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news you can trust I **THURSDAY 06 SEPTEMBER 2018 I vol. 15, no 134 I N300

Sell

Foreign Exchange

$-N 357.00 360.50 Market Spot ($/N) £-N 460.00 468.00 I&E FX Window 363.04 €-N 410.00 418.00 CBN Official Rate 306.20

@

3M 6M -0.38 -0.62 11.66 12.52

Currency Futures ($/N)

fgn bonds

Treasury Bills 0.08

10 Y 0.04

20 Y 0.00

15.05

15.25

15.26

5Y

NGUS OCT. NGUS JAN. NGUS JUL. 30, 2019 24, 2019 31, 2018 0.00 363.05

0.00 363.50

0.00 364.40

g

Fear engulfs private sector as Malami turns tax collector Investors find

AGF hits firms with hefty tax arrears claims solace in dividend Letters sent out to oil firms, manufacturers, industrials income as NSE

LOLADE AKINMURELE & EMEKA UCHEAGA

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he spectre of who is next is stalking businesses in Nigeria after a number of manufacturing, oil and gas, and cement makers have been slapped with hefty tax bills by a government that has demon-

strated it has little patience for private capital.

Business Day exclusively gathered that high profile blue chip companies have not been spared from letters emanating from Nigeria’s Attorney-General’s office demanding hefty back taxes like the one recently served to the local unit of South-Africa

based mobile phone operator, MTN Group, sending panic across corporate boardrooms.

Inexplicably, key Nigerian regulators have picked the last three months to upend the business landscape in Africa’s most populous nation where current President Muhammadu Buhari will seek re-election for a new

four-year term next February.

The former military dictator’s administration has pledged to fight corruption which has plagued the country for decades, including tax avoiders and companies acting unscrupulously.

But rather than feel regulated, Continues on page 33

sheds N1trn Iheanyi Nwachukwu

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hile imminent capital appreciation seems unlikely at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), investors are seeking some form of reprieve with dividend income Continues on page 33

Kaduna Refinery says revamp under way to process light crude oil

L-R: Theresa May, British prime minister; Paul Thomas Arkwright, British High commissioner to Nigeria; Aliko Dangote, president, Dangote Group; Tonye Cole, former executive director, Sahara Group, and Oscar Onyema, chief executive officer, The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), during a business networking event hosted by the British High Commission in Lagos recently.

OLUSOLA BELLO & DIPO OLADEHINDE

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s part of efforts to stop the importations of fuel, Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has decided to revamp the Kaduna Refinery from heavy crude distillation unit into light crude.

Adewale Solomon, managContinues on page 33

Inside Group pays N45m for Buhari’s presidential form P. 4

Telco’s commit to expanding financial inclusion in mobile money push … Pledge to cover 90m people … Nigeria’s penetration stands at 1% compared Ghana’s 40%, Kenya’s 60% Jumoke Akiyode-Lawanson

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he top mobile telecommunications operators in Nigeria including MTN, Airtel, Globacom and 9mobile have committed

to ensuring that the country’s financial inclusion rates are deepened to reach at least 90 million customers in the next 30 months if given a level playing ground to perform mobile money functions as in the case

of Kenya’s Mpesa.

In Nigeria, Telco’s are excluded from accessing mobile money licences directly under current guidelines, while in most sub-Saharan African markets where mobile money is suc-

cessful, Telco’s are given a level playing field.

The mobile operators who met on Tuesday September 4, 2018, concluded that it is overly possible to significantly reduce Nigeria’s financial exclusion

rates of 40 percent to 20 percent if the telecommunications operators with a wider subscriber base than the total banked population are allowed to drive moContinues on page 33

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Thursday 06 September 2018

Economy becomes issue in Nigeria, S Africa as elections loom DAVID IBIDAPO & SOBECHUKWU EZE

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conomic growth (or lack of it) is stepping up to be perhaps the most important single factor in both Nigeria and South Africa as the continent’s largest economies head to crucial elections next year.

FreshdatashowSouthAfricadipped by0.7percentquarteronquarter(Q/Q) into an economic recession this week thefirsttimesince2009,asmajorsectors in the economy contracted.

While in Nigeria, the economy is wobbling with growth forecasts being revised rapidly downwards amidst rising unemployment especially among the country’s youth population.

Latest Nigerian GDP reports showed that the economy is growing at a decelerating rate when compared to the quarters preceding it.

GDP grew at 1.50 percent however lower than 1.95 percent in Q1 2018 and 2.11 percent in Q4 2017.

“Despite the slow growth in Nigeria GDP, I do not see a recession threat on the economy as full year GDP will be about 1.7 percent,” Bismarck Rewane, CEO of economics consulting firm Financial Derivatives, explained.

Nigeria’s economic management and the government’s approach to dealing with economic issues especially what appears to be a surge in regulatory attack on the private sec-

tor has raised concern that the APC led administration is driving a wedge between it and business leaders.

Recently,theCentralBankimposed a fine of $8.12 billion on MTN Nigeria and a total of N5.87 billion on four banks on the basis of alleged illegal repatriation of funds to South Africa.

In addition, the attorney general of the federationbilledMTNNigeria$2billion as tax arrears relating to importation of foreign equipment and payment to foreign suppliers over the last 10 years.

Bismark added, “Without FDI in the economy, there will not be capital formation and this will definitely affect economic growth and development.”

BusinessDay analysis also revealed that the nation’s bourse has been largely affected by massive sell offs experienced since the first quarter of the year in contrast to other pre-election years. The All share index as at yesterday declined 8.77 percent YTD. Understandably,amongtheyouths there is rising concern about the failure to create jobs and with the population growing faster than GDP numbers, Nigeria is witnessing a new wave of emigration especially to Canada.

The unemployment rate stood at 18.8 percent as at Q3 2017, according to the NBS.

•Continues online at www.businessdayonline.com

Nigeria risks ceding sweet crude advantage over internal crises ... NNPC, Total to launch Egina crude in September ISAAC ANYAOGU

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n the emerging crude oil market where producers of low sulphur varieties have an edge, Nigeria with some of the world’s best low sulphur crude grades could cede markets it has competitive advantage due to internal crises.

Since the start of the year, the operations of halfadozenoilcompanieshave been disrupted on sixteen different occasions due to labour employment related grievances, the most recent being the labour crises at the ExxonMobil operations in Eket, Akwa Ibom.

Mobil Oil Producing, a subsidiary of ExxonMobil said crude production and exports from its assets in the state have come under threat following an over six-week blockade by former employees protesting their dismissal, in a release.

This agitation constrains over 300,000 barrels per day from the Qua Iboe terminal. The former staff, who were ex-security personnel engaged by the US oil firm along with 508 workers were dismissed in July, had been blockading the company’s offices and facilities since July 13.

“The continued blockade means a loss of access for employees [and contractors]. Continued denial of access to production facilities could impact the company’s ability to safely continue production operations,” S&P Global Platts quoted ExxonMobil as saying in a statement.

Analysts say labour unrest is emerging as the new risk to oil production after sabotage of oil assets by militants have seen a lull, following intense engagement by government agencies. But a surge on labour disputes could upset this balance.

“The sum of all these strikes is that we are making our oil and gas sector less competitive,” Godwin

Aigbkhan, an advisor at the National Competitiveness Council of Nigeria told BusinessDay. This comes at a time when competition for sweet crude grades could become the next frontier for oil market growth following the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) low sulphur cap of 0.5 percent regulation which takes effect from January 1, 2020. Nigeria’s light crude grades requires less effort to meet this regulation making it a favourite for refiners Nigerian crudes, which are light and sweet, are moving more to Europe. Once heavily favored by US East Coast refiners, they have been shut out of the US market by shale oil, which is also light and sweet.

“Brent has continued to outpace other global benchmarks amid concerns about geopolitical stability and supply disruptions, this is an on-going concern for the global oil market,” says Andrew Bonnington, director, Strategic Market Engagement for Europe & Africa at Platts at the company’s Lagos Oil and Energy forum held recently.

S&P Global Platts, the company that publishes prices used to settle physical crude trades is including new light crudes in its basket from which oil prices are benchmarked thereby resetting the balance of global oil prices as this enhances trade on these crude grades.

Platts added Forties and Oseberg crude grades in 2002, followed by Ekofisk in 2007 and Troll in December last year. Two light sweet Australian crude grades could also regularly appear in the Asian spot market later this year In February, one Asian refiner started testing samples of Kuwait’s new “Super Light” crude oil and found it suitable.

•Continues online at www.businessdayonline.com

L-R: U.F. Abdullahi, patron, PEARL Awards Nigeria; Faruk Umar, chairman, PEARL Awards Board of Governors; Eniola Fadayomi, board member; Shehu Malami, patron, and Tayo Orekoya, president/CEO, at the patrons investiture and inauguration of PEARL Awards Board of Governors in Lagos, recently.

Firms face bleak H2 as sluggish growth pressures margins BALA AUGIE

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nalysts have increased bets that it will be a torrid second half (H2) of the year for firms that are grappling with ebbing margins while the sluggish economic growth cast a pall on future earnings.

Rising cost of production, low yield environment, volatility in the price of raw materials, and policy paralysis by government have pressured firms margins.

The cumulative average net margins of 30 largest firms quoted on the floor of the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) fell to 14.26 percent in June 2018 from 14.93 percent the previous year, data gathered by BusinessDay shows.

Cumulative profit after tax grew by 11.10 percent to N680.36 billion as at June 2018, this compares with 25.15 percent and 35.65 percent growth recorded in the first quarter (Q1) 2018 and fiscal year 2017, based on data gathered by BusinessDay. Perhaps more worrisome is fact that the enlargement in profit were

driven by one off events such as tax credit, income from discontinued operations, and foreign exchange gains.

“Both the GDP and the first and second quarter results have shown that things are difficult. For non- financials only Seplat and Nestle stood out,” said Bunmi Asaolu Head of Equity Research at FBNQuest Capital.

“A lot of them raised prices last year and it will be difficult to do so this year as consumer wallets are already squeezed. Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank) and Zenith Bank forecast for 2018 is still the same; they are not thinking of an increase.

All the other banks may reduce their guidance and if the banks are not doing well you don’t expect others to do,” said Asaolu.

Kayode Tinuoye, a fund manager at United Capital Asset Management says the gradual uptick in month on month inflation will impact on operating cost of firms as funding costs still remains high.

“The outlook is negative. Revenue is not likely to improve in the second half. Government spending doesn’t

go to the productive sector in an election year,” said Tinuoye.

Second quarter GDP numbers from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed the economy deteriorated as oil and gas, manufacturing, and Agric sector underperformed.

Delay in the passage of the budget due to infighting among politicians, sluggish recovery in consumer spending, and herdsmen clash in the middle belt have been a stunting economic growth.

According to the statistics agency, the economy grew 1.5 percent in the second quarter of 2018, down from 1.95 percent growth recorded in the first quarter and 2.11 percent year-on-year expansion in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Analysts at United Capital Limited are of the view that addressing structural constraints in the operating environment, such as easing the protracted gridlock at the Apapa port, improving the transportation network across the country and ending all forms of security crisis, remains critical to achieving fast paced recovery and economic development.

Thor moves to boost Nigeria Gold exploration, closes $8m private placement Sobechukwu Eze & Cynthia Ikwuetoghu

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hor Explorations Ltd, a Canadian mineral exploration company has raised $ 8 million in its attempt to deepen and boost its exploration operations in Segilola Gold Project in Nigeria.

The net proceeds of the offering will be used primarily for the completion of Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) work streams in Nigeria, which is an evaluation of a proposed mining project to determine whether the mineral resource can be mined economically, according to Thor.

The balance will be used for exploration activities on the Company’s Douta Project in Senegal and for working capital purposes.

The exploration potential at Segilola is significant for the company and the DFS is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2018.

According to the company “the Segilola Gold Project, located in Osun State of Nigeria, is the most advanced gold exploration project in Nigeria.”

The Segilola Gold Project comprises a proposed open pit gold mining project based on an indicated mineral resource defined by a comprehensive drilling program of 555,000 ounces of gold at an average grade of 3.8 grams per ton (at a cutoff grade of 1.0 g/tAu and applying a top cut of 50g/tAu).

Speaking on the raised funds for the mine, Segun Lawson, President & Chief Executive Officer (CFO), stated, “This is a significant milestone for Thor, being our largest equity placement to date. This is a real endorsement of the quality of Thor’s projects. The Segilola DFS and proposed exploration programs are fully funded.”

Thor Explorations currently employs 52 people in the three West African countries, but Lawson said this would rise to about 250 once production starts at the Segilola Gold project, which is its flagship In addition to the Segilola Project, Thor holds a 70 percent interest in the Douta Gold Project located in

south-eastern Senegal. The Douta Gold Project lies within the Kénéiba Inlier, which hosts significant gold resources and has attracted major international mining companies.

Thor is currently advancing the Makosa Discovery in its Douta Licence following a successful Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling campaign in 2017.

Thor Explorations Limited is a listed Canadian mineral exploration company on TSX Venture Exchange in Canada and is engaged in the acquisition and exploration and development of mineral properties in West Africa.

The company was selected as the most promising of the 22 junior mining companies that participated in the battlefield, after beating Algold Resources, a Mauritanian gold explorer and developing company to the second place.

Analysts say if an early move to underground mining is included in the DFS, there is significant upside to the BHC valuation of US$120 million, using a 10 percent discount rate.

Thursday 06 September 2018

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Pencom clarifies stance on employment protest CONRAD OMODIAGBE

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he National Pension Commission (PENCOM) has clarified its position, and reason behind its failure to admit the 42 recruited staff members scheduled to resume on May 2nd 2017, citing infringement of Federal Character Commission’s laws as the root of the problem.

Speaking on a recent protest at the Pencom head office in Abuja, the Acting Director General, Aisha Dahir-Umar made it known that the previous administration had failed to fully comply with the rules of the Federal Character Commission during the recruitment process, thereby prompting the Federal Character Commission to put push for a stop in the entire recruitment process.

Dahir-Umar while recalling the entire controversy, explained that for the commission to recruit, it is imperative for compliance certificates also known as “no objections” to be collected from the Federal Character Commission in a bid to ensure fairness in the employment process.

This certificate to be collected twice, first at the point of initial recruitment granting permission to hold tests or interviews and again when let-

ters of employment are to be served, was only collected at the initial stage of the recruitment exercise.

She further explained that the previous administration had violated the Federal Character Commission laws by first of all going against the original compliance certificate which stated that only 16 applicants be recruited by recruiting 42, and secondly by handing out letters of employment without receiving permission in form of the no objection certificate from the Federal Character Commission. This, according to DahirUmar led to the Federal Character Commission submitting the case to the National Assembly and further actions were set in motion to halt the entire process.

As to why the breach occurred, Dahir-Umar stated that at the time she headed another department, only resuming as Acting Director General in April 2017. On the role of the board in the case, Dahir-Umar informed pressmen that the board was not involved in the recruitment exercise as this was an entry level recruitment, and the board gets involved only top level managerial recruitment.

Imbalance in the ratio of the Pencom staff to states of origin was also another factor the Acting Director General

noted might be a motivation behind the decision to nullify the exercise, made by the Federal Character Commission.

She admitted that some states have as much as 30 indigenes in the commission, while some have as low as 5 indigenes, which would have been replicated if the 42 recruits had resumed.

A protest staged by some of the alleged aggrieved recruits on Wednesday 29th August at the Pencom office in Abuja, ended up in police intervention. The protesters who came in on the guise of being part of the 42 recruits denied resumption, were allegedly paid to protest. This was discovered when they began to fight within themselves, after an agreed sum of N2000 to be paid was reduced to N1000 by the organizers of the protest.

Speaking on the protest, Dahir-Umar called the protesters miscreants who had been financially manipulated into protesting as the real recruits affected had a credible union, of which she was in contact with its president. She also mentioned that while the commission has been mandated to cancel the whole exercise, they were holding out to see if a solution can be reached as the plight of the recruits was being taken into full consideration.

Thursday 06 September 2018

Group pays N45m for Buhari’s Presidential form

…PDP confirms discussions with six APC governors, 27 lawmakers JAMES KWEN, & OWEDE AGBAJILEKE,

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group known as Nigeria Consolidation Ambassadors Network has purchased the N45 million All Progressives Congress, APC expression of interest and nomination forms for President Muhammadu Buhari to seek re-election in 2019.

Sunusi Musa, leader of the group Wednesday presented the cheque of payment for the forms to the APC National working committee at the party’s Secretariat, Abuja.

Musa said the group embarked on the project based on the recognition that the President has started laying a foundation for a better Nigeria and there is need to consolidate on the gains so far made.

He acknowledged that the President has been working to lay a foundation for greater and prosperous nation that the present generation and future generation will be proud of.

According to Musa, under Buhari administration Nigeria has become a country sought after for investments and the country has assumed its leadership role in not just in Africa but the world.

Meanwhile the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has confirmed that it is concluding discussions with six state governors and 27 members of the National Assembly elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of their defection to the PDP. The party said it has already concluded discussions with the APC members who have also drawn their consultations and secured the mandates of their constituents to move to the PDP ahead of the 2019 General Election.

A statement by Kola Ologbondiyan, PDP National Publicity Secretary, says: “The PDP verifies that discussions on control of party structures in the affected states and senatorial zones have also reached advanced stage and would be completed in a couple of weeks after which the governors and lawmakers will announce their defection to the PDP. “However, in line with decisions reached at the discussions, the members of the National Assembly decamping to the PDP will cross-carpet at the reconvening of session in the two chambers, which will increase the PDP majority in

both chambers.

“The party assures that all grey areas of the agreement, including issues of waivers and accommodation for participation in primaries, are being smoothened out by the former Governor Liyel Imokeled PDP Contact and Integration Committee, which has been galvanizing our alliances among stakeholders across other parties, including those from the APC. “The PDP also commends the spirit of tolerance, dialogue, accommodation and oneness of purpose that pervade the alliance among members.

The party expressed its readiness to “take back control of power at the center, as well as in our traditional states of Plateau, Niger, Adamawa, Kano, Bauchi, Nasarawa, Kebbi, Kaduna, Katsina, Kogi, Jigawa, Zamfara, Imo, Edo as well as southwest states of Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Ondo, Lagos states.

“The PDP therefore charges all members and supporters to remain steadfast and wary of the gimmicks of the deflated APC, which has resorted to sponsoring spurious publications filled with deceptions, fabrications and lies against our party.

Thursday 06 September 2018

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Nigeria Q2’18 GDP report shows non-oil sector could be the main driver of economic growth JONATHAN ADEROJU

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ollowing the decline in Nigeria economy, the real GDP growth slowed to 1.5 percent y/y in Q2’18 as against Q1’18 1.9 percent y/y.

However there was a substantial improvement relative to 0.7percent y/y in Q2’17. This slow growth was largely driven by weak oil production.

The oil sector recorded a decline in growth to 3.9 percent y/y in Q2’18, the lowest in four quarters, as oil production fell from 2 million barrels per day mbpd in Q1’2018 to 1.84mbpd in Q2’18 then Q2’17 1.87mbpd.

Growth in the non-oil sector improved to 2 percent y/y, the highest since 2016, reflecting substantial improvement in the services sector such as transportation and storage, information & communication and construction accounting for 53.9 percent of total real GDP. Agriculture growth

slowed to 1.2 percent y/y, the lowest since 2015 and 1.8 percentage points lower than the previous quarter. The decline in agricultural growth was largely due to slower expansion in crop production to 1.5 percent y/y Q1’18 from 3.4 percent y/y.

The slowdown in crop production growth was primarily driven by the tensions arising from the herdsmen crisis in the North and other areas of the country, in addition to flooding across major farm belts.

This decline saw manufacturing growth fall to 0.6 percent y/y in Q2’18 from 3.3 percent y/y in Q1’18, primarily due to a decline in growth of the food, beverage and tobacco sector which dropped to the lowest in five quarters from 5.4 percent y/y in Q1’18 to 1.2 percent y/y in Q2’18.

On-going down trading in the sector alongside the increase in excise duties on alcohol and tobacco products have continued to hamper growth. Even with the decline

the services sector expanded to 2.1 percent y/y in Q2’18 as against Q1’18 0.4 percent y/y, the highest growth recorded since 2016.

Affirming to a PriceWaterHouseCooper forecast that recovery in the non-oil sector will drive growth in full year 2018. This growth was driven by an improvement in heavy sub-sectors such as information and communication which was 11.8 percent y/y, transportation and storage 21.7 percent y/y and construction 7.6 percent y/y.

According to PWC report, it is believed that a continuous improvement in the macro economy should drive growth in H2’18. This growth should be supported by ongoing reforms in the external business environment.

Very recently the companies and allied matters act (CAC) that has not be amended for the past 28 years has been passed by the senate to the house of representatives to repeal and reenact the bill.

NNPC disowns trending fraudulent recruitment exercise HARRISON EDEH, Abuja

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he Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has disowned a recruitment advertisement currently trending in the social media,describing it as fraudulent.

A statement by the NNPC group general manager, group public affairs, Ndu Ughamadu, described the advertisement as phoney, advising unsuspecting members of the public to be wary of the scam.

The corporation said the recruitment announcement or invitation to recruitment interview of this nature appearing intermittently in the social media should be discountenanced, as NNPC was not carrying out any recruitment exercise now.

The National Oil Company dissociated itself from the fake e-mail address to which unsuspecting prospects were asked to direct their Curriculum Vitae in the placement advert.

NNPC reminded job seekers to note the antics of scammers who deploy, on social media platforms, such communication strategies as text messages, vacancy announcements and forged letters inviting them for non-existing job interviews, saying they are tricks to extort money from them.

NNPC cautioned that any applicant who entertained such invitations would have himself or herself to blame, encouraging those who had already fallen victims to volunteer information to the law enforcement agencies.

The corporation stated that as an equal opportunity going concern, it would, as usual, advertise at appropriate time, vacancies in the corporation through the national dailies.

The advertisement, set in NNPC’s corporate colour with its logo and a corporate picture, invites candidates with background in Sciences, Engineering, Business/ Finance, Social Sciences, Arts/Humanities as well as Medical/Health Sciences, to apply, this time, without stating any required educational attainments of prospects, unlike in the past wherein the scam advert had listed the following as requirements for qualification: Master’s degree, Bachelor’s degree, Higher National Diploma (HND) and National Diploma.

Experts links excessive substance abuse leads to increased youth kidney failure ANTHONIA OBOKOH

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xcessive substance abuse among Nigeria’s youths has been linked as one of the leading causes of rising end stage renal diseases (ESRD), a situation experts have described as alarming.

The number of dialysis patients in Nigeria is put at 50, 000 with 15, 000 patients developing kidney diseases annually.

Tayo Lawal, medical director of Gbagada General Hospital, Lagos said in an interview with BusinessDay that the major cause of end stage chronic kidney failure is the growing prevalence of diabetes and hypertension which are related to lifestyle changes.

“The rising incidence of kidney failure among youths is because of excessive drug abuse and it is becoming worrisome in the society. When the kidney fails automatically, the end point will be to have kidney transplant and that come out to N13 million as at now in the country, so it is not an easy task” Lawal said.

Lawal advised youths to avoid the habits of abusing drugs, because the consequence is kidney failure.

However, there is a lot that the government can do.

“In terms of social advocacy, lifestyle modification, getting regular checkup, taking care of diets and mostly not abusing drugs unnecessarily” Lawal added.

According to industry ex-

perts, people with ESRD are required to undergo three dialysis sessions a week (each lasting between three and four hours).

About 36 dialysis sessions (three months) are expected to establish an individual has end stage renal disease and the six dialysis sessions presently covered by the health insurance scheme will be insufficient to establish that.

BusinessDay investigations show that the distribution of renal units in Nigeria is abysmally low to the rising prevalence of kidney failure; experts say the exponential growth and upsurge of chronic renal failure in patients’ calls for more renal services, nephrologists and sophisticated dialysis machines and medicaments.

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Osinbajo reiterates FG’s commitment to empower SMEs through right policy KELECHI EWUZIE

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ice President Yemi Osinbajo says the federal government will continue to support businesses, not just big business but particularly small, medium-sized businesses and micro businesses by implementing right policy.

Osinbajo says that government is committed to bridging the credit gap and empower Nigerians at the grassroots.

Speaking at the launch of TraderMoni, the collateral-free loan of N10, 000 targeted at petty traders and artisans, in Iwo, Osun State, Osinbajo says the scheme is part of the National Social Investment Programme which is under Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP)

According to the vice president, “The loan is a progressive one which will not only help traders to expand their businesses but also change their levels by making their lives prosperous.

He opines that TraderMoney will not only uplift Nigerians but will also discourage corruption. “This programme is part of Social Empowerment Programme

by President Buhari to discourage corruption in this nation and serve as a means to help petty traders in the country. We want the wealth of this nation to be shared to every Nigerian.

“We are looking at the bottom of the pyramid. We believe that if they are encouraged by giving them credit, what it means is that, we will be lifting from poverty a very large number of our people.

What we have seen from the beneficiaries is that, they are actually able to improve their inventory and buy more so they can sell more. Osinbajo said, “We want to empower the masses especially those who are not lazy; we have to empower them with loans to continue with their trades”, he said.

The loan is targeted at food sellers, mai shais, petty craftsmen, shoe repairers, bricklayers, okada riders and petty traders. The initiative is an addition to MarketMoni, which already caters for market traders and FarmerMoni which is for farmers.

Like its GEEP predecessors, MarketMoni and FarmerMoni, TraderMoni draws it strength from the rapid surge in mobile penetration and use of communication devices, which is a

platform for improving financial services, even to the unbanked in the rural areas.

He charged the benefitting traders to pay back the loan facility, stressing that this would give opportunity for others to benefit.

According to Toyin Adeniji, executive director of the Bank of Industry, “The Federal Government is on target to empower two million petty traders with the TraderMoni loans and will unlock the massive potential in the informal economy.

TraderMoni will disburse a minimum of 30,000 loans per state and the Federal Capital Territory.

Launched earlier in August in five markets across Lagos, TraderMoni has produced beneficiaries in Kano, Abia, Katsina and Akwa-Ibom with more states lined up.

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MPC members foresee uncertainties around liquidity, capital flows in 2019 …Banks NPLs moderate to 12.45% HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE

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he outlook for domestic economic conditions in 2019 is seen laden with uncertainties around liquidity and capital flows, among others, members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) indicated in their personal statement.

Edward Lametek Adamu, deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) who specifically stated this in his personal statement noted geopolitical tensions and trade issues on the global front have remained, even as the outlook for global output growth continues to be largely positive. He stressed the need for more reforms in the country’s fiscal and financial systems to deal with persistent liquidity threats and ensure better credit intermediation, respectively.

In her personal statement, Aishah Ahmad, deputy governor, CBN, said, “Half way into the year, the path of growth and other macroeconomic indices are more evident, but the effect of the

emerging global and domestic economic landscape still bears uncertainty”.

However, she noted improvement in the financial condition metrics for the banking system, which she said is gratifying.

According to her the Banking stability report shows improvement in capital adequacy ratios from 11.43 percent in February 2018 to 12.08 percent in June 2018 and declining non-performing loan ratios from 16.21 percent to 12.45 percent over the same period, reflecting the gradual positive impact of economic recovery on the banking sector.

Although the maximum and prime lending rates declined marginally, new credit to the private sector also declined and interest rates remained higher than ideal levels required to stimulate new investment.

“Review of industry profitability indicates tightening margins; with lower interest earned - as yields on government securities moderate and higher interest expense - as industry liabilities grow.

PDP guber aspirants sign peace pact over Osun poll OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja

T L-R: Thebe Ikalafeng, MD/CEO, Brand Leadership; Taiwo Okunoren, creative director, Okunoren Twins Ltd, and Herman Mashaba, Mayor of Johannesburg, at the recently concluded Retail Congress Africa held in Johannesburg.

FG set to rehabilitate Enugu airport runway IFEOMA OKEKE

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he Federal Government has said that, it has concluded plans to carry out comprehensive rehabilitation of the runway of the Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu.

The state government has also been asked to support this move by releasing the lands for the installation of the facilities needed to make this effective.

This was disclosed by Muhtar Usman, director general of the Nigerian Civil Aviaton Authority (NCAA), who said that the runway has gone through a lot of short term repairs but to ensure that, it continues to meet international standards, government has to embark on

comprehensive rehabilitation of the airport.

The Usman made this known on Wednesday after inspection tour of the facility and other safety critical infrastructure at the airport.

He said NCAA and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigerian (FAAN) were prompted to visit and inspect the airport facilities following the call by the governors of the South East states for urgent action on the runway.

The governors described the runway as danger awaiting to happen.

The NCAA boss said the runway is safe and that is why the regulatory authority allowed flights at the airport, noting that Ethiopia Airlines operates international flights three times a

day from the airport.

According to him, “If maintenance has not been done according to standards and renewals have not taken place as and when due, we certainly will have some failures like this. Last year, Abuja runway was closed down as a result of similar problems’’.

Salisu Daura, acting managing director of FAAN and director, engineering services, said that the agency plans to install airfield lighting, approach light and other safety critical amenities in order to make the airport operate longer hours into the night.

“Utilisation of airport is directly correlated with the operating hours of the airport and that is why are very concerned about installing all the aids in this airport.

wo candidates of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the September 22 governorship election in Osun State, Ademola Adeleke and his closest challenger, Akin Ogunbiyi, have signed a peace agreement to bury the hatchet and ensure the party’s victory in the poll.

The peace move was brokered by Bukola Saraki, the Senate President who also chairs the PDP Osun state governorship campaign committee. Saraki expressed delight that the party is going into the September 22 exercise as a united front.

Ogunbiyi, who emerged first runner-up in the party’s primary, had alleged outright vote stealing and manipulation by the Adeleke’s camp during the primary election.

But after the reconciliation meeting in Saraki’s residence in Maitama, Abuja on Wednesday, the two politicians promised to work together for the interest of the party.

Speaking to journalists after signing of the peace agreement, PDP governorship candidate and senator representing Osun West, Adeleke, expressed happiness about the development. He said this is an opportunity the people have been waiting for.

Alleged arms stockpile: How police raided Edwin Clark’s Abuja residence INNOCENT ODOH, Abuja

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acts have emerged about how men of the Nigeria police on Tuesday invaded the Abuja home of former Federal Commissioner for Information and leader of the Pan-Niger Delta Development Forum (PANDEF), Edwin Clark for alleged possession of arms and ammunition in his house.

BusinessDay gathered that six police men from the office of the Inspector General of Police, Idris Ibrahim, stormed the Asokoro residence of the 91 year old Clark and carried out a search of the entire house.

“The police men were from the IGP’s ‘Special Tactical Force’ STF, Guzape, Abuja, which reports only to the

Inspector- General of Police, just as they came with an 18Seater Hiace Bus and a four Runner Car, with registration number EU 979 ABC,” a source said.

