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news you can trust I ** FRIDAY 08 may 2020 I vol. 19, no 559

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How to evade impending collapse of domestic airlines amid COVID-19 impact – Experts …suggest loans, grants, tax waivers, special forex windows for sector IFEOMA OKEKE

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Nyesom Wike (l), governor, Rivers State, monitoring compliance of lockdown in Obio/Akpor and Port Harcourt Local Government Areas of the state, yesterday.

BD INVESTIGATIVE SERIES

Nigeria’s disease detectives combat virus outbreaks despite limited resources Temitayo Ayetoto

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igeria’s disease detectives – epidemiologists and virologists – have been on a knightly mission to rescue Africa’s largest populace from the deadly pangs of COVID-19, a disease that has brought

Track Lassa fever, cholera, coronavirus

some of the world’s best health infrastructures to their knees.

Underfunding and undercapacity have long been the clog in the wheel of the health sector, yet these public health experts in no time activated

their arsenal of technological resources and expertise the moment the first patient of coronavirus was reported in Nigeria.

Ros emar y Audu, head of virology at the Nigeria Institute of Medical Research (NIMR),

Lagos, was keeping an eye on locally-borne infectious diseases when coronavirus began to attract global attention.

So was Christian Happi at the

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everal domestic airlines may be closing shop after the COVID-19 crisis if drastic measures are not taken to keep them afloat and help feed demand in passenger traffic in the future.

Experts in the aviation subsector who spoke to BusinessDay suggested that government-led stimulus packages and incentives be given to airlines to limit the negative impact of the pandemic on the subsector.

The aviation sector is the worst hit by the coronavirus pandemic and many airlines risk collapse amid the crisis, Hadi Sirika, minister of aviation, said on Wednesday during the daily briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 in Abuja.

Airline operators say the sector

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Inside

Oil surges after Saudi Arabia raises prices to boost market P. 2

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Friday 08 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

news CACOVID donates isolation centres, beddings, medical equipment to Ondo, Kwara

Seyi Makinde (l), governor, Oyo State, giving COVID-19 palliative package to Wosilat Oladipupo, a beneficiary, during the flag-off of COVID-19 palliatives distribution to the citizens at Igboora, Ibarapa zone area of Oyo State.

BUNMI BAILEY

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Oil surges after Saudi Arabia raises prices to boost market

...For first time since price war DIPO OLADEHINDE

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he price of Brent crude soared Thursday after Saudi Arabia stepped in to prop up the recovery in the energy market by raising crude prices for its customers worldwide. Saudi Aramco increased pricing for most of its grades for shipment in June.

Few weeks after launching an unprecedented price war that crashed oil price, Saudi Arabia is now signalling it will “do whatever it takes” to support an oil price recovery.

Saudi Arabia’s state oil giant Aramco raised the June price for its Arab light crude oil to Asia by $1.40 a barrel from May, setting it at a discount of $5.90 to the Oman/ Dubai average, according to a document seen by BusinessDay.

The decision to increase price led to Brent gaining as much as 7 percent, rising by more than $2/barrel, and was last trading at $31.60 before sliding back to $30.

By increasing pricing for Asia, Aramco is also indicating it sees demand beginning to recover in its largest regional market. The company is reversing three consecutive months of reductions in pricing for the world’s largest oil-consuming region.

“The price increase suggests Saudi Arabia will not just cut their production as part of the OPEC deal, but also reduce their crude exports by making them more expensive,” Giovanni Staunovo, commodity analyst at UBS Group AG, said in a note.

The market expected the company to reduce its official pricing by $2.50 a barrel, to a discount of $9.80, according

to the median estimates in a Bloomberg survey of seven traders and refiners.

The positive sentiment in the energy market comes as the members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), as well as allied oil producers, started cutting oil output as a key oil agreement came into force on May 1.

The accord is set to wipe out nearly 10 million barrels per day from the overflowed market, while some countries beyond the agreement have also curbed production to help oil prices rebound.

Also, most market experts believed any continued rallies depend on the speed at which countries reopen their economies, and whether they see new outbreaks of the coronavirus, which could reverse any loosening of lockdowns.

Some countries in Europe and Asia, as well as some US states, have already

slowly lifted some of the coronavirus-related restrictions, giving hope that the demand-supply gap may become smaller.

For Africa’s biggest oilproducing country, a rise in oil prices between $50 to $60 would allow the country to earn badly needed foreign exchange to carry out development projects.

The dangerous exposure of Nigeria to the crude oil price crash has taken a huge blow on the country’s ability to meet its revenue target for the revised budget and lead to more pressure and instability in the country’s foreign exchange market.

This development has not only threatened the financial stability of the 36 states heavily reliant on federal allocations to pay their bills but also significantly hampered the implementation of the federal budget, putting an already battered economy in worse shape.

COVID-19: Buhari approves waivers of import duty for medical supplies SEGUN ADAMS

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resident Muhammadu Buhari has approved that import duty should be waived for medical equipment and supplies to strengthen health infrastructure in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria.

The waiver is the latest of the fiscal policy measures that have been introduced by the Federal Government to combat the economic implications of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is targeted at critical medical supplies exempted from payment of import duty and value-added tax (VAT).

Announcing the government’s fiscal response to the pandemic, Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning, had said that government would engage

other corporates to know what they want the most.

“We do not want to go and say that we are reducing taxes for companies. Some of the companies, for example, the pharmaceutical industry, what they would want is to fast-track processes to bring in materials to produce more drugs,” Ahmed said.

“We will be giving them import duty waivers, we will be giving them support to air freight their cargo, because supply chains are broken across the world. There is a need to fasttrack import of materials that are needed to produce drugs within the country, so we have to have those engagements to be more specific,” she said.

The measures to facilitate the importation of some COVID-19 essential medical supplies were, according to the minister, www.businessday.ng

in line with the indicative list recommended by the World Customs Organisation (WCO) in conjunction with the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The WCO/WHO-recommended list had been reviewed by the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and the Ministry of Finance.

“Those items for which Nigeria has adequate local capacity to produce such as textile facemasks, undenatured ethyl alcohol, hydrogen peroxide (medical and disinfectant), hand sanitisers and syringes, with or without needles have been removed from the list,” Ahmed said.

“Already, most pharmaceutical drugs are currently exempted from import duty and VAT in line with the provisions of the ECOWAS Common External Tariff (CET) and the First

Schedule to the Value-added Tax (VAT) Act, 2007 as they are considered as essential items,” she said.

These two global organisations had jointly prepared and circulated an indicative list of essential COVID-19 medical supplies and equipment. The list is meant to serve as a guide to governments and Customs administrations globally, to facilitate the importation and clearance of medicines and medical equipment during the period of the pandemic.

Ahmed, in a request to President Buhari for the approval to implement the fiscal policy measures, had stated that “the list is envisaged to assist humanitarian actors both in the public and private sectors in the delivery of imported medicines and medical equipment to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

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he private sector-led Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) has donated fully-equipped isolation centres and medical equipment running into several millions of naira to the Ondo and Kwara State governments.

The donation comes as a response to pleas by state governors and to strengthen the partnership with governments at all levels to help contain the coronavirus pandemic in the country.

The group, which comprises leading private sector operators, had earlier donated similar items to the governments of Rivers and Enugu States, apart from the distribution of food palliatives which it commenced in Lagos last week.

CACOVID, while handing over a 100-bedspace isolation centre and medical items in Ilorin, Kwara State, said its efforts were meant to complement the Federal Government’s action against the spread of the virus and to end the pandemic in Nigeria.

Some of the state governors had cried out for help to fight the ravaging virus.

“As you are aware, as a result of the pandemic that is ravaging the world and the

country, CACOVID – a coalition of private sector organisations – felt the need to join hands together with various governments and agencies, and with Kwara being one of the active governments, we found it worthy to make our own contributions such that the state can fight the war and win,” said Grace Olagunju, spokesperson of CACOVID. “Of course, our interest is in health and lives of the citizens of every state; we felt as responsible corporate organisations we should do this to support the state government,” she said at the handover ceremony in Kwara State.

Olagunju, however, canvassed the support and understanding of all and sundry in the state to play their roles to enable the government win the battle against the ravaging pandemic.

“The fight is for everyone; so everyone should play our roles to kick the virus far away from Kwara,” she said.

Femi Oladiji, chairman, Medical Advisory Committee of COVID-19 Technical Committee in the state, commended CACOVID for the gesture, stressing that it would help the state government in its efforts to successfully fight the pandemic.

International tourism down 22% in Q1, could decline by 60-80% in 2020 …Nigeria’s tourism sector records over N12bn loss daily OBINNA EMELIKE

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he COVID-19 pandemic has caused a 22 percent fall in international tourist arrivals during the first quarter of 2020, the latest data from the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) show.

The crisis caused by the pandemic, according to UNWTO, could lead to an annual decline of between 60 and 80 percent when compared with 2019 figures. This places millions of livelihoods at risk and threatens to roll back progress made in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

“The world is facing an unprecedented health and economic crisis. Tourism has been hit hard, with millions of jobs at risk in one of the most labour-intensive sectors of the economy,” Zurab Pololikashvili, UNWTO secretary-general, said. Available data reported by destinations point to a 22 percent decline in arrivals in the first three months of the year, according to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer. Arrivals in March dropped sharply by 57 percent following the start of a lockdown in many @Businessdayng

countries, as well as the widespread introduction of travel restrictions and the closure of airports and national borders.

This translates into a loss of 67 million international arrivals and about US$80 billion in receipts (exports from tourism) and 100-120 million direct tourism jobs at risk.

The decline is also visible in the Nigerian tourism sector with over N12 billion loss daily, according to data from the Federation of Tourism Association of Nigeria (FTAN), which has urged the Federal Government to offer the Nigerian tourism sector N150 billion stimulus package to aid the sector’s quick recovery when the pandemic is over.

Although Asia and the Pacific shows the highest impact in relative and absolute terms (-33 million arrivals), the impact in Europe, though lower in percentage, is quite high in volume (-22 million).

In its further analysis of the International Tourism 2020 crisis scenarios, the United Nations specialised agency noted that prospects for the year have been downgraded several times since the outbreak and uncertainty continues to dominate.

Friday 08 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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news

10 Sanwo-Olu’s aides test positive for COVID-19, as governor, wife negative Joshua Bassey & Anthonia Obokoh

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L-R: Simone Ben-Shoshan, Israeli ambassador to Nigeria; Yotam Kreiman, deputy chief of mission; Abdulaziz Mashi, permanent secretary, Federal Ministry of Health, and Ehanire Osagie, minister of health, during the donation of protective facemasks by the Israeli Embassy to Nigerian government towards curbing the spread of COVID-19, in Abuja. NAN

PPPRA’s lack of template, NNPC’s importation procedure raise unanswered questions on ‘no subsidy regime’ HARRISON EDEH, Abuja

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etroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency’s (PPPRA) lack of template for the ‘no subsidy regime’ announced by Mele Kyari, the group managing director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), recently and the corporation’s importation procedure have raised serious unanswered questions for the supposed ‘no subsidy regime,’ analysts say.

Analysts are further worried that following Kyari’s announcement, the PPPRA has failed to come up with a defined template that would allow industry players and major oil marketers play in Nigeria’s petroleum downstream sector.

Their worry is further compounded by the corporation’s lack of clarity on the importation of crude into the country, even as they are making de-

mands from the government to inform Nigerians whether it is deregulating or enforcing a price modulation regime.

“The government needs to tell us in clear terms if they are deregulating the sector, and as such they must come up with a template. If you are saying you are doing good price modulation, what does it mean? The price modulation also needs a template. Why is this not on PPPRA’s website, who is determining it, why is the NNPC still the sole importer of petroleum products into the country,” Henry Adenoma Adigun, an oil sector governance expert, asks.

“The PPPRA should have a template that everybody can assess. If you are a marketer now, and you want to bring in diesel and petrol, there should be a template to work with to serve as a guide. As at now, we don’t know what template and basis they are using. It becomes difficult for major oil marketers

to play because there is no clarity in the rules to enable marketers play,” Adigun remarks.

Speaking further on the way forward, he says, “The first step is to publish the template, so that Nigerians would know what the landing costs is really.

Also, people must know what FX rate that is being used to enforce more clarity.”

Also, Joe Nwakwue, chairman, Society of Petroleum Engineers, tells BusinessDay that for a long-term subsidy regime to be effective the National Assembly must be approached for a legal framework and possible amendment of the Petroleum Act, which makes the NNPC the importer of last resort, needs to be amended.

The NNPC, it would be recalled, has announced the new ex-depot price for petrol at N108 for the month of May while ex-depot price for diesel is now N164 per litre for same month.

US supports Africa’s search for local COVID-19 vaccines, country’s top official says SEGUN ADAMS

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S scientists are undertaking a very close collaboration with their African colleagues in researches that could lead to the discovery of African vaccines for the novel coronavirus disease, said Ambassador Tibor P. Nagy, assistant secretary, Bureau of African Affairs.

Nagy, in telephonic press briefing on COVID-19 in Africa and the US Response, told Journalists, that US personnel from CDC, from Health and Human Services, other US labs, are around the continent helping local scientists to accelerate research so that the world could get a vaccine as quickly as possible.

“So yes indeed, this is going on all over Africa. And who knows what – where a solution might be found,”

he said.

His reply was in response to a question on whether the US was willing to collaborate and fund research and development of local African vaccines for COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.

Nagy, however, said for a homegrown solution, like any other, the important thing that there is proper testing “and then we’ll see where it goes. But I can assure you that there’s just incredible collaboration because of the number of countries,” he said.

The top US Officials remark come amid claims

by Madagascar that it has found a herbal cure for the novel coronavirus disease, although health experts have cautioned against the use of the small African country’s said wonder drug.

Still, some local politicians, scientists and herbalist www.businessday.ng

have insisted on the possibility of an African vaccine, especially on the back of Madagascar’s success so far in dealing with its COVID-19 outbreak.

So far Africa has confirmed over 37,000 COVID-19 cases and more than 1,500 deaths while Madagascar reported 158 cases, zero deaths and a very high recovery rate.

Scientists around the world have said it would take months for a vaccine to be created and available for use.

But African economies and health systems strained by the virus outbreak may not have the luxury of time.

Tanzanian and the Republic of the Congo are among the countries that have expressed interest in importing the herbal tonic “CovidOrganics” which has been publicized by Madagascar’s President Andry Rajoelina.

Industry analysts are worried that those who had unfinished stock purchased last month could be heading for a loss unless a defined template is arrived at.

“What of those that bought their product last month and had unsold stock, would they pay them subsidy for unsold products or rebate. These are questions that keep begging for answers,” Austin Onuoha, an oil sector analyst states.

Onuoha raises further concern on the confusion that characterised the whole procedure, and asks, “To be honest with you a lot of things are unclear. What is the template, what is the key indicator, what is the basis and what is the exchange rate they are using, and what is the price of crude.”

Shouldn’t the government at this point of dwindling revenue resources think of petrol as a revenue earner, Onuoha asks further.

ot less than 10 aides of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, working at the Government House, Marina, have tested positive to COVID-19.

BusinessDay learns that almost all the governor’s aides and domestic staff at the Government House, Marina, had the test conducted on them.

While the results of others returned negative, the 10 returned positive and they have since been taken to isolation centres.

However, the governor and his wife, Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, for the third time have tested negative to the highly contagious disease.

Akin Abayomi, the state commissioner for health, who confirmed this on Thursday via his twitter handle, has therefore, again, emphasised the need for Nigerians, espe-

cially residents of Lagos, to maintain social distancing, wear face masks and observe other protocols to stay safe.

“On behalf of @followlasg, I therefore implore you all to continue to embrace the #MaskUpLagos initiative and obser ve all precautionar y measures: distancing, hand washing and other personal hygiene,” said Abayomi.

The commissioner added that all directives on easing lockdown in Lagos State remain in full force.

He said: “It is our collective responsibility to do all we can to stop the spread of #COVID19 #ForAGreaterLagos.

“I am glad to announce that #COVID19 Incident Commander Governor of Lagos State @jidesanwoolu and the First Lady of Lagos @jokesanwoolu have consistently tested negative to #COVID19 following three consecutive tests conducted on them recently.”

Finance minister chairs new reconstituted NBET board approved by Buhari …as Board appointment takes effect immediately HARRISON EDEH, Abuja

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resident Muhammadu Buhari has approved the reconstituted Board of Directors of the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Company plc (NBET), being chaired by minister of finance, budget and national planning, and whose appointment takes effect immediately.

Yu n u s a Ta n k o A b d u l lahi, special adviser, media and communications to the minister, who confirmed the appointment in a statement on Thursday, listed membership of the reconstituted board as : chaired by Zainab Ahmed, the minister of finance, budget and national planning; a non-executive director from Ministry of Power, to be represented by a staff

not below the level of a director; Alexander Ayoola Okoh, as non-executive director from Bureau of Public Enterprises (with 80% shareholding in NBET); Patience Oniha, directorgeneral, Debt Management O f f i c e, a s n o n - e x e c u t i v e director ; Ben Akabueze, d i re c t o r- g e n e ra l , B u d g e t Office of the Federation, as non-executive director.

Also appointed are Suleyman Ndanusa, former director-general of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as non-executive director (independent); Mustapha Balarabe Shehu, former president, Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE), as non-executive director (independent); Adeyeye O. Adepegba, as non-executive director (independent), and Marilyn Amobi, as managing director/CEO.

How Hello Products supports fight against COVID-19 BUNMI BAILEY

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efore the Ebola outbreak, carrying a hand sanitizer around was considered a fad. Many Nigerians did not know what a hand sanitizer was, except for a privileged few who had been exposed to them abroad.

Some of those early adopters even opted for the flavoured sanitizers such as aloe vera, lavender or strawberry, without paying much attention to alcohol content or efficacy, creating even more mystery around the product.

So, it is not surprising that hand sanitizers were not produced in Nigeria. The high-end stores which sold them stocked the imported Dettol and Carex brands.

But the devastation caused by the Ebola virus created a reawakening for frequent hand washing and the recognition of hand sanitizers as a germ-killer by the populace. The imported products became inadequate to meet a sudden surge in demand, so Cormart, Cybelle Cosmetics

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and May & Baker applied for the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) licence to produce hand sanitizers locally. Thankfully, Nigeria quickly curtailed the spread of the Ebola virus, but Nigerians reverted to old habits, forgetting about the use of hand sanitizers.

However, if there is one truth about history, it is that it repeats itself. And so, five years after the deadly Ebola outbreak came the novel Coronavirus causing a global pandemic. Despite the five players in the market, Nigeria witnessed a shortage of hand sanitizers in the market. And, while several organisations made monetary donations to the government to curb the spread of COVID-19, Hello Products joined in the fight by taking a holistic approach to corporate social responsibility (CSR) as suggested by American academic, Michael Porter.

Porter introduced the creating shared value (CSV) concept. He advocates “for corporate practices and policies that enhance the competitiveness of the company while simultaneously advancing @Businessdayng

economic and social conditions in the communities in which the company operates.” Porter explains that a business must focus on those areas in which it most intersects with the most important social challenges.”

For those to whom Hello Products does not ring a bell, Tetmosol certainly will. The Tetmosol Citronella soap is the company’s flagship product. It has been trusted for its unique germ-fighting properties since 1977 because it works.

Hello Products embarked on the production of Tetmosol hand sanitizers thereafter donating the sanitizers and soaps to the Lagos State Ministry of Health for use in isolation centres through the Jagal Group Foundation. The company is also running a consumer education campaign which shares tips, facts and counters myths associated with Coronavirus.

Furthermore, before the closure of schools, it had a schools’ hand washing drive. Shining Star School and Oregun Junior High School are some of many schools impacted.

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Friday 08 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

news How to evade impending collapse...

Continued from page 1

Niyi Adebayo, minister of industry, trade and investment, going through a situation report from stakeholders representing the energy, power, finance, insurance, breweries, food and agricultural sectors, in Abuja, yesterday.

Nigeria’s disease detectives combat...

Continued from page 1

African Centre for Excellence for the Genomics of Infectious Diseases (ACEGID), Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun State.

But once the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in Nigeria, Happi led the team that mapped the genetic makeup of the virus through genome sequencing in 72 hours, between March 1 and 3, 2020.

That investigation became the first genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2, the virus which causes COVID-19, in Africa.

The timeframe was the fastest in the world, compared to what had been done in China and some European countries.

A team of epidemiologists and virologists at the ACEGID lab did the mapping in partnership with the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), the Centre for Human Virology and Genomics (CHVG), Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), the Centre for Human and Zoonotic Virology (CHAZVY), College of Medicine, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), and the Lagos State Ministry of Health Bio-Safety Level 3 (BSL-3) Bio-Bank facility.

Genome sequencing is considered the most important factor in understanding how a disease behaves and how it can be used to develop a vaccine.

While this feat was reported widely in international science journals and a few local news outlets, it passed unnoticed among the general public.

Nigerian scientists, despite that, placed the country at the forefront of using genomics as means to address infectious disease.

“There is nothing you can do in diagnosing this virus if you don’t understand the genetic makeup,” Happi, 51, explained to BusinessDay in

a phone conversation. “You need the genetic makeup to develop any diagnostics. If you want to develop a vaccine, you need to understand the genomics in order to do it.

So a countermeasure cannot be developed without understanding the genetic makeup of the virus.”

The Har vard-trained professor of Molecular Biology and Genomics said Nigeria was nearing development of a vaccine against COVID-19 as his lab was working on one based on the genomic mapping.

His lab is also developing a new diagnosis for the virus in efforts he said would make Africa a producer of scientific knowledge, rather than the consumer it has been for too long.

For him, it’s important that Africa creates centres of excellence where young talents in the diaspora can feel comfortable to produce new scientific knowledge locally.

As fight against the coronavirus scourge tightens, Happi said Nigeria is still on the ascending curve and yet to reach the peak, which is expected at some point next month, before a slowdown sets in.

Scientific strides despite difficulties Despite a dilapidated and neglected health sector, genomic research has been with Nigeria for as long as times predating the first Ebola case in the country.

Chikwe Ihekweazu, director-general, NCDC, and his team were tackling an outbreak of the deadly Lassa fever when COVID-19 exploded in China.

The Centre for Human Virology and Genomics (CHVG), NIMR, had been sequencing HIV and had expanded to include some other viruses. In November 2019, five of its staff had gone for training at the Institute of Infectious Disease at www.businessday.ng

Beijing, China, and the Senegal Research Institute, Dakar. They returned with new methods for genomic testing.

So as of January, NIMR didn’t foresee coronavirus but it had prepared for any viral outbreak since November last year.

When coronavirus outbreak was reported in the country on February 27, the institute specifically got primers for it, after receiving part of the samples. They tested and it turned positive.

“It worked and then we went ahead to sequencing, comparing it to the original strain that was reported in Wuhan. We found that it was 98 percent similar. We deposited it in a gene bank, just like a financial bank or a blood bank,” Happi said.

“After that, we have also sequenced viruses from a few other samples. We are monitoring the virus to see if there is any mutation, which is if it is changing in our own environment. When it is changing, it could affect the diagnostic kits or even the treatment and vaccines,” he said.

Happi said ACEGID didn’t see the coronavirus outbreak as a rude shock because of the centre’s experience with Ebola.

Within a year establishing at the Redeemer’s University, the centre was able to use genomics sequencing and diagnosis to quickly diagnose the first Ebola case in Nigeria and substantially work with the NCDC to contain the outbreak in 2014.

It was unprecedented in the history of medical and public health that Africa could lead in this regard.

During the four months of the Ebola crisis, it was able to develop a rapid diagnostics test that could detect the Ebola virus within 10 minutes.

In 2016, it used its newly developed technology called microbial metal genomics as a way to discover two brand new viruses in Nigeria –

Epoma I and Epoma II. In 2015 and 2016, ACEGID developed the same kind of test for Lassa fever, and afterwards used it to detect new outbreaks of Yellow Fever in Nigeria.

Previously handled infections including Ebola, Lassa fever, among others spurred the capacity development in genomics, serving as an avenue to test the capacity of molecular laboratories available in the country.

This effort has been possible with public and private researchers making the most of lean funding of the health sector.

Over the past decade, Nigeria’s health indicators have remained stagnant as one in eight children die before their 5th birthday. Less than one in three have received all basic immunisations, accounting for the highest number of children in the world who remain unvaccinated against measles.

