BusinessDay 15 Sep 2020 by BusinessDay

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news you can trust I ** TUESDAY 15 september 2020 I vol. 19, no 651

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Poverty constitutes biggest security threat to Nigerians N C

Nigeria’s SEC classifies cryptocurrencies as securities in landmark regulatory document

Frank Eleanya

igeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday designated the title of “securities” to crypto assets and hence will be regulated by it. According to the capital market regulator, the power it has

Odinaka Anudu

harles Dekini graduated from one of the premium universities in southwest Nigeria 10 years ago. After searching for a job for two years, he finally got one as an executive marketer in an insurance company in Lagos. He got married immediately, producing three children seven years after. The three children attended an average school, where Continues on page 31

Continues on page 31

Inside L-R: Adeleye Olusola Oyebade, deputy inspector-general of Police in charge of research and planning; Mohammed Adamu, inspectorgeneral of Police; Mahmood Yakubu, chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and Johnson Sinikien, resident electoral commissioner for Edo, during the 2020 Edo Governorship Election Stakeholders’ Meeting in Benin City, yesterday.

Edo poll: No need to change a performing governor P. A6 - Danjuma

Tuesday 15 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

NEWS

All domestic airports to resume operation GIFT WADA, Abuja

he Federal Government on Monday said all airports in Nigeria have been opened for domestic flight, adding also that private charter operators will no longer need approval to operate domestically in all government approved airports and all government own airports. However, the minister of aviation, Hadi Sirika who disclosed this dur-

L-R: Segun Olujobi, director, Odu’a board; Segun Ojo, director; Tola Kasali, director; Segun Aina, chairman; Adewale Raji, GMD/CEO; Bimbo Ashiru, director, and Seni Adio, director, at the Odu’a retreat held at Lagos Airport Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos, at the weekend

NIMASA making efforts to secure sea time for more Nigerian cadets - Jamoh

Improved power supply expected as Nigeria to add 126MW to national grid N

AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE

HARRISON EDEH

here is a huge prospect for improvement in power supply networks as additional 126 megawatts (MW) of electricity are set to be added to the national grid in two months following the completion of work on the second gas turbine of the Gbarain Power Station in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. Power generation on Nigeria’s grid currently hovers between 4,000MW and 5,000MW, which analysts say needs expansion to drive industrialisation of Africa’s largest economy. The Nigerian government has been making efforts to grow its grid capacity to 25,000MW in five years, as the Federal Government and Siemens are currently implementing projects to actualise this. Also, findings from the Niger Delta Power Hold-

ing Company show that one of the gas turbines of the Gbarain plant, which was partially completed by Rockson Engineering, has been finally erected and ready to supply power to the grid. Chiedu Ugbo, managing director, NDPHC, explained that the Gbarain Power Station was one of the four power stations hitherto awarded to Rockson Engineering. “Some of the stations such as Gbarain and Alaoji were partially completed. Some others such as Egbema and Omoku were not completed at all,” Ugbo said. “Rockson is in receivership now; so it is insolvent and therefore the NDPHC board gave us directive to terminate (the deal) and we terminated all the contracts,” he said. The board of NDPHC is made up of the governors, four ministers and the vice president who serves as chairman. Ugbo stated that the

NDPHC had terminated the deal with Rockson and was carrying out procurement for some of the stations. “Before now, at the Gbarain Power Station in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, only one unit of the gas turbine has been erected and in the grid,” Ugbo said. “So it was partially completed under Rockson. For the second unit, the erection has now been completed; so, we are undergoing commissioning now to ensure that it is working and then, we can bring it to the grid. “That takes a few months, maybe two to three months to be on the grid. So in essence, in two to three months’ time, we will be getting 126MW of power precisely. “The power plant has a name-plate capacity of 252MW. One unit of 126MW is already working; it is the second unit of 126MW that we are completing. This is to happen this year,” he said.

The company also announced that it had started the transmission projects connecting Nkalagu-Abakaliki and other distribution projects in Afikpo where the CSP Transformers on 11KV lines were installed in Enugu State. Ugbo, who disclosed this in Abuja, said the NDPHC was in discussions with the Enugu Distribution Company to enhance power supply to the network through the eligible customer arrangement. He said this step would address the issue of stranded power in the South-East region and ultimately increase revenue to NDPHC. According to Ugbo, the NDPHC was engaging another contractor to finish the construction of Egbema and Omoku Power Stations. The NDPHC manages the National Integrated Power Projects, which is owned by the three tiers of government.

Lagos Assembly commends LASU’s new ranking INIOBONG IWOK

he Lagos State House of Assembly has commended Lagos State University (LASU) for its attainment as the second-best university in Nigeria, 11th in Africa, and one of the first 500 in the world based, on the latest world rating of universities. Deputy clerk of the assembly during a plenary on Monday read a letter signed by the vice-chancellor of the

university, Olanrewaju Fagbohun, and addressed to the speaker, in which he officially informed the legislators of the ranking and thanked them for their support. The speaker of the house, Mudashiru Obasa said that the management and students of LASU deserved commendation for the height. Obasa, who said that he was amazed by the level of development on his recent visit to LASU, urged other

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lawmakers to pay a visit to the university to see things for themselves. “LASU had always been at the forefront in the past and regaining it is worthy of celebration. “We must celebrate them and congratulate the man at the helms of affairs in the university, Olanrewaju Fagbohun. “We can get to the level of universities in the developed countries in the world. If we can get to that stage,

we will save the funds being spent by our people to study abroad. We can get to a stage, where people can come to LASU for education,” he said. Commenting on the letter, chairman of the house committee on education, Yinka Ogundimu said that the amendment of the law setting up the university, which he said gave five years single term to the vicechancellor, has helped the university to stabilise.

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ing the presidential task force on Covi-19, briefing in Abuja, noted that the safety status of approved private airports should be checked with the Nigeria Civil Aviation, Authority, NCAA. Such airports include those in Jalingo, Ibadan, Asaba, Gombe, Nasarawa, Damaturu among others. Sirika also stressed that all chartered flights out of the country would still need approval including their technical staff.

igerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) says it has recorded a significant progress in securing sea time berths for cadets trained under the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP), despite the limitations imposed by the ravaging coronavirus pandemic. Bashir Jamoh, directorgeneral of the agency, stated this in Lagos following a recent three-month extension granted the 400 Nigerian seafarers undertaking sea time in different parts of the world due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The three-month programme leading to the award of Certificate of Competency (CoC) to beneficiaries, was extended for another three months by NIMASA, in the first instance, to enable the seafarers complete their training amid the global lockdowns caused by the pandemic. Jamoh stated that despite the outbreak of Covid-19, the agency had intensified efforts to secure sea time opportunities for a good number of the trained cadets across the globe. “In the first quarter of 2020 alone we secured sea time berths for over 550 cadets in various countries for the three months programme leading to the issuance of CoCs. However, due to the pandemic, we extended their sponsorship for another three months, which comes with addi-

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tional cost, and we are still looking to extend it further as we continue to monitor the pandemic and how it affects the programme,” Jamoh stated in a statement signed by Philip Kyanet, head, corporate communications of NIMASA. Jamoh further stated that the agency was in constant touch with Nigerian embassies in the beneficiaries’ host countries as well as the students themselves and their leaders to monitor their situations and guard against anything that could keep them stranded in a foreign country. “We have adapted our approaches to the peculiar conditions of the different countries where we have Nigerian seafarers on sea time training. The feedbacks from the students’ leaders in the various countries have been very encouraging,” he said. He disclosed that another set of NSDP cadets had been approved for training, but their enrolment was on hold due to the global pandemic. Jamoh said the problem of sea time training, which is one of the biggest challenges of seafarers, was gradually being resolved. The NSDP was initiated by NIMASA in 2008 to deal with the dearth of trained and certified seafarers in Nigeria. So far, the programme has graduated over 2,000 cadets and many of them have undergone sea time and are currently in the employ of various international shipping lines.

Tuesday 15 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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NEWS

Major projects stalled as A/Ibom groans under dwindling revenue …state alleges non-payment of derivation fund by FG

ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, UYO

kwa Ibom State is groaning over its dwindling revenue as, according to a government source, the Federal Government has withheld the payment of the 13 percent derivation fund which accrues to oil producing states as guaranteed in the constitution and had been in practice since 1999. Akwa Ibom is one of the major oil producing states and the bulk of the revenue it earns comes from federal allocation and the 13 percent derivation fund. The source, who spoke to BusinessDay in Uyo at the weekend, said the Federal Government has stopped the payment of derivation fund for more than four months now, apparently due the coronavirus pandemic. The source said this is telling on the ability of the state government to complete many of its projects. According to the source, though it is hoped that the fund would be released when the economic outlook improves, the sorry state of funds has manifested in a number of

road projects being suspended or abandoned. Some of the road projects abandoned or put on hold include the construction of the Ring Road III which the state government started last year and the multimillion-naira flyover project along Abak Road in the heart of Uyo, which has since been abandoned. Several other roads, including Ring Road II from Aka Road to Abak Road, have also been abandoned. In June, the state government was said to have received N11 billion from the Federal Government as its share of the federal allocation, less than half of what it used to receive before Covid-19. According to the Debt Management Office (DMO), the state’s domestic debt stands at N239.2 billion as at June 2020, the third in the country after Lagos and Rivers States. There have been reports that a major construction firm in the state has threatened to downsize its workforce due to non-payment of the debt owed by the state government. “We are groaning, many of the projects have been suspended; even the celebration

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marking 33rd anniversary of the creation of the state is virtually suspended,” one top government official said. In a message cancelling public gatherings to celebrate the 33rd anniversary of the creation of Akwa Ibom State, Emmanuel Ekuwem, secretary to the state government, said Governor Udom Emmanuel has approved that there should be no celebration, saying the decision was taken in the interest of public health and safety of the citizens of Akwa Ibom State. “Sources said the cancellation of the state’s creation anniversary apart from being to safeguard the health of the people may not be unconnected with the cash crunch that the state government is facing. “The health, lives and wellbeing of Akwa Ibomites must be prioritised over any celebration,” the statement said. Meanwhile, Ita Enang, senior special assistant to the president on Niger Delta Affairs, has called for a constitutional amendment to ensure that the 13 percent derivation paid to oil producing states does not go to the governors but to oil bearing communities directly.

Travellers stranded at Lagos airport over Azman’s flight cancellation IFEOMA OKEKE

undreds of passengers of Azman Air were stranded at the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA), Lagos, on Monday following the abrupt cancellation of its morning flight to Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja. Many of the passengers claimed that they were not informed of the flight cancellation by the airline, while a few others said they got information about the cancellation late Sunday night. A travel agent who was affected by the cancellation, Adebola Adebiyi, claimed that no fewer than five of his clients were affected by the abrupt cancellation while all efforts to get across to the customer care line of the airline proved abortive. According to Adebiyi, he had procured tickets for five clients who were scheduled to travel to Abuja with the 10:30am flight of Azman from Lagos about three weeks ago, but was shocked to receive an e-mail from the airline saying that the flight had been cancelled without further options. He said that the airline claimed the flight was cancelled due to “operational

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reasons,” which did not explain the detail of the cancellation. Adebiyi lamented further that the current down tool among the staff of Arik Air at the airport compounded the crisis for him as he had to purchase another tickets from other airlines at very prohibitive rates. He said: “I run a travel agency. I have been working with the aviation industry since 2002. We booked tickets from Azman about three weeks ago. The airline on Sunday evening sent a message to me that the flight was cancelled due to operational reasons. “I had to procure another tickets at very high rates simply because Arik Air was not working due to the grounding of its operations by the unions.” Another passenger at the airport, threatened to sue the airline for breach of contract. The passenger, who simply identified herself as Suzan, said that he got information about the flight cancellation at the airport, stressing that efforts to get a refund from the airline failed as she was instructed to rebook for another day. She said: I learnt the airline sent an email to some of the passengers, but I didn’t

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receive an email from it. I heard about the cancellation at the airport. I appealed to them to give me a refund, they refused. “I won’t allow this to go lightly because I already had a scheduled appointment in Abuja today. This is not the first time that the airline would do this to me, but I won’t allow this to go unnoticed.” A copy of the email on the cancellation read: “Dear esteemed passenger, we regret to inform you that your AZMAN AIR flight ZQ2322 LAGOS-ABUJA tomorrow, September 14, 2020 10:30am has been cancelled, due to operational reasons. “Our next available flight Lagos-Abuja is on September 15, 2020 at 10:30am. Kindly indicate via email if you wish to go with the flight. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused.” An investigation indicates that Azman aircraft that was scheduled to airlift the passengers to Abuja was diverted to a charter operation, which the airline secured on Sunday. Efforts to get across to Azman Air on the issue proved abortive as the only known mobile line of one of the management staff of the airline could not be reached.

Tuesday 15 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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Nigeria’s transportation sector: Driving growth with modern technology and human resources development

Festus Okotie

echnology advancement in transportation (road, railway, air, maritime and pipeline) is evolving rapidly. It brings with it more opportunities that helps improve productivity, safety, accessibility, efficiency, sustainability etc. It also gives it more competitive advantage as well as increase in its market share and profit margin. Nigerian economy deserves a modern innovative technology system to drive it maximally. A better transportation system will help to increase performance and maintain the nation’s position as the largest economy in Africa. With gross domestic product (GDP) of $446.543 billion in 2019, the sector increased its GDP from $642.927 to $720.241 million and it is believed that more investments in the sector will help boost the nation’s economy as well as attract more investments opportunities (local and international). Over 80 million people use the sector daily in Nigeria because the industry is very essential and facilitates the movement of people, goods and services across the nation. Therefore, the use of modern information technology systems in driving it would have a significant impact to increase productivity, efficiency, maintain and also monitor the sector. The use of modern technology would also have direct positive impacts

in the nation’s transport space and environment as it would help reduce fuel consumption, reduce congestion and emission. It is disappointing to see how traffic congestion has degenerated on our roads and accounts for significant economic loss in areas such as pollution, delay in the delivery of goods and services across different sectors of the economy, increase in industries turnaround time and higher fuel consumption due to traffic. It is very important that Nigerian government should take urgent steps that would facilitate implementation of modern policies to drive the sector for greater performance as well as the Nigerian Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC). For example, deployment of modern technologies in the sector would help reduce the number of accidents on our roads by providing warnings ahead to our authorities and drivers. Transport and logistics are integral part of the success of any nation and therefore requires that we put measures in place to develop and sustain the sector. The strategic importance of the sector cannot be overemphasised as it is necessary for products and services to reach their final consumers safe, secure and affordable, because transportation is the gateway to the economy of any nation as it helps facilitate trade, supply chain and also stimulates the economy. It is also necessary that for us to achieve our targets we must set politics, nepotism and other negative elements aside by taking full responsibility on how to upgrade the sector. The government also needs to create the right environment that would help coordinate more cohesively agencies that would monitor and implement the use of modern technologies to drive the sector to be more competitive and successful.

The importance of driving the sector with modern technology cannot be over emphasised because transport innovation is a catalyst for economic growth and sustainability. For example, sensor data and advanced analysis techniques such as machine learning are now providing new opportunities that help optimise performance of existing infrastructure, create more employment opportunities, instil maintenance culture, improve infrastructure planning and create a cleaner environment. Transportation is a key factor in all aspects of national development. Its process involves the need to collect, assemble, transfer and distribute goods, services and people from one location to another timely. The sector is evolving globally and thanks to the positive impact of modern transformative technologies, education and innovation. Achieving optimum outcomes from implementation and deployment of modern information systems across the entire value chain of the sector requires highly skilled and trained personnel with the right knowledge of the use of the technology to add value and at the same time reduce lead time in the sector. So, while we are strategising on how to effectively implement the use of modern technology to transform the sector, it is important we give priority attention to human resources development which will help drive the needed change and this gives rise to why more funding for development and research of educational institutions offering transportation management technology in graduate and post-graduate courses must be increased In addition, the government needs to give priority attention to institutions such as the Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO), Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA) and Federal University of Technology Minna (FUTMINNA), offering transportation technology courses at the highest level.

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Achieving optimum outcomes from implementation and deployment of modern information systems across the entire value chain of the sector requires highly skilled and trained personnel with the right knowledge of the use of the technology to add value and at the same time reduce lead time in the sector

Also, they should make these institutions major hubs for research, innovation and development centres in addition to the existing ones to boost their capacity. Our transport authorities can also provide platforms for exchange learning and partnerships with institutions offering transport related courses, such as Australian Maritime College, Monash University Australia, Malmo University Sweden, Dalhousie University Halifax Canada, Suny Maritime College USA to help improve sharing of knowledge and ideas, innovation, skills and expertise that will help further develop the sector. The paradigm in transportation is shifting to become more dynamic and there is realisation that institutions need to broaden their focus beyond theory to application and to also focus on the business, technology and management aspects, that will help attract more investments opportunities to the sector, both locally and internationally to stimulate growth in the economy. Evidence of setbacks in Nigeria’s transportation sector can be blamed partially on lack of use of modern technology and poor infrastructure which are needed to connect and facilitate movement of goods and services across the country. Finally, the inefficiencies in the delivery of human resource development programmes and use of modern technology systems to drive the sector are some of the major areas responsible for the slow growth of the sector. Therefore, it is important for the government to review some of the existing policies to be more flexible and robust to accommodate the use of modern technology systems that would help drive the needed change and growth in the economy. Okotie, a maritime transport specialist, writes via fokotie.bernardhall@gmail.com, Fokotie@ bernardhallgroup.com

President Trump and crimes against humanity

ccording to a new book, President Trump knowingly downplayed coronavirus risks. As other critics have argued, his administration’s decisions represent crimes against humanity. Recently, Bob Woodward, associate editor at the Washington Post and one of the legendary Watergate journalists, published Rage, a new book on President Trump’s first term, which draws on 18 interviews that Woodward conducted with Trump between December 2019 and last July. Here’s its key message: President Trump knowingly downplayed coronavirus risks. Certainly, the Trump administration knew the basic facts about the outbreak already on January 3 and soon thereafter about its potential for airborne transmission, yet chose not to mobilize against the outbreak. What’s new about Woodward’s book is Trump’s own acknowledgement he misrepresented the facts of the pandemic to the American people and thus to the rest of the world. Let’s recap the facts as we now know them. Bad flu vs deadly stuff On January 3, when the virus gene sequencing was completed by China’s CDC and emergency monitoring initiated, the World Health Organization (WHO) and relevant countries were informed about the virus. That same day, U.S. CDC director Dr. Robert R. Redfield called Alex M. Azar II, secretary of health and human services, telling him that China had potentially discovered a new coronavirus. Azar told his chief of staff to make sure that the National Security Council (NSC) was aware. There was a reason for Azar’s concern. When Trump arrived in the White House three years before, he eliminated the global health unit that

had been part of the NSC. Now a new team was launched and daily meetings began in the basement of the West Wing. Yet, no mobilisation occurred. Rather, a long debate began within the administration over “what to tell to the American public.” In mid-January, a patient with confirmed infection – the first American case - sought care at a medical facility in the state of Washington. When the WHO declared the global emergency on January 30, Trump claimed that “we have it very well under control.” Yet, President Trump had a very different message to Bob Woodward. “You just breathe the air and that’s how it’s passed. And so that’s a very tricky one... It’s also more deadly than even your strenuous flu,” Trump said in a February 7 call. “This is deadly stuff,” the president repeated for emphasis. Blaming WHO, Dr Tedros and China for administration’s disasters With outbreaks, time is a critical resource. Any delay is immensely costly. By the end of January, there were 5 official cases in the US. Today, the cases amount to 7 million, while deaths exceed 200,000, thanks in part to the Trump administration’s obfuscation. Despite emergency measures and proactive measures in several countries, the WHO’s repeated pleas and its international alert, the Trump White House failed to mobilize against the outbreak in January, February, even much of March. Instead, President Trump claimed that his administration had the virus under control (Feb 23) and “[coronavirus is] going to disappear… like a miracle.” (Feb 27). It was the Democrats’ ’“new hoax” (Feb 28). The virus was “very mild” and the infected could get better by “going to

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work” (Mar 4). The common flu was worse than COVID-19 (Mar 9). Yet, a month before, Trump had warned Woodward about the deadliness of the virus. On March 11, the WHO declared the novel coronavirus a pandemic. Two days later, the White House finally began to mobilize federal resources against the COVID-19. But now it planned to reduce the damage by reopening the economy after mid-April. Meanwhile, it blamed the WHO, its chief Dr Tedros and China for the pandemic. What Trump acknowledged to Woodward at the time was something very different. “I wanted to always play it down,” he said on March 19, according to Woodward. He deliberately sought to minimize the danger. “I wanted to always play it down,” the president said. No nobel prize for crimes against humanity Following the public controversy over Woodward’s Rage, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said “the president has never lied to the American public on COVID.” Meanwhile, Trump was nominated for Nobel Peace prize by Nordic far-right, Islamophobic and anti-immigrant conservatives. These represent the kind of groups that Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon has tried to unite in Europe (until he was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and money laundering). In late April, Richard Horton, editor-in-chief of the highly-regarded Lancet medical journal, criticized President Trump’s decision to suspend funding to the WHO: “Trump’s decision to harm an agency whose sole purpose is to protect the health and wellbeing of the world’s peoples is a crime against humanity. It is a knowing and

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Dan Steinbock

inhumane attack against the global civilian population.” Since then, the Trump administration has committed a series of new policy plunders, including premature exits and purposeful suppression of science-based public-health measures. As a result, United States and the Americas remain the global epicenter of the crisis. By now, almost 30 million people have been infected and almost 1 million have perished amid the pandemic; half of them in the U.S. and the Americas. By the year-end, these figures could still double. The last thing President Trump and his administration deserve is a Nobel prize. Both have knowingly withheld pandemic facts from the public, undermined the WHO’s efforts to protect the wellbeing of the world’s peoples, failed to protect Americans and thereby contributed to the spread of the pandemic worldwide. Such decisions represent crimes against humanity. Dr. Steinbock is an internationally recognized strategist of the multipolar world and the founder of Difference Group. He has served at the India, China and America Institute (USA), Shanghai Institutes for International Studies (China) and the EU Center (Singapore). For more, see https:// www.differencegroup.net

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The pandemic and global food uncertainty

A world without common purpose may face starvation Liberal Minded

MA JOHNSON

lobally, policy decision makers are challenged on how to navigate extreme uncertainty and urgency due to coronavirus pandemic. In the midst of the confusion, it appears there will be shortage of food or mass starvation globally. Let no one be deceived. The probability is high that there is going to be global scarcity of food. That there will be shortage of food supply globally in the immediate future is not a component of the “perception battle” that some scholars argue is happening in most countries. But certainly, most nations are facing logistical problems as a result of planting, harvesting and transporting food. And experts are saying this will leave many nations particularly those less developed countries exposed in the months ahead. Countries that would be hardly hit are those who rely mostly on food imports. Some of the reasons adduced by experts for the looming food crisis are as follows: “The sudden loss in income for millions who are already living from hand-to-mouth; the collapse in oil prices; widespread scarcity of hard currency as a result of low

remittances from those in diaspora; climate change challenges; violence; insurgency; population displacements; and humanitarian disasters.” Humanitarianism, according to scholars, is expected to achieve good in this world but it is not always a lasting good. Theologians have posited that “transformation of human hearts” is key towards solving the problems of poverty, hunger and violence. Efforts can be made to change the fortunes of many poor people, feed the hungry, remove insurgents and terrorists from societies. But unless the hearts of policy decision makers are with the requirements of the people they lead, many of those ugly situations of the past may raise their ugly heads. So today, with the coronavirus pandemic, there is global humanitarian catastrophe. Millions of civilians in conflict-ridden countries including many women and children are being pushed to the brink of starvation. This sounds shocking and one is tempted to feel that those experts who are cautioning about likely global food scarcity are prophets of doom. No, they are not! For example, the UN World Food Program has given the numbers: “821 million people go to bed hungry every night all over the world, chronically hungry, and as the new Global Report on Food Crisis published Shows, there are a further 135 million people facing crisis levels of hunger or worse. That means 135 million people on earth are marching towards the brink of starvation. But now the World Food Program analysis shows that due to the coronavirus, an additional 130 million people could be pushed to the brink of starvation by the end of 2020.” This brings the projected total figure to 265 million people.” Most people can now appreciate how an unseen novel virus popularly

called COVID-19 has overwhelmed public health systems worldwide. Economies have collapsed as a result of contraction. Nigeria’s economy contracted by about 6 percent Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the second quarter of 2020. This is not encouraging and the nation is likely to go into recession. Statistics show that food prices in Nigeria surged by 15.48 percent (Yo-Y) which is the highest since 2018. Food inflation has been in double digits for more than 3 years amid a weak currency and border closure. Recently, the Federal Government had to borrow over 5000 MT of grains from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to feed citizens as hunger bites harder. The grains which are on loan from the sub-regional body will be paid back on a grain basis, according to media reports. But what about the Anchor Borrowers Program of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)? The CBN said it would fund 1.6 million farmers across the country in the 2020 wet season through its Anchor Borrowers Program. This step is to ensure that food security is guaranteed in the country. Inconsistent rainfall pattern is a challenge with respect to food security. But we experience floods in some parts of the country due to climate change. Recently, floods washed away more than 25 percent of Nigeria’s rice harvest, according to Bloomberg. The flood ravaged rice producing states in Nigeria- Kebbi, Jigawa and Nasarawa. Although, statistics show that Nigeria is the world’s second-largest importer of the grain, 2 million tons of rice was lost to flood in Kebbi as its River break banks. This is more than 25 percent of the previously national output of 8 million tons, according to experts. There is speculation that the recent increase in the pump price of

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What is the solution to this impending food uncertainty and starvation? Since food insecurity will be a global issue, there must be peace in all countries to stop the slide into hunger and starvation

petrol is expected to have an impact on the price of rice of other market commodities. There are 7 million Nigerians living with hunger and there is food insecurity in 3 states and the Federal Capital Territory, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The statement issued from the highest level of government early in the year 2020 is that Nigeria is self-sufficient in food. Is Nigeria really self-sufficient in food? No! What is the solution to this impending food uncertainty and starvation? Since food insecurity will be a global issue, there must be peace in all countries to stop the slide into hunger and starvation. Secondly, all parties to conflicts must allow unimpeded humanitarian access to vulnerable communities. Supply chains have to keep moving and all closed borders are opened. All global, regional and sub-regional bodies are to provide leadership through coordinated action to support life-saving humanitarian assistance. What we may likely see in the international environment are nations first providing food security for their own people. A world without a common purpose on food security is one that will invite many problems. International institutions should encourage member states to consider collaborating with each other on food security. Less developed countries must mechanise farming and provide dams in their countries for irrigation farming. This is the time to act decisively in order to prevent global hunger pandemic. Otherwise, the world, according to pundits, risk setting in motion a costly and chaotic era of rising hunger and poverty. Thank you.