The source said that the policemen who were led by one Kolo Yusuf said that they were with a search warrant that was obtained from the court, adding that three of them, who were heavily armed waited outside, while the other three entered the house and carried out a thorough search.

On arrival, the policemen were said to have gone inside the building and asked for Clark’s secretary, Dorothy Koko, who was said to have gone to the bank at the time the policemen stormed the house.

They then requested that she must come back and a call was made to her to come back to the office which she did immediately, the source said.

According to the source, when Dorothy Koko arrived, the policemen asked her to open her office, she did, they searched, thereafter went to her bedroom and toilet to search for everything, even as the rooms were turned upside down.

The source said further that soon after they finished with Dorothy Koko, the Police men now climbed up to Chief Clark’s bed room where they also carried out a search in his room, the toilet, his wife’s room, the Children’s room, all the parlours, among other places.

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The role of chief strategy officers in effective organizational management

EDWIN AGWU Dr Agwu is Associate Professor of Strategic Management, Lagos Business School, Pan-Atlantic University

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trategic management is both an art and a science. It is a science based on the fact that scientifically proven management techniques are now documented and applied to everyday management practices. Moreover, these scientific processes and practices are being taught to various cadres of managers. However, it is an art based on the age-long practices passed down in folktales. The Seven Wonders of the World had an in-depth application of strategic management, the hanging coffins of Sagada in the Philippines, among others goes a long way to entrench the age long practices of strategic management which makes it an art.

Organizational managers view strategic management as the identification and illustration of the strategies that management implements in order to attain superior financial results for their organization, especially, in comparison to the competitors in the same industry. This enormous role however, falls squarely on the shoulders of the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer.

Usually the job description of the MD/CEO among others makes him to be responsible for leading the development and execution of the organization’s long term strategy with a view to creating shareholders value. The CEO’s

CHRIS ALIGBE Aligbe is an Aviation Consultant.

He sent the piece via kandimuwa@ gmail.com

I

n the Aviation Sector, the most trending news is all about the proposed new national carrier, “Nigeria Air” recently unveiled at the Farnborough Air Show by the Minister of State for Transport (Aviation), Senator Hadi Sirika.

The extent of discussions and reportage remain unequalled in the annals of the history of the industry. More critically is the number of high standing professionals in aviation and other sectors who have expressed their views on Nigeria Air. These include: Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, Bismark Rewane, Capt. Nogie Meggison, Capt. Roland Iyayi, John Ojikutu and Nick Fadugba. We have also had comments from Mr. Chike-Obi and journalists like Sonala Olumense.

All these are people who should be taken very seriously, among many others, when they ventilate on serious national matters either by virtue of their personal standing, profes-

leadership role also entails being ultimately responsible for all day-to-day management decisions and for implementing the organization’s long and short term plans. The CEO acts as a direct liaison between the board and management of the company and communicates to the board on behalf of management.

The CEO also communicates on behalf of the company to shareholders, employees, government authorities, other stakeholders and the public. This is an enormous task and makes it impossible for him to really get into the bits and pieces of the activities in the organization.

The cost of executive pressure The increasing pace of changes in all spheres and most especially in politics, social, economic and technological advances and their resultant effects as evidenced by corporate failures all around the globe and many organisational managers stuck in the middle (according to Michael Porters) has put increasing pressure on most MD/CEOs. It is lonely at the top and the pressure can be intense. Most have increased their reliance on their senior executive team to fill the execution void based on his inability to carry out the supervision and detailed management of these processes in detail. Unfortunately, these managers are also saddled with their own excruciating duties with time-lines to perform. They in turn saddle their subordinates with the duties from the CEO and the job is at best undone.

These haphazard approaches to management take its toll on the MD/CEO thereby adding to the executive pressures which crystalizes into poor organizational performance in the long run.

The chief strategy officer (CSO) This is relatively new but increasingly important in many

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…managers are also saddled with their own excruciating duties with time-lines to perform.

They in turn saddle their subordinates with the duties from the CEO and the job is at best undone

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organizations which have emerged in the past decade as a new addition to senior executive management positions as exemplified by many fortune 500 companies such as Cisco Systems, HP, etc.

Many chief executive officers have less time to devote to executing strategy, as a result, chief strategy officers come handy and they focus solely on strategy execution processes. Organizational strategy is what drives the organization towards the desire to change.

Therefore, it is the role of the chief strategy officer to understand what challenges lie in the horizon and where the shoes pinches within the organization and make plans for the implementation of the actions and articulating the overall organisational strategy to various stakeholders with the approval of the MD/CEO. These involve but not limited to shaping organizational strategy through strategic foresight, strategic innovation, strategic communications, and knowledge sharing.

Increasingly, chief strategic officers in various organizations are views in different contexts depend-

ing on the organizational structure, business and stakeholders expectations. Some of these contexts are discussed below: • CSO as an internal consultant: In this context, the CSOs carry out activities similar to the traditional external management consultants but in this case, they operate internally and are part of the system. While the execution of the strategies, ownership and responsibility lies with the various business units, the CSO and his team work hand in glove with these units in the formulation and execution of these business unit specific objectives with an eye on the overall organizational goal. They particularly come handy wherever there are issue that needed additional analytical backing, maybe a bit of objectivity, or at least a slightly more neutral perspective.

• CSO as a coach: It is assumed that people appointed to these roles are those that are vast in the organizational activities at the top end and or one that has transverse the various departments of the organization or similar organization and therefore has what it takes to deliver on the role. As the eyes and ears of the MD/CEO, who cannot be everywhere and the CSO acting in his stead, these CSOs must leverage their access to, and history with, the CEO and the board of directors to help the business units develop strategies that the board and CEO would approve. They also act as a kind of flexible, analytical resource to all business units and the entire departments of the organization.

• CSO as a change agent : Change agents do focus on execution and that is the real essence of the appointment. The CSOs as change agents spend the majority of their time with business unit heads understanding their pains, feelings and fears with view to the implementation of the set targets and feeding these back to the MD/CEO. Usually there must

be weekly if not daily meetings with the MD/CEO. Without these constant interactions, the MD/ CEO most likely will lose sight of the implementation issues in the organization. Therefore, as change agents, their success depends on their knowledge and network within the organisation Strategy formulation as simple as it sounds is an activity that draws heavily on the creativity of the human mind and there are no prescriptive formulae that give the right answer. In the current turbulent business environment, the changes to the business landscape exemplified by rapid globalization and new regulations put enormous pressure on the CEO’s struggle to innovate.

And the multiplicity of the roles of the CEO and various challenges make it even more difficult for CEOs to be on top of everything and even in area as important as strategy execution.

The COO or the CFO may seem like obvious resources to tap, but there are risks in delegating the oversight of strategy to either considering the enormity of their own roles. Chief Strategy Officers are usually responsible for identifying major changes in the environment, customer base or competition, and defining adjustments required. The strategic management process is more than just a set of rules to follow.

It is a philosophical approach to business. Upper management must think strategically first, then apply that thought to a process.

The strategic management process is best implemented when everyone within the business understands the strategy. The five stages of the process are goal-setting, analysis, strategy formation, strategy implementation and strategy monitoring, the Chief Strategy Officer best fits in this regard.

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Nigeria Air: Time to engage sional success, the positions they hold/have held or the group they represent. I have chosen the above commentators out of the numerous others, for the reason, inter alia, that their views aggregate most of the others. I will therefore identify and engage their various positions, not necessarily as a final rebuttal as in Zik’s “Civil-Military Diarchy”, but rather, to extend the frontiers of discourse on this critical national issue.

“Nigeria Air must fail” This affirmative position was advanced by one of Nigeria’s outstanding citizens––Dr. Oby Ezekwesili––whose incisive insights and analytical strength are usually magnetic. Having held various national and international positions, which include headship of Bureau of Public Procurement and Minister of Education as well as Vice-President of the World Bank, the tremendous experience and exposure of Dr. Ezekwesili, who was during her years under former President Olusegun Obasanjo (OBJ), nicknamed “Madam Due Process”, would have

been invaluable if she had said the Nigeria Air would fail rather than must fail. This is because, unlike “must”, which is proclamation of a mere wish, “would”, would have provided reasons why Nigeria Air would fail. This would have educated us a lot, more so when one remembers that Dr. Ezekwesili’s service under OBJ spanned the period when five attempts at floatation of a National Carrier (IFC’s privatization of Nigeria Airways, Kema Chikwe’s Air Nigeria and Nigeria Global, Isa Yuguda’s Nigerian Eagle and OBJ’s disaster called Virgin Nigeria) all failed. But since we do not have her usual insight, I find no basis to engage her “must fail” wish. To attempt to do so will either end in illicit deductions and imputation of improper motives or improper imputation of motives which are fundamental flaws in public discourse and logic.

Secondly, even in THISDAY’s report of her interview on AIT, which unfortunately I did not watch, she was reported to have opined that the government’s plan to invest US$300million to kick start Nigeria Air is a waste of public funds. She

looked at the opportunity cost of such an investment vis-à-vis other sectors of “higher” priority such as education, health and others. Dr. Ezekwesili, as reported, further went ahead to say that, based on her experience at the World Bank, “if the government wanted ‘Nigeria Air’ to be private sector-driven as it claimed, the design of the project would have been made in a way that the investors would have provided start-up fund for the airline”. Fair enough. But such designs have typologies and models which vary from one locale to the other. For instance, across Africa today, there are new national airlines coming up––Uganda, Zambia and those already up like Kenya Airways, Rwanda, Asky and AWA all of which have different models. Unfortunately, the THISDAY report did not indicate whether Dr. Ezekwesili proffered any model.

“The return on investment” argument This position advanced by one of Nigeria’s most outstanding financial analysts, Mr. Bismark Rewane, of “Financial Derivatives”

posits that, contrary to the Aviation Minister’s position that the US$300million start-up investment by the Federal Government will be recovered in three years of Nigeria Air operation, going by the known best returns on investment of airline globally, that, Hadi Sirika’s position is incorrect. Based on his further evaluation, he advised the government to rather focus on an MRO Centre and Airport Concession which he considers more profitable. I want to concur with Bismark in his financial position, not just because not to do so will be to engage a “lion in his den” but because the margin of direct financial return on investment in airline operations is usually low, uncertain and its volume is usually based on a lot of “ceteris paribus”; the protective cliché of economists.

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John McCain, the maverick who made sense...

DAPO AKANDE Dapo Akande, author of the acclaimed book, “The Last Flight...a personal journey to rediscovering values”, is also the Founder of MINDS Reform Initiative, a NGO focused Character Education.

Contact:dapsakande25@gmail.com

J

ohn McCain, maverick politician extraordinaire. Some may wonder why I wrote this piece. “What direct relevance does the life and death of this quintessential American hero have for our fatherland, Nigeria” you may wonder? For those of you quick to say, “nothing”, I beg to differ.

Senator John McCain lived a life of unalloyed service to his nation.

As a Naval officer during the senseless War of Vietnam, just about the only war the US have ever lost so woefully, he spent five excruciating years in Vietnam as a prisoner, when his fighter jet was shot down.

His career in the navy should not have come as a surprise being a son and a grandson of highly celebrated US Navy Admirals. His father and grandfather enjoy the distinguished honour of being the first father and son to attain the rank of four-star Admiral.

Even while on his death bed, awaiting the call which inevitably beckons on every mortal, John POSITIVE GROWTH WITH BABS

BABS OLUGBEMI Babs Olugbemi, the Chief Responsibility Officer at Mentoras Limited and Founder, the Positive Growth Africa

T

he management guru, late Peter Drucker was quoted to have said: “Culture eats strategy for breakfast.” This phrase was to show the importance of culture and the positive correlation between the success of any strategy and the culture. A strategy that is not compatible with the culture will not achieve its intended outcome. And if it does, it will not sustain it in the long run.

Culture is the multitude of habits of people over the years that have formed part of their ways of life. The importance of culture in the society, organisation or institution and to the strategy is premised on the fact that people drive the strategy. The inner most beliefs and value of the

McCain turned his ever sapping energy to “put pen to paper”. He expressed just how he privileged he had been to serve his country for over 60 years. Privileged to fight for his people both in the time of war and in the time of peace. He then made an instructive reference to the fallibility of man when he admitted he had also made some mistakes. Unlike how we often perceive such gestures on this side of the world, such a confession does not in the slightest diminish us or portray us as weak but only serves to remind us of the great heights we can attain in life in spite of our shortcomings; and not because we do not have any. Ironically, here lies our strength.

In his farewell letter to a grateful nation, he went on to admonish just how he felt his great nation should move forward, even when it was painfully obvious he would neither see nor share in the benefit his advice may eventually result in.

Such was his love for his country.

His primary concern was not if the tens of properties and sundry assets his position as a distinguished Senator had “afforded” him to acquire will suffice for his children and multiple generations of McCains yet unborn, even at the detriment of equally deserving countrymen. His burning desire was always to see his country, already arguably the greatest nation, occupying such a uniquely dominant space in the greatest time in history, fulfill its potentials.

This great patriot painstakingly prepared even the most minute detail of his final farewell rites; putting partisan politics aside by requesting that both the Republican leader (his political party) and the Democratic leader in the Senate, jointly lay the wreath on his coffin; hereby breaking with past

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No “family affair” for him but as so should be the attitude of any true servant, let alone representative of the people, he perpetually recognised his responsibility to put the interest of the people first.; not himself, not his party

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protocol. Republican Senate leader, Senator Mitch McConnell, while delivering his most moving speech at the memorial service in honour of Senator McCain held at Capitol Hill, revealed the very essence of the man when he said, “depending on the issue, you knew John would either be your staunchest ally or your most stubborn opponent.” What does this tell us? He fought on issues and he was guided by his jealously protected principles. His moral compass dictated which side of the argument he would perch on. He did not allow himself to be imprisoned by a primitive self-serving sense of party loyalty. No “family affair” for him but as so should be the attitude of any true servant, let alone representative of the people, he perpetually recognised his responsibility to put the interest of the people first.; not himself, not his party. Resulting

in his monicker, the Maverick, he would vehemently disagree with his own party if he felt it was in the best interest of his nation to do so.

Even before that question my friend, no, the issues were never once reported to border on how to ensure the purportedly gargantuan take home pay of National Assembly members remain a national secret; even when the economy was on a free fall, resulting in the nation quite unabashedly boasting of the largest number of extreme poor of any country in the world now; at least as was told us by Mrs Theresa May, the British Prime Minister during her recent lightening speed visit to Nigeria. Quite remarkably, 87 million Nigerians out of a total population of 198 million now live on less than $1.25 a day. At today’s rate of exchange, that amounts to roughly N450 per day or even more poignantly, less than N14,000 per month. Still N4000 shy of the stipulated national minimum salary. A minimum that most state governments are still struggling to pay.

John McCain was not foolish enough to argue about hiding any such information as any Tom, Dick or Harry in the US has unfettered access to such information by simply employing the services of Google via their smart phone.

Neither has it, may I add, ever been brought to our attention that he bickered with his colleagues over which ethnic group; Latino, Black or Caucasian should hold sway at one ministry or the other. His joy?

Only to serve the best interest of the people.

Displaying an astonishing sense of sportsmanship but befitting of his now famous nickname, Maverick, McCain personally reached out to his one time sworn

adversaries, Presidents George H W Bush and Barack Obama, asking them both to honour him by giving a speech at his funeral. Both men had at different times defeated him, denying him his life long ambition of becoming the President of the United States. There are many lessons to be learned here. A contest, no matter how hard it is fought, should never be a zero sum game.

McCain died at the age of 81, having served in both chambers of any nation’s bastion of modern democracy, the National Assembly. In the American House of Representatives and the Senate he served for over 35 years cumulatively.

I leave you with these everlasting words by John Sidney McCain III (Aug 29, 1936 - Aug 25, 2018) we read: “And I owe it to America. To be connected to America’s causes–– liberty, equal justice, respect for the dignity of all people––- brings happiness more sublime than life’s fleeting pleasures. Our identities and sense of worth are not circumscribed but enlarged by serving good causes bigger than ourselves..... But we have always had so much more in common with each other than in disagreement. If only we remember that and give each other the benefit of the presumption that we all love our country we will get through these challenging times. We will come through them stronger than before.

We always do.”

Thank you Senator McCain.

While on this side of eternity, you may never have imagined just how impactful those words would be, even far beyond the shores of your dear fatherland. Indeed, you fought a good fight, with both sword and rhetoric. Maverick, rest in peace sir.

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Culture eats strategy: Breakfast or dinner people will either determine or undermine the effectiveness of the strategy.

As widely as culture (the combination effect of the people, structure, process & systems) is accepted in the business and political sphere of life, leaders of the society and organisations pay lip service its importance. Government and corporate organisations have invested a lot in crafting out visions, missions and core values using the best available nomenclatures to describe the desirables for their entities with less focus on the culture. The culture is the core values lived and not the values on paper.

Nigeria as a society, and within our public or private space, the new culture of seeking gratification or begging by people who are employed to provide services to others will eat up all the strategies to entrench equity and service as a way of life. Get to the airport or any public places with presence of either private or public security officers, the greeting is with expectations. You will hear ‘oga this is the weekend o, anything for the boys.’ It was more prominent at the airport during the baggage search days. You are forced to give something even when you had nothing to declare. This culture of

begging or lack of delay gratification will eat all the attempts to manage the image of the country if foreigners experience it.

A research was conducted on some private organisations by Mazars, a tax and accountancy firm in the United Kingdom. 63% of the respondents who are key decision makers did not consider it necessary to be mindful of the risk associated with the corporate culture, though they are responsible for setting the culture.

All the business entities want to operate as going concerns with infinite lives. However, what makes companies survive difficult economic and transition time and make them sustainable is the dominant culture within the workplace among other factors. It is the culture that makes an entity an organization or an institution. Organisations and institutions have core values, missions and visions. Only few organisations are institutions because its takes expressing the core values as a way of life in the business model, employee engagement and the workplace practices to qualify as an institution.

Thus, strategy not in alliance with the dominant culture might not achieve its intention outcome.

Hence, the culture eats the strategy as a breakfast. The most dangerous

case is where despite the deviation from the culture, a strategy is achieving results. There is the tendency for the owners of the business to assume the culture in not that powerful. They want to do away with poor employee treatments and customer service. There is the possibility for the emergence of the corporate arrogance. However, no matter how long the strategy works; culture in the long run will catch up with the results either through competition or staff attrition or other value eroding events. In such scenario, in a matter of time, the strategy will be eaten up as dinner by the culture.

Recall any organisation that failed during its trial period either through self-destroying strategy, personality conflict or external induced factors, you will trace the influence of culture to its demise. If the principal officers compromised as in most cases, it was as a result of the deficiency of controls––the culture within the workplace.

One of the potent ways for organisations to evolve into institutions is to carry out the culture audit. The source of information for an effective culture audit is not limited to the internal accolades.

The voice of the customers and other external ambassadors of

the company primarily the exemployees are very instructive in determining how well the core values are being lived.

It is not enough to have the culture audited. It is necessary for the board and the management team to weed the culture of its unintended manifestation. For example, a powerful result achieving employee must be weeded of the tendency to abuse his subordinates and see him or herself above the organisation.

The culture that enhances the sustainability of a business entity is one that ensures no one is above the entity’s core values and way of life. If anyone, including the bestperforming employee, violate any of the core values of the organisation, (which is the minimum standard of engagement with the stakeholders), such violation should be treated as sacrilege and investigated without executive immunity. Doing this will preserve the culture and ensure it does not eat the strategy for breakfast or dinner.

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OPERATIONS Fabian Akagha EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DIGITAL SERVICES Oghenevwoke Ighure ADVERT MANAGER Adeola Ajewole FINANCE MANAGER Emeka Ifeanyi MANAGER, CONFERENCES & EVENTS Obiora Onyeaso SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGER Patrick Ijegbai CIRCULATION MANAGER John Okpaire GM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (North)

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EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD

Thursday 06 September 2018

Time to restructure and rethink football in Nigeria

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n the past three months, football in Nigeria has served an unappetising menu of disappointment, a narrow escape from a ban by the global regulator and now a scandalous abrupt end to the league season. It all bespeaks trouble in the house of football. There is a need to look again at the structure, systems and processes of our football to organise appropriately for progress.

Much hope and hype attended the participation of the senior national team, the Super Eagles, in the World Cup hosted by Russia. Our colourful jersey won plaudits and earned great revenues for its kit sponsor Nike as well as the Nigerian Football Federation. Across the world, people wanted to identify with the Super Eagles and queued to buy the jersey and urge the team on.

Alas. The Super Eagles crashed out in the first round. They won only one match out of three. Their performance reprised the poor outing in the last event in Brazil. From the first outing in USA 94, passage to the round of 16 is the minimum expected of any Nigerian team at the

Mundial.

While the World Cup was on, the house of football in Nigeria was on fire with a tussle over leadership of the NFF. Mr Chris Giwa, aided

by Sports Minister Solomon Dalung, sought to take advantage of a court judgement pronouncing him president of the federation. It dragged.

It pulled and only took a threat of sanction by FIFA to restore Mr Amaju Pinnick.

Officials decided to suspend the Nigerian Professional Football League for one month allegedly because of the crisis but mainly to enable them to join the party in Russia. In contrast, league action continued in the host country Russia and in a few other nations who organise their football correctly.

The inglorious denouement came on August 31 when the League Management Company announced that it had agreed with the 20 clubs in the NPFL to end the 2018 season after only 24 games and with 14 games left. If they continued given the loss of one month, Nigeria would be unable to meet the October 15 deadline for countries to send in the names of their representatives to the Confederation of African Football for CAF club competitions. So, the League ended abruptly with Lobi

Stars as winners. We would present a team that has not gone through the rigours of a full season of league action!

While Nigerians gather in bars, clubs and homes to watch foreign leagues every weekend, the managers fail to organise a proper professional league at home. Elsewhere, the football leagues are becoming tourism ventures as well as the centrepiece of entertainment with a family outing to watch a league match a significant event. Nigeria is the land of Nollywood and its many variants. Imagine the marriage of Nollywood and football as entertainment!

Many problems bedevil football administration in Nigeria. As with football, so the other sports. The thinking is that football can and should be the tide that raises all boats, if well developed and managed, but there are many challenges in getting right the administrative and management structure of sports in general, and football in particular.

First is a misperception

by Government and administratorsof sports as a purely participator y endeavour and not an economic contributor. There is the absence of explicit legislation and policy to define the goals and objectives of the sector

to support the development of the sports value chain.

Experts cite this policy and legal lacuna as a drawback to the participation and investment of the private sector.

Then there are infrastructure deficiencies at all levels, from the grassroots through the amateur and professionalleagues.

Inadequate funding adds to the strategic limitations of administrators across the spectrum, leading to administrative, capacity and corporate governance gaps.

There are insufficient events and activities to create local demand to develop sports content. Finally, the sector lacksarticulated funding and investment models.

Experts at the “Sports as a Business” breakout session of the 23rd Nigerian Economic Summit in 2017 identified the previous issues and challenges. We applaud reports of further moves to engage with stakeholders in both the public and private sectors to chart a viable course for the development of sports as an industry capable of boosting the performance of athletes, creating employment and developing our youth.

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CityFile Soldier, 9 others killed as flood wreak havoc in Kebbi

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Pupils of LEA Primary School, Aleita, FCT sweeping their classroom as schools in FCT resumes after long vacation in Abuja on Monday. NAN

en persons including a soldier have been confirmed killed in two separate flood disasters in Kebbi State.

Abubakar Dakingari, the media aide to Governor Atiku Bagudu confirmed incident on Tuesday, saying the flood occurred in two local government areas of the state. He listed the communities affected as Kanya village in Danko Wasagu local government and Mahuta in Fakai local government.

“A soldier and nine other people were killed by heavy flood as a result of incessant rainfall in the state; the soldier was said to have died while trying to rescue a woman from the flood.’’

Dakingari said although the body of the woman was recovered, that of the soldier had been washed away, but effort was on to recover the corpse. He added that the remains of five victims were recovered at Kanya and three in Mahuta.

Isah Dan Hassan, the village head of Kanya, said that many houses, livestock and farmlands have been destroyed by the flood. He urged government to construct emergency bridge and provide canoes for the immediate evacuation of residents to safer areas.

At Fakai, chairman of the local government, Musa Jarma, said 48 houses and a bridge linking the town to other parts of the state were destroyed. (NAN)

Police recover arms, arrest Foundation lifts less privileged persons 1,874 suspects in Enugu

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ver 165 assorted arms and 160 ammunition had been recovered from armed robbers in Enugu within the first six months of this year.

Mohammed Danmallam, the Commissioner of Police (CP) in charge of Enugu State, who disclosed this, said the command also recovered 231 cartridges and arrested 1,874 persons for various offences within the period under recover.

The recovered arms, according to Danmallam, include: 10 AK47 rifles; 33 pump action guns; 56 locally-made pistols (single barrel) and 36 locally-made pistols (double single).

“We also recovered 12 locally-made cut to

SEYI JOHN SALAU

size short guns; three locally-made revolver short guns; 11 Berretta pistols and 17 single barrel long guns under the period under review,’’ he said.

The CP said 1,008 cases were reported to the command in the period under review.

“Among 1,874 persons arrested, 1,680 persons were charged to court and 356 of them had so far been convicted by the court.

“We have 718 of them still undergoing trial in different courts across the state,’’ he said.

Danmallam also revealed that the command recovered N1.5 million cash within the period under review.

He attributed the success of the command to dedication of officers and men of

the Nigeria Police Force serving in the state.

“The command has enjoyed a robust relationship with sister security agencies, the good people and government, as they keep supporting the police in all our efforts to fight crime and criminality. This has led to improved security situation in the state.

He, however, listed the challenges facing the command, including shortage of manpower and logistics, inadequate communication gadgets, vehicles, motorcycles, offices among others.

The command currently operates with five area commands and 37 divisions under it.

BRI: 4,000 conductors get Lagos’ accreditation JOSHUA BASSEY head of the planned roll out of the new buses acquired by the Lagos State government under the Bus Reform Initiative (BRI), some 4,000 members of the Bus Conductor Association of Nigeria (BCAN) have registered with Lagos State Drivers Institute (LASDRI) for training and accreditation.

Some of the new buses had since arrived and are being warehoused at the newly constructed Ikeja Bus Terminal ahead of official deployment before the end of this year.

Ladi Lawanson, the state commissioner for transport says the routes for deployment of the buses had been identified.

“In the last couple of months, we did the commissioning of the Ikeja terminal, which was meant to be the flagship. The Ikeja terminal was signaling the beginning of what was going to be the entire project, consisting of 13 terminals including Oyingbo, Yaba.

“The first set of buses have come and

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we are using the Ikeja axis as a laboratory where we are going to roll out from,” Lawanson said recently.

Israel Adeshola, president of BCAN said on Tuesday that the registration of the conductors would enable them function as stipulated in the rules and regulations of the state government in line with the transportation reform.

“Over 4,000 members are fully ready to operate along with the new Lagos State transportation reform. We have attended LASDRI for accreditation and also to the Directorate of Transport Commuters Service to get various identification badges including our uniforms.

“We want to assure the people and the government that our members are fully for the state transformation on transport system.

“All these we have done to get prepared for the state development plan in the transport system,’’ he said.

The official said that there were over 270, 000 bus conductors in the state, adding that over 4,000 of them had registered

as members officially.

According to him, the association has been telling members that very soon conductor work will no longer be business as usual.

“The association had trained and ensured that registered members get accredited by the concern authority to ensure accountability and effectiveness on duty.

“BCAN wants to ensure no more jumping and hanging on the buses anyhow. We are in line with the state government’s plan on the new transport reform and we enjoin others in the system to key into the system and get registered,’’ he said.

Adeshola appealed to the state government to carry members of the association along with the ongoing reform.

“We need government to assist us along with the ongoing reform in the transport sector.

“If the government is building the country or a state without carrying the youths along or involving them in the system the development may not be sustainable,’’ he added.

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rinitas Foundation, a non-governmental organisation set up to drive charitable support within the society to ensure a better place for all, recently donated items worth over N7 million to the less privileged through its Trinitas Empowerment Project.

The items donated include two tricycles (Keke), four motorcycles, 10 Lontor rechargeable standing fans, four Qasa washing machines, three microwaves, 10 portable gasoline generators, and 10 energy-saving refrigerators.

The Trinitas Empowerment Project, which is in its first phase, seeks to empower 20 random people resident in various places around the South-west. The aim is to get people off the street as well as lift them above the poverty line.

Speaking at the event in Lagos, Ade George, CEO, Trinitas Foundation, said empowerment through love, care, education and support was the way forward to lift people out of poverty.

“Poverty hinders the ability to think clearly and positively, and whilst dishing out cash might be a quick fix for the less privileged, we believe that empowerment isn’t just about money, even if it’s extremely important. Empowerment mostly is about the willingness to invest your time and effort into showing the less privileged around you love, care and compassion,” George said.

Besides the donations, he said Trinitas would assist eligible youths to get suitable jobs that match their skills. The Foundation, he said, was also providing rented apartment for a few homeless people to take them off the street, adding that the beneficiaries would also be set up with trades and businesses to sustain that rent and put food on their table.

Yanju George, CEO, IBIC Exchange and one of the sponsors of the empowerment project, advised Trinitas to get more involved with various humanitarian programmes that would afford the Foundation the opportunity to create alliances with various other foundations/bodies that could in turn provide support when needed.

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BUSINESSTRAVEL Leveraging APEX to attain global safety standards in Nigeria Stories by IFEOMA OKEKE

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ast year the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) certified two Nigerian airports- Lagos and Abuja, fit on safety and security measures, thus becoming the first country in West and Central Africa with two certified airports.

The certification is in line with requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Annex 14, and part 12 of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Regulations on safety of air navigation.

The primary objective of the global air navigation plan is to achieve a safe, efficient and environmentally friendly global air transport system through the deployment of harmonised air navigation facilities.

Before the certification, Airport Council International (ACI) guided the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) on the provision of facilities and equipment at the two airports in accordance with recommended practices, in order to meet international standards.

A team from the ACI worked tirelessly with a committee made up of officials of NCAA and FAAN, especially on the airside in the areas of security and safety.

It was after the stipulated conditions were met that the NCAA, in accordance with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) regulations, certified the two airports as meeting safety and securitystandards.

The certification enhanced the ratings of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja in Africa, as the Lagos airport, which is the fifth busiest airport is projected to become a major hub in West and Central Africa.

L-R: Rajeev Lollbeharie, Head Security Services ACI ; Murtala Muhammed International Airport cheif of Security, MMIA, Sadiku Mamman; Mostafa Jbara, avaition security training centre director; Director of security services, groupUsman Abubakar Sadiq (Rtd); Brahim Lakhlifi, ACI WORLD Consultant, Murtala Muhammed International Airport Lagos Airport Manager, Victoria Shin Abba; Jamel Dridi, avaition security and facilitation expert; Mick Delany, deputy head of operational security and police).