The health sector is plagued by an inadequate number of trained health workers in rural and remote locations.

Government’s inability to commit more than 4 percent of total budget to health despite pledging 15 percent under the Abuja Declaration and delays in releases largely widen the gaps filled by international donors including Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Global Financing Facility of the World Bank, UKAID, Global Fund and the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), among others.

Av e r a g e i n d i v i d u a l spending on health in Nigeria was just about $5 in 2018, according to the World Bank, where the WHO estimates suggest at least $105 per person to deliver a basic package of health yearly.

Out-of-pocket health expenditure in Nigeria was 75.6 percent of total health spending in 2016 – a system which Continues on page 25

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loses N17 billion monthly due to the pandemic and that over 120 aircraft are parked at various airports across the country, with airlines required to pay accumulated cost on leased aircraft, staff salaries, allowances for crew, parking and maintenance fees, and recurrent training.

Arik Air, one of the leading airlines in the country, recently asked 90 percent of its staff to embark on unpaid leave beginning from May 1, 2020.

“We are very aware of our responsibilities and the weight attached to this.

We are worst hit among all the sectors. Some N17 billion is being lost by the airlines monthly, thanks to COVID-19. The sector is highly regulated and very coordinated and has set standards that must be followed at all times, regardless, because we speak to safety,” Sirika said “This is the situation of civil aviation. It is really a pathetic one and I can guarantee you that several airlines won’t come out of this, unfortunately,” he said.

Seyi Adewale, chief executive officer, Mainstream Cargo Limited, suggested deliberate sourcing, loans, grants, tax waivers, special forex windows and rates, airport infrastructure deliberate upgrades or construction, and reduction of airport taxes or surcharges.

He stated that locally, government can consider expanding definition of aircraft spare parts to include other important aircraft items such as brake ASSY, safety appliances, rafts, and aircraft tyres in order to enjoy zero percent duty waivers.

“In consultation with relevant bodies, companies and associations, increase the seven-day grace to clear cargoes to 14 days and reduce the Airport Authority concession fee from 5 percent to 2.5 percent with at least three months concession payment-free period.

This frees cash for aviation service providers that are tenants to these airport authorities,” Adewale said.

Ikechi Uko, a travel expert and consultant, told BusinessDay that government can waive all taxes and charges on airlines as contribution savings to running cost during and after the crisis.

Uko said this way, no fake airline would collect cash subvention like they did the last time. @Businessdayng

Several countries including Russia, USA, Canada, Britain, among others have come up with one measure of support or another to help airlines recover from losses resulting from impact of COVID-19, Olumide Ohunayo, an aviation analyst, said.

BusinessDay checks show that US President Donald Trump signed a historic $2.2 trillion stimulus bill into law on March 27 which includes $61 billion in relief for the airline industry. The relief package includes a combination of direct grants and loans for the airlines, with the grants conditioned on the discretion of the government to take an ownership stake.

Ohunayo said Nigeria would not be at default if it looks at options of supporting the aviation industry to kick back the economy after the coronavirus crisis.

“There are so many options before the government in helping support the airline. It is either they give direct financial incentives to the aviation industry or they give loans to organisations to get back up again,” Ohunayo said.

“Another option could be approving corporate bonds through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Tax waivers could also help, and waiving some charges to ensure airlines get back on their feet.

What we have before us is not a matter of liquidation but insolvency and disappearance of organisations.

These options are what we should take to save the airlines,” he said.

Further checks show the Australian aviation industry will receive a $715m relief package as the country’s central government waive a range of fees, including aviation fuel excise, air services charges on domestic airline operations and domestic and regional aviation security charges, to help support the sector reeling from the effects of the coronavirus and associated travel restrictions.

Cathay Pacific and other Hong Kong-based airlines will gain substantial financial benefits from a new COVID-19 aid package unveiled by the government.

Direct relief includes subsidies based on aircraft fleet size. An airline will receive HK$1 million ($129,000) for every large aircraft registered in Hong Kong, and HK$200,000 for every small aircraft. The aviation measures are part of a HK$138 billion stimulus package for the broader economy announced late on April 8.

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Igbo professionals hold 24-hour COVID-19 Tweetathon Saturday IFEOMA OKEKE

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he Society of Igbo Professionals (SIP) has announced a 24-hour Tweetathon to showcase its intervention programme towards the prevention and mitigation of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the estimated 25-35 million residents in the communities of the Igbo homesteads in Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, Delta, Imo and Rivers states. The Tweetathon will hold from 12am to 11:59pm on Saturday, May 9, 2020.

The Society of Igbo Professionals is a registered professional organisation whose mission is to connect the global community of Igbo professionals and, leveraging the power of community, to drive sustainable socio-economic growth of Igbo individuals, organisations and communities both at home and abroad.

The Tweetathon would connect with Ndigbo where they live, work and play across the globe, as well as with their friends and host communities, to tweet about the impact of the pandemic and discuss all aspects of SIP COVID-19 Intervention Programme.

“We will breakdown our intervention framework, explain the Igbo values that drive our actions, and share all our COVID-19 prevention advertising materials. We will also share communication to counter misinformation

about COVID-19, provide our accountability statement and highlight our fundraising actions,” Nkem Ogbuaku, lead, SIP Covid-19 Intervention Information and Communications Workgroup, explained.

Other goals of the SIP Tweetathon include boosting hashtags that drive both the Intervention Programme as well as our SIP COVID-19 campaign theme, “Ndu ka”, a call to remember that life is more important than any other pursuit. The core Igbo values of #OnyeAghanaNwanneYa (‘let no one leave a family member behind’) and #Igwebuike (‘We are stronger, united and working together’) further underpin the messaging.

“We expect participants to push for strong compliance with the ‘5’ COVID-19 prevention guidelines: avoiding crowds, staying home, cleaning surfaces, covering coughs & sneezes and washing hands often,” said Chika Unigwe, a coordinator of the Information and Communication Workgroup of SIP. The organisation looks forward to the participation of the global community of Ndigbo and their friends in the Twitter-fest. All thought leaders, advocacy groups, students, celebrities, organisations, media influencers and partners, are invited to participate, and amplify the campaign across all social media platforms: Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

We are not seeing donated COVID-19 funds in our hospitals, says Kano JOHESU boss … links mystery deaths in Kano to coronavirus ENDURANCE OKAFOR

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he impact of the funds donated by the private sector to fight coronavirus in Nigeria has not been felt in the hospitals as many health workers have either died or contracted the novel virus due to insufficient protective equipment, according to Murtala Umar, chairman, Kano State branch of Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU), an association of health workers in Nigeria.

Umar said it would be important to have those donated funds injected in the country’s health sector in order to protect the limited health care workers who were at the frontlines of the pandemic fight.

“We have been hearing in the news about these donations by the Otedolas, the Dangotes, the Alakijas, etc, but we are not seeing the money in our hospitals. Somebody has said that the value of money is in its use,” Umar said while appearing on Channels TV’s Sunrise Daily programme on Thursday.

Dat a by J O H E S U o n Wednesday revealed that 168 nurses, medical lab scientists, pharmacists, medical record officers, hospital attendants and cleaners were exposed to COVID-19 patients in Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH).

It stated that 69 personnel were tested and results came

out on Tuesday, May 5, and seven nurses, five medical lab scientists, one medical information/record officer and a cleaner turned out positive.

While addressing health workers’ exposure to COVID-19 in Kano State, Tijani Husaini, coordinator, Rapid Response on COVID-19, Kano State, said they are working towards preventing further infections.

“We have moved into action and ensure that no health worker is getting any infection.

We have within the last few days distributed personal protective equipment to all our health facilities in addition to what we have provided them before and we are also current training them on infection, prevention and control,” Husaini said on Sunrise Daily.

Kano is not the only state that has reported health workers’ exposure to COVID-19; several doctors have been reported dead as a result of the virus infection.

Osagie Ehanire, Nigeria’s health minister, said the total number of health workers infected with novel coronavirus in the country has reached 113 as of May 1, 2020.

Around 6 percent of the COVID-19 cases in the country is composed of healthcare professionals, with some of them working in private hospitals, Ehanire said recently at a news conference in Abuja. www.businessday.ng

Muhammad Mahmoud-Abubakar (l), minister of environment, presenting a certificate of decontamination to Yakubu Ibn Mohammed, director-general, Nigeria Television Authority, during the issuance of certificate of decontamination to 15 establishments in Abuja.

Overall oil glut to halve to 13.6mbpd in May Olusola Bello

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nternational imbalance between oil supply and demand, which has built to 26.4 million barrels per day (bpd) in April due to the Covid-19 pandemic, is set to halve to 13.6 million bpd in May and fall further to just 6.1 million bpd, according to a Rystad Energy analysis.

However, despite the improvement, the stock build will still overwhelm remaining global storage, which will fill in weeks.

Nigeria is still battling on how to sell off her cargoes as she is finding it increasingly difficult to get buyers. The crude programmes for May is yet to be out because of this.

“Global supply is expected to fall in May to 92.8 million bpd, from 98.3 million bpd in April, and further decline to 91.1 million bpd in June. We expect June to see the lowest supply level this year unless further production cuts are announced, with output rebounding from July,” the com-

pany said.

Demand on the other hand, which Rystad Energy estimates will reach its lowest point at 71.8 million bpd in April, will rise to 79.2 million bpd in May and to 85.1 million bpd in June, as governments ease Covid-19-related restrictions and some industrial activity resumes.

This supply figure already includes the cumulative 6.5 million bpd cuts we expect from OPEC+ countries, as well as more than 2 million bpd of production shutins from non-OPEC+ countries (such as Norway) suffering under the unprecedented market squeeze.

“While this may seem like a drastic improvement from April, the oil market is not magically fixed. The storage issue still looms large and will spill over onto trading floors, as buyers are left with crude they cannot physically place, and into the boardrooms of oil companies which must make very costly but necessary decisions to scale back production and give the market some

breathing space,“ notes Rystad Energy oil market analyst Louise Dickson.

The demand-supply gap will become narrower in practice as we believe the market will be forced to tighten the stock build gap during May, when countries run out of local storage. After local storage is exhausted, tankers will be packed with oil barrels seeking refuge in the country with the most remaining storage capacity – the US. Until this gap is filled by additional shut-ins (possibly even within OPEC+ countries themselves), we can expect further downward pressure on oil prices, especially those that lack a clear conduit to the export market, he says.

If sufficient production isn’t shuttered by May 19, 2020 (the expiration of the WTI June 2020 contract), then the potential remains for another nightmare WTI price collapse, which is not ruled out spreading to other crude blends.

However, given that most oil

futures outside of WTI do not require the buyer to physically take oil delivery, and instead have cash settlement options, the destruction to other benchmarks should be tamer.

The negative price crash is most clearly linked to the shortage in global storage. Currently, global storage for crude is about 90 percent full and for crude oil products, that figure is closer to 80 percent.

Rystad Energy currently estimates that there is 400 million barrels of available global crude storage left, and that crude stocks will build by 13.6 million bpd on average in the month of May. The math isn’t overly complicated, and at this rate, assuming storage tanks can only be filled to about 95% capacity due to technical reasons, Rystad Energy forecasts storage is already hitting the wall in the markets.

And, it could reach capacity at the last storage facility standing, the US, towards the end of May. Cushing, Oklahoma could top up even sooner.

US supports Africa’s search for local COVID-19 Covid-19: ECOWAS, WAHO refute alleged endorsement of CVO medication vaccines, country’s top official says SEGUN ADAMS

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S scientists are undertaking a very close collaboration with their African colleagues in researches that could lead to the discovery of African vaccines for the novel coronavirus disease, said Ambassador Tibor P. Nagy, assistant secretary, Bureau of African Affairs.

Nagy, in telephonic press briefing on COVID-19 in Africa and the US Response, told Journalists, that US personnel from CDC, from Health and Human Services, other US labs, are around the continent helping local scientists to accelerate research so that the world could get a vaccine as quickly as possible.

“So yes indeed, this is going on all over Africa. And who knows what – where a solution might be found,” he said.

His reply was in response to a question on whether the US was willing to collaborate and fund research and development of local African vaccines for COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.

Nagy, however, said for a homegrown solution, like any other, the important thing that

there is proper testing “and then we’ll see where it goes. But I can assure you that there’s just incredible collaboration because of the number of countries,” he said.

The top US Officials remark come amid claims by Madagascar that it has found a herbal cure for the novel coronavirus disease, although health experts have cautioned against the use of the small African country’s said wonder drug.

Still, some local politicians, scientists and herbalist have insisted on the possibility of an African vaccine, especially on the back of Madagascar’s success so far in dealing with its COVID-19 outbreak.

So far Africa has confirmed over 37,000 COVID-19 cases and more than 1,500 deaths while Madagascar reported 158 cases, zero deaths and a very high recovery rate.

Scientists around the world have said it would take months for a vaccine to be created and available for use. But African economies and health systems strained by the virus outbreak may not have the luxury of time.

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Innocent Odoh, Abuja

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he Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the West African Health Organisation (WAHO) have debunked the news that both institutions have ordered a package of Covid Organics (CVO) medicine from a third country to allegedly cure the coronavirus (Covid-19).

This refutation was contained in a statement issued by the Communication’s Division of the ECOWAS Commission on Thursday. Part of the statement reads; “Our attention has been drawn to a story making the headlines that claims ECOWAS has ordered a package of Covid Organics (CVO) medicine from a third country.

“We wish to dissociate ECOWAS and its health Institution, West Africa Health Organisation (WAHO), from this claim and to inform the general public that we have not ordered the said CVO medication.’’

WAHO notes in the statement that as part of its mandate to safeguard and improve the @Businessdayng

health of the region’s population, it remains committed to promoting rational traditional medicine practices and products in the ECOWAS region, and over the years has worked consistently with the Member States to scientifically investigate plant medicines of proven efficacy.

It says these products are documented in the ECOWAS Pharmacopoeia of Traditional Medicines, the second edition of which will be published in the next few weeks. WAHO has also in the recent past identified, nurtured and supported centres of excellence in traditional medicine across the ECOWAS region,” the statement notes.

“We are aware that several claims of a Covid-19 cure have been made in different parts of the world, but we can only support and endorse products that have been shown to be effective through scientific study. For this reason, WAHO is collaborating with relevant partners including WHO, Africa CDC, national, regional and international research consortia to promote the scientific search for a cure.

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Coronavirus and the anger this time Tales from the main road

Eugenia Abu

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hen word of this pandemic got out, it set a lot of people thinking, enabled fear in some and met others at the very limit of their boredom, casualness and carelessness. For some of us, it left us at first with a sense of curiosity and wonderment. Is it possible that this can come into Nigeria? Would we cope? In fact, when I began to interrogate the virus, studying large narratives concerning the Spanish flu of 1918 and wondering if the world might see a repeat, a friend of mine dismissed me as a prophet of doom. In fact, I was told in the early days that it is a European disease. But I am curious by nature and cautiously adventurous by available funds and being a voracious reader means I am constantly seeking out more knowledge. I worried a lot about whether we had enough equipment, intellectual prowess, strategy and data analytics and the sheer discipline to keep instructions.

Our aggressive, in disciplined and self-entitled nature bothered me even more. Would we even be ready to comply? They were rhetorical questions at the time but today all those postulations seem to stare us in the face and make us uncomfortable.

We now need more than ever before an antidote to fear for those whose psychological make-up is not coping with rumours, fear mongering fake news and information overload. As a certain level care giver, myself, I am having great difficulty convincing adults and children alike that we are not on the path to mass suicide and this too shall pass although it will take some time and change the way we go forward as humanity forever. There are too many of us with border line personality disorders, anxieties and on the brink of depression.

As a nation we do not have enough psychologists and psychiatrists to care for citizens in normal times. We are now needing them to talk to us on lock down anxiety, post lock down hypersensitivity and general anxiety information overload. Let them spread the gospel of managing fear, how to deal with rising aggression and how to go slowly in embracing freedom post lockdown. This is also the time to work on the psyche of those who don’t care very much, casual by nature and believe that Coronavirus is a hoax while going about happy go lucky, fail to comply to anything and attempt to visit you while you are on lock down.

I have no idea how we must deal with Nigerians who say, well, we must eat so all this nonsense of

lockdown is not helping us. We are hungry. Some of these stories are so brazen that it gets my goat. And I see most of these online and on television. Soon as this is aired, we find a stay home public service announcement on the same platform.

In a crude report we work against government position of the lockdown and immediately after we propagate our public service announcement.

As a reporter covering COVID-19, you require responsible balance and safety rules. We can cover the same story without making it look like we are providing role model status for defiance. As I gather, the Ugandan President has said, God is busy, we have to do our part and he cannot remain only in Uganda attending to Idiots, so stay home.

With some ease of lock down by the authorities in Nigeria we saw the meaning of rush hour post lock down. The fight, the violence, the impatience, the anger so ridiculous to watch. There were limited bank branch openings. It was insane.

Knowing the pressure in the last three weeks, it was a completely bizarre post lockdown outside world. Impatient Nigerians, hungry Nigerians, angry Nigerians and those who are just managing their mental health.

Did the banks and other commercial institutions plan for this deluge? I am not so sure. Were the number of limited branches fuelling this behaviour? Perhaps. That then leads us to the question of post lockdown minimal opening of the economy.

What will be the rate of compliance?

What are the projections against the

‘

With some ease of lock down by the authorities in Nigeria we saw the meaning of rush hour post lock down.

The fight, the violence, the impatience, the anger so ridiculous to watch. There were limited bank branch openings. It was insane

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

Grammar and education: The Nigerian reality

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ames Elliot, in his book entitled “Let’s Discuss Education,” submitted that school in Nigeria is where children go when their parents go to work.

This, amongst other things, reminds one of the low quality of teaching and learning in many Nigerian schools. As doubtful as it may sound, you might be tempted to believe James Elliot’s submission with the multitude of teachers who want students to wait behind for “extra moral lessons,” instead of “extramural lessons.” Moreover, many a teacher cannot discretely distinguish between “timetable” and “times table.” Along these lines, it is not unusual to notice them confuse one with the other.

For specifics, while the separated compound word, “times table,” actually means a list that shows the results of multiplying certain numbers (such as 1 through 12) by each other; the single word, “timetable,” portrays a detailed plan bordering on events or activities that will happen.

Further to this, grammatical aberrations such as “Why did you off your shoes?”

“Charles, off the light” and “I instructed him to on the computer,” will make you wonder what system produced those in whose hands the future leaders of Nigeria are entrusted. Why should a teacher be oblivious of the fact that “off ” and “on” are prepositions and cannot be enlisted as verbs? For correctness’ sake, therefore, the sentences should be rendered as: “Why did

you take off your shoes?” “Charles, turn off the light” and “I instructed him to switch on the computer.” The inference is that the phrasal verbs “turn on/off,” “switch on/off” and “take off ” should be enlisted as and when appropriate.

Since corporal punishment is still allowed in Nigeria, it is common to have teachers flog students for not buying what they call “stationeries.” And you wonder if they, too, should not be subjected to punitive measures for being ignorant of the fact that writing materials are collectively called “stationery”. Bewilderingly, also, the erroneous cliché one often hears from school administrators, who appreciate the parents on behalf of the “entire staffs” (rather than the “entire staff ”), could instigate one to inquire if anything else is needed to start up a school in Nigeria, aside from money.

In this regard, it is equally imperative to note that every teacher is called a “member of staff or staffer;” not a “staff.” Even some public-school principals could organise a “send-off (a noun)” for their staff and confidently declare it as a “send forth.” Actually, “send forth” is a phrasal verb which means to cause something to be heard, or to cause light, heat, etc. to move outward from a source.

Noticeably, some of these educational custodians promise parents/guardians to handle their children/wards “from the scratch.” In point of fact, to begin a process, www.businessday.ng

The Gift of Gab

especially without making use of, or relying on any previous work for assistance, is to begin “from scratch.” Of course, others are quick to tell you that teaching is not “a child’s play;” not minding that the expression “child’s play” should not attract the article “a”. What is more, “time up” is what you hear some teachers scream confidently, instead of “time’s up” — an expression used to indicate that the allowed period of time has ended. Again, the vast majority of teachers have registered “shed more light” in their memories, so much so that it is difficult to tell them that “more” should be expunged from the expression.

Therefore, we “shed light” on lessons; not “shed more light.”

With regard to the other divide, should we spare parents/guardians who, in their supposed feeling of superiority to their offspring/wards’ teachers, refer to such teachers as “mediocres,” while reporting their perceived inadequacies to school owners?

They, too, should be told that people can be “mediocre (an adjective)” or “mediocrities (a noun);” not “mediocres.” This is owing to the fact that adjectives are not supposed to be pluralised. As a sequel to the foregoing, it is necessary to enlighten them that those who are paid to sit their children’s or wards’ examinations, thereby compromising the system, are not “machineries.” At best, they can be called “mercenaries,” given that the latter means people who do anything for

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knowledge of indiscipline and poor infrastructural and human resources in most organisations? How good are we at gathering data and analysing same? How good are we at checking out best practices and learning from other nations? How great are we with implementation of strategies? Ease of lockdown comes with pains for both the governed and government.

It is a whole new way of doing things, approached with caution and tested for the first couple of weeks before it settles. Adjustment can be made as we go along.

Government has provided some measures. Citizens must self-protect while complying with governments strategies and keep all the rules as best as they can. But let us be mindful that there are angry people out there. Slightly warped people too in these difficult times. And in order to help you understand all of this. In news elsewhere, specifically in Flint, Michigan in America, a woman who was asked to wear a mask as a prerequisite for entering a supermarket refused to (even though those are state-wide rules) and got into an argument with a security man. She left in anger and her husband and son returned 20 minutes later and shot the security man who died from his gunshot wounds. Over a mask? Yes, over a mask. There you have it. Aside from the pandemic, there are other things going on out there. Please be careful. Enough said!

Ganiu Bamgbose

its monetary value. In view of this, I won’t forget to mention that “machinery” (an uncountable noun) is only used to refer to machines and established structures in organisations/institutions — not humans.

By reason of this fact, “machineries” is outright non-existent in the English lexicon.

How should I round off? Dear teachers, it may also interest you to know that it is safe to end your lesson with the expression “in conclusion” (which is synonymous with “finally,” “lastly” or “to sum up”), as opposed to “conclusively,” which implies that something is done in a decisive or convincing manner.

Dr Bamgbose (Dr GAB) has a PhD in English and lectures at the Pan-Atlantic University, Lagos. He is a social commentator who writes on different issues of national concern and the author of daily online English lessons titled “English for Today” with hundreds of lessons available on his website www.englishdietng.com.

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Reflections on the post-coronavirus international economic order THE NEW WEALTH OF NATIONS

Obadiah Mailafia

T

he novel coronavirus pandemic has been the biggest global economic shock since the 1929 Wall Street Crash. In fact, its ramifications might be even bigger, given that, unlike the 1929 crash, our world is today an integrated global marketplace.

The 1929 crash was triggered largely by the twin crises of over-speculation and over-production. On the span of a single day, the New York plummeted disastrously. Overnight, billionaires became paupers. The spectacle of wealthy people throwing themselves from the rooftops of their proud towers became the iconic spectacle of those troubled times. What made the crisis worse was that the Federal Reserve increased interest rates instead of reducing them.

Firms collapsed precipitately. Unemployment fell to 24 percent. Britain as a world power had been in decline. The pound sterling was losing its role as the global reserve currency. The reintroduction of the gold standard made matters worse. According to the theory of “hegemonic stability” as propounded by economists such as Charles Kindleberger, the stability of an international monetary order requires a leader or “hegemon” that is able to underwrite the system. Nobody was in charge in the thirties. There was also a relentless trade war, with a beggar-thy-neighbour policy that brought everybody to ruin.

Within the space of just weeks, COVID-19 has thrown more than 20 million Americans on the unemployment queue.

Thousands of firms have sued for bankruptcy. Major airlines are teetering on the verge of collapse. Canada has switched oil off production in Alberta altogether.

Uncle Sam still leads the world, with a GDP of $20.49 trillion, as contrasted to

China’s $13.4 trillion. But when judged by purchasing power parity (PPP), China is very much ahead, with $27.31 trillion.

The signs of America’s terminal decline are on the horizon.

The mandarins in Beijing are the first to shy away from such comparisons; preferring a quiet ascent to super-power status. Through its Made-in-China policy and its multi-trillion-dollar trans-continental Silk Road project and relentless arms build-up, China is quietly repositioning herself as the dominant superpower. The Chinese Yuan was recently admitted into the exclusive club of world reserve currencies and as a member of the IMF’s SDRs basket of currencies. China is at the verge of overtaking America.