Johnson is an author and a retired naval engineer who has passion for African development and good governance

Forex, inflation and self-sufficiency

igeria’s food self-sufficiency goal has hit many rocks in recent times. No other staple food has been as politicised in Nigeria’s history as rice, and now, maize. This is because of an obsession with achieving zero food imports while ignoring common sense economics. Nigeria does not produce enough food to feed her citizens. For instance, only about 57 percent of the 6.7 million metric tonnes of rice consumed in Nigeria yearly is locally produced, leading to a supply deficit of almost 3 million metric tonnes. How is this deficit addressed? Imports. Imports require US dollars and for importers, the best place to get it cheap is at the CBN. The decision of President Buhari to lean on the CBN to stop issuing dollars to food importers will chase importers into the hands of black-market operators who sell dollars at a higher rate than the CBN. The impact will be higher food inflation. There is a way these things are uniquely tied. Once food prices rise, people are squeezed as more of Nigerians’ already meagre incomes are tied down in this most basic necessity. This reduces productivity, which ultimately leads to a fall in the value of the naira, as more is used to fund food imports due to this artificially created scarcity. Buhari’s insistence on “able bodied youths” returning to agriculture in this day and age would not cut it especially without forex. A better idea would be to deploy a lot of forex to not only import food but process and store locally

grown food. Food storage has been a nagging problem and we were treated to pictures of wastage of farm produce from Benue on Twitter two years ago. This would mean deliberate and effective steps to improve power supply and emphasis on efficient rural electrification, thus ensuring seasonal foods are available all year round, organically reducing the need to spend forex on food. The challenge does not just end at forex restriction. Insecurity in many of the country’s food producing areas is affecting production and the supply chain. The economic cost of the pastoral conflict in the North West and Central has been inflation. Irregular rainfall in some areas, coupled with flooding in Kebbi, Nigeria’s biggest rice producer, are also problems that need to be addressed. Firstly, the cost of producing crops in Nigeria has increased due to increased risks (from security and supply chain management) for farmers and traders (cost-push inflation). Secondly, available money is now chasing fewer goods available (demand-pull inflation). But beyond that, rather than address the root cause, the government’s rhetoric has been that smuggling of cheap produce from Asia has stifled local agricultural production, hence the decision to close the borders last year. There is also the illthought and ill-timed move by the CBN to add maize to the list of items for which importers cannot access forex at official rates. Why is this not very bright? Well, Nigeria is pretty self-sufficient on the maize score, except www.businessday.ng

for when something happens such as insecurity, which this newspaper highlighted in an August 2019 report titled, “Nigeria’s food insecurity to worsen on Buhari’s actions”. Pretty much since the Brits left us to our devices in 1960, Nigeria has never struggled to meet the demand for maize within the country. In fact, asides a period of economic collapse in the early 1980s, a shortage caused by flooding in 2012, and then post 2016. A week after the CBN placed maize on the restricted list, Ikechukwu Kelikume, the Programme Director of the Lagos Business School Agribusiness programme predicted that we’d run into problems because in the case of a shortfall, maize importers would have to access forex at the parallel markets, forcing them to pass increased costs to end consumers. The policy thrust completely ignored two facts: that merely making it harder to import a commodity does not mean that local production will automatically increase if other (local) factors weigh on production and Nigeria is pretty much self-sufficient in maize production, except during special circumstances such as now. The dissonance in policymaking has now deepened to the point where the CBN is making fiscal policy using monetary tools and other parts of the government are not working in tandem to deliver stated objectives. In this case, there is a need to resolve the insecurity bedevilling the maize production areas, to improve production by way of inputs such as quality seeds, better farming practices and broaden

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Cheta Nwanze

access to finance - many of which aren’t the responsibility of the monetary regulator. It also brings into question the utopian pursuit of the FG to guarantee food self-sufficiency rather than food security - already, food comprises 56 percent of Nigerian consumer spending. There is a likelihood that at the current rate, this may rise to 80 percent in the next four or five years. Prevailing policy thinking is likely to end up pushing costs even higher in the short term (the rising cost of eggs and poultry being a case in point). Perhaps like never before, this moment calls for bold and fresh policy thinking. The alternative to courageous policy design is a Nigeria that continues to sink deeper into poverty and extreme poverty too, with food security proving more elusive. In conclusion, the new outlook by the CBN is, to put it politely, defective. Cheta Nwanze is the lead partner at SBM Intelligence and heads the company’s research desk.

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BUSINESS DAY

Tuesday 15 September 2020

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Capitalism and development

Rafiq Raji

he main idea in IE Business School global economy professor and fund manager Daniel Lacalle’s 2020 book “Freedom or Equality: The key to prosperity through social capitalism” is the “need to apply the power of free markets to solve society’s greatest problems.” In his assertion, “there are market-based solutions to all of our social problems.” Thus, Lacalle defines “social capitalism” as the application of “free market ingenuity toward solving social problems.”

Simply put, “the private sector, not the government, makes direct investments in social welfare.” It is not suggested that firms become charities. Not at all. Social welfare is simply good business. There is money to be made. Plenty of it. But you also add value to society in tandem. A so-called “win-win”. The idea might not easily appeal to people in places where things already work, where governments deliver public services efficiently and do so quite optimally. In fact, social capitalism could easily be confused with “socialism” if the distinction is properly delineated. In a socialist system, the “community”, proxied by the state, owns “the means of production, distribution, and exchange”. For social capitalism, however, the “individual” remains at the core. Simply put, social capitalism is not collectivism. And unlike socialism or communism, social capitalism evolves with the times. It is dynamic. It relies on an incentive system that recognises the motivations and weaknesses of human nature. Public goods are likely to be delivered efficiently if there is a profit motive. And the desire to ensure the money wheel keeps spinning motivates adherence to the rules. So, what would be the role of governments then? Their guiding philosophy should certainly be to help businesses in any way they can. This is not as simple as it seems. When governments look at firms, they see taxes and how their budgets would be financed. In the system be-

ing proposed, governments engage businesses before the money-making begins. In other words, they ask firms how they can help them achieve their targets. They engage the business community on a regular basis. If done right, the relationship becomes a symbiotic one, whereby concessions here and there translate into gains in social welfare. In Lacalle’s exposition, “the government [would] be a facilitator, not the executor, of social welfare.” Naturally, you may wonder if such an approach might not create a system whereby there is ample but expensive pipe-borne water, power supply, and other social services. And there is always the risk of monopolistic or cartel behaviour, whereby a firm or group of firms dominate an industry so much that they cannot be controlled. There is also the risk that the owners of such dominant firms extend their influence into politics and government. These are not unfounded. But is it not already the case that the rich influence politics and governments in most countries? And it has nothing to do with whether the country is wealthy or not. American lobbyists literally dictate key legislations and orders of the executive branch; albeit with some finesse. In poor countries, the rich are much more brazen. They have no qualms with parading the extent of their influence in government. And in some cases, they become the government themselves. In other words, the potential risks

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Should the priority of governments not be the people? Of course, it should. People want jobs. They want to live in a functioning society, where the roads are smooth, and electricity and clean water are taken for granted

“Dr Raji is chief economist at Macroafricaintel. He was previously an Africa Economist at Standard Chartered Bank, London, UK. (Twitter: @ DrRafiqRaji)”

Rethinking customer experience in the Post-COVID Era

he COVID-19 crisis has affected people and businesses across all sectors, requiring organisations to adapt to a digital or remote way of doing business, dramatically altering people’s daily experiences. The satisfaction levels attained by these altered experiences, especially for consumer facing organisations, are strong factors in whether or not organisations will survive Post-COVID. As the global economy comes out of COVID-19 and isolation, businesses have ample opportunities to make significant changes in their operations and supply chains, to offer better services overall and understand that things that would have seemed almost impossible before, are now business practices that can easily be achieved. This is the perfect time for business leaders to emerge from crisis mode and start adapting to the customers evolving needs, focusing on ways to anticipate and exceed the expectations. In line with this, regardless of Nigeria’s arguably existing poor customer experience standing, businesses in the country are placed in a unique position to rapidly improve their customer satisfaction rankings, relying on a balance of sensitivity and agility to retain their customers and keep them happy. One way for businesses to achieve this is by mapping out their customer journey, truly understanding what the customers go through at each stage of their interaction with the business, what operational processes have become redundant and what provides the most value for the customers.

This customer journey map can be achieved by employing the professional services of Customer Experience Market Research Companies, such as CXViewpoint, that focus on customer satisfaction ratings and customer service culture for companies across all sectors. Only by accepting that the world has entered an era whereby companies are beginning to create new experiences with customers, can businesses really begin to thrive in a Post-COVID era. The pandemic also brought to the surface innovative ways to serve customers and inculcate technology to business operations. By adopting innovation and digitalisation, businesses will break down previous boundaries and create new ecosystems that will help create a mutually beneficial relationship between themselves and customers. For example, due to the sheer volume of calls during the isolation and lockdown period, banking giants Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) created a WhatsApp digital channel that offers customers the opportunity to avoid spending minutes on a call, escape the inconvenience of logging online to chat with representatives and offered their customers ease and seamlessness to their processes. This kind of adaptability and forethought shown by the bank, allows them take the pressure of their staff while providing their customers new and speedy resolution channels. With innovation taking centre stage on business continuity and customer satisfaction, Data Personalisation AI is one aspect that needs widespread adoption. The colla-

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tion of information, the use of profiling tools and data analysis will adapt the content in real-time, thereby optimising every single conversion had with the end users. Data personalisation helps businesses elevate their connection to the customers by delivering a better all-round experience. It allows companies’ tailor their interactions and figure out the best platforms in which to reach their audience, and also informs future company processes that require modifications and adjustments. At the end of the day, consumers want to be treated uniquely, using AI solutions ensures that businesses can improve their processes and strategies while opening up new possibilities for customer satisfaction. It is also important as we begin to move into the Post-COVID era that businesses begin shifting from a selling culture to a service culture. This sees the organisations start working on their long-term success rather than their short-term sales boosts, because it places more emphasis on the adoption of their products/services and their customer engagement. In a time when the global weight on “humanity” seems to have heightened, the businesses that focus on empathy and understanding their customers’, are the businesses that retain mind share, retain customers and achieve customer satisfaction. Regardless of if businesses run a B2B or B2C model, it is more imperative than ever for them to place their customers or end-users at the centre of their model. This ignites the emotional buy-in of the customers, because when it has all been said and done, all rela-

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of a private sector-led social welfare system are already there. What social capitalism ensures is that firms make money and engender social welfare in tandem. Privately-financed roads rarely have potholes. Consumers of commercially-priced electricity make sure to switch off the lights when going to bed. Needless showers are usually rare if water supply is metered. Our governments would certainly have less debt on their books consequently. We may not have as much corruption. And firms would certainly be interested in sustaining the political system that puts them first. But should the priority of governments not be the people? Of course, it should. People want jobs. They want to live in a functioning society, where the roads are smooth, and electricity and clean water are taken for granted. The record of governments trying to do these on their own is very poor, however. Capitalism without a leash is similarly terrible, as the rising inequality and populist backlash in rich countries show. Winston Churchill once described the dilemma succinctly: “The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of miseries.” With the right incentives and safeguards, firms could do for development what they do for themselves.

Toyosi Lana

tionships have an emotional component and that holds true for the connection between people and brands. At the end of the day, we cannot escape the changes the pandemic has brought to the way we live and the way businesses are conducted. However, to ensure continuity and relevance in the Post-COVID era, businesses need to reevaluate their customer experience models, focusing on ways to adapt to their customers’ evolving digital and remote needs. Understanding that actionable operation changes, i.e. local data hosting for data centric businesses, can go a long way in ensuring elevated customer satisfaction (because it means faster access). Meeting customers’ needs and going the extra mile can create strong emotional equity for business brands that will extend beyond the COVID-19 crisis. These uncertain times have highlighted that businesses have to think outside the box, embrace innovation and realise that things they thought were not possible within their operation models, are processes they are currently employing because they have no other choice. It is time to build on that momentum and capitalise on the adaptations that are currently ensuring customer satisfaction.

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Tuesday 15 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

EDITORIAL Publisher/Editor-in-chief

Frank Aigbogun editor Patrick Atuanya

DEPUTY EDITORS John Osadolor, Abuja Tayo Fagbule NEWS EDITOR Osa Victor Obayagbona NEWS EDITOR (Online) Chuks Oluigbo MANAGING DIRECTOR Dr. Ogho Okiti EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OPERATIONS Fabian Akagha EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, STRATEGY, INNOVATION & PARTNERSHIPS Oghenevwoke Ighure ADVERT MANAGER Ijeoma Ude 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 HEAD, HUMAN RESOURCES Adeola Obisesan

Maintaining an enabling environment for marginal field operators

The FG must avoid decisions that could scare away investors

n 2 September 2020, the curtains officially closed on the 2020 marginal fields bid round. In all, 57 fields located on land, swamp and shallow offshore terrains were on offer. Data available from the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) shows that over 600 companies applied to be prequalified for the marginal oilfields. As a country in dire need of investment, the enthusiasm of the bidders is commendable considering the steep drop in crude oil prices, occasioned by the short-lived crude oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia as well as outbreak of COVID-19 and the subsequent slowdown in economic activity globally. The strong message from the companies that participated in the bid process is that although the cost of doing business in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry remains high, investors still consider the industry attractive. But beyond the confidence reposed in the country, the federal

government must take measures to ensure stability in the oil industry and avoid decisions that could scare away investors. Of particular concern is the fate of marginal field operators in the country. It is noted that following the decision of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to enforce a production cut on all member countries in April 2020, the NNPC allocated production cutback to all exploration and production companies in Nigeria. In terms of production volumes based on the OPEC agreement, the Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva said that Nigeria will now be producing “1.412 million barrels per day, 1.495 million barrels per day and 1.579 million barrels per day respectively for the corresponding periods in the agreement.” While compliance is a gesture that demonstrates Nigeria’s commitment to agreements, it is noted that marginal field operators should have been spared from the production cut announced by the NNPC. The story of marginal field operators is one of the most epic nar-

ratives that has emerged from the Nigerian oil and gas industry in the last two decades. These companies, which are often small, contribute a small fraction of Nigeria’s crude oil production but account for a sizable volume of the gas being used to power Nigeria. The marginal field companies have contributed to job creation, youth empowerment and community development, Nigerian content development, skills transfer as well as generating revenue for the government. The outbreak of Covid-19 severely impacted the price of crude oil and the bottom-line of marginal field companies. Therefore, the current cut in production casts another depressing shadow on the financials of the marginal field operators who are already encumbered. The unavoidable consequence of compulsory production cuts on the operators is the corresponding cutback in the number of employees and all the benefits that host communities and government have enjoyed from these companies. Loan defaults will also increase because many of these companies

are highly leveraged. It is imperative that the NNPC rescind its decision to include marginal field operators in the production cut, so as to save them from collapse. Already, there are indicators that some of the marginal field operators are considering different options to remain afloat. Options such as layoffs, defaults on financial commitments and major cutbacks on Corporate Social Responsibility are on the table. Surely, this is not in the best interest of the country at a time that the economy has continued to wobble while predictions of an impending recession are becoming louder. The signs are ominous. Unemployment, loss of taxes and social upheaval loom large. We call for a reversal of the production cut imposed on marginal field operators as a demonstration of government’s goodwill towards encouraging further investment in marginal fields in the country and in furtherance of the government’s own agenda on the ease of doing business. The government has a lot to gain by making a turnaround on this issue.

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 Konyin Ajayi

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BUSINESS DAY

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Tuesday 15 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

COMPANIES&MARKETS

KADE KEYO launches virtual solution centre to help SMEs drive customer reach Jumoke Akiyode-Lawanson

business and community builder – KADE KEYO – has launched a Solution Centre aimed at assisting Individuals, Startups, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to drive customer onboarding and access tech solution based products. KADE KEYO is notable for creating business es that serve clients with top quality solutions and train their employees with the utmost respect for the customer’s needs. The new Solution Centre, according to the Founder, Tanho Attah, was set up to directly interact with the customer base. Being designed as a walk-in interface, the idea is to have customers walk in, interact with a representative of the company a t t h e s o l u t i o n c e n t re, physically or virtually, get shown a list of possible solutions currently available, and get served. “The idea of the centre which launched in August 2020, was to simplify our operations such that the team at the solution centre

focuses their core on serving the clients, while the back end team focus on delivering/executing the required solutions”, Attah said. “The solution centre is designed to interact with

individuals, startups and SMEs alike”, he said. While giving an explanation on how the Centre can be utilised, Attah said that products can be engaged with by a simple walk in process, “but we register every

ahara Energy Logistics Holding Limited (a Sahara Group company) and Société Nationale d’Opérations Pétrolières de la Cote d’Ivoire (the national oil company of Cote d’ivoire, Petroci Holding) have entered into a Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) to facilitate the construction of a 12,000 metric tons Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) storage facility to guarantee LPG supply security in the nation. The cost of the project is estimated at $43 million and will be executed in two phases, with commissioning scheduled for November 2021 and October 2022 respectively. Incorporated as SAPET Energy S.A., the joint venture company will handle the construction, operation, and maintenance of the ultra-modern LPG storage terminal. Upon completion, the facility will become the largest of its kind is Sub-Saharan Africa, and more importantly, support the government’s efforts to meet

target groups. “A co-working space as an example, provides solutions designed for businesses and entrepreneurs, which we benefit from since we currently use co-working spaces to house some of our

L-R: Ibrahima Diaby, Director General, Nationale d’Opérations Pétrolières de la Cote d’Ivoire (Petroci Holding), and Olayemi Odutola, Country Manager, Sahara Energy (Cote d’Ivoire) at the execution of the Joint Venture Agreement between both companies for the construction of a 12,000 Metric Tonnes Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) storage facility to guarantee LPG supply security in Cote d’Ivoire.

Sahara Energy, Petroci sign $43m deal to boost LPG supply in Cote d’Ivoire GBEMI FAMINU

first time client who can easily repeat services or request new product features available at the solution centre. The company says it is constantly researching, tweaking and developing product features for various

Cote d’Ivoire’s growing LPG demand. Speaking at the execution of the agreement, Ibrahima Diaby, director-general Petroci, said, “This joint venture project is the first of its kind in Cote d’Ivoire and will serve as a model for other projects in the energy sector. It is a historic event that will pave the way for a robust and seamless storage, distribution, and supply of LPG. This translates to more clean energy, growth, and productivity in Cote d’Ivoire. We are delighted and look forward to more collaboration with Sahara Energy.” Olayemi Odutola, country manager, Sahara Energy, said the project was in tandem with Sahara Group’s commitment to promoting clean energy in Africa through investments, new technology, and collaboration with regional and global institutions. He stated that the partnership with Petroci further reiterates Sahara Group’s support and commitment to enhancing economic growth in Cote d’ Ivoire and contributes to the UN SDG7 goal which

aims at ensuring access to affordable and clean energy. “We are excited about the project and the huge opportunity it will confer on Cote d’ Ivoire as the leading LPG hub in the sub-region. Sahara Energy continues to support the energy value chain in the nation as a foremost partner. Sahara Group remains unwavering in its commitment to enhance capacity, productivity, reliability, safety, profitability, competitiveness, and sustainability in Africa’s energy sector. We will continue to explore other investment and partnership opportunities to replicate similar projects across the continent,” he said. Industry experts say the development is cheery news for the nation with a population of 25 million people which has recently emerged as one of West Africa’s fastest growing LPG markets. National LPG consumption has grown from 175KT in 2013 to 380KT in 2019, a significant increase that far exceeds the country’s demand for liquid products (excluding gasoline).

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employees, when required, being a largely remote work model company ourselves. What the solution centre does is present the solutions we create, some of which go beyond the scope of just business support services.” Its Ping product is designed to help businesses increase their customer reach with actual engagement and possible sale. It also can be used by anyone with a social media account as well as a Whatsapp enabled contact number. He said that the Solution Centre currently operates virtually and can assist anyone who is connected to the internet for instant interaction with the team. “Physical centres will be opened in the nearest future to serve the physical communal market (people who don’t yet trust, understand or use the internet for business or personal needs.) To us, the solution centre is at the very heart of what we do, bringing our well thought out and tested products to the market place, creating solutions for one brand or person at a time,” Attah said.