On Monday, a six-man team from Airport Excellence (APEX), an arm of Airport Council International (ACI) commenced security and safety inspections of facilities and equipment at the MMIA, Lagos to determine its level of compliance to international best practices.

The team, which was led by Brahim Lakhlili has begun inspecting the airside, apron, tarmac and the perimeter fences of the airport to know its level of compliance, open items and how they could be closed.

The team is expected in the airport for a weeklong programme and training of personnel, while it would also move to the NAIA, Abuja next week for the second phase of the exercise.

In pursuit of promoting safer airport operations and co-operation between the ICAO, aviation

Air Peace deepens regional operations with night flights

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igeria’s leading carrier, Air Peace, on Sunday boosted its regional operations with the introduction of night flights out of Lagos, Accra, Banjul and Dakar.

A statement signed by Chris Iwarah, the carrier’s corporate communications manager, quoted Oluwatoyin Olajide, the chief operating officer, as saying the new flights were part of the airline’s strategy to make air travel on the West Coast of Africa seamless and more beneficial.

Olajide described night flights, which commenced from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos on Sunday, as a relief for business and leisure travellers on the West Coast, looking to utilise their trips to transact their business unrushed.

“We keep reviewing our regional operations in line with our promise to provide seamless, on-time and comfortable flight services. Whatever the travel needs of our esteemed guests, we want to be able to provide a service that fits their plans.

“We have been operating on the

West Coast of Africa for more than a year and a half. One thing we have come to realise is that a lot of persons like to travel at night and get to their destinations on time to do their transactions in a calm, unhurried and fruitful manner.

“This is the interest we are catering to with the introduction of night flights. We want our valued guests to arrive at their destinations, go about their business as they wish and still have enough time to prepare for their return trips.

“This is just the beginning of the new innovations and win-win travel options we are bringing to air travel on the West Coast of Africa. We value our guests and are always ready to make our flight schedules and timings as comfortable as possible for them”, she said.

Speaking on the development, Nchang Damarisambem, a passenger on the night flight from Dakar to Lagos, said the option met her desire to arrive Lagos on time and continue her onward journey to Calabar for her transaction.

stakeholders and airports worldwide, ACI developed the APEX Programmes, which currently includes APEX in Safety and APEX in Security.

The programme is based on ICAO standards, national regulations and ACI best practices. The APEX Programme combines the mandate for regulatory compliance with day-today operational needs to maximize operational efficiency and safety and/or security standards. Moreover, APEX reviews are tailored to the individual needs of airports and APEX Reports propose effective and targeted solutions. APEX. Speaking with journalists at the Lagos Airport, Usman Sadiq, director of security services, FAAN, said that it was not an audit exercise, but self-review to know the extent of com-

pliance to international standards by the airport.

Sadiq explained that the team was at the airport not for only correction, but about assistance where necessary to the airport and FAAN, stressing that the team would also look at the agency’s facilities manpower at various locations, perimeter fences and others that had to do with security and ways to improve on them.

He added: “The industry has a lot to gain from the exercise. In fact, we feel happy when we see such organisations in our country because they make us stand on our toes. They make us see areas where we lack facilities and how to improve such areas and you will agree with me, we are trying to be the best in Africa and eventually in the world.

“So, such constant visits, auditing

of our concerns is a welcome development. They look at our airside, equipment, facilitation and a lot of things as regards security and safety in the system.

“Security is very key to every development. Without security there is no development and without development, there can be no security.

That’s the fact and we know areas that we are lacking and we know that we are striving to make improve on those areas. The Federal Government is doing its best and FAAN too is doing its best to constantly improve on its facilities.”

Also speaking at the event, Victoria Shin-Aba, the airport manager, South West, said the management was prepared for the exercise.

She said it wasn’t the first time the MMIA management would be working with APEX, recalling that it worked with the team in 2015 towards the certification of MMIA in 2017 by the NCAA. She posited that FAAN had got to a stage where it had to comply with International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) safety and security recommendations.

Lakhlili, the team leader, explained that APEX was a peer review programme with the airport security and safety as its cardinal point.

He said the team would bring its experience to bear in charting a way forward for Nigeria in the area of security and safety.

“It is a learning process and of course we will try to see whether there are areas to improve and we will as well try to pick some areas to replicate with other airports. We are not here to audit the agency, but here to work in collaboration with our colleagues and to see what we can improve in the system.”

Other members of the team were Jamel Dridi, Mostafa Jbara, Rejeev Lolibeharee, Michael Deleney and Precious Khoza.

Sirika confirms participation as NAMA holds stakeholders’ interactive forum

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adi Sirika, the minister of state, Aviation, is to lead a Federal Government delegation to Lagos as the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) holds its first stakeholder’s interactive forum for the year 2018.

The minister who has confirmed attendance will be the special guest of honour and is expected to declare the event open. The NAMA Stakeholders’ Interactive Forum which is scheduled to take place on Tuesday,

the 11th of September, 2018 at the Sheraton Lagos Hotel, Ikeja is expected to attract key industry players, experts, service providers, chief executives of aviation agencies and other stakeholders.

Fola Akinkuotu, the managing director of NAMA, in a statement, said the agency would use the opportunity of the forum to enlighten its esteemed customers about important developments in the agency’s critical infrastructure and service delivery processes, in

keeping with its statutory mandate as the nation’s air navigation service provider, as well as Executive Order 001 on the ease of doing business.

Akinkuotu said the feedback from stakeholders at the interactive forum would enable NAMA to plan and strategically prioritise its services and procedures with the overall goal of consistently enhancing safety of air travel in the country, pursuant to its vision of being one of the leading Air Navigation Service Providers in the world.

Emirates Nigerian staff clinches leadership award

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mirates Airlines has rewarded its top performers in the Leadership Award ceremony, hosted in Dubai, where Nigerian, Samuel Babatunde Adekanmbi emerged as one of three finalists for the internal recognition.

The Leadership Award, established in 2016 is targeted at em-

ployees in the retail and contact sales under the customer sales and service team leaders division, across all regions, after evaluating their performance for the year 2017 – 2018.

“I am thrilled to be one of this year’s Leadership Award winners’, says Adekanmbi after receiving the accolade. “To be recognised for

my contribution and team work by an organization like Emirates is extremely gratifying and humbling, and I am proud to be a part of an organisation that values its employees the way Emirates does.”

Other finalists of the Leadership Award included employees from India, UK, UAE and Singapore.

Thursday 06 September 2018

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BUSINESS DAY

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COMPANIES & MARKETS

Thursday 06 September 2018

Insurers will find new opportunities in Autonomous Vehicles – KPMG report

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C Co om mpa pan ny y n ne ew ws s a n a ly s i s a n d i n s i g h t

UKPA Energy $35m waste-to-energy power plant to support manufacturers in Ogun RAZAQ AYINLA, Abeokuta

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anufacturers in Sango-Ota, Igbesa-Agbara industrial hubs of Ogun state are going to have a sigh of relief any moment from now, as one of Sub-Saharan Africa energy companies - UKPA Energy Company Limited proposes a $35 million wasteto-energy independent power plant in the axis to supply and offer energy for manufacturing activities in the area.

UKPA Energy Company Limited, being the 9th independent power plant to be sited in the state, is bringing in best world technology in power generation and distribution using garbage to produce refuse-derived fuel to power proposed 10MW independent power plant that feeds manufacturing plants.

Speaking at the Stakeholders’ meeting with Ogun state government recently in Abeo-

kuta, Ewie Aimienwauu, managing director, UKPA Energy Company Limited, declared that company planned to build and produce 18MW in the long run, but would start with 10 MW, using municipal waste to generate clean, green and renewable energy in partnership with the European energy consortium MK Management, Covata Incorporation and Hansa Green LLC. Aimienwauu, who made a short presentation in presence of government team and some members of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Ogun state branch led by Motunrayo Elegberun, revealed the proposed Ogun State/UKPA energy initiative chose the State for the project, based on its emergence as investment destination of choice through various infrastructural projects and face lift by Ibikunle Amosun-led government.

He added that, this new technology has been adopted by most develop countries,

including United Kingdom and Nigeria would be second African countries where waste-toenergy power generation technology would be adopted after Ethiopia, saying the project would be jointly be provided by both the State Government and his energy company.

Responding, the Consultant to the State Government on Energy, Taiwo Fagbemi, enjoined industrialists in the area to key into the project by cooperating with government for its realisation, saying they would benefit immensely, as it would offer a metering process and pay as you go platform for power distribution and usage.

Fagbemi added that the waste to energy project would reduce cost of power generation by the industries, which could be used for workers’ welfare, while it would also be a waste to wealth opportunity for the people in the State, noting that the project would improve business activities in the axis and help to develop infrastruc-

Red Star Express grows turnover by 15% to N8.4bn HOPE MOSESOASHIKE

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ed Star Express PLC, one of the leading logistics Companies in Nigeria recorded 15 percent increase in turnover to N8.4 billion in the financial year ended March 31, 2018, compared to N7.3 billion in the preceding year.

This follows an addition of fresh N1billion revenue that was made possible by several growth platforms being championed by the management of the company.

Asset of the company increased to N5 billion from N4.5 billion in the previous financial year; likewise, the shareholders fund increased from N2.4 billion to N2.5 billion.

Speaking during the company’s Annual General Meeting, (AGM) in Lagos, Mohammed Koguna, chairman, said that despite the challenges locally and on the global scene, the company concluded the last financial year successfully and reported brilliant number almost across all performance indices.

He said directors are pleased to recommend to the shareholders the payment of N236million at 40kobo gross per share, adding that payment of dividend is subject to withholding tax at 10percent.

Koguna maintained that the company is committed to the creation of wealth for shareholders in appreciation for their support at all times.

The company’s authorized share capital is currently N500 million, comprising 1 billion ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each with an issued share capital of N294,748,155 representing 589,496,760 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.

On its future outlook, Koguna said the board and management have a strong commitment to explore new opportunities for revenue expansion, invest in the right resources and provide the supporting work environment to the entire staff to express inherent potentials.

Sola Obabori, group managing director, disclosed that the Company is committed to ensuring sustained and steady growth of its operations and return on investments.

Responding to questions by shareholders Obabori, said the company will not fail in its commitment to pay dividends year on year as some require it for their retirements, while others need it to sort out their family obligations.

Obabori promised to look into some of the suggestions by shareholders on its corporate social responsibilities.

While addressing other concerns of shareholders he said, “The Company has tenure for every director and once any director’s tenure elapses, he will step aside for another person.

We will continue to take care of our staff. We pay far above average salary so that staff can put in their best.

“Regardless of the volatile economy, we will continually invest in our resilient employees, optimize our processes, refine our strategies, engage in cost efficiency, focus on new initiatives and increase our market share across the emerging economic sectors. We believe our commitment will give us the thrust we need to achieve maximum benefits for our esteemed shareholders”, Obabori added.

ture, as well as boosting government’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

Also, Bimbo Ashiru, commissioner for Commerce and Industry, who hosted the en-

ergy experts and industrialists in his office, noted that meeting was conveyed to ensure due diligence in the whole process as the capacity and capability of the energy company would be

determined before the process could kick start, explaining that sustainability of such power plant is key to economic development and gross domestic product growth

L-R : Ovie Adasen, manager, projects, IDEAS, Stanbic IBTC ; Olukunle Iyanda, CEO , BROOT Consulting and partner, Design Thinkers Academy ; Patricia Jemibewon, HR director and design lead, Coca Cola Nigeria, and Robert Bloom, founder/managing partner, Design Thinkers Academy, South Africa, at the design thinking workshop for innovation leadership in Lagos .

Abia to support leather, garment clusters to boost economy GODFREY OFURUM Aba

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overnor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State has stated that the leather and garment sectors in Aba, the State’s commercial hub, are contributing immensely to the economy of the State and deserves support.

He revealed that the shoe cluster in Ariaria alone employs about one-million people and should not be ignored, because of its economic relevance.

He reiterated that his focus on providing infrastructure in Aba and Ariaria axis of the commercial city, is to provide conducive environment for artisans in the various clusters in that business corridor.

Ikpeazu, while endorsing the Bank of Industry (BoI) loan scheme to the Leather Products Manufacturers Association of Abia State (LEPMAAS), comprising shoe, belt and bag makers in Aba, expressed his desire to make life better for the artisans.

He also promised to extend similar gesture to the garment cluster at Ngwa Road Axis, to ensure that they produce in a more comfortable environment.

“For the first time in 50 years, we did a cluster of five roads in that area. But that is like a small drop in a mighty ocean, because that place was abandoned for years.

“You can’t access Ohanku and other places within that area and we are worried. Our thinking is that God will give us the grace to continue to search out where our people are working and deliver to them quality infrastructure that can at least create what is required basically for them to move from one point to the other.

He decried inadequate power supply, which he observed has stifled commercial activities in Aba and applauded Vice President Yemi Osinbajo for approving an independent power plant for Ariaria.

In his words, “Collaborating with the agency in charge of rural electrification in the

country, Ariaria today has its independent power plant, gas fired, cleaner and more regular energy.

“And our prayer is that, though the project is in its pilot phase, we expect that by the end of the year, all parts of Ariaria, which hosts some of these clusters, will be powered in an uninterrupted fashion.

“It was for this reason that we started the made-in-Aba campaign, because we knew that through aggressive marketing, we can draw the attention of all kinds of people, including the BoI, Ministry of Power. And I want to give you the cheering news that they have all responded”.

He advised artisans in Aba to be proud of their products, by inscribing their logo on their products rather than using foreign logo and thereby giving credit to an Italian, who has made no contribution to the beautiful shoes, just because they want to market the product, thereby denying themselves the right of accolade for their hard work.

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COMPANIES & MARKETS Insurers will find new opportunities in Autonomous Vehicles – KPMG report Jonathan Aderoju

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ollowing the development of Autonomous Vehicles (AV) and Mobility as a Service (MaaS), individual ownership of vehicles will begin to decline with fleet arrangements becoming prominent. The importance will shift from providing individuals with cover to providing insurance for fleet owners and AV manufacturers.

Insurers will there need to develop far more agile, responsive and real-time offerings that are wrapped into the connected mobility ecosystem.

The mobility ecosystem that is taking shape will bring significant disruption and therefore opportunity for the insurance industry.

According to a KPMG report Insurance companies will become integrated into other services such as AV rental on a pay-per-use basis.

In the face of the huge changes coming, insurers need to start acting and planning for it now. The migration away from personal insurance towards commercial will represent a fundamental change in how risks are managed by the insurance industry.

According to this report it is expected that the balance of personal to commercial premi-

From L-R Obinna Okechukwu, area sales manager, PZ Wilmar; 2nd draw star prize winner, Mamador Kitchen Makeover, Faith Francis Emesie, and Olalekan Olaniru, area sales manager, PZ Wilmar, at the official prize presentation in Abia.

ums to shift from 80 percent/20 percent today to 40 percent/60 percent by 2040.

At the same time, it is expected that the traditional insurance premiums will fall by as much as 40 percent by 2040 due to higher road safety through AVs. This alone is a fundamental challenge to the traditional

business model. Nonetheless, as the commercial insurance pool grows so economies of scale will start to improve, while cover for new risks such as cyber security, product liability and infrastructure such as cloud servers, sensors, signals etc. could be worth £900 million annually.

Ultimately, it is expected

that those insurers that get it right to increase profitability by over 30 percent by 2040 after experiencing a dip along the way.Taking into consideration the present day insurance landscape there is a clear picture of change that will occur in its traditional components.

Also the report indicates that the rise of AVs could lead

CHI gets sector recognition for value creation to stakeholders

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onsolidated Hallmark Insurance (CHI) Plc has been recognsed as the insurance company of the year, in a move aimed at encouraging underwriters that create value for shareholders.

The award, given to the company at the fifth anniversary of the Businesstodayonline held in Lagos, was based on the value creation of the

insurer to shareholders across the country.

Mary Adeyanju, Company’s executive director, Operations who spoke to journalists shortly after the event, reassured shareholders and investors that her company would continue to create value on their investments through increased returns.

Adeyanju, said that though the industry and the country

was going through a tough time, the management also realises the challenges facing the business environment, but has put strategies in place to ensure it operates above board to meet stakeholders’ expectations at any given time.

According to her, CHI has continued to re-strategies to ensure the best returns to all stakeholders, as claims pay-

ment policy remains one to beat in the entire industry, with the belief that satisfied customers will continue to spread the message of prompt service based on their experience.

The company’s official noted that the company has cleared its books through adequate provisioning for unpaid premiums, in accordance with regulatory requirements.

Access takes banking closer to customers on WhatsApp HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE

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he days of brick and mortar banking are fast becoming a thing of the past, as Nigeria’s leading financial institution, Access Bank keeps its tradition of breaking new boundaries of innovation with its latest offering, Access WhatsApp Banking.

Designed to provide customers with easy and reliable banking transactions, the WhatsApp banking service allows users to automate most

parts of the banking experience, providing customers the ease of remote banking with the efficiency of the best personnel and the intimacy of a customized experience.

“Access Bank continues to keep the pace as a leader in the digital banking revolution in Nigeria, with the launch of banking services on WhatsApp - one of the largest social media platforms.

This is yet another innovative way to connect customers to the plethora of services and banking options available to them from the comfort of

their mobile phones.” said Ade Bajomo, executive director, IT and retail operations, Access Bank.

“Now Access Bank is bringing banking closer to its growing customers by leveraging on the WhatsApp Application. We are excited to see the rate at which the service is being adopted and we can’t wait to see more of our customers enjoy the experience,” he added.

Access WhatsApp banking is a non-intrusive service which does not require users to download a new application or use extra data to access the op-

tions available. It works with the existing WhatsApp application and can be used immediately.

To connect with Access Bank on Access WhatsApp, all customers need to do is, add the mobile number- +234 9090 901 901, as a contact in their phones - “Access WhatsApp Banking”- the same way they would any other number. After saving the number on their phones all they need to do to activate the service is send a “Hi”. It is important to note that customers must use the number registered to their personal accounts with the Bank.

to perhaps 30-50 percent fewer accidents, driving the 40 percent fall in premiums by 2040.

However this innovation poses such serious concerns for customers meanwhile, there are big liability questions, such as who is responsible if an AV vehicle malfunctions and crashes are still to be resolved this will be an evolving area as case history, regulation and industry experience develops.

It is possible that a central pool will be needed to cover catastrophic risks such as terrorism, cyber hacks and total outages of service and systems.

The costs from such risks are likely to be too high for insurers to cover individually, meaning a reinsurance mechanism will be needed. There are precedents for this in some areas already today, such as terrorism.

Customers today expect the process to be quicker, simpler and more intuitive. This expectation will accelerate.

For example, if a user’s vehicle breaks down, they are likely to expect the provider to arrange for a new one to self-drive to them straightaway rather then enter into a protracted claims process.

With the emergence of this technology vehicles will become increasingly able to self-diagnose faults and automatically place an order for replacement parts of a vehicle.

Promasidor, CDC unveil microcredit for parents of children with disabilities

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romasidor Nigeria Limited, in partnership with Children’s Development Centre (CDC), has unveiled a lowinterest microcredit scheme aimed at empowering parents of children living with developmental challenges.

The scheme tagged, ‘We Too Can Grow’ takes off with a grant from Promasidor, manufacturers of Cowbell Milk, Top Tea, Onga seasoning and other quality food products. Five groups in Lagos and Ogun States, where the programme is taking off, have already signed up for the facility being disbursed through cooperatives.

Joyce Onafowokan, special adviser to Lagos State Governor on Social Development, said at the launch that the state government would partner CDC and Promasidor to deepen the programme’s penetration. She commended Promasidor for its support towards uplifting the living standard of the target group.

She said: “Most people don’t know the pains parents of those children go through.

Some of the parents do not have academic degrees. So, they need to be empowered and trained in skills to help them take care of their children.

Medications of some of the kids are costly.

SME Economy Conference to evolve growth support policies

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he SME Economy Conference aimed to provide platform where African entrepreneurs can incubate, innovate, upscale operations, and also get trained, mentored and also out of poverty has been slated to hold in Lagos.

According to the organizers, distinguished law makers, Mudashiru Obasa, representing Lagos State House of Assembly will be delivering a special award speech, while Lynda Chuba Ikpeazu, member House of Representatives, Onitsha North and South Federal Constituency) will be delivering a plenary conference address.

In a statement signed by the convener of the project, Emmanuel Ezima, the guest speakers are passionate about the growth of SMEs in Nigeria and have committed themselves to building infrastructure and while also evolving policies that will ensure that SMEs thrive and compete globally”.

The conference which is slated for two days will be held at between Saturday 22nd

September to Sunday 23rd September 2018, with have as its theme “Tech Governance Funding”. This year’s conference is projected to be the largest SME gathering, Ezima, “The conference is aimed to provide platform where African entrepreneurs can incubate, innovate, upscale operations, and also get trained, mentored and be out of poverty”.

This year’s conference is special, as it would feature exhibitions and a major Award ceremony that will recognize outstanding SMEs, who are innovating ideas that are changing Nigeria’s economic trajectory and also recognize stakeholders in government and private sector who have contributed meaningfully to the sector.

Delegates to the conference will be over three thousand youth driven SMEs across different sectors and SME service providers, including but not limited to creative, Events, Tech, Fashion, Entertainment, Makeup, Agriculture, Production, Manufacturing, Cosmetics and Corporate Services etc.

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Business Event

Suru Group deepens presence with new brand ambassador IFEOMA OKEKE

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uru Group, a company focusing in accommodation, hotels, properties and real estate developments has deepened competition in the market with the recent unveiling of its brand ambassador, Foluke Daramola-Salako.

Daramola-Salako, who is one of Nigeria’s most loved actresses, is expected to set a new pace for the company by promoting the company’s features and reputation.

Suru Group, in its bid to set a new pace in the real estate industry, decided to identify with the actress who has over the years lived a scandal-free lifestyle despite her popularity and social status, to portray its effective delivery in housing plans and acquisition.

Daramola-Salako is a graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University. In 1998, she made her film

debut in a series titled Palace.

She also starred in Durodola and Above Law. In 2016, her daughter was reported to be the host of a reality television show. Her film, Cobweb, which she produced and starred in got her Africa Movie Academy Awards bestsupporting actress nomination.

She noted that the film was inspired by her personal experiences, as her parents didn’t want her to delve into acting while in school. She is the founder of “Action Against Rape in Africa” initiative, which is a movement that seeks to curb rape and bring its perpetrators to book in Africa.

Speaking during the unveil in Lagos, Edward Akinlade, chairman of Suru Group said he had observed Daramola-Salako for a long time and admired her professionalism, hard work and scandal free life, so he decided to make her a brand ambassador of the company to reiterate that her values and that of the company aligns.

“Daramola-Salako will be involved in marketing for the company and talking about our brand. We will look at the values she is bringing in and the contract will be extended on the basis of the outcome of the partnership,” Akinlade added.

On her part, Foluke Daramola-Salako, said she felt elated and happy being the brand ambassador of Suru Group. “I feel that this partnership is long overdue, I have always wanted to work with this brand because it has been my family brand for a long time. I believe that with this opportunity, I have to go an extra mile to prove myself as part of being a family of Suru Group.”

Speaking on the benefits she will be bringing to the brand, she said “I intend to discuss with the managing director for me to have a party when I get to the US, where all I will do is talking about my brand to people in the diaspora because a lot of them do not the benefits Suru Group has over other competitors.”

Glo pledges greater support for females in digital ecosystem Jumoke Akiyode-Lawanson

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igerian telecommunications powerhouse, Globacom Limited (GLO), has reinstated the company’s commitment to fostering more digital opportunities for women in Nigeria. The telecommunications giant stated this when it led several organisations in the Nigerian IT public and private sector to pledge continuous support for women’s digital inclusion and economic empowerment. The Kemi Fadipe, head, Customer Care Call, Globacom, gave the pledge on behalf of GLO at Nigeria Women Digital Agenda Summit and Awards (NWDA) held in Lagos at Oriental Hotel, Lekki.

Fadipe stated that in a bid to giving women more active roles

and opportunities in the Nigerian digital ecosystem, “Globacom since inception has demonstrated its commitment to women’s empowerment in concrete terms, by opening up access to telecommunication services, making them affordable to all classes of Nigerians, including women, and promoting gender equality and fair access to ICT in Nigeria. According to Fadipe, it has been proven that there is a positive correlation between access to ICT and economic growth and development”, she remarked.

According to her, “GLO has been providing technical support and solutions to many female entrepreneurs, which has empowered them to compete favourably and advance in their fields of endeavour”. She also added that “Globacom believes that women empowerment is highly impor-

tant if Nigeria will surmount the obstacles associated with poverty and underdevelopment”.

Fadipe also reiterated that GLO is the largest supporter of the Nigerian entertainment industry which is dominated by women and the company intends to sustain this drive of empowerment by offering pocket-friendly innovative products and services within the reach of all regardless of age, tribe or gender.

Also speaking at the event, Joe Okei-Odumakin, the founder, Women Arise for Change Initiative, explained that social media is now a veritable tool for championing the cause of human rights as well as social enterprise, given it has afforded many hitherto unknown cases of abuse, and given a voice to many, especially women under abuse.

SON, NESP collaborate to standardise air conditioners, refrigerators Odinaka Anudu

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he Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the Nigerian Energy Support Programme (NESP) have partnered to harmonise standards for air conditioners and refrigerators to ensure seamless trade within West Africa.

Both agencies believe there is a need for uniform standards to address technical barriers to trade in the continent, saying that any generally acceptable standard would go a long way to boost intra-African trade.

Osita Abioloma, director general, SON, represented by Richard Adewunmi, director, corporate offices, Electronic Department, at a technical

meeting in Lagos, said the revised standard would set the minimum requirements for energy performance of power consuming appliances in all the member nations that form the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

He said an acceptable standard is one of the ways to checkmate the influx of substandard goods, stressing that the certificate issued by the technical harmonisation committee will be acceptable anywhere.

“If you leave Nigeria to other countries in West Africa, they will demand that you comply with their own national standards, but the ECOWAS in its wisdom has directed by its Heads of States.

We started the Eco Stamp five years ago. We are picking some electro technical standards and

harmonising them to boost intraAfrican trade and would also stand as some critical standard for products going in and out of the market,” he said.

Ene Marcham, a representative of NESP, said there is a need to come up with a message that gets to end users, manufactures and importers of air conditioners and refrigerators, maintaining that if the message is passed across in the right way there would a high level of sustainability in the long run.

Ayodele Afolabi, chairman, Nigeria National Committee, said with the move, Nigeria would be achieving a regional standard that will be adapted in a local market and from the trade point of view, products from Nigeria can easily be marketed outside the shores of the country.

L-R: Abubakar Suleiman, managing director Sterling Bank; Toyin Sanni, chief executive officer, Emerging Africa Group, and Ijeoma Obatoyinbo, managing director, FBN Quest Funds, during the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Panel Session on Financial Inclusion and Wealth Management in Abuja.

L-R: Paul Adebo, head, SME liability, First City Monument Bank (FCMB); Hamid Joda, divisional head, public sector; Enahoro Okhae, chief executive, Pause Factory; Abimbola Adebayo, managing director, PointLine Limited; Rose Anoh, chief executive officer, Nutrihit Nigeria Enterprises; Abdullahi Mainasara, acting regional head, Abuja & North, FCMB, and Sola Oyegbade, head, training academy of the bank, during the free FCMB Business Empowerment & Sustainability Training (BEST) for SMEs held in Abuja.

L-R: Veronica Nwanze, senior human resources business partner manufacturing, Nigerian Bottling Company Limited; Yanju Olomola, chief executive officer, The Source Coaching Limited; George Polymenakos, managing director, NBC, and Toyin Sanni, chief executive officer, Emerging Africa Capital, at the launch of Women in NBC Network in Lagos.

L-R: Sunny Nwagboi, head, corporate communication, NSIA Insurance Company; Ebelechukwu Nwachukwu, managing director; Shola Tinubu, president, Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers (NCRIB); Ekeoma Ezeibe, NCRIB hon treasurer, and Hafeez Toriola, director, Lagos State Vehicle Inspection Service, at the August Edition of NCRIB Members’ Evening in Lagos

Thursday 06 September 2018

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Investor

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In association with

Helping you to build wealth & make wise decisions NSE All Share Index

Year Open

38,243.19

Market capitalisation

N13.609 trillion

NSE Premium Index

The NSE-Main Board

NSE ASeM Index

2,564.13

1,713.69

1,087.32

Week open (17 – 08–18)

35,266.29

N12.941 trillion

2,527.30

1,572.19

809.92

Week close (24 – 08–18)

35,426.17

N12.933 trillion

2,527.30

1,544.54

809.92

Percentage change (WoW) Percentage change (YTD)

0.45 -­7.37

3.15 1.66

NSE Lotus II

NSE Ind. Goods Index

NSE Pension Index

330.69

2,560.39

1,975.59

1,379.74

835.80

296.07

2,428.66

1,716.66

1,314.12

817.57

295.38

2,455.40

1,750.30

1,288.23

NSE Banking Index

NSE Insurance Index NSE Consumer Goods Index NSE Oil/Gas Index

1,746.68

475.44

139.37

1,589.77 1,582.08

438.14

137.87

424.84

138.95

NSE 30 Index

-­1.76

0.00

-­0.48

-­9.87

-­25.51

-­9.42

-­3.04 -­10.64

0.78 -­0.30

976.10

-­2.18 -­16.24

-­0.23

1.10

1.96

-­1.97

-­10.68

-­4.10

-­11.40

-­6.63

Ikeja Hotel, GSK, Forte, 34 others cause record N200bn loss on Nigerian Bourse HEANYI NWACHUKWU

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he Nigerian stock market lost about N211billion in the trading week to August 31, following remarkable price declined seen across 37 equities led by Ikeja Hotel Plc, First Aluminum Nigeria Plc, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc, Forte Oil Plc, and Skye Bank Plc. The share price of Ikeja Hotel Plc recorded the highest decline of 18.64percent, after moving down from N2.79 to N2.27, representing loss of 52kobo. Investors in the stocks of GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc also booked remarkable losses last week as its price declined

by N2.20 or 14.38percent, from N15.30 to N13.10.

Also, shareholders of Forte Oil Plc saw the value of their stocks depreciate by N3 or 13.04percent, from N23 to N20. Lafarge Africa Plc was also on offer last week as its share price declined from N26.25 to N23.50, losing N2.75 or 10.48percent.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index (ASI) depreciated by 1.63percent in the review trading week to close at 34,848.45 points, while the value of listed equities –the Market Capitalisation stood at N12.722 trillion. The NSE ASI was 35,426.17 points in the preceding trading week to August 24 while the value of listed stocks was N12.933trillion.