But she is in no position to underwrite the institutions of global order.

Matters have been made worse by America’s retreat from multilateralism.

The trade war orchestrated by Donald Trump has been damaging for the open international trading regime that has guaranteed prosperity for my generation. When you add to it the tragedy of Brexit, then you get a grim picture of a gradual dismantling of the architecture of global order. Italy has blamed her European partners for abandoning her to her fate. Earlier on, Paris and Rome had quarrelled bitterly over African youths on rickety boats trying to cross the Mediterranean into Europe. Italy blamed France’s shadowy network of informal empire for destroying African economies, thereby forcing millions of African youths to invade Europe. Like in the 1930s, Europe has become a theatre for ideological extremism, with rising populism in Hungary, Poland, Slovenia, Austria, Italy, Estonia and Sweden. No one knows what the postCoronavirus Europe would look like.

The pandemic has led to capital flight of more than $100 billion from Africa. Oil and commodity prices have collapsed. The spectre of debt and bankruptcy stares us in the face, and with it the fearful ogre of poverty and hunger. In rich and poor countries alike, the lacklustre manner in which governments have handled the pandemic may trigger a crisis of legitimacy that could lead to upheavals and regime change.

What we face ahead of us is a deepening polarisation in international rela-

tions. At the beginning of the pandemic, there was mutual recrimination between China and America. When the pandemic blew out in the industrial city of Wuhan during last November, the Chinese blamed it on visiting American marines.

Washington on its part blamed it as the handiwork of the virology laboratory in Wuhan. President Trump insisted on calling it “the Chinese virus”.

Conspiracy theories are currently all the rage. Some American lawyers are preparing a lawsuit claiming staggering damages against Beijing. Our own indefatigable lawyers in Nigeria are also making a claim of $200 billion against China at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague. The Germans are also charging Beijing for €149 billion (about $160 billion). As to be expected, these potential lawsuits have caused not a bit of angst in Beijing.

There are some who view COVID-19 is a war that China has won without firing a shot. Knowing the warlike character of the Americans, they are unlikely to take it lying down, if they believe in their heart of hearts, that COVID-19 is a form of biological warfare that has been unleashed on their population.

The other aspect of COVID-19 that will polarise the world is the desire by some imperialist powers to use Africans as guinea-pigs in their quest for a new vaccine. Some French medical researchers were openly discussing on TV about how Africa is the “ideal” environment to test a new experimental vaccine. The WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, an Ethiopian national, had occasion to condemn that kind of racist rhetoric. He later complained of being the target of racist insults and taunts. To our dismay, the Trump administration announced they would be withdrawing their contributions to the organisation.

They accused WHO of allegedly being in cahoots with Beijing in concealing the culpability of the Chinese. The Chinese responded by pledging $800 million in additional funding to the Geneva-based organisation.

Ironically, the Chinese have also been throwing out Africans from their homes and from hotels in a new wave of racism that is unbelievably cruel and humiliating. Africa’s friendship with China will probably never recover from this shame-

‘

What we face ahead of us is a deepening polarisation in international relations. At the beginning of the pandemic, there was mutual recrimination between China and America.

When the pandemic blew out in the industrial city of Wuhan during last November, the Chinese blamed it on visiting American marines

ful humiliation of our people.

Those who arrogate to themselves the role of “Masters of the Universe” want to use the opportunity of the pandemic to enforce a vaccine together with allegedly an invasive electronic surveillance implant that could undermine human liberty and the dignity of the human person as we have always known it. There are genuine fears that there is an undeclared agenda to reduce the African population.

Many in Africa believe that this sinister agenda represents the rebirth of the spirit of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.

The emerging polarisation of the world may engender new suspicions that will further aggravate international security. Further retreat from multilateralism will undermine global leadership which is so essential to maintaining the post-Cold War international equilibrium.

Much is shrouded in uncertainty. If the global pandemic extends beyond Q3 of this year, the world economy may face the prospect of a depression compared to the 1930s. We are already in a global recession. Some economists predict that we face reduced global growth of 1.45 percent and a worst-case scenario of -1.2 percent. The modern world has known only one Great Depression – that of the thirties. The other depression was that of 1870, which is too far outside the purview of our contemporary imagination. One thing is clear: an economic depression of global magnitude is likely to shake the foundations of international order beyond anything we could ever imagine.

In the bleak words of the German sociologist and jurist, Max Weber: “Ahead of us is not the bliss of summer, but, initially at least, a polar night of icy darkness and harshness, whichever group may outwardly turn out the victor. And when this night slowly begins to recede, how many will still be alive of all those for whom the spring had seemed to bloom so gloriously? And what will have become of all of you within yourselves? Dumb acceptance of the world and man’s place in it?”

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

Stability in the work place (1)

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elcome to another week where we’re going to be talking about a few HRM things. I’m not going to say welcome to the new normal, I think I would rather say welcome to the current normal. I have a daughter who is a student of criminology and she says there is nothing like normal. How is this time looking for you? I think we can all agree that it’s not what we would consider normal.

Today I’m going to be talking about stability in the work place. One of the banks made an announcement about laying people off a few days ago and there has been a big uproar. The truth about it is that whether you’re screaming it from the rooftop or you are quiet about it, there are going to be many layoffs.

Our topic is “Stability”. Why is it important for there to be stability?

Stability is security. Most people don’t mind excitement on holiday, at home at the weekend but usually when people go to work, they want to be sure that their jobs are secure and that they are valued by management. They want to feel safe and secure. It’s going to be difficult for any employee to put in their very best if they are worried and stressed out about the future of their jobs. I am constantly profiling people

and I know that there are some people profiles who are constantly a little anxious about their jobs almost no matter what the is.

Any organisation that wants the best out of your employees must communicate to them that they are valued safe and secure both now and into the future. Job security concerns are more crucial now than ever before basically because we’re all connected globally. the whole world is connected and if some countries sneeze, the rest of the world catch a cold, there is a lot of migration all over the place and to a large extent cheap labour is readily available. Also, the digital age has come in as a huge disruptor and fewer people can hold on to their jobs.

Stability is therefore important because when people are not feeling constant worry about their jobs they can relax and settle into doing the best possible. Job security is best used as a motivator when people see a direct correlation between their performance and their future with the company. Employee job security improves the bottom line as people are putting in their best when the job is secure.

Teams stick together and are more productive. They forge long friendships, strong bonds, strong connections and a strong sense of corporate culture is heightened providing job

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security improves the company’s reputation. As a recruitment consultant there are many times when we are recruiting for some organisations and even though the proposed pay is great, proposed good candidates are not interested because the reputation of the company has gone to the dogs. employing the right people to start off with based on your reputation is of great importance. Many people are placing a larger emphasis on ethical companies. Job security is seen as an ethical issue.

Having said job security is important, please don’t feel tempted to hold on to every employee good or bad in an attempt to reduce your turnover rates and increase your retention. While you want to maintain a good reputation, you don’t want to become a doormat. Don’t put up with substandard behaviour, don’t tolerate poor performance, bad results, missed targets just for the sake of retention. if you want your company to do its best and achieve your long-term goals you need to have the right people in your team.

Don’t ever be afraid to let people go who are not fit for your organisation or are not performing, this is for the greater good.

All this is good but how do you create a stable environment in a crisis especially a global crisis like the COVID-19 crisis.

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Olamide Balogun

The organisation needs to start looking for a plan that will minimise the impact of the crisis on the business. This should include a policy for bringing order to the chaos. The leadership should spearhead the developing of solutions.

They should focus on the opportunities that may pop up, indeed that are popping up in this chaos that is COVID-19. It is important to keep one’s eyes open to see the opportunities and not be blinded because the organisation is too busy putting out fires.

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

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Ekwegh is a private legal practitioner with over 15 years

Friday 08 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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Dateline Lagos 17th December 1940: The protest against female taxation HumanAngle

Femi olugbile

I

t was a Tuesday like no other weekday anyone could remember in Lagos. There was drama on the Marina. Passers-by stood at the roadside to watch the spectacle.

All markets were closed – on the order of Animotu Pelewura, the Iyaloja of Lagos.

A new Income Tax Ordnance had just been promulgated by government.

Henceforth women whose income was fifty pounds and above annually would be required to pay Income Tax. The announcement set the womenfolk agog. The Oyinbo, they proclaimed angrily, could not claim ignorance of the Yoruba taboo on taxation of women.

Their predecessors in office had given the women of Lagos assurance they would never be taxed. In 1932 when they first got wind of an impending move to tax women, market women from Faji, Ereko, Araromi, Oko Awo, Ebute Ero and Ebute Metta markets had descended on the office of the Commissioner of Police, RE Foulger at Central Police Station. The Commissioner, hearing their chanting and sensing their warlike mood, was fearful of a public incident. He consulted with the authorities and they agreed that there should be a meeting the following day at the office of the Administrator of

the Colony.

When the women arrived at the meeting, they were led to the office of the Administrator, where some prominent Lagos citizens – Chief Obanikoro, Chief Oluwa, Chief Yesufu Owo and Kadiri Oluwa were already seated. In the presence of the Police Commissioner and several European Officers, the Administrator tried to mollify the aggrieved women. He urged them to ignore the rumours that were going about. Lagos women would never be taxed by any colonial government, now or in the future.

Animotu Pelewura had taken the precaution of bringing Akowe – her clerk and general handyman at Ereko market along to the meeting with the Administrator. Throughout the proceedings he was busy taking notes.

Again, as this day’s protest gathered momentum, Pelewura had Akowe with her, and his hand-written record of the 1932 meeting was wedged in her armpit.

A hundred women dressed in their market clothes were gathered on the Marina, heading towards the office of the Commissioner of the Colony. Out in front was Pelewura, flanked by Rabiatu Alaso Oke, Iyalode of Lagos.

The Commissioner came out to meet them.

Rabiatu, a woman of ample proportions, ambled forward and waved a “Return of Income” form under his nose. Several women had received this obnoxious form in the past few days and been asked to fill it, she screamed. What did he have to say on the matter?

Meanwhile, she continued, times were hard and many of their husbands were jobless. Pelewura thrust Akowe’s 1932 report into the Commissioner’s reluctant hands to show that they had a standing promise the vexatious demand for tax would never happen again.

The Commissioner cleared his throat

and tried to sound conciliatory. Things were hard for the Colonial government because of the ongoing World War, and they did not want the colony to suffer neglect. Only women whose income exceeded fifty pounds would be taxed.

The women realised they were making no headway with him. In any case, the intention from the beginning had been to march on to Government House further down the Marina to see the Governor himself.

“Bourdillon!” – someone shouted.

Other voices took up the cry.

“Bourdillon! Bourdillon!”

Someone composed a war song spontaneously, and many voices took it up.

They had come with a petition, prepared by Akowe, supervised by Oged – Herbert Macaulay’s son. They had taken the precaution of getting two hundred market-women to affix their thumbprints.

Suddenly in front they saw that the Marina highway was barred to movement by a detachment of Hausa soldiers, guns at the ready.

The women continued their march, chanting the name of the Governor.

Just as they reached the line of the soldiers, an official came from the other side and singled out Pelewura and Rabiatu. They were conducted straight into the presence of the Governor.

He welcomed them in his usual genial manner, shaking hands with them and making them sit in comfortable chairs. He received their petition.

Would they like a drink? Tea? Water? He apologized that Lady Bourdillon was not around to receive them properly.

Pelewura assured him they could not be drinking tea while their sisters were under the sun outside.

Bourdillon told them earnestly that he understood their problems, but he

‘

The women realised they were making no headway with him. In any case, the intention from the beginning had been to march on to Government House further down the Marina to see the Governor himself

also wanted them to understand his plight. The War effort was sapping he resources of Great Britain. The Colony had to fend for itself. He promised to reflect on their request. Perhaps he would raise the taxable income level.

The meeting ended on a note that was, if not cordial, at least hopeful.

As they regained the street, their colleagues standing on the tarmac of the Marina raised a loud cheer.

Pelewura decided to lead the march away from the Marina, towards “Kirsten Hall”, Herbert Macaulay’s house at Faji.

He, their staunch supporter, would be expecting feedback on the day’s proceedings.

All the markets of Lagos would remain closed for one more day, on Pelewura’s order.

One thousand women gathered at Glover Hall the next day to further press their case.

Again, the Commissioner for the Colony argued that women in England also paid tax.

Pelewura replied, to rousing cheers, that Lagos women “not only feed and clothe unemployed husbands and relatives but also pay their income tax for them, lest they be sent to prison for defaulting…”. In any case, she said, in Yoruba, with Akowe translating for the Europeans, Lagos women were not even allowed vote. Perhaps their next battle cry would be “No taxation without representation” she quipped, in her lightly accented Awori dialect.

In the end, Governor Bourdillon decided to raise the level of taxable income for women to two hundred pounds, a level which would technically exclude almost every woman in Lagos.

The women of Lagos had won the tax battle – for the moment.

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

Why leaders are afraid of being vulnerable

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ince the advent of time, leadership has been perceived as a position of absolute power, authority, and control. Much demand is placed on a leader to prove his competence by displaying unrivaled strength in his capacity. Hence, being vulnerable has always been considered a form of weakness that must not be found in any leader because it makes them look soft which is not a valid expectation.

These terrifying expectations ascribed to leadership require perfection and this makes leaders see themselves as people incapable of making mistakes, so they are always overworking themselves to create the perfect reputation that is expected of them at the expense of their emotional wellbeing.

As opposed to the long-standing notion that vulnerability indicates incompetence and weakness, instead, it is a symbol of emotional well-being, revealing the human side of leadership in contrast to the mechanical and robotic façade that leadership perfectionism demands.

Vulnerability is not a trait of cowardice or fear; neither does it portrays a leader as a scared mouse cowering behind the curtains for fear of its life, it is admitting that you are predisposed to weakness, and that, requires a high degree of courage that every leader should aspire to have.

According to Sime (2019) courage, vulnerability and leadership go hand in hand.

When leaders are not afraid to show their human side, it elicits trust and free flow of communication across the stages of hierarchy.

It creates a deeper level of human interaction and increased performance. Such leaders are perceived as being “real” and truthful and this inspires the followers to show solidarity and honesty in their dealings with the leader. Because the followers are not afraid of backlash from their

leaders when they make mistakes, they find it very easy to speak the truth to their leaders at all times no matter how uncomfortable it may be.

Engagement and trust are two key variables that most leaders desire to experience with their colleagues, but this cannot come to play when such leaders relate with their staff with an air of intimidating superiority. Trust cannot be built when leaders see themselves as mountains that cannot be accessed. When leaders build walls of strictness around them and dissociate themselves from having a healthy work relationship with their colleagues, they are treated as dictators and left to deal with their weaknesses alone.

Or sometimes leaders are viewed and seen as being perfect and without flaws like the rest of the followers.

Admitting your mistakes as a leader is a step towards emotional authenticity rather than the dictatorship approach towards how you relate with your subordinates or followers. A leadership position is not a rivalry position between the leader and followers, but an opportunity for creative synergy and effective human relationship.

It is, therefore, safe to say that vulnerability cements the emotional connection between leaders and their followers. There is less stiffness in the workplace because the human bond between the leader and the followers is strengthened by vulnerability. Followers find it easy to engage their leaders in deep-rooted conversations because their leader isn’t just a leader, but also a friend that is willing to share their fears and concerns without fear or judgement.

As Andryakov (2018) puts it talking about leaders, “We show them that we have failed as well and that it’s just part of the process. In turn, it will allow them to take initiative and make decisions easier.”

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Why do most leaders detest vulnerability?

To appear competent: in some parts of the world, showing emotions, most times, is considered an act of weakness and this elicits noticeable isolation in most leaders who want to keep a considerable distance from their followers to avoid being over-friendly.

Competency is not doused by vulnerability.

These are two independent variables that do not interfere with each other. While the latter is emotionally driven, the former is a function of intellectual capacity.

As Wei, et. al. note, “In societies with high power distance, the superior more often makes decisions without the subordinates’ participation. Both managers and subordinates consider each other to be existentially unequal.”

It is in this type of environment, that leaders can so easily position themselves as infallible humans and perfect to the core. Vulnerability does not in any way trump your competence as a leader; rather, it complements your strengths and makes room for emotional balance.

You don’t need to keep up a facade of aloofness and strictness so that you can prove that you are a competent leader, it will only severe the human connection you desire to have with those you lead.

To enforce respect: contrary to the notion that strictness enforces respect and order, this is sadly not so. Being overly strict as a leader sets you off as a rigid individual who is not open to change and flexibility. Acts of undue strictness from a leader will only incur fear and resentment from people who work with you. Often leaders who fall into this category are considered autocratic leaders who are bent in their ways.

They do not consider that opinions of others as important and position themselves as figures of

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Toye Sobande enforced authority.

Such leaders will be entertained with a façade of orderliness displayed by their followers but there is no assurance that such show of uniformity will continue in their absence. Respect is not forced by strict rules or rigid structures, it is earned by openness and impactful leadership that is worthy of emulation.

Fear of being taken for granted: the phrase ‘overfamiliarity breeds contempt’ makes it hard for some leaders to be open in their dealings with their subordinates. There is a lingering fear that boundaries will be crossed, and disrespect will set in, which is in most cases, a rare occurrence.

This fear should not be taken to heart because it will cause a strained relationship between leaders and followers. One of the good qualities of a leader is balance. This is the ability to know when to set boundaries, when to be firm and when to apply understanding. If your leadership method is only tilted towards enforcing fear and respect on your staff, you can never earn their trust and loyalty. Friendly conversations and team bonding that should help make the workplace lively will become a far-fetched reality, thereby affecting the overall productivity of employees.

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

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Friday 08 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

Editorial Publisher/Editor-in-chief

Frank Aigbogun editor Patrick Atuanya

Focus on improving living standards and poverty numbers Nigerian Living Standards Survey 2020 is a useful baseline amid COVID-19

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

Bashir Ibrahim Hassan

GM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (South) Ignatius Chukwu

T

he release of the Nigerian Living Standards Survey 2019 by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is a commendable contribution to the country’s data sources and databank. The Living Standards Survey (NLSS 2019) comes at the critical time of ongoing analyses and contemplation of the implications of the double whammy of COVID-19 and the near decimation of the oil industry. It should be a handy reference for the Federal Executive Council and the Council of States, among others.

The highlight of the report is a new baseline for assessing poverty in the country. The NLSS says that the Nigerian poverty line is an aggregate expenditure of N137,400 per person per year representing the monetary value of the food and non-food spending needed for an individual to achieve a basic level of warfare.

Food expenditure minimum is N81,767 per person per year.

The food expenditure draws on

an aggregate per capita calorie allowance of 2251 calories per day.

Included in the consumption aggregate are expenditures on food, schooling and education, healthcare and housekeeping, Housing, and maintenance. The figures indicate that with the faithful implementation of the minimum wage of N30000 monthly or N360,000 per annum, workers in Nigeria should live above the poverty line.

Unfortunately, implementation of the new minimum wage agreed in 2018 has been a tussle in many states.

NLSS 2019 puts the number of poor Nigerians at 40.1 percent.

It translates to 82.9 million of the 200 million Nigerians. The bulk of the poor, 52 percent, live in rural areas while only 18 per cent are in urban centres.

NBS says the calculation of poverty numbers excludes Borno State, the epicentre of the Boko Haram crisis, as it could not conduct surveys therein.

The “per cent of poverty line” per state confirms that the states in the North East and North West

of the country deliver the worst numbers in percentage terms. The figures are Taraba 42.38, Sokoto 38.82, and Jigawa 38.73. Others are Adamawa 27.64, Zamfara 26.48, Yobe 26.48 and Niger State 21.68.

The Nigerian average is 12.9 percent.

Ebonyi sticks out as the sore thumb in the figures for southern Nigeria, posting a score of 34.09 percent poverty index. Neighbouring Enugu State follows with 16 percent.

Other southern states are Cross River 9.7, Abia 7.2, Imo 6.9, Akwa Ibom 7.3, Rivers 5.5, Bayelsa 5.3, Anambra 3.2, Ondo 2.3, Edo 2.9.

Lagos 0.7, Delta 0.9, Osun 1.4, Ogun 1.6, and Oyo 1.9 make up the numbers.

There is a correlation between education, their occupation and gender of people to poverty—the less educated, female, and not holding a top job, the more likely to be poor.

According to the NBS, “The Nigerian Living Standards Survey (NLSS) is the official survey that

is the basis for measuring poverty and living standards. The NBS conducted the latest round of the NLSS between September 2018 and October 2019 after a decade.

It is a representative survey with a sample size of 22,110 households, focusing on increasing household and individual demographics (age, gender, marital status, among others), access to education, health and basic services, employment, assets, and income. The survey measures the prevalence of poverty and to estimate a wide range of socio-economic indicators, including benchmarking of the Sustainable Development Goals.”

Unfortunately, users cannot compare the results of this survey with the previous one ten years earlier. NBS claims it is because of changes in methodology that mean the apple of 2019 is akin to the grape of 2010. Even so, other surveys are available, including the National Demographic and Health Survey 2018. The critical task is for the Federal and state governments to step up and step in to improve these numbers, despite.

HEAD, HUMAN RESOURCES Adeola Obisesan

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

Enquiries NEWS ROOM 08169609331 08116759816 08033160837

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Mission Statement To be a diversified provider of superior business, financial and management intelligence across platforms accessible to our customers anywhere in the world.

BusinessDay avidly thrives on the mainstay of our core values of being The Fourth Estate, Credible, Independent, Entrepreneurial and Purpose-Driven.

• The Fourth Estate: We take pride in being guarantors of liberal economic thought • Credible: We believe in the principle of being objective, fair and fact-based • Independent: Our quest for liberal economic thought means that we are independent of private and public interests.

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Friday 08 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

13

cityfile Plateau: 11 family members placed on supervised isolation

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Lagos back to business, shun social distancing as lockdown ends .

Pic by Pius Okeosisi

Covid-19: LASTMA raises concern as Lagos drivers shun guidelines

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agos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) has expressed concern over non-compliance with the guidelines on physical distancing aimed at curbing the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) by privatelyowned public bus operators.

Olajide Oduyoye, the general manager of LASTMA, said only tricycle operators were heeding the social distancing directive as it relates to public transportation.

Oduyoye, who also lamented the flagrant disregard of commuters to physical distancing directives at bus stops, said that some commuters were found to be defending drivers who carried the required number of passengers.

According to him, the au-

thority observed that some commercial motorcyclists are also operating in spite of the ban on their operations across the state.

“The awareness has increased but the non-compliance by privately operated bus service is worrying. Okada operators are also not respecting the total ban on their activities.

We have confirmed reports of operations in areas like Egbeda, Apapa and Itire axis.

“So far, it is the Keke Marwa operators who appear to be supportive and carrying the maximum two passengers allowed. We pray they keep to this,” said the LASTMA boss.

Oduyoye added that the enforcement agencies were aware of the flagrant disobedience to law and order, meant for the safety of the society and

would address it.

He said that the major concern was the willingness of commuters to violate the required distance from each other either at the bus stops or inside the buses.

According to him, commuters seem not to care for themselves or unaware of the seriousness of the virus.

“It’s amazing that instead of fighting to maintain a distance from persons they know nothing about, they are ready to fight and argue that danfo should be allowed to carry three passengers per row.

“This is in addition to the already tight row arrangement existing in these buses.

The distance between passengers seated between one row and the front is less than 12 inches,” he said.

He urged transport operators and commuters to cooperate with the government for everyone to stay alive.

Oduyoye said that the authority would not relent in its enforcement drive, to curb the spread of the virus which had infected 2950 persons and killed 98 people in the country.

President Muhammadu Buhari had announced gradual easing of the lockdown of Lagos, Ogun and Abuja, from Monday, May 5, after five weeks’ lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19.

The Lagos State government consequently issued new transport operational guidelines, which include observance of physical distance in vehicles, compulsory use of face masks and others to prevent spread of the virus.

FCTA arrests 43 night travellers James Kwen, Abuja

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ederal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) Enforcement Team on Night Movement Restriction has intercepted vehicles conveying over 43 passengers from different parts of the country.