JTI report warns of a ‘gathering storm’ in the black market IFEOMA OKEKE

apan Tobacco International, (JTI) has published a report, independently verified by Intrinsic Insight Ltd., entitled ‘The Gathering Storm’, on how the illegal tobacco trade are operating during the Covid-19 global pandemic and preparing to reap the rewards in the economic aftermath that will follow. Law enforcement agencies around the world have welcomed the report, which is based on 63 field studies, conducted across 50 countries including Russia, Canada, Malaysia, and the Philippines where tobacco smugglers currently have a strong presence. JTI intelligence found that the global public health crisis and financial downturn has created the conditions for a ‘perfect storm’ where organized criminal groups will further exploit public demand for cheap goods, and capitalize on dwindling buying power in the impending global recession, particularly in countries with high tax

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regimes. The report has provided JTI with a global picture of four emerging trends, consistent with Euromonitor and Europol intelligence: Evidence shows that criminal groups are biding their time in readiness for an anticipated boom in illegal tobacco sales. It also shows that after initial disruption to the illegal supply chain in Western European markets, organized criminals quickly exploited the inconsistent approach to travel and lockdown rules and found alternative routes from production to distribution, leading to significant seizures of illegal factories or their components in countries such as the Czech Republic, Greece, Ireland, Belgium, and Spain. The report revealed that changed law enforcement priorities and border restrictions have been mixed in limiting supply and the availability of illegal tobacco: whilst governments and authorities in Far East Asia were quicker to impose restrictions, those in the West failed to act with @Businessdayng

such precision. Technology has been increasingly deployed throughout the pandemic to enable sales of illegal tobacco to continue where strict lockdowns were put in place by governments throughout Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific, where WhatsApp and Facebook have provided quick and easy methods of communication between the consumer and criminals. Furthermore, the International Chamber of Commerce predicts that global counterfeit trade will reach $4 trillion by 2022, primarily fueled by e-commerce . According to the World Bank, the global trade in illegal tobacco is already worth an estimated $40-50 billion each year to the criminal groups who produce, manufacture, smuggle, distribute and sell tobacco products on which there are no tax duty paid. The loss of revenue to law-abiding retailers is also significantly felt, as is the impact on consumers who are lured into buying substandard products.

Tuesday 15 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

property&lifestyle

Space reduction, request for rent concession top landlord-tenant conversations in H1 2020 …as real estate market reels with downward pressure from Covid-19 CHUKA UROKO

he first half of 2020 witnessed unprecedented crisis as the global health emergency called coronavirus or Covid-19 ravaged all sectors of global, regional and national economies. Real estate was no exception. In Nigeria, the impact of the deadly virus within the period under review was total such that both suppliers and consumers of real estate products and services are still smarting from the rude shock. Besides retail and hospitality, office space is another segment of the real estate market heavily impacted by the virus for reasons of social and physical distancing which reduced market transactions to nearzero level. Prospective tenants and landlords stayed away to avoid physical contact. For reasons ranging from social distancing rule to job losses, pay cuts and decline in consumers purchasing power,

many companies elected to have a good number of their staff work from home, leading to space reduction and the need to renegotiate leases and request for rent concession. “Space reduction, lease renegotiations and requests for concession on rents is a common feature in many landlord-tenant conversations,” a new first half year report on Nigeria Real Estate Market by Northcourt Real Estate Limited confirms. At the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, landlords did not only give concessions, they indeed gave rent holiday to their tenants. Landmark Africa Group, developers of the expansive Landmark Village in Victoria Island, gave their tenants one to three months rent holiday depending in the property-type. Because of the social distancing rule and the decision of some companies to have some of their staff work from home, vacancy rates in the office space market has been

on growth trajectory. But the landlords are working around this in various ways. “Cutting deals early by way of reduced rents to maintain occupancy is oneway landlords are managing tenancies. There will be opportunities to make deals early in the coming recession that will keep occupancies at respectable levels. Some landlords are prepared to renew tenancies, even if at lower rents,” Ayo Ibaru, Chief Operating Office at Northcourt, noted Looking to the future, Ibaru identied what are, ar-

guably, sources of concerns. According to him, on the one hand, people want to work from home, which will likely translate to a reduced demand for office space. “The counterargument suggests that they are only doing so because they have little choice and are likely to choose private offices if given the option, translating to a need for more space,” he pointed out. The third option, he noted, suggests that offices currently crammed into open plan spaces will become less so, leading to a demand for more office space, adding that as

work from home becomes the norm, companies will continue to test and refine employee support systems. Going into the future too, it is expected that Grade A & B office utilisation rates will decline as more businesses reassess their space requirements. Future demand for office space will optimise for flexibility. On the supply side, construction has slowed on pipeline projects. In the last six months, just a few grade A office space leases were signed and analysts report that most have been less than N100,000 per square metre. It is unlikely that demand for office space will increase. For the coworking space, the story is worrying. Coworking had been one of the high growth areas in Nigeria’s real estate market. This was due largely to the emergence of startups and the migration away from costly office spaces. What began in the US in 2005 has grown to about 30,000 coworking spaces globally with 1.18 million users. Africa’s

large millennial population contributed to the growth of coworking on the continent and recorded more than 600 coworking spaces opened with Nigeria ranking highest. The Northcourt report notes that over 147 startups raised $337 million in 2019 but, in a recent global survey of more than 14,000 coworking spaces, 72 percent recorded a decline in the number of users. 67 percent saw a drop in new membership enquiries. Ibaru disclosed that, on March 20, 2020, one of the country’s pioneer coworking spaces, CCHub, suspended activities until further notice while LeadSpace also announced that its hubs would be closed due to social distancing restrictions. “Globally, it’s been the same story,” he said. “Tenants are unable to use, and consequently, pay for space. Coworking spaces need to significantly adjust their business model and implement measures to continue in business. Working from the office (WFO) has quickly switched to work from home,” the COO said.

More opportunities for home seekers as property market welcomes Vantage Bourdillon

Property buyers get discounted sales offer as Dradrock marks 3 years in business

CHUKA UROKO

fter three years in the business of investing and developing property in Nigeria, Dradrock Real Estate Limited is offering discounted prices to property buyers as part of its anniversary celebration and also its contribution to closing the housing demand-supply gap in the country. A young company that opened for business just 36 months ago, Dradrock has demonstrated uncommon dynamism, having within this short period developed and sold out two estates with six ongoing projects in Lagos. It promises, as part of its vision, to continue to help to bridge the housing gap in Nigeria. The company has plots of land on offer which come in different sizes at its Prime Oikos Estate in Lakowe, a fast growing suburb in Ibeju Lekki. Oladipo Idowu-Agida, the company’s managing director and chief executive officer, explained in a statement at the weekend that the special discount prices would be lower than the original sale price, adding that the offer was for everyone, irrespective of being an existing or intending customer. He disclosed that 30 plots of land in two different land sizes were available in 600sqm and

espite the disquiet in the property market arising chiefly from the crippling impact of Coronavirus pandemic, savvy investors with long term view of the market are still doing developments, putting products on the market and increasing buying opportunities for home seekers. The latest in this class of investors is Cavalli Business & Investment Group, a leading luxury real estate developer in Nigeria which, just last week, unveiled its new project called ‘The Vantage Bourdillon’, a 10-storey luxury residential facility situated on the highbrow Bourdillon Road, Ikoyi, Lagos. Modelled after some of the best luxury residential apartments globally, Vantage Bourdillon will rise in 10 suspended floors comprising a recreational floor and 9 apartment floors that will be built to accommodate 18 private residences. According to its promoters, the new development will have a penthouse maisonette on the top-most floor that will offer stunning views of Bourdillon Road and the Ikoyi environs. It is part of the Cavalli Group’s

L-R: Tunde Adaramaja, CEO, TAC Group; Ben Nwaokolo, IT Manager, Deluxe Residences; Esther Briggs, Communication Manager, Deluxe Residences; Eka Ekwem, COO, Deluxe Residences; Emmanuel Odemayowa, CEO, Cavalli Business & Investment Group; Olusegun Lawal, MD, Expertsbridge Limited, and Olaolu Oluwarinde, Head of Operations, Global Property Partners, at the Vantage Bourdillon unveiling event recently.

quest to make world class residential accommodation available in Nigeria, they said. “This is a project of our subsidiary—Deluxe Residences; it boasts a recreational floor with a well-equipped games room and gymnasium, a swimming pool, a spa and wellness centre,” explained Emmanuel Odemayowa, the managing director/CEO of Cavalli Group. “The Vantage Bourdillon is a project at the core of our heart and that is why we have given it the name, Vantage”,Odemayowa explained further, assuring that “anyone that buys into this project will know he will be oc-

cupying a vantage position on Bourdillon.” He revealed that the new development was among the ways the Cavalli Group was contributing towards lowering the country’s mounting housing deficit and called for partnerships between private sector real estate developers and government towards increasing home ownership level in Nigeria. Besides The Vantage Bourdillon, Deluxe Residences has several other luxury real estate completed & ongoing developments in the upmarket segment of Lagos real estate.

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Among the completed projects are The Vogue, The Grand Orchard, Pacific Heights, The Orchard all in Oniru, Victoria Island. Others are the Avant Apartments in Ikoyi as well as on going high-rise residential apartments of various bedroom types called The Empire Series along Water Corporation Road, off Ligali Aroyinde in VI. Cavalli Group’s Global Property Partners, which focuses on mixed use projects, is also behind The Pacific Lagos, an iconic mixed used development strategically located on Ozumba Mbadiwe Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.

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CHUKA UROKO

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300sqm, explaining that the 600sqm would have 20 units discounted, while the 300sqm will have 10 units discounted. “This is in appreciation of God’s grace, and in celebration of milestones achieved,” he said, revealing that the company had upcoming projects in Lekki, including the Pacific Manor II and the Hibiscus, which he promised would excite their customers once ready. “Dradrock as a company is committed to uplifting the living standards of residents of Lagos State, and by extension Nigeria; that is why we have come up with anniversary discount sales offer for everybody, “It is our wish that more people can use this platform we are providing to become home owners; we will continue to deliver quality homes and estates to Lagos residents in line with our core values which are, innovation, customer satisfaction and excellence,” the CEO assured. Prime Oikos Estate is located in Lakowe, off Lekki-Epe expressway. The estate boasts infrastructural amenities such as underground electrification providing 24-hour electricity, tarred roads with paved walkways, 24-hour security patrol with well trained personnel, CCTV cameras, waste disposal system, street lighting, a gym and club house.

Tuesday 15 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

FEATURE Learning in Nigeria: Recovery strategies post pandemic era Tope Imasekha is Chief Executive Officer of Edugrant; an online platform providing a range of sponsorship opportunities for students in tertiary institutions who are incapable of funding their education. Edugrant is committed to addressing 4 out of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, with the provision of access to quality education being our core goal. Beyond providing access to quality education, we also seek through our various programs to eradicate poverty, strive for gender equality while reducing inequality and also creating opportunities that lead to the provision of decent work and economic growth.

ver the past few months, the COVID-19 pandemic has developed into what could be described as the greatest test the global community has faced in decades. Nevertheless, recent news suggests a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. Several countries hit hardest have now overcome the peak of the virus, with others showing signs of success in flattening the curve. With these positive developments in mind, communities are naturally looking forward to the reopening and returning to normalcy. The Nigerian education sector – which experienced different forms of disruption as a result of the pandemic – has been offered some respite, as the Lagos state government recently announced the gradual opening of the sector. Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu stated on the 29th of August 2020 that tertiary institutions will resume on the 14th of September, while primary and secondary schools are set to resume on the 21st of September. Precise timing toward the new normal is uncertain, but it is possible and important to plan how this transition and recovery will take place. Recouping will take time and should be considered in a holistic manner given the scope of processes, people, and places affected by COVID-19. It is incumbent on all stakeholders to do our part in ensuring the recovery pace is quickened. We at Edugrant believe that intervention plans for post-covid recovery should be a collective effort of the government, NGOs and well meaning individuals who have a passion to see the growth of education in Nigeria. This is one of the reasons why we have set up different learning programs in partnership with learning centres and other NGOs within our sector. With additional collaborations and partnerships from organizations and Nigerians at home and in the diaspora, we will be able to work with more centres and many more students will be impacted. While education intervention plans during the pandemic were not sufficiently collaborative, post-pandemic recovery must be coordinated and strategic. Below are some learning recovery strategies that worth considering. Physical recovery plans making school environment safe

To plan for the near to medium term, it is important to understand how long the effects of the coronavirus will continue to pose a threat. Until a vaccine is developed, we need to put social distancing strategies in place. Government and schools should ensure that there are set detailed protocols on hygiene measures, including handwashing, respiratory etiquette, use of protective equipment, cleaning procedures for facilities and safe food preparation practices in schools. Administrative staff and teachers should be trained on implementing physical distancing and school hygiene practices. Cleaning staff should also be trained on disinfection and be equipped with personal protection equipment to the extent possible. There is a need for clear and concise protocols on physical distancing measures, including prohibiting activities that require large gatherings, regulating the start and close of the school day, regulating feeding times, moving classes to temporary spaces or outdoors, and having school in shifts to reduce class size. www.businessday.ng

Academic recovery - Recovering learning loss When students return to school, there needs to be a recovery curriculum in place. We also need to look at alternative ways to increase learning pace, and the need to adjust the academic calendar to make up for lost time. Additionally, the government needs to allocate resources where need is greatest. The closure of schools has had an outsized negative impact on students from low income households. Opportunities for distance learning have been scarce for this demographic and the time out of school has presented economic challenges to their parents who may face challenges finding prolonged childcare, or even adequate food in the absence of school meals. Special focus should be placed on schools in low-income and rural areas across Nigeria. Other strategies to be considered include Waiving less important examinations, such as those used for promotion decisions, in order to focus resources on ensuring that critically important exami-

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nations (such as those used for secondary school graduation or university entrance) and giving universal promotion wherever possible. Continuing with distance learning in parallel to normal school learning.

at the state and federal level. This kind of information must be shared with schools. Government also need to Provide clear national guidance on parameters for decision making on school openings and communicate with school and public.

Psychological and Emotional recovery Psychological and emotional recovery should focus on identifying students who need crisis counseling or are otherwise exhibiting signs that they are struggling with the adjustments after a major trauma. Student’s mental health check should be monitored after a pandemic and this should be addressed as part of recovery process

The Future In preparing for unforeseen similar future occurrences, there is a need to develop alternative academic calendars based on different public health scenarios and taking into consideration modalities to be used for remote learning. It is important to increase investments in remote learning options to supplement the regular learning methods. During the peak of the pandemic Edugrant (edugrantng.org.) created a range of remote learning interventions programs for students to utilize, and we aim to make this a continued process, even after the pandemic phases out. Finally, it is recommended that government should be flexible enough to retain the use of new ways of learning that have been discovered alongside the conventional ways of doing things in the post-pandemic era.

Effective communication from the government Communication is integral to recovery. There needs to be adequate communication between government and schools. This is to ensure that schools are well informed of opportunities available for them. For example to determine what school emergency relief funding is available for them, and what is available @Businessdayng

Tuesday 15 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

INTERVIEW Banks are denying indigenous practitioners access to CBN funding to end medical tourism - Elochukwu In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Central Bank of Nigeria created a N100 billion intervention fund to enable healthcare operators modernise their operational infrastructure. So far, about N10.5 billion has been disbursed to applicants. ELOCHUKWU ADIBO, whose El-Lab Limited is an ISO-certified medical laboratory that engages in collaborative research with international health organisations, shares with MODESTUS ANAESORONYE frustrations of practitioners in accessing the fund.

ive us background of ELLAB Limited EL-LAB is among the first three indigenous medical laboratories in Nigeria to attain international accreditation known as ISO 15189, which is a standard to measure competence and the quality of work done in a medical laboratory, all over the world. We hit the mark in 2016 and right now we are getting the accreditation renewed. We have gone through the processes and in a couple of weeks we will receive the renewed accreditation. Are you saying that the results of laboratory investigations done in your facility can be taken to any hospital anywhere in the world? That is absolutely 100 per cent correct, and that’s actually what we have been seeing and testimonies abound from foreign medical facilities. I have had calls and emails from doctors in the US, Europe, Egypt, Dubai (UAE), South Africa and India who are impressed with the quality of our work and the laboratory reports we have given to Nigerian patients who went on medical tourism to those countries. However, it is not an exciting testimony that doctors have to call from these countries to commend our work. I would rather love a situation where our people stay back in Nigeria to access quality healthcare of international standard. We want to have our results given to clinics in Nigeria, to do the needful. That brings me to the fact we can see what has happened in our country with respect to the pandemic. A lot of deficiencies in our health system have been exposed. The Needs Assessment Study we conducted as a corporate body showed that over 40-60 per cent of the high-end laboratory investigations required in diagnosing certain medical conditions are still outsourced to facilities in Europe and India and the results are then returned to Nigeria. What happens is that clinicians refer patients to the laboratories collaborating with them in this regard; samples are taken and sent overseas through the foreign courier companies operating in the country. Of course the patients won’t know that their samples are being sent overseas for analysis. You will be shocked at the volume of shipments of this nature done by the big three foreign courier companies operating in the country. What is happening is contributing to the high cost of the tests, capital flight and

Elochukwu Adibo

sustenance of foreign medical laboratories to the detriment of our indigenous facilities. Added to this is the loss of opportunity to enhance and grow the skills of our own practitioners as well as loss of associated job opportunities. Most indigenous laboratories lose out because they lack the capacity to conduct the tests. For instance, our accreditation is restricted to a particular scope, and we still have limitations in the sort of investigations we are allowed to do. Currently, we are not able to do molecular genetic forensic investigations. It is a very painful thing, when you have the knowledge, skill and experience to do such investigations, but you lack the right equipment. You see, in Britain where I practiced before returning to Nigeria, I was exposed to such investigations. In response to COVID-19, the Central Bank of Nigeria created a fund for private sector health facilities to acquire modern equipment. As an ISO-certified laboratory, has your facility made any effort to access the fund? On March 25, 2020, the Central Bank of Nigeria announced the creation of a special N100 billion intervention fund to help private sector healthcare organisations such as hospitals, medical laboratories, and pharmaceutical manufacturing firms acquire modern equipment that would enable them boost drug production and also provide higher quality service and be able to offer more intricate clinical interventions, www.businessday.ng

and by so doing substantially deepen the knowledge base of our practitioners in such areas that compel our people to engage in medical tourism. We were excited and happy to hear the announcement, but then the story changed as the typical Nigerian Factor got into the process. First, the word ‘intervention’ means getting in to close a gap. I mentioned earlier that we did a need assessment to identify critical infrastructure required by medical laboratories to conduct specialised investigations for clinicians in Nigeria with the hope of ending the practice of sending samples overseas for analysis and thereby save foreign exchange for the country. Today in the world, most investigations are going molecular with respect to public health issues, diseases and infections such as COVID-19, Lassa fever, tuberculosis, HIV, serological investigations, among others. We felt the CBN move would help end what we consider an intellectual slap and blight on our practitioners when such needed investigations are exported and the results returned to the country as if we lack the intellectual capacity to conduct them here in Nigeria. What we lack is necessary equipment to do these things. The high-end laboratories set up in Nigeria by foreigners do not do investigations in the country. Essentially, what they do is to consolidate batches of samples collected from patients referred to them by clinicians and send to their laboratories abroad for analysis, and then the results are returned to Nigeria. Nigerian medical laboratory scientists are

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not involved in the investigations and hence their knowledge-base is not deepened or broadened in the process because the experience that comes from hands-on involvement in the investigative analysis of the sample is denied to them. The government and the CBN must reasonably and urgently walk the talk in respect of the intervention fund for the health sector. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is a molecular diagnostic test. When the COVID-19 pandemic started, the country had only three laboratories with capacity to conduct PCR analysis of samples. Today, we have 64 laboratories in about 33 states. In addition to the governmentfunded laboratories, some private sector facilities now have capacity for molecular test analysis. Notwithstanding this positive development, the number of molecular laboratories is still very low. As a country of 200 million people we still have insufficient laboratory capacity to meet the glaring need. One week after the CBN announced the fund, we applied for a loan to finance our expansion project. We wanted to set up a high-end molecular diagnostic laboratory that would meet present and future needs like deep human genomics investigation and HLA typing tests which are absolutely necessary for organ transplant interventions, to see whether there is a match between the donor and the recipient. Currently, HLA typing test is not being done in the country. The CBN initiative was a perfect answer to our desire. I approached four different banks – Zenith, UBA, Access and Sterling. The first three turned down our proposal but we are still in discussion with Sterling Bank. The banks are simply not interested in giving out loans under the CBN scheme because the interest rate is too low and the moratorium is not attractive. Instead, they rather want to lend their own funds at high interest. They also insist on huge equity participation. For instance, if you need about N100 million, you are expected to provide about N25 million or more as equity in addition to collateral that covers the balance of N75 million. The banks said they could not carry the risk involved 100 per cent as stipulated in the CBN guidelines. They also said the projected turnover should be in the billions. If we could generate that kind of turnover, why do we need the loan in the first place? It is quite obvious that credit analysts of the banks do not understand the dynamics of healthcare practice. They would not visit your facility to see how you oper@Businessdayng

ate; instead they just sit in the comfort of their air-conditioned offices and tell you that your proposal would not fly. Such armchair banking cannot grow the health sector. The health system is deteriorating, we are not closing the gap, we are not meeting the glaring needs and Nigerians are dying. It is wholly painful, agonising and traumatising to think about. Five months after the intervention fund was established, can the CBN publish the names of the healthcare facilities that have received loans under the scheme? We know ourselves, we know who deserves what and has capacity to utilise the funds judiciously. If the CBN gives money to EL-LAB, the whole world deserves to know what we are doing with it and how we are moving forward to expand capacity. There is absolutely no need for secrecy. The CBN should tell us what has happened after almost five months since it announced the intervention fund. Nigerians deserve to know the whole truth. I have asked most of my colleagues, to know if any of them has accessed the CBN intervention fund, and the replies I got are in the negative. So who has the CBN given the money it said it provided? As I said, we want to expand our capacity and set up a top-notch specialised Level-3 biosafety lab that will be able to do molecular testing for Lassa fever, COVID-19, other diseases and infections that are of major public health concern. Since the banks are insisting on huge equity base, have practitioners considered joining forces to establish mega-labs rather than the go-it-alone way? That is really a splendid idea. We would be happy to partner with Nigerian healthcare practitioners at home and outside the country to modernise and grow the health sector. The fact is that most clinical and diagnostic facilities are the result of collaborations, whereby people outside the country invest in their colleagues practicing here, especially people they have affinity with and who have integrity. Under such cooperative arrangement, the people here will do virtually nothing else other than to ensure that the projects succeed, generate reasonable return on investment, create jobs and deliver quality service to the people. It is a real possibility that would make the standard of practice to rocket up and put Nigeria among the comity of nations that have modern health facilities.