Other stocks that contributed to the record decline include that of First Aluminum Nigeria Plc which declined from 40kobo to 34kobo, down by 6kobo or 15percent; Skye Bank Plc also decreased from 57kobo to 51kobo, down by 6kobo or 10.53percent.

Law Union And Rock Insurance Plc dipped from 81kobo to 73kobo, down by 8kobo or 9.88percent. The stock price of Axamansard Insurance Plc decreased from N2.55 to N2.30, down by 25kobo or 9.80percent;

International Energy Insurance Company Plc stock price declined from 42kobo to 38kobo, down by 4kobo or 9.52percent; while that of Standard Alliance Insurance Plc was down from 42kobo to 38kobo, representing 4kobo or 9.52percent.

Last week, thirty-seven (37) equities appreciated in price, higher than fifteen (15) in the preceding week; while thirty-four (34) equities depreciated in price, lower than fortyfive (45) equities in the preceding week.

Ninety-eight (98) equities remained unchanged lower than 109 equities recorded in the preceding week.

Portland Paints & Products Nigeria Plc led other stocks on the advancers’ lists after its share price increased from N2.47 to N2.98, up by 51kobo or 20.65percent. AIICO Insurance Plc stock price increased from 70kobo to 82kobo, up by 12kobo or 17.14percent.

P Z Cussons Nigeria Plc stock price increased from N13.05 to N15, representing N1.95 or 14.94percent.

Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc stock price increased from N1.10 to N1.26, up by 16kobo or 14.55percent ; while N.E.M Insurance Company Nigeria plc to

price advanced last week from N3 to N3.40, up 40 or 13.33percent.

Flour Mills Nigeria Plc stock price increased from N21.50 to N24.30, up

by N2.80 or 13.02percent; Diamond Bank Plc stock price increased from N1.10 to N1.23, up by 13kobo or 11.82percent. The share price of Eterna Plc increased from N6 to N6.70, representing 70kobo gain or 11.67percent increase; Niger Insurance Plc advanced from 40kobo to 44kobo, up by 4kobo or 10percent.

Caverton Offshore Support Group Plc stock price increased from N1.77 to N1.94, representing 17kobo or

9.60percent increase.

Last week, all other indices finished lower with the exception of the NSE Consumer Goods and NSE Oil and Gas indices that rose by 0.34percent and 0.97percent respectively, while NSE ASeM Index closed flat.

The market recorded a total turnover of 1.533 billion shares worth N23.026 billion in 17,009 deals in contrast to a total of 968.947 million shares valued at N10.246 billion that exchanged hands the preceding trading week in 9,654 deals.

The Financial Services Industry (measured by volume) led the activity chart with 1.218 billion shares valued at N12.634 billion traded in 10,132 deals; thus contributing 79.42percent and 54.87percent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

The Conglomerates Industry followed with 70.807million shares worth N120.611 million in 803 deals.

The third place was occupied by Consumer Goods Industry with a turnover of 58.505 million shares worth N3.422 billion in 2,624 deals.

Trading in the Top Thre e Equities namely – NEM Insurance Plc, Diamond Bank Plc and United Bank for Africa Plc (measured by volume) accounted for 512.615 million shares worth N1.928 billion in 1,818 deals, contributing 33.44percent and 8.38percent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

Also traded during the review week were 2,422 units of Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) valued at N3.752 million executed in 15 deals, compared with a total of 9,205 units valued at N201, 119.15 that was transacted the preceding week in 4 deals. A total of 42,158 units of Federal and State Government Bonds valued at N42.397 million were also traded last week in 25 deals compared with a total of 152,741 units valued at N179.381 million transacted last week in 13 deals.

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Investor’s Square

Derivatives Pricing

T

he April, May and June 2017 editions of FMDQ Spotlight provided an overview of derivatives, including the features and types of derivatives, the uses of derivatives, the market stakeholders/players, and the key concepts that feature prominently in derivatives transactions. This edition takes the learning on derivatives a little further and focuses on the pricing of derivatives.

To recall, derivatives are financial market products whose values are derived from one or more underlying assets or sets of assets, which can be bonds, stocks, commodities, precious metals, market indices, interest rates, etc.

Though the market price of a derivative product is based on and determined by the underlying asset, its ownership is distinct and exclusive.

Derivatives can be traded overthe-counter or on organised securities exchanges such as FMDQ. Derivatives are used by financial and non-financial institutions for a variety of reasons, including risk management, speculation and arbitrage. Generally, derivatives such as forwards, futures, options, and swaps are used by most businesses to reduce the volatility of their earnings streams by hedging exposures to interest rate, exchange rate and commodity price risks.

The pricing of derivatives depends on the component of the product and different types of derivatives have different pricing mechanisms. This piece will focus on pricing of the three (3) most common types of derivatives - forwards, futures and swaps.

1. Forward Pricing A forward contract is a nonstandardised contract between two (2) parties to buy or to sell an asset at a specified future time at a price agreed upon ‘today’, making it a type of derivative instrument.

Forward prices are usually the predetermined ‘delivery’ price for the underlying asset by both the buyer and seller of the ‘forward contract’ to be paid at an agreed date in the future.

So, at the outset, it’s a ‘zero-sum game’ and only in the event of a movement in the price of the underlying will the forward price also change – positively or negatively.

The standard forwards contract calculation is: F = S x e^(r x t) Where “F” is contract forward price, “S” is the underlying asset’s spot price, “e” is the mathematical irrational constant approximated at 2.7183, “r” is the risk-free that applies to the life of the forward contract and “t” is the delivery date in years.

The forward price takes its value from the current open market value (called the spot price) of the underlying asset while taking a good look at interest rates, time and inflation for that period. Where

currencies are involved, the risk of currency movement needs to be built in.

For example, assume a security is currently trading at $100 per unit. An investor wants to enter into a forward contract that expires in one (1) year. The current annual risk-free interest rate is 6%.

Using the above formula, the forward price is calculated as: F = $100.00 x e^ (0.06 x 1) = $106.18 2. Futures Pricing A futures contract (more colloquially, futures) is a s t a n d a rd i s e d f o r w a rd contract, where it involves a legal agreement to buy or sell a security/product at a predetermined price at a specified time in the future.

The pricing of a futures contract is much more dynamic than the pricing of a forward contract.

One of the primary differences between forwards and futures is that the price of a futures contract changes on a daily basis, depending on the movement of the market for that

contract; another is that futures contracts are standardised and are traded on organised Exchanges.

For Futures contracts, the basic pricing formula is as follows: F (t, T) = S (t) x (1 + r) (T- t) Where F (t, T) is the futures price, which is found by compounding the present value S(t) at time t to maturity T by the risk-free rate of return, r.

In summary, the futures price is found by finding the value of money ‘today’ using the compound interest rate.

F (t, T) = S (t) er(T- t) The above formula gives the value of a futures contract when continuous compounding is used. For example, a grains merchant (a farmer) who wants to secure a selling price for the next harvest season and a corn flakes manufacturer (an industrialist) desiring to hold down the buying price of the grain to take advantage of a possible rise in price of grains in the following season (depending on information available) can both enter into a futures contract. Both the farmer and the industrialist enter into a futures contract for

the farmer to deliver a notional one hundred (100) bags of grains to the industrialist at a given time the following season at a price of $5.00 per bag of grains.

To both parties, the agreed price is fair. Assume the price of grains increases by $1.00 per bag just the following day after both parties have entered into the contract. The farmer, as the holder of the short (sell) position, has lost $1.00 per bag.

The spread over the agreed number of bags is the net loss of the farmer.

On the days the price changes, the farmer’s account is debited with the loss position and the industrialist’s account is credited with the same amount.

This continues as the market moves throughout the life of the contract. Note that where the price direction changes to the benefit of the farmer, the opposite debit and credit entries to the accounts are performed.

After the settlement of the contract, where the contract

is settled in favour of the industrialist in the above example, the industrialist pays cash in the cash market for the market value of the grains and uses the profit made on the futures contract towards the purchase, effectively reducing his actual cost of purchase of the grains.

3. Options Pricing An option is a contract which gives the buyer (the owner or holder of the option) the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell an underlying asset or instrument at a specified price (the strike price) on a specified date.

Option pricing refers to the amount per share at which an option is traded. The price, or cost, of an option is an amount of money known as the premium. The buyer pays the premium to the seller in exchange for the right granted by the option.

For example, a trader expects company AB stock price to go up to N100 in the next one (1) month. He sees an opportunity to buy an option contract of the company at N50.00 with a strike price of N85.00 per share. He pays the cost of the option at N50 x 100 shares = N500.

•Have you been shabbily treated by your registrar, stockbroke r or other capital market operators?

Let us know and investor will help you investigate and report back.

E-mail: iheanyi.nwachukwu@businessdayonline.com

Economy & Markets

Between political expediency attracting Foreign Direct Investment

O

nThursday,August30,2018, Nigeria participated in the Africa Singapore Business Forum during which Yewande Sadiku, Executive Secretary/CEO, Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission(NIPC),madeastrong case for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the country. Participants who witnessed the Nigeria-specific investor engagement session described the presentation as smart and compelling not knowing that some Nigerian actions never cease to amaze, writes Akeem Ogunlade.

While the networking session was going on, news filtered in that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had imposed penalties on four banks and the country’s largest telecom operator for alleged infractions pertaining to money remittances. It was an enormous anti-climax for the Nigeriancontingent.Thenewswas consequently beamed worldwide while the Singaporean investors the country went to court took note.

Duringthesameperiod,British Prime Minister, Theresa May and German Chancellor, Angela Merkel,wereinNigeriatoenhance trade and investment between theircountriesandNigeria.Merkel came with a high profile business delegation. A debate about the consequences of the penalties on companies was then full-blown, and would have made some impressions on the visitors.

As it were, the apex bank ordered Standard Chartered Bank,StanbicIBTCBank,CitiBank Nigeria and Diamond Bank to pay fines totaling N5.87 billion, while MTN Nigeria was directed to refund the sum of $8.134 billion.

Standard Chartered Bank was fined N2.4 billion, Stanbic IBTC N1.8 billion, Citibank Nigeria N1.2 billion and Diamond Bank N250 million.

CBN claims the fines were imposed after painstaking investigation and its inquiry was triggered by “allegations of remittance of foreign exchange withirregularCertificatesofCapital Importation (CCI)” between 2007 and 2015, in “flagrant violation of extant laws and regulations of Nigeria, including the Foreign Exchange (Monitoring and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1995 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Foreign Exchange Manual, 2006.” CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, described the alleged offences as weighty and had attracted global attention.

“It is important to stress that the CBN examiners had been investigating three charges of infractions against the four banks andMTN,particularlythemanner of funding the equity investment into MTN and the subsequent capital repatriation that resulted thereafter,” he stated.

Expectedly, all the affected

President Buhari

parties have issued statements to clarify their positions. The banks are reported to be engaging the CBN to state their sides of the story, especially as the apex bank vetted and approved the offending transactions. While virtually everyone agrees on the imperative of resolving the issues amicably, it appears that a media battle is now in full play, with the potential of inflicting more harm than good.

Since the matter broke, the values of the shares of the affected companies have been declining, triggering apprehension among shareholders and low confidence in the local capital market. While Stanbic IBTC and Diamond Bank are quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, MTN is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

MTN, in its response, stated that it adhered to all extant laws in the payment of dividends to its shareholders between 2007 and 2015. “MTN Nigeria strongly refutes these allegations and claims. No dividends have been declared or paid by MTN Nigeria other than pursuant to CCIs issued by our bankers and with the approval of the CBN as required by law,” the company said.

On its part, Stanbic IBTC Bank, reportedly stated in its official response to CBN that the conclusionsreachedbytheregulator were based on ‘factually incorrect premises’. According to sources privy to the engagements, the Bank reminded the CBN of the outcome of its findings on the same issue following a special examination that was conducted in March this year. The finding reportedly cleared the bank of any wrongdoing as its actions were in line with extant rules and regulations.

On the claim that the shareholders of MTN Nigeria invested the sum of $402,590,261.03 in the company from 2001 to 2006, Stanbic IBTC Bankstatedasfollows:“Thetwenty certificates of capital importation CCIs transferred to our bank by Standard Chartered Bank and

which were in the above quoted sum, were re-issued from existing CCIs that had been issued by Standard Chartered Bank to the original investors in MTN Nigeria.”

It added that “these CCIs were transferred to our Bank to facilitate the repatriation of the proceeds of MTN’s Private Placement which took place in February 2008.

While the matter festers, Nigeria’s quest for economic development via FDI will, once again, occupy the back seat.

Whatever are the merits of the issues, one would have expected CBN, as regulator, to be more circumspect in its reaction. The manner with which its letter to MTN and the banks was leaked to the media leaves much to be desired. It is suggestive of an unstatedagendathatdetractsfrom a steady march towards sustaining a conducive atmosphere for investment and businesses to thrive.

CBN’s action brings to mind another regulatory rascality in which the Consumer Protection Council shut dow n the operations of a US confectionary firm, applying an unnecessary bravado. It is probably apt now for Nigeria, especially the current administration, to urgently retool the national regulatory template to eliminate unnecessary impediments to economic development. This is particularly fundamental if the goal of opening the economic space and attracting foreigndirectinvestment(FDI)will not be another wild goose chase.

Thiswillgosomewayinsupporting theincumbentgovernment’sdrive towards economic stability and consolidation.

There is growing speculation among the citizenry that CBN wielded the big stick at this point as a ploy to procure funds with which to help politicians prepare for next year’s general elections.

This may seem far-fetched, but given the timing and the manner the sanctions were imposed and leaked, conspiracy theories will definitely sprout.

Thursday 06 September 2018

C002D5556

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Access Bank: ‘Buy’ rating maintained despite muted profit

MTS, JSE to deliver S/Africa’s first electronic government bond trading platform

…stock lags behind NSE ASI in year-to-date returns

… Absa Bank, Citibank, HSBC, JP Morgan to provide liquidity for platform

M

IHEANYI NWACHUKWU

F

or long-term i nv e s t o r s w h o a r e d e s i re cap i t a l appreciation and dividend income, Access Bank Plc stocks is still a good ‘buy’.

The bank stock closed at N9.4kobo as at Monday September 3, 2018 far below target price (TP) of N13.32 s e t b y e q u i t y re s e a rc h analysts at Vetiva Capital in their August 30 note to investors.

They maintained their ‘Buy’ rating for the stock despite subdued profit the bank reported in the first-half (H1) to June 30, 2018.

Access Bank stock was i n cl u d e d i n t h e b a s ke t of most analysts’ stockpicks for this year amid earlier concerns that the commencement of election cycle will pose risk to equities returns.

The bank stock d e c l i n e d b y 1 0 p e rc e n t this year (as at Mo n day S e p t e mb e r 3 ) , underperforming the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All Share Index which recorded negative return in the region of minus 8.91percent as at same Monday September 3, 2018.

The ‘Buy’ rating is given to the stocks because it is considered highly undervalued currently but with strong fundamentals and has the potential to yield return in excess of or equal to 15percent achievable between the current price and analysts’ target price.

Ve t i v a re v i s e d u p w a rd its current target price to N13.32 against N12.80 it previously targeted for the stocks.

On Wednesday August 29, Access Bank Plc released its consolidated a n d s e p a rat e f i na n c i a l statements for the firsthalf period.

The group reported gross earnings of N253.024billion in H1’18 representing 2.6percent increase as against N246.575billion recorded in H1’2017. Its profit

before income tax (PBT) decreased by 11.9percent to N45.842billion from a high of N52.048billion in H1’17. Profit after tax (PAT) for the period under review stood slightly higher at N39.625billion, representing 0.4 percent increase as against N39.459billion in H1’17.

“Although profit after tax (PAT) came in much in line with our estimate, we have updated our model to reflect the misses across a few line items. Whilst we cut our loan growth expectation to flat for 2018 (Previous: 10percent), we raise our yield on asset estimate to refle ct the exp e cte d higher interest rate environment in H2’18”, a c c o rd i n g t o O l a l e k a n Olabode’s team of equity research analysts at Vetiva Capital Management Limited.

“A C C E S S t r a d e s a t FY’18 P/E and P/B ratios of 3.1x and 0.6x versus tier 1 averages of 4.2x and 0.9x respectively”, they

noted.

“Consistent with the t re n d o b s e r v e d a c ro s s other banking names so far in Q2’18, loan loss provision came in more modest than expected”, the analysts added.

Access Bank Plc proposed to pay 25kobo dividend. The proposed dividend amounting to N28.927billion will be paid to shareholders of the bank whose names appear in the register of members as at the close of business on Thursday September 6, 2018. The proposed interim dividend will be paid electronically to shareholders on Friday September 21, 2018, a c c o rd i n g t o n o t i c e o f the corporate action released at the Nigerian Sto ck E xchang e (NSE).

T h e g r o u p’s e a r n i n g s p e r s ha re ( E P S ) i n t h e H1 period remained 138kob o, same as in H1’17.

Acce ss Bank Plc has its primary listing on the

Nigerian Stock Exchange (the premium board) with market capitalization in excess of N271.9billion and shares outstanding or 28,927,971,631 units.

Access Bank Plc has the following international banking subsidiaries: Ac c e s s B a n k ( G a m b i a ) Limited, Access Bank (Sierra Leone) Limited, Access Bank (Zambia) Limited, The Access Bank (UK) Limited, Access Bank (Ghana) Plc, Access Bank Rwanda and Access Bank (D.R. Congo).

The bank also has A c c e s s F i n a n c e B .V, an offshore Special P u r p o s e Ve h i c l e u s e d for the issuance of the $350million, 7.25 percent Guaranteed Notes which was due in 2017 guaranteed by the bank.

This liability has long been fully redeemed.

A c c e s s F i n a n c e B .V i s currently undergoing a voluntary liquidation, following the redemption of the bond.

TS, the electronic bond trading platform that is part of London Stock Exchange Group, and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), South Africa’s leading financial markets operator, today announce reaching an agreement to open South Africa’s first electronic government bonds trading platform powered by MTS. The move seeks to enable global access to, and enhance transparency in, the South African government bond market, offering access to deep pools of secondary market liquidity. This relationship is a first for MTS in African sovereign bond markets.

Nine primary dealers have already announced that they have signed up as liquidity providers for the platform including Absa Bank, Citibank, HSBC, and JP Morgan.

MTS has been operating electronic fixed income markets for 30 years, developing technological expertise in both government and corporate debt market operations. MTS has been selected by the JSE after a competitive procurement process to provide technology, operational services and monitoring of primary dealers obligations for the new market. The new market will be operated and managed by the JSE in South Africa in accordance with local regulations. The new platform has gone live today, 29 August 2018.

Angelo Proni, Head of New Markets at MTS, said: “Over the past 30 years MTS has built unrivalled experience and expertise across 20 fixed income markets in Europe. A key element of MTS’s strategy for the future is taking that experience to an international level and helping more markets access the benefits of electronic trading.

We are delighted to announce this new relationship, which is a first for MTS in African sovereign debt markets.”

Donna Nemer, Director of Capital Markets, Johannesburg Stock Exchange, said: “The launch of the ETP, for government bonds will undoubtedly position South Africa’s capital market infrastructure as being amongst the most sophisticated in global Capital Markets. The benefits of a more sophisticated market infrastructure benefits issuers, investors and further position South Africa as an attractive investment destination.

“This launch of the Bond ETP it also was an important element of South Africa’s commitment to Capital Markets reforms at the G-20 group of nations.

The culmination of the intensive efforts of a multitude of stakeholders including our technology provider MTS, our nine Primary Dealers, the World Bank as project consultant, the South African Reserve Bank; and Central Securities Depository Participants (CSDPs) has really paid off and this is a proud moment for our country.”

Mr Mondli Gungubele, Deputy Minister of Finance, said: “It has been a long seven years from the time when the electronic trading platform was conceptualised. Its launch today is a testament to what can be achieved when government and the private sector work together to achieve a common purpose.

“The use of electronic trading platforms has shown notable positive effects in the secondary markets including: improved liquidity through price discovery; reduced transaction costs and greater competition; increased transparency, and; lower trading costs.”

Innovation

Apps

Fin-Tech

Start-up

Gadgets

Ecommerce

IOTs

Broadband Infrastructure

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Tranter targets small businesses with affordable IT support service FRANK ELEANYA

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ranter IT, one of Nigeria’s leading information technology support services, has launched Ten Plus aimed at reducing the huge cost small businesses bear in procuring IT infrastructure for their enterprise.

At a press conference in Lagos on Wednesday, 29 August 2018, the company which services one-third of commercial banks in Nigeria said Ten Plus was born out of a research conducted on small and medium scale (SME) businesses in Nigeria. The summary of the research showed that most SMEs struggled with the cost and maintenance associated with IT infrastructure.

Startups that use Ten Plus automatically plug into the more than 300 engineers trained by Tranter IT and spread across the 36 states of the federation.

“We want to make sure that you never have a downtime,” Melanie Ayoola, executive director of Tranter IT told BusinessDay. “Ten Plus is the smart way to work in the 21st century.”

As an outsourcing company, Tranter IT has come along since it was established fourteen years ago.

Tranter IT ED, Ms Melanie Ayoola and COO, Mr. Adewale Saka

Apart from having many of the tier-1 commercial banks on its clientele list, the company runs an IT grooming school where it ensures that its engineer recruits are equipped with modern day skills to give them the edge in the engineering world.

“You do not have to be a computer scientist or an engineer to pass through the school,” Adewale Saka, chief operating officer of Tranter IT explained. “Our goal is to employ 10,000 engineers in the next five years.”

The more than 300 engineers the company already employs are distributed among the institutions that

range from banks, telecommunications to oil and gas.

With Ten Plus, small businesses can also leverage these highly technical individuals at a much reduced cost to manage their data, servers, and every area of IT support.

“What we tried to do is remove the stress of cost and maintenance from these businesses, which allows them to focus on their core competencies – running their businesses,” Saka said.

Tranter IT has a robust welfare plan for its engineers limiting the rate of poaching. After grooming school which involves a

rigorous learning process, the selected engineers go on to stay for at least three years. The company has a contingency plan that ensures experienced engineers are always readily available should there be vacancy.

That way, businesses will not lose any downtime.

Ten Plus services will also be available to small companies in Ghana and Uganda in the next twelve months.

Tranter IT also disclosed that it is almost done with its artificial intelligence chatbot will also enable clients access the Ten Plus service online from anywhere they are.

Why 84% executives are rooting for blockchain FRANK ELEANYA

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survey of 600 executives in 15 countries have shown that majority (84 per cent) of them have plans to leverage blockchain opportunities to grow their businesses. Fifteen per cent of the projects are already live.

The research released by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) showed that a quarter of executives say blockchain implementation pilot is in progress. Almost a third (32 per cent) has projects in development and a fifth (20 per cent) is in research mode.

A blockchain refers to a digitised, decentralised, public ledger of all cryptocurrency transactions. Another way of describing is a mathematical structure for storing data in a way that is nearly impossible to fake. The first major application of blockchain technology was bitcoin which was released in 2009.

In essence, bitcoin is a cryp-

tocurrency and blockchain is the technology that powers it.

Blockchain benefits however go beyond enabling cryptocurrencies. The technology is increasingly being linked with opportunities for cost reduction, greater speed, transparency and traceability for many industries.

Small businesses are also using initial coin offerings (ICOs) – an offshoot of blockchain in which a company sells a predefined number of digital tokens to the public – as alternative to classic debt and capital funding. SureRemit and Kora are two of the startups with Nigerian origins that have successfully raise $7 million and $12 million respectively from ICOs. The PwC research highlights the dominance of financial services developments in blockchain with 46 per cent of executives identifying it as the leading sector currently.

Other sectors that could prove dominant in the future include energy and utilities (14

per cent), healthcare (14 per cent), and industrial manufacturing (12 per cent).

“What business executives tell us is that no one wants to be left behind by blockchain, even if at this early stage of its development, concerns on trust and regulation remains,” Andrew Nevin, Advisory Partner and chief economist at PwC Nigeria said. “A well designed blockchain does not just cut out intermediaries, it reduces costs, increases speed, reach, transparency and traceability for many business processes.”

Despite its many promises, there are concerns such as regulatory uncertainty, lack of trust among users, ability to bring networks together, separate blockchains not working together, inability to scale, intellectual property, and audit and compliance issues.

“Blockchain by its very definition should engender trust,” Wunmi AdetokunboAjayi, partner, Digital Risk

and Cybersecurity at PwC Nigeria explained. “But in reality, companies confront trust issue at nearly every turn. Failing to state a clear business case from the outset leads to projects stalling. Businesses need to put more effort into building into their design how they can tackle trust and regulatory concerns.”

The Central Bank of Nigeria which should ordinarily exercise regulatory functions on blockchain said it is still understudying the technology. In the meanwhile, it has discouraged industry players to stay away from the technology.

PwC research suggests that companies that want to leverage blockchain technology can begin with making a clear business case.

“Strategic clarity will ensure your blockchain initiative has a business purpose around which participants can align” the research stated.

Bank IT Security

Thursday 06 September 2018

Google’s digital skills for Africa program kicks off in Sokoto he Google Digital Skills for Africa program has been launched in Sokoto, offering trainings to help individuals and communities develop and grow digital skills, find jobs and advance in their careers. The program, which provides free courses, tools, and inperson digital training to students, educators, job seekers and businesses, was announced at a press conference on the launch.

The text of a keynote address by Aisha Abubakar, minister of state, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, at the programme’s launch, noted that, “Providing a favourable environment for enterprises to thrive is a key strategy in developing the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Nigeria.

“We know that for any enterprise to become relevant and competitive in this age of digital disruption, our entrepreneurs have to be equipped with modern digital skills. This is why this partnership with Google aims to create the right technological platform for Nigerian MSMEs to thrive and prosper by building a web presence through digital innovation.”

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the unemployment rate in Nigeria as at December 2017 was 18.8 percent (16 million people) and underemployment at 21.2 percent. This according to Google can be

further extended to 10m Africans in five years”.

“Last year we announced plans to help more people in Africa prepare for jobs of the future through our local community-focused Digital Skills Training programs.

Through these grassroot programs, we will be helping local communities in Africa take advantage of our 10M digital skills training initiative to grow, and to improve their knowledge of digital tools. The launch of this community-focused trainings is aimed at helping more people in Nigeria acquire the skills they need to leverage online tools for growth and to give them access to better employment and/or the skills to start their own businesses.

Ehimuan-Chiazor further explained that Google’s investment in digital skills will support government’s efforts to enable Nigerians to gain employment by equipping them with the skills needed by today’s online, connected organisations.

“We have had hundreds of success stories from across Africa and we are looking forward to seeing more from right here in Sokoto and other communities. I believe that a year from now we will have businesses here in Sokoto that will expand globally as a result of this training,” she said.

The Digital Skills for Africa program is designed to address the growth needs for jobseekers and small business owners, and has

improved by empowering more young people with digital skills.

“The web is at the heart of economic growth and Google has been supporting African businesses and individuals to succeed online,” said Juliet EhimuanChiazor, Google Nigeria’s country director. “In 2016, Google committed to train 1m young Africans on Digital skills in one year. In 2017, that commitment was

to date been rolled out to about 100 communities across a number of countries including Nigeria, South Africa and Kenya. By engaging directly with the communities that can most benefit from the training, Google is able to identify the specific needs of these communities, support their local growth activities and ensure the impact is felt not just on an individual but also at a community level.

CALEB OJEWALE

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Team: Frank Eleanya, frank.eleanya@businessdayonline.com; Caleb Ojewale, caleb.ojewale@businessdayonline.com

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LegalBusiness BD Business Law Industry Report Practice Intelligence Partnerships

What we need now is a strong association that can achieve its primary goals – Paul Usoro, SAN, NBA President

In this edition, the newly elected president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) speaks of his election into office and the task ahead of him. EXCERPTS…

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ongratulations on your election as President of the largest bar association in Africa. What next?

Thank you. The first step would be to bring everyone together, because we are stronger together and we need to work together. What we really need is an association that is strong and can achieve its primary goals and objectives I have actually reached out to those who contested against me in that election and I will sit down with them if they are willing and discuss ideas that will benefit the association. We’ll discus ideas that are useful to the association and implement them in my tenure accordingly. It will be a win-win situation for everyone.

How would you describe the election, which brought you into office?

A lot of ugly things were said about me but I maintained my cool all through the period – pre and during the elections. And I had also asked all my supporters to follow this lead. I have said it severally, that winning an election is not a moment for triumph. I would love to lead by example, and it is my example that will then trickle down to my supporters. I don’t have anything to prove, except to show in the next two years when the records are brought up that this was one of the best administrations of the Nigerian Bar Association.

What do you have lined up for the next few months?

I would very quickly focus on the welfare of lawyers. Another critical issue to be focused on is the brutalization of lawyers by security agencies. That is something I would want to deal within this first one-month, deal with the issues and make sure they don’t happen again.

4. Following this, would be a total reorganisation of the NBA. I would like to see financial accountability and transparency in the things that we do. I have worked in institutions.

I have been on the boards of larges organisations. One way that you achieve this is by ensuring that your financials are prepared and published, so that everybody can see what you are doing. Starting from the first quarter of this administration, I would ensure that we have well prepared financial statements that contain everything, that would be easy to understand.

How would you achieve this?

To achieve this, we would ensure we engage the right caliber of staff in the NBA National Secretariat that can prepare these statements.

That particular project has multiple ripple effects. One, is it will engen-

NBA President Paul Usoro, SAN

der confidence in members of the association. Another things is that in the process you’ll see efficiency in work. Thirdly, you’ll start having proper institutions. This will also ensure that we have moral equity.

Any plans regarding the controversies on stamp and seal?

I do intend to too into the issue of stamp and seal. I would like to meet with the contractors and see what the real costs of these stamps and seal are. Don’t forget that we are getting into September. As we take over in September, we’ll prepare in advance and see that lawyers get their stamps and seals early enough.

I am determined that we should never have such a situation again.

There seems to continuous rambling and complaints about the quality and cost of the NBA conferences. How would you tackle this challenge?

We would work on our Annual General Conference early enough.

It might look like it’s one whole year ahead of us, but we must put in the work early enough. Another complaint I hear frequently is cost of our conferences, particularly the AGC. We can only start to plan and think of how to manage that cost if we can have a look at how has it been determined over the years.

We will also working on a process, which will desegregate the content preparation for the annual general conference. In other words,

lets have different sets of people work on the content of the conference. Let the sections and their committees and the different fora have someone, responsible with regard to the content of the annual general conference. Then, we should have a different set of people look at the logistics and costs. These are some of the things we’ll loot at in the first few months of our tenure.

Then of course we’ll ensure we play our role as the voice of voiceless and also ensuring that the promotion and protection of the rule of law is constant.