Chairman of the enforcement team, Ikharo Attah, who disclosed in Abuja, said the defaulters were apprehended at the

popular AYA roundabout in Asokoro district of the FCT. Attah explained that occupants of the vehicles, mostly commercial buses, who breached the night curfew imposed on the territory, were coming from Kano, Niger, Benue and Kaduna States.

He said that the drivers and motorists were immediately turned back and escorted by security personnel out of the FCT. “S o m e o f t h e F C T bound passengers, inwww.businessday.ng

cluding a woman and her two children, came in from Benue State. In spite of the night curfew imposed by President Muhammadu Buhari many persons are still adamant on breaking the order,” he said.

He called on enforcement officers in states near to the FCT to wake up to their responsibilities by ensuring that motorists do not cross their checkpoints during the period of the ban on interstate movement.

Attah queried why “se-

curity men” would allow violators of the presidential order to travel freely at night in spite of the numerous checkpoints mounted by various security agencies across the country.

According to him, the team in the course of discharging its duty met a lady, who was robbed and stabbed by a suspected ‘one-chance’ driver.

“We rushed her to Maitama Hospital, where doctors attended to her,” Attah added.

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lateau Commissioner for health, Lar Ndam, has said that 11 family members who had contact with a COVID-19 patient have been traced and placed on supervised isolation.

“We traced the family members of a patient who lives in Enugu State. We took their blood samples to the testing centre in Vom for confirmation.

“Unfortunately, one of the 12 family members tested positive and the remaining 11 have been placed on supervised isolation,” Ndam said on Wednesday.

He explained that another test would be carried out on the suspects after 14 days to determine their status again before their certification as free from the virus.

“The state government is doing everything possible to

ensure that the virus does not spread,” he added.

On the sick man from Kanam local government area who died on Tuesday, he said, the cause of death was yet to be determined.

“We have taken his sample and awaiting the result. The state is maintaining two quarantine centres at the NYSC Orientation Camp and the Godiya Tourists Resort where coronavirus lockdown defaulters are being kept for observation,” he said.

The commissioner appealed to all residents of Plateau to cooperate and support the government in its effort to curb the spread of the virus by maintaining good hygiene and social distancing.

“Anyone caught without a face mask will be arrested and prosecuted in accordance with the laid down rules and regulations,” Ndam said. NAN

Firm donates items to Imo community Godfrey Ofurum

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n Abuja based company, AIG SYNERGY Limited, has donated hand sanitizers, nose masks, soaps and hand washing containers and personal protection equipment, worth over N1 million to the people of Eziama-Obi, Orodo autonomous community, in Mbaitolu local government area of Imo State.

George Eze, managing director/CEO, AIG SYNERGY Limited, who is an indigene of the community, explained that the materials would be distributed to every household in the area.

He explained that the concluded one-day medical outreach in EziamaObi, Orodo autonomous community, was part of the firm’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) to the community, geared towards mobilising health workers to provide healthcare services to the people.

According to him, we deplored health workers to Eziama, to educate and sensitize the people on ba@Businessdayng

sic hygiene, which is necessary in the prevention of illnesses like coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) and Lassa fever.

“Our desire to provide access to healthcare facilities to the people of Eziama and its environs was as a result poor basic health facilities in Eziama. We have also decided to make this medical outreach an annual event”.

He appealed to Imo state government and lawmakers representing various constituencies in the state to key into the medical outreach, by adopting innovative approach to attract and retain health professionals in the area.

Sabastain Okwu, Imo state coordinator of World Health Organisation (WHO), who led the medical team on the mission, praised Ezeh for investing in the wellbeing of the people.

Emeka Iwumeze, president general, Eziama-Obi, Orodo Town Union, commended AIG SYNERGY Limited and urged other well-meaning individuals in the area, to emulate the company.

14

Friday 08 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

COMPANIES & MARKETS

COMPANY NEWS ANALYSIS INSIGHT

COVID-19: CreditRegistry offers free credit reporting to lenders SEGUN ADAMS

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reditRegistry, a credit bureau, is offering lenders free usage of its credit reporting service to cushion the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses.

This offer, estimated at more than N25 million, is timed to come into effect with the commencement of the phased easing of the lockdown on May 4, 2020 in Lagos, FCT and Ogun as announced by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Lenders not yet subscribed to its platform are able to use CreditRegistry’s credit reporting service at no cost throughout the month of May. This offer enables lenders, especially Fintechs, to process as many loans as desired, reduce operational costs and pass the savings to customers who urgently need help and financial support now as a result of the pandemic impact. Commenting on the offer, CreditRegistry’s CEO, Jameelah Sharrieff-Ayedun, had this to say, “Notwithstanding the current arduous circumstances, CreditRegistry remains committed to empowering and supporting our loyal members.

We all have a part to play so during this challenging time we are contributing to help businesses

thrive so that more Nigerians can remain employed.

“CreditRegistry is offering new members access to our services at no cost in May 2020.

We hope that our contribution will support lenders so they can extend critical lending support

to more customers.”

She said, “As Nigeria is set to reopen, regroup, rethink, reimagine, rebuild and recover, as a socially responsible brand, CreditRegistry aims to collaborate with lenders to empower individuals and businesses

with faster access to affordable credit ‘one loan at a time’.”

In addition to the free offer campaign to new members, CreditRegistry is championing more efficient and cost-saving models for its existing members to operate. CreditRegistry’s Au-

toCred REST API provides the means for lenders to automate access to credit reports and its proprietary SMARTScore in order to facilitate split-second processing of large volumes of loan transactions at significant cost savings, while ensuring

L-R: Seriki Adamu Jibril, seriki for the blind; Seriki Ahmadu Gaya, Seriki for people with leprosy, destitute Home, Yaba, Lagos receiving COVID 19 food items palliatives from Alhaji Dr Aminu Gwadabe, President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria ABCON and Alhaji Gbadamosi Muritala, National Treasurer during the presentation of the food items to the Destitute Home in Yaba, Lagos on Wednesday.

business continuity.

Existing members that implement the AutoCred REST API in May 2020 will also benefit from the Free Offer Campaign. Lenders can process more credit applications faster and more creditworthy Nigerians can benefit from loans at this critical time.

CreditRegistry’s free offer campaign is highly supportive of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) loan facility made available to help Nigerian families and businesses during this crisis.

The apex bank has introduced several initiatives including the reduction of cost of lending on funds from the Nigeria Incentive-based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL MFB), the national microfinance bank which has commenced the disbursement of CBN’s N50 billion Targeted Credit Facility (TCF) to MSMEs affected by COVID-19.

CreditRegistry - the voice of credit in Nigeria - has over 20 products and services available to lenders and the general public, including its SMARTScore and CreditConnection. Since pioneering private credit bureau services in 2003, CreditRegistry has been steadfastly serving leading financial and non-financial organisations.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Emerging Markets see $17.1bn capital inflow AXA Mansard see rebound on 17% growth in 2019 profit in April on buoyant Chinese securities SEGUN ADAMS

SEGUN ADAMS

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fter a recordbreaking outflow in March, Emerging Markets (EM) securities attracted around $17.1bn in April, according to Washingtonbased International Institution of Finance (IIF).

The IIF, in its monthly report which tracks nonresident portfolio flows, said the recovery is mainly supported by debt flows and China equity flows.

“During April, the cascading nature of the pandemic left some emerging markets depressed, while others stabilized. Thus, we see a clear distinction between equity and debt flows for this month,” it said.

D e b t f l o w s re a c h e d $15.1bn but investors remained risk-off towards equities while outflows from EMs excluding China reached $6.3bn even though China saw a net inflow of

$8.2bn. Offshore investors were also strong on Asia with $7.3bn inflows in the month and Latin America with $3bn.

Last month, the Washington-based institution warned that EM should be bracing up for another round of outflows due to bleaker growth outlook on the coronavirus fallout.

The institute said in addition to another wave of capital flight, there would likely be substantial valuation losses in Q1 2020 that would reduce foreign investor exposure to the region very substantially - a decline which combined with dovish global central banks is a stabilizing force for EM. The institute had reported that EM securities suffered around $83.3bn in outflows during March, a record-breaking outflow episode worse than during the global financial crisis, the China devaluation scare of 2015 and the taper tantrum

in 2014.

The flow reversal was due to the impact of uncertainty around the spread of the COVID-19, large oil price plunge and financial shocks which dampened global growth projections.

It estimated Debt outflows at $31.0bn, the secondlargest monthly outflow on record, the largest having occurred in October 2008.

On the equity side, IIF said the negative trend which it observed in March deepened, with outflows from China equities amounting to $12.3bn and flows to the remaining EM equity universe reaching -$40.1bn, the highest since it began publishing its trackers.

“Despite improving flows, we believe that not all emerging markets are in the clear yet, as the combination of lingering uncertainty around COVID-19 and limited policy space is a challenge for some,” said IIF in its latest tracker published in May.

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XA Mansard Insurance and its subsidiary companies grew profit after tax by a 17 percent for 2019 full-year, marking a strong rebound for the insurance and asset management services provider after profit dropped in the prior year.

The insurer posted a profit of N2.91bn for the 2019 business year, compared to N2.48bn in 2018, according to the company’s full-year scorecard published on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) Wednesday.

In 2018, AXA Mansard’s profit slowed by 7 percent but the insurer bounced recording growth in its gross wr itten premium while pressure on its investment income eased and the group saw impairment costs drop.

Gross written premium rose 29 percent to N43.6bn and the group reported that gross premium income for

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the financial service group rose 27 percent in the reporting period to N41.6bn with health and life insurance businesses as tailwinds.

Net premium income was 33 percent higher at N26.3bn while a 5 percent increase in fees and commission on insurance contracts pushed net underwriting income to N28.17bn compared to N21.48bn in the same period of 2018.

Net under writing expenses increased in 2019 by about 41 percent to N22bn.

Total underwriting profit rose 3 percent to N6.12bn w h i l e t o t a l i nv e s t m e n t income remained flat at N6.31bn.

Notably, impairment on other assets declined from N1bn in 2018 to N45.7mn last year while AXA Mansard saw a writeback of premium receivables to the tune of N40.91mn compared to a N44.64mn impairment on the item in the previous year.

As a result, operating profit rose to N4.37bn last @Businessdayng

year compared to N3.82 in 2018, an increase of 14 percent in the reporting period.

Finance cost roughly remained flat at N443.83mn leading to a profit before tax of N3.93bn, a 16 percent increase year-on-year.

In response to the novel coronavirus outbreak, AXA Mansard launched a telemedicine service to enable its health customers virtually visit the hospital and see a doctor from the comfort of their homes through their phones, laptops or tablets.

The service provides a platform that connects patients with licensed doctors who can consult, diagnose, prescribe medication and make recommendations on medical conditions and treatments.

AXA Mansard also made donations including splash resistant suits/coveralls, N95 Masks, and announced a donation of N100 million’s worth of life insurance cover for 100 medical professionals across Lagos, Abuja and Ibadan.

Friday 08 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

COMPANIES&MARKETS

Business Event

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REAL ESTATE

Knight Frank supports Lagos Covid-19 response with food items, face masks KELECHI EWUZIE

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ndependent residential and commercial property consultancy firm, Knight Frank Nigeria, has lent its support to Lagos State government on the fight against Covid-19 pandemic.

The company recently distributed food items and face masks to over 1000 residents of Lagos Island East Local Council Development Area, Ajele Constituency.

Its authorities explained during the distribution of the materials that it was bothered by the increasing trend and spread of Coronavirus pandemic and hunger among Lagos residents, saying that the distribution of the items was part of its efforts at supporting the state government in providing palliatives for fighting Covid-19 impact.

Frank Okosun, CEO, Knight Frank Nigeria, observed at the event that in this Coronavirus pandemic period, families,

colleagues and organisations are at their wit’s end, but in spite of the challenges of the times, organisations should align with the state government by being committed to making meaningful impact, staying safe and helping others.

According to him, “we as a company believe that, with collaboration, we can stop the spread of this virus. We just finished feeding about 1000 people and providing them with face masks, we are happy about the turnout of the people to share in what Knight Frank is offering.”

Okosun commended Lagos State government for its exemplary efforts, being at the forefront of this fight against the pandemic which first occurred on February 27, 2020 in the state.

Olarenwaju Suleiman Afinni, Lagos State House of Assembly Representative (Lagos Island II Constituency), lauded Knight Frank Nigeria for their effort and that of other private sector organisations

for the way they have rallied round government with their support in the fight against this pandemic.

Afinni said that the feeding programme and the provision of facemasks to the people of his constituency was one of the collaborative steps taken alongside the company to reach out to residents of Lagos Island. Knight Frank Nigeria has, over the last five decades, grown to be one of the largest firms of estate surveyors and valuers in Nigeria and across Sub-Saharan Africa.

The firm’s growth is attributed to its high-standards of professionalism, commercial acumen and integrity. The firm adopts a personal approach in building client relationship and providing professional service in all areas of property in key markets.

The company is optimistic that although the Convid-19 situation has not changed much, it remains positive about a coronavirus-free Lagos and Nigeria.

L-R: Babatunde Awodiji, vice president, Finance, Change Africa Foundation; Kola Lawal, vice president, Event Management, Change Africa Foundation; Olamide Olabisi, president, Change Africa Foundation; Modupe Adebambo, proprietress Lekki Motherless Babies Home; and Posi Lawore, vice president, Projects Change Africa Foundation when the extended relief materials to orphanage homes.

L-R: Biodun Bamgbade, consultant; Bisola Olusanya, special adviser to Lagos State Governor on Agriculture; Gbolahan Lawal, Commissioner for Agriculture, Lagos State; Effiong James, financial controller, Sunlight Resources Limited; Taiwo Adeleke, human resources manager, Sanjay Munshi, distribution manager during the donation of 1000 cartons of Fun Snax Corn Flakes and Choco Champs to Lagos State government as palliatives support to Covid-19 pandemic fight in Lagos.

Sunlight Resources donates 1,000 cartoons of products to LASG as Covid-19 palliative KELECHI EWUZIE

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etermined to reduce the impact of coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak on Lagos communities, Sunlight Resources Limited, a food production and packaging company, has donated 1,000 cartons of its products to the Lagos State Government as support to the state’s palliative measures.

Effiong James, financial controller, Sunlight Resources Limited says the gesture is part of the company’s contribution to lessen the burden of Coronavirus pandemic on Lagos residents as the consumables would go a long way to alleviate poverty.

“We are here to support the government of Lagos State in providing our own palliative. We discovered that the Covid-19 lockdown has been a very big problem to the poor and State Government is doing a lot in alleviating the suffering of the poor”, James said. www.businessday.ng

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Stating that the pandemic has negatively affected the business world, the financial controller stated that the company aside from this donation, had previously donated about 500 cartons of their products to Mushin Local Government which is the closest community where they operate.

“We play in the food sector so government has given us space to produce and supply to the market. We have done a lot to ensure that we don’t stop production. We try to also keep the production and supply to the market during the lockdown”, he said.

James however stated that sourcing for foreign exchange to do business during the Covid-19 period has been a huge challenge for those in the manufacturing sector. He urged the government to push for sectoral allocation of forex and also give priority to food producers in order to fast track the economy post Covid-19.

He further called on government to address electric@Businessdayng

ity problem, stating that with constant electricity, manufacturers would spend less on alternative power supply as that money would be channeled towards production and making the price of goods cheaper for the consumers.

He however showed optimism that with the easing of the lockdown, the company as a leader in cheese ball production and supply, would go back to normal production to support the production value chain.

Gbolahan Lawal, commissioner for Agriculture, Lagos State while receiving the donation on behalf of the State Government lauded Sunlight Resources Limited for their effort and that of other private sector organisations for the way they have rallied round government with their support in the fight against this pandemic.

Lawal says that the food products given to the government is one of the collaborative steps taken to reach out to poor and less privilege in Lagos State.

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Friday 08 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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Friday 08 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

17

MONEYINSIGHT Keeping users steps ahead of cyber-attacks, Cisco offers connectivity without compromise OLAKUNLE OLORUNTIMEHIN

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t his home on a warm, bright afternoon, Olu talks over the phone to the police about an unfamiliar activity that took place on his corporate bank account. “I had received an email about donating towards the COVID-19 relief funds…” he paused; it seemed a cloud appeared above him with drops of realization. He then exclaimed, “My online identity has been hacked!”.

Forty-five year old Olu, who is also the managing partner at a top architectural firm in Nigeria, may sound more extreme than expected, but go about just anywhere in the world right now and there will be trickles of reports about people experiencing cyber attacks. With weeks of lockdown rules tucked into the lives of people globally due to the coronavirus pandemic, an opportunity has risen for cybercriminals to focus more on innovative methods.

The global coronavirus crisis has dislocated the existing state of affairs; individuals and businesses are now managing operations remotely with a heavy reliance on digital tools for easy connectivity and collaboration to achieve business goals. This and not to mention the uncertainty and fear of the pandemic, has created a rising threat in the cyber space.

Cyber security is beyond the standards of simply using a sophisticated device, it is the practice of protecting devices, networks and programs from digital attacks, which are aimed at accessing, changing or destroying delicate data and information; extracting money from users or simply disrupting regular business procedures.

There are various cyber security threats; the most common is the practice of sending emails that look like mails from reputable organiza-

tions, this is known as Phishing and the aim is to get sensitive data such as credit card numbers and login information. Another type of threat is Malware which is a software built to gain unauthorized access and damage to computers. The current tactic which some may be experiencing during this pandemic is Social Engineering – where people are tricked into revealing sensitive information. Ultimately, social engineering is used when cybercriminals are seeking payment for a cause or to gain access to private banking data. A lot of times, a combination of all these threats are used for a particular user and unless there are certain measures in place, the user will most likely fall victim.

Implementing effective cyber security measures could be challenging in today’s world, however, users seemingly have an understanding of basic data security principles such as choosing strong, hard-to-guess passwords, being cautious of clicking links or opening attachments within emails, making sure devices are not left unattended and of course, backing up data frequently. A few days into the current COVID-19 lockdown being implemented, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) issued a

warning on the ongoing trend of cybercriminals who are deploying several techniques to retrieve sensitive data and gain unauthorized access to computers and mobile devices of citizens. The CBN urged people to disregard any emails or messages sent on behalf of health organizations and should also be conscientious of browsing sites and social networks.

Even raising more security concerns, is video and teleconferencing tools being used as major communication channels. Assuredly, they are effective tools, which guarantee fast and simple connectivity amongst individuals or businesses especially with the confinement measures in place due to the pandemic; however, one might also wonder how data security is guaranteed.

With the myriad of video and teleconferencing apps in demand right now, many, without realizing, by acquiring these apps, may have opened a gateway for cybercriminals to access their personal data. The true question lies in the fact that every business or individual requires a solution that guarantees long-term security benefits which will be used on a regular basis. For decades, global technology leader, Cisco,

has been a part of this journey of delivering effective security solutions to individuals and businesses.

Cisco’s cyber security technology is designed to protect computers, smart devices, network and data centres, web and email systems and the cloud. It’s cyber security combination is backed by an approach which provides easy and accurate detection of an attack, stops the threats before, during and after the attacks and supports new capabilities for devices. The technology also transcends to delivering simplified cloud protection with the Cisco Umbrella and DUO Security offering.

The Umbrella combines multiple security functions into a single cloud security solution which extends protection features to devices, remote users and distributed locations anywhere; ultimately Umbrella is the most flexible and simple way businesses can secure users everywhere without the need for physical configuration.

Still on the tracks of cloud-based security, the DUO features trusted access solutions for users to protect all applications and data no matter how large. Essentially, an organisation’s journey with the DUO Secu-

rity would include: verification of user identities with a two-factor authentication feature; endpoint visibility that shows all the devices used to access corporate applications; real time inspection of all devices to ensure trustworthiness.

Also, enforcement of risk-based and adaptive access policies and a secured user permission to access all protected applications (onpremises or cloud-based) through a uniform, frictionless interface accessible from anywhere.

In addition, Cisco’s Webex tools for videoconferencing, which is backed by Cisco’s rich history of cyber security, is built with endto-end security to ensure that all participants can communicate and connect freely with privacy features in place. Even more, the Webex tool drives consumer preference with its safe and easy-to-use functionalities; Webex can be downloaded easily from the site and also found on the iOS Appstore and Google Play Store or Amazon Appstore for Android. Webex meetings permit up to 100 participants with features including HD video, screen sharing and a personal room. Ultimately sitting at the core of the Webex tool is Cisco’s solid security component, which allows organizations to connect and collaborate without compromise.

There is no question that cyber security is so important in today’s highly connected world, especially in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. An attack by cybercriminals can indeed affect operations of businesses and organizations by causing long-term harm such as identity theft, to extorting money and loss of important data. However, Cisco prepares the world with its range of overall strong security functions especially with its communication tool, Webex.

Oloruntimehin is the General Manager for Cisco, Nigeria

How CRC Credit leveraged technology to sustain lending amid coronavirus lockdown STEPHEN ONYEKWELU

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RC Credit Bureau has used Applicat i o n P ro g ra m m e Interface (API) to make lending easier for financial institutions who have automated their lending applications during the novel coronavirus induced lockdown.

With CRC’s API, lenders and other credit granters could continue to grant loans and postpaid services via an automated process by accessing CRC’s robust data-

base of over 33 million credit profiles, as one of the criteria needed for decision making. This enables swift informed lending decisions by obtaining quick access to prospective and repeat borrowers’ credit information in seconds.

With the restriction of movement instated by the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, prospective borrowers were no longer able to physically visit their commercial banks, microfinance banks or other lending institutions to apply for loans to take care of their personal needs www.businessday.ng

or finance their businesses.

This made the online mediums or electronic-channels, popularly known as e-channels, the most favourable method of initiating credit requests and other banking transactions such as mobile apps, internet banking, unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) codes etcetera.

With CRC Credit Bureau’s API solutions, lenders can still carry out their credit transactions efficiently and effectively during and post COVID-19.

‘Tunde Popoola, managing

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director and chief executive officer CRC Credit Bureau Limited, said during a crisis and economic upheaval, what usually happens is that lenders become more risk-averse but with the CRC API solution, lenders can continue to grant loans to prospective borrowers without lending in the dark. Borrowers can have continued access to finance for various purposes, and still enjoy a good standard of living.

Lenders can have access to CRC’s API solution in three easy @Businessdayng

steps: request for the API Integration Kit, test and go live.

CRC Credit Bureau provides a nationwide repository on credit profiles of corporate entities as well as consumers, thus improving the ability of credit providers and borrowers to make informed lending and borrowing decisions. The bureau’s database covers the credit industry which includes commercial banks, non-bank institutions, retailers, utility service providers and fintech.

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Friday 08 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

HEALTH BUSINESS&LIFE Covid-19: Healthcare centres still Now that we are all above the lack access to hygiene facilities age of 60Years: What Next?

GODSGIFT ONYEDINEFU, Abuja

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ell-being foundation has expressed concerns that despite the key role Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) plays in stopping disease transmission of diseases, a significant number od health care centres lack hygiene facilities.

Toyin Saraki, president, Well-being, said two out of five healthcare facilities still lack hand hygiene facilities at points of care, even as the country battles the deadly Coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Saraki disclosed this in her message to salute midwifery professionals as the world marks International Day of the Midwife 2020. She said the day is remarkable in many respects and is truly momentous, as it takes place in the first ever Year of the Nurse and the Midwife.

“This year has been designated by the World Health Organization as a year-long effort to celebrate the work of midwives and their colleagues, highlight the challenging conditions they often face, and advocate for increased investments in the workforce.

Coker A. Olurotimi

Saraki noted that Infection prevention and control is at the top of the global agenda right now and therefore launched the ‘We Must Applaud Midwives with WASH’ campaign, to highlight the need to ensure that they have the conditions they need to work safely and deliver for women, babies and communities.

She also paid tribute to midwives who have lost their lives in the course of their duties, not only during the current COVID-19 crisis but also those in recent years who have paid the ultimate price in conflict areas.

“Whatever the circumstances, however dangerous, midwives continue to provide a continuum of care, standing beside women at their most vulnerable moments. I know that I will have many midwives, including close friends,

in my prayers today.

The president further said midwives are champions of women’s rights; but can only be effective if their rights are also secure.

“This includes the right for every midwifeand all health workers to decent work and a safe and dignified workplace.

Saving lives does not mean a midwife should risk her own.

“I continue to advocate for whole-system support, which means providing midwives with the adequate tools, equipment, and medicine to provide the full scope of timely, high-quality care, and the capacity to carry out the WHO-recommended 8 antenatal visits. We should all take up the call of the International Confederation of Midwives to celebrate, demonstrate, mobilise and unite with midwives,” she said.