Tuesday 15 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

Branding Nigeria’s poor building maintenance culture stems from lack of knowledge - James Cubitt Facility Managers MD There is a wide view that Nigeria lacks maintenance culture. This cuts across public, private sectors. Structures such as buildings are not serviced and maintained leading to their dilapidation and eventual collapse. In the end, huge sums of money are allocated for their rebuilding. This is worsened as; facility managers are not incorporated into building design and constructions for professional advice. In this interview, therefore Gbadunade Ogunleye, the managing director of James Cubitt Facility Managers regrets that many people lack knowledge about professional maintenance of structures, hence they give such responsibility to gate-men. Ogunleye who studied Chemistry at UI but followed her passion for keeping building exquisite discusses how regulation could be a recipe in structure maintenance. Excerpts Could you tell us more about James Cubitt Facility Managers and what informed the establishment of the company? he company kicked off as a desk in James Cubitt Development. After successfully running the desk for about a year, it was established as a company. What informed the establishment was that James Cubitt Group, which started off in Nigeria over 60 years ago as an architectural firm, realised that many people were only looking at designs, the beauty and the construction, but the question is what happens when the property is built, whose job is it to maintain it. Maintaining a structure should be considered from the design stage. Maintaining a structure is critical and that encouraged us to enter into the market five years ago. Since then we have made some statements including picking empty properties which are losing their value and using our resources to reactivate them. After the reactivation, consumers begin to be interested in them because of the quality of service and customer satisfaction. Since the establishment of the company, we have grown from 2 staff to over 60. We have locations in the commercial space. We were handling some branches of Diamond Bank before it became Access Bank. We have residential properties we manage including Liberty Court on Victoria Island. Is James Cubitt a Nigeria firm or foreign firm? It is a multinational that came to Nigeria over 60 years ago from Britain. We have offices in the UK, Brisbane, Accra and Doha and our chairman is British. James Cubitt Facility Managers is however duly registered in Nigeria. As a facility manager, what is your assessment of facility management culture in Nigeria? There is poor maintenance culture and that stems from lack of knowledge. Unfortunately, learning institutions offering facility management courses are very few. That means a lot of people stumble unto the profession without learning the rudiments. Today, there is the education and recognition challenge in the profession, which means we are not known. Imagine that someone will invest multi-million Naira in a building and at the end

Gbadunade Ogunleye

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means that every service I am delivering is recorded. When property owners engage us from the start, we will be able to advise on materials to be used in building for proper maintenance. Between commercial and residential, which one forms a larger part of your business and why? I will say residential. We are forging ahead as there is an agree-

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We have the capacity and we have a system where we consistently recruit people. We have a database of people on standby. As soon as a property comes on board, we have a database of people we can call upon

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use a cleaner as a facility manager. We need to promote the profession because the positive impact on the economy as well as for business owners is immense. There is also the challenge of buying quality materials for facility management as most of the imported materials are substandard. How do you cut down the cost of facility management for a business owner? This is our strength. When a business owner uses untrained people for facility management and later realises his mistake, we can come in with expertise to offer professional advice based on the understanding of the building, owner’s vision, goals and his/her business objectives. We put all these together and come up with a facility management model that is bespoke for that building. We don’t copy the model from one building to another as there are different businesses with different missions requesting for different facility management needs. This helps the business owner to redirect the essential resources from the non-core to the core. What is your position on property owners who want to go for low cost? Though some building owners look at the cost but in the long run what they are saving is a lot. When I am data-driven in my job, this

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ment we are about to sign that will change the dynamics. In Nigeria, private homeowners are becoming more interested in maintaining their homes. They want to live in their homes and enjoy them. Businesses too are getting more aware. The impact on their bottom-line is huge if experts are used for facility management. We will cut down on employment and we will resource appropriately instead of using the wrong people to do what they don’t have knowledge for. Covid-19 has opened many people’s eyes especially when the cost is considered. We are really about asset management and the comfort of the users. We are passionate facility managers, so James Cubitt Facility Managers is not overly expensive and because of this, we get lots of jobs through referrals. How do you rate your organisation? There are facility management firms with different objectives. We are in this business for people development. The problem in Nigeria today is the mind-set, mediocrity. Secondly, many people are not given chances to prove themselves. Our mission is to harness, discover opportunities that will change our world and transform lives. We are here to develop people. Professionally, I see this facility management profession in Nigeria as a young industry, do you see more firms entering the industry. Secondly, what is the value of the industry? I agree with you that the industry is young and that is because of lack of knowledge. The value and responsibility of the industry are huge and facility managers need to understand this and promote the industry. Without us, certain things will not work in a facility but facility managers are not celebrated. The industry is taking steps to establish the profession such as the adoption of certification for professionals. I believe that when we have different people working in different places and changing the face of facility management in Nigeria, gradually they’ll make an impact in the sector and it will become recognised. Facility management is not just running around, it involves strategy, analysis and being able to understand the building. A facility manager is like a medical doctor to a building. The value we bring to buildings is @Businessdayng

huge as we prevent business owners from spending money on what is not necessary. At what stage does the facility manager come in? It is from the design stage if it is a new building. If an investor is about to build, it is important there is a facility manager on the design team. If a facility manager comes in later, it means there is much work to do but it is not late. For instance, some size of cables must have been laid inappropriately. Where does government regulation come in to ensure standard buildings and maintenance? Right now, there is weak enforcement of standards on building regulation. This gives the society problems but if the regulators are firm and penalise for building mishaps, it will make facility management work easy. Facility managers need to be heard and the value recognised, and the government needs to know the negative impact of not being firm on building regulation. There are buildings that need to be rebuilt especially where pipes are laid inside the walls which later leak and weaken the building. Some states are however rising to facility management. What is your take on James Cubitt Facility Managers capacity to manage more clients as the facility management industry grows? We have the capacity and we have a system where we consistently recruit people. We have a database of people on standby. As soon as a property comes on board, we have a database of people we can call upon. Professionals recruit for us based on certain criteria. After recruitment, we do inductions and train them based on our standards. What lessons did you learn from Covid-19 pandemic in terms of cost reduction and efficiency? What I have learnt is that it is not business as usual. People need to be proactive. Proactivity has helped us a lot as a company. The moment we started hearing of Covid-19, we started meeting to strategise and two weeks before the lockdown, we had our plans. We communicated our lockdown and when it was officially announced, it was smooth for us. We adopted proactivity, creativity and flexibility in our work to ensure we are not hit hard by the pandemic. We put a system in place that gets the job done.

Tuesday 15 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

Media business ICT firm, ipNX delivers Nigeria’s first 200Mbps internet speed offering to homes ... Introduces FOS Xtreme fibre broadband internet plans Daniel Obi

pNX - Nigeria’s information, communications and technology (ICT) company with two decades of experience in the Nigerian ICT market, with fixed-wired (fiber) and fixed-wireless operations has launched a new flagship series, tagged “FOS Xtreme”. The FOS Xtreme flagship was introduced into the market with two service plans Xtreme100 and Xtreme200,

offering speeds of 100Mbps and 200Mbps respectively. This offering for homes and SMEs is said to be the first of its kind in Nigeria, lending credence to ipNX’s reputation on technological innovation. Speaking at the launch of the “FOS Xtreme” plans, Kene Eneh, Divisional CEO, ipNX Retail said “based on our traditions at ipNX, we are introducing two FOS Xtreme plans to the market “Xtreme100” and “Xtreme200”. More speed means more power and more productivity for our customers

to be able to work, create, learn and play online without any inhibitions. “The FOS Xtreme promise is to deliver the fastest internet access speed obtainable at any given time in Nigeria. “We are at such a crucial time in history when productivity and output should not be affected by the challenges of the ongoing pandemic, thus as an innovative brand, we have invested in developing these novel plans that will deliver the highest speed and quality of connection to subscribers”. The Head, Product Man-

agement, Najite Ikutegbe, also informed that the concept of “Xtreme” is hinged on ipNX’ strategic intent to lead in the development of products with boundless possibilities. He said “It is obvious at this time that Internet access has become ‘a way of life’ and more consumers are in search of data plans and services that will enable everyone and every device get connected with optimum speed concurrently”. He said that “FOS Xtreme” is for today’s power user, be it at home or at the workplace.

Jobberman unveils Nigeria’s largest Virtual Career Fair

obberman, the single largest online training and job placement website has announced its plans to host Nigeria’s largest ever Virtual Career Fair, which will take place on September 30th 2020. As part of its Champions campaign, 250 potential employers from various sectors including digital, agriculture and creative, and 10,000 highly qualified candidates will come together under one virtual roof for this landmark must-attend event. As unemployment and underemployment reach an all- time high in Nigeria at over 40% due to the pandemic, the search for jobs has become an overcrowded marketplace, with 18-35 year olds mostly impacted. The one day Virtual Career Fair will be centred on how to navigate the increasingly competitive job space and provide the necessary tools to get hired, with one-one interviews between candidates and employers and sessions such as CV Preparation masterclasses. The company said the online event is part of Jobber-

man’s mandate to use its soft skills training to place 3 million young Nigerians in dignified employment in the next 5 years. Jobberman is perhaps the only recruitment services platform in Nigeria that offers to train and place candidates in dignified employment. The ongoing online training program equips young people (18-35) with critical tools including business etiquette, emotional intelligence and more, to help them transition into their new roles and increase workplace productivity. The Virtual Career Fair is free to all candidates who have completed the online program and passed the end of course assessment test. According to Hilda Kragha, Managing Director of ROAM Africa Jobs, “The Virtual Career Fair perfectly encapsulates Jobberman’s commitment to alleviating the strains of unemployment and employability, by connecting thousands of qualified candidates to reputable employers, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

First Pan-African e-Shopping TV Channel, StarTimes GO, debuts

L-R: Christiana Okenla, head of Customer, Experience and Advocacy, ipNX; Kene Eneh, divisional CEO; and Chris Oputteh, head of Engineering, during the launch of Fibre Optic Service Xtreme 100 and 200 Plans, in Lagos... on Tuesday. Photo: ipNX

t a r Ti m e s ha s a n nounced the launch of StarTimes GO, a 24-hour channel dedicated to e-shopping and aimed at advancing the digital lifestyle of Nigerians. The integrated e-shopping platform offers audience access to a massive array of superior quality products, with great designs, at

discounted prices and the goods are directly delivered to the doorsteps of shoppers. The e-shopping channel which incorporates TV to ecommerce in real-time is the first of its kind in Africa. First launched in Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda, the integrated e-shopping channel will then be available Pan-Africa.

Asharami Synergy promotes quality diesel supply with ‘Value for Money’ campaign

lternative power s u p p l y re m a i n s commonplace across Africa as individuals, small businesses and large corporates continue to depend on off grid solutions for their power needs. Diesel is largely the product that drives power generators and equipment deployed to maintain seamless productivity for individuals and businesses alike. Therefore, any low grade or contaminated diesel is likely to create a disruption in the value chain, with far-reaching negative impact on profitability and healthy living. For a nation blessed with a vibrant oil and gas sector, Nigerians shouldn’t have to second guess the level of quality in diesel. However, industry watchers say some the Nigerian diesel market has been infected with unscrupulous practice of selling adulterated diesel to unsuspecting consumers. Such practices create very costly disruptions in the running of our businesses and daily lives-we experience

reduction in efficiency due to lost time, loss of machinery and a life-threatening level of the impact of human exposure to such diesel that could have been prevented. But Asharami Synergy, a Sahara Group Downstream Company, is leading the charge of separating the chaff from the grain with its ‘Value for Money’ campaign that is at giving diesel consumers the “gold standard in diesel’. With its determination to rid the market of fake products through provision of quality and genuine diesel supply and creation of awareness, Asharami Synergy is once again proving to be at the forefront of providing Nigerians with reliable fuel solutions and protecting the buying public from low quality diesel. As one of Nigeria’s foremost diesel suppliers, this commitment to provide consumers the compass to quality diesel product is another testament to its continuous drive for high quality product and sustained consumer satwww.businessday.ng

isfaction. The “Value for money” campaign, according to Asharami Synergy, aims to give all classes of customers and consumers convenient access to safe, reliable, and top-quality diesel. The campaign is with the understanding that for any diesel engine to function properly, it must be supplied with high quality fuel, as this is an important part in maintaining the performance, reliability, and usable life of all diesel engines. The company said its un-

wavering commitment to quality and safety earned Asharami the prestigious ISO 9001:2015 certification. ‘’This means that our processes comply with customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements on an international level”, said Foluso Sobanjo, Acting CEO, Asharami Synergy. Some of the copies the campaign intends to promote include: “Get your diesel with peace of mind”, “Get diesel with a gold standard in quality”, “No near misses with our

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diesel”, “Get diesel with high performance”, “Top diesel for smart people”, “No long epistle with our diesel”, “Get Reliable diesel delivered to your doorsteps”, and “Never settle for less diesel”. The campaign, according to Sobanjo will ultimately create a sustainable awareness among consumers that will make the public insist on the gold standard in diesel and culminate in the well-being of customers, their assets as well as the environment, while ensuring great value for money. Sobanjo said the campaign was an emphatic response from Asharami Synergy to raise the bar of quality that would enable the sector stamp out the activities of agents involved in the proliferation of sub-standard petroleum products. “As a leading company in the sector, Asharami Synergy is delighted to lead the charge for global standards in the market for diesel supply. We are empowering our customers to do and achieve more with our diesel because @Businessdayng

we uphold the philosophy of getting value for money,” he stated. Sobanjo also said Asharami Synergy will continue to supply diesel to the doorstep of the company’s customers through its door-2-door delivery initiative which promotes convenience, safety, and competitive pricing in the delivery of diesel in Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt. Asharami Synergy’s Door2-Door initiative has been commended by customers and industry analysts as a foremost hitch-free diesel supply solution to consumers. Not only do the customers trust the quality of diesel, nothing beats the pleasure they get from receiving exceptional service from the comfort of their homes or business locations. As the energy demand continues to grow, Asharami Synergy says its commitment to lead the industry towards the path of global standards and competitiveness remain unwavering.

Tuesday 15 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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Cybersafe Foundation equips digitally vulnerable groups, SMEs to fight COVID-19 related scams

... Secures UK Government’s funding through the Prosperity Fund’s digital access programme Jumoke Akiyode Lawanson

yberSafe Foundation, a popular non-governmental organisation in Nigeria has revealed its plans to equip digitally vulnerable groups and 1500 SMEs with the knowledge and skills required to identify, protect, detect, defend and respond to COVID-19 instigated cyber threats, so as to enable a safe digital community. The foundation which is on a mission to facilitate pockets of changes that ensure a safer internet for everyone with digital access and resident in Nigeria has secured funding from the UK Government’s Digital Access Programme. Also, CyberSafe Foundation has secured support from KnowBe4 Africa, CyberSecurity Experts Association of Nigeria (CSEAN), and other experts to ensure the program tagged ‘Safe Digital Community During COVID-19’ project is achieved. “Without an iota of doubt, the COVID-19 global pandemic has created an atmosphere of chaos, confusion and fear, a perfect backdrop for malicious actors to carry

out a range of attacks online. A particularly vulnerable group is the Small and Medium Size Businesses, many of whom do not have adequate technology, people, or processes in place to detect or defend against cyberattacks. This project will provide the much-needed free upskilling training for employees of beneficiary SMEs by cybersecurity experts,” Confidence Stavely, founder/executive director, CyberSafe Foundation, said.

Staveley further said that the volunteer faculty team consists of highly experienced and exceptional cybersecurity leaders based in Nigeria, United Kingdom, Canada, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, Cayman Islands and South Africa. “Beneficiary SMEs will cut across all parts of Nigeria and different business sectors, including underserved communities in the Northern part of the country and

healthcare organisations”, she said. “Learning will be delivered online as a combination of biweekly live training sessions and self-paced learning materials consumed via our learning management system. SMEs need to register on our website to be part of the free virtual training which will begin on the 9th of October 2020,” Stavely said. The training is geared to help individuals and businesses identify and handle cybercriminals with COVID-19 themed attacks like; relief packages scams, impersonation of trusted organisations; resulting in theft of confidential information and money from unwary victims. “We will leverage entertainment as a vehicle to propagate safe cyber hygiene best practices to millions of people resident in Nigeria,” she said. According to Idongesit Udoh, UK Government’s head of digital access programme and country adviser, “The Safe Digital Community during COVID-19 Project is part of UK’s cyber risk mitigation support to Nigeria’s COVID-19 response. This project demonstrates the UK Government’s continued support

for Nigeria and its digital sector, recognising the tech ecosystem’s role in inclusive growth and development.” “We are excited about this project and the impact it will have in enhancing the safety of Nigeria’s digital space. It is also exciting that this project kickoff coincides with the 2020 London Tech Week, which showcases the UK as a global leader in tech,” he said. Commenting on the program, Remi Afon, the president of Cyber Security Experts Association of Nigeria, said, considering that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a significant shift in tactics employed by cybercriminals, it has become pertinent to intensify cybersecurity awareness to ensure that individuals and businesses of all sizes can avoid falling prey to cybercriminals. “In the wake of this reality and recognising the urgent need to address COVID-19 enabled cyber scams, the CyberSafe Foundation CSEAN partnership aimed at delivering SDCDC-19 in Nigeria will go a long way in building the cybersecurity capacity and resilience of our target audience,” Afon said.

Why Nigerian financial institutions need bespoke risk management software solutions Jumoke Akiyode Lawanson

n today’s ever-changing banking landscape, risk managers in most banks have come to understand the need to deploy appropriate financial and technology tools for risk management. With different softwares available in the market, getting a bespoke risk management software that is designed to meet the peculiar needs of banks and financial institutions have become pertinent. Hence, FinTrak Software Limited, a financial technology (FinTech) firm with Pan-African outlook says it has enhanced its Credit Risk 360 Software, an end to end loan underwriting and management system designed for financial risk managers in order to solve this problem.

The FinTrak Credit Risk 360 solution has demonstrated robust performance and high level of encryption. It is strengthened with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning technologies to drive end to end digital lending activities for small ticket loans and also support loan granting decisions on mid ticket transactions whilst providing robust loan monitoring system. Speaking on the need for banks to have a tailor-made software to suit their distinctiveness, Bimbo Abioye, the Group managing director of Fintrak Software said, the Credit Risk 360 software has been built in line with the global best practice for the financial services sector and also for public sector intervention funds management. The software also has a mobile app which can be used on the go to drive

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quick transaction turn-around time and enhance operational efficiency. “FinTrak Credit Risk 360 was designed to help banks meet the need to identify, measure, monitor and control credit risk as well as to assist financial institutions to ensure they hold adequate capital against these risks and that they are adequately compensated for the risks incurred. The Credit Risk 360 Solution is a webbased platform that can be easily accessed from all branches of the bank and also via web browsers anywhere in the world via its highly secured mobile application”, Abioye said. Credit Risk 360 is integrated to two of the three credit bureaus in the country and will soon be integrated in a third credit bureau. This makes feedback from credit bureaus an obligation since underwriting is instantaneous

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and less stressful on Credit Risk 360. The platform is also integrated with Central Bank’s CRMS platform for seamless acquisition of loan booking codes and seamless reporting. Stakeholders say that with this software, banks are made to comply with the Central Bank of Nigeria credit policies and more importantly, regulatory reporting requirements. Bad loans and risk of frauds via automation are significantly mitigated with the software. Fully conceptualised and developed in Nigeria, Credit 360 Software comes with a dashboard that shows the classification of related data, alert messaging that push emails to concerned officers, credit risk origination, credit documentation, collateral management and collateral realisation, loan restructuring, loan work

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out and loan write off and loan sales. “We took into consideration the various challenges that the risk managers face in the country while building this software. Over time, we realised that most financial institutions buy over the shelf foreign software with little or no support system in place. We tried as much as possible to address these issues with this software. We ensured that we built a software that over time made Credit risk management practice error free”, Christopher Sualeze, head, Credit Risk 360 implementation, Fintrak. FinTrak Software is a Nigeria based Financial Technology organisation that innovative technology and business solutions to financial institutions in the financial services sector and enterprises across the globe.

Tuesday 15 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

abujacitybusiness Comprehensive coverage of Nation’s capital

Gynaecologists score FCTA high on reduction in maternal mortality James Kwen, Abuja

he Society of Gynaecology and Obstetrics of Nigeria (SOGON) has scored the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) high in its efforts towards reduction of maternal mortality rate in the Territory. The President of SOGON, Oluwarotimi Akinola who gave this indication when a delegation of Executive members of the Society paid a courtesy on FCTA said the feat was achieved through the implementation of Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance and Response (MPDSR) project of the Society.

Akinola disclosed that S O GON introduced the MPDSR in six health facilities of the FCT, including Nyanya, Bwari and Kwali General Hospitals and the Primary Healthcare centers at Kwali, Gbadalape and Kogo. He noted that the implementation of the MPDSR project in these areas has reduced the maternal mortality ratio in the FCT to below the national average. The SOGON President explained that in Bwari Area Council, the maternal mortality ratio was reduced from 504/100,000 in 2014 to 468/100,000 in 2019 and maternal mortality was reduced from 317/100,000 in 2014 to 221/100,000 in 2019 in Nyanya while the fig-

ures dropped in Kwali Area Council from 329/100,000 in 2014 to 268/100,000 in 2019. Akinola also commended the FCTA for the establishment of a budget line for the MPDSR programmes in the FCT being the first State in the country to do so. He s a i d t h e M P D S R project in the FCT has increased consciousness and accountability of health workers as the hospital and Primary Health Care staff have become more conscious on issues relating to maternal and perinatal deaths. In his remarks, the FCT Minister, Muhammad Bello reiterated the commitment of the FCT Administration to the development of Pri-

mary healthcare in the FCT as evident in the recent employment of 203 volunteer midwives and Community Health Extension workers. Bello called on the Society to work very closely with the Health and Human Services Secretariat of the FCTA and the Office of the Minister of State for the continual provision of maternal healthcare services to the women of the FCT. The FCT Minister appealed to Medical Doctors not to embark on strike actions now that the world is fighting the COVID-19 p a n d e m i c, n o t i ng t hat those mostly affected by industrial actions are the more vulnerable members of society such as women in need of maternal care.

Oil theft: Troops dismantle illegal Refineries Godsgift Onyedinefu, Abuja

roops of Operation Delta Safe have intensified the fight against crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism, illegal oil bunkering and have consequently dismantled illegal refining sites in the Niger Delta region. John Enenche, Coordinator, Defence Media Operations (DMO), disclose this at a media briefing in Abuja said the Forward Operating Base Bonny patrol team discovered an illegal refining site in Ataba, Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State, with two metal storage tanks laden with about 301.91 barrels of product suspected to be stolen crude oil and one metal tank laden with about 34,000litres of products suspected to be illegally refined AGO. The Coordinator said the team also discovered five storage facilities made with tarpaulin inside the swamp laden with about 4,717.35 barrels of product suspected to be stolen crude oil. He stated that: “2 large wooden boats laden with about 1,069.26 barrels of product suspected to be stolen crude oil were discovered inside the creek. The storage facilities and wooden boats were dis-

mantled”. Enenche also said troops of 222 Battalion destroyed an illegal oil refinery containing unspecified amount of illegally refined petroleum products at Abua in Abua/Odua Local Government Area of Rivers State, while troops of 146 Battalion on patrol intercepted one wooden boat laden with unspecified amount of stolen crude oil at Berger Jetty in Bonny Local Government Area of the State. The Coordinator further disclosed that the Nigerian Navy Ship Delt a p at ro l t e a m l o c at e d a dugout pit with about 1,257.96 barrels of product suspected to be stolen c r u d e o i l at O gb o d e d e Creek in Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State. Enenche also disclosed that the Niger ian Navy Ship Victory patrol team intercepted and arrested a wooden boat with four Nigerian suspects and laden with 1,482 bags of foreign parboiled rice around Tom Shot Island Breakwaters by A g b a n a - We s t a l o n g Calabar Channel. The Coordinator said the bags of rice were smuggled from Dimbola Fishing Port in Limbe in the Republic of Cameroun and destined for Oron in Akwa Ibom State.

Military sustains onslaught on bandits, rescues kidnap victims Godsgift Onyedinefu, Abuja

L-R: Sulayman Shelleng, director civil service pension ,Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD), Chioma Ejikeme, executive secretary PTAD, Kabiru Yusuf, director parastatals pension PTAD and Theodra Amechi, director Police Pension dept PTADM during the 2020 PTAD directorate press briefing in Abuja. picture by TUNDE ADENIYI.

NGO, Shippers Council donate Benue Council Chair health facilities to Abuja School reconstructs burnt market Gift Wada, Abuja

ueen Agnes Foundation, a Non- Governmental (NGO) with focus on elevating female folks in the society has donated a Sickbay to Kurudu Junior Secondary School, Abuja to meet the health needs of the Students. This was just as the Nigeria Shippers Council donated mattrases, bedsheets, fridge and nets for the Sickbay. At the Commissioning of facilities, the Founder, Queen Agnes Foundation, Thelma Akinduro who said the construction of the Sickbay was inspired by the health needs

of the school especially in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic also disclosed that most of the children are house helps suffering from molestation. “Passion for humanity and love for children motivated me into taking this decision, I go to school to sensitize girls. I watched a play and I was touched by what they go through. About 200 of these children here are house helps and they are taken advantage of by their boses, so I decided to help them” Akinduro also announced the plans of the Foundation to give more donations to government schools in Abuja, the nation’s capital. www.businessday.ng

Benjamin Agesan, Makurdi

he Chair man of Otukpo Local Government Council in Benue State, George Alli is reconstructing the Otukpo main market which was gutted by fire last year. Addressing journalists while inspecting the ongoing reconstruction works at the burnt sections of the market, Alli expressed satisfaction with not only the level of work done, but also the quality of work. The Otukpo Chairman assured those whose shops were razed down by the

inferno at the market that their shops/land will be reallocated to them. He said: “The materials being used are of high quality. From the high quality blocks to the reinforced steel; each sections of the shops is being created with wider access road for vehicler movement, including big trucks. “The shops will be roofed with decked concrete and very few combustible materials will be used, to prevent or minimise fire incidents. And in the event of a fire outbreak the fire will be confined against spreading to other shops”.