Some have challenged the election process, accusing the ECNBA of discrepancies and also calling for an audit, while others have even gone to court to challenge the elections. In the midst of these allegations, do you consider the process free and fair?

The process was free and fair. Let me give you some perspectives on this Chams issue. Essentially let me repeat what Chams had said. They said Paul Usoro had no shares in Chams. They also said its Chairman, Mrs. Awosika had no shares in Chams, she is an independent director. Chams had said that Access Bank where I sit as director has no interest or shares in Chams. They also said that neither Paul nor Mrs. Awosika was involved in the process for the purposes of the election. I don’t know if you have seen any-

thing that contradicts those factual assertions, but I haven’t seen any.

My take is that as lawyers we aught to deal with facts and not speculations. If there is anybody who has facts that contradict those four sets of facts I just stated, let them bring them out. Crenet was brought in to handle the verification exercise.

I didn’t know Crenet, just like I wasn’t involved in how Chams was brought in. I didn’t know Crenet and Chams provided the platform for the election.

What I would urge my colleagues to do is to understand that in making allegations that are not factbased, we are actually not only diminishing ourselves, but the entire association. It is not helpful.

I will rather deal with facts. Provable facts, and we all know what facts are, according to the Evidence Act. Having said that, the elections have come and gone and I personally think it would not be profitable to keep dwelling on the elections.

Are there lessons that we can learn from it? Most definitely there are.

The process of verification was rather difficult and it went through different levels of challenges. But even as an association, we haven’t captured the data of our members to be used in future. Maybe that is a lesson that we should learn.

We should try to look at the lessons we can learn from this whole process and some things we can take away from what happened in that election. That would be more profitable.

There are allegations that almost 80% of the lawyers in your home branch were not verified for the election and this has given rise to questions as to why the ECNBA went ahead to use Chams Plc., with all its attendant issues and its inability to resolve the member verification crisis?

Let us begin with the allegations. It would be interesting to know how anyone came by the information that the lawyers from my home branch Lagos weren’t verified. I haven’t seen those statistics. The chairman of the branch has not told me so.

By the way, there are some who had attempted to verify with Crenet and they had challenges at the first instance. However, those challenges were subsequently addressed. I had people who said the exercise was seamless when they verified on the Crenet platform. So indeed, I have not heard these complaints.

You see, those allegations are easy to throw up, but I am looking for the facts to support these allegations. I haven’t heard any branch chairman complain that members of his branch couldn’t verify. So let

our allegations be fact-based.

Having made that point, it is understandable that in a clime like ours, when elections are won and lost, there is always a lot of passion.

Even in this century, if a man dies even at 100 years, there would be family members who would say that this is not ordinary – believing rather that it is witches and wizards in the village who killed him. Sadly, this is the issue with our elections.

People hardly concede to defeat in elections, even where it is glaring that the said election was free and fair. It is a culture thing. All we can do about it is rise above actions such as this, which hold us back.

How do we right these perceived wrongs and criticisms that continue to trail the elections?

I have already mentioned that I will reach out to the candidates.

The NBA is one big house that has enough rooms to accommodate everyone and its only one person that can lead at any given time.

If it has pleased the membership and God to make me the leader, I will lead with diligence. I will lead example, by having to speak with the different parties, including the parties who may have litigations right now in court. We’ll find a way to heal the wounds if any, without compromising the integrity of the association.

Many said you ran a rancourfree campaign, no abusive language and no mudslinging at your opponents. But on the issue of zoning, the East is on record to have adopted a candidate and two of you ran against that candidate. Does this not make nonsense of the issue of zoning and adoption as enshrined in the NBA constitution?

First of all, I am from the East, and it was on the platform of coming from the Eastern zone that I ran for the election. So, from that perspective, it is quite clear that I am a beneficiary of zoning. But what you mixed up is what the constitution says, then juxtaposing it with what some other organization says that is not affiliated with the NBA. There is indeed such an organization that had adopted their own candidate. The NBA didn’t give them any authority to adopt any candidate. The NBA didn’t say their candidate must win. All that the NBA says is that the candidate for the office should come from the East, and I come from the East.

I don’t see how that in any way negates that principle of zoning.

Now, with regard to that voluntary association, I think one of the thing Continues on page 26

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RIGHTSWATCH Legal Considerations in Renewing Licenses and Leases in the Nigerian Petroleum Sector

MOJISOLA OLUGBEMI

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cquisition of any legal right is usually by means of consideration by way of cash, property or services. Initially, most investments in Nigeria for the exploration and exploitation of its crude oil were by multinational corporations who enjoyed oil concessions covering land, territorial waters and continental shelf areas for extended periods of time.

However, by the enactment of the Petroleum Act, certain provisions were made for the acquisition of participatory interest in the petroleum industry by entities willing to participate in the sector.

Acquired rights of participation are granted through licenses and leases (such as the Oil Exploration License, Oil Prospecting License and Oil Mining Lease). Just as these rights can be granted, they can also be revoked.

These leases and licenses granted by the Minister do not span in perpetuity, hence there is a need to renew them depending on the type of grant. This article explores the process of renewing these grants, in the wake of the recent debate on the ongoing renewal of licenses by oil companies in Nigeria.

How are Legal Rights Granted under the Petroleum Act? The Petroleum Act provides for 3 grants that the Minister of Petroleum, can make; a. Oil Exploration license (OEL) is a non-exclusive right which is subject to the initial rights of the owners or occupiers such as the communities of the area of the license, to explore petroleum. b. Oil Prospecting License (OPL) confers exclusive rights on the licensee to explore and prospect for petroleum in the area covered by the license. c. Oil Mining Lease (OML) is the transitionary grant of the holder of an OPL who has satisfied the conditions imposed on the license by the Petroleum Act and has discovered oil in commercial quantities.

Obtaining Minister’s grants of a License Companies applying for any of the above grants must accompany their applications with; a. The prescribed (non- refundable) fee; b. Ten copies of a map on a

scale or scales specified by the DPR upon which is delineated in red the boundaries of the area concerned; c. An adequate survey description of the boundaries of that area; d. Evidence of the physical status and technical competence of the applicant; e. Details of the work which the applicant is prepared to undertake or a program for carrying out any minimum working obligations imposed; f. Details of the annual expenditure which the applicant is prepared to make; g. The date on which the applicant is prepared to begin operations after the grant of the lease or licenses; h. Details for a specific scheme for the recruitment and training of Nigerians; i. Evidence of the applicant’s ability to market any petroleum produced; j. Annual reports in respect of the applicant’s oil exploration and production activities in the preceding three years and; k. Any other information which the Minister may request.

These grants may be obtained via Discretionary grant by the Minister or competitive bidding. For the discretionary grant, it is done by the Minister where it is shown that ownership and control of the applicant resides in Nigerians.

This is to get indigenous involvement in the sector, taking statutory requirements into consideration.

The competitive bidding on the other hand, occurs in three phases; Companies Registration, Technical Evaluation and Commercial Evaluation.

Licenses and Leases?

The Oil Exploration license (OEL) subsists for a term of one-year subject to renewal. An application for renewal of an OEL should be done three months before the expiration of the existing license. The Oil Prospecting License (OPL) subsists for a period of five years inclusive of the period of renewal. The Oil Mining Lease (OML) on the other hand is granted for a period not exceeding 20 years subject to subsequent renewal. All applications for the renewal of an OML should be sent twelve months before the expiration of the existing license.

What is the Lifespan of these

To continued Next week

Renewal of Licenses The effect of the law is to create an enforceable right in favourof the Lessee to the renewal of a lease subject to the fulfilment of the conditions of the renewal and Payment of all rent and royalties due and Performance of all obligations under the lease.

That said, an Application for renewal of licensees and leases is carried out through the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).

In furtherance of its responsibility towards processing renewals, the DPR in July 2017 released templates for award and renewal of licenses of operators in the petroleum industry. The renewal of oil licenses which applies to International exploration and production companies attracts a statutory application fee of $2,000,000 (Two Million Dollars). The DPR, while assuring that the process for the renewal would be within 120 working days, has pegged the amount for the conversion from an oil mining license to lease at $1 million.

AALA to hold Practice Administrators forum in Lagos

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he African Association of Legal Administrators (AALA) will on Friday September 8th, 2018 hold its Practice Administrators Forum (PAF) at a Breakfast meeting in Lagos.

The event which is expected to host over 50 Legal Administrators and professionals from across the country will highlight the role and valuable contributions of legal management professionals to the business of law.

Representative of the Chief Judge Of Lagos State unveiling the Commitment Statement Banner at Olushola Thomas Courthouse Badagry on Tuesday, September 4th, 2018

Thursday 06 September 2018

BDLegalBusiness What we really need is an association that is strong ...

Continued from page 25 they need to understand is the fact that their candidate was defeated doesn’t mean they are defeated.

An association exist to protect the interest of their members. I am not a member of that association. So, it is understandable that they wouldn’t have promoted my own interest. So, I had to stand on my own platform.

So, if they promoted and their candidate and he didn’t win, what they need to do is to hope that next time, if they decide to adopt a candidate and this candidate wins. Or they should try and enlarge the coast to bring in other people and make it more competitive. For me, I have always believed that this business of having to adopt does not always bring out the best in the association.

Why do you have to adopt? We can zone, and then let different bodies in that zone adopt whomever they wish. We must give the people a choice. We must avoid a situation where we have one person foisted on us and we must vote that person. That would be a fait accompli.

Outside of the elections, there have been concerns over the operations of the sections of the NBA. We have the Section of

Business Law, Section of Legal Practice and Section of Public Interest and development Law. Apart from the SBL most other section have been in comatose for many years. The SLP through the concerted efforts of Miannaya Essien, SAN just bounced back at their conference in Port Harcourt recently. SPIDEL is still trying to reorganize. What would be your strategy to revive those sections to ensure they get back to ideals they were set for in 2003 by the Olanipekun administration?

It’s a very simple thing to do really.

We’llstartbyexaminingwhathappened that led to those sections being inactive.

Whenweidentifywhatthosechallenges are, then we’ll apply the right cure.

Secondly, if like you pointed out SBL has been operating well over the years, what is the model? Can we apply the same method to the other sections? In deed there should be collaboration between the SBL and the other sections to ensure that form a synergy that would make all the three sections work.

We’ll find a way to reenergize and reinvent those Sections and ensure we put the right people there to get them working again at optimal level.

CPC calls on passengers stranded on Air France flight to speak up

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he Consumer Protection Council (CPC) has called on Passengers who were scheduled to board Air France Flight AF I04 on July 18, 2018 from Charles De Gaulle, airport, Paris to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, to come forward to confirm or counter the claims made by the Airline concerning the incidents surrounding the said flight.

According to an official release signed by the Director General, Babatunde Irukera, and dated Tuesday September 4, 2018, the CPC disclosed that in furtherance of an ongoing investigation launched by the Council, Air France has responded its interrogations, stating that adequate arrangements were made to ensure that all 207 of passengers were comfortably settled on other flights, or in hotels awaiting convenient new flight schedules for their departure.

The CPC statement read, “Air France represents that it did all it could did to ensure passengers were able to fly to Lagos, the same day or the next, on partner and non-partner airlines, considering visa restrictions.

Accordingly, passengers continued or concluded their flights to Lagos in a fragmented but organized manner.”

The response from Air France also stated that while some of these passengers were re-routed to Lagos via London with Virgin Atlantic Airways, on the same day or the next day, subject to seat availability on that airline, a significant number were re-routed through Amsterdam and transferred to KLM the next day, July 19 2018.

Others it said were re-routed through Johannesburg, Nairobi and Casablanca on both July 18, and July 19, 2018.

It further read, “Air France’s flight on the next day, July 19, 2018 could only accommodate 65 passengers and same were transferred to that flight accordingly. The last ten of the stranded passengers were lifted by Air France on its Paris to Lagos flight (AF 104), on July 20, 2018.

The airline insists that it made credible efforts to secure visas for passengers who did not have any to

Babatunde Irukera., Director General, Consumer Protection Council

facilitate entry into Paris for hotel accommodation. However, it claimed that its efforts were largely unsuccessful as the French authorities declined this move.

“The 134 passengers who had visas were transported at approximately 1730hrs to different hotels where the airline had secured reservations. For the 23 passengers without visas, Air France provided access to its elite waiting lounges for enhanced comfort and convenience.

It also stated that it has provided information to all affected passengers about eligibility for EUR 800 travel vouchers or EUR 600 in cash, including the process for receiving the cash or claiming the vouchers.

According to the airline’s report, “In the period while the delay/cancellation occurred, the airline provided meals or meal vouchers, and amenity packages to passengers. In addition to its customary compensation noted above, Air France represents that it initiated its Collective Apology Process (CAP) immediately with an additional electronic voucher of EUR 200, which is separate and above the EUR 800 and 600 identified above.

The airline has also explained that all passengers who complete the cash refund, or voucher redemption processes will receive the stated compensation.

It is on this premise and in furtherance of its investigation that the Council has called on any passenger or passengers who may dispute Air France’s account of this occurrence; or has experienced difficulty in securing compensation to come forward with their comments or refutations.

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INDUSTRYFILE NBA Section on Business Law gets new leadership

BUSINESS DAY

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DOA makes 2018 Law Digest Africa Awards shortlist

DOA Team

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he Nigerian Bar Association Section Business Law, (NBA-SBL) has elected new officers to steer the affairs of the Section for another two years.

The newly elected Council Chaired by Seni Adio, SAN, was inaugurated last week in Abuja.

Amongst those elected to Council are Ayuli Jemide, vice chair, Dr. Adeoye Adefulu, Secretary, Chinyere Okorocha, treasurer and Isaiah Bozimo, Assistant Secretary.

Others are, Okey Egbuchu as Adviser, Communications; Mena Ajakpovi, Research & Training; A.G Abubakar, Zonal Officer, North; Ama Etuwewe, Zonal Officer, West ; Omubo Victor Frank-briggs: Zonal Officer, East, Mayma Belo-Osagie,

Member; Sam Aiboni, Member; Fola Akande, Member; Olawale Akoni, SAN, Member; and Ajibola Olomola, also a Member.

The new chairman while giving his remarks, pledged to do his best to match and do even more than what has already been done to bring SBL to its current state. He also thanked his predecessors for a job well-done in improving the session.

As a prelude to the inauguration, the NBA-SBL had a session themed ‘Building Institutions to Support Fiscal and Economic Reforms,’ where the former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Obadiah Mailafia in his presentation stated that a developmental state paradigm is the only way to achieve sustainable development in Nigeria.

According to him, the developmental state paradigm has some elements which include a strong commitment to property rights, strong markets and the sanctity of contracts – a mix that never fails to assure foreign investors; as the term implies, development is of utmost national priority, even though the state may sometimes tend to be rather authoritarian in nature; land reforms and so on.

He attributed the poor performance of Africa in the economy to many factors such as bad leadership, cultural mindset, and historical background and so on.

The session also had other speakers such as Dr. Joseph Abah, Toyin Bashir, Prof. Anthony Kila and Dr. Ayo Teriba, who spoke on economic risk management.

B&I, only African law firm to make ILFA’s flagship secondment programme

T

wo lawyers from Banwo & Ighodalo (B&I) have successfully made it into the 2018 ILFA Flagship Secondment Programme (IFSP). The law firm is only African Law Firm with two successful candidates in.

Out Of 17 successful applicants across Africa, two of the firm’s associates Sixtus Iwuoha and Stephen Oke were accepted into the programme to be part of the 2018 IFSP. The IFSP is an annual international Secondment Programme where lawyers practicing in various African jurisdictions are selected and sponsored on a three-month Secondment at highly reputed international law firms and corporations based in London, Paris, Lisbon and Dubai.

The overall objective is to educate, equip and empower African lawyers.

The successful Secondees,

will be spending the next three months, starting September 5th, at ILFA host firms in London: Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and Baker & McKenzie, respectively.

Another member of the firm’s non-legal team, Doris Michael, will also be participating in the ILFA Internship Programme for the same duration, starting September 4th.

Doris alongside other interns, will be learning and working directly with Cynthia Lareine (Executive Director, ILFA) and handling functions such as Marketing and business development campaigns, Research and analysis, Legal updates, Blogging, Social media marketing, Proposal writing, Website management, Corporate communications, Administrative support.

he law firm of Duale, Ovia & Alex-Adedipe (DOA) is once again at the forefront of nominations for the prestigious Law Digest Africa Awards 2018 This year, DOA has been nominated in six categories, namely: Emerging Law Firm of the Year (1-3 Partners), Young Managing Partner of the Year, Managing Partner of the Year, Property, Infrastructure and Construction Team of the Year, IP and Technology Team of the Year, Power, Energy and Natural Resources Team of the Year.

It would be recalled that last year, the firm won two awards as TMT (Telecommunication, Media & Technology) firm of the year and also Real Estate &

Construction firm of the year at the Nigerian Legal Awards.

Other nominees in the Law Digest category for ‘Emerging Law Firm of the year are, Kieti Advocate LLP (Kenya), Bloomfield Law Practice (Nigeria), NFM (Ngassam, Fansi & Mouafo) (Cameroon), Stark Legal, (Nigeria), EnVantage Law (Kenya), T&A Legal (Nigeria) And AO2 LAW also from Nigeria.

DOA Managing Partner, Adeniyi Duale is also nominated as Young Managing Partner of the Year.

Speaking about this development, he said, “This recognition is a testament to the Firm’s team work and culture of excellence, which is always our watchword.”

Isioma Idigbe nominated as rising star for Law Digest Awards

H

ead of Media & Entertainment at Punuka attorneys, Isioma Idigbe has been nominated, Rising Star of the Year for the 2018 Law Digest Awards 2018. transactions and activities.

Head of Media & Entertainment at Punuka attorneys, Isioma Idigbe has been nominated Rising Star of the Year for the 2018 Law Digest Awards 2018.

In addition, Isioma holds the position of Associate Consultant at PUNUKA Consulting Inc., a Canadian consulting company affiliated with PUNUKA Attorneys and Solicitors and in this capacity and as part of her global work, has helped to build the Firm’s Media and Entertainment Department.

She has pioneered and hosted Media and Entertainment Law training sessions in Nigeria; has been involved with negotiating contracts for clients in the music and film industries and has also

Isioma Idigbe

been involved in intellectual property litigations arising in this practice area.

Ifeoma led the team in assisting one of the major multinational music companies in setting up their Nigeria business and preparing and ultimately presenting a regulatory framework for the Nigerian Film and Television industries to the Nigerian Film Corporation (NFC), amongst other notable transactions and activities.

28

BUSINESS DAY

Harvard Business Review

Thursday 06 September 2018

Global Business Perspectives CONNEC TING

THE

WORLD

ONE

BUSINESS

AT

A

TIME

You versus the clock GRETCHEN GAVETT

TESTING THE LATEST TIME MANAGEMENT ADVICE. ooks on time management almost always quote Mary Oliver, I’ve learned. In her poem “Sometimes,” Oliver offers “Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” Part of me wants to end this essay here, because this is what time management really comes down to: being conscious of what you do, when you do it and why. But the reality for many of us is that this kind of focus is hard. Fret not, however; there’s a dizzying array of advice promising to make it easier.

Randi Zuckerberg — the entrepreneur, investor and sister of Facebook founder Mark — suggests in “Pick Three” that we can live more-fulfilling lives by abandoning the idea of doing it all. Instead, we should choose three areas of focus each day, out of a total of five: work, sleep, family, friends and fitness. “Yes!” I exclaimed as I began to read, having already started setting up similar priorities in my own life. Unfortunately, Zuckerberg’s interesting argument becomes insufferable at book length, padded heavily with profiles of semi-celebrities.

And although she does make useful points — for example, offering a work expert’s conclusion that “you’re not going to feel perfectly balanced every day,” but you should “aim for a larger sense of balance in your week or month” — they are undermined by bubbly chatter that will make your eyes roll. (“All this work talk has me exhausted,” she writes.

“Guess that’s our cue to talk about sleep!”) It’s also hard to shake the irony of Zuckerberg’s encouraging us to focus while her sibling’s business is

B

predicated on the neurological high of seeing a little red notification. But I digress.

The antidote to Zuckerberg’s fluff might just be the updated version of “The Pomodoro Technique,” by Francesco Cirillo, a longtime consultant to the software industry whose focus is efficiency and productivity. This book, first released in 2009, gets us closer to Oliver’s idea of being aggressively attuned to every single thing we do. Cirillo suggests that we divide all tasks into 30-minute increments with built-in breaks, measured with a timer. (When he came up with this idea, in college, he used one shaped like a little tomato — hence the name of his technique.) If you want rules and formulas without a lot of excess language, this may be the approach for you.

I was mostly on board until I started to feel like I was being initiated into a time cult.

“Rule: A Pomodoro is indivisible,” Cirillo insists repeatedly throughout. That said, the new edition includes a section on applying the technique to teams, something

worth trying. After all, a single interruption can bring the work of multiple people to a halt.

For less-cultish, more-commonsense advice, you can turn to two other recent releases: “Make Time,” by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky of Google Ventures, and “Hyperfocus,” by Chris Bailey, who not only studies productivity but conducts experiments on himself (for example, limiting his iPhone use to 60 minutes a day or binge-watching 296 TED talks in a week). Like Cirillo, these authors recommend writing down exactly what you do, day in and day out, but their arguments are less stiff. “Make Time” is practical and engaging, offering tips on everything from designing your day to the benefits of cutting out cable news and eschewing plane Wi-Fi in favor of time away from work. Especially useful for me was the guidance on email. It turns out that being slow to respond is a terrific way to take control of your time. (Sorry, colleagues.)

“Hyperfocus” begins, in what

might be the most telling commentary about our collective inability to focus, with a chapter on how to read it without being distracted. Full of circle diagrams and 2x2s, it instructs us on how to pay attention to only one meaningful thing at a time, and why — echoing Zuckerberg — we should pick only three things to accomplish a day.

This brings me to perhaps the most quietly radical of this selection of new books on time. Laura Vanderkam’s “Off the Clock” bears the subtitle “Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done.” I initially thought this would be an instructional guide or a better version of “Pick Three,” and it does emphasize the importance of tracking everything you do. But it also goes beyond work activities and contends with the messier, more philosophical aspects of time management: What will we remember doing, and what will we regret not doing? How can we be disciplined but also kind to ourselves when things go awry? The book also stresses the importance of ac-

2017 Harvard Business School Publishing Corp. Distributed by The New York Times Syndicate

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knowledging difficult times and lingering over beautiful moments, even if it means we don’t “feel” productive.

Vanderkam made me hopeful but also a bit skeptical. If we take back our time — focusing on productivity but also allowing time for goofing off — won’t we butt up against serious social norms? If you’re expected to be on email into the night for work, what will the consequences be if you aren’t? What if you work in a retail or service industry and have very little control over your schedule? And what about issues outside the office, such as the gender imbalance in who shoulders the burden of household chores and caregiving?

Time management is not just a problem that individuals need to address; it’s one that must be taken seriously by our partners, employers and policymakers. Some companies have already taken positive steps. An experiment at the Gap, for example, eliminated “on calls” and gave employees two weeks’ notice of their schedules. The stores that participated saw a 5% rise in labor productivity and yielded $2.9 million in increased revenue during the study’s duration. But such initiatives are still the exception.

The sheer volume of time management advice out there represents a subtle rallying cry, pushing us to overcome the discomfort of saying “no” to some things, despite any feared repercussions. If enough of us push back, maybe together we can establish a new normal that will make us a whole lot happier.

For me, these books have mostly served to reinforce Oliver’s timeless wisdom: “You do not have to be good.”

Thursday 06 September 2018

C002D5556

BUSINESS DAY

GARDEN Â CITY BUSINESS Â DIGEST Explosive revelations on power; suggestions at TEDX salon speech series

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C

ould it be true that Nigeria had for once got its power sector strategy right with the 2014 privatisation, said to be the biggest and most comprehensive transformation to the private sector in the world, and was marching to glory?

Was it true that banks were excited that people were now paying the right tariff and more upward reviews were lined up, and that the sector was awash with revenue through appropriate power pricing that had held the power sector and gas supply sector back for decades?

Was it true that the first tariff review that allowed new rates in January 2015, just three months after the November 2014 sale of power to Discos and Gencos had pointed to the new right path for growth and that investors were sure to recover cost?

Could it be true that just three month after this new hope, the National Electric Regulation Commission (NERC) took an action that has set the nation’s power sector on a path of destruction by reverting the tariff and scared away investors?

These were the bombshells that dropped on the floor at The Hub on Peter Odili Road in Port Harcourt at the weekend at a speech series event organized by TEDX to ask the right questions so as to get the right answers towards seeking strategies for a way out, according to the series licensee, Donald Okudu, owner of the TEDX franchise in Nigeria and CEO at a design company.

Eyo Ekpo’s bombshell Eyo Ekpo was introduced at the event as a lawyer who worked in many strategic positions especially at the NERC where he headed the desk that knew much about tariffs.

His revelations showed the road Nigeria took but tragically reversed. By this, Nigeria produces power at about N65

per kilowatt hour (kw/h) but sells at about N25 kw/h. making a steady loss. When this loss piles up over the years, the power sector reels into a coma with everyone blaming everyone else instead of NERC that plunged Nigeria, he seemed to conclude.

He said: “I believe that the decision is the direct cause of where we are today. As a matter of fact, for the first time, we had that massive interest from banks because they said, finally, they are paying correct tariff. Energy is a high volume business.�

On accusations that the presidents (both Jonathan Buhari) have lacked political will to allow correct tariff to allow the sector grow, Ekpo vehemently said it was not the presidents that ordered a reversal but the decision of NERC. “It is not that the president was afraid and backed off, no. It is actually from NERC.�

Eyo is said to have been in charge of that unit and his sudden departure from NERC may be unconnected with that decision.

Giving the situation of the power sector today, he said, he described it as electricity puzzle. “Where we are today is that private persons generate 65,000 mw spending about N1 trillion, whereas the national grid generates 6,500mw. The grid supplies 4,000 to 5,000 mw. Less than 30 per cent of the N50Bn charged the customers manage to get to the owners. There is therefore an unbalanced energy system.

NERC today has abdicated its duty to the National Electricity Bulk Trader (NBET) on issues of market design. Customers are irrational, refusing to pay correct tariff, and prefer to steal power, both the low and high in society.�

On the danger of perpetual power inadequacy, the expert said; “Oil may be pushing Nigeria’s GDP but power ought to add value to ourselves because no idea works without

L-­R:  Patrick  okigbo,  Donald  Okudu,  Eyo  Ekpo,  and  Chigo  Egeruoh

power. There is N5Bn payment gap which the FG said it would close (pay) but this never gets paid, leaving the sector staggering due to unpaid subsidy.

We have a Rural Electricity Agency that concentrates in supplying power to universities and markets in urban areas instead of the rural areas. There is non-review of 17-year-old regulation that ought to be reviewed twice.�

On solution, Ekpo said the solution should be technical. “Energy theft should be technical through a type of meter that reports back bypass or tampering and the location.

Nigeria is nowhere close to India in energy theft but they used technology to fight it to a huge success. Citizens can take out law suits to compel Discos to do what is right. The nation should begin to arrest high net worth consumers or big men who openly use much but pay little.�

Chigo Egeruoh: Leapfrogging our utility for the future The IT experts showed what Nigeria is not doing right and the huge opportunities in the West Africa common market that lie untapped. “West Africa

has grown from 70m to 350m population from 1950 to now.

Nigerians are about 200m out of this population. Nigeria also consumes about 60 per cent of power generated in this region.

Best approach in life is, copy what works, what worked for others, but copy wisely, then act promptly.�

On why Nigeria failed in the power reforms, he said; “The absence of financial institutions to borrow from to support the funding process; Absence of laws to make people behave in the right way; Behaviour approach, etc, which led to where we started. The quagmire is: Do we go back to copy correctly, or do we create what is unique to Nigeria, what can work?

This would lead to institutional transplantation. We should create a future with public involvement, customer service review that would see the customer as the real asset and seek to cultivate it with the best of ICT. Should utilities own assets or should they act as platform to manage assets? Reconnection is the key. Can communities be allowed to build power grids and manage to their size and

needs? Answers to these questions would get Nigeria out of darkness�.

Patrick Okigbo III The third descendant of the Okigbo dynasty in Anambara State used the Bizante model to show what Nigeria was ignoring, the model that pays. is clear evidence that Nigerians are ready to pay correct tariff for power if it comes steady and neat. The pay N108 per kw/h. Nigerians should be made to pay what is right and give them justifiable light supply levels.

On the rancour between Discos and off-grid suppliers leading some court cases especially in Aba and Ariaria, Okigbo said negotiation is the key. He gave options on how both can exist.

He also urged the FG to demand 5-year roll out plans from Discos so that where they do not get to, off-grid practitioners can be permitted to go there.

Chinedu Amah : Moderator The CEO of Sparkonline, a power service strategist and communicator used his moderating slot to chip in critical toners. He said the speech series by TEDX was to help Port Harcourt as a city

to discover itself and solve its problems. “This is to begin to have dialogue on various sections of the economy. This is the age of critical thinking. Now, can Nigerians have alternative energy?�

After guiding the audience to some video clips from the California events by TED, Amah said: “People here (Nigeria) seem not ready for the future.

Public transportation is a matter of interest because it has been revealed that any city without mass transportation system would fail. Could this be an opportunity for Port Harcourt to take another look at the Monorail project and make it work?

He went on: “Power could be the new frontier in Nigeria’s development journey. This is the time for services sector support to the power sector just like we have oil service companies.�

Experts in the video footing said there are about 22m refugees in the world today.

Cities are coming under more pressure. Cities can fail and so crash, and vomit their populations to seek refuge elsewhere.

People migrate. Climate change is a great threat because 1.5 billion people live in flood –prone zones. Cities need a player, a vision to run on. Cities need the power to do things. It’s time to renegotiate the terms of social contract.�

Donald Okudu: TEDX coordinator: How can we help PH? Explaining the role the firm has come to play in Port Harcourt, the licensee of TedX said: TED stands for Technology, Entertainment and Design. It started in California but as their market grew, they introduced the ‘X’ which is under the umbrella of the TED brand. It is to share ideas that are worth spreading and look for players in the field to take it from ideas to action. What we have done is to help us understand the challenges we have in our community and develop solutions to them. Thus, power is the target this time but the November event will focus on reframing.

Patrick Okigbo: ‘Power to the Forgotten’and the N500trn loss

Port  Harcourt  by  Boat With IGNATIUS  CHUKWU

P

atrick Okigbo was a speaker at TEDX speaking event in PH and moved the crowd

with his refrain: Power to the Forgotten. He traced the days of his grand father in Ojoto, near Onitsha, Anambara State and they lived by the rhythm of the rise and fall of the sun. That was an age without light, without modern civilization. Today, electricity has liberated most towns in Nigeria, true? False!