Flying Doctors launches Covid Mobile to ramp up testing, protect health workers …medical laboratory scientists commend initiative CHUKA UROKO

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n an effort to ramp up Covid-19 testing which is still very slow in Nigeria and also to protect frontline health workers, Flying Doctors Healthcare Investment Company has launched what it calls ‘Covid Mobile’.

Covid Mobile is a sample taking vehicle that could help ramp up testing whose mission is to protect Nigereria’s healthcare workers who are taking samples from potentially infected patients in the field.

Evidently, COVID-19 pandemic is having impact across the world and how hard this will touch Africa in general and Nigeria in particular remains to be seen.

This makes preparations and professional response to the crisis are a must so as to be sure that its impact is kept as manageable as possible.

The good news, however, is that the call is being heard and answered and it is that call that prompted Flying Doctors Healthcare Investment Company to launch ‘COVID Mobile’ Experts agree that the group of people that is most at risk of contracting COVID-19 from samples is medical laboratory scientists.

“This COVID test vehicle will benefit our members in a number of ways, the most important being that it reduces the risk of infection,” said Olumide Fatogbe, the Lagos State chairman of the Association of Medical Lab Scientists who was a special guest at the

L--R: Ola Brown, Founder, Flying Doctors Healthcare Investment Company; Olumide Fatogbe, chairman, Lagos Chapter of Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria; Theo Esene and Alex Nwokobi at the demo event of the COVID-19 Testing Vehicle in Lagos recently

launch of Covid Mobile in Lagos.

Fatogbe commended Ola Brown and his team at the Flying Doctors Healthcare Investment Company for this life-saving prototype.

“A couple of our members in Lagos have already been infected, and we see the number of healthcare workers abroad who have also been infected. We don’t want a repeat of that in Nigeria,’’ he said.

The chairman noted that first, the COVID-19 test vehicle will protect healthcare workers by shielding them from direct patient contact, thus preventing transmission, pointing out that this has been a tremendous problem in Europe, the United States, and Asia.

Secondly, this solution will save money as personal protective equipment (PPE) will not need to be changed between patients as there will be no direct patient contact. “This saving, which could be up to N10 million per week, will definitely be useful www.businessday.ng

funds to be used in other areas,” he noted.

Third, Fatogbe explained that because the number of medical lab scientists in Nigeria is small compared to developed countries, it has become even more vital to optimise their time for the greater good.

“The time spent on teams travelling and testing people in their individual homes and even spent asking for directions could all otherwise limit the number of tests per day,” he said, adding, “getting the most out of the lab scientists’ time, while maintaining safety, is a must.”

He pointed out that the COVID test vehicle also provided a layer of security far beyond entering into patients’ homes.

“All in all, this is a smart solution that will not only keep our members on the frontline safer, but also save money and conserve time and PPE, which are experiencing a global shortage,” he submitted.

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ll of a sudden, I reached that Diamond Jubilee ripe old age of sixty.

At sixty, civil and public servants retire, those in the corporate industries too, are expected to retire. How can one suddenly reach the age of 60 years unawares? Again, just like a jiffy, all my friends and former classmates are all retired.

This news of achieving this diamond jubilee is so shocking and unbelievable that I am still in a state of shudderas I write this article on aging and retirement.

Despite the fact that diamond Jubilee should be expected and celebrated, I am not celebrating for many reasons. Although ageing is not a sickness, it is a natural process; how come many are not prepared for that natural process? Anyway, these are my thoughts on retirement.

The first reason is that retired people do not earn about ten percent of what they were earning before retirement; therefore retired guys are permanently cashstrapped. For this reason, they may not even have enough money to buy medications to manage the chronic illnesses associated with the diamond jubilee.

Secondly, if you are lucky or unlucky, the children may have or have not left your house. If they are in your house, you are probably still feeding them and taking care of their needs. If they have left the house, they may or may not visit you as you really want. They will not visit you because they have to work hard to sustain their family too. Will they remember to give you money in your retirement? That is a doubtful question with debatable answer.

Thirdly, for those that have not built their comfortable country retirement houses, paying rent in retirement can become expensive, and to avoid such big expenditure, the retired fellow may need to move from the comfortable centre of the city to one remote area of the city. In such conurbations, neighbours may not be as friendly as those from his previous abode. The water and power supplies may equally not as friendly.

Fourthly, the social and sports clubs that the retired used to frequently attend become a journey too stressful from the new residence. I have seen cases where the spouses of the retired gentle-

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men claimed categorically that they were not moving with the retired husbands to any remote village. I have equally seen cases whereby the spouses abandon the retired men to spend endless months and years with their children abroad with the excuse that they had gone to assist the daughter who delivered a baby.

Fifthly, paying the annual levies and dues of societies such as the spiritual, social, cultural, charity and sports clubs that baba belongs become too financially burdensome for him to cope with. In most cases, he stops attending such beautiful and exciting gatherings which may further isolate him socially and spiritually. Similarly, the dwindling finances may even prevent the retired daddy from charging his GSM handset.

Consequent upon all this, either surreptitiously or obviously, consciously or unconsciously, the chronic physical ailments such as prostate enlargement, diabetes and hypertension of the retired man may gradually get worse and may now bring along comorbid emotional symptoms of mental health disorders such as generalised anxieties, depression, and senile dementia which may manifest as confusion, loss of memory, attention and concentration. The news and observation of colleagues dying may also put the fear of death into the poor retired formerly bubbling and happy man.

Furthermore, the tales and woes of the unprepared retirees are endless and pitiable. What is the way out of the forever repeating human adversity? Even the prepared ones are not left out of the physical and mental health issues of the elderly. Below are some healthy tips to help the retirees from developing unnecessary physical and mental health issues that may further compound their frustrations.

Retirees should endeavour not to stay alone in their houses, where the spouses are not with them, they should get somebody to stay with them. Loneliness is a precursor of mental illness such as depression.

Even if they cannot afford to go to their various societies, and clubs, they cannot afford to miss out the fun at their Old School meetings. For example, monthly meetings of my alma mater, Comprehensive High School, Ayetoro, Ogun State Old School Associations Set Meetings are always a delight to attend. That is one venue where old men regress to the level of small boys temporarily. This is one pertinent reason why retirees must keep on respecting old school friendships.

Regarding their health @Businessdayng

status, the retired people should take their medications religiously. They should find the money to do their annual medical check-ups and laboratory tests. It is also imperative that they take, at least, thirty minutes’ walkevery day to renew their ageing body. To maintain very good physical health status, they should avoid eating solid food after 7. 00 pm; and when they feel hungry, they should eat fruits, vegetables and drink herbal tea or water.

Because they have plenty of time, they should also be creative with their time, they can learn to play any musical instrument, learn a new language, and crosswords puzzles.

They should read books and if possible, write books such as their memoirs.

Since the retirees are getting closer to their Creator, they should become more relevant in their churches or mosques. If they have not personally connected with God, this is the time to make that connection to further listen to His still voice.

Even after pouring my mind on this very important topic, I am still in a state of shock. I believe that my psychological and mental shock will go away when I start to make the amount of salary that I am earning now when I retire. How can that be possible?

Retirement should be preconceived immediately after being employed. If the average working years for civil and public servants is 30 years, why should one be caught off guard for this long period of time? If the organisations we work for refuse to remind us every five years that we need to work hard to prepare for our retirement, we must remind ourselves.

Nonetheless, I strongly believe that every employed person should take retirement seriously and also spend good amount of money to attend pre-retirement seminars and workshops annually ten years before the expected retirement date. That is one sure way one cannot be caught hands down after thirty or thirtyfive years of active service.

In conclusion, I know one very good organisation called STETONIC that organises in-house preretirement seminars and workshops for various types of organisations at an affordable cost. If your establishment needs one, kindly reach me on my email address: cokerrotimi@gmail. com.

Dr. Coker, Ayodele Olurotimi is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioural Medicine, based in Lagos, Nigeria.

Friday 08 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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POLITICS & POLICY Oronsaye Report: Why not put Tourism under direct supervision of the Presidency?

Given the recommendations of the Steve Oronsaye Committee, moving Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation to the direct supervision of the Presidency will afford it better international recognition and make it easier to market Nigeria’s tourism potentials at international conferences and events. It will also enable the sector grow money for Nigeria, Zebulon Agomuo writes.

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resident Muhammadu Buhari, in his nationwide broadcast of April 27, 2020, highlighted how the health systems and economies of many nations have continued to struggle as a result of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Just like other leaders around the world faced with the same difficult decisions of balancing the protection of their citizens’ health and preserving their livelihoods, Buhari is not insulated from the challenges.

“Nigeria continues to adopt and adapt to these new global realities on a daily basis,” the President had stated in his address.

With the current COVID-19 crisis, there are no rules or playbook yet for the situation while the right answer is constantly shifting. The exact timeline of recovery is still unclear —but many have even predicted a possible two- to six-month window to get to the rebounding stage of the crisis— when the impact will eventually pass.

Like every other country, the Nigerian government is deeply concerned about how to get her economy back on track after the COVID-19 era.

The question on many lips is in which sectors will some economic and business activities be restored? The obvious answer, in many instances, is tourism, considered as the lowest hanging fruit.

Major crises like COVID-19 almost always fundamentally change and evolve the status quo. It usually berths a new normal. For the tourism industry, it has been hard hit with the world’s most crowded destinations are deserted as governments shut borders, planes are grounded and there is a scramble to deal with the biggest impact on our world in recent history – COVID-19. As such, the urgent question may not just be a matter of getting the tourism industry’s engine restarted. Instead, the collective tourism stakeholder ecosystem must understand what has changed, and what will best position the industry to grow together and become a global force once again in the new normal.

The new normal will likely include everything from

Muhammadu Buhari

the minutiae of sanitation practices —with consumers wanting to know more about them— to broader topics such as the health of the nations/ports-of-call, the role of travel insurance, and issues unique to specific modes of travel —social distancing possible in modern air travel.

This is where the Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation, (NTDC), comes in as the Nigerian government’s tourism promotion agency to deal with those subject matters.

“Going back to normal for the travel, tourism and hospitality industry is possible but will not be easy. Policies such as limited gatherings, travel restrictions, hygiene requirements and the protection of vulnerable groups will lead to behavioural changes in consumers,” Folorunsho Coker, NTDC, director-general, said.

Coker views a mighty window of opportunity for tourism, as the pandemic offers a rare opportunity for reflection and recalibration to properly develop travel and tourism as it is uniquely equipped to be part of global recovery efforts.

Speaking with BusinessDay, Coker said: “The gradual shifts with disruptive technologies that are gaining ground —like the use of robotics and artificial intelligence— will be accelerated to become the new normal of zero to minimal human contact in transactions.”

Side-by-side with other sectors of the economy, Coker’s view is very relevant. With scores of professionals and www.businessday.ng

Folorunsho Coker

millions of workers active in the myriad of sub-segments of the very extensive tourism industry, the NTDC boss is kept on his toes constantly in response to the demands of his office.

The government tourism agency manager strongly wishes to draw attention to industries that had a set of players whose incomes were tied to services that have been put under lock and key. According to him, a lot of people seem not to reckon with the financial dividends that come from tourism, entertainment and creative-related activities that encompass concerts, hotels, night clubs, art shops, culture hubs, book shops, hair salons, tailoring services, transportation and laundry services to mention a few. Its 2018 revenue suggested that this sector generated cash transactions of over N50 billion in Lagos alone.

For these industry stakeholders, the COVID-19 lockdown would be a horrific economic nightmare they wish to wake up from. But once this present shutdown thaws, the tourism sector is expected to roar back to life, albeit gradually.

However, as the industry faces a new post-COVID-19 reality where countries would be vying for the hearts and minds of wary tourists, it will no longer be business as usual. But Coker and his team at the NTDC are ready.

He said: “As a nation, we need to consider and deploy innovative recovery solutions that are home grown

and practical, tailor made for our specific environment and people. They are in three possible policy thrusts: Healing for the People, Healing for Prosperity and Healing for Destinations —Health, Employment and Environment.”

But achieving this with NTDC, as an agency under a ministry, might be a Herculean task.

Travel and tourism is a labour-intensive industry.

Its economic and social footprint is greater than that of any other economic sector.

The pandemic has already created changes on many fronts and the possibilities for innovative solutions or consolidation of services abound.

Because of its multi-sectoral nature, tourism has been seen as the new oil with most forward thinking nations leveraging on it to reap economic benefits and grow their economies whilst also improving the quality of their infrastructure and the livelihood of their citizens.

In most of these countries that have harnessed their tourism potentials, the norm is to create a standalone Department, Agency or Parastatal in charge of all matters relating to tourism. Examples include the Singapore Tourism Board, Kenyan Tourism Board, Tanzania Tourism Bureau, Namibia Tourism Board and the South African Tourism Board. The head of these boards, in turn, report directly to their Presidents or heads of the government in view of tourism’s hydra-

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headed nature yet yielding substantial returns to grow their GDPs. In Nigeria, tourism accounts for only 1.7 per cent of National GDP. This is abysmally low in view of the myriad tourism potentials that exist across the breadth of the federation. However, experts have annexed this problem to the fact that in Nigeria, a very important agency like NTDC with the responsibility to implement and execute all Federal Government tourism policies, has been reduced to a miniature agency under the Ministry of Information and Culture —whose minister also supervises 21 other agencies of government.

This has led to a lot of bureaucratic red tape and a very slow pace of getting things done. The situation becomes blurrier when it was later realised that tourism is not even captured in the functions of the Ministry of Information and Culture.

This is one of the aberrations noted and spurred parts of the recommendations by the Presidential Panel on Rationalisation and Restructuring of Federal Government Parastatals headed by Steve Oronsaye, former head of the Civil Service of the Federation.

In the Executive Summary of the Oronsaye Report, it recommends that NTDC should be fully commercialised and seeks to shape a new direction for tourism management in Nigeria so as to minimize bureaucratic red tape and ensure that the @Businessdayng

country’s tourism potentials are effectively harnessed for national unity and development.

Given the new normal expected in the post COVID-19 travel and tourism industry, an NTDC under a direct supervision of the Presidency will be expeditious in delivering its responsibilities.

Experts have suggested that with a Presidential Executive Order, many policies would be pushed to re-flate the economy faster through tourism. The tourism industry in Nigeria today requires urgent funding and direct investment especially from the public sector. With the diversification of the economy becoming mandatory for the growth of the country, tourism, unarguably, is seen as one of the fastest ways out of the doldrums.

Private investors would be more assured if they can be certain of the Presidency role in tourism development. They believe that the President can order everyone including Immigration, Customs and embassies, while a minister cannot as he or she would still require the President’s approval.

More so, for those who canvassed for the status quo to be reviewed, moving NTDC to the direct supervision of the Presidency will afford it better international recognition and easier to market Nigeria’s tourism potentials at all international conferences and events. It will as well market Nigeria as the foremost destination in Africa.

According to Coker, priority position will be placed on tourism, thereby sending a message to the international community that Nigeria is ready for tourism, as well as sensitizing Nigerians on the need to embrace tourism for job creation, poverty alleviation and overall improvement of the economy.

“If suitable strategies are deployed, tourism can emerge from this current crisis as an even more important contributor to the 2030 Agenda of the Sustainable Development Goals, supporting livelihoods and creating opportunities for millions of people around the world and leaving nobody behind,” the NTDC boss further said.

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Friday 08 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

LEADINGWOMAN

Agatha Achindu, providing healthy options for healthy living God. I am kind and patient with me and never judge myself too harshly. All the above things radiate an outward glow that people see and I will forever be grateful to God for the gift of my life just the way it is.

KEMI AJUMOBI

Agatha Achindu is a wellness entrepreneur, speaker, and educator who specializes in helping families thrive, by transforming the way they live and feed their children. As the founder of Yummy Spoonfuls, a line of fresh-frozen organic food for kids, she’s on an unrelenting mission to make healthy food convenient and accessible for busy parents and families. A Certified Integrative Nutrition Coach and yoga instructor, she extends her mission further by offering a brand perspective that amplifies her message of whole living for modern times.

For Agatha, eating healthy and nutritious food has never been a trend, but instead, a way of life. Growing up on her parent’s organic farm in Cameroon, West Africa, the kitchen was the hub of activity for their family. Meals were made from scratch with fresh ingredients grown from the earth and this approach would become the foundation of her life’s work as a wife, mom, food activist, and businesswoman.

A former IT executive at a Fortune 500 company, Agatha left corporate America and launched Yummy Spoonfuls in 2006. Her goal was to give parents a way to feed their children healthy foods in a convenient way that matched their busy lifestyles. For her efforts and expertise, she has become a voice of authority in her field. Agatha is a regular contributor to the Washington Post, and has appeared in notable media outlets such as the Today Show, CNN, CBS, Forbes, Fortune, and People Magazine.

As a highly sought after and international speaker, Agatha is known for delivering passionate talks on a variety of topics, including organic food and farming, children’s health and nutrition, business development, marketing, supply chain, and more. She has served as a guest lecturer at colleges and universities both stateside and abroad, and has spoken at high profile events such as SXSW, the W.E.L.L. Summit, BlogHer, AmericaPack Summit, BroccoliCon, and the HOPE Global Forum. She is also a dedicated champion for women in business and seeks to empower them with practical strategies to pursue their dreams without sacrificing their well-being.

Agatha’s platform represents what it means to live a whole, full, and vibrant life that nourishes the mind, body, and soul. Her burgeoning wellness empire offers something for everyone - from the curious toddler to the wisest elder - and she won’t rest until they all have what they need to live and be well.

I

In the beginning was born in Lagos, Nigeria and grew up in Cameroon.

My childhood memories are filled with running through the fields, planting and harvesting fruits and vegetables. Endless hours in the kitchen cooking with my mother and aunties. The amazing aroma from the kitchen, everything was prepared from scratch by our mother, taking food to neighbors in both times of need and times of celebration.

These memories have informed my entire life, my love for healthy eating, and in being of service to my community.

chef or time to make food at home.

Back story: for years, I used to offer free workshops teaching parents how to make food at home for their children; it was actually how Yummy Spoonfuls was created years later.

I fundamentally believe no parent should have to feel guilty because they don’t have the money or the time to make homemade food from scratch for their children, and that no child should have to eat less nutritious food because their parents have to work two to

three jobs. So much of children’s health in the first two years depends on the food they eat.

It was so important to me to make food from scratch using fresh organic ingredients like parents would at home if they had the time; food made using ingredients you can easily find in your home kitchens; food made without the use of preservatives, additives or fillers so parents don’t have to choose between going to work or to stay home and cook.

Yummy Spoonfuls is actually transforming both the lives of children and their parents. Full circle today with the Covid-19 coronavirus situation, we are all asked to rely on our immune system. This gives me so much pride knowing that for over 15 years, we have been working relentlessly

making foods that put the health of our children first. Parents tell us we make nutritious foods taste so good their kids don’t even know they are eating healthy. Parents across the country are grateful to be able to offer their children the same high quality food like they would make at home if they had the chance.

Staying ageless I am going to be 53 years in a few months and I get asked this question all the time. For me, it starts with having a grateful heart. Do unto others what you want done onto you. I am purposeful about seeking joy, and I take my health seriously by eating 80% of the time foods that nourishes my body. I don’t drink sodas or any sugary drinks, I love exercising, and I love

Dealing with COVID-19 and its effect on your business As a small business owner and someone who also makes income from speaking engagements it was horrific to see everything come to a standstill. My goodness! We continue to lose money. However, being human, I can’t help but think the many lessons we are all learning from this experience. My advice is that we all should really start paying more attention to the power of nutrition as medicine and get away from the treatment mindset and into prevention.

The food we eat is critical to our overall health especially that of our children. Here we are faced with a highly contagious virus that we don’t have a cure for; needless to say that those with healthier immune systems are less at risk.

Think about this for a minute!

Homemade recipes this season So grateful that we haven’t really adjusted too much because of the way we typically eat at our home.

The one thing that I had to stop was the occasional ice cream treat for the kiddo; no ice cream until after the pandemic is over. Sugar is a huge immune suppressant. Here is what I however tell my clients: be fully present during this time; take stock of the foods you are feeding your family; and ask some simple questions each time. Is this food providing the nutrients my family needs? Is this food going to breathe health or disease?

Helping families thrive through healthy living I have spent the last 25 years of my life helping families thrive by transforming the way they live and feed their children. My approach is simple. It is about helping families incorporate little changes in their everyday lives that will work for everyone. For changes to work in a home, it has to be inclusive. It will be sustainable only if the whole family takes part in it. Having a child or parent with weight issues for example, changes implemented will be for the whole family, not single one out. Everyone can benefit from a better way of living and eating.

Africans and meal choices With the abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables that we grow, we shouldn’t have an issue of eating healthy. The problem I see in Africa is that more people are trying very hard to emulate the western diet and move away from ancient traditional foods that are more wholesome. We were in Abuja during Christmas 2019, and was shocked out of my mind (just to put it nicely) seeing the foods that were ‘trending’. So much junk foods, so many refined oils and flour. The solution is easy: your swallow (fufu) or chews (plantains, potato/yams/cassava/ cocoyams etc.) should never be bigger than your vegetable soup, and your meat should never be more than your swallow or chew.

Avoid sugary drinks; they are closely tied to obesity, diabetes and heart disease.

Yummy Spoonfuls Yummy Spoonfuls is an organic kid’s food company that I founded in 2006 from share frustration. In America, more often than not, it seemed like there were two sets of parents: those who have the money to have a private chef make foods at home for their children; and those who have the time to make their own food. However, there were parents like me managing two to three jobs but with not enough money to hire a private

Surmounting the challenges As a full time working mama who is constantly on the go, my life is a balancing act of the many hats I wear daily. What has worked for me is always taking mindful pauses to remind myself I have a right to live my life to its fullest potential and don’t let mother-guilt cheat me of that. I give myself grace for all the amazing things that happen to my kids in my absence and celebrate to the fullest the ones I am present for. Life is a give and take. www.businessday.ng

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Friday 08 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

AGRIBUSINESSINSIGHT Market Insights

Analysis

Commentaries

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Send in Commentaries to caleb.ojewale@businessdayonline.com

COVID-19: Leaders of Nigerian farmers warn of impending food crisis Stories by CALEB OJEWALE Twiiter: @calebtinolu

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nless government pays more practical attention, and less of rhetoric to agriculture in Nigeria, the country could be heading towards severe food crisis, post COVID-19 and possibly even before the pandemic is over.

Some farmers have been unable to harvest their crops from the farms, leading to losses, while others are unable to prepare for the planting season. In both cases, farmers are losing an opportunity to earn income, while Nigerians at large inch closer to a food crisis unless food production is ramped up. Some heads of farmer associations during the first session of a webinar series by the Guild of Nigerian Agriculture Journalists (GNAJ), lamented inability to produce food, and losses being recorded by millions of smallholder farmers.

“The farmers are in trouble like every other Nigerian; the economy is not working and the lockdown is affecting everybody,” said Kabiru Ibrahim, of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN). “The farmers are finding it difficult to move goods and services from where they are produced to where they are needed.”

“If hunger sets in and God forbid the UN prediction that Nigeria is among the countries that will go through that phase, we will have problems,” said Ibrahim.

Bello Abubakar, president, Maize Association of Nigeria (MAAN), explained that farmers who planted last year dry season for 2019/2020 dry season have been affected because by the time they were about to go for harvest, the coronavirus pandemic crept in and with the following lockdowns could not access their farms.

Many have lost what was planted last year for the dry season 2019 and 2020. Also, in areas where the rain started earlier like the South/South

and the Southwest where planting is done earlier than the Northern side of the country, due to challenges of COVID-19, farmers have been unable to go to their farms.

While some were set for planting, the challenge of lockdowns made it difficult to access their farms or source inputs from suppliers, which still made it difficult to plant even if they could access the farms.

“If there is no production the problem that we will go through, when it comes, it will be more devastating than the covid-19. If there is no food, there is a problem,” said Abubakar.

While Nafiu Abdu, president, Soybean Farmers Association of Nigeria said Soybean farmers have been “a bit fortunate that the crop is planted late in the season from the second week of June and in some places, even at the beginning of August”, notwithstanding, farmers have remained apprehensive. This

is because of uncertainty whether they will be able to access their farms, as currently being experienced by others.