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ctivities of armed bandits and criminal elements in the northwest zone have witnessed a decline following the sustained military onslaught including various aggressive clearance operations in the zone, John Enenche, Coordinator of Defence Media Operations (DMO) said. Enenche stated that the troops of Operation Hadarin Daji carried out series ambushes and other aggressive and confidence building patrols which led to the neutralization of armed bandits, arrest of suspected bandits and their collaborators. He also said during the operation, there was rescue of kidnapped victims, recovery of rustled cattle, smashing of illegal arms syndicates and illegal armed miners. The Major General in Nigerian Army, explained that in one of the operations, the troops killed two @Businessdayng

armed bandits at Samawa village in Bungudu Local Government of Zamfara State, while a bandit surrendered three AK 47 rifles, one SMG and two magazines to troops of Forward Operating Base Dansadau in Zamfara State. He also disclosed that the troops of Forward Operating Base Kekuwuje arrested two bandits’ couriers with the sum of N1.565 million in Maru Local Government Area of Zamfara State and arrested a bandit informant in Faskari Local Government Area of Katsina State. Enenche said in the North East zone, troops of Operation Lafiya Dole killed seven Boko Haram Terrorists arrested and cleared several ISWAP structures. He added that the troops rescued seven kidnapped victims comprising two women and five children and recovered one gun truck, two AK 47 rifles, one Dushka AA Gun, one PKT gun and one machine gun.

Tuesday 15 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

EDUCATION Weekly insight on current and future trends in education

Primary/Secondary

School reopening : Public Institutions admit above carrying capacity for profit - APPPN President • Says COVID - 19 has exposed admission fraud in public schools MARK MAYAH

he president of the Association of Proprietors of Private Polytechnics in Nigeria (APPPN), Moses Adeyemi, has said that lecturers under the aegis of the Academic Staff Union of Universities are being insincere in their support for the declaration to not allow the resumption of tertiary institutions. According to ASUU, the population of students in public tertiary institutions was too large to be allowed for social distancing in line with COVID - 19 management protocols. However, Adeyemi said it was because of profit that public schools ‘’ over admit “ students and do so outside the laws, outside the approved of NUC and NBTE, and without the clear knowledge of JAMB. Following the lift on schools lockdown, the Proprietors of private Polytechnics in last weekend disagreed with lecturers that tertiary institutions should remain closed to activities due to COVID - 19 pandemic, saying that they were not sincere. The association of Proprietors of private polytechnics in Nigeria appealed to the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency reopen Polytechnics shut down in

Adamu Adamu, education minister

the wake of the COVID - 19 pandemic. They called on the minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, to announce a date within the current phase of COVID - 19 lockdown for the resumption of Polytechnics. The appeal came a few weeks after the pro-chancellor of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Afe Babalola(SAN), made similar demand to the Federal Government that private universities should be reopened if public universities were not ready. While maintaining that it had put measures in place for the safe return of students to

campus, the proprietors said the return of students to campus would help polytechnics contribute towards combating the COVID - 19 pandemic. Adeyemi then asserted that the pandemic had exposed the fraudulent practices involved in the admission process of Public tertiary institutions. “APPPN doubts the sincerity of ASUU and ASUP in this regard,” he said, adding that COVID - 19 has exposed admission fraud in public tertiary institutions “, he said. Adeyemi said, ‘’The Regulatory bodies, National Universities Commission and

National Board for Technical Education access facilities before granting approval to offer a program and do not also authorise admission above the carrying capacity of the institutions based on its facilities. ‘’Admissions into Nigerian tertiary institutions are also regulated by Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board which do not allow admission above carrying capacity approved by NUC or NBTE. The question now is how did these institutions come about the extra - large classes? ‘’ ‘’We don’t believe that there are different standards for private institutions. Private Polytechnics admits within its capacity and most of us don’t have enough students because the public institutions hoard the students during JAMB admission. The number of students in private polytechnics allows for social distancing.’’ He said it was because of profit that public schools ‘’over admit’ Students and do so outside the laws, outside the approval of NUC and NBTE, and without the clear knowledge of JAMB. ‘’If not for profit why should public schools be having students in regular programs, evening programs, weekend programs, consultancy programs, etc. Are these programmes not profit - oriented? ‘’ APPPN asked.

Kwara Gov restates commitment to youths empowerment SIKIRAT SHEHU, Ilorin

wara State Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq has reinstated his administration’s commitment towards creating a conducive environment to drive youths to greatness in their chosen vocation. A statement by Modupe Joel, Chief Press Secretary to the Deputy Governor, Abdulrazaq gave the assurance at the grand finale of the Entrepreneurship Contest which the Kwara State chapter of the National Association of Nigerian Students organised in honour of the Governor’s late father, AGF Abdul-Razaq SAN.

R e p re s e nt e d by h i s Deputy, Kayode Alabi, the Governor noted that ingenuity, willpower and God’s mercy would ultimately determine the leaders of the future hence, the need for youths to come out of their comfort zones, learn new skills and make a significant impact. He explains that his administration is deliberately investing in e-governance and refocusing people’s attention on technology, pointing out that some youths who recently took part in virtual digital training are already making an impact. Abdulrazaq added that the development had impressed the present administration to commence the second phase of the virtual www.businessday.ng

digital training to train an additional ten thousand youths in new digital skills with the upcoming innovation hub set to harvest endless potentials in Kwara youth. While thanking the Association of the Nigerian Students for the laudable initiative to honour his late father, the Governor urged the youths to embrace boundless opportunities in the new media space to transform their lives. Commissioner for Tertiar y Education, Saadatu Kawu-Moddibo in her opening remarks, said that the program was a true reflection of the lifestyle of late AGF Abdulrazaq who, according to her, empowered youths with quality education as the first private

school owner who established Ilorin College that is now known as Government High School, Ilorin. Kawu-Moddibo, charged youth on a positive attitudinal change to realise a better entrepreneurship success that can take them to greater heights, stressing that mindset is sacrosanct in the journey to a successful life. Earlier, the Chairman of NANS, Kwara Axis, Salami Wasiu explained that the objectives the entrepreneurship contest were to help students develop entrepreneurial skills and learn how to finance their business since the country Chun out thousands of graduates without jobs for them in the labour markets.

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Higher

Human Capital

NGO urges Lagos schools to domesticate child protection policy MARK MAYAH

ollowing a virtual meeting on ‘’Need to implement Lagos state safeguarding and Child Protection Policy’’ in Lagos, the Girls Voices Initiative [GVI], a programme of Action Health Incorporated (AHI), has appealed to schools in Lagos Education District 1 to domesticate the State’s Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy. The GVI Girls Leader, AyoOluwa Oladiran, made the plea at the weekend said Lagos state Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy is aimed to provide clear direction for reporting disclosures of abuse and commitment to the development of good practice and sound procedures to keep children safe. The policy also seeks to ensure that child protection concerns were identified, referrals handled sensitively, professionally and in ways that supported the needs of the child’s wellbeing. The policy was ratified by the former Governor of Lagos State, Akinwunmi Ambode on December 16, 2016. Oladiran said that implementing the policy effectively would protect students against issues of sexual harassment and abuse within the school system. She quoted a statistic from a UNICEF research, which showed that one in four girls, and one in 10 boys in Nigeria experienced sexual violence, harassment and abuse. According to her, sexual harassment against children usually occurs in settings and by perpetrators that child was familiar with. “Child-centered institutions like schools are one of the most frequent places where child sexual abuse or harassment occurs. “To complicate matters further, there is generally the additional problem of non-disclosure of abuse by children, due to fear of further harm from the perpetrators, being blamed, feelings of shame, among others,” she said. Similarly, Angel Okolie, noted that only four schools in Education District 1, acknowledged having adopted the policy. Okolie said that a survey conducted by GVI among 100 students from 10 schools in District 1, showed that more than 43 per cent of the @Businessdayng

students have never heard about the Lagos State Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy. “For those that have heard, they heard in passing or checked online. “About 17 per cent reported that there have been issue of sexual harassment in their schools and 15 per cent reported that it happened to them. “Majority of the students are willing to report, if they are ensured confidentiality and support,” she said. Okolie stressed the need for schools to adopt and implement the policy ahead of school resumption toward providing a safe learning environment for students. Responding, Bola Alamu, Principal, Government Junior College, Agege, said that the schools have started

Folashade Adefisayo, Lagos State Commissioner for education

implementing the policy, which required more training to safeguard the students. Alamu appealed to AHI for more collaboration and support with training of school officials to become more conversant with and abreast of the provisions of the policy. Commenting, Funsho Bukoye, Project Coordinator, AHI, said that the policy highlights the importance which the state government placed toward protecting the lives of children. Bukoye appealed to all schools in District 1 to domesticate the policy as a guideline that sets out what they would do to keep students safe while in school. Earlier, Margaret Solarin, the Permanent Secretary, Education District 1, said that the state government was committed to create a ‘child safe’ environment for students in the state. Solarin commended AHI for driving the advocacy for implementing the policy, noting that effective implementation would enhance a conducive learning environment and wellbeing of children in the state.

Tuesday 15 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

EDUCATION Ahead of school resumption: parents, proprietors urged to explore students’ curiosity in learning KELECHI EWUZIE

s the push for school resumption intensify, an educationist Ayo Odunlami, executive director, Rainbow College has called on school owners and parents to explore the curiosity aspect in students as it empowers them to forge new ideas through inquiry and questioning. Odunlami observes that with the current shift in the world, it is important to keep an open door policy with virtual one on one sessions with students to keep their minds sharp and aid their communication through the unprecedented shift.

Abiola Seriki-Ayeni, DG, Office of Education Quality Assurance

According to him, It is important that parents who are spending more time with

their kids to make curiosity personal, feed it, reward it and let your kids take the lead in

conversations”. Odunlami opines that when treated as a lifelong endeavour, learning a little bit about something opens up space to learn more, adding that as young children encounter something new, learn a little bit about it, get curious and then continue to add on a little more information with each new discovery, they expand learning outcomes. “Parents and Guardians don’t make their children curious, research shows that it’s a child’s internal desire to know more, to learn more, and to ask more. This inquisitiveness leads them to seek out new experiences and this leads to greater success in life”, he said. Providing insights on how best parents and school

Oyo to rate private schools on academic achievement, school structure •As APSON Commends Gov Makinde on BESDA Examination REMI FEYISIPO, Ibadan.

yo State government has charged private school proprietors to sustain the already established education standard in the State as open standard rating of each school will soon be done. The State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Olasunkanmi Olaleye gave the charge over the weekend, while playing host to the State’s chapter of Association of Private School Owners of Nigeria (APSON) and League of Muslim School Owners, during a courtesy visit to the Ministry by the associations. Olaleye noted that schools in the State must endeavor to partner with the government in its commitment to qualitative education, asking them to achieve the 5 point standard rate with structural, academic and welfare of students and staffers in their schools. “You have to struggle to be the standard we want you to be because there will be criteria for you to attain a particular standard, I am sure all of you aspire to get to the 5 points. “This one will come very soon and not only that we will just do it, it will be there on our website and it will be there in front of your school, we will put it there that this school is rated 3, this school is rated 2,

this school is rated 5. “And the rating can come down as well, the fact that you are 5 today does not mean next year if you fall in standard and you fall in quality and other criteria you won’t come down so, this one is coming very soon. “I want to appeal to you to join us raise the standard of education in Oyo state and to ensure that our ranking of achievement and external examinations performance becomes the best,” Olaleye said. The State’s Chairman of Association of Private School Owners of Nigeria (APSON) Bayo Ojo, in his short address,

Seyi Makinde, Oyo state Governor www.businessday.ng

commended the State government for its giant strides and huge commitment to the development of education. He expressed the readiness of his association to partner the Seyi Makinde-led administration towards promoting its education agenda. He specially commended Oyo State for being the first State in Nigeria to have successfully participated in writing the Better Education Service Delivery (BESDA) examination in Nigeria. He stated that the association recognised the rapid growth and development in the education sector in the

state despite the huge set back occasioned by the novel COVID-19 pandemic. Ojo said his organization noted the bravery of the State government for taking further step in the midst of the pandemic to specially train teachers in preparation for school reopening which he described as ‘training the trainers’. He also expressed gratitude to the state government for bringing private schools into limelight through its policies and programs. “We recognize the rapid growth and development in education sector in Oyo state despite the fact that the COVID-19 issue has brought a lot of problem even at the national level. “But sir, in the midst of COVID-19 you proceeded being a brave man, to put us through the proper training of retraining the trainers regardless of COVID-19, we appreciate your efforts and the efforts of the Oyo State government for helping us and to bringing private schools into limelight because when you distributed the compendium we were well remembered and this is a classic recognition for us. “Within a period of reasonable short time you have contributed to education history not only in Oyo State but in Nigeria that the coming generation will start to regard imperishable.

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proprietress can help nurture and leverage students curiosity, Odunlami called on them to model interest in the world around these children He further urged them to take a walk outside and wonder aloud about the trees, the sky, the stars, adding that children should be allowed to pursue interests of their own. “Follow your child’s lead, encourage natural interests, If she desires to dance, dance with her. If she wants a frog, get her one. If she wants to create her own garden, gather the soil for her” “Answer questions simply and clearly and if you don’t know the answer, say so. This also provides an opportunity to model how to find answers. Stimulate your child

with open-ended questions. Questions that don’t have a right or wrong response, and can’t be answered with only one word like “yes” or ‘no’ Odunlami said. He further opines that babies are born into this world with a drive to understand how the world works. A newborn follows sounds, faces and interesting objects with her eyes. A toddler takes a stool to reach the counter top where the phone is—a “toy” she loves to play with. A 10 year old is curious about been a teenager and what it entails. A 13 year old is curious about art or science and it goes on and on A child becomes aware of the environment early on in life and relies on their parents to nurture this desire.

Greensprings school students bag $4.7M IB Diploma scholarship KELECHI EWUZIE

tudents of Greensprings School, Lekki Lagos who passed through the two year International Baccalaureate diploma programme have received a $4.7 million worth of scholarship from top universities and colleges across the world to pursue their university degrees. This is the second consecutive year that students of the school have won a huge amount of money from scholarships as in 2019, different set were awarded a sum of $1.3 million worth of scholarships. Olubunmi Solola, Dean of IB Diploma of the school, while reacting to the news stated that management of the school is extremely happy that this year our students got almost four times the amount of last years’ scholarships. Solola opines that this accomplishment shows why a growing number of students all over the world are ditching A-Level schools for IB Diploma schools, as reported in the Independent newspaper. Some of the world’s top tertiary institutions that Greensprings IB Diploma students are admitted into, include; the University of Manchester, King’s College London, University of Leeds, University of Alberta, University of Toronto, University of @Businessdayng

Warwick among others. According to Solola, “Our IB Diploma students were admitted to the universities and colleges and students attained such a high level of success because of the robustness of the programme. The Dean of IB Diploma of the school further said that by the standard of IBO (the organisation in charge of IB Diploma), aside from learning the main subjects, students are groomed to acquire essential life skills such as discipline, confidence, self-motivation, time management, among others. Unlike A-Level schools in Lagos and across Nigeria, IB Diploma schools expose students to three core elements of its rich curriculum. These elements are Theory of knowledge (TOK), which helps students reflect on the nature of knowledge and on how they know what they claim to know; The extended essay, which is an independent, self-directed piece of research, finishing with a 4,000-word paper; and Creativity, activity, service (CAS), which is a community service project. Going through these core elements of the IB Diploma curriculum prepares the students for life in university; it also makes the world’s top universities and colleges to prefer students of IB Diploma over students of other post-secondary-school programmes.

Tuesday 15 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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OIL

GAS

PETROCHEMICALS

POWER

If OPEC supply cap is prolonged, indigenous oil firms will need respite from FG - Brown ISAAC ANYAOGU

oger Brown, new CEO of leading indigenous oil and gas company, Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc said local oil companies deserve some respite from government if oil production restrictions, which requires reducing their output is prolonged. The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies agreed in July to lower their current crude oil production cap level to 7.7 million barrels per day (bpd) starting in August, from the existing 9.7 million bpd to mitigate the adverse impact of COVID-19 on global oil demand. In an interview with BusinessDay, Brown agreed with some other local producers who have pushed for more consideration in the allocation of production quotes by the Federal Government to

Roger Brown

meet with Nigeria’s supply cap of 1.4million bpd. “In terms of demands by indigenous operators, they do need a chance, they really need to be able to grow as a sector in the market otherwise, you have the

dominance of major oil companies and then the government and that is not great in any oil mix.” “Of course, we will welcome from government any help it can give the sector, we don’t sit with massive re-

Surprise increase in supply put OPEC’s 60th celebration on Ice DIPO OLADEHINDE

new increase in oil supply coupled with a current setback for oil price are the two major headaches facing the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting countries (OPEC) who is turning 60 amid a pandemic that’s jeopardizing its very existence. Six decades after a handful of oil-rich countries, led by Saudi Arabia formed the 13-member oil cartel, the organisation influence is threatened by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, infighting within its ranks, the rise of the United States as a major oil exporter thanks to a shale boom, and a global push for renewable sources of energy amid climate change worries. Oil prices have declined after anticipated higher demand from China failed to materialise. Saudi Arabia has said it would cut prices for Asian and U.S. buyers from October, signaling a change from an upbeat attitude earlier this year.

Analysts are also concerned about weak demand for refined products as the pandemic has many people cooped at home following renewed lockdowns across Europe. “Very few Asian refiners are buying oil as they still have loads of oil bought when prices were low,” a report by the British information provider, IHS Markit said. Bloomberg also reported that the United Arab Emirates (UAE), currently OPEC’s third-largest producer also pumped more than its production quota in August due to high electricity demand in the hottest months in the Middle East, which this year was further boosted by more people staying and vacationing at home because of COVID-19-related travel restrictions. The above development has led to an increase in supply as Energy Information Administration reported a crude oil inventory build of 2 million barrels for the week in early September. “Analysts had expected

the EIA to report a moderate draw of a little over 1 million barrels. The American Petroleum Institute added gloom to an already pessimistic market by reporting an inventory build of 2.97 million barrels for the same period. The cartel has already cancelled celebrations originally scheduled to take place this month in Baghdad, where OPEC was originally founded. In addition to its 60th anniversary, this September also marks the 55th year since organization’s secretariat moved to the Austrian capital of Vienna. The bloc has seen its market share progressively diminish over the years, in part thanks to its efforts to artificially boost oil prices by holding back on its own production. OPEC’s share of the global oil market has fallen to around 30percent from above 50percent in 1973, also hurt by involuntary losses in war-torn Libya, and in Iran and Venezuela, both reeling from US sanctions.

sources. We rely on external funding and equity investments, so we need to have a chance,” Brown said. Oil producers around the world have been severely hampered by the coronavirus pandemic and a trade war among producers have impacted demand. “Obviously what has happened this year is that we were all hit quite dramatically by COVID-19. In March. the whole world shut down and there have been a price war among producers. We went from $67 oil, to below $10 in Nigeria and it even went negative in the US,” Brown said. According to the CEO, he believes that the supply restrictions from OPEC is ‘very much a 2020 thing and overtime it will resolve itself.’ Brown, a chartered account with over 25 years’ experience in the financial sector, was appointed CEO last month after the Austin Avuru, the former CEO retired. He joined the

company in 2013 as its CFO, where his extensive financial, accounting, M&A, debt and equity capital markets experience in the emerging markets space, and in particular the African oil and gas sector has been key to securing financing for the company’s projects. In the next five years, Brown said Seplat plans to evolve into a large independent energy company delivering energy for the Nigerian population across different aspects in the oil and gas sector and delivering value for investors. “ We w a nt t o s e e t h e emergence of big indigenous players not just Seplat. We need foreign direct investments into Nigeria. “Nigeria is a great investment destination and it’s up to us to make it more and more attractive for outside investments and deliver growth in-country and energy for the growing population,” Brown said. The CEO said that his key

priority is building on what the company has done for the last 10 years. Seplat is listed on both the Nigerian and London Stock Exchange (LSE), the only Nigerian listed company on the main board of the LSE. The company will also ramp up its gas projects especially the Assa NorthOhaji South project (ANOH), one of the largest greenfield gas condensate development projects being undertaken in Nigeria, according to the CEO. The project involves the development of the Ohaji South gas and condensate field located within the license block OML 53 and the Assa North field in license block OML 21. The two fields are together expected to produce 600 million standard cubic feet per day (Mscfd) of gas, equivalent to approximately 2.4GW of electricity. The generated electricity is sufficient to supply for approximately 2.4 million homes.

Nigeria’s $10 per barrel production cost target requires new process STEPHEN ONYEKWELU

perators in Nigeria’s oil and gas space have often pointed to the high unit cost of production as one of the major factors eroding value, particularly in a low oil price environment. Nigeria is among the countries with the highest unit cost of production globally. Producing a barrel of oil in Nigeria costs between $21 - $30 per barrel, on average. Oil prices have trended downwards since January, from a high of $63 per barrel to $23 in April and $41 currently. This means to stay profitable, oil companies require lower costs of production per barrel of oil. To address this, Mele Kyari, group managing director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation in June set the target of cutting down unit production cost to $10 per barrel by 2021. Saudia Arabia and Kuwait can pump a barrel of oil for less than $10, on average. Iraq can produce oil for about $10.70 per barrel. Although experts have said the terrain on which the gulf countries operate is much easier. An operator only needs to punch a hole into the ground, which is often dry because of the desert location. But in Nigeria, swamps and deep-water operations are tougher terrains and logically

cost more. Muhammad Ali-Zarah, general manager, Supply Chain, National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) said the unit cost of production for a barrel of oil has been $21 per barrel. Of this unit cost, human resources represent 30 percent, that is, $6.90 and logistics 20 percent, that is, $3.90 to $4 per barrel. Operators have blamed the high unit cost of production on obsolete systems and technologies. There is no continuous monitoring of oil well performance. This has been mostly sporadic and experience-based not data-driven. There are no direct means of knowing on a per-second basis how an oil well or reservoir is doing. To attain optimal performance and bring down the cost of production per unit more sensors will be needed for surface operators, which enable the development of dashboards to monitor and improve oil wells and reservoir management. “We need incentives to attain the $10 per barrel target. In the current environment, it is not possible, not to talk of it being feasible with the systems in place,” Edirin Abamwa, chief operating officer of NPDC/NDW OML 34 AMT said. Similarly, to achieve the $10 per barrel production tar-

get, there have been suggestions to embed information technology in every process. Processes are themselves assets because they determine organisational outcomes. This implies borrowing heavily from information technologies approach to digital data management. This would enhance process optimisation, breakdown operational silos and democratise data. Digital technology becomes part of the corporate strategy in this sense. Globally, oil companies lag behind other industries in terms of digitalisation. As recently as June 2019, the oil and gas industry failed to score highly on Deloitte’s digital maturity index - which showed the industry falling significantly behind Power & Utilities, Aerospace & Defence, Consumer Products, Telecoms and Automotive in quantifiable measurements of digitalisation advancements. The problem, of course, is one of money. Despite the clear long-term benefits of implementing such systems, there are significant costs to developing digitalisation processes, integrating them with existing workflows and training workers. As long as existing processes are profitable, and as long as none of the other major businesses are gaining market share from digitalisation efforts, there is no incentive to change.