He said about 100m Nigerians are still living at the primitive stage of life, still living by the rhythm of the rise and fall of the sun due to absence of power supply. There is a value chain crisis in the power supply system in Nigeria. This is due to both technical and commercial hitches caused

by what we call the two Ts: Tariff and theft of power.

About N500 trillion is lost in the power sector, so Discos cannot pay the up-line system; the transmission company and generation companies who also cannot pay gas suppliers. The technical problem goes this way: Nigeria has 13,000 mw installed capacity but generates only 7,000 mw. During transmission, it drops to 5,000mw; during distribution, it drops further down to 4,000 mw. Tariff crisis starts when power is generated at N65 but customers are charged at an average of N25 per kilowatt hour (kw/h) leading to N40 kw/h loss.

Patrick  okigbo  III

Power to the forgotten: It is possible to give power (electricity and therefore economic support) to the forgotten people of Nigeria through effective generation and distribution of electricity. The case of Bizante, a community in Niger State off the state capital of Minna illustrates the matter. They have been given a mini-grid through solar energy and the community has started its walk to modernity.

Problems of grid system: Technical issues, financing, lack of central studies, and regulations.

Proposition: The National Assembly should enact a law making access to power compulsory by the government.

30

BUSINESS DAY

Thursday 06 September 2018

FEATURE

What Nigeria needs to become a regional aviation hub Unless government designs policies that will promote strong indigenous air transport carriers, the ambition to develop some airports into a hub would remain a dream, IFEOMA OKEKE writes.

A

irline hubs or hub airports are used by one or more airlines to concentrate passenger traffic and flight operations at a given airport. They serve as transfer (or stop-over) points to get passengers to their final destination. It is part of the hub-and-spoke system.

Hubs work by pooling regional demand from leisure passengers, international transfer passengers, business passengers and freight, to make more routes and regular flights viable.

While some airports in Africa have metamorphosed to become strong hubs, serving airlines across the globe and enhancing connectivity, Nigeria, the most populated country in West Africa which has a market strategically located at the centre of Africa has failed to leverage its potential to build an aviation hub for the region.

Nigeria’s potential to become an aviation hub for Africa, using its natural advantages such as its central location on the continent, huge population and a growing middle class, is being stymied by poor aviation infrastructure and lethargy from a government which urgently needs to diversify its economy away from oil.

Experts say establishing Nigeria as a regional aviation hub would move it one step away from dependence on oil and result in the creation of economic activity that would spin-off jobs and attract revenue, even beyond the aviation sector.

African airports with strong hubs There are strong hub airports in East Africa, South Africa and North Africa, which account for most of the scheduled capacity in Africa.

Oliver Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg (South Africa) is the busiest and largest airport in South Africa and on the continent.

In 2016, the airport handled a total

of over 20 million passengers and it is expected to reach between 24 and 28 million passengers in the coming years.

Cairo International Airport is located near the capital city, Cairo, 22 km northeast of the city center in the district of Heliopolis. It is one of the busiest airports in the Arab world and Africa. The second largest airport in Africa after ORTIA, it serves as the primary hub of various Egyptian airlines, including EgyptAir, Nile Air and EgyptAir Express. The airport processes over 14.5 million travellers passing through annually.

Cape Town International Airport is now the second largest airport in South Africa (after ORTIA) and the third busiest on the continent. It is located 20 kilometers east of Cape Town and is considered to be one of the best airports in all of Africa.

It has five terminals that are easily

accessible on foot. The airport is utilised by more than 8.5 million passengers every year.

Benefits of having aviation hubs All over the world, the best model to adopt for airlines to operate efficiently and effectively, is through airline connectivity, which is precipitated through airport hubs.

Nick Fadugba, the CEO, African Aviation Services Limited, said that strong hub airports are the key to airline connectivity, adding that airline connectivity stimulates economic growth.

Fadugba regretted that West and Central Africa have not been so successful in establishing strong hub airports, reiterating that strong hub airports enable efficient passenger and cargo transfers.

All over the world, the best model to adopt for airlines to operate efficiently and effectively, is through airline connectivity, which is precipitated through airport hubs

“Effective hub and spoke operations multiply the number of city pairs that can be connected,” he added.

Other experts say that the advantages that accrue from being a hub include revenues from payment of landing and parking fees, servicing of aircrafts, airport taxes, business for the hospitality and transport sector, amongst others.

What Nigeria requires to become an aviation hub Major global aircraft manufacturer, US Boeing, had in 2012 started preliminary discussion with Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Aviation towards an agreement to develop the country into a regional aviation hub, and reposition the sector as the reference point on all aviation matters in Africa.

Boeing stated that the requirements for attaining the goal included the enhancement and sustenance the nation’s aviation safety record, as well as establishing Maintenance and Repair Organisations (MROs) in the country.

Also required, it said, was the establishment of a Training Hub in Nigeria, along with technical assessments of all aircraft operated by domestic airlines in the country and a fleet renewal and acquisition programme for the airlines.

Boeing further said it was necessary to develop an aviation database and Integrated Air Navigation Systems, Optimisation System Support

for Airports and Airlines, as well as assess existing spare-parts and material marts in Nigeria, with a view to proposing a business partnership case for the establishment of an integrated spare parts super market in the country.

Nogie Meggison, Executive Chairman, Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), told BusinessDay that Nigeria’s natural advantages alone cannot make it become a hub; rather it needs strong airlines that could distribute passengers from Europe, the Americas, Asia and other destinations outside the continent to various parts of Africa, when they arrive at the airport which operates as hub. The agreement for some reasons did not take off.

“At the Murtala Muhammed Airport, there are no amenities for transit passengers. So, passengers will not want to spend money to transit from Nigeria. Rather, they transit Dubai, where there is accommodation, free food and music among others,” he explained.

Meggison added that there is an urgent need to upgrade airport runways, lights and terminals. Citing an example of Dubai, Meggison noted that Dubai leveraged its geographic location to become a natural hub between the East and the West. “If Nigeria becomes a hub for Africa, that will mean more taxes from food, hotels and landing charges from airlines. Aviation is not airline only; there is a service that goes to it,” Meggison said.

Thursday 06 September 2018

C002D5556

BUSINESS DAY

31

Live @ the Stock exchange Prices for Securities Traded as of Wednesday 05 September 2018 Company

Symbol

Deals

Current Price

Trades

Volume

PRICES FOR MAIN BOARD SECURITIES (Equities) BANKING ACCESS BANK PLC. 266,137.34 9.20 -1.60 122 2,817,513 UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC 273,595.37 8.00 -0.62 218 22,483,737 673,454.79 21.45 -2.05 200 2,379,421 ZENITH INTERNATIONAL BANK PLC 540 27,680,671 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FBN HOLDINGS PLC 323,057.64 9.00 -1.64 186 5,847,203 186 5,847,203 726 33,527,874

BUILDING MATERIALS DANGOTE CEMENT PLC 3,800,033.15 223.00 -3.04 21 91,077 LAFARGE AFRICA PLC. 199,922.52 23.05 -1.91 32 286,657 53 377,734 53 377,734

EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LTD 354,832.07 603.00 -7.23 60 431,977 60 431,977 60 431,977 839 34,337,585 CROP PRODUCTION FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC 440.00 0.20 - 2 6,110 76,217.41 79.90 - 24 87,984 OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. PRESCO PLC 60,050.00 60.05 - 8 2,588 34 96,682 FISHING/HUNTING/TRAPPING ELLAH LAKES PLC. 511.20 4.26 - 0 0 0 0 LIVESTOCK/ANIMAL SPECIALTIES LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. 1,890.00 0.63 - 7 73,100 7 73,100 41 169,782

DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIES A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. 1,058.92 0.40 - 1 100 JOHN HOLT PLC. 225.71 0.58 - 2 1,877 S C O A NIG. PLC. 2,111.93 3.25 - 0 0 51,216.47 1.26 4.13 100 9,917,715 TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC U A C N PLC. 32,270.52 11.20 - 42 319,133 145 10,238,825 145 10,238,825

BUILDING CONSTRUCTION ARBICO PLC. 711.32 4.79 - 0 0 0 0 INFRASTRUCTURE/HEAVY CONSTRUCTION JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. 33,000.00 25.00 - 12 22,215 165.00 6.60 - 0 0 ROADS NIG PLC. 12 22,215 REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CO. LIMITED 4,079.48 1.57 - 1 1,890 1 1,890 REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS (REITS) SKYE SHELTER FUND PLC 1,900.00 95.00 - 4 1,050 11,300.89 45.20 - 0 0 UNION HOMES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST (REIT) UPDC REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST 24,014.43 9.00 - 0 0 4 1,050 17 25,155

AUTOMOBILES/AUTO PARTS DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC 954.53 0.20 - 1 20,000 1 20,000 BEVERAGES--BREWERS/DISTILLERS CHAMPION BREW. PLC. 14,093.09 1.80 - 4 20,293 GOLDEN GUINEA BREW. PLC. 242.22 0.89 - 0 0 GUINNESS NIG PLC 197,134.45 90.00 - 36 119,388 INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. 283,663.44 33.00 3.13 15 1,532,579 NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. 747,710.34 93.50 0.54 81 725,981 136 2,398,241 FOOD PRODUCTS DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC 39,750.00 7.95 - 43 249,781 DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC 181,200.00 15.10 - 39 559,612 FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. 86,928.05 21.20 -3.64 74 378,230 HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC 12,609.01 1.59 - 16 146,747 MULTI-TREX INTEGRATED FOODS PLC 1,340.10 0.36 - 0 0 N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. 1,158.30 6.50 - 0 0 NASCON ALLIED INDUSTRIES PLC 52,988.77 20.00 - 18 159,510 UNION DICON SALT PLC. 3,676.41 13.45 - 1 5 191 1,493,885 FOOD PRODUCTS--DIVERSIFIED CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. 18,875.93 10.05 - 23 70,065 NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. 1,188,984.38 1,500.00 - 26 5,187 49 75,252 HOUSEHOLD DURABLES NIGERIAN ENAMELWARE PLC. 1,680.31 22.10 - 1 42,800 VITAFOAM NIG PLC. 3,377.28 3.24 - 6 14,665 7 57,465 PERSONAL/HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. 52,211.77 13.15 -2.59 29 151,663 UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. 287,250.27 50.00 - 26 253,325 55 404,988 439 4,449,831

BANKING DIAMOND BANK PLC 29,182.09 1.26 0.80 33 1,912,484 ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED 358,733.73 19.55 -2.25 32 764,617 FIDELITY BANK PLC 49,836.65 1.72 1.18 83 9,484,791 GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. 1,078,652.72 36.65 -1.08 148 7,284,621 JAIZ BANK PLC 15,616.05 0.53 8.16 76 13,332,165 SKYE BANK PLC 7,217.76 0.52 -5.45 112 18,503,956 STERLING BANK PLC. 41,746.11 1.45 5.84 61 6,625,076 UNION BANK NIG.PLC. 170,356.40 5.85 - 37 251,087 UNITY BANK PLC 8,650.11 0.74 - 15 345,662 WEMA BANK PLC. 24,301.91 0.63 5.00 29 881,762 626 59,386,221 INSURANCE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES AFRICAN ALLIANCE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC 4,117.00 0.20 - 0 0 AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 6,237.18 0.90 -9.09 132 15,234,108 24,150.00 2.30 - 4 850 AXAMANSARD INSURANCE PLC CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE PLC 2,660.00 0.38 8.57 7 629,580 CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC 15,559.12 1.50 - 4 417,533 3,682.38 0.25 4.17 6 112,886 CORNERSTONE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC. 2,411.47 0.53 - 0 0 GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC GREAT NIGERIAN INSURANCE PLC 1,913.74 0.50 - 0 0 GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. 1,964.80 0.32 - 1 358 INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE COMPANY PLC 487.95 0.38 - 0 0 2,270.26 0.31 3.23 17 1,164,865 LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. LAW UNION AND ROCK INS. PLC. 2,835.58 0.66 -9.59 5 696,000 LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC 5,440.00 0.68 - 2 20,050 MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. 2,160.00 0.27 -10.00 40 5,846,200 N.E.M INSURANCE CO (NIG) PLC. 17,425.66 3.30 -0.30 58 5,132,136 3,095.79 0.40 -9.09 19 1,173,000 NIGER INSURANCE CO. PLC. PRESTIGE ASSURANCE CO. PLC. 1,832.36 0.48 - 0 0 REGENCY ALLIANCE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC 1,533.81 0.23 4.55 10 670,001 SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC 1,918.39 0.23 -8.00 12 3,139,824 STANDARD ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC. 4,518.86 0.35 - 2 550 4,483.72 0.48 - 0 0 STANDARD TRUST ASSURANCE PLC SUNU ASSURANCES NIGERIA PLC. 2,800.00 0.20 - 2 36,072 UNIC DIVERSIFIED HOLDINGS PLC. 516.46 0.20 - 0 0 UNIVERSAL INSURANCE COMPANY PLC 5,280.00 0.33 -8.33 1 1,000,000 VERITAS KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC 3,882.67 0.28 3.70 2 158,300 WAPIC INSURANCE PLC 5,353.10 0.40 -4.76 45 2,639,463 369 38,071,776 MICRO-FINANCE BANKS FORTIS MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 11,799.67 2.58 - 0 0 NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 3,658.62 1.60 -0.62 15 661,249

Company

Symbol

Deals

Current Price

Trades

Volume

15 661,249 MORTGAGE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES ABBEY MORTGAGE BANK PLC 4,914.00 1.17 - 0 0 ASO SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC 7,370.87 0.50 - 0 0 INFINITY TRUST MORTGAGE BANK PLC 5,922.05 1.42 - 0 0 5,664.87 0.50 - 0 0 RESORT SAVINGS & LOANS PLC UNION HOMES SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC. 2,949.22 3.02 - 0 0 0 0 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AFRICA PRUDENTIAL PLC 8,000.00 4.00 - 31 700,668 31,820.89 5.41 - 5 6,142 CUSTODIAN INVESTMENT PLC DEAP CAPITAL MANAGEMENT & TRUST PLC 660.00 0.44 - 0 0 36,833.04 1.86 2.20 103 19,129,339 FCMB GROUP PLC. NIGERIA ENERYGY SECTOR FUND 411.91 552.20 - 0 0 ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. 1,234.89 0.24 - 1 1,828 475,342.70 47.00 -2.08 38 19,243,175 STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC 18,120.00 3.02 0.67 42 1,464,299 UNITED CAPITAL PLC 3,312.39 103.20 - 0 0 ValuAlliance Value Fund 220 40,545,451 1,230 138,664,697

HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS EKOCORP PLC. 1,680.29 3.37 - 0 0 UNION DIAGNOSTIC & CLINICAL SERVICES PLC 959.35 0.27 -6.90 14 1,168,448 14 1,168,448 MEDICAL SUPPLIES MORISON INDUSTRIES PLC. 544.04 0.55 - 0 0 0 0 PHARMACEUTICALS EVANS MEDICAL PLC. 366.17 0.50 - 0 0 8,250.00 5.50 1.85 69 1,546,777 FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. 15,665.98 13.10 - 14 34,152 2,401.00 2.45 2.08 28 644,753 MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC 1,035.90 0.60 - 7 68,935 NIGERIA-GERMAN CHEMICALS PLC. 556.71 3.62 - 0 0 411.96 1.90 - 0 0 PHARMA-DEKO PLC. 118 2,294,617 132 3,463,065

COMPUTER BASED SYSTEMS COURTEVILLE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS PLC 710.40 0.20 - 1 5,000 1 5,000 COMPUTERS AND PERIPHERALS OMATEK VENTURES PLC 1,470.89 0.50 - 0 0 0 0 IT SERVICES CWG PLC 6,413.06 2.54 - 0 0 680.40 6.30 - 0 0 NCR (NIGERIA) PLC. TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. 381.11 0.77 - 0 0 0 0 PROCESSING SYSTEMS CHAMS PLC 1,314.90 0.28 -9.68 3 251,250 16,590.00 3.95 - 0 0 E-TRANZACT INTERNATIONAL PLC 3 251,250 4 256,250

BUILDING MATERIALS BERGER PAINTS PLC 1,898.34 6.55 - 2 3,150 CAP PLC 19,845.00 28.35 - 10 6,571 CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC 38,831.34 30.90 - 3 10,208 717.52 0.34 - 4 3,801 FIRST ALUMINIUM NIGERIA PLC MEYER PLC. 361.24 0.68 - 0 0 2,364.38 2.98 - 0 0 PORTLAND PAINTS & PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC PREMIER PAINTS PLC. 1,279.20 10.40 - 0 0 19 23,730 ELECTRONIC AND ELECTRICAL PRODUCTS AUSTIN LAZ & COMPANY PLC 2,256.91 2.09 - 0 0 CUTIX PLC. 3,487.42 3.96 - 28 225,824 28 225,824 PACKAGING/CONTAINERS BETA GLASS PLC. 38,997.82 78.00 - 2 26,642 GREIF NIGERIA PLC 388.02 9.10 - 0 0 2 26,642 AGRO-ALLIED & CHEMICALS NOTORE CHEMICAL IND PLC 100,754.14 62.50 - 7 10,501 7 10,501 56 286,697

CHEMICALS B.O.C. GASES PLC. 1,752.39 4.21 - 1 2,000 1 2,000 METALS ALUMINIUM EXTRUSION IND. PLC. 1,803.64 8.20 - 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. 55.00 0.25 - 0 0 0 0 1 2,000

ENERGY EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC 1,565.68 0.25 -3.85 35 1,975,197 35 1,975,197 INTEGRATED OIL AND GAS SERVICES OANDO PLC 65,886.49 5.30 1.92 96 3,907,862 96 3,907,862 PETROLEUM AND PETROLEUM PRODUCTS DISTRIBUTORS 11 PLC 64,907.15 180.00 - 11 15,223 CONOIL PLC 16,863.04 24.30 - 12 41,054 ETERNA PLC. 8,998.60 6.90 - 6 27,588 FORTE OIL PLC. 26,049.62 20.00 5.26 46 301,960 MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. 8,701.65 28.55 - 1 90 TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. 64,407.29 189.70 - 18 22,235 94 408,150 225 6,291,209

ADVERTISING AFROMEDIA PLC 2,219.52 0.50 - 0 0 0 0 AIRLINES MEDVIEW AIRLINE PLC 18,818.75 1.93 - 3 1,260 3 1,260 AUTOMOBILE/AUTO PART RETAILERS R T BRISCOE PLC. 541.12 0.46 - 0 0 0 0 COURIER/FREIGHT/DELIVERY RED STAR EXPRESS PLC 3,065.38 5.20 - 0 0 TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. 365.70 0.78 - 6 72,500 6 72,500 HOSPITALITY TANTALIZERS PLC 674.44 0.21 - 1 2,000 1 2,000 HOTELS/LODGING CAPITAL HOTEL PLC 4,801.22 3.10 - 0 0 IKEJA HOTEL PLC 4,718.87 2.27 - 3 2,441 TOURIST COMPANY OF NIGERIA PLC. 7,862.53 3.50 - 0 0 51,302.73 6.75 - 0 0 TRANSCORP HOTELS PLC 3 2,441 MEDIA/ENTERTAINMENT DAAR COMMUNICATIONS PLC 5,280.00 0.44 - 0 0 0 0 PRINTING/PUBLISHING ACADEMY PRESS PLC. 302.40 0.50 - 0 0 LEARN AFRICA PLC 779.16 1.01 -9.82 16 724,269 STUDIO PRESS (NIG) PLC. 1,183.82 1.99 - 1 2,000 UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC. 828.31 1.92 - 9 13,499

32 BUSINESS DAY NEWS

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JAMB registrar cautions parents Business Confidence Index rises over under-aged students to 21.5 point in August RAZAQ AYINLA, Abeokuta

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s-haq Oloyede, a professor and registrar of Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has cautioned parents and guardians not to rush up their kids to take matriculation exams to the Nigerian tertiary institutions if such kids are not qualified in terms of age and academic results at the secondary school level.

The JAMB Registrar, who was a guest lecturer at 2018 Annual Sobo Sowemimo Lecture - “Catalyst of Development: Here and Beyond” held in Abeokuta on Sunday

by Abeokuta Club, lamented that parents and guardians of such applicants unduly contribute fees to government’s coffers, having known that those kids are not minimally qualified for admissions in Nigerian tertiary institutions.

While using University of Lagos and some other universities that don’t admit applicants less than 16 years in the year of admission as yardsticks, Oloyede said about annual 1.7 million applicants who subscribe to JAMB forms, only 850,000 applicants are qualified in terms of age, and this is an undue contribution to the

JAMB’s purse.

BusinessDay reports that the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) under Professor Is-haq Oloyedeled management recorded a N7.8 billion revenue on exams registration forms sales in 2017, surpassing N500 million target given to it, at the beginning of the year by the Federal Government and also far cry to N53 million which represents all revenue generated in 10 years.

“Many of those who are taking the forms are not qualified for the exams, some are SSS 1students who are just trying and contributing N5,000 unduly for our purse. So, we are putting in place some checks that will ensure that those who want to apply are minimally qualified, that is where we are moving to rather than creating unrealistic figure”, he said.

Speaking on denial of admissions over the reason of underage by UNILAG and other institutions, Oloyede added, “We don’t need to avoid that, we are in a federation, institutions are free to determine what they want.

A particular institution says that I will not admit anybody into my 100 Level unless that person is 16 years old and above full stop.

CYNTHIA IKWUETOGHU

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igerian businesses looks promising on the macro economy as the overall confidence index (CI) rose to 21.5 index points for August compared with the level of 13.6 index points in July, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Business Expectation Survey (BES).

The positivity on the macro economy in August was driven by an increase in the opinion of respondents from services (13.7 points), industrial (6.1 points), wholesale/retail trade (0.9 points), and construction (0.8 points) sectors.

By type of business, the report shows that the positive stance for August were driven by businesses that are neither import nor export-oriented, both import and exportoriented, import-oriented, and those that are export-related with (15.2 points), (3.4 points), (2.4 points), and (0.5 points) respectively.

However, respondents from services and wholesale/ retail trade sectors expressed relatively more confidence on own operations in the current month with indices of

8.1 and 1.4 respectively when compared with 2.7 and 0.3 reported in July.

On the volume of total order and business activity in August, respondents’ outlook remained positive, as the index stood at 10.0 and 9.1 points respectively when compared to 4.6 and 3.5 points, respectively recorded in the previous month.

Similarly, on financial conditions (working capital) and average capacity utilization, respondents’ outlook improved, as the indices stood at 8.4 and 15.9 index points respectively when compared with the 2.2 and 10.0 points, respectively recorded in July while respondents were pessimistic on access to credit in the review month, with an index of -1.0 points.

Business constraints disclosed an increase in insufficient power to (66.0 points), unfavourable economic climate (54.8 points), financial problems (54.9 points), insufficient demand (47.3 points), unfavourable political climate (46.0 points), and access to credit (42.2 points) from its July survey of (64.1 points), (54.3 points), (50.6 points), (45.1 points), (45.1 points), and (40.9 points) respectively.

Thursday 07 September 2018

Stakeholders urge NPA to be firm in liberalising logistic facilities OLUSOLA BELLO

S

takeholders in the oil and gas industry have urged the Nigeria Port Authority (NPA) to continue to ensure it removes all barriers inhibiting competiveness in their operations breaking the monopoly enjoyed by some oil logistics providers.

They made this statement against the background of the disclosure that Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production SNEPCO has been able to save about $1billion owing to the fact that there was no compelling reasons for it to patronise any particular facility for logistic services.

According to some of the oil operators who are both producers and service contractors who spoke to BusinessDay on condition of anonymity, liberalising logistic services would allow them negotiate their businesses very well and thereby allow them to reduce their cost of operations.

The cost imposed on them by some logistic services providers who hitherto claimed to be having the backing of the NPA is the

reason why the cost components of oil operations in the country is always high.

Soyede Babajide, managing director of Free Zone Fabrication, a compamy founded by a group of banks said the company has become idle on account of excess charges or tariff imposed on it by one of the logistics providers.

He said that the company only provide labour at a cost it determines on its own terms and does not provide power and water for the companies that use it facilities. These charges, he said, increased the cost of operations in the oil and gas industry.

Hadiza Usman, managing director of NPA, had disclosed that SNEPCO has recorded some savings because of the liberalisation policy of NPA on logistic services.

According to SNEPCO while expressing its appreciation to the agency, it stated: “We are pleased to inform you that we have completed the tender process and received NNPC approval to award the contract to one of the offshore facilities listed in your letter to us”.

Thursday 06 September 2018

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BUSINESS DAY

33

NEWS Fear engulfs private sector as Malami turns tax...

Continued from page 1

investors now feel attacked, BusinessDay gathered from interviews with several business owners.

“The pall spreading over the business climate in Nigeria is akin to that which engulfed the me-

dia after Buhari, as military dictator, promulgated decree four in 1984, leading to the subsequent jailing of a brilliant pair of journalists Nduka Irabor and Tunde Thompson, both of The Guardian,” one business leader said.

The NSE 30, a local index that tracks the market performance of the biggest companies in the country, was down 1.32 percent Wednesday, while the broader index slipped 1.5 percent.

“There is panic in the air, as no one is sure if they will be affected by hefty back taxes and if they will get justice if not guilty,” a private sector source told Business Day on Wednesday.

“The position of the companies affected is that the calculations of the taxes are not correct and you can see why, given that it has come from the Attorney-General’s office instead of the tax authorities. Something doesn’t smell right,” the source said on condition of anonymity.

MTN was hit with $2 billion in back taxes this week after the office of Nigeria’s attorney general calculated that the country’s biggest mobile phone operator owes taxes related to the import of foreign equipment and payments to suppliers over the past decade.

The mobile phone operator claims it owed and had paid $700 million in a dispute that had dragged for two weeks but was first reported Tuesday.

“When tax issues are coming out from an audit rather than the

tax authorities, there is bound to be discrepancies,” said Taiwo Oyedele, partner and head of tax and regulatory services at consulting firm, Price Water house Coopers (PWC).

“That is not to say the government is wrong or the affected companies are right, but it is not an issue that should be taken to press. It should have been better managed, otherwise it could cause bigger damages,” Oyedele said pointing to MTN’s share price decline since the news of the tax bill caused investors to bail on the Johannesburg-listed company.

In a conference call with investors, MTN said the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) assumed that all foreign payments attract VAT, whereas some categories are VAT exempt.

They also assumed an average of 15 percent on foreign imports, whereas, according to the source, rates can vary from 5-20 percent with taxes base station equipment of 10 percent.

The share price of MTN Group, the parent company of the Nigerian unit, declined 18.8 percent Wednesday, wiping $3.07 billion off its market capitalisation.

Since being asked last week by Nigeria’s Central bank to refund some $8.1 billion illegally repatriated out of the country over eight years through 2015, MTN’s share price has plunged to its lowest in 12 years and the company has lost $6.9 billion, sparking fears the company may struggle to pay dividend this year.

Vestact a South African securities firm says it would appear that after many years of heavy investment to build an extensive network under trying circumstances, and connecting over 50 percent of cellphone users, the Nigerian government has decided that MTN is too foreign and too profitable for their liking.

“At this point the Nigerian business is at risk of becoming a total writeoff as investors cannot attribute any value if it is at risk of being hit by repeated, arbitrary demands by a hostile government,” Vestact said in a late note to investors yesterday.

The sanctions by the regulators on MTN have also triggered a selloff in the Eurobond of the telco, according to Abimbola Omotola, head of fixed incomeandcurrencyresearchatEcobank.

“Yields have been rising in the company’s Eurobond and this is because a sanction of that magnitude is bound to affect the company’s fundamentals and risk profile,” Omotola said by phone.

“We have not observed a similar selloff in either the local or foreign currency bonds of Nigeria that are directly as a result of the heightened regulatory risk. We think the selloffs earlier observed in the sovereign bonds were based on broad emerging market selloffs and heightened political risk in the country as elections draw closer,” Omotola added.

Economists are now saying that recent actions by regulators in Nigeria will have far more dire consequences on the economy than the regulators might be taking into cognisance.

Muda Yusuf, Director General, Lagos Chambers of Commerce and IndustrytoldBusinessDaythattheheightened regulatory risk in the country will surely have a negative effect on foreign and local investments in the country.

“Investors have been feeling uncomfortable since hearing FIRS is considering appointing banks as collecting agents. Investors are no longer sure of what to expect and this is leading to an escalation of the risk profile of the country,” said Yusuf.

“Infractions need to be straightened out and the rule of law must prevail in all these regulatory cases. The regulators must make sure that there

Continued from page 1

ing director of NNPC Kaduna

Investors find solace in dividend income as...

Continued from page 1

Nigerian equities market has bled so much over the past few months making more stocks to remain on the low end of the pricing curve, but providing investment opportunities for value players with a focus on the fundamentally justified stocks.

“Dividend yielding stocks always provide an extra income stream for their holders. Even when stock prices are falling and there is no capital

appreciation, dividend income provides some comfort. With prices on the low end, dividend yield becomes even more attractive,” said Lagosbased Meristem Stockbrokers.

The market witnessed remarkable pullback of some foreign investors as a result of uncertainty ahead of next year’s general elections; and the rising global yields which are leading to reallocation of portfolio funds away from Nigeria’s equity market.

“The dividend yield in the stock market has increased due to the low

Telco’s commit to expanding financial...

Continued from page 1

bile money penetration.

Nigeria’s telecommunications industry is till date, one of the most thriving industries in the country and has the capabilities, including technology, infrastructure, distribution network and subscriber base that can quickly

regulatory price fixing from the poor performance of electricity distribution companies in the country.

Discos have made multiple attempts to increase the electricity tariffs in Nigeria to make the price more market reflective. Discos have clamoured for higher tariffs which will allow them to be in a better financial position to pay other companies on the value chain and increase investments in the sector.

Last week, it was the turn of the Central Bank of Nigeria to upend the market.

The apex monetary regulator slammed fines of N2.4bn on Standard Chartered, N1.8bn on Stanbic IBTC, N1.2bn on Citibank and N0.25bn on Diamond Bank for allegedly illegally repatriating funds on behalf MTN Group. CBN also asked MTN to refund $8.1 billion it allegedly improperly repatriated out of the country.

Probably emboldened by any lack of pushback on his actions from the Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, Vice President or tax agencies like the FIRS, Abubakar Malami, the Attorney General of the Federation, from whose office the letters demanding back taxes are emanating, doubled down yesterday, when he spoke in favour of adopting forensic and investigative auditing to prevent fraud and financial crimes at the International Conference on Forensic Auditing in Abuja Wednesday.

“Forensic and Investigative auditing has been recognised globally as an effective approach for prevention and for galvanising the needed prosecutorial evidence in financial crimes.

“Nigeria must, therefore, key into this global trend,” Malami is quoted to have said by local television station, Channels. Malami also said that the Federal Government remains committedtoprosecutingcorruptpersonsinthe country to serve as a deterrent to others.

