it while a few others congratulated him and praised him for his business foresight.

An interesting young lady, however, took a discerning view of the simple photograph and commented ‘this picture screams of equality’. Indeed, that view resonates with some of the recent and ongoing empirical findings that our team at The Diversity Initiative have been reaching consistently about successful African corporations. Businesses that respect diversity simply outperforms businesses that don’t.

Perhaps not in the short-term, but in the long-term they do even if not in strict financial measures.

A few months before the curious release by the doyen of Nigerian investment banking himself, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in conjunction with the Swiss Confederation State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, the Institute of Directors and ‘Women in Management and Business’ (WIMBIZ) released a working paper titled ‘Women on Boards in Nigeria’.

Apart from the generally low representation of women on boards in Nigeria, with the banking sector having one of the better performances, the other clear deduction from that report was that there wasn’t any direct positive linear relationship between women’s representation on boards and financial performance. Indeed, the correlation between women representation and financial performance is mixed based on many global and country empirical studies.

The caveat though is that the IFC report used only a five-year horizon, probably due to limited data. The second explanation to

Pioneer staff of Stanbic IBTC. L-R (sitting): Atedo Peterside,CEO; Angela Omo-Dare, legal adviser/company secretary; Wale Edun, executive director; Oluwande Muoyo, manager; (standing): Sola David-Borha, senior manager, and late Toyin Daniju, manager.

many of the empirical findings of women on boards is that women are not a homogenous group so simply assuming that there would be a correlation or indeed a causation between having increased women representation and financial performance may be presumptuous if not simplistic. There is a technique to optimising diversity and making the most of women in senior management and on boards, and Mr. Peterside’s single photograph shows us the three secrets.

First, diversity should never be at the risk of meritocracy or excellence. In Mr. Peterside’s photograph of six persons, every single one of those persons who are still alive today are still actively working, or involved in financial services today. Indeed, the three women in the picture, Sola David-Borha, Angela OmoDare and Yewande Muoyo spent the next two or three decades working with Mr. Peterside. All of them spent the rest of their banking career at IBTC: Yewande Muoyo leaving after over twenty

years to join the Ogun State Government as Commissioner of Finance, Angela Omo-Dare staying on as either company secretary or head of legal services for another thirty years till she retired only last year in 2019, and the tireless, indomitable Sola David-Borha still waxing strong in the parent company Standard Bank in South Africa.

The beauty of that photograph is therefore not only that it speaks to the diversity mentality of Atedo Peterside in having a balanced team, but the futuristic power and hidden messages.

Simply put, how do you keep three young and very bright women working with you at the highest levels for almost three decades till they retire, when few other financial institutions have done so in modern-day Nigeria.

While there may be a twist of providence and happenstance to the IBTC story, there is still a clear management lesson.

Lesson 1: Pick a diverse team when starting your business, and pick them very

‘‘

No other merchant bank or investment bank in the pre-1990 era, safe FCMB, still has its name as part of a registered regional, national, or international bank in Nigeria today

First, diversity should never be at the risk of meritocracy or excellence. In Mr. Peterside’s photograph of six persons, every single one of those persons who are still alive today are still actively working, or involved in financial services today wisely and based on merit.

Pick people with a genuine passion for what you do and not gamblers nor speculators in the industry for the short-run.

The second lesson from the iconic photograph is a bit cryptic.

Even though all of the founding persons in the IBTC management team swore by investment banking till retirement, and those alive are all still primarily involved in financial services, it is more curious that none of the other merchant banks or investment banks that existed at the time that photograph was taken exists today, apart from FCMB. At least not by name. No other merchant bank or investment bank in the pre-1990 era, safe FCMB, still has its name as part of a registered regional, national, or international bank in Nigeria today. Simply put, IBTC was the only merchant or investment bank that survived the 2005 holocaust of Nigerian banks. This is recognising the fact that FCMB had already taken the universal banking route by the time of the 2005 banking holocaust. Does having largely the same teamwork with a CEO for sixteen years guarantee longevity as it did for IBTC or superior performance. Well, there is no statistical model that can be used to validate that hypothesis.

However, what our emerging knowledge of organisational behavior suggests is that organisations with a stable, highperforming team over the long haul free up the CEO to focus on more strategic issues while the

senior lieutenants focus on the tactical issues and put out the fires. If nothing else, the fact that IBTC is one of two investment banks of the pre-1990 era (and that includes all the merchant banks that ever existed in Nigeria between 1960 and 1990) and indeed the pre-2004 era, that is still alive today speaks volumes.

Indeed, evidence from the control banks, that is from other banks in our universe of banks, suggests that the banks that tended to have a lower tolerance for women in their senior management on the average have had a higher mortality rate or significantly higher rate of non-performing loans. While it may be invidious to mention the names of any financial institutions for reasons of prudence, a simple analysis of some of the larger banks in the pre-2004 era and their trajectory till date would provide the supporting evidence.

Lesson 2: It has been empirically proven that women tend to have more balanced views in times of crisis. Having a diverse management team may contribute to managing the risk-appetite of your institution and in some instances may contribute to the survival or longevity of your organisation.

On the whole, perhaps the greatest lesson from the Peterside photograph is about Atedo Peterside himself. In the reminiscences posted by YewandeSadiku, a one-time Executive Director of StanbicIBTC and the current Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission, “At IBTC I found people whose private affairs and comments were consistent with their public statements. The Bank aspired not to be the most profitable bank, but an inspiration to the Nigerian youth”.Indeed, this public disclosure by Yewande who herself spent about two decades at the bank explains why a one-time CEO of Stanbic IBTC was once highlighted as the highest-paid CEO in Nigeria.

Only a naïve person would, of course, believe that in absolute terms, as that disclosure only tells us about the level of transparency in the bank Atedo built. The corollary of this finding is what age-old truths and received wisdom tell us about women. Most women primarily seek security and emotional safety, even in the workplace, and if you provide those for your female colleagues, all other things would be added unto you.

It is informative that both the current CEO of Stanbic IBTC Holdings and Stanbic IBTC Bank have approximately spent almost three decades each.

•Continues online at www. businessday.ng

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