Importantly, getting inputs as Abdu explained that the cost of inputs is becoming very high, for instance, Fertiliser is being sold for more than N10,000 in some places, which is double of what the federal government sold it last year.

The movement of poultry such as Chicken has also been affected, to the extent that after spending several hours on the road and delays at checkpoints, when they arrive in far places such as moving from South to the North, “because of stress, we lose quite a number of them,” said Ibrahim of AFAN. Ezekiel Ibrahim, president, Poultry Association of Nigeria, said COVID-19 has had a very devastating effect on the poultry industry, which should be at the fore front current partner. “Poultry industry shouldn’t

have suffered the way it has,” he said.

The pandemic has exposed the country’s very poor distribution network for poultry products and even inputs, making it difficult for farmers to sell what has been produced, or to even adequately take care of their current stock.

With Nigeria having Wheat as the highest agricultural commodity it imports, Salim Muhammad, president, Wheat Farmers Association of Nigeria, bemoaned the neglect suffered by farmers under his commodity association. The hundreds of billions of naira spent importing wheat could be retained in the local economy if as he said, the crop has not become a “political crop.”

Muhammad noted that from confectionaries to bread that is widely consumed, and even noodles, millions of Nigerians consume wheat based products every day.

However, if farmers are constrained from producing wheat either be-

cause of inaccessibility to farms or inputs, these food products would soon become expensive and scarce.

While Ibrahim of AFAN says some committees have been set up to address some issues pertaining to farmers, certain palliatives are going to be required in order for the 2020 farming season to work very well and (failure to do this) would affect food supply in the country.

Abubakar on his part, appealed to the Central Bank of Nigeria to make provisions for maize farmers to get better access to the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme,apleaalsomadebyAbduof SOFAN,andotherfarmers’associations.

A common appeal in order for food production not to suffer more in the interim was for government at all levels to engage relevant agencies in making proper arrangements for farmers to have access not only to their farmlands, but also inputs, same for livestock producers like poultry.

Soybean, maize record highest decline as commodity prices drop – Report ... Ginger, cocoa record gains

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gricultural commodities in Nigeria are recording an unprecedented decline in prices, as a report assessing the impact of COVID-19 on the market by AFEX, the country’s functional commodity exchange, notes that commodity prices have taken a beating since the beginning of the year.

This followed the early rush for commodities in the first two months of the marketing year, and now prompted by the relative absence of large buyers from the market. In addition to this absence, the report noted that delivery of maize and soybeans imported into the country placed downward pressures on domestic prices. The decline in prices witnessed in 2020 followed a

price hike in November and December 2019 as companies rushed to fill inventory and stock up for Q1-2020.

It was noted that soybean has so far witnessed the steepest decline, falling by 13.55 percent while maize fell by 5.94 percent over the same period. On the other hand, export crops such as ginger and cocoa have gained www.businessday.ng

5 percent and 11.69 percent respectively.

The domestic commodity markets are noted to have been further dampened by the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country, and the subsequent lockdown instructions being implemented across the country. An important effect is the disruption faced by businesses across the

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country as they struggle to reach customers, distribute products and in some cases prepare for the worst-case scenario. The report noted that the impact of the coronavirus outbreak has been reflected in the suspension of procurement by industries consuming the commodities as they evaluate the demand levels and seek alternative supply and distribution networks for their products. Due to the more informed and formal nature of participants sourcing commodities via the commodities exchange in the country, trading activities on the exchange have witnessed a lull as companies recalibrate demand levels and seek alternative supply and distribution networks for final @Businessdayng

products.

Ginger has however defied the negative impacts of the COVID-19 crisis as the production freeze witnessed in China (largest producer in the world) prompted a rise in prices of the root crop. A secondary factor for the resilience of ginger to the negative effects of the virus is the rise in the demand of the commodity due to its therapeutic benefits. On the back of these two factors, international prices of the commodity have spiked across the world.

In the short term, put between one and six months, recovery according to the report is predicated on the ability of primary producers to access their farms across the country.

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Friday 08 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

Harvard Business Review

MANAGEMENTDIGEST

The CEO of Cabot Creamery on beating sustainability benchmarks ED TOWNLEY

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decade ago, when I first heard the term “B Corp” — a designation for companies that commit to pursuing not just profits but also purpose — I was skeptical.

At the time, I was chief financial officer of Cabot Creamery, one of the largest dairy cooperatives in the United States, and a great many questions ran through my head: Was this just another certification — like the Real milk seal and the Real Vermont seal that we’d already earned? Would the customers who bought our cheese and other products really care about it? What kind of burden would it place on our farmers, who, owing to our cooperative structure, were also our shareholders?

Roberta MacDonald, Cabot’s marketing chief, was the one who introduced me to the concept of B Corps. She explained that becoming a B Corp meant serving not just shareholders but also the environment, one’s community, employees and consumers. We would need to score above a certain level on a range of environmental, social and governance measures outlined by B Lab, a nonprofit founded in 2006 to promote the growth of mission-driven companies. It would involve ensuring that our farms, factories and distribution channels were low-waste and energy-efficient and that our animals were well treated; supporting the towns and cities in which we operated; providing a healthful workplace to our employees; and caring deeply about our customers.

Cabot was already committed to all those things; in fact, Roberta had persuaded us to adopt sustainability goals several years before. I was sold.

Rich Stammer, who was then the CEO, was also on board. Because the process wouldn’t involve any fundamental changes in our existing business practices, we weren’t required to consult with our board: 14 farmers elected by their peers. But we soon earned their endorsement too.

It took us two years to get scored on every metric. Then, in 2012, the B Lab standards analysts officially certified us as a B Corp. We had always been a

company determined to do the right thing. This was affirmation of that mission and a big part of why I was proud to take over the role of Cabot CEO in 2015.

Today Cabot Creamery includes 900 farms spanning Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York. The board of directors meets each month to review strategies and share best practices. Although each farm operates as an independent business supplying our joint production facilities, our members collaborate for the benefit of the group.

Cabot began its deliberate push toward sustainability in the mid-2000s. At the time, after joining the company in 2004, I had moved up from vice president of the Cabot-branded product division to senior vice president of finance for the commercial division.

One day Roberta gathered Rich, our manufacturing chiefs, some of her team members, an outside consultant and me for a serious powwow. She threw something like 30 corporate sustainability reports from other companies on the table and told us we needed something similar.

Roberta and the consultant persuaded us that embracing www.businessday.ng

sustainability was a chance to chart our own course rather than eventually be forced to follow along. It would actually help us create a more efficient business, leading to higher profits over the long term. We backed her: Cabot was going to become a much better, more transparent organization in terms of everything from our treatment of cows and fields to our farm, factory and transportation emissions.

At the next annual meeting we talked about expanding our ambitions and educating our members on those issues. Our farmers created a sustainability committee that ever since has reviewed new ideas, discussing what’s doable, what’s not and what else can be in the future. We have also appointed a director of sustainability who works with farmers to maintain the best animal care; adopt more eco-friendly landmanagement practices; and install windmills, solar panels and manure digesters.

This work paid off. When Costco came to us in 2009 asking about a sustainability program, we could say, “Yes, we have one. Would you like to see our scores?” When Sam Walton’s children began urging the Walmart board to request that its manufacturers engage in environmental, social and

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governance-related best practices, the company also appreciated our B Corp commitment.

Our cheese is now sold in every Walmart nd Costco outlet in the United States, and in grocery stores up and down the East Coast.

When we decided to embark on the B Corp process, we knew we could satisfy many of the criteria set by B Lab. But we also knew that it would be arduous to prove that we could check every box in every area; in some we would need to do a bit more than we had been doing.

When we presented our initial scoring to the B Lab standards analysts, we had enough to qualify and that was gratifying. Now, however, our goal is to keep pushing our numbers higher and higher. Every two years we go back to B Lab to report our progress. Our highest marks come in the workers category, notably on benefits and compensation; in the community category, for local involvement and job creation; and in the environment category, for transportation, distribution and suppliers, and land, plant and office use.

There are now some 2,500 B Corps in more than 50 countries. We look at true leaders like Patagonia, with scores in some categories that are 20 or @Businessdayng

25 points above ours, and use them as motivation to get that much better. Competition within the group is healthy.

I hope we’ve also inspired others in the food industry to follow in our footsteps. None in the dairy sector have done so yet, but I know of one other co-op that is trying. My advice to other organizations that want to pursue B Corp status — or simply commit to sustainability — is this: Just get started.

Trust those employees who are telling you it’s important. Don’t be afraid to be first in your industry. Analyze your carbon footprint and begin to reduce it. Find greater efficiencies by reusing and recycling. Benchmark your employee benefits against the world’s best places to work.

Our focus on the common good has truly been a net positive for our business. It energizes the entire Cabot operation — from milking barn to cheesemaking plant to grocery store to customer’s kitchen. The Cabot Creamery co-op is proof that purpose and profits go together, just as our farmers do. We all hope that the sustainability and B Corp movements will continue to grow.

Ed Townley is the CEO of Cabot Creamery

Friday 08 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

23

Hotels Hospitality business faces more challenges with easing of lockdown OBINNA EMELIKE

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hile a measure of normalcy seemed to have returned to daily living and some businesses since May 4, 2020 when the federal government relaxed the lockdown in Ogun, Lagos states and Abuja, the hospitality sector is even facing more challenges.

The sector is affected by the ban on public gatherings, which is still in place despite the easing of the five-week lockdown. While some sectors and businesses are gradually restarting and opening their doors to the public once again, hospitality businesses are still under lock and key.

Worse still, many hotels in Lagos are being considered for use as isolation centers and accommodation for health workers in the state; though the Lagos Hoteliers Association (LHA) insisted that they have not been approached by government on the matter.

But, going by the recent directive from the Lagos State government, any hotel not used by the state for the coronavirus fight and is opened, would be sealed while the owner would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

As well, Hotel Owners Forum Abuja (HOFA) also noted that government has not approached them officially to offer their facilities as quarantine for returning Nigerians or for isolation centers.

Some of the Abuja hoteliers accused government of under-

hand dealings, which would see some hotels give away their facilities for use at little or no price because government is involved.

Demain Ezeokoye, an Abuja hotelier, decried that government is not sincere in asking hoteliers to donate their facilities at little or no price because “you will still service the guests with money and yet we pay 34 taxes every month to the three tiers of government even with the lockdown”.

But hoteliers, who are already groaning over huge losses across of the lockdown period are decrying the development and the selective treatment meted to them by the exemption of the sector in the recent lockdown easing.

Obviously, the loss is huge.

It would be recalled that Saleh Rabo, president, Federation of Tourism Association of Nigeria (FTAN), in a letter of appeal to president Muhammadu Buhari through the Economic Sustainability Committee headed by Yemi Osinbajo, the Vice President,

said the travel sector is losing over N12 billion daily as a result of the impact of Covid-19, while the hotel sub sector loses N2 billion daily.

FTAN, which is the umbrella body for private sector tourism businesses, asked the federal government for N150 billion stimulus package for the sector considering that it was not included in the N500 billion stimulus package recently announced by the CBN. As the lockdown lingers for the hospitality sector, Rabo noted that 40 percent annual purchase of agro-allied produce by hotels would be impossible.

In the meantime, the hotel associations cannot fight government, as they see the use of their facilities as their contributions to save lives, flatten the coronavirus curve and help the economy rebound. They also think that government has to offer something that can help them run the hotels as isolation centers or accommodation for health workers.

According to Talabi Jamiu,

secretary, Lagos Hoteliers Association (LHA), releasing of hotels to government for coronavirus related uses would come at a cost because members are groaning under huge losses since the lockdown.

In same vein, Tomi Akingbogun, owner of Hotel Rosebud, Abuja and former HOFA president, asked government to train hotel staff, provide personal protection equipment (PPE), bring security and also deposit for possible damages before using hotels as quarantine for Nigerian returnees in Abuja.

Beyond the coronavirus, other hoteliers are asking for fiscal and monetary measures and palliatives such as interestfree loans, loan moratorium, tax holidays, import waivers on hospitality equipment among others.

“I think that this is the best time to address the issue of multiple taxation. We still have notices on our tables and emails of over 20 taxes and levies to pay despite the lockdown. Government should be considerate in its revenue drive”, Simon Adebutu, another hotelier, said.

Others are also asking government to offer tax holiday within the lockdown period as part of their palliatives to the hospitality sector.

“We don’t know when government will ease our own lockdown like it has done to some businesses. But I think that it should encourage our recovery by not taxing us during this no business session and offering other stimulus packages”, Gbenga Oloketuyi, member, LHA said.

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Radisson Hotel Group announces its Safety Protocol in partnership with SGS

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adisson Hotel Group on Wednesday announced its Radisson Hotels Safety Protocol, a new program of in-depth cleanliness and disinfection procedures, in partnership with SGS, the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company.

One of Radisson Hotel Group’s highest priorities is the continued health, safety and security of its guests, team members, and business partners.

The company has conducted a thorough review of all existing health and safety processes and worked with a team of experts to develop and validate additional protocols. These enhanced protocols, operational guidance and comprehensive health and safety pro-

cedures validated by SGS, will be adapted based on local requirements and recommendations, to ensure guests’ safety and peace of mind from check-in to check-out. Radisson Hotels Safety Protocol will further strengthen Radisson Hotel Group’s existing rigorous sanitation, cleanliness and disinfection guidelines at hotels globally.

The guidelines include hand sanitizing stations at all entrances, the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and protective screens, enhanced and recorded cleaning and disinfection frequency, social distancing in all areas of its hotels, including in the Meeting & Event facilities, training in local, Centers for Disease Control, or World Health Organization recwww.businessday.ng

ommendations and health guidelines, reiteration of food safety standards and comprehensive staff training. Radisson Hotel Group’s enhanced cleaning and disinfection guidelines have been developed in collaboration with global hygiene solutions provider, Diversey, by uniting best-inclass cleaning and hygiene solutions with reinforced protocols and patented technology designed for healthcare.

Radisson Hotel Group will be introducing an official label of cleanliness and disinfection issued by SGS to ensure the highest Cleanliness, Hygiene and Safety standards, as confirmed by SGS through a centralized validation process. Under this program, individual hotels can receive an approval

label upon completion of a comprehensive local audit including on-site testing using the latest technology.

“At Radisson Hotel Group, we are committed to delivering a clean and safe environment for our guests and team members. The world has been fundamentally changed by COVID-19 so it is key that we strive to protect all who work, stay and partner with us as we re-open our doors to a new era of travel. To do this we have thoroughly examined all areas of the hotel experience, and we are proud to have partnered with SGS to create our Radisson Hotels Safety Protocol program.” says Federico J. González, CEO, Radisson Hospitality AB and Chairman of Radisson Hotel Group’s Global Steering Committee.

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

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

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

24

Friday 08 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

entertainment

Entertainment sector still looks to online for survival despite lockdown easing Obinna Emelike

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n May 4, 2020, many people were excited to restart their lives after a five-week lockdown, while some businesses reopened to customers, but the entertainment sector is still looking forward to a total easing of the lockdown to soar once again.

At the meantime, and despite a seeming respite for some businesses, the entertainment sector is still latching on the available safe options, especially online to woo fans and stay afloat.

The sector, which is grossly impacted by the lockdown imposed by federal government to curtail the spread of coronavirus, is still under lockdown as public gathering is still prohibited, event places, cinemas, theatres among other entertainment venues are still closed.

Though, the authorities assured on a gradual easing of the lockdown across other sectors, it is obvious that with the increasing number of positive cases of coronavirus, government may be thinking another lockdown soon.

The uncertainty has made most entertainment companies and content providers to stick to the opportunities online, especially streaming of content as the ban on public gathering is probably going to last longer.

With the development, more contents would be streamed online, albums released online, listening parties held online, movies and musicals premiered online and comedy shows as well.

Currently, Moremi the Musical is trending online with 5000 viewers on its first premiere onYouTube last month. Ordinarily, Bolanle Austin Peters Productions (BAP), producers of the musical, would have staged the enthralling play at Terra Kulture, its magnificent theatre in Victoria Island, Lagos, but it streamed it online to ensure

Stage performance of Fela and the Kalakuta Queens

that theatre goers have something to relax with during the lockdown.

The theatre production company may be releasing more contents online to entertain fans and stay afloat in business if the total easing of the lockdown does not happen soon.

As well, Ogelle.com, which is trending online now with the release of four exclusive shows during the stay-at-home order, hopes to continue and even release more comedy series online because of the uncertainty of when normalcy will return and ban on public gatherings lifted.

From 4Some, featuring six episodes; The Lounge, six episodes; Life on the Plus Side, six episodes, and Health Hup, seven episodes, fans now enjoy more contents online on Ogelle.com than before.

For Osita Oparaugo, CEO, Reddot Television Network, producers of the comedy series, the online streaming would continue at least for now because it is the only window to do entertainment business, as well as, helping in reaching out to even more audiences across the

world.

Also, at the peak of the fiveweek lockdown, Sound Sultan was trending online with ‘8th Wondah’, his seventh studio album. Sultan streamed the new music content online because that was the only available and profitable option for business during the lockdown.

During the lockdown, Victor Akachukwu Maxwell, a Nigerian Afro-fusion singer, debuted in the scene with the release of his debut single titled, ‘Paradise’.

However, the debut for the new kid on the block was online, while his music is available for streaming and download on all music platforms.

Also taking advantage of the online, WurID, an aspiring Nigerian musician, brought new energy and more finesse to his style with the premiere of ‘Love Nobody’, video of his upcoming EP - Afrosoul, which streamed online for his fans.

Oxlade, another singer, enthralled fans with Oxygene, his new EP, which is also available online.

Many musicians, especially the

upcoming ones, have also taken advantage of online platforms to chart a new course for the music industry. They are no longer waiting for producers or ceremonial album release dates, they just unleash everything online, streaming music contents, wining fans and making money with less stress.

The trend will continue even after normalcy returns as fans are beginning to enjoy their favorite contents at ease and anytime online.

Levy Akujoh, a content producer, noted that the lockdown has opened the eyes of many content owners to the reality that entertainment business is easier, cheaper to do, and more profitable online.

“I don’t think entertainers are waiting for total easing of the lockdown to get back to business. The proactive ones among them have migrated online alongside with their fans. It is a trend that has come to stay with or without lockdown”, Akujoh, said.

Having missed a lot of shows and live performances during the Easter season, Workers Day celebration,

privates occasions among others because of the lockdown, many entertainment experts, think that the sector should expect the worst because the fight to curtail the virus may linger till later in the year.

“We have not seen much progress in the fight against coronavirus.

Going by increasing number of positive cases, I don’t see Nigeria curtailing the pandemic in three months from now”, Saludeen Amuda, a show promoter, said.

Amuda thinks that entertainment thrives in peaceful environment and rides on the boom of other businesses, hence the sector will have to wait on the recovery of other businesses to thrive.

“After the virus is curtailed, we are sure of witnessing another round of economic crunch, resulting in low purchasing power for many. Patronage of entertainment will be low because most people patronise entertainment with disposable income, which will be no more “, Demola Alasa, a copyright lawyer, said.

But the good thing about online entertainment is that it draws huge fellowship and subscribers that translate into big revenue for the content owners (artistes), and hence cheaper for fans than the conventional platforms and live shows.

In line with that Alasa thinks that low purchasing power will not affect consumption of online entertainment content because people can easily afford to buy data and hook on.

“In Nigeria, things work the other way. More hotels and public bars opened during the 2016 recession because people were drinking more to relief hardship. With the imminent low purchasing power, people will stream online contents more to be happy amid hardship”, Alasa explained.

For him, online presents veritable platform for entertainers to soar in popularity, reach, and even revenue, as well as, cheaper option for fans, especially now.

Mydsiac names two Nollywood actors as brand ambassadors

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osa Rex Okunzuwa and Seyi Edun, two Nollywood actors, have been named as ambassadors for the aphrodisiac brand ‘Mydsiac’.

Also known as ‘My Aphrodisiac’, the founder, Tobi Kukoyi, who had observed the high alarming rate in which marriages and relationships hit the rocks including those in the entertainment terrain, had taken it upon herself to provide solution to the negative recurring decimal.

Based on the research she conducted, Kukoyi realized that many had challenges that aphrodisiacs could remedy. According to her, “Mydsiac gives hope to couples in despair and helps to bring about that healthy, lively and happy relationship they desire. Both actors were chosen because they are happily married, have flourish-

ing careers, are youthful and ever vibrant” Nosa Rex made his debut in the Nigerian movie industry through the movie, Gazzan Treasure, starring alongside Patience Ozokwor, Yul Edochie, Mercy Johnson. Winner of the 2013 Best New Actor award at the City People Entertainment Awards, he went on to star in other movies such as Lagos Real Fake Life, Perfect, Rags to Robe, The tears of a super rich bachelor among others. Commenting on the development, he said, “I am elated to have been chosen to be the brand ambassador. Indeed many have issues with copulation, which has wrecked havoc in marriages.

Through Mydsiac I can speard the word and help couples know that all hope is not lost. What they thought could not be remedied www.businessday.ng

indeed has a solution”.

On her own part, Seyi Edun,

Nosa’s contemporary, who is popularly known as Seyi Shai, plies her

Tobi Kukoyi, founder, Mydsiac, with Nosa Rex Okunzuwa, at the brand ambassadors announcement recently.

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@Businessdayng

trade in the Yoruba arm of the industry and has carved a niche for herself in the competitive terrain with movies such as Eja Nla, Ogo Olorun, Wonuola in her kitty.

She also expressed her satisfaction of being associated with Mydsiac.

The movie industry, which is a sub sector of the entertainment terrain has witnessed the production of movies and TV series addressing various challenges in marriages and relationships such as finace, career, child bearing issues among others. However sexual or copulation challenges remain in the shadows and has risen to becone a primary challenge in many homes.

Mydsiac hopes to use the motion picture platform to address the pertinent issue thereby contributing its quota to enriching marriages with happiness and fulfilmment.

Friday 08 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

25

news

Nigeria’s COVID-19 record creates deceptive impression of low infection rate - ED Develop Specs

COVID-19: Buhari mobilises global support for debt relief

…says post-lockdown cases may multiply like in Ghana

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ENDURANCE OKAFOR

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he number of COVID-19 cases that have been reported in Nigeria is deceptive as the country’s low testing capacity has left many infected persons untested, according to Okey Ikechuckwu, executive director, Development Specs Academy.

The director, therefore, advised on the need for Nigeria to improve on communication in order to take precaution against the deadly virus.

“The truth of the matter is that the record creates a deceptive impression of low infection rate. We are not testing enough people, they said they will take about 2500 test in three months,” Ikechukwu said on Sunrise Daily, a Channels TV breakfast programme, adding that there was not only a high possibility of lockdown extension, “it may turn out to become mandatory” because Nigeria does not have the correct record of infected persons.

After five weeks of a complete lockdown of economic activities in order to curtail the spread of the virus, President Muhammadu Buhari announced a gradual easing of the lockdown, which commenced Monday, May 4, in order to tame the effect of the pandemic on the economy that economists have projected would contract by as

much as 3.4 percent in 2020.

According to data by NCDC, the number of confirmed cases in Nigeria as at May 6 stood at 3,145 with 532 recoveries and 103 deaths.

The latest figure indicates 195 new cases with the top three tallies from Lagos, Kano and Zamfara with 82, 30 and 19 cases, respectively.

The outcome on the recent ease of the lockdown in some Nigerian cities would determine whether or not to enact a stricter measure on compliance level, according to Sani Aliyu, national coordinator, Presidential Task Force (PTF) on Covid-19, who is expecting to see the impact to manifest in 10-14 days’ time.

“We are monitoring closely the decision of the lockdown and the outcome we get in 10-14 days’ time will determine our recommendation to the president on whether or not stricter measures should be applied,” Sanni said.

Responding to the ease in the lockdown, Ikechuckwu said: “The point to put on the table is that the easing of the lockdown should not be mistaken for an easing of the rate of infection or the continued activity of the virus itself, it would be a mistake to assume that but the possibility of a reversal.” He cited Ghana as an example of a country that has reported more cases after easing its lockdown.

www.businessday.ng

Tony Ailemen, Abuja resident Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday spoke with Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Imran Khan, in a phone conversation on the Global Initiative for Debt Relief canvassed by leaders of the Non-Aligned Movement Contact Group.