EDITOR: Isaac Anyaogu / Analysts Stephen Onyekwelu, Dipo Oladehinde / Feedback: 07037817378, / email: isaac.anyaogu@businessday.ng,

Tuesday 15 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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Tuesday 15 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

INTERVIEW Massive interest in Lagos smart meter hackathon validates local content - Odusote OLALERE ODUSOTE, Lagos commissioner for energy and mineral resources in an interview with JOSHUA BASSEY and ISAAC ANYAOGU, explained how the state in partnership with Eko Innovation Centre, is promoting efforts to provide affordable electricity meter to the populace by facilitating a meter design hackathon to improve energy distribution, monitoring and preventing revenue leakage. The project has recorded massive interest among meter manufacturers, financiers and tech enthusiasts in the state.

lease throw more light on what the Lagos Smart Metering Project is meant to achieve We had several engagements with participants in the sector and we have looked at the energy sector value chain and participants, for example, we have about 13,000MW of generation available to come into the market. On the transmission side, depending on who you ask, we have up to 9,000MW capacity available energy to the market and on the distribution side we have about 4,500MW of capacity to distribute. So we have realised that the bottleneck in the sector is actually the distribution side, upon further interrogation, we realised that in many areas of Lagos, what customers complain about is estimated billing. Some people like estimated billing but a lot of people don’t like it; they talk about ‘crazy’ bills and over billing. The DisCos have also complained that in some areas where they have a high preponderance of estimated billing, the customers don’t pay. So what the Lagos State governor has said, in his wisdom, is that as much as possible let us try to meter all Lagosians over the next four years. The DisCos have said that it is their desire to meter everyone so that they can capture all their customers and then all of the negative publicity they get from people complaining about over billing can go away. We think it makes sense, if we are going to be a 21st century economy, let’s start to make sure to be fair to people in Lagos. On the campaign trail there were two big issues that Lagosians had; it was traffic and lack of constant supply of electricity. So instead of putting up big electricity projects that may or may not be completed, let’s target where the problems are, invest in those areas because it is our job to solve problems. So we said, let’s intervene in the area of electricity meters. We looked at what the NERC regulations said; the prices of electricity meters and it seemed like another hurdle because to get a single phase meter you have to pay at least N44,000 and if you

to see how we can expand that to come up with energy park in Lagos where we can encourage component providers to come and domesticate their production so that we can really have a made-in-Nigeria product. We have a land and a plan for an energy park already. We are looking at two separate locations for now. We haven’t decided on what the locations are going to be. We might decide to expand it and domesticate it there and we have people come to say let’s expand it to an energy city. We are going ahead with the metering; we already have partners that can assemble the meters. In terms of finance, a number of financial institutions are already talking to us in terms of how to raise financing locally, but we haven’t signed anything with anyone yet.

President Muhammadu Buhari

can’t afford it, that has deferred the dream. So as Lagos State government, we said why can’t we just harness the creativity and the talent that exists within Nigeria to create a local solution. Now, we say there are a lot of graduates that come out without jobs, how are we interesting them in the sector because what we found out is that it is not getting a job that creates wealth, it is solving problems that people have. Why can’t we channel their talent into productive use and one of the first things we did was telling them to come and design a solution for the electricity sector. If you look at a lot of the billionaires we have today, they started from their garages. Anybody who designs a meter today might decide to create other things. In this case, we want to see if we can solve a real problem we have now, instead of N44,000, if we can create a meter that is of standards at half the cost, so everybody can buy, not just for Lagos, but Nigeria as a whole. What progress has been recorded thus far? Since we opened the meter portal, we have seen more than 51 hardware teams that have registered and 58 software teams have registered to participate in the hackaton. In fact, 11 teams www.businessday.ng

have submitted their prototype designs and 9 teams on the software side have submitted their designs. So we have already started to have some sort of engagement with people. Now this is being done in two groups: Someone will design a meter, somebody else will design the software that will interface with the meter, generate invoices and also provide tokens that can load the meter. We are expecting at the end of the day to select a winning team: software and hardware winner and then put them together to share their AGIs and give us a solution that works for Lagos to start with. If it works for Lagos, it can work for Nigeria. We think it can work. Kenya created an LPG solution that China is buying today, so there is nothing that says we can’t take meters to China from where we import most of our products today. What are you thinking in terms of mass producing and funding? The metering gap in Lagos is estimated between 600,000 to one million and when we started, we had a roll-out plan. We had identified production partners in China, they were going to go to China for 30 days and sit with production partners in China and ensure we turned the ideas

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into products that can be mass produced. Then we were going to bring them back to Nigeria, test them and then license the production to existing manufacturing lines in Nigeria. The intention was also to look for ways to domesticating the production of the components in Nigeria because right now the ecosystem cannot support anything you want to manufacture for the most part. We looked at all the components that are needed and then asked what can be produced locally immediately and what cannot be produced locally immediately and then come up with a system to transferring the capacity to Nigeria - that was the plan. Since COVID-19 happened we decided not to do that again. We decided to find ways to mass produce the meters in Nigeria rather than going abroad to China. At first with COVID-19 in China we decided to go to India later we realised that may be it is a stroke of luck, rather than going to abroad to find partners, let’s look at how it can be done locally. Today we have meter manufacturers in Nigeria come to us and say we like what you are doing, let’s see how we can work together. So not only are meter manufacturing plants in Nigeria are talking to us, we are looking @Businessdayng

Some embeded power projects in Lagos have stalled, are you going to continue with them or start fresh ones? We are continuing with them. We don’t believe in starting things all over again, if it makes sense, we continue with it. The government of Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu is big on solving problems. Give me the solutions that can work. Don’t give me solutions that I can write my name rather than what works. I want to see it working. We are not going to build a power plant that will be sitting down there and not producing anything which he can put his name on it. The existing utilities will have to demand for power before we look at solving that for them. So is there space for power plants being built in Lagos? Yes, today, Lagos and indeed all of Nigeria rely on the grid. The grid has failed a few times and when it failed there’s no power so you have to fall back on your house to make a lot of noise with your own IPP, create your own power. Once the grid says to us we will have to load shed this area at this time or the grid will collapse, that power plant comes on and satisfy the demand of that area identified. Now, not everybody can afford that sort of backup solution. So we are looking for different solutions that work for different areas based on the pricing and reliability.

Tuesday 15 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

Markets + Finance

‘Providing proprietary research, commentary, analysis and financial news coverage unmatched in today’s market. Published weekly, Markets & Finance provides all the key intelligence you need.’

How IDSL is spearheading NNPC’s moves for $10 oil production cost BALA AUGIE

Mele Kyari

mised, more profitable and value adding operations. “There is need for us to begin to see data as the new oil, data is critical to the development of the sector.” Speaking further, Weaver said that achieving operational efficiency requires the re-engineering of traditional processes, optimisation of resources and reducing waste. The slump in oil prices on account of the COVID-19 pandemic notwithstanding, the cost of the production of the black gold in the most populous nation has been hovering around $28.99 whereas it goes for less than $8 per barrel in some countries. The rate is highest in the United Kingdom where it stands at about $44.33 (based on geological reasons), and lowest in Saudi Arabia at $8.98. Nigeria is believed to be the third highest at $28.99 after Brazil, which produces at $34.99. In Iran, the figure is only $9 and $10 in Iraq. The Managing Director of Integrated Data Services Limited (IDSL), Ayebateke Bariwei, stressed the need to address perennial issues associated with operational inefficiencies in the sector. Bariwei noted that adopting digitalised process is key to enhancing productivity, reducing waste and improving system efficiency. “Process digitalization is about unlocking new value by using digi-

talised data to change the way things are done. “Our objective is to ensure that we operate in the industry bringing the unit operating cost to $10/ barrel by 2021”. The Chief Operating officer of Nigerian Petroleum Development Company Ltd, Western Niger Delta Edirin Abamwa, said that regulators must develop environment that encourages process digitalization and help operators thrive in the sector. “The operation cost cannot decline in isolation, there is need for an enabling environment, incentives that enable operators modify their ways of doing business and I

doubt it this current environment will make that happen. “We still lack the adequate data to aid effective decision making by operators. We still are not traditionally set up to mitigate disaster shut down, until remedy is carried out. “It is time to move away from the traditional ways, there are a lot if development that enable operators establish census and determine if machines are operating optimally, these are still lacking among operators today.” As Africa’s leading producer of oil, Nigeria is of high status in the hydrocarbons sphere. But the good times are coming to an end according to investors. Nigeria is

‘

It is time to move away from the traditional ways, there are a lot if development that enable operators establish census and determine if machines are operating optimally, these are still lacking among operators today

‘

or Integrated Data Services Limited (IDSL), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), cutting the cost of oil production reported by Nigerian oil companies, which is among the highest in the world after shale oil producers in the US, is now a matter of survival. The need to reset the cost of production structure in Africa’s biggest oil producing is a topical issue that’s gaining attention of most stakeholders in the oil and gas sector. Other oil-producing countries like Norway, the United States, Brazil and Organisation of Petroleum Producing Countries (OPEC) members have been innovative and taking proactive measures to reduce the cost of producing oil per barrel while Nigeria remains stuck, a development that remains huge concerns for investors. At the Asset Management Operational webinar series, organised by IDSL, stakeholders stressed the need to embrace innovations that will ensure optimal use of resources as well as reduce cost of operation to $10 per barrel. Sophia Weaver, Production Technology manager at First Exploration & Petroleum Development Ltd (First E&P) explained that the past few years have been challenging for the sector with so much volatility exacerbated by the Coronavirus pandemic. She said that continuing with the conventional model of operation will not yield the desired growth in the sector. Weaver stressed the need for operators to be more responsive to fluctuating oil prices, adding that there is need to exert control over the rather high cost of operation to ensure process efficiency. She said, “Achieving operational excellence involves transforming the way we work and digitalize our processes in areas such as oil well and reservoirs management, drilling, logistics and supply chain management. “Process digitalization involves the use of digital data and technologies to transform existing business process into more efficient, opti-

BD MARKETS + FINANCE Analyst: BALA AUGIE www.businessday.ng

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home to about 37 billion barrels in oil reserves. And while the country has 32 active oil rigs, only 81 wells were completed last year – down from 141 in 2014. In its outlook for 2020, analysts at United Capital admitted that the high cost of crude oil production, which is estimated at over $20 per barrel remains a sour patch in boosting investment and gaining a competitive edge over other exploration destinations. Oil exports are the largest single source of oil revenues for the Nigerian state, and anything that makes these more appealing to buyers would help revenues grow. However, production costs are not the only factor at play when it comes to oil revenues. Local communities continue to be a hotbed for militant activity as they see only a fraction of the money Nigeria receives for its oil exports. This, in turn, makes investors reluctant to commit more funds and other resources to field exploration and development in Nigeria. Data provided by state owned Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) official demonstrated that one of the company’s joint venture partners had been producing at $93 per barrel in 2019. While this unnamed operator has reduced costs, to $57 per barrel in the 2020, this remains too high. Costs from production-sharing contracts (PSCs) are lower. The highest cost production from PSCs, which tend to be offshore, came in at $35.97 per barrel, while the lowest was $6.18 per barrel. Nigeria’s offshore domain is one of the most fertile hydrocarbon provinces in the world. Current oil reserve in the country estimated at 36 billion barrels and over 202 trillion cubic feet of natural gas reserves. Nigeria’s success in boosting offshore developments will, however, also depend on its efforts to make the regulatory and legislative backdrop more certain for investors. Writing of the new Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) had been due to be delivered by the end of July but has been delayed because of the coronavirus. Despite this delay, NNPC boss Mele Kyari was certain that legislation would be delivered this year.

Tuesday 15 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

NEWS

Naira falls to N460 to dollar despite CBN’s FX allocation to BDCs HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE

igeria’s currency on Monday dropped in value by N7 as the dollar was trading at N460 from N453 and N452.67k traded at the weekend and Friday on the black market. This is in spite of the dollar allocation to about 5,000 Bureau De Change (BDC) operators in the country by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The central bank sells $10,000 twice weekly to the retail bureaus from the proceeds from the International Money Transfers Operators (IMTOs). Investigation show that dollar was selling at N460 in Lagos except at the airport where it was selling at N461. Traders were buying at N455 from individual sellers. At the BDC segment of the foreign exchange market, naira weakened by N1.00k as the

dollar was sold at N462 during intraday trading from N461 in the morning on Monday. The CBN had sold a total of $101.8 million to BDCs last week. Nigeria’s central bank resumed dollar sales BDC operators on Monday, September 7, 2020, selling $51.8 million to 5,180 BDCs across the country. The foreign exchange opened on Monday with an indicative rate of N386.38k at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) forex window. This signals N0.25k deprecation when compared with N386.13k opened with on Friday, data from the FMDQ revealed. The average turnover at the I&E window fell by 4.9 percent from $0.043 billion in April to $0.041 billion in May 2020; a decrease of 78.8 percent below the level in May 2019, according to the CBN’s economic report for the month of May, 2020. During the month under review, the average exchange rate of the naira at

the Interbank segment of the foreign exchange market remained unchanged at N361.00/U$, relative to April, 2020. It, however, depreciated by 15.0 percent, compared with the corresponding month of 2019. The rate at the I&E window, at N386.25/ US$, depreciated by 0.3 percent and 6.6 percent relative to N384.99/US$ in April 2020 and N360.70/US$ in May 2019, respectively. Similarly, at N443.33/US$, the naira depreciated by 5.2 percent and 18.9 percent at the BDC segment, relative to N420.15/US$ in the preceding month and N359.75/US$ in May 2019. Consequently, the interbank/BDC premium widened from 16.4 percent in the preceding month to 22.8 percent in May 2020. The premium between the BDC/I&E also widened to 14.8 percent from 9.1 percent, in the preceding month. These outcomes are attributable to the sustained demand pressure in the foreign exchange market.

Nigeria moves towards homegrown COVID-19 treatment

inister of science and technology, Ogbonnaya Onu, has inaugurated a ministerial committee on herbal remedies and natural compounds towards developing a homegrown treatment for Covid-19 pandemic. The committee has eminent scientists and fellows of the Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS) as members. Onu explained that the committee was set up to authenticate claims by researchers, scientists and traditional medicine practitioners, on herbal remedies, natural compounds and non-pharmaceutical items for the treatment of the disease.

According to him, his ministry is making effort towards the development of local remedy that could be deployed for the protection of Nigerians against the disease. “We wish to reiterate that we promised N30 million financial reward to any Nigerian researcher, scientist or traditional medicine practitioner that develop an effective vaccine or cure for the disease. “It is important to note that this promise was made on February 13, 2020, two weeks before the first case of Covid-19 was detected in Nigeria on February 27, 2020,’’ Onu said. Onu charged the committee to vigorously scrutinise and evaluate all

claims brought before it with a view to identifying remedies and natural compounds with the brightest prospects. He said that the quest for a homegrown remedy for Covid-19 was in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s desire to diversify the economy. The minister emphasised that Covid-19 remain a significant threat to the health and well being of Nigerians as well as the economy, hence the need to develop a homegrown remedy or vaccine for the disease. Mosto Onuoha, a retired professor and chairman of the committee, in his speech said the team would not let Nigerians down.

Oyo directs primary, secondary schools to resume September 21 REMI FEYISIPO, Ibadan

yo State government, on Monday, announced September 21, 2020 as the beginning of the 2020/2021 academic session for primary and secondary schools in the state. It would be recalled that the new calendar was approved on July 21 at a meeting of the State Executive

Council, to guide resumption of schools and other associated educational activities in the state amid the Covid-19 pandemic, which affected educational activities around the world. A statement by the state commissioner for education, science and technology, Olasunkanmi Olaleye, indicated that the first term of the new academic calendar will run between September 21 and December www.businessday.ng

18, 2020. The statement added that the second term of the academic session will run from January 11 to April 9, 2021, while the third term will run between May 3 and July 30, 2021. The commissioner said: “The ministry of education, science and technology enjoins all stakeholders and members of the public to take note of the details of the academic calendar.” https://www.facebook.com/businessdayng

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Tuesday 15 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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Tuesday 15 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

news COVID-19 disrupted aids, immunisation programmes in Nigeria – Bill Gates Temitayo Ayetoto

ome of the significant ways Covid-19 has disrupted the Nigeria’s health system is creating a huge distraction to aids programmes, including the provision of tuberculosis drugs, HIV drugs, malaria bed nets, measles campaign and other routine immunisation efforts, Bill Gates, the world’s second-largest health financier, has said. While Nigeria’s Covid-19 infections and deaths have not grown out of hand compared to South Africa and some Northern African countries, Gates says regression has occurred in vaccine coverage, an area that was already struggling to cover every child before the pandemic outbreak. “You know, I spent a lot of time talking to some of the state governors in Nigeria about their plans, and in fact, Aliko Dangote, and I spent three hours today going through three of the states. We’ll do the same tomorrow, trying to understand what bottlenecks they are running into and how the international actors can help them,” Gates said responding to BusinessDay during an embargoed conference call to mark the launch of the fourth Gates Foundation’s Annual Goalkeepers Report.

“Even before the pandemic, those primary healthcare systems were far short of what they should be, and the goal is to get up to covering every child,” he stated. The report shows that vaccine coverage, a proxy measure for how health systems perform, has dropped to levels last seen in the 1990s, setting the world back about 25 years in 25 weeks. Gates regretted that those routine immunisations which intentional efforts shored up from 70 percent to 84 percent over the last 25 years have plunged to 70 percent. Based on United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warning that an escalation in the transmission of Covid-19 could occur when children crowd inoculation centres, many countries suspended mass immunisations. The consequence has been measles flaring around countries including in Nigeria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Nepal and Uzbekistan. In June, for instance, Nigeria recorded an outbreak of measles in 13 local government areas of Niger during the lockdown as routine immunisation stopped and mothers

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UBA USA CEO appointed to US EXIM’s SSA advisory committee

ola Yomi-Ajayi, CEO of the United Bank for Africa’s (UBA) operations in the United States, has been appointed to the ExportImport Bank of the United States (US EXIM) Committee on Sub-Saharan Africa for 2020/2021. Established by the US Congress, the Sub-Saharan Africa Advisory Committee provides guidance and advice regarding US EXIM policies and programmes designed to support the expansion of financing for US manufactured goods and services in subSaharan Africa (SSA). The committee is composed of prominent members of the US business community and Yomi-Ajayi is the sole representative of an African institution. UBA USA is the only SSA deposit-taking institution regulated in the United States and provides a unique portfolio of banking solutions to corporates, governments, multilaterals and development organisations transacting with Africa. UBA USA can assist in trade finance, treasury, foreign exchange, transaction management and lending, drawing on UBA’s 70-year heritage and unique pan-African network. According to UBA’s Group chairman, Tony Elumelu, the appointment is recognition of the role UBA has played over decades in promoting and

L-R: Patrick Akinwuntan, MD/CEO, Ecobank Nigeria; Bayo Olugbemi, president/chairman of council, The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN); Isa Ali Ibrahim (Pantami), minister of communications and digital economy; Deji Olanrewaju, 2nd vice president, CIBN, and Akeem Oyewale, MD/CEO, Stanbic Nominees, during the stakeholders engagement with the minister of communication and digital economy in Abuja, yesterday.

Nigerian insurers suffer deterioration in underwriting performance Bala Augie

nalysis of the Top 24 Nigerian insurance companies reveals that, yearon-year, combined ratios has exceeded the international accepted threshold for some of the largest players in the market in 2019 as underwriting profitability dipped for the cohort. This means that they are paying out more money in claims and other expenses than they are receiving from premiums, which raises concerns about their underwriting disciplines. The average industry combined ratio hit 125.89 percent in December 2019, which higher than the 100 percent benchmark, according to data gathered by BusinessDay. The combined ratio is calculated by taking the sum of

incurred losses and expenses and then dividing them by the earned premium. A ratio above 100 percent means a firm is inefficient and it is making underwriting profit. The deteriorating underwriting performance can be attributed to technical costs which are related to claims, reinsurance and other costs incidental to risk undertaking. An industry expert who spoke to BusinessDay on condition of anonymity said business acquisition expenses are also a major driver of cost line, and he added that macroeconomic inflationary pressure has been squeezing margins of operators in the industry. “Rate cutting prevalent in the industry directly results in high claims ratio as the risks covered were not adequately priced ab initio,” said the expert. The total claims expenses for the 24 companies

increased by 14.31 percent to N144.54 billion in December 2019 from N126.43 billion the previous year. The mounting costs of insurers are becoming worrisome as they collectively incurred N132.05 billion in management and underwriting expenses in 2019, which is 50 percent of combined net premium income of N264.24 billion. With slow growth in premium income, rising obligations to policy holder and huge change in annuity fund, the top 24 insurers reported a combined underwriting losses of about N25.01 billion as at December 2019. In 2018, the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), the body that regulates insurance in the country had put a cap on the expenditures of some firms. The body said the decision was taken to ensure

that companies did not spend unnecessary to the extent that they would not be able to attend to claims and other relevant matters. The combined ratio of Niger insurance Nigeria Plc increased to 187.89 billion as at December 2019, from 102.38 percent as at December 2018. The insurer’s management expenses are 1.37 times net premium income. Similarly, Veritas Insurance’s combined ratio fell to 187.89 percent in the period under review from 102.38 percent the previous. Interestingly, its management expenses are 1.31 times net premium income. However, Leadway Assurance bucked the trend as its combined ratio of 78.13 percent is below the threshold, which means it is efficient in taming costs while contemporaneously increasing profit.

Nigeria reels from twin crises that threaten food availability - Reuters

S supporting large and small businesses in all its 20 countries of operations in Africa. “The appointment of Sola, as a member of the US EXIM Advisory Committee for SSA is welcome news. UBA’s global network of offices in New York, London and Paris, permits us to be the preferred financial intermediary between Africa and the rest of the world. Our mission at UBA is fully aligned with the objectives of the US EXIM,” Elumelu said. The EXIM president and chairman, Kimberly A. Reed, who congratulated Yomi-Ajayi and the other appointees, said, “With six of the 10 fastest-growing economies in the world and more than one billion consumers, Africa is poised to play a pivotal role in the global economy. Supporting US exports to SSA is one of our top priorities at EXIM, and my deepest congratulations go to the new members of the EXIM Sub-Saharan Africa Advisory Committee.” www.businessday.ng

hehu Ladan took a boat across what was, until this month, a growing rice paddy. Now, like thousands of hectares of rice in Nigeria’s Kebbi State, it is under water. “Almost all my farm has been flooded. I didn’t harvest any rice,” Ladan told Reuters. “It’s going to be devastating.” Floods early this month across northwest Nigeria destroyed 90% of the 2 million tons that Kebbi State officials expected to harvest this autumn, the head of the state branch of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria told Reuters. The loss amounts to some 20% of the rice Nigeria grew last year, and the waters are still rising. Farther south, outside Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, chicken farmer Hippolite Adigwe is also worried. A shortage of maize forced him to sell most of his flock of more than 1,000 birds, and the 300 left are hungry. Chicken feed prices have more than doubled, and he isn’t sure how long he can cope. Twin crises, floods and maize shortages, come just after movement restrictions and financing difficulties caused

by COVID-19 containment measures complicated spring planting. Some farmers and economists say it could push Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation, into a food crisis. Rice is the country’s staple grain, and chicken is a core protein. “There is a real fear of having food shortages,” Arc Kabir Ibrahim, president of the All Farmers Association of Nigeria told Reuters. “The effect on the food system is going to be colossal.” Nigeria took roughly 4,000 tons of millet and sorghum from the regional economic bloc’s (ECOWAS) strategic stocks last month and released 30,000 tons of its own maize. It also gave four companies special permission to import maize. The prominent Nigerian Economic Summit Group has called for “a complete overhaul” of agriculture policy. Problems accessing foreign exchange to import food are adding to shortages. In July, the central bank added maize to a list of items for which importers are banned from using its dollars. Rice and fertil-

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izer were already on the list, along with other items that Nigeria wants made locally. Last week, even as food prices spiked, President Muhammadu Buhari vowed that not one cent of central bank dollars would go to food or fertilizer imports, as Nigeria would continue encouraging local farmers over imports. Importers can use dollars from pricier parallel markets. But these are tough to find due to an oil price crash that has cut Nigeria’s core source of foreign exchange. Rice prices had already risen substantially due to a land border closure last year that aimed to stamp out smuggling and boost local production. Peter Clubb of the International Grains Council said the spike drove consumers to eat maize instead. This, along with a disappointing crop late last year and the foreign exchange issues boosted maize prices to N180,000 per ton from around N70,000 in March. Farmers say that consumers grappling with inflation, the first hike in fuel prices since 2016 and a power price spike can only pay so much more for food. @Businessdayng

Ayodeji Balogun, chief executive at commodities exchange Afex, said the central bank’s lending scheme for farmers has significantly expanded output, and can work long term. But the coming months will be tough. Fertilizer prices hit a record after a COVID-19 outbreak shut down country’s sole urea plant for two weeks, meaning more farmers will skip fertilizers, limiting crop yields. “The worst is yet to happen,” Balogun said. “It is a problem across grains.” Buhari has pledged more support, and Agriculture Minister Muhammed Sabo Nanono visited the northwest area this weekend and promised to provide farmers with high-quality seeds and to set up a special committee to ensure they have all they need to plant new crops as soon as possible. Adigwe, the chicken farmer, said he thinks barring foreign food in order to help farmers is not a bad idea, but “there are some factors that were not considered.” “Can local production sustain the population of Nigeria?