Kaduna Refinery says revamp under way to...

L-R: Alero AyidaOtobo, board member, Teach for Nigeria; Feyi Ojugo, head of teaching and administration, Greensprings School; Lolade Sasore, head, communications and knowledge engagement, FBNQuest Merchant Bank; Folawe Omikunle, CEO, Teach for Nigeria, and Gbenga Oyebode, chairman, Teach for Nigeria, at the Teach for Nigeria 2018 Fellows Graduation in Lagos, recently.

following record N1.05trillion loss seen year-to-date (ytd).

is proportionality in the sanctions levied on the defaulting institutions to ensure that the fines do not cause an existential threat for the companies.

We also need to be careful so as not to send the wrong signals to investors.

The rule of law must be respected and we must be fair, equitable and just when delivering verdicts on companies. We must not forget that these companies are very important for job creation in the country,” Yusuf added.

Only about two weeks ago, Federal Inland Revenue Service shook the industry after it described a new tax recovery strategy in which it will appoint banks as collecting agents and freeze the bank accounts of taxpayers considered to be in default.

Since the announcement in August, there has been a growing concern and unease among local and foreign investors as they wonder if their business accounts will be frozen once tax liabilities are presented by FIRS to them without due process by the regulator to allow for investors to either accept the tax bill or provide supporting document to prove that the taxes liable ought to be lower or higher.

About a week later, the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) procured a court injunction restraining MultiChoice Nigeria Limited from implementing any increase in DStv subscription rates in Nigeria.

CPC argued that it was doing this based on its constitutional obligation to protect the welfare of Nigerian consumers, failing to see reason that by so doing they were putting a regulatory cap on cable television pricing in Nigeria which could harm the financial performance of MultiChoice Nigeria and discourage foreign multinationals from entering the Nigerian market if their prices will be dictated to them.

It would appear the regulators have learnt little about the effects of

be leveraged to provide these solutions.

According to the Nigerian Communications Commission, the industry has a reach of 86 percent of the country, with 162.3millioncustomers(thesinglelargest customerbaseofanyindustryinNigeria).

The industry players have a combined presence in 773 local government areas across the country further emphasising

•Continues online at www.businessdayonline.com

refinery said in a statement that “the Plant’s crude distillation unit has been cladded so it can refine light sweet Nigerian crude,” a move which will come as much of a relief on the part of Nigeria’s quest to stop products importation and its increasing cost implications on the nation’s economy.

“Refinery revamp began last month as the plant is currently offline, while the refinery is scheduled to re-start by year-end,” NNPC said.

According to NNPC, “Work on five heaters is on progress awaiting approvals for procurement of fluid catalytic cracking unit as NNPC has also invited bids for crude charge unit; awards for boiler, crude tank and wastewater treatment work currently awaiting approvals.”

Data compiled by BusinessDay showed the Kaduna refinery was originally constructed to refine heavy crude grades and has a refinery capacity of 110,000 bpd which was supposed to share in the 445,000 barrels a day refining capacity solely accounted for by the NNPC’s four refineries.

However industry watchers are sceptical about the Kaduna Refinery operational efficiency on the long run as a result of its historical pipeline vandalisation which has

their ability to reach especially hard to reach areas of the country in a bid to deepen access to financial services.

They also have 1,000,000 unique agents already in place selling airtime across the country, creating a strong distribution network that can quickly be converted to established mobile money agent networks.

YinkaDavid-West,AcademicDirector and Senior Fellow at Lagos Business

Schoolwhofacilitatedthemeetingwith the Telco’s on Tuesday said; “ Far beyondfinancialinclusionratesinNigeria, we also have to examine how people currently considered to have access to financial services stack up when evaluatedagainstthecriteriafortruefinancial inclusion, i.e. access to a full suite of qualityfinancialservices,providedataffordableprices,inaconvenientmanner.

When evaluated against this definition,

prices. These low prices are attractive for investors wanting to take positions in the market on a long-term basis. During the holding period of stocks, investors will earn attractive dividend yield, bonus (where declared) and have the opportunity to receive the benefits of capital appreciation,” FSDH Research analysts said in their recent note.

Meanwhile somewhat impressive first-half (H1) financial scorecards have had tepid impact on Custom Street trading mood.

disrupted effectiveness in most of Nigeria’s other three refineries.

Recall, January this year the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC) shut down operations, due to the non-availability of crude oil. Besides the non-availability of crude, the facility, like others around the country has been functioning grossly under capacity since it has not undergone a Turn around Maintenance (TAM) which was done last in 2013.

With over $20billion already spent on the TAM of the nation’s refineries since inception, Professor of Petroleum Economics and Policy Research, Omowumi Iledare told BusinessDay last month that corruption, tribalism and sundry mundane factors were responsible for the perennially poor state of the refinery.

“I just think we are not employing the resources that we have for optimal value creation. If we do, the refinery will be up and running. It is not any big deal to run a refinery,” Iledare told BusinessDay. It is these maintenance challenges that have equally been responsible for the refineries under capacity performance, just as experts in the sector are expressing deep concerns over the epileptic state of the facility.

•Continues online at www.businessdayonline.com it is clear that as a country, we have to work, not just to drastically increase the numberoffinanciallyincludedpersons, but also to increase the quality of inclusion and access we give, especially if we hope to positively impact the economy and the quality of the lives of Nigerians in any meaningful way.”

•Continues online at www.businessdayonline.com

34

BUSINESS DAY

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

Friday 07 September 2018

In association with research@businessdayonline.com

08094821958

Disruptive technologies: Sink or swim ABISINUOLA DAVID-OLUSA

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networking has also in a way disrupted communication processes.

Mobile computing has disrupted the need for physical structures as people can collaborate and network virtually.

After thorough study, some of the most popular emerging technologies that are disrupting or would disrupt industries are the internet of things (IoT), blockchain technology, robotics, artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous vehicles.

The Internet of Things (IoT) has become an interesting conversation in and out of the workplace and it basically talks about a system of interrelated computing devices and digital machines that have the ability to transfer data over a network without the aid of human interference. IoT devices can be used in various areas such as health, mining, waste management, manufacturing amongst many others with some of its applications including smart homes, connected cars, IoT in agriculture etc.

Blockchain Technology is a decentralized distributed ledger that records transactions in a way that it is efficient and incorruptible, enhancing transparency of transactions. Previously the functionalities of blockchain centred on Bitcoin but recently, studies have been carried out to find more uses for it

and research has shown that blockchain technology can be used in the financial services, by reducing errors in storing of records through encryption, government, by ensuring that all government-sourced data are available over the internet for all citizens. A report published

by McKinsey and Company stated that this form of transparency would make the world richer by $2.6 trillion.

Robotics has an exciting innovation that corresponds with capable robots that have enhanced dexterity; senses and intelligence which enables them perform tasks that were previously thought to be hard and expensive to automate. Robotics technology involves developing machines that can substitute or replicate human actions and they are used to perform tasks that are hazardous to humans such as defusing of bombs.

Furthermore, Artificial Intelligence is a type of machine intelligence when machines copy the cognitive functions of the human brain in learning and solving complex problems. It is the study of devices and machines that would enable them perceive their environment and take an action that maximize the chances of achieving set goals and minimizes the risk of error. Areas of application of Artificial Intelligence include programming computers to pos-

sess traits such as problem solving, reasoning, knowledge, perception and learning. Robotics is a major field that is related to artificial intelligence as robots require intelligence to handle tasks that involve mapping, motion planning, navigation and so on.

Autonomous vehicles, otherwise known as driverless cars, are vehicles that are capable of sensing the environment and navigating paths without human input. This increases safety, mobility, customer satisfaction and reduces traffic collision, injuries and crime. Top companies that are taking giant strides in the area of research and creation of autonomous vehicles according to Navigant include General Motors, Waymo, Daimler-Bosch, Ford and Volkswagen.

These are a few disruptive technologies and tons of research and discoveries are being made every minute to ensure more efficient work processes and quality of life is available globally.

Globally, research and studies are conducted to determine how various countries can begin to fully accept the changing environment and also how existing research can be advanced. According to the Global Innovation Index 2018, Switzerland emerged the most innovative country followed by Netherlands, Sweden, United King-

12734BDN

echnology refers to the systems, methods and devices which emanate as a result of scientific knowledge being used for practical purposes. Over the years, technology has only been attributed to devices such as the mobile phones and so on but in recent times, we have seen technology driven by methods and systems rather than the devices with which they are associated.

Clayton M. Christensen, a Harvard Business School professor, in his best-selling book, ‘The Innovator’s Dilemma’, separates new technology into sustaining technology and disruptive technology, where sustaining technology tends to deal with innovative products that merely improve on existing technologies while disruptive technologies seek to completely alter the operating process of businesses and companies.

Most times, these disruptive technologies force businesses to reshape its process and sometimes re-strategize or else it would put them at an increasing risk of losing market share to those who have found ways to integrate technology into their business process, or go into extinction in the industry. Due to its fresh and emerging nature, disruptive technologies are usually crude, unrefined and rudimentary and as such appeal to a very limited crowd as they don’t yet have a practical application.

Since time immemorial, technologies have disrupted human activities, making structures leaner and processes more efficient but not every emerging technology will alter the business landscape, although some have the potential to disrupt the norm, alter processes, and re-arrange value pools. Some of such noteworthy technologies include: Electronic mails (E-mails) transformed the mode of communication, displacing letter writing and postal services. Smartphones disrupted the use of cell phones and the advent of downloadable apps also disrupted the use of calculators, GPS devices, MP3 players, pocket camera etc. Social

dom, Singapore, U.S.A., Finland, Denmark, Germany and Ireland, making up the top ten most innovative countries.

The KPMG Nigeria CEO Outlook report 2018 indicates that Nigerian CEOs believe that technological disruptions are more of an opportunity than threat although, 88 per cent of them are of the opinion that technological and digital investments are more strategic and long term than tactical while 64 per cent of them expect to generate significant ROI in 12 months. One of the biggest threats they saw to technological disruptions is the threat of cybersecurity as 76 per cent of CEOs are very well prepared to manage stakeholders in the event of cyber-attack.

The development of automation and leaner processes which is enabled by technologies bring the promise of a more efficient system leading to higher productivity, safety and convenience.

However, these technologies also raise question on the impact of such automation on jobs and the future of work itself because most of the jobs carried out today has the potential to be automated.

In addition, McKinsey Global Institute research discovered that about 60 per cent of jobs have at least 30 per cent activities could be technically automated based on currently demonstrated technologies. On a global scale, currently demonstrated technologies could affect 1.2 billion employees; however, it would create jobs that have never existed and a new category of knowledge-enabled jobs will become possible.

So, the biggest challenge going forward is not the lack of jobs but the lack of qualified individuals to fill new job roles. Therefore, to prevent a massive unemployment churn, government and private individuals should begin to up skill of their employees so as to be capable of handling new jobs.

One of such initiatives is currently handled by the Lagos State Government which is called CodeLagos, an initiative to train 1 million Lagos residents to code. This is a six-week program that will expose trainees to courses in Java, Web and Python programming.

WIDE OPEN MINDED RMB Nigeria. Solutionist Thinking.

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We believe in stretching ourselves.

In broadening our horizons and embracing the unconventional to consider every possibility. Solutionist Thinking means deliberating together and collaborating with our clients to unlock exceptional prospects for the future. It’s the magic that inspires everything we do.

www.rmb.com.ng

Thursday 06 September 2018

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35

Live @ The Exchanges Top Gainers/Losers as at Wednesday 05 September 2018 GAINERS Company

LOSERS Opening

Closing

Change

INTBREW

N32

N33

1

FO

N19

N20

1

NB

N93

N93.5

0.5

N2.72

N2.99

0.27

N5.2

N5.3

0.1

CILEASING OANDO

Market Statistics as at Wednesday 05 September 2018

Company

Opening

Closing

Change

SEPLAT

N650

N603

-47

DANGCEM

N230

N223

-7

STANBIC

N48

N47

-1

FLOURMILL

N22

N21.2

-0.8

ETI

N20

N19.55

-0.45

ASI (Points)

34,414.37

DEALS (Numbers)

3,224.00

VOLUME (Numbers)

200,278,872.00

VALUE (N billion)

2.162

MARKET CAP (N Trn

12.563

Seplat, Dangote Cement, Stanbic, 23 others push NSE back to negative zone …Investors lose N190billion in one day …Year-to-date return stands at minus 10.01% Stories by Iheanyi Nwachukwu

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igerian equities market returned to the negative region after Wednesday’s trading on Custom Street. The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) all Share Index (ASI) depreciated by 1.49percent to close at 34,414.37 points as against the preceding day’s 34,933.68 points level while the Yearto-Date (YtD) returns stands at minus 10.01percent.

The value of listed equities on Nigerian Bourse decreased from N12.753billion to NN12.563trillion, representing N190billion loss.

This follows price decline seen in stocks like Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc, Dangote Cement Plc, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc and twenty-three (23)

L-R: Charles Bowman, Lord Mayor of the City of London; Oscar N. Onyema, OON, chief executive officer, The Nigerian Stock Exchange(NSE); David Schwimmer, chief executive officer, London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) and Abimbola Ogunbanjo, president, National Council, NSE, during a business networking event hosted by the British High Commission in Lagos recently.

PEARL Award inaugurates new board, assures innovation MICHEAL ANI

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he organizers of PEARL Awards on Tuesday September 4, 2018 affirmed new patrons and board of governors at an event which took place in Lagos. At the event, outgoing board members were honoured while new members were sworn in with few old returned.

PEARL Awards is Nigeria’s premier for rewarding operational excellence and outstanding performance on the stock market.

The new board members included; Faruk Umar, Tayo Orekoya, Wole Adetunji, Biodun Adedipe, Eniola Fadayomi, Lola Oyebadejo, Olufemi Awoyemi, Sam Ohuabunwa, Suleyman Ndanusa, Abimbola Olashore, Oluwatoyin Sanni, Nike Akande and Lekan

Adekoya as Board Secretary According to the President/CEO, PEARL Awards Nigeria, Tayo Orekoya, the exercise was necessary to inject freshness into the leadership of the Board.

“As an institution desirous of continually reinventing itself, there is the need to reposition the Awards for enhanced performance over and above the level of successes achieved over the years. The need to be dynamic in the face of reality of technological, political and economic changes in our country and globally underpins the rationale behind the event of this day” “The PEARL Awards Project is committed to, and will continue to work assiduously to complement the efforts of other stakeholders of our capital market especially the regu-

latory authorities towards the restoration of investors’ confidence and the deepening of the market that will ensure recovery, stability and sustainable growth of our capital market,” he said.

The PEARL Awards also had the investiture of Shehu Malami and U.F. Abdullahi as Patrons of the Awards for the first time.

Orekoya emphasised that the investiture was important to shore up the potentials of the event and elevate the credibility despite being rated as one of the most credible awards and endorsed by the Nigerian Capital Market, Securities & Exchange Commission formally endorsed the Awards in 2003.

“It is on record that the PEARL Award is the very first Award in Nigeria based on verifiable facts and figures and not subjec-

tive. Its criteria is measurable, using clear-cut indices such as Turnover Growth, Returns on Equity, Share Price Appreciations, Stock Activity, Net Assets Ratio, Dividend Yield, Earnings Yield, Dividend Growth and Profit Margin Ratio.

“It is also an Award for which no amount is charged or payable by recipients of the Award to qualify for, or receive same. And for the records its methodology and statistics with graphical illustrations, are published each year in its journal, the Nigerian Stock Market Annual, a compendium of contemporary capital market issues.” He added.

The award has run unbroken since 1995 and this year’s edition will hold at the Eko Hotel and Suites on Sunday November 25, 2018.

other companies that recorded share price losses against 20 advancers.

“Looking ahead, we expect a choppy theme to guide trading activities; a play of bargain-hunting on badly-beating stocks even as the Relative Strength Index (RSI) hovers around an oversold region amid riskoff sentiments for Emerging Market assets and political uncertainties in the local market”, according to Lagosbased United Capital analysts in their most recent investment view.

UBA Plc, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, FCMB Group Plc, Skye Bank Plc, AIICO Plc were actively traded stock on the Exchange. In all, stock traders exchanged 200,278,872 units valued at N2.162billion in record 3,224 deals.

Seplat lost N47 or 7.23percent of its open price

of N650 to close at N603.

Dangote Cement Plc lost N7 or 3.04percent, from N230 to N223.

Stanbic IBTC declined from N48 to N47, up by N1 or 2.08percent; Flour Mills Nigeria Plc declined from N22 to N21.2, down by 80kobo or 3.64percent; while ETI Plc decreased from N20 to N19.55, down by 45kobo or 2.25percent.

On the gainers table, Forte Oil Plc advanced most from N19 to N20, up by N1 or 5.26percent; International Breweries Plc rose by N1 or 3.13percent, from N32 to N33.

Nigerian Breweries Plc increased from N93 to N93.5, up by 50kobo or 0.54percent; C&I Leasing Plc increased from N2.72 to N2.99, up by 27kobo or 9.93percent; while Oando Plc rallied by 10kobo, from N5.2 to N5.3, up by 1.92percent.

Wall Street kicks off September trading on a somber note

U

.S. stocks opened lower on Tuesday, the first trading day in September, as declines in heavyweights such as Nike and Facebook added to worries over trade negotiations between United States and other major economies.

Traders returned from the U.S. Labour Day holiday with trade tensions between America and Canada still simmering and the Trump administration moving toward more tariffs against Chinese goods.

Nike’s new ads contributed to the charged political atmosphere, while Facebook’s woes persisted. Major data releases include manufacturing numbers Tuesday and

trade figures Wednesday.

The S&P 500 Index had joined equity declines from Japan to Europe.

The greenback jumped, with turmoil in currencies moving beyond Turkey and Argentina to South Africa. Declines in Treasuries, gold and the yen left investors with few havens. South Africa’s rand tumbled as the country entered a recession. Oil climbed as a storm threatened U.S. production on the Gulf Coast.

Investors are also weighing the emergingmarket turmoil after South Africa unexpectedly fell into a recession and Argentina’s urgent financial measures increased concern about more volatility in stocks and currencies.

Thursday 06 September 2018

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FINANCIAL TIMES Former Ranbaxy boss sues brother over collapse of business empire

Billionaire JD.com founder Richard Liu investigated for rape Page A2

Page A3

World Business Newspaper

UK blames Russian military intelligence agents for Skripal attack Theresa May points finger at GRU as police charge two suspects for use of chemical weapon DAVID BOND, HENRY MANCE AND HENRY FOY

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heresa May has said two Russian military intelligence officers are the prime suspects in the attempted murder of the former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, in a revelation that looks certain to spark a new freeze in relations between London and Moscow.

The UK prime minister told parliament that the authorities had concluded the two Russian nationals charged earlier on Wednesday with using a chemical weapon on British soil were officers of the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence service.

“This was not a rogue operation.

It was almost certainly also approved outside the GRU at a senior level,” she said.

Mrs May said that Britain and its allies would now “deploy the full range of tools from across our national security apparatus” to counter the GRU, although she added that she could not give full details for operational reasons.

The GRU posed a “threat to all our allies and all our citizens”, the prime minister said.

She added that Russia had responded to evidence of its involvement in the Salisbury attack, with“obfuscation and lies”, a strategy that she said “reinforces their culpability”.

Following a painstaking six-month investigation into the Salisbury novichok poisonings, which have left one person dead and another four injured, the Metropolitan Police and the Crown Prosecution Service said on Wednesday they now had sufficient evidence to bring charges against the two men, who they named as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Borishov.

Describing the operation as “remarkably sophisticated”, the head of the Metropolitan Police’s counter terror policing network, assistant commissioner Neil Basu, said he believed Mr Petrov and Mr Borishov were travelling under aliases with official Russian passports.

Speaking before Mrs May’s state-

ment, he said he could not say definitively that the evidence showed the Russian state ordered the attack, but said he stood by a previous statement by the prime minister that the Kremlin was behind the operation — a claim Russia has consistently denied.

Yuri Ushakov, Mr Putin’s foreign affairs adviser, said on Wednesday that the Kremlin was confused by Britain’s decision to identify the suspects in the case.

“We heard two names . . . but they do not mean anything, especially since there was a commentary from Scotland Yard that these names are supposedly fictitious,” Mr Ushakov said.

“I do not understand why this was done, and what kind of signal the British side is sending. It is simply very difficult to understand,” he said at a briefing for journalists reported by local news wires.

“Two names. So what?,” Mr Ushakov added.

Speaking before Mrs May blamed the GRU, Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said the evidence provided by UK investigators “meant nothing”, and restated Moscow’s position that a joint investigation between British and Russian authorities should be established.

“There have been statements in the media by British officials regarding the suspects in the Salisbury and Amesbury case, and linking this to Russia.

The names published in the media, like the photographs, mean nothing to us,” she said.

“We again urge the British side to move from public accusations and information manipulation to practical co-operation through law enforcement agencies,” Ms Zakharova added, in comments reported by state-owned news agencies.

Mr Basu said the police had significant intelligence about the real identities of the two suspects but would not disclose any further details about any previous trips they may have made to the UK or contact with other Russian nationals during their three days in the country in March.

Facebook admits it was ‘too slow’ to spot Russian interference Sheryl Sandberg tells senators tech group is now better at fighting intelligence operations HANNAH KUCHLER

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heryl Sandberg, the chief operating officer of Facebook, has admitted to US senators that the company has been “too slow” to spot Russia’s attempts to use its platform to interfere in election campaigns.

In her first congressional hearing since it emerged that foreign

agents have also tried to influence voters ahead of the upcoming US midterm elections, Ms Sandberg said: “We were too slow to spot this and too slow to act. That’s on us.

This interference was completely unacceptable.”

The Senate intelligence committee is questioning Ms Sandberg and Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s Continues on page A2

Former Steinhoff chief executive, Markus Jooste, who stepped down in December © Reuters

Emerging market sell-off spreads beyond Turkey and Argentina Fears of contagion rise after jitters in China, Indonesia and South Africa EMMA DUNKLEY AND ADAM SAMSON

A

n emerging market sell-off that sparked investor flight in Turkey and Argentina spread to some of the developing world’s largest economies on Wednesday, sending stocks and currencies lower in Indonesia, South Africa, Russia, Poland and Mexico.

MSCI’s broad gauge of mid- and large-capitalisation equities in the developing world dropped 1.6 per cent on Wednesday, bringing the decline over the past six trading sessions to 4.4 per cent.

Indonesianstocksweretheworstperforming equities in Asia, tumbling more than 4 per cent, while declines for Chinese shares reached 2 per cent after data showed economic growth was slowing.

Currencies were also under pressure, led by the South African rand, which fell 1.5 per cent, after a slide of more than 3 per cent on Tuesday as new data showed the country’s economy had contracted for the first time since 2009.

Amid fears of broader contagion from the sell-off, European shares

retreated on Wednesday morning and Wall Street equity futures indicated a weaker open in New York.

While homegrown problems in both Turkey and Argentina have made them the weakest links across EM this year, there are signs that shaken investors are now looking to reduce their broad exposure to currencies, stocks and bonds in the developing world.

The Mexican peso and Polish zloty are among the more liquid EM currencies and are often used as proxies when risk aversion flares.

“People are now looking beyond idiosyncratic issues and more generally at spillover and contagion, and which economies are most vulnerable,” said Dwyfor Evans at State Street Global Markets.

The rise in the US dollar since April has exacerbated troubles in several emerging economies with the amount of dollar-denominated debt they have more than doubling to $3.7tn over the past decade, according to the Bank for International Settlements.

At the same time, the trade tensions that threaten to slow the global economy are again in focus. A consul-

tation period on US president Donald Trump’s proposal to impose tariffs on $200bn more of Chinese exports expires on Thursday.

As Asian trading drew to a close, Jakarta’s stock market was facing the severest pressure with a 3.8 per cent decline. The rupiah is trading close to its weakest level since the 1998 Asian financial crisis, at 14,930 against the dollar.

Although Asian markets have so far fared better than their EM peers, analysts caution that the region has its own problems. Strategists at Morgan Stanley said the stable renminbi had bolstered Asia over the past month, but added that “risks are building” in Asian currency markets.

They said a pick-up in trade tensions would “not help these markets either”, but pointed out that the impact could be mitigated to some degree if the People’s Bank of China managed to keep the renminbi in check.

“The momentum right now is quite strong, so you don’t want to stand in front of it,” said Tai Hui, chief market strategist for Asia-Pacific at JPMorgan Asset Management.

Ex-Steinhoff boss denies knowledge of accounting irregularities Markus Jooste tells South African MPs he was unware of problems at retailer JOSEPH COTTERILL

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teinhoff ’s former chief executive Markus Jooste has told South African MPs he was unaware of an accounting black hole at the global retailer before its collapse last year.

Mr Jooste’s testimony to a parliamentary committee on Tuesday was his first public appearance since Steinhoff revealed the existence of multibillion-euro accounting irregularities last December, triggering a collapse in its shares and Mr Jooste’s resignation after decades at the helm.

Steinhoff, owner of the UK’s Poundland and Mattress Firm in the US among other global retail brands, referred Mr Jooste to South African anti-corruption police following the accounting scandal, which crashed the company’s shares by 95 per cent.

But Mr Jooste denied knowledge of any irregularities to MPs, and said that the company had previously investigated allegations of false accounting.

“By the time that I left Steinhoff, I was not aware of any financial irregularities at the company, as it was alleged,” he said.

Steinhoff says that an investigation into the irregularities will be completed by the end of the year.

It recently secured a three-year reprieve from creditors to negotiate a debt restructuring critical to its survival. Christo Wiese, South Africa’s richest man who was Steinhoff’s largest single shareholder, lost billions of dollars in the collapse alongside South African pension funds.

Mr Jooste said that Deloitte, Steinhoff’s external auditor, had pressed him to reopen previous probes into alleged irregularities before Decem-

ber’s collapse. He declined because it meant delaying the release of Steinhoff’s 2017 results, he said.

In explaining the collapse of what he called his “dream”, Mr Jooste said it had been a mistake to partner in 2007 with an Austrian investor, Andreas Seifert, who subsequently had a lengthy legal battle with Steinhoff over its investment in one of his companies.

Mr Seifert accused Steinhoff of false accounting in his dispute with the company, which it has only recently settled.

Deloitte had been given information by Mr Seifert, and lost its independence, said Mr Jooste. Mr Wiese, then Steinhoff’s chairman, agreed in December to fire Deloitte as the auditor, he said. Steinhoff retained Deloitte following the collapse.

“I’m not blaming Deloitte for anything,” Mr Jooste said.

A2 BUSINESS DAY

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NATIONAL NEWS

Facebook admits it was ‘too slow’ to spot Russian...

Blood-testing group Theranos to dissolve following fraud scandal

Continued from page A1 chief executive, as it searches for ways to tackle the growing threat posed by foreign attempts to sow disinformation and create political division.

The committee criticised Google after Larry Page, the chief executive of its parent company Alphabet, declined an invitation to appear. The committee refused to take testimony instead from Kent Walker, senior vice-president at Google.

Senators will be trying to push the executives towards finding policy solutions to the problem — including possible regulation — in this hearing, the last planned by the Senate intelligence committee on the topic.

Senator Richard Burr, the Republican chair of the committee, said social media platforms put adversaries in the position “to win wars without firing a shot”.

“We have identified the problem, now it is about finding the solutions,” he said in his opening remarks.

Senator Mark Warner, the Democratic vice-chair of the committee, hinted at more regulation for tech companies.

“I’m sceptical that ultimately you’ll be able to truly address this challenge on your own. I believe Congress is going to have to act,” he said.

Facebook has discovered “coordinated inauthentic behaviour” aimed at influencing the November elections in the US, including the organisation of real life protests.

Alongside Google and Twitter, it also recently revealed an Iranian campaign to influence politics in the US, UK and elsewhere that dated back to 2013.

But Ms Sandberg said Facebook’s investment in fighting such interference is starting to pay off.

“We’re getting better at finding and combating our adversaries, from financially motivated troll farms to sophisticated military intelligence operations,” she said in written testimony released before the hearing.

Read Sheryl Sandberg’s opening comments Read Jack Dorsey’s testimony Watch a livestream of the Senate committee hearing The testimony came as a new poll, conducted in the wake of the controversy over the use of Facebook data by Cambridge Analytica, showed that Americans might be spending significantly less time on the site, taking breaks of up to weeks at a time.

The poll from the Pew Research Center said 42 per cent of US adults who use Facebook have taken a break from the site in the past year, and that 54 per cent had adjusted their privacy settings.

The number of Facebook’s US monthly active users held steady in the past quarter, but the company has not released recent figures for how long each user is spending on the site. If time spent is declining in the US, the world’s largest advertising market, this

Thursday 06 September 2018

Company to return cash to creditors three months after founder charged with fraud

DAVID CROW

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Liu Qiangdong, CEO and founder of JD.com, has been accused of rape, prompting discussion online in China that this is a US conspiracy to discredit a prominent Chinese tech group © Reuters

Billionaire JD.com founder Richard Liu investigated for rape Further details emerge on arrest of Chinese tech entrepreneur in Minneapolis GABRIEL WILDAU AND SHERRY FEI JU

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iu Qiangdong, the billionaire founder and chief executive of Chinese online retailer JD.com, is being investigated on suspicion of rape, according to police, as more details emerge about his arrest last Saturday in Minneapolis.

The tech entrepreneur, also known by the English name Richard, was taken into custody and released without charge or bail in what was initially described as “criminal sexual conduct” involving a Chinese student at the University of Minnesota. Mr Liu returned to China on Monday.

The company on Tuesday described the incident as an “untrue accusation” and said that “police did not find any inappropriate behaviour”.

Minnesota police said the in-

vestigation remained active.

“The investigation for Liu Qiangdong’s rape allegation is ongoing under the sex crimes division of the Minneapolis Police Department and has not been presented to the prosecutors,” said John Elder, public information officer for the department.

Asked why Mr Liu was allowed to leave the country, Mr Elder said he had not been charged with a crime. However, he said the police were “confident that we’ll be able to connect with Mr Liu as it becomes necessary”.

Mr Elder said that the results of the investigation could be announced as early as Friday.

Shares in JD.com fell 6 per cent on the Nasdaq on Tuesday to their lowest level in 18 months, extending that fall by 0.6 per cent in after-hours trading. The company’s stock is down 29 per cent

for the year to date amid a broader souring of sentiment for China’s technology sector.

Mr Liu is one of China’s leading tech entrepreneurs and has built JD.com into the second-largest ecommerce platform in China.

The company raised $1.8bn in its Nasdaq initial public offering in 2014, making it the biggest Chinese company listed overseas at the time. It is locked in a fierce battle with Alibaba.