The phone call is seen as part of planned mobilisation of global support for debt relief being canvassed by members of the Non- Allied Movements (NAM), for developing countries, to enable them effectively combat the Coronavirus pandemic.

In a statement by presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, the phone call is in furtherance of the online summit held on Monday, where leaders of the 120-nation organisation, had agreed that a debt relief campaign be launched for developing countries to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic and unprecedented health and socioeconomic challenges facing most of them.

President Buhari had during that summit urged international financial institutions to assist member states of the Non-Allied Nations in cushioning the negative impact of the pandemic in the spirit of

solidarity, which will include extending concessional loans, technical support, lowering of tariff on medical equipment and consumables, sharing of expertise in case management, adopting open trade policies, as well as outright debt cancellation “Within the spirit of SouthSouth cooperation, we must also assist one another, particularly the less developed and less endowed member states with technical, medical, and financial assistance. It is by so doing that we can rightly claim to uphold the Bandung Principles of equality, mutual interests, and cooperation,” the President said on efforts to control the spread of the virus in Nigeria, and ameliorate the economic effect.

He stated that the collective international approach will mitigate the devastating effect of COVID-19, while assuring that the Federal Government will intensify efforts to monitor, test and isolate more people, especially at the community level.

The President said national, regional and global strategies would be required to tackle the pandemic, which, he said, had ravaged humanity and caused unprecedented devastation to the well-being of people, their livelihoods, and global economy.

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Nigeria’s disease detectives combat...

Continued from page 6 pushes families into poverty when illness strikes.

Science has never moved so fast. Since the NIMR developed a platform for testing for coronavirus cases on February 24, it has consistently picked positive cases.

“It is very infectious. People are just getting infected without symptoms. Once an individual gets infected, it could take up to 14 days to develop antibodies and those two weeks are the most infectious times,” Audu of NIMR told BusinessDay. The speedy fashion of infections like coronavirus has prompted changes in the way viral diseases are tracked. This is why Nigeria’s epidemiologists are using the technology of genome sequencing to prevent further spread and create a vaccine.

Sequencing capacities these days have developed from what was obtainable when AIDS was first discovered. Epidemiologists can now answer disease questions –recognition and association – at a speed they could only fantasise about at the start of the AIDS epidemic.

The latest advances in the technology mean they can map viruses in a matter of hours or days, like Happi did.

That speed and cooperation have been a game-changer,

@Businessdayng

enabling this “genomic epidemiology” to be used in real time as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds.

“We have used genomic epidemiology in other contexts where we were getting sequence in a month or a few weeks, but we’ve never had anything where we’ve had such fast turnaround or the number of sequences being shared from so many places so quickly,” said Emma Hodcroft, a genetic epidemiologist at the University of Basel in Switzerland.

As the global race to find a vaccine for the virus ramps up, the achievement of scientists based in Nigeria, who have made their findings public, will help speed the process of finding a cure to the disease. It will also give the country a foot in the door when a vaccine is discovered.

As of April 25, NCDC had ramped up molecular laboratories to 15, with three in Lagos, two in Abuja, and one each in Sokoto, Kano, Kaduna, Plateau, Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Edo, Rivers and Ebonyi States.

It aims to leverage capacity within the high throughput HIV molecular testing laboratories and private laboratories to increase testing capacity.

This is expected to increase national testing output from 3,000 tests a day to at least 5,000 tests per day.

26

Friday 08 May, 2020

BUSINESS DAY

Live @ The Exchanges Market Statistics as at Thursday 07 May, 2020

Top Gainers/Losers as at Thursday 07 May, 2020 LOSERS

GAINERS Company

Opening

Closing

Change

N975

N1000

25

NESTLE DANGCEM

Company GUINNESS

Opening

Closing

Change

N18.95

N18.3

-0.65

N143.8

N150

6.2

ZENITHBANK

N15.8

N15.2

-0.6

N33

N34.9

1.9

GUARANTY

N22.95

N22.5

-0.45

CONOIL

NB

N17.4

N19.1

1.7

WAPCO

N11.15

N10.9

-0.25

ARDOVA

N13.95

N15.3

1.35

FBNH

N4.9

N4.7

-0.2

ASI (Points) DEALS (Numbers) VOLUME (Numbers) VALUE (N billion) MARKET CAP (N Trn)

24,354.25

5,860.00 431,582,257.00 5.260 12.692

Stock investors book over N690bn gain in 4 days ...as market maintains strong positive close Stories by Iheanyi Nwachukwu

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iger ia’s stock investors booked a b o u t N695billion gain in just four trading days into this week as they continued to take position in fundamentally sound stocks.

The market succeeded in maintaining strong positive trading pattern since weekopen as evidenced in record four days consecutive gains, which pushed valued of listed stocks from week open low of N11.997trillion to N12.692trillion on Thursday.

Amid the gradual easing of lockdown across the globe and improvement in crude oil price, most market watchers expect economic activities to pick up gradually and as such retail investors continuing to channel funds into the equities market in a bid to take advantage of attractive counters trading at

lower bands.

At the close of trading session on Thursday May 7, the market booked another increase by 0.87percent, pushing the month to date gain high by 5.79 percent, and moderating the year-todate negative return to -9.27percent.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All Share Index (ASI) increased to 24,354.25 points from preceding day low of 24,143.37

points, while the value of listed stocks increased to N12.692trillion from N12.582trillion. Investors gained about N110billion.

Again, large cap stocks like Nestle Nigeria, Dangote Cement, and Nigerian Breweries were highly on the demand side during the remote trading session.

Nestle rallied from N975 to N1000, up N N25 or 2.56percent.

Dangote Cement also moved up from N143.8

to N150, adding N6.2 or 4.31percent while Nigerian Breweries increased from N33 to N34.9, adding N1.9 or 5.76percent.

These recent gains at the Bourse will soon usher in era of profit taking activities in the market.

FBN Holdings Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, GTBank Plc and ETI plc were actively traded stocks on Thursday. In 5,860 deals, investors exchanged 431,582,257 units valued at N5.260billion.

Remote trading continues on Nigerian Bourse

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igerian Stock Exchange (NSE) continues its remote trading despite the gradual easing of lockdown from Monday May 4.

The Federal Government, as part of its ongoing efforts to reduce the socioeconomic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in Nigeria gradually eases the initial 28-day lockdown in the Federal Capital Territory, Lagos and Ogun States. “ The Nigerian Stock Exchange will continue to support the Government’s directives and efforts in the fight against COVID-19 in

Nigeria. In prioritising the health and safety of our stakeholders, we will keep monitoring the evolving impact of this pandemic and make decisions in the best interest of our employees and stakeholders at large”, said Oscar Onyema, CEO, NSE. “We will maintain restricted access to our office facilities, including our trading floors across the country, and continue remote trading and business activities.

“Our employees will keep on working from home except for essential staff who will continue to work out of the office as they have been www.businessday.ng

doing since we commenced remote trading in order to ensure that our operations run smoothly and provide support.

“We expect that you will continue to utilize all of our digital platforms at your disposal to trade remotely and engage with us. Further updates on our business continuity plans will be shared with our stakeholders in due course,” Onyema said Federal Government directive entails a limit on all non-essential interstate travel, opening of businesses, markets and malls within designated hours, and a nationwide curfew between

8:00 p.m. and 6:00 a.m., except essential services.

“These are indeed challenging times for all of us, but we encourage you to stay positive and continue to act responsibly in line with the guidelines of the appropriate authorities. Rest assured that The Exchange is open for business remotely and will remain so through this pandemic. Should you need to engage with us on any matter, please reach out to us via e-mail, X-Issuer, X-Boss, X-Whistle, telephone, our website or any of our other digital and social platforms”, the Exchange had said on Monday.

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Global market indicators UKX:IND FTSE 100 Index 5,935.98GBP +82.22+1.40%

Nikkei 225 19,674.77JPY +55.42+0.28%

S&P 500 Index 2,894.31USD +45.89+1.61%

Deutsche Boerse AG German Stock Index DAX 10,759.27EUR +153.07+1.44%

Generic 1st ‘DM’ Future 23,933.00USD +420.00+1.79%

Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index 2,871.52CNY -6.62-0.23%

NSE commits N100million to support fight against Covid-19

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he Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has committed N100million to support the fight against the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic in Nigeria. Out of the committed sum, N60million will be donated to the Capital Market Support Committee for Covid-19 (CMSCC), while the balance N40million will be devoted to the “Masks For All Nigerians” campaign.

The CMSCC is a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) led committee, comprised of the capital market community and set up to galvanize the capital market ecosystem to play an active role in curbing the spread of Covid-19 in Nigeria.

In addition to its efforts as part of CMSCC, the “Masks For All Nigerians” campaign will see the NSE donate over 100,000 reusable face masks to states most affected by Covid-19. In addition, The Exchange will run an enlightenment programme on the safe use of masks on traditional and social media.

This initiative comes on the back of a growing call for the use of masks as an effective measure in slowing the spread of Covid-19.

With the increasing body of evidence that the use of masks by the populace could slow the spread of coronavirus, several countries, including the United States of America, Austria, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Canada, and Nigeria to name a few, have adopted this control measure.

Speaking on the initiative, the Chief Executive Officer, NSE, Oscar N. Onyema, said, “At the Exchange, we recognize the health and economic impact of the Covi-19 pandemic on Nigerians and the need to adopt more proactive steps in stemming the tide. In line with our tradition of supporting the communities where we operate, we have launched the Masks For All Nigerians campaign to ensure that protective masks get into the hands of citizens in the more vulnerable places.”

“Through our media enlightenment engagement, we will raise awareness on the proper use of masks, continue to encourage adherence to @Businessdayng

the guidelines that have been provided by relevant agencies and emphasise that wearing of masks alone is not enough protective measure against Covid-19. We have also been deliberate with this intervention by patronising local manufacturers in our efforts to support indigenous businesses, who we have mandated to comply with the mask production specifications provided by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC),” Onyema further stated.

On his part, the President of the National Council, NSE, Abimbola Ogunbanjo said, “We are facing an unprecedented existential threat that requires us to adopt a more collaborative approach in fighting this pandemic especially where social interaction is inevitable. As we work to encourage the use of Personal Protective Equipment through adequate production and distribution of reusable face masks, we call on the capital market ecosystem to support this initiative by wearing a mask when in public settings and donating masks especially to those at the bottom of the pyramid so as to protect lives leading to the reactivation of our economy.”

The Exchange has displayed remarkable resilience during this pandemic and continues to support the fight against Covid-19 in line with the strategic pillars of its Corporate Sustainability and Responsibility (CSR) strategy – community, workplace, marketplace and environment.

The Masks For All Nigerians campaign and the donation of masks will provide immense support to the Government in reaching communities who have hitherto been left vulnerable. The Exchange continues to support remote working and trading; promote market deepening activities; create an enabling regulatory environment for stakeholders; and recognise the efforts of public and private sector players in raising awareness, ramping up testing and increasing the capacity of the health sector to slow the spread of Covid-19.

Friday 08 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

27

news

Wike takes over streets as Port Harcourt moves into ‘extreme lockdown’ Ignatius Chukwu

… scores state 95% in compliance

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“Some people don’t believe that Coronavirus is in existence. Until you make them understand that we are serious, they will not believe it. We will auction the impounded vehicles.

“Those arrested will face the wrath of the law. Nobody is above the law. We will not allow anyone to sabotage our efforts to protect our people.”

In the course of monitoring the level of compliance, the governor arrested several violators and impounded cars, and also arrested some very important persons (VIPS), who he said were not on essential duties, but was allegedly moving around with their police escorts.

The governor however allowed a pregnant woman who violated the lockdown order, on compassionate grounds.

At the Elekahia Isolation Centre, over 200 persons have been arrested and over 20 vehicles impounded by different teams enforcing the lockdown. They are to face the full weight of the law.

After going round on inspection, the governor however commended Rivers people for complying with the lock-

overnor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State has practically taken over command on the streets of Port Harcourt enforcing the extreme lockdown he ordered on Monday, May 4, 2020, on the state capital, and sending defaulters to quarantine, seen as prison.

The governor has barked at the deputy commissioner of police in the state, Adamu Abubakar, saying, “There can be no two governors in the state. I am the governor.

“For the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations) to sabotage us, that will not be accepted. I arrested those people and he had the guts to tell them to release those I arrested on the road. That is unacceptable.”

The governor insisted that the impounded vehicles would be auctioned, saying, “The defaulters will be tried by the mobile courts, and I have told the Attorney General, all the impounded vehicles must be auctioned. By tomorrow, the Honourable Attorney General would have advertised those vehicles and we will auction them.

down to check the spread of coronavirus.

In an interview after the monitoring on day one, Thursday, May 7, 2020, Governor Wike rated the compliance level to be up to 95 percent.

He accused the DCP (Operations) of moves to sabotage the lockdown by issuing illegal letters to companies, saying, “It is unfortunate to see the level of sabotage that we get from the police, particularly, the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations). He would sign approvals for companies because he wants to collect money. I am the Governor of this state and there cannot be two governors.”

He declared as illegal any approvals issued by the police or any other authorities outside the office of the Rivers State Governor. “The Deputy Commissioner of Police has no powers to issue approvals when the State Government has locked down the state. After the State Security Council met and agreed on the lockdown, the Deputy Commissioner of Police went ahead to issue illegal letters to companies to operate. I have never seen that in my life.”

Why we would not review recent deregistration of parties - INEC Iniobong Iwok

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mid criticism by some of the recently delisted political parties in Nigeria, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said it would not review the recent deregistration because they had failed to meet the constitutional requirement for their continue existence.

INEC had on February 6 delisted 74 political parties; the commission had also said the deregistered

parties breached their requirement for registration having failed to win at least 2,596 of votes cast in one state of the federation during the Presidential election.

The commission also said the parties, since their existence, did not win one local government of a state in a governorship election.

The deregistered parties, according to INEC, also failed to win at least one ward in the chairmanship elections in local governments.

But some of the affected par-

ties have disagreed with the commission, saying they had met some of the criteria but was unjustly delisted while threatening legal action.

But in an interview with BusinessDay, Thursday, Festus Okoye, chairman, information and voter education committee of INEC, said the commission was not contemplating or planning to review the list of deregistered parties despite complains, stressing that the aggrieved individuals or association should go to court.

Naira falls to N386.38k against dollar at I&E FX window Hope Moses-Ashike

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he foreign exchange market closed on Thursday with naira depreciating

by N1.88k as the dollar was quoted at N386.38k compared to N384.50k closed on Wednesday at the Investors and Export-

ers (I&E) forex window.

The market opened on Thursday morning with an indicative rate of N385.35k, which showed naira depreciating by N0.27k when compared with N385.08k traded on Wednesday at the I&E forex window, data from FMDQ reveal.

The Central Bank of Nigeria

(CBN) on March 2020 adjusted the exchange rate from N360 to N380/$ at the I&E window, to stem the pressure in the foreign exchange market.

Nigeria’s currency on Thursday weakened by N1 as the dollar was traded at N440 compared to N439 traded on the previous day.

Botched governorship primary: Edo APC urges Buhari to probe army involvement IDRIS UMAR MOMOH & CHURCHILL OKORO, Benin

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he factional leadership of the Edo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to probe the involvement of men of the Nigerian Army in the April 30, 2020 botched mock primary governorship election by members of Edo People’s Movement (EPM) in the state.

Joseph Osagiede, the factional publicity secretary of the party, made the call on Wednesday at a press briefing in Benin City, while reacting to a publication by members of the group.

Osagiede, who said members of EPM tried in vain to defend the involvement of army at the botched mock governorship primary election in some national newspaper publications, noted that the probe was to ensure that

the name of the security agency was not brought to disrepute.

“In the said publication, however, Mr Azebamwen tried fruitlessly to extricate the person of Adams Oshiomhole from the botched mock primary, when in fact he is reported to have mandated a serving member of the House of Representatives to coordinate affairs and ensure his sponsored aspirant emerged as the concern candidate.

“The list of invited delegates from the various local government areas is in public domain.

He also tried to deny the presence of armed soldiers at the venue.

“This issue has been brought to the attention of the President Muhammadu Buhari, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces with a request to cause an inquiry to be carried out, to determine why men of the Armed www.businessday.ng

Forces should be involved in such nefarious and provocative action capable of causing chaos and anarchy, thus bringing the Army into disrepute,” Osagiede said.

Osagiede also said the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) would soon quarantine those persons who participated in the mock primary in the state for going in contrary to their regulations on public gathering.

He explained that the large congregation of persons at the political gathering at a time when collaborative efforts were being put in place to curtail the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19), contravened the NCDC’s guidelines.

“In any case, we have since informed the NCDC, whose responsibility it is to arrest, quarantine and isolate them to determine if they are safe to be in the society,” he said. https://www.facebook.com/businessdayng

@Businessdayng

28

Friday 08 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

INSIGHT

Survival strategies for entrepreneurs during and beyond COVID-19 Henrietta Onwuegbuzie

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Dr Henrietta Onwuegbuzie Academic Director, Owner-Manager Programme, Lagos Business School Senior Lecturer, Entrepreneurship honwuegbuzie@lbs.edu.ng

s the Covid-19 pandemic triggers a wave economic paralysis around the globe, businesses are gasping desperately for survivial strategies. The question on the mind of every entrepreneur is, “how do I survive this crisis”?

Even as some lay-off staff in a bid to reduce payment obligations, the reality however is that lay-offs do not guarantee business sustainability, rather smart transitions to solving problems or meeting current needs, will.

Changing circumstance bring new opportunities and new threats, and so entrepreneurs need to first understand where they stand in terms of their current offerings during this crisis. Are you in a position of opportunity, like those in agriculture, telecommunications and the medical supplies businesses that are currently experiencing a stratospheric increase in demand? Or are you experiencing a threat, like those in the airline, hotel and tourism related businesses? If your business existence is threatended, this is the time to reflect on new ways to ensure you survive and grow. It should be understood that a new-normal has set in, and therefore to remain relevant, one must meet the new needs or problems arising from the pandemic. Examples abound: In Kenya, passenger planes have transited to functioning as cargo planes; some hotels are now being used to shelter medical personnel to prevent them from going home daily and reduce the chances of infecting their families; many fast-food outlets have built drive-throughs, to serve customers in a safe way, and also take orders for home deliveries; fashion designers have transited from making outing clothes, which are currently barely in demand, to producing face-masks, some branded with company logos, medical scrubs and uniforms for paramedics; schools have transited to delivering classes/courses online; and the only indigenous car manufacturing company we have in Nigeria, Innoson Motors, is now producing more ambulances than any other type of car, as this is now what is most needed.

Realising and adapting to the new normal gives room for lots of www.businessday.ng

innovations. We are beginning to see local innovations like solar or foot-controlled hand-washing devices that release soap, water and sanitisers, using solar power or pedals, disinfecting-spray doors and mobile hand-washing sinks.

More innovations around hygiene are likely to keep springing up.

Sometimes however, simply going digital is sufficient to keep a business going in these COVID times. Many restaurants, supermarkets and florists have strengthened their online presence, advertising their offerings on Instagram and/or websites and subsequently delivering customer orders. Other times, businesses might need to pivot either temporarily or permanently, to something entirely different, by discovering new opportunities in another indus-

try. For instance, cinema owners may need to think of doing something completely different for the time being, as they cannot open now, given that the traditional conditions of a cinema theatre do not allow for sufficient socialdistancing, or ventilation, even if face masks are worn . A good example is what Coscharis, one of the foremost luxury car dealers in Nigeria, is doing. Even though his company’s main business is the sale of luxury cars and spare parts, given the demand slump for cars, they have turned their focus to agriculture, where they had invested in setting up a rice farm. The huge demand and profit from the rice business has made up for the decreased demand for cars. One may be tempted to think, “but I don’t have a farm”. Fortunately you do

Other times, businesses might need to pivot either temporarily or permanently, to something entirely different, by discovering new opportunities in another industry

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@Businessdayng

not need one. The agribusiness value chain consisits of different aspects that can be keyed into. They include land clearing, farming, processing, packaging, warehousing, distribution, wholesale and retail. Depending on what you already do, you can decide to take up any of the aspects of the value chain where you can leverage your existing resources, or one that does not require a huge capital outlay.

For instance, one can decide to dry perishables like tomatoes and pepper, which are always in demand and package nicely for sale without suffering losses from spoilage. What’s more, they can be sold for a higher price when out of season. “Real Fruit” is an example of a company that has made a thriving business out of selling packaged dried fruits such as mango, pineapple, bananas etc, as a healthy snack. The point being emphasised here is the possibility of pivoting to a different industry where you can meet a need or solve a problem.

As the saying goes, “change is the only thing constant in life”.

Only those who can key into the opportunities emanating from the new COVID economy will survive. The smartest way for entrepreneurs to survive and thrive in whatever circumstances they find themselves, is to apply the rule of thumb question, “What problem can I solve in the present circumstances?” Once you have an appropriate solution to a problem, you have a ready market.

Friday 08 May 2020

FT

BUSINESS DAY

29

FINANCIAL TIMES

World Business Newspaper

BoE warns UK set to enter worst recession for 300 years

Central bank predicts 30 per cent drop in output in first half of 2020 but opts against new stimulus CHRIS GILES

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he Bank of England has forecast that the coronavirus crisis will push the UK economy into its deepest recession in 300 years, with output plunging almost 30 per cent in the first half of the year, but it decided not to launch a new stimulus.

In its monetary policy report, the central bank presented rough and ready predictions for the economy, suggesting that output would slip 3 per cent in the first quarter followed by a further 25 per cent fall in the second. This would mean an almost 30 per cent drop overall in the first half of 2020, the fastest and deepest recession since the “great frost” in 1709.

The economic projections came with a warning to Britain’s banks that if they tried to stem losses by restricting lending, they would make the situation worse.

Andrew Bailey, the BoE governor, said a failure to lend would create a vicious circle of more bankruptcies and higher losses on loans that would come back to hit the banks themselves.

Speaking to journalists, Mr Bailey said: “The better path for banks is to keep lending . . . we keep banging this message home. If the system [ensures a good supply of loans], we’ll get a better outcome.”

Commercial banks responded that they were committed to lending through the crisis. Alison Rose, NatWest chief executive, said the bank was “committed to providing our customers, communities and colleagues with the support they need”.

Speaking at Barclays’ annual general meeting on Thursday, Jes

The BoE said that, even with adequate lending, the UK economy was bound to take a significant hit © AP

Staley, chief executive, pledged that his bank would emerge with “a reputation as having stood with the citizens of Great Britain in this time of crisis”.

António Horta-Osório, chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group, last week said the bank was working with government and regulators “to ensure that we play our part in supporting our customers and the UK economy”.

But the BoE cautioned that, even with adequate lending, the economy was bound to take a big hit; household spending has dropped about 30 per cent since early March.

The central bank forecast that the UK’s unemployment rate was likely to rise to 9 per cent in 2021, even with the government’s job retention scheme protecting many employees from being laid off. That would mean a higher rate of joblessness than af-

ter the 2008-09 financial crisis.

The central bank also forecast that inflation would dip to 0.5 per cent in 2021, before returning to the 2 per cent target the following year.

In contrast to the gloomy assessment of the current economic position, the longer-term economic projections were more upbeat, with the BoE expecting “only limited scarring to the economy”.

The bank’s back-of-the-envelope scenarios assumed long-term damage to the economy would be only 1.5 per cent of gross domestic product and would come from missed business investment in 2020. Otherwise it predicted the economy would bounce back in a V-shaped recovery.

Mr Bailey said the economic rebound was likely to happen “much more rapidly than the pullback from the global financial crisis”.

The BoE said it stood ready to

put more money into the economy should it be needed and had further meetings planned for June — before the £200bn it pledged in March to support economic activity by buying government bonds was likely to run dry.

Mr Bailey defended the decision not to take more immediate action, saying the measures announced in March had not been exhausted. “It’s a very aggressive [asset] purchasing programme . . . [and] we have made a very clear commitment to do what it takes to support the economy consistent with [meeting] the inflation target.”

Not all Monetary Policy Committee members supported the majority decision. Two of the nine members, Jonathan Haskel and Michael Saunders, voted to increase quantitative easing by another £100bn immediately, seeking more

stimulus to prevent greater scarring of the economy later.

All MPC members agreed that more stimulus might be needed in future. In the minutes, the committee said: “For all members of this group, the prospective weakness in employment and inflation, and downside risks around aspects of the medium-term outlook, might necessitate further monetary policy action.”