Tuesday 15 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

News Nigeria’s SEC classifies cryptocurrencies ... Continued from page 1

Tukur Buratai (l), chief of Army Staff, with Seyi Makinde, governor, Oyo State, during Buratai’s courtesy visit to the Government House, Agodi in Ibadan, yesterday. NAN

to regulate the crypt asset class derives from Section 13 of the Investment and Securities Act, 2007. The section confers the powers on the Commission as the apex regulator of the Nigerian capital market to regulate investments and securities business in Nigeria.

Poverty constitutes biggest security... Continued from page 1

the proprietor charged N60,000 each term as fees. Dekini’s salary was N47,000 monthly, but his wife Nana who worked as a

teacher in Lagos Mainland earned N35,000 monthly. Last year, one of Dekini’s children fell sick and required N800,000 for treatment. The combined savings of Dekini and his wife were less than the amount the doctors asked for. While scrambling for the money, the child died. Hopeless and bitter, Dekini left Nigeria for Senegal by road early in 2020. Before leaving, Dekini had complained that he and his family were not secure in Nigeria, despite obtaining a firstclass degree in Business Administration. And he was not talking about being secured by the police or the army, but having access to things that made life worth living such as a good job, quality and affordable healthcare, and good education. His story mirrors the plight of half of Nigeria’s population who are extremely poor without access to good jobs, healthcare, and quality education. “Security should not be seen in physical terms, but it is about living well and living long,” a UK-based professor of leadership, peace and conflict, who does not want her name in print, said. Poverty is astronomically rising in Africa’s most populous nation, constituting the biggest security threat in the country. Oil-rich Nigeria has 87 million extremely poor people, with six people jumping into the poverty train every minute,

according to the Brookings Institute’s World Poverty Clock released in 2018. About 82.9 million Nigerians are extremely poor, constituting 40.1 percent of the total population with real per capita expenditures below N137,430 in 2019, according to the National Bureau of Statistics’ (NBS) Poverty and Inequality report in May 2020. The World Bank predicted that there would be 95.7 million Nigerians living below the poverty line by 2022. “With real per capita GDP growth forecast to be negative in all sectors in 2020, poverty will deepen for the current poor, while those households that were just above the poverty line prior to the COVID-19 crisis will fall into poverty,” the World Bank said about Nigeria in June 2020. Poverty and unemployment are close cousins. Unemployment rate in Nigeria hit 27 percent in the second quarter of 2020, from 23 percent in the third quarter of 2018. Nigeria now ranks 7th on World Misery Index. Inflation is nearly 13 percent with monetary policy rate at 12.5 percent, making access to funds for expansion nearly impossible for micro, small and medium businesses. Steve Hanke, professor of Economics at John Hopkins University, US, posted on his Twitter handle on September 14 that the management of Nigeria’s economy is poor, with multiple increases in things that make life worthwhile. Nigeria’s GDP slumped by 6 percent in the second quarter of 2020 and there are indications that the economy will be in recession sooner than later.

COVID-19 disrupted aids, immunisation... Continued from page 30

shunned health facilities on fear of contracting the virus, Fatima Abdullah, director, Immunisation and Diseases Control, said in a News Agency of Nigeria’s (NAN) report seen by BusinessDay. Despite being certified polio-free, fears are mounting that millions of children in Nigeria risk fresh exposure to polio, measles, diphtheria

and other diseases. Also, an additional 37 million people become poor, increasing extreme poverty by 7 percent. In essence, the pandemic has relapsed the world at large, affecting progress towards United Nations (UN) sustainable development goals (SDGs). Not only has the economic crisis induced by Covid-19 reinforced inequalities, the www.businessday.ng

The foreign exchange is hitting hard on the import-dependent economy where oil contributes 8-10 percent to the GDP but constitutes over 70 percent of FX earnings. Liquidity is now a big challenge for the economy, with access to finance difficult due to high interest rate and Covid-19 induced crisis. “Countries that get their national strategies right first think about creating liquidity. Because once you have liquidity, it creates employment. It does not matter how many government policies you announce, because without liquidity, existing jobs will be destroyed,” Ayo Teriba, CEO of Economic Associates, told BusinessDay on the phone recently. Economists want Nigeria to strengthen the manufacturing sector and liberalise the market to alleviate poverty. A Labour Market report by Chapel Hill Denham suggests expanding Nigeria’s economic growth frontier beyond services, to industry and agriculture, through ease of doing business reforms and economic liberalisation policies. Healthcare is also a challenge in Africa’s biggest economy. Nigeria has one doctor to 6,000 people, according to estimates, as against World Health Organisation’s (WHO) recommendation of one to 600 people. Life expectancy is 54 years in Nigeria as against 64 years in South Africa; 72 years in Egypt; 66 years in Ethiopia, and 66 years in Kenya. With per capita income of $2,250, Nigeria’s out-ofpocket expenditure as a share of health expenditure was 75.2 percent in 2016 and 77.2 percent in 2017, according to official data. Due to poor infrastruc-

ture in Nigeria’s healthcare industry, the rich travel abroad for medical treatment and abandon the poor to decrepit healthcare system. Annual medical tourism is estimated by Nigeria at $1 billion. A poll citing the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) reported that there are about 72,000 nationallyregistered Nigerian doctors, with only 35,000 practising in-country. Estimates say there is a deficit of over 260,000 doctors in Nigeria and a minimum of 10,605 new doctors need to be recruited annually to meet global targets. Onwufor Uche, director of the Gynae Care Research and Cancer Foundation in Abuja, told Al Jazeera recently that more than half of those seeking visas to India were going for medical care not available here in Nigeria, stressing that poor Nigerians would be at the mercy of the dilapidated decrepit health infrastructure. “The healthcare ecosystem is not attractive. The barrier to entry is relatively low. Most of the purchases are made out-of-pocket because of the lack of universal coverage. Healthcare from the quality point of view is not protected,” Richard Ajayi, board chairman, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), told BusinessDay recently. Moreover, poor Nigerians struggle to send their children to school. The number of out-of-school children who are aged 5-14 years in Africa’s most populous nation is 10.5 million, according to UNICEF. Education is not tailored to skills but theories, leading to higher rates of unemployment and town-gown dichotomy.

report notes that it has also caused a disproportionate impact on women who now face increasing burdens from rising demands in total unpaid care work and experiencing the majority of job losses. However, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation proposes that ending the pandemic in a short time should be prioritised by all and sundry to set the world back on track. And the way to go is joint efforts towards the development of diagnostics,

vaccines and treatment; swift production of tests and doses as well as equitable delivery of tools based on need rather than the ability to pay. Particularly, the report cautions against a self-centred approach to protection that can lead to hoarding of the vaccines by rich countries, while neglecting poorer countries who lack the capacity to develop and manufacture vaccines. The approach, Gates said, will only prolong hardship and not end the pandemic quickly.

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“Consequently, the SEC will regulate crypto-token or crypto-coin investments when the character of the investments qualifies as securities transactions,” the SEC said. It is the first time a Nigerian regulator is adopting any position on cryptocurrencies. In the past, the approach has been to warn investors off cryptocurrencies, which were seen as too volatile, risky, and prone to scams. Several exchange operators told BusinessDay they were still studying the material and needed time to respond. Under the new regulatory regime, crypto asset issuers and sponsors are expected to satisfy the burden of proving that the virtual assets do not constitute securities by making an initial assessment filing. However, where the SEC is convinced that the virtual assets are indeed securities (not structured to be exclusively offered through crowdfunding portals or other exempt methods), then the issuer or sponsor must register the digital assets. There are two approaches to registering virtual assets. The first is an initial assessment filing to satisfy the burden of proof and a filing for registration proper, either made directly by the issuer or sponsor, or where the burden of proof is not satisfied. Similarly, all Digital Assets Token Offering (DATOs), Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), Security Token ICOs and other Blockchain-based offers of digital assets within Nigeria or by Nigerian issuers or sponsors or foreign issuers targeting Nigerian investors, shall be subject to the regulation of the Commission. Existing digital assets offerings prior to the implementation of the Regulatory Guidelines will have three months to either submit the initial assessment filing of documents for registration proper, as the case may be. In terms of who comes under the regulatory purview, the SEC said any person, (individual or corporate) whose activities involve any aspect of blockchain-related and virtual digital asset services, must be registered by the commission and as such, will be subject to the regulatory guidelines. Others include issuers or sponsors (start-ups or existing corporations) of virtual digital assets. Also, foreign or nonresidential issuers or sponsors could be asked to establish a branch office within Nigeria. Otherwise, foreign issuers or sponsors will be recognised by @Businessdayng

the commission where a reciprocal agreement exists between Nigerian and the country of the foreign issuer or sponsor. Similarly, foreign issuers or sponsors from countries that are members of the Internal Organisation of Securities Commission will be accorded recognition status. The latest development may not be unconnected to the rising profile of Nigeria as a top destination to cryptocurrency transactions. Many analysts see regulation of cryptocurrencies as the final jigsaw to conferring legitimacy on the space. Stakeholders have in the past told BusinessDay that regulation would grow the confidence of investors; this is despite the volatility associated with the space. With regulatory backing existing potential investors can have some level of guarantee that their investments are being protected. Regulation could also mean increased user adoption for cryptocurrencies. Most financial institutions have primarily shunned cryptocurrencies because they were not backed by any regulations. According to experts, SEC’s backing could open the way for Nigerian banks to begin to probe into used cases for cryptocurrencies. “Bank shareholders may be inclined to their investments diversified into cryptocurrencies. But this would be subject to approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),” a crypto trader said. With the SEC’s backing, the CBN is likely to accelerate the process of approval for cryptocurrencies to be included in the country’s financial system. However, it also means the country would require an expanded cybercrime policy that incorporates crypto assets. The cryptocurrency space is still plagued by cyber criminality and the ease of escape without being caught is high as transactions in cryptocurrencies remain largely anonymous. BusinessDay had reported that in 2019, Lagos emerged the number one city based on online search volumes for bitcoin worldwide on Google. Nigeria also ranked fifth in the world with its 11 percent of people who own or are using cryptocurrencies, according to an Arcade Research released in May 2020. In the same month, Coinmarketcap named nine countries with the highest increase in users between the ages of 18 and 24 in the first quarter of 2020 compared to the previous one. The nine countries with at least 80 percent user growth were led by Nigeria, which saw an increase of 210.6 percent, followed by Australia (158.07%), and Spain (120.71%). Other top countries were Canada (112.45%), Mexico (97.33%), the UK (91.48%), Colombia (85.07%), India (83.07%), and Pakistan (81.79%).

Tuesday 15 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

NEWS Apapa: How gridlock returned amid PTT intervention CHUKA UROKO

he introduction of the standard operating procedure by the Presidential Task Team (PTT) on the restoration of law and order in Apapa was the masterstroke that literally ended the gridlock that Apapa, Nigeria’s premier port city, is known for a couple of years ago. Together with the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), the task team developed what it called an Empty Container Return Handling Policy along with a trucks managing system that ensured trucks movement in and out of the ports was controlled through a manual call up system. “The next thing we did was to go into Lilypond to ensure that it was ready to take on the trucks—about 500 to 600 trucks. This was in addition to 34 nominated other parks that have the capacity to take up to 5000 trucks,” Kayode Opeifa, PTT’s executive vice-chairman recalled in an interview. Opeifa recalled further that within three days, the task team was able to pick 120 trucks to tell the operators that they were really out to enforce the traffic management direction, add-

ing, “the enforcement of this management direction and the utilization of the transit parks helped to reduce the number of trucks on the roads and bridges.” But all these seem to have been consigned to the garbage bin as the gridlock has returned forcefully with its attendant chaos, stress and pain on the neck of other road users who now spend several hours on their way to work or business premises in the port city. Besides deviating from the standard operating procedure, which is a major reason for the present situation, the Lilypond Transit Park is no longer available to take trucks, especially the empties, flat belts and those carrying commodities for exports. “There are many issues responsible for the present situation in Apapa,” Opeifa noted, listing efficiency of port operations, construction activities that have reduced port gates from 8 to 3 for entry and exit, and too many financial interests. He lamented that the call-up system has collapsed such that trucks are now called indiscriminately to access the terminals without regard for road capacity and other road users. Another issue, he pointed out, is lack of

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cooperation from Apapa Port and the terminal operators. He hoped, however, that with the concessioning of Lilypond Transit Park last week, reprieve was on the way. He explained that the concessionaire would be coming with an electronic call up system that will introduce some sanity and control in truck movement. But until then, the present situation might degenerate to the pre-PTT days when the port city was on the brink of becoming a wasteland where businesses were either dying or leaving in droves for saner environments. Landlords were also abandoning their homes to become tenants in other side of town. “Nobody is looking to set up a new business or rent a new home in Apapa at the moment. We have been marketing a nineunit 3-bedroom house in that port city in the last three years and nobody is calling you for even inspection,” Joe Akhigbe, an estate surveyor and valuer, told BusinessDay. What this means is that those who have invested in property in Apapa may not be expecting any dividend for now until governments at both state and federal levels get serious with this country’s busiest port city estimated to be worth N20 billion a day.

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Tuesday 15 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

NEWS

Sanwo-Olu, Amaechi promise improved safety measures on rail corridors

...as 2 killed in Lagos train accident JOSHUA BASSEY

agos State governor, Babajide SanwoOlu on Monday visited the Oshodi scene of the train accident, in company of Romtimi Amaechi, minister of transportation, promising to improve safety measures on rail corridors in the state. Two persons reportedly died in the accident, which occurred along the driveway into the Nigerian Army Shopping Arena in Oshodi, about 8:11am, when a commercial train hit two vehicles, dragging them along the track. The victims, a father and son, were said to be driving into the shopping arena when

they were caught up by the speeding train. Their Toyota Highlander vehicle got stuck on the rail track. All the six persons in the other vehicle - a passenger bus, escaped with varying degrees of injuries, after the train dragged the commercial bus about 800 meters away from the point of collision. Sanwo-Olu sympathised with the families of the victims, while noting that the accident was regrettable. The governor said the incident happened on the day the federal and governments reached an agreement to close down the shopping complex’s gates at the railway line because of safety concern. He said: “This incident is

regrettable because it happened on the day all stakeholders reached a consensus to close down the gates into the shopping arena. And this is part of the concerns we have been raising about commuters’ safety on this axis. We need to act fast. This fatal accident should strengthen our resolve to do the needful and prevent a repeat of the sad incident in the future. “It is also a clarion call on our people to be safety conscious whenever they need to drive across rail track. If there is slow movement of vehicles at any railway bypass, then there is need to keep a safe distance from the rail tracks. We have been rolling out advocacy on this and we will

intensify efforts on it. Safety of the people is paramount and we will do all required to ensure we put a stop to this kind of accident.” Sanwo-Olu disclosed that the state and federal governments were on the move to create alternative entry and exit driveways for the shopping arena and other vulnerable points along the railway corridor. This effort, the governor believed, would strengthen safety of commuters and motorists along rail corridors. Prior to the visit by the governor and the minister, the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) had evacuated the mangled vehicles from the rail track.

L-R: Mohammed Bello, permanent secretary, federal ministry of science and technology; Mohammed Abdullahi, minister of state for science and technology; Asma Mirza, member ministerial committee on COVID-19 Herbal Remedies and Natural Compounds; Ogbonnaya Onu, minister of science and technology; Kalu Onuoha, chairman of the ministerial committee; Charles Esimone, member of the committee, and Alex Akpa, director-general, National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), during the inauguration of the committee by the minister in Abuja, yesterday.

Health workers abandon duties in Ogun as JOHESU grounds federal hospitals RAZAQ AYINLA, ABEOKUTA

embers of the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) at Idi- Aba and Neuropsychiatric Hospital at Aro both in Abeokuta, capital of Ogun State, on Monday, joined the 7-day warning strike declared by the national body of the union to press home their demands. BusinessDay observed at various medical activities visited that the federal medical facilities located in Ogun State were grounded following the commencement of the strike. Early in the morning, the health union held a

congress where members were directed to stay off work, just as they decried infrastructural decay in various public hospitals across the country. The labour said that the injustice against their members in the scheme of things within the health sector was unbearable. Speaking with newsmen, chairman of the senior staff association at the FMC, Bashir Ayobamiji Obabiyi said: “We went on strike two years ago on this same issue. To our dismay, the Federal Government withheld our two-month salaries - April and May salaries because we went on strike. “But today, about two or three times, medical www.businessday.ng

doctors have proceeded on strike and their salaries were paid which is high level of injustice in the system. “We are appealing to our members to be cooperative that at the end of the day, we shall all smile to our respective homes.” At the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, the same scenario played out, as members of JOHESU refused to work at the medical facility. The public relations officer of the health facility, Abiola Ajibola confirmed to BusinessDay in Abeokuta that “members of JOHESU went on strike based on the directive from their national body and not only in the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hos-

pital, Aro, Abeokuta but in all the federal medical facilities.” Meanwhile, at Olabisi Onabanjo Teaching Hospital (OOUTH), Sagamu, health workers were seen carrying out their professional duties as they did not join the strike. Speaking with JOHESU branch chairman, Jayeola Thomas said they were on duty because the industrial action only affected their counterparts at the federal health institutions. “The strike supposed to be national one. The directive is for all national to join. We belong to the state. If we are to join the strike, there will be further directive in that regard,” she said.

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Abiola’s sons’ detention: Ezekhome clarifies role, suit against police INIOBONG IWOK

ike Ozekhome, a senior lawyer has defended the N100 million suit filed against the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, over the detention of late Moshood Abiola’s sons. Recall that last week, two sons of the late 1993 presidential candidate, Kassim and Aliyu, were arrested and detained over a robbery incident that took place at their father’s Ikeja residence on September 2. They claimed they were unlawfully arrested and detained at the Special AntiRobbery Squad (SARS) in Ikeja, sequel to a complaint that was lodged by their stepmother, Adebisi Abiola, after the robbery incident. On Friday, the duo approached the Ikeja judicial division for the enforcement of their fundamental rights. Their stepmother, Adebisi Abiola had, however, denied being behind the continued detention of the two and faulted the suit filed against the police. In a statement issued by Debo Adeleke, the family’s lawyer, Adebisi said that the arrest of her stepsons was as a result of their unruly acts during police interrogation after the robbery. Adeleke said the law suit thwarted the family’s effort to secure an administrative bail for Kassim and Aliyu. He also accused Ozekhome of prying into the affairs of the family because the lawsuit was not instituted by any member of the family. However, in a response to the accusations through a press release, a copy which

was sent to BusinessDay, Ozekhome said his firm was briefed to handle the case after several telephone calls by Olive Abiola, the Cameroonian mother of the duo, who lives in Zimbabwe. Ozekhome denied accusation by Adeleke that his law firm lobbied for the case, stressing that Olive Abiola informed him that she got his contact through his friends in Nigeria and the internet. Ozekhome said that the firm instructed two senior lawyers, Chimaobi Onuigbo and Ejieke Onuoha, to interview the two detained children of late Abiola subsequently after they were approached. According to him, “We were personally briefed to handle the above brief through series of telephone calls on Sunday, September 6, and Monday, September 7, 2020, by Olive Abiola, the Cameroonian mother of the duo, who lives in Zimbabwe, and who told me she sought and got my numbers through a Nigerian friend of hers and through internet. “We never knew her in person and have never met her before the said brief, and up till now. “It is therefore professionally unfair and extremely preposterous for anyone (let alone a law firm), to suggest, imagine, or even day-dream, that at our level, we would ever jump up and take up a matter we have not been properly and adequately briefed on to handle. “We are the more taken aback that such a most unfounded allegation could ever be made against us, and signed by Debo Adeleke, on behalf of the above law firm.”

NIMASA DG appoints Essien as special assistant

ashir Jamoh, directorgeneral of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), has appointed Ubong Essien as his special assistant on communications and strategy. Jamoh, who broke the news of the appointment on his verified twitter handle, said: “Welcome aboard. Glad to announce the appointment of Ubong Essien as my special assistant on communications and strategy”. Essien has already assumed duty at the Apapa, Lagos, headquarters of NIMASA. Described by the legendary Brian Tracy as “one of the very best speakers in the world today,” Essien is currently the only Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) in West and Central Africa. He is a renowned motivator and the publisher of ‘The Achievers Journal’. He is also the dean of the School of Eloquence, the public speaking training centre with offices in Lagos and London. Essien has been involved in human capacity building @Businessdayng

since 1999 and has worked as a speaker, trainer, facilitator and consultant to a variety of Nigerian organisations in both private and public sectors. He is a member of the National Speakers Association (NSA), USA; the American Association for Talent Development (ATD) and the Chartered Institute of Transport Administrators (CIoTA), Nigeria. Essien, who holds a B.Ed. (Biology) from University of Ilorin and a Postgraduate Diploma in Mass Communication from University of Lagos, is a member of the Governing Board of the Centre for Values in Leadership (CVL).

Tuesday 15 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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Tuesday 15 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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Tuesday 15 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

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Tuesday 15 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

POLITICS & POLICY

Edo poll: No need to change a performing governor - Daisy Danjuma IDRIS UMAR MOMOH & CHURCHILL OKORO, Benin

aisy Danjuma, a senator who represented Edo South Senatorial District in the National Assembly, on Monday, urged Edo women to rally behind the re-election of Governor Godwin Obaseki for a second term in the forthcoming governorship election slated for Saturday, September 19. Daisy, who is the wife of retired General Theophilus Danjuma, made the call at a reception organiSed in her honour by Edo women for Obaseki/Shaibu in Benin City. The senator, who said there was no need to change a performing team, noted that governor deserved a second term for continuity of good governance. She said the governor’s sterling performance in all sectors of the state’s economy compelled her to endorse his candidacy for a second term in office at a function in Lagos even before the governor’s defection to PDP. “Governor Obaseki was in APC

Daisy Danjuma

and I saw all what he was doing in Benin. I then said to myself this is not about party but about the

Akwa Ibom groans under diminishing revenue as FG withholds derivation fund ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, Uyo

kwa Ibom State is lamenting its dwindling revenue as the Federal Government has withheld the payment of the 13 percent derivation fund which accrues to oil producing states as guaranteed in the constitution and had been in practice since 1999. Akwa Ibom is one of the major oil producing states and the bulk of the revenue it earns comes from federal allocation and the 13 percent derivation fund. Government sources, which disclosed this in Uyo, the state capital last weekend, said that it is now more than four months since the Federal Government stopped the payment of derivation fund apparently due the coronavirus pandemic, adding that it is telling on the ability of the state government to complete many of its projects. According to the source, though it is hopeful that the fund would be restored when the economic outlook improves, the sorry state of funds has manifested in a number of road projects being suspended or abandoned. Some of the road projects abandoned or put on hold include the construction of the ring road 111 which the state government started constructing last year and the multi-million naira flyover project along Abak road in the heart of Uyo, the state capital which has since been abandoned. Several other roads, including ring road 2, from Aka road to Abak road, has also been abandoned. In June, the state government was said to have received N11billion from the Federal Government as its share

need to shun violent and being used as agent of electoral fraud. “It is your duty to encourage everybody around you, convince your husband, children and friends to come out on Saturday to vote for Governor Godwin Obaseki and PDP. “I always said Nigerians who are rich to please improve the society, use your resources to improve the society. Our money is not for guns or for any violent things. Please, use it to improve the people and also feed the people. “We have a lot of things to do; please let support a good and performing governor that will provide us good governance.” According to her, “Nobody has governed only for four years in the state. Please, let’s vote right. No man is God. Vote right. Use your PVCs right and vote for Obaseki’s re-election.” Earlier, Betsy Obaseki, wife of the state governor, said that Obaseki was fighting a political battle not to liberate only Edo State but the nation from the shackles of godfatherism. Besty urged women in the state to troop out on election day to re-elect the governor.