Investors in the group include Tencent, the Chinese internet group, as well as retailer Walmart and Google.

The case has sparked intense discussion online in China, including conspiracy theories that Mr Liu is the victim of a set-up designed to discredit a prominent tech company with potential to compete with US groups.

Emotions run high as South Africa wrestles with land reform tensions Ramaphosa faces balancing act over land expropriation as ANC debate intensifies JOSEPH COTTERILL

W

hen Mark Solms, a wine producer in South Africa’s Franschhoek valley, voices fears about the state expropriating farmland, his complex views are informed by his own family’s history.

Mr Solms’ land near Cape Town ended up in the hands of his ancestors after being seized from its previous inhabitants by Dutch colonists in 1690. What is now part of the larger SolmsDelta estate, Mr Solms said, was “a symbol of taking of land and its consequences for the present day”.

Three centuries on, Mr Solms’ fellow and predominantly white landowners are now bracing for modern expropriation — as the ruling African National Congress debates a potential constitutional amendment to allow land to be taken by the government with no compensation for owners.

Some in business see the idea as an assault on property rights. Others view it as a last resort to rectify the economic exclusion of the black majority: unfinished business after the demise of colonialism and apartheid.

In one of the world’s most unequal societies, about three quarters of farmland — ranging from vineyards to complex agribusiness — is owned by whites, who represent a 10th of the population. Many farmers say they purchased their land legally. But history hangs heavy over the debate.

Emotions run high. Cyril Ramaphosa, the business-minded president who inherited a commitment last year to end a “willing buyer, willing seller” policy in place since the ANC came to power 24 years ago, is seeking to calm them. “This is no land grab,” the president says.

While the ANC is talking loosely about changing the constitution’s property rights clause, it is yet to table an amendment. Mr Ramaphosa is cautious. He proposes strict limits, such as focusing any expropriation on unused tracts or derelict buildings, not on productive farmland.

Already emotive, the debate was recently stirred by a tweet from Donald Trump. The US president, who rarely shows interest in African issues, falsely claimed that South Africa is already witnessing “largescale killings” of farmers and land seizures. Both are white-nationalist tropes. Afriforum, a fringe Afrikaner group, has cultivated US far-right

allies and sought Mr Trump’s favour.

Mr Ramaphosa parried Mr Trump’s tirade. However, the ANC is also accused of playing politics over land at home. It faces a tough fight to keep a majority in elections next year. The party fears being outflanked by the breakaway Economic Freedom Fighters, radical leftists who advocate the state’s expropriation and ownership of all land.

“The change in tone is solely aimed at muting the EFF’s voice in this matter,” Khaya Sithole, a political analyst, said. “The ANC’s hope now is that they will be seen as leaders in this debate, rather than as reactionaries.”

Mr Solms, who works as a psychoanalyst as well as tending vines, said he was “immensely pessimistic” about where the ANC’s debate would lead. He is not opposed to changes of ownership, but has been scarred by his own experience of working with the ANC government on a previous attempt at reform that failed.

In post-apartheid South Africa, the vines of the Solms-Delta became a testing ground for a reparation project to finance greater ownership for the estate’s workers — the descendants of inhabitants who are landless.

heranos, the scandal-ridden blood-testing group, is to dissolve and return any remaining cash to its creditors, drawing the curtain on a saga that has gripped Silicon Valley.

The company announced the move in a recent email to its investors, according to two people who said they saw a copy of the message. The news was first reported by The Wall Street Journal.

The dissolution of the company came three months after its founder Elizabeth Holmes was charged by federal prosecutors for perpetrating a multimilliondollar fraud that allegedly deceived investors, doctors and patients.

Theranos did not respond to a request for comment.

Investors had been expecting the move since June when prosecutors announced the criminal charges against Ms Holmes. She stepped down as chief executive immediately after being indicted and handed the reins to David Taylor, the company’s general counsel.

It marks the final act for a company that was once hailed as a Silicon Valley rock star after it pledged to revolutionise blood testing and consign needles to history with a new system needing just a few drops of blood.

Ms Holmes sold that vision to a roster of well known investors, including Walgreens, the drugstore group, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, and Oracle cofounder Larry Ellison. Theranos raised $700m, giving it valuation of roughly $9bn at its zenith.

She also assembled a board of directors that included the elite of political and corporate America, including Jim Mattis, the current US defence secretary, two former secretaries of state — Henry Kissinger and George Shultz — and David Boies, the high-profile lawyer.

However, prosecutors alleged that Ms Holmes and Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani, the company’s former chief operating officer, knowingly oversold the capabilities of their blood-testing system, which produced erroneous results that posed a risk to patient health.

The pair have been charged by the US Department of Justice with two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and nine counts of wire fraud. If convicted, they face a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 per count.

Ms Holmes and Mr Balwani denied the charges. Neither they nor their lawyers responded to a request for comment on Tuesday evening.

The criminal indictment followed civil charges brought earlier this year by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Ms Holmes and Theranos have settled the SEC case, which Mr Balwani is fighting.

Thursday 06 September 2018

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BUSINESS DAY

FINANCIAL TIMES

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COMPANIES & MARKETS

@ FINANCIAL TIMES LIMITED

Former Ranbaxy boss sues brother over collapse of business empire Shivinder Singh accuses Malvinder Singh of ‘oppression and mismanagement’ KIRAN STACEY

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he brothers at the heart of two of India’s biggest corporate controversies have suffered a dramatic fallout, after Shivinder Singh announced that he was taking legal action against his older brother and former business partner Malvinder for alleged “oppression and mismanagement”.

The Singh brothers, at one time two of India’s richest billionaires, have endured a public fall from grace in recent months after Indian authorities started investigating claims they had siphoned money from Fortis Healthcare, the hospital chain they once ran.

The brothers deny the allegations but have given up their positions at the company and forfeited their shares to their banks.

They previously came to international attention with the $4.7bn sale of Ranbaxy, their drugs company, to Daiichi Sankyo of Japan. The deal was the biggest ever foreign takeover of an Indian company but it quickly soured when Ranbaxy was hit by US sanctions for violating quality standards.

The Singhs were later fined Rs35bn ($488m) by an arbitration panel for withholding information at the time of the sale.

Now Shivinder Singh has broken ranks with his brother, accusing him and their business partner Sunil Godhwani of bringing about the “disintegration and ruin of a national healthcare asset”. He said he had filed a case against both men with India’s National Company Law Tribunal.

Malvinder Singh and a representative for Mr Godhwani did not respond to requests for comment.

In a statement released late

on Tuesday and widely reported in the Indian media, Shivinder Singh said: “While the group businesses were in ‘competent’ hands, red flags have crept up in the group with disturbing regularity.”

He referred to three specific cases.

First, he mentioned “decisions taken” in the brothers’ finance business, which was fined by India’s central bank in 2017 for handing out loans improperly.

Second, Mr Singh blamed his brother and Mr Godhwani for mismanaging the Ranbaxy sale and the transition period, which he said culminated in “one of the most damaging arbitration cases in the history of India Inc”.

Third, Mr Singh pointed to the “unimaginable losses” run up

by Ligare Aviation, the brothers’ private charter airline business.

“All these only go to show that the malaise is systemic,” he said.

He did not, however, refer to payments made by Fortis while he and his brother were in control of the company to three other companies which they ended up controlling themselves.

Mr Singh said in the statement that he had retired from active management of Fortis in 2015 to pursue a spiritual retreat with the Radha Soami Satsang Beas, an organisation headquartered in northern India. At the time, he said, the company was “thriving” and “in trusted hands”.

Fortis, which is under new management and is pursuing a sale to Malaysia’s IHH Healthcare, is under investigation for those loans. But the company is suing the Singh brothers to recover tens of millions of dollars it says were paid without proper authorisation.

In the past, the brothers have claimed the payments were made “in the course of normal treasury operations”.

Malvinder Singh, left, and Shivinder Singh were once leading Indian billionaires but have had a very public fall from grace © AFP

EM currencies extend slide and Asia and European equities drop Further declines in EMs overshadow manufacturing PMIs ALICE WOODHOUSE AND RICHARD BLACKDEN

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S equity futures are pointing to a 0.4 per cent drop at the open on Wall Street as nerves over emerging markets sour broader sentiment. A drop of 3.8 per cent in Indonesian stocks underlined the continued pressure on EM assets that have been hurt this year by a strengthening US dollar and the threat of a global trade war.

The CSI 300, an index of the biggest companies listed on the exchanges in Shenzhen and Shanghai, closed 2 per cent lower.

Hot topic Emerging market stocks declined on Wednesday for the sixth day in a row, in the latest sign of mounting investor jitters over the asset class.

MSCI’s broad gauge of mid- and large-capitalisation EM equities dropped 1.6 per cent, bringing the decline over the past half-dozen trading sessions to 4.4 per cent.

Investors’ focus is also on trade tensions ahead of the expiry on Thursday of a public comment period on Donald Trump’s threat to impose a new round of tariffs on

$200bn of Chinese imports. Trade talks between the US and Canada are also set to resume today.

European share markets are weaker across the board, with the Stoxx Europe 600 falling 0.6 per cent.

That follows a modest drop overnight on Wall Street and declines in Asia, where the Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed down 2.6 per cent.

Forex and fixed income The dollar index, a measure of the greenback against a basket of peers, remains near its two-week high touched on Tuesday as a key gauge of the US manufacturing sector activity surged to a 14-year high. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury was a basis point lower at 2.89 per cent.

Following the heaviest fall in almost a month on Tuesday, EM currencies remained under the cosh.

South Africa’s rand was down 1.5 per cent, the Russian rouble dropped 0.7 per cent, the Turkish lira was off 0.6 per cent, while India’s rupee and the Mexican peso were both 0.5 per cent weaker.

Sterling is the worst G10 currency performer against the dollar on Wednesday despite stronger than expected data — a sign of how poli-

tics and Brexit are likely to determine the pound’s destiny in the coming months. The pound was at one stage 0.6 per cent lower in intraday trading, taking it once more below $1.28, before mounting a partial recovery to trade at $1.12819.

Elsewhere, the yen was flat at ¥111.46, and the pound edged down 0.2 per cent to $1.2835. It picked up a little from the lows after data showed a pick-up in the country’s crucial services sector.

The euro slipped by the same degree to $1.1564. The latest measure of business health in the currency bloc, the purchasing managers’ indices, beat expectations very slightly at 54.5, but the Italian reading, at 51.7, was further behind forecasts. “Italy now stands out like a sore thumb,” said analysts at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

Commodities Brent crude was down 0.9 per cent at $77.46 a barrel after spiking to near $80 a barrel in the previous session, as offshore platforms in the US Gulf Coast were evacuated for a tropical storm. West Texas Intermediate fell 1.1 per cent to $69.11 a barrel. Gold rose $2 to $1,193 an ounce.

US slowdown, Middle East delays CVC Capital eyes £275m bid for Premiership Rugby to hit Halliburton earnings PETER WELLS

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alliburton shares dipped in pre-market trading on Wednesday after the oilfield services group’s chief executive said a slowdown in North America and delays in the Middle East would carve a chunk out of earnings in the current quarter.

Jeff Miller told a conference in New York that third-quarter earnings would take a hit of between 8 cents and 10 cents a share, Reuters reported.

Mr Miller said labour and inflation constraints would result in a moderation of growth in its North American business, particularly the Permian basin area around Texas and New Mexico.

A little more than two months

ago, the company said in its June quarter results it had seen strong performance in North America which it hailed as the “largest and fastest growing energy market in the world.”

Mr Miller also said the company’s earnings in the short term would also be affected by slower activity in ramping up for new contracts in the Middle East.

Halliburton is expected to report earnings of 59 cents a share on revenue of $6.35bn, according to the median estimates from analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

Shares were down 2.5 per cent in pre-market trading on Wednesday, a steeper drop than that for Wall Street futures. At the close of regular trade on Tuesday, Halliburton shares were down 19.2 per cent in 2018.

Private equity deal would be biggest change to the sport since 1995 MURAD AHMED AND JAVIER ESPINOZA

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VC Capital Partners, the private equity firm and former owner of Formula One, is attempting to re-enter the sports industry with a £275m bid to acquire Premiership Rugby, the top division for English rugby union.

The Luxembourg-based buyout firm is in negotiations with Premier Rugby Ltd, the league’s holding company, over a potential acquisition, according to a person with knowledge of the talks.

The move would mark the biggest change to club rugby since the game went professional in 1995.

In response to questions about CVC’s approach, Premiership Rugby

said: “The board is always considering options for further expansion and the best ways to support that.

Inevitably this will attract interest but a decision is not imminent.

“This interest is of course very good news for Premiership Rugby and is a reflection of its growing international appeal.”

Premier Rugby is owned by its 13 member clubs, the 12 teams in the Premiership and London Irish.

Premier Rugby is due to hold a board meeting on Tuesday where the matter is expected to be discussed, though no firm decisions will be made.

The Times first reported the details of CVC’s bid and ongoing talks between Premier Rugby and club owners.

CVC has long had interest in running sport franchises. It sold its controlling stake in Formula One to Liberty Media in 2016 in a deal worth $8bn.

Before owning F1, it controlled Dorna, a Spanish sports management company that has the exclusive rights to promote and manage MotoGP, the motorcycling racing series. The buyout fund was forced to sell Dorna as a condition imposed by the EU to purchase.

CVC is keen to also purchase a controlling stake in Dorna now that it no longer owns F1, according to multiple people familiar with its intentions. However, there is no formal process for Dorna and acquiring Premiership Rugby appears more likely.

Politics & Policy

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Thursday 06 September 2018

2019: Afenifere denies endorsing any presidential aspirant YOMI AYELESO, Akure

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ontrary to widespread report, the Pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has said it has not endorsed or adopted any presidential aspirant ahead of the 2019 general election.

There were reports in some sections of the media that the group has adopted a particular aspirant for the presidential election.

However, the leader of the group, Reuben Fasoranti in a statement in Akure, Ondo State capital, refuted such reports, saying they are still waiting for political parties to put forward their candidates.

The elder statesman disclosed that Afenifere with other groups in the country are engaging the aspirants and would make a choice on candidate, whose programmes is in tandem with their convictions for the restructuring of the country.

Fasoranti while revealing that the group was committed to the development and progress of the country, added that at the appropriate time they would address Nigerians on their choice.

The statement read: “The attention of Afenifere has been drawn to a spurious report in circulation that the group has adopted a Presidential aspirant for the 2019 election.

“We ordinarily would have

Reuben Fasoranti

APC guber aspirant calls for stronger ties among members to win 2019 elections SIKIRAT SHEHU, Ilorin

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embers of the A l l P ro g re s sives Congress (APC) in the country have been charged to build stronger ties among themselves for the ruling party to gain victory in the 2019 general election.

Saliu Mustapha, a gubernatorial aspirant in Kwara State made the call while speaking with journalists on the chances of the APC to be victorious and retain power come 2019.

Mustapha, who is also a formal Deputy National Chairman of the defunct Congress of Progressive Change (CPC), affirmed that politics is all about partnership and not just an individual project.

He said: “If we all put hands on deck and we are able to cooperate to build a viable political party, there is nothing stopping APC from making it.”

On his mission and vision of joining the race for governorship in the state, Mustapha said he will partner with Kwarans because the project is for the people of the state, adding that all hands must be on deck.

“I intend to partner with all well-meaning Kwarans on how we can move the state forward.

“In this regard, I intend to partner with others to run for governorship election in the state under the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC).

“For me, I think first and foremost, we must try to reposition and fix Kwara State and we must start from educational sector.

“For people to be well informed and enlightened on negative things affecting us as a state and positive things that should be embraced to move the state forward.

“One of my core areas of interest is education and reorientation of our people.

ignored the report as it makes no sense to suggest that a serious group would adopt an aspirant when political parties are yet to produce candidates.

A rebuttal is however, being issued for the sake of the unwary who may be hoodwinked by the said report.

“We must state emphatically that our preoccupation at the moment is to engage Presidential aspirants visa-vis our conviction that for Nigeria to make progress. It must be restructured into a truly federal polity.

“It is when political parties have put forward their candidates that Afenifere and its partners across Nigeria in the Nigerian Leaders and Elders Forum would make a choice of a candidate whose vision

Strengthen capacity to advance the course of educational development for the benefit of the youth in the state will make them know better and be able to differentiate between right and wrong,” Mustapha added.

He said genuine and massive investment in education would fix a number of problems bedeviling the country ranging from economy, transportation, unemployment, youth restiveness, health to infrastructural decay.

The governorship aspirant added that fixing the education sector would also put an end to political thuggery and hooliganism.

Mustapha, a philanthropist and founder of Saliu Mustapha Foundation, recently donated the sum of two million to Ilorin Emirate Youth Development Association in support of its educational programme as part of measures to improve standard of the sector in the state.

and commitment tally with our quest for a productive and working Nigeria.

“We are fully committed to the goal of saving Nigeria from collapse and putting in place a leadership that can green-start the rebuilding of our country to make it take its pride of place in the comity of nations as well as providing opportunities for millions of our young people wasting away at home and perishing in the deserts in search of elusive greener pasture in spite of our having all that is needed to give them chances in life at home.

“The general public is advised to wait for the appropriate time when we shall speak to our country.”

Monarch holds national leadership prayer summit

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ba Abdulrasheed Adewale Akanbi, the Oluwo of Iwo Kingdom, has concluded plans to organise the second edition of the national leadership prayer day on Sunday, September 16th, 2018 in the ancient and historic Yoruba city of Iwo. A statement signed by the monarch stated that the national leadership prayer initiative which will hold on the premises of the monarch’s palace is aimed at uniting the political elites in the country irrespective of party affiliations, religious beliefs, and social backgrounds so as to collectively get involved in the task of building and developing Project Nigeria.

Oba AbdulRasheed Adewale Akanbi said he was inspired by the Almighty Allah/God/Olodumare to flag off an “Annual Leadership Prayer Day” (which is inter-faith and inter-denominational) for Nigeria’s leaders-political, royal, religious, corporate etc – across

all levels of government and across all the strata of the Nigerian society, adding that the maiden edition was held August last year.

According to him, “The prayer which had respected religious clerics across the various faiths as well as political leaders and royal fathers in attendance, was quite timely and auspicious; and, it is to our national joy and pride that the prayers were answered by the Almighty God as testimonies abound to that effect across our national landscape, thereafter”.

It would be recalled that as at the time he called for the prayer, last year, President Muhammadu Buhari was away on medical vacation in the United Kingdom. His quick recovery thus formed a major focus at the said national prayer programme.

The special prayer programme also put into consideration other national political leaders and traditional rulers, as well as the peace and progress of the entire country.

The monarch, who urged support for the initiative, appealed to the invited dignitaries across the country, as well as sons and daughters of towns under Ayedire and Ola-Oluwa Local Government Areas, to make it a red letter day in the annals of Nigeria’s history. He assured that transportation for participants within the state would not be a problem as buses would be made available at different parts of Osun State to convey interested individuals to the palace for the prayer.

Oba Akanbi disclosed that this year’s edition and those to be held in the coming years are in a continued exercise of our faith in the Almighty God and in continuing demonstration of our love (as citizens) for our leaders and our fatherland.

He added that the forthcoming elections in Osun State and the 2019 general election would enjoy their deserved attention at this year’s prayers.

given up his governorship bid, because Saraki has defected to the PDP, and for those also saying; how many times would he run? Don’t forget that President Buhari contested for president of Nigeria’s president several times before he was elected in 2015, so he is not giving up on his ambition of ruling Kwara State”.

Belgore who hails from Kwara central Senatorial

district, was on June 13, arranged alongside a former Minister of national planning, Professor Abubakar Sulaiman, before Justice Aikawa of the Lagos Federal High Court over allegation of money laundering to the tune of N500 million by the Economy and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC).

The EFCC had in its submission to the Court alleged

that Belgore and the former Minister conspired between themselves to commit the offences on March 27, 2015.

Belgore became a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) in 2001 at the age of 40. He is a nephew of former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Alfa Belgore, while his late father, Babatunde Belgore was a retired Judge of the Federal high court.

Dele Belgore set to declare for Kwara Guber INIOBONG IWOK

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former governorship candidate of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the 2011 gubernatorial election in Kwara State, Dele Belgore, is set to declare his interest to contest for the governorship ticket of the main opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in

the state.

A sources close to Belgore, who spoke to this medium, stated that the legal luminary was find-tuning arrangements and consulting among party leaders, and political stakeholders across Kwara State and beyond on his governorship ambition before formally declaring, while dispelling insinuations that the defection of

the Senate President Bukola Saraki to the PDP had dented Belgore’s chances of picking the party’s ticket.

“Belgore would declare for the governor of Kwara State under the platform of the PDP very soon, I can tell you that he has been consulting across the state and meeting political leaders and stakeholders.

“It is not true that he has

BUSINESS DAY

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NEWS YOU CAN TRUST I THURSDAY 06 SEPTEMBER 2018

Opinion

MTN and the Nigerian government CHRISTOPHER AKOR Chris  Akor,  a  First  Class  graduate  of  Political  Science,  holds  an  MSc  in  African  Studies  from  the  University  of  Oxford  and  is  BusinessDay’s  Op-­Ed  Editor  christopher.akor@businessdayonline.com

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etween 1999 and 2001, during his many ‘shuttle diplomacy’ trips, Obasanjo severally pleaded with telecom companies like Verizon in the United States and Vodafone in the United Kingdom to come and invest in Nigeria. He clearly preferred them to the other African companies like MTN and Econet.

In anticipation of their coming, only four licenses were created for auction with five year exclusivity period within which no licenses will be auctioned to enable the investors recoup their investments. The expected bid winners were also given tax relief for five years.

However, when the bids

were announced and invitations sent to these companies, they all declined to participate.

They cited reports of various studies by telecom research agencies, the global financial institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and consulting bodies, which forecasted a very slow growth for the Nigerian telecom sector. Some of the reports alleged that the average Nigerian could not afford to own a mobile phone as the per capita income of the citizens was below the internationally recognized average and the daily income was below the $100 mark. It was forecasted that it would take up to twelve months for any operator to get 100,000 subscribers; 3 years to connect 300,000 lines and 5 years to reach 500, 000 subscription rate. This conservative report put off many operators that would have entered the mobile licence auction. Obasanjo felt humiliated and let down, of course.

However, MTN – a South African Black Empowerment company - was not discouraged. Unlike fellow South African Vodacom – a subsidiary of the UK Vodafone – which vowed never to touch the Ni-

gerian market even with a 10-metre pole, it choose to listen to Nigerians on the ground and sent some of their staff to observe the ‘Nigerian informal economy’, whose value they confirmed to be equal or even more than the so-called formal economy. At the end, they decided the risk was worth taking and paid $285 million for one of the license – a fee derided by many western and local analysts as excessive and

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In a case of attempting to snuff life out of the goose that lays the golden eggs, regulators, various government agencies and the Nigerian government itself have been competing with themselves to demonise the company and destroy its brand equity in Nigeria

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unwarranted.

The rest of the story is now well known. By 2002, MTN already had over 2 million

subscribers in Nigeria, posted a net profit of $364 million, had the highest ARPU (Average Revenue Per User) of $51/month in Africa and second only to Japan in the entire world. In 2003, the MTN group, buoyed by its Nigerian investment, had become the most profitable telecom operating company in the world in an era where the likes of Vodafone and Orange in the UK were posting net losses. By this time, all the companies that had repudiated Nigeria were all queuing and begging to enter the Nigerian market. One of the earliest frontline bidders in 2001 (United Networks consortium led by Hakeem Bello Osagie) that had earlier declined to pay $285 million on the grounds that it made no business sense in the Nigerian environment was to later acquire the Unified Access License after the five year exclusivity period in January 2007 under a different consortia of Emerging Markets Telecommunication Services (EMTS) at a price of US$400 million.

But MTN’s success didn’t come cheap. Of all the companies that secured the licence to roll out telecommunication services, it was the most determined and adventurous. While

others were content to just make minimal investment in infrastructure and wait to rake in profit, MTN mobilised huge FDI into its Nigerian operation, building massive telecom infrastructure across the country. It also had the fortune of being managed by quite visionary and enterprising individuals that formulate and implement unassailable strategies for provision of quality service and for profit maximization in Nigeria.

Of course, because of its aggressive and huge investment in the Nigerian market, MTN Nigeria has grown to become the jewel of the MTN Group.

MTN Nigeria is also contributing massively to the Nigerian economy. Since it came to Nigeria, it has directly or indirectly employed more than half a million Nigerians and has paid not less than N1.6 trillion in taxes to the Nigerian government. It has also contributed billions of Naira to various projects in the country through the MTN foundation.

However, MTN’s success in Nigeria has become its greatest undoing. In a case of attempting to snuff life out of the goose that lays the golden eggs, regulators, various government agencies and the Nigerian

government itself have been competing with themselves to demonise the company and destroy its brand equity in Nigeria.

True, no company is permitted to flout the country’s rules in the course of doing business in the country and the government and the necessary industry regulators must ensure strict compliance of extant rules and apply sanctions where necessary. However, the government must not consistently vilify a company doing legitimate business in Nigeria in such a manner as to scare off potential investors, especially at this time when the Nigeria is desperate for investors and is doing everything to attract them.

Gone are the days that governments call the bluff of investors and command the controlling heights of the economy. Times have changed and governments are appreciating the indispensible role of private capital and investments in nation building. What is more, governments no longer have the kind of resources needed for investments in major sectors of the economy. But the Nigerian government is increasingly alienating owners of private capital and doing everything in its powers to kill successful businesses in Nigeria

Still on the youths and the Charley-Boy Republic

IK MUO Ik  Muo,  PhD,  Department  of  Business  Administration  OOU,  Ago-­Iwoye muoigbo@yahoo.com;͞  08033026625

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he Charley-Boy brand always elicits strong emotions and that is most probably because of the persona of the man behind the mask and what the brand represents.

My writing for the last two weeks on the youths and the Charley-boy Republic( and even the four-week serial I did in 2011, trying to operationalise the CBR concept), was not about Charley-Boy. It was just about his popular catchphrase (Everything is possible), which I found to be a near perfect encapsulation of the Nigerian reality. The write-up drew reactions from far and wide and from different classes of Nigerians. I believe that people were first attracted by the CharleyBoy brand before imagining what he had to do with the republic before finally going to the roots of the write-up. One of the feedbacks I receive was from one unemployed compa-

triot, Joachin Nnaemeka Eze, who was not happy about the youth-bashing tendencies in the land and believed –and still believes-that the elders have failed the youths. My write up was not about the failure of the youths; it was about how they can get out of the Nigerian quagmire. After all, I had argued that the youths just copied the worst elements of the Nigerian madness, and of course, they would have copied it from the elders. He also took a particular swipe at Nigerian lecturers and the NLC. Anyway, here are his views, un-edited.

Dear Sir, I am writing with respect to the article published in Business Day newspaper on the 23rd of August, 2018, titled “surviving as a youth in a Charley-boy republic�. It was pertinent for me to write, because the Nigeria youths as it stands has become a group only fit for admonishment.

Every day I read numerous articles about how the “Nigerian Youths� fail to meet up with expected standards. Some of the articles, like yours; correctly identifies the insufficiencies of our youths, while some others are just in a haste to dish out popular messages used as a vehicle to achieve internet popularity.

The youths have failed! The youths have failed! The youths have failed! This seems to be the new national anthem, that

even President Buhari couldn’t resist the temptation of singing it. I agree that the youths have failed in so many quarters, but the truth is, the “Nigeria elders� failed us more than the youths of Nigeria. Our leaders of today were the youths of yesterday that have clinched firmly to power, making it very attractive to themselves and creating all sorts of barriers to discourage the youths from participating effectively in leadership.

Please don’t use an example like the Kogi state governor as yard stick of what youths can do in power. Everybody knows Governor Bello is a disaster, and even as a youth I hate being reminded of his existence.

Nevertheless, we have youths in some quarters that are very focused and willing to make a positive difference in both Nigeria and the world at large. Somehow, the system provides a somewhat bleak reward for effort, thereby discouraging hard work and encouraging bandwagon mentality. For instance, I struggled through school (when I say struggle I don’t necessarily mean financial struggle). I had to study the books myself, do assignments myself, understand each course all by myself.

We did have lecturers; yes we did, but what is the need of a lecturer who does not understand a course or does not even want to put effort into anything apart from pursuing unionism

and fighting for salary increment. That is always the problem about the old generation; fighting for personal interest and leaving the collective interest fight for the youths.

Everyday NLC talks about minimum wage increment forgetting that the unemployment rate is increasing on a daily basis. If government revenue does not increase and minimum wage is increased, how then is government supposed to absorb more staff?

Nobody talks about us, everybody wants to sit at home and sing the “Youths have failed� anthem. But what about our elders, are they better? Off course they are not. They enjoyed free education, good academic facilities, and good jobs after graduation. What did they do with it? Nothing. They used it to destroy Nigeria, promote tribalism and nepotism and purse personal and parochial interests.

As a youth I am unemployed, yes I know. But every day I work hard to develop myself both as an individual and as a quality engineer. The mental torture, depression and stress that comes with it makes it difficult. Be it as it may, we can only try our best as individuals. I have been to two interviews and was disqualified because of my church and ethnicity. This is Nigeria and that is how these things work,

we know. But please sir it will be like adding salt to the injury caused by our elders if elders keep maligning youths, making it look as if the youth is the Nigeria problem. That will be grossly unfair on the “Nigerian youth� because we are not the problem.

Well, these are his undiluted views and I have nothing

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The youths have failed! The youths have failed! The youths have failed!

This seems to be the new national anthem, that even President Buhari couldn’t resist the temptation of singing it.

,

to add. But those who might consider him for a job offer can do so through emmyjoach@ gmail.com.

Other matters Some Nigerians are very mischievous and the limitless online capabilities have made it very easy for us the market our mischief, at times, at the expense of very powerful indi-

viduals, especially those who readily forget what they said yesterday. On 4/9/18, Tosin Adesina of YNija reminded our dear president( whom some people accused of ruling Nigeria from abroad) of what he said on 21/2/15 and declared that his recent China Trip has ‘confirmed that he is not a man of his words’( I did not say so!). The weighty Buhari declaration, which Tosin is now reminding him of is this: ‘What is the difference between me and those who elected us to represent them, absolutely nothing. Why should the Nigerian president not fly with other Nigerian public? Why do I need to embark on a foreign trip as a president with a huge crowd with public funds? Why do I need to go for a medical trip abroad if we cannot make our hospital functional’ The writer then recalled that President Buhari travelled to the 7th summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation held on 3-4 September with 4 governors, 3 Senators and 9 ministers, and several official and personal other aids and aids of those aids. Some others have even compared Theresa May’s entourage to Nigeria( world-class entrepreneurs and corporate chieftains) with the PMB entourage to China( Politicians, especially electoral consultants and defection managers). We are trying; are we not?

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