Along with most economists, Paul Dales, chief UK economist at Capital Economics, thought the central bank was signalling that “more QE is coming, if not in June, then in August”.

The BoE also undertook an exercise to test whether the financial system could cope with the expected once-in-a-century recession.

It assessed that banks would lose less money than in its latest stress test and concluded that “the core banking system has capital buffers more than sufficient to absorb losses”.

It did, however, stress the pandemic would severely hit corporate cash flow. It said that while UK companies normally operate with a cash flow deficit of £80bn, the crisis would raise that to £190bn. Government support would plug some of the gap, but there remained a £60bn additional deficit that banks would need to cover to stop viable businesses from going under.

In the financial stability section of its report, the central bank warned that if high-street lenders failed to provide credit to their business customers, they might see a shortterm benefit in reduced losses, but would cause more companies to fail and unemployment to rise another 2 percentage points, ultimately leading to larger losses.

US jobless claims of 3.2m take total pandemic toll beyond 33m First-time unemployment benefit claims data indicate peak reached in late March MAMTA BADKAR AND BRENDAN GREELEY

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ore than 3m Americans filed for first time unemployment benefits last week, taking the number of applications since the coronavirus lockdowns began seven weeks ago to 33.5m.

The number of initial jobless claims fell to almost 3.2m in the week ended May 2, the US labour department said on Thursday, down from 3.85m the previous week. Economists had predicted 3m. New claims, while still multiples of historic averages, dipped for the fifth consecutive week, showing some stabilisation from shocking peaks in early April.

The sum of people actually receiving benefits rose to 23m for the week ending April 25, and those receiving unemployment insurance comprised 15 per cent of all workers that week. The “in-

sured unemployed” sometimes serves as an alternative measure of unemployment.

“The US labour market is in the worst position since the Great Depression and is unlikely to improve sustainably anytime soon,” Ronald Temple, head of US equity at Lazard Asset Management.

The latest data come ahead of Friday’s non-farm payroll report, which is expected to show that the US economy shed a record 21m jobs and the unemployment rate surged to 16 per cent in April.

“The recent data are consistent, we think, with a further 13m drop in May payrolls after the 22m plunge we expect to be reported tomorrow for April,” said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics. “But we’re very hopeful that June will see the beginnings of a rebound as states begin to reopen.”

A paper released on Tuesday by the San Francisco Fed pointed out that a return to the unemployment lows earlier this year “would rewww.businessday.ng

quire a pace of hiring activity that is much more rapid than recorded during any past recovery, which seems unlikely given the severity of disruptions to employment relationships, business ties to customers, and financial markets.”

The jobless claims report showed California processed the largest number of claims at 318,000, down from 325,000 the previous week, according to preliminary state-level estimates.

Maryland had the biggest rise in new claims, with 65,000 filed, up from 38,000 the previous week.

Some of the states that recorded lower claims — including Pennsylvania — reported fewer lay-offs at hospitals, restaurants and hotels.

Economists have questioned whether backlogs at state unemployment offices understated the depths of the blow to the labour market. They also caution that the US will continue to see a large number of claims as more people are furloughed and laid off, as well as through the expansion of

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state unemployment insurance programs to include those that are self-employed, including workers in the gig economy.

The pandemic brought an end to the longest stretch of US economic growth on record, with GDP contracting at the sharpest pace since 2008 in the first three months of the year as the effects of lockdowns and social-distancing became evident in the second half of March.

A separate report from the labour department showed US nonfarm business sector productivity fell 2.5 per cent in the first three months of the year — the biggest such drop since the end of 2015, although better than economists’ expectations for a steeper 5.5 per cent slide. The decline in productivity, a key driver of output and wage growth, came as hours worked fell by 3.8 per cent.

“The unprecedented Covid-19 shock put an end to the slow revival in productivity growth that took hold over the past three @Businessdayng

years,” Lydia Boussour, economist at Oxford Economics, said. “Going forward, the trend in productivity growth will probably settle at a very subdued pace amid sluggish business spending, an only gradual recovery in demand, and lower capital and labour mobility.”

Congress has passed four large spending packages since the outbreak, including loans for small businesses and stimulus relief cheques for American taxpayers to see them through the lockdowns.

Though hopes are growing that furloughed workers will return to their jobs with the gradual reopening of the economy, experts warn that the relief could be shortlived.

“Until widespread testing, an effective therapy, and a vaccine are in place, any improvement in employment is likely to be temporary,” Lazard’s Mr Temple said. “Premature efforts to reopen economies undermine our progress in controlling the pandemic and risk extending the duration of the downturn.”

30

Friday 08 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

FINANCIAL TIMES

COMPANIES & MARKETS

@ FINANCIAL TIMES LIMITED

Neiman Marcus files for bankruptcy protection Upscale US department store chain is latest debt-burdened retailer felled by coronavirus ALISTAIR GRAY

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eiman Marcus, the upscale department store chain that began by bringing high fashion to downtown Dallas in 1907, has filed for bankruptcy protection, becoming the latest retailer to be tipped over the edge by the coronavirus shutdown.

The private equity-backed company, which staggered on with a heavy debt burden for years despite its struggles to compete in the age of ecommerce, finally succumbed after business ground to a halt in recent weeks.

The Chapter 11 filing, which comes just three days after the bankruptcy of preppy clothing chain J Crew, is the latest sign that restrictions to curb the pandemic are accelerating the demise of already struggling businesses.

In a statement, Geoffroy van Raemdonck, chief executive, maintained Neiman Marcus had been making “solid progress” in adapting to the rise of online shopping but Covid-19 had placed “inexorable pressure” on the business.

He said the retailer would emerge in a stronger position from the bankruptcy, which it plans to use to eliminate $4bn worth of debt.

Creditors had committed to provide $1.43bn in financing to help the business through the

Neiman Marcus’s store at Hudson Yards, New York, which it opened last year © Nina Westervelt/Bloomberg

restructuring and its aftermath, and would become majority owners, the company said. Holders of two-thirds of its debt were backing the arrangement.

However, the filing with the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas also leaves the door open to a sale.

Hudson’s Bay Company, owner of Saks Fifth Avenue, has expressed an interest in buying the company, according to people familiar with the matter.

Neiman’s bankruptcy filing puts into further doubt the future of 14,000 employees, many of whom had already been furloughed.

The restructuring also casts a shadow over the retail property market in several US cities. The chain’s locations include Beverly Hills, Boca Raton and New York’s Hudson Yards development, where it opened a 188,000 square foot store featuring an eyebrowshaping lab, digital fitting rooms and fine dining to a fanfare last year.

As well as the namesake stores, the group owns Bergdorf Goodman, the luxury department store based on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue. High-end stores in and around New York’s premier shopping district, including Henri Bendel, have already closed in recent

months. Barneys New York filed for Chapter 11 protection last year.

Neiman Marcus’s histor y stretches back to when Dallas was still a cattle and cotton town.

Herbert Marcus, his sister Carrie Marcus Neiman and her husband Al Neiman started a women’s clothier that became renowned for its lavish decor and attentive service.

Style-conscious local ladies frequented the retailer during the Texas oil boom, and Dallas elites knew it as simply “the store”.

Annual Christmas catalogues showcased outlandish “his and her” gifts. Items in recent years have included a submarine, a

private Elton John concert and a $73,000 mobile phone adorned with diamonds and 18-carat gold.

The retailer’s founding family sold out in the 1980s, and Neiman was later saddled with debt in a 2005 leveraged buyout by TPG and Warburg Pincus and subsequent sale in 2013 to Ares and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.

Neiman Marcus is the latest addition to a list of private-equity backed bankruptcies in retail, which includes Toys R Us, Gymboree and Payless ShoeSource as well as J Crew.

Like other clothing retailers and department store chains, Neiman Marcus was hurt by the rise of ecommerce, while the scale of its debts undermined its ability to compete with online specialists such as Yoox Net-a-Porter and Farfetch.

Coronavirus is compounding structural pressures in retail, which are particularly intense for department stores. JCPenney missed an interest payment to bondholders last month, while Macy’s has also said it is exploring options to strengthen its capital structure.

Kirkland & Ellis is serving as legal counsel to Neiman Marcus, with Lazard its investment banker and Berkeley Research Group its financial adviser.

AB InBev warns of ‘materially worse’ second quarter due to pandemic Maker of Budweiser and Corona to cut costs by renegotiating contracts such as sponsorship deals JUDITH EVANS

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he world’s largest brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev has warned of a “materially worse” second quarter after it sold almost a third less beer and other drinks in April as the coronavirus crisis closed bars and restaurants across much of the world.

The brewer of Budweiser, Stella Artois and Corona said on Thursday that global volumes dropped 32 per cent year on year in April, following a first quarter in which they fell 9.3 per cent as the virus began to take hold.

The figures provide a marker of the pandemic’s impact on global drinking habits, with consumption at home failing to compensate for the closure of nightclubs, pubs, restaurants and bars. Some countries, such as Mexico and South Africa, have also restricted production of alcoholic drinks.

AB InBev’s revenues dropped

AB InBev, brewer of Stella Artois, Corona and Budweiser, said global volumes dropped 32 per cent year on year in April © Bloomberg

5.8 per cent in the first quarter — slightly worse than analysts had expected — to $11bn, taking the company to a normalised loss of $845m, down from a $2.4bn profit a year earlier.

The brewer said the slump in beer sales had prompted a series of cost-cutting measures including “the renegotiation of www.businessday.ng

commercial contracts where possible, including sponsorships”. AB InBev’s beer brands sponsor the Premier League, Spain’s La Liga and Italian champions Juventus, along with football, baseball, hockey and basketball leagues in the US. Carlos Brito, chief executive, said the brewer was in talks with

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leagues after many playing seasons were postponed or cancelled because of coronavirus. “If the season is delayed it doesn’t make sense to spend money now, and if there will be no season we are not going to spend any money. We will have to see how we do with the contract terms — what we are trying to do is find solutions that are win-win for the leagues,” he said.

The company said, however, that “early signs of recovery” were emerging in beer markets hit earlier by Covid-19, such as China and South Korea, with reopenings taking place from March. Volumes in China were down 17 per cent year on year in April, compared with a 46.5 per cent drop in the first quarter.

In the US, Canada and western Europe, the brewer said it had experienced an “uplift in sales” through retail stores “as consumers prepared to enjoy our products at home, though it is too early to determine the sustainability of @Businessdayng

this trend”.

Online sales through directto-consumer platforms such as Zé Delivery in Brazil, Beer Hawk in the UK and Saveur Bière in France were gaining ground, said AB InBev, although ecommerce makes up only a small part of the company’s overall business.

Another drag on the company’s numbers was a $1.86bn mark-to-market loss linked to the hedging of share-based payment programmes for executives.

The same derivatives had resulted in a $951m gain in the same quarter a year earlier.

AB InBev’s shares were up 1.55 per cent to €39.56 in Brussels, though they have shed more than 46 per cent of their value since the start of the year, weighed down in part by the company’s debt levels: net debt was $95.5bn as of December 31. Last month it said it would cut its final dividend by half, to €0.50 a share.

Friday 08 May 2020

BUSINESS DAY

31

Sports Condolences pour in for NFF Executive Member, Chidi Okenwa Anthony Nlebem

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ributes have continued to flow in honour of the Member of NFF Executive Committee and Chairman of the Nigeria National League, Hon. Chidi Ofo Okenwa, who passed away on Tuesday, 5th May 2020.

Nigeria’s football family was crestfallen on Tuesday after news broke of the death of the cerebral football administrator who was also Chairman of the Enugu State Football Association.

His colleagues on the board of the NFF, members of the NFF Congress, league bodies, club administrators, ex-international players, other stakeholders and football fans have eulogized the departed Okenwa, all praising his contributions to the game over the decades.

Barr. Seyi Akinwunmi, NFF 1st Vice President, said: “I am still somewhat flustered and lack the words to express the grieve and the deep sorrow that we collectively feel as a board. Okenwa was an asset to the Nigeria game with his passion and intelligence. I am still in shock at his passing.”

Mallam Shehu Dikko, NFF 2nd Vice President/Chairman

LMC, said: “Chidi’s death is a terrible blow to all of us. It is another sharp reminder that this world is a fallacy. We were all giving our views at a board meeting less than two weeks ago, and now he is gone; devastating.”

Also, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, NFF General Secretary said: “Hon. Chidi was a very close friend long before he joined the board of the NFF. I am stunned by his sudden passing. It came as a shock to me and the members of the NFF Board. He always had quality advice to offer at every point.”

Chief Felix Anyansi-Agwu, Member of the NFF Executive and Chairman of Enyimba FC, said: “I am yet to come to terms with the fact that Ofo is gone. He is someone so highly knowledgeable, with sound contributions in or out of the boardroom. I am greatly saddened. He is my brother because we are the two representing the south east on the NFF board.”

Aisha Falode, NFF Executive Member and Chairman of the Nigeria Women Football League: “Chidi was always on ground to give valuable advice for the growth of women’s

football in Nigeria. He had special interest in the women’s game and he fought so hard to see that the NWFL got its due. We have lost a gem.”

Ganiyu Majekodunmi, NFF Executive Member, said: “He was an administrative colossus. I am shattered but I take solace in the fact that he made his mark while here on earth. Chidi lived a good life. He was a good man in all spheres and always committed to whatever he was involved in.”

Barr. Chris Green, twotime NFF Executive Member Committee and Chairman of the Rivers State Football Association, said: “I am shattered, Chidi was very close to me and I still cannot believe that he is gone. He was a temperate personality, neither ostentatious nor acquisitive. He was highly cerebral and was a shining light in the Nigeria Football firmament.”

Former NFF 1st Vice President, Mazi Amanze Uchegbulam: “I have lost my football son. Oh my God! Why Chidi at this time? He was very passionate and committed.”

Former NFF Board Member, Dr. Peter Singabele: “The death of Chidi Ofo is a rude shock not only to his immediate family and Enugu FA but to the entire Nigeria football family. May his gentle soul rest in perfect

Players to undergo medical protocols as EPL plans to resume matches Anthony Nlebem

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layers and managers will be presented with medical protocols related to the Premier League’s Project Restart next week.

The English top flight is working on plans to complete the 2019-20 season amid the coronavirus pandemic, dependent on Government advice.

League Managers Association chief executive, Richard Bevan, said there was no suggestion players or

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managers were being forced into a restart and that plans to ensure safety - including testing procedures - would be outlined next week.

He told BBC Radio: “Next week the medical and operational protocols are going to be presented to the managers and indeed the players.

“Hopefully there will be solutions that create this safe environment, in the meantime we are staying very open-minded and as always the managers take their responsibility to the game very seriously on all these issues.”

Bevan said he was expecting to receive the protocols in document form on Thursday, ahead of the meeting next week.

He added: “It covers testing, tracking, PPE (personal protective equipment) avail-

able, clear guidelines on social distancing and obviously a safe environment to train and play.

“There will be guidance on cardiology, mental and emotional well-being and I think the message is health is the guiding principle to any decision-making.”

A seven-page document, drawn up by the Premier League’s director of football Richard Garlick, talks about players wearing masks or snoods at training.

Epidemiologist Rowland Kao told the PA news agency last month that masks were a “sensible” precaution.

“It’s unclear how much protection those masks would be, but it would seem sensible to put as many precautions as you could in place,” he said.

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Rivers United eye NPFL title, commends Eunisell for support Anthony Nlebem

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ivers United are confident that they can challenge for the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) title with support from their frontof-shirt partner, Eunisell.

According to the Rivers United general manager, Okey Kpalukwu, the Port Harcourt-based club is in the running to win the league title this season and they have put every measure in place to keep their players on their toes despite an enforced break by the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic across the World.

“We are not hoping for anything less because we also want to be champions. But all of that will be determined on the pitch. Although we are praying to win the league, we will also put in our efforts and do what is necessary to make it easier for us to actualize our ambition. So we are not planning less, we are planning to win the league like every other team at the top of the standings,” said Kpalukwu.

He also spoke on their thriving partnership with Eunisell, describing it as “one of a kind.”

He commended Eunisell for backing the club through thick and thin, adding that the chemical and specialty fluid organization’s contribution to the club cannot go unnoticed.

“Our partnership with Eunisell is one of a kind. This is something most clubs are looking forward to having and that is why we must commend Eunisell for this partnership they have kept over the years with us. They have never failed us and they have always shown a huge presence. This has given the players some kind of boost as well. The partnership also points to the fact that we are looking for ways of new streams of income away from what the state government has given to us.

“At the same time, the relationship has been a balanced one. Rivers United @Businessdayng

played in the continent in the past with Eunisell as the front-of-the-shirt sponsor and registered Eunisell as one of our shirt sponsors with CAF which helped us use our branded jerseys on the continent. Now the Rivers people are aware of Eunisell’s contribution to the club which has saved us costs. We are grateful to them,” Kpalukwu said.

Rivers United technical manager/head coach Stanley Eguma also made the declaration that they want to win the title and finishing second is not part of their ambition. He explained that players and coaches have been holding meetings via social media platforms to keep team bonding.

“We want to win the league title. Everybody that is associated with Rivers United FC knows we cannot afford to play second fiddle. The objective is to win the league title and we will not derail.

“It has been hard. I have been using technology.

We use Zoom and WhatsApp for team meetings.

The players have also been doing their personal training. I have told all of them that the league can resume at any moment because no one knows when the COVID-19 will end. So we are keeping ourselves prepared,” Eguma said.

Eunisell Group Managing Director, Chika Ikenga, also urged the Rivers United contingent to stay within touching distance of the title race and stay on their toes despite the pandemic.

“So far, Rivers United have done very well. They are currently second on the table.

Right now, I urge everyone at the club to stay within the guidelines of the health authorities, as we look forward to the league restarting. We are also urging them to give the title chase their best shot because we have faith in them, and that is why we are proud to be associated with the club,” said Ikenga.

With 13 match weeks to go, Rivers United are currently in second place with 45 points after 25 matches.

Women in Business

BUSINESS DAY Friday 08 May 2020

By Kemi Ajumobi

www.businessday.ng

Winifred Akpani

Timipre Wolo

MD/ CEO, NorthWest Petroleum & Gas Company Limited

CEO, TFN Energy Limited & Founder, Centre for Gender Equality, Education and Empowerment (CGEEE) Timipre also spearheaded the first ever imipre Wolo is the CEO of TFN Energy Limited and the Founder of the helicopter pilot training programme for the Centre for Gender Equality, Educa- petroleum industry in Nigeria with the traintion and Empowerment (CGEEE), ing of indigenous youths as internationally an NGO which she set up in response to the certified commercial helicopter pilots to take high level of illiteracy and poverty amongst over opportunities hitherto dominated by women and girls in rural areas across Africa. Expatriates.

Following the successful completion of Growing up in the oil rich but highly impoverished Niger Delta region of Nigeria, their training, Timipre played a key role in Wolo developed an early interest in finding initiating a job-creation partnership between lasting solutions to the development issues the fund and the private sector leading to the in the region. The loss of her mother at the employment of the young budding pilots in age of 12 did not stop her from pursuing her the industry, upon completion of their typeeducational dreams. A lawyer by training, rating/hour-building internship.

A Finalist in the Professional Achieveshe holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Law and a Masters’ Degree (LL.M.) in Oil & Gas Law, ment Category of the prestigious British from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, Council Alumni Awards 2017, Timipre is listed as one of 90 personalities who inspire United Kingdom.

Timipre began her career in private legal Nigeria by an international communications practice, whilst also running the Greener agency, Those Who Inspire. Her service to Nigeria Initiative, an NGO focused on the humanity and leadership excellence has environment which she co-founded. In been recognized by the international and 2010, she joined the Legal Department of local guild.

She has received numerous accolades the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), Nigeria’s foremost government including a “Letter of Recognition” by the agency responsible for capacity development Commonwealth Youth Council; the “African in the country’s oil and gas industry and was Woman of Worth” 2015 Award, by the African subsequently appointed Special Assistant to Women in Leadership Organisation; as well as the Role Model for the Female Child 2016. the Executive Secretary.

Wolo, who represented Nigeria at the In September 2011, she was assigned the responsibility of driving the PTDF Post United Nations Youth Assembly in 2005, Amnesty capacity-building initiative, as 2006 and 2008 respectively, has a passion for pioneer Head of the Industry Collaboration developing young people and now dedicates Unit (ICU) of the Fund, thus becoming the her time to speaking at conferences and youngest member of the PTDF Management. mentoring young women and girls, through Driven by her passion and commit- the CGEEE and One Hour With The King, a ment to youth development, while serv- non-denominational Christian Fellowship ing in the PTDF, Timipre championed a which she founded in 2013.

Timipre enjoys traveling and working number of youth empowerment initiatives such as the Youth Entrepreneurship with vulnerable children in orphanages and Scheme; the Special Training and Educa- refugee camps. She believes that education is tional Scheme; the Vocational Training a vital tool for sustainable development and Programme and the PTDF pioneer Part- that; anything is achievable irrespective of nership with the United Nations Institute your station at birth.

A firm believer in women supporting for Training and Research (UNITAR).

These initiatives led to the award of full women, Timipre believes that there is really foreign undergraduate scholarships to nothing as encouraging and inspiring as reyoung men and women from less privileged ceiving support from fellow women. She says backgrounds from the Niger Delta and across she would probably not be the woman she is Nigeria, to study at various universities across today without the support of other women in her family, career or personal life. the globe.

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inifred Akpani holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, with Second Class Honours (Upper Division), from the University of Benin, Benin City and a postgraduate diploma in Computer Science from the University of Lagos. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA) and an Associate Member of the Institute of Directors. Having started as a Trainee Accountant at accounting firm Oni Lasebikan & Co. (now Enrst & Young, Osindero), Akpani has over 29 years of postgraduate experience.

She qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1990, at Arthur Andersen & Co. (now KPMG Professional Services) and in 1992, left to join a start-up Oil Marketing Company – Flame Petroleum & Gas Company Limited, as Finance Controller. Rising through the management ranks, she became Executive Director in 1997.

In 1998, she left to pursue her quest for self-fulfillment by founding Northwest Petroleum & Gas Company Limited and assuming the position of Managing Director/ Chief Executive Officer. As Managing Director, she is responsible for guiding all of the Company’s affairs and activities, providing direction within the framework determined by their mission, their statement and strategic corporate plans.

She is responsible for formulating and developing business plans and policies, as well as safeguarding quality assurance and control in all projects, ensuring that the objectives of Northwest Petroleum & Gas Company Limited are realized in a timely and cost-effective way.

Having attended numerous local and international courses and seminars (cutting across the finance, Oil & Gas, and banking industries), she has other wide-ranging business interests for instance, as a Director of Millennium Oil and Gas Company Limited, the operator of Oza Marginal Field and Northwest Energy Nigeria Limited, a company in the exploration and production sector. Adding to this, she has substantial interests in the banking industry and is also a Director of Fleet Travels and Tours Nigeria Limited, a first-class travel agency.

NorthWest Petroleum & Gas Company

Limited is an indigenous petroleum products marketing company with vast experience in the export, import, trading, storage and supply of crude oil and refined petroleum products. Northwest Petroleum & Gas Company Ltd was created from humble beginnings in 1998 with a vision to earn a reputable name in Nigeria’s Oil and Gas industry by being measurably efficient, responsible and competitive while working to meet Company growth and objectives within the broader social and economic goals of their operating environment.

Mega filling stations have been constructed as part of their quest to expand their retail business in strategic and high impact locations in major cities across the country.

Their story of days of little beginnings dates back to over 20 years ago, when they were able to supply diesel in 200-litre drums however, the story has changed and like they say, today, the rest is history.

With about 30 nozzle stations, NorthWest Petroleum & Gas Company Ltd. owns over a 100 million litre storage capacity.

Winifred has attended numerous local and international courses and seminars cutting across the Finance, Oil & Gas and Banking industries. She is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (FCA) and an Associate Member of the Institute of Directors.

Akpani is the Chairman, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN). The body in compliance with its constitution conducted a successful election where various executives were elected and she emerged the chairman.

“The vision of DAPPMAN is to unite members, advice, encourage and support government to churn out policies that promote the economic well-being of the nation in general and the downstream petroleum sector in particular.” Winifred said.

Akpani is a non-executive director at GDL, a company leading diversified financial institution, creating wealth and transforming society, providing unique financial solutions to strengthen and expand the middle class in terms of savings, investment, financial access, infrastructure, housing, employment and others.

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