Edo poll: Yiaga Africa trains over 500 on essentials of election observation

of the federal allocation, less than half of what it used to receive before Covid-19. According to the Debt Management Office (DMO), its domestic debt stands at N239.2 billion as at June 2020; the third in the country after Lagos and Rivers states. There have been reports that a major construction firm in the state has threatened to downsize its workforce due to nonpayment of the debt owed by the state government. “We are groaning; many of the projects have been suspended even the celebration marking 33rd anniversary of the creation of the state is virtually suspended,’’ one top government official said. In a message cancelling public gatherings to celebrate the 33rd anniversary of the creation of Akwa Ibom State, Emmanuel Ekuwem said Governor Udom Emmanuel has approved that there should be no celebration, saying the decision was taken in the interest of the public health and safety of the citizens of Akwa Ibom State. “Sources said the cancellation of the state’s creation anniversary, apart from being to safeguard the health of the people, may not be unconnected with the cash crunch that the state government is facing. “The health, lives and wellbeing of Akwa Ibomites must be prioritised over any celebration,’’ the statement added, Meanwhile, Ita Enang, senior special assistant to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, has called for a constitutional amendment to ensure that the 13percent derivation paid to oil producing states does not go to the governors but to oil bearing communities directly. www.businessday.ng

individual. “In my opinion he has done well but as a member of board of trustee

of PDP, I supported Obaseki for continuity even before his defection to the party. “Since the nation returned to democracy in 1999, Governor Lucky Igbinedion ruled for eight years, Adams Oshiomhole also ruled for eight years; why is it that a performing governor will not do eight years? There is no reason why a performing governor will not have a second term,: she said. “I saw it that Godwin Obaseki will do something great, that is why I said in spite of my party I must support him for a second term for continuity to be able to finish all the good job that he started, and that at the end of the tenure he will look for a person who will continue with his good work,” she further said. Daisy, who commended the former governor of the state, Adams Oshiomhole for identifying Governor Obaseki as the right person to succeed him to develop the state, opined that success in government is where a governor was able to produce a right successor. While canvassing for a violencefree election, she called on parents to sensitise their children on the

IDRIS UMAR MOMOH & CHURCHILL OKORO, Benin

non-governmental organisation, Yiaga Africa has trained a total of 543 persons on the guidelines and principles of election observation ahead of the September 19 governorship election in Edo State. Samson Itodo, executive director, in a statement said the observers were also trained on how to track and report adherence to the coronavirus (Covid-19) prevention protocols at the polling units and local government areas results’ collation centers. The training tagged ‘Election Day observation training’ was held from September 10 to 13, 2020 in 42 training centres spread across all LGAs

in the state. Giving the breakdown of the observers, he said 500 polling unit observers, 24 roving observers, 18 collation centre observers, and one state focal person were trained to observe, document and report the process of the election. “The Watching The Vote (WTV) has deployed its cohort of 44 Master Trainers across all 18 local government areas in Edo state for the training of over 500 polling unit observers. “Yiaga Africa’s Watching The Vote (WTV) will employ the Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT) methodology on election day and will deploy 500 stationary observers in pairs to a representative statistical sample of 250 polling units and 24 mobile observers, 18 Collation Center observers in

each of the 18 LGAs of Edo State and one State Focal Point (SFP). “The deployment strategy will enable Yiaga Africa to provide timely and precise information on the conduct of accreditation, voting and counting as well as to independently verify the official results for the gubernatorial election as announced by INEC. He explained that the Parallel Vote Tabulation (PVT) is an observation methodology leverages statistics and technology for the observation of the process of voting, counting and tallying of results. “With the results assembled from the sampled polling units, a citizen observer group can release projected estimates and verify the accuracy of results declared by the election management body,” he said.

INEC to monitor Edo guber election through virtual situation room Idris Umar Momoh & Churchill Okoro, Benin

he Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday said it would monitor the Edo State governorship election slated for Saturday, September 19, through a zoom situation room. The Chairman of the Commission, Mahmood Yakubu made the disclosure during an expanded stakeholders’ meeting organised by INEC in Benin. Yakubu said the zoom situation room would also allow the commission to receive live reports from the field. He said accredited observers and the media will also be invited to join

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at intervals. He noted that the zoom situation room would enable the commission to receive first-hand information during the election. The INEC boss, however, warned that electoral violators would face the consequences of their actions, if caught during the governorship election. Mahmood listed some of the infractions to include vote-buying, ballot box snatching and stuffing, multiple voting, hijacking and diversion of election materials, among others. “Edo people must be allowed to freely vote for their preferred candidate without inducement or harassment. “We have been assured by the security agencies that thugs and their sponsors will not have the @Businessdayng

freedom to move around freely to disrupt the election or collation of results,” he said. The INEC chairman, who reassured Edo people that their votes would count, added that only the choice made by the people of Edo would determine the outcome of the election. He explained that the commission would not take any action to the advantage or disadvantage of any political party or candidate. “Our focus is on our processes and procedures. Nothing more. Be assured that Saturday’s election will be credible. “The Commission would be deploying magnifying glasses and braille ballot guides to assist Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) to vote unaided.

Tuesday 15 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

Live @ The Exchanges Market Statistics as at Monday 14 September, 2020

Top Gainers/Losers as at Monday 14 September, 2020 LOSERS

GAINERS Company

Closing

Change

STANBIC

N40

N39.5

-0.5

DEALS (Numbers)

INTBREW

N3.5

N3.2

-0.3

0.25

FIDSON

N3.7

N3.5

-0.2

VOLUME (Numbers)

N1.95

0.17

FCMB

N2.2

N2.03

-0.17

N25.1

0.1

UCAP

N3.08

-0.08

Closing

Change

N15.75

N16.8

1.05

DANGCEM

N134

N135

WAPCO

N12.8

N13.05

NEIMETH

N1.78 N25

CAP

GUARANTY

Company

ASI (Points)

Opening

25,605.59 3,567.00 257,027,926.00

VALUE (N billion) MARKET CAP (N Trn)

3.320 13.358

Nigeria stock market opens week on a positive note heanyi Nwachukwu

igeria equities rose by 0.05 percent on Monday September 14 as investors raised stake in value stocks like Dangote Cement Plc, Lafarge Africa, GTBank and Chemical and Allied Products Plc. The performance of the market this week is expected to be largely dependent on events around indicators like global crude oil price movements, news around the Covid-19 pandemic and liquidity in the FX market. Oil prices slipped slightly on Monday amid concerns about a stalled global economic recovery and worries over renewed Libyan supply, but were supported by an impending storm which has disrupted U.S. oil production. Brent crude was down 11 cents, or 0.2percent, at $39.72 a barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were

down 12 cents, or 0.3percent, at $37.21 a barrel by 1105 GMT. Both contracts ended last week lower, falling for a second week in a row. The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index (ASI) increased slightly by 0.05 percent to 25,605.59 points from preceding day’s lows of 25,591.95 points. The valued of listed stocks

on the Bourse increased by N8billion to N13.358trillion as against N13.350trillion the preceding trading day. The market’s negative return year-to-date (ytd) decreased to -4.61percent. Stocks that led the gains include CAP which moved up from N15.75 to N16.8, adding N1.05 or 6.67percent; followed by Dangote Cement which advanced

from N134 to N135, adding N1 or 0.75percent. Lafarge Africa moved up from N12.8 to N13.05, adding 25kobo or 1.95percent. GTBank rose from N25 to N25.1, up 10kobo or 0.40percent while Neimeth rallied from N1.78 to N1.95, up 17kobo or 9.55percent. In 3,567 deals, investors exchanged 257,027,926 units valued at N3.320billion.

Sahara Energy, Petroci sign $43m deal to boost LPG supply in Cote D’Ivoire

ahara Energy Logistics Holding Limited (a Sahara Group company) and Société Nationale d’Opérations Pétrolières de la Cote d’Ivoire (The National Oil Company of Cote d’ivoire, Petroci Holding), have entered into a Joint Venture Agreement (JVA) to facilitate the construction of a 12,000 Metric Tonnes Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) storage facility to guarantee LPG supply security in the nation. The cost of the project is estimated at $43million and will be executed in two phases, with commissioning scheduled for November 2021 and October 2022 respectively. Incorporated as SAPET Energy S.A., the joint venture company will handle the construction, operation, and maintenance of the ultramodern LPG storage terminal.

Upon completion, the facility will become the largest of its kind is Sub-Saharan Africa, and more importantly, support the government’s efforts to meet Cote d’Ivoire’s growing LPG demand. Speaking at the execution of the agreement, Dr. Ibrahima Diaby, Director General Petroci, said, “this joint venture project is the first of its kind in Cote d’Ivoire and will serve as a model for other

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projects in the energy sector. It is a historic event that will pave the way for a robust and seamless storage, distribution, and supply of LPG. This translates to more clean energy, growth, and productivity in Cote d’Ivoire. We are delighted and look forward to more collaboration with Sahara Energy.” Olayemi Odutola, Country Manager, Sahara Energy said the project was in tandem with Sahara Group’s commitment to promoting clean energy in Africa through investments, new technology, and collaboration with regional and global institutions. He stated that the partnership with Petroci further reiterates Sahara Group’s support and commitment to enhancing economic growth in Cote d’ Ivoire and contributes to the UN SDG7 goal which aims at ensuring access to affordable and clean

energy. “We are excited about the project and the huge opportunity it will confer on Cote d’ Ivoire as the leading LPG hub in the sub-region. Sahara Energy continues to support the energy value chain in the nation as a foremost partner. Sahara Group remains unwavering in its commitment to enhance capacity, productivity, reliability, safety, profitability, competitiveness, and sustainability in Africa’s energy sector. We will continue to explore other investment and partnership opportunities to replicate similar projects across the continent,” he said. Industry experts say the development is cheery news for the nation with a population of 25 million people which has recently emerged as one of West Africa’s fastest growing LPG markets.

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Global market indicators FTSE 100 Index 6,026.25GBP -5.84-0.10%

Nikkei 225 23,559.30JPY +152.81+0.65%

S&P 500 Index 3,395.47USD +54.50+1.63%

Deutsche Boerse AG German Stock Index DAX 13,193.66EUR -9.18-0.07%

Generic 1st ‘DM’ Future 27,936.00USD +443.00+1.61%

Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index 3,278.81CNY +18.47+0.57%

FMDQ Exchange admits the Mixta Real Estate, CardinalStone Partners Commercial Papers to its platform

ommitted to fostering the development of the Nigerian financial market by championing and supporting strategic market-driven initiatives, FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited (FMDQ Exchange), recently approved the quotation of the Mixta Real Estate Plc N2.39billion Series 28 Commercial Paper under its N20billion Commercial Paper Issuance Programme. FMDQ Exchange also approved the quotation of CardinalStone Partners Limited N5billionn Series 1 Commercial Paper under its N10billion Commercial Paper Issuance Programme on its platform. The Nigerian Commercial Paper (CP) market has remained a viable option for corporate entities looking to raise funds to meet shortfalls in their working capital, as well as other short-term expenditures. The Mixta Real Estate Plc and CardinalStone Partners

Limited CPs would be used to finance the issuers’ short-term funding requirements. These CPs, like all other securities listed/quoted and traded on the platform, shall be availed global visibility through the FMDQ Exchange website and trading systems; transparency through its inclusion in the FMDQ daily quotations list; governance and continuous information disclosure to protect investor interest; credible price formation amongst other benefits derived from being quoted on FMDQ Exchange. Commenting on this debut CP issuance, CardinalStone Partners Limited representing the issuer stated: “The admission of the Issuance by CardinalStone on the Exchange will allow the Company consolidate its position as a credible borrower from institutional investors and one of the few non-bank affiliated financial services businesses that have accessed the debt capital markets.

Capital Market Committee donates 150 units of infrared thermometer to Enugu State Govt

he Capital Market Support Committee on COVID-19 (CMSCC) has donated 150 units of infrared thermometer to Enugu State Government to help in curbing the spread of the pandemic in schools. The items were donated by Patrick Ezeagu, on behalf of the National Chairman of the committee, Ariyo Olushekun. While presenting the items to Deputy Governor Cecelia Ezeilo at the Government House, Enugu, Ezeagu explained that the CMSCC had observed the giant strides by the Enugu state government in the fight against COVID-19.

“We commend the ongoing government’s efforts toward flattening the curve,” he said. He said that the fight against the pandemic should be collective; hence every Nigerian should lend support to government’s efforts to wipe out the pandemic. He explained that SEC set up CMSCC with the primary mandate to mobilise funds from the capital market communities in Nigeria to support the fight against the pandemic.“In furtherance of the mandate, the committee hereby extends its support through the donation of 150 units of infrared thermometer for use in schools.

Ellah Lakes signs produce offtake agreement with Pure Flour Mills ...for supply of approximately 5000 Metric Tonnes of Cassava

llah Lakes Plc has announced that it has signed a Produce Offtake Agreement with Pure Flours Limited (PFM), a subsidiary De United Foods Industries Limited, for the supply of approximately 5000 Metric Tonnes of Cassava. Ellah Lakes Plc is a Nigerian agriculture business that is

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currently specialising in Oil Palm plantations in Edo & Delta States. It was incorporated on July 2nd, 1980 and was listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on January 14th 1993, Ellah Lakes has brought empowerment to the communities in which it operates and is diversifying across Oil Palm value chain.

Tuesday 15 September 2020

BUSINESS DAY

NEWS

Air travellers with less than 96 King’s College old boys plan hours PCR test validity won’t transformation of education sector be allowed into Nigeria-FG HARRISON EDEH, ABUJA

he Presidential Task Force (PTF) on Covid-19, on Monday, said air travellers coming into Nigeria must present a valid polymerase chain reaction, PCR test of not less than 96 hours as required by international travel guidelines and protocols, to be allowed into Nigeria. The PTF said this in addition to other measures were to check the importation of new infections into the country. Sani Aliyu, the national coordinator of the PTF, who stated this at a press briefing, said the government has established an online registration portal, as part of its risk mitigation measures in line with international guidelines for travellers coming into Nigeria. Sani explained that the portal itself was a tool that ensures that all travellers coming into Nigeria register in that platform and complete necessary pretests required in compliance to travel guidelines

that the government issued on September 5, 2020. According to the PTF, the first step for outsiders willing to come into Nigeria is to go and have Covid-19 PCR test done. He noted that the government would not accept antigen, antibodies tests just as he emphasised the need for the test to be done from a certified laboratory in the country the traveller resides. “We already have lists of accredited labs from the countries; we initially have issues with their results,” he said, adding that the test must be valid, and not less than 96 hours, preferably the closer it is to the time of boarding, the better. According to the national coordinator, “once you have your PCR test and it is negative, you go to the portal which is nitt.ncdc. gov.ng and you register on the portal. When you register, you will fill your boarding flight declaration form after filling the form, you will be asked to upload you Covid-19 PCR results that are negative.”

DANIEL OBI

ing’s College Old Boys Association (KCOBA) has lined up prominent stakeholders in public and private sectors, including Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo and Amina Muhammed, deputy secretary of United Nations as lead speakers to chart a course on the way forward for Nigeria’s education sector. Nigeria’s education sector is challenged myriads of problems including poor funding, poor teacher remuneration, dearth of quality teachers, poor education infrastructure and poor teaching aids which result in ill-equipped graduates many of whom are not equipped for economic management. The discussion which will be teleconference focusing on opportunities to positively trans-

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form the education sector during and following the Covid-19 pandemic will to be held on September 19, 2020. The forum is part of the activities for the 111th Annual Kings College Old Boys’ week. Also scheduled is a panel discussion, with panellists, including Babagana Monguno, national security adviser; Chukwuemeka Nwajuiba, minister of states for education; Hakeem AdenijiAdele, former chief technology officer, Microsoft; Akin Abayomi, commissioner for health, Lagos State; Olumide Akpata, president, NBA; Justice Adeniyi Adetokunbo Ademola, president, St. Gregory College Old Boys’ Association - PPP operators; Ifueko Omoigui, president Queens College Old Girls Association). This session will be moderated by Ituah Ighodalo, chairman, 2020 Kingsweek committee.

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NAPTIP rescues 1,052 Oyo indigenes from forced …as Makinde, Abiodun inaugurate taskforces on human trafficking REMI FEYISIPO, IBADAN AND RAZAQ AYINLA, ABEOKUTA

bout 1,052 indigenes of Oyo State have been rescued from forced and child labour, domestic servitude and sexual exploitation, by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), BusinessDay has learnt. Checks show that 782 females and 270 males from Oyo State were rescued from Oyo town, Saki, Iseyin and Ibadan, the state capital. Meanwhile, both Governors Seyi Makinde of Oyo state and Dapo Abiodun of Ogun State, have inaugurated separate special task forces on human trafficking, as part of efforts to stamp out the illegal act in their respective states. Speaking through his deputy, Rauf Olaniyan, Makinde said human trafficking was one of the major consequences of poverty, adding that the state is doing everything to raise residents’ living standard. Inaugurating the task force, the governor charged

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the officials to immediately get to work and deal decisively with anybody found culpable, in what he called, the ‘heinous act’ against fellow humans. The task force has the state’s attorney-general and commissioner for justice, Oyewo, a professor of law, as chairman. In Ogun State, Governor Abiodun also constituted a task force on human trafficking. The governor was represented at the event which took place in Abeokuta, by his deputy, Noimot Salako-Oyedele. He observed that no development could take place in an atmosphere of insecurity and where criminal acts, such as child abuse and human trafficking, were rampant. He described human trafficking as a grave violation of human rights. According to the Governor, the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act (VAPP) Law in the state is aimed at eradicating all forms of violence, including human trafficking, adding that the government had enacted the child right law to protect children.

leaderSHIP

BUSINESS DAY Tuesday 15 September 2020 www.businessday.ng

Olusegun Osunkeye: Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce celebrates industry icon at 80 MODESTUS ANAESORONYE

t is a challenge to fully capture the iconic story of any successful octogenarian on one page of a publication. It is even much harder to illuminate the historical forays of a giant such as Olusegun Osunkeye (CON) on one page - given the sweep of his life, the scope of his accomplishments, as well as the volume of accolades he so rightly earned over the years. It is now a new and a commendable realisation that showcasing the accomplishments of our heroes in their lifetime, than at any other time in their lives, also offers them a sense of fulfilment while they age gracefully; and creates a stronger mentorship benefit to the younger generation and society at large. It therefore comes with great aplomb that, today, many Nigerians and reputable institutions recognise and honour iconic personalities, people who have made huge contributions to the development of our society, in their lifetime. In this light, the NigerianBritish Chambers of Commerce, an international affiliate of the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) lead other Nigerians in celebrating one of Nigeria’s most cerebral, accomplished, and prominent captain of industry and quintessential boardroom veteran, Olusegun Osunkeye at 80. Born on September 7, 1940, Osunkeye’s path to greatness started in 1954 when he was admitted to the King’s College, Lagos. Even from those early years, young Segun was spotted as a bold, confident and intelligent student. Later, he left King’s College in 1958 and started his professional Accountancy training with Messrs Akintola Williams and Co. in 1959. Two years later, he attended the Nigeria College of Arts, Science and Technology, Ibadan. He also attended the famous College of Commerce, Wednesbury, Staffordshire, England. In 1965, he qualified as a Chartered Accountant and worked briefly in the United Kingdom with a leading firm of Chartered Accountants. He later returned to Nigeria in 1967 and worked for UAC Nigeria. That was the beginning of a very successful career chain in corporate Nigeria. Through his relentless pursuit of excellence and passionate disposition towards every assignment in his career, he rose to the position of Chief Executive Of-

Olusegun Osunkeye

ficer of a leading multinational organisation in Nigeria, Nestle Nigeria Plc. A quintessential manager of men and resources, Olusegun Osunkeye touched and transformed thousands of lives through his foresight and service all through his active years in the corporate world. He was a symbol of decency, humility, integrity, fairness and justice. Osunkeye has a long list of honours, which are a genuine acknowledgement of his contributions to society. He holds a Doctor of Science Degree in Agriculture, (Honoris Causa), from Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, UNAAB. He is an honorary Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, (FNIPR), honorary Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology, FNIFST, Distinguished Merit Awardee of the University of Ibadan Department of Crop Protection and Environmental Biology. Osunkeyeis equally an Outstanding Volunteer Awardee from FATE Foundation for voluntary work as Instructor, Consultant and Mentor to Nige-

‘‘

By dint of hard work, integrity and high ethical values become a pathfinder and beacon to many who want to be successful in business and in service to humanity

rian youths seeking, through the Foundation, to alleviate poverty and create wealth. He is also ICAN Merit Awardee from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria for outstanding contribution to the Accountancy profession. Osunkeye has, by dint of hard work, integrity and high ethical values become a pathfinder and beacon to many who want to be successful in business and in service to humanity. He is the current Chairman of the Board of Directors of Omnibus Business Solutions Limited and Pilot Securities. He has also served as the Chairman of Nestle Nigeria Plc, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria Plc, Lafarge Africa Plc, FTN Cocoa Processors Plc, the International Chamber of Commerce Nigeria Chapter and Home & You Limited. His indelible record of service in these corporate organisations and institutions remains intact, and there are records of several landmark programmes and projects he pioneered in many of those organisations. His vigour and passion were shaped by his faith in the creative capabilities

and boundless energies of the people he led Indeed, Osunkeye has always been a stickler for excellence and is a three-time recipient of the National Honours Awards - CON, OFR and OON, “for his outstanding virtues and in recognition of his significant contributions, through the private sector, to the industrial, commercial and agricultural development of the country.” Even in retirement, the story of corporate Nigeria cannot be told without a big mention of this unassuming and worthy leader. As he matches gallantly into his octogenarian years, 80 Hearty Cheers and a special salute to an African entrepreneur, leader, statesman, global citizen and mentor. Many local and international organisations, where he left his mark in the last three or four decades, have been clinking glasses to a man who brought resourcefulness, solutions, experience and dynamism to their activities and programmes. One of such institution is The Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce, an international affiliate of the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) where Olusegun Osunkeye is a highly esteemed Patron. According to a statement from the organization, “Osunkeye has been a pillar of support in our 42 years of fostering goodwill and increasing trade and investment between Nigeria and Britain. We are indeed grateful for the life of impact that he has lived, and the tremendous milestones achieved over the years” The Chamber currently has about 350 members from diverse sectors of the economy. The activities of the NBCC include inward and outward trade missions to the two countries, training programmes, conferences, and seminars facilitated by leading authorities in different fields. The NBCC provides a credible platform for members and non-members to discuss topical issues affecting the economy; particularly NigerianBritish trade. The NBCC is an international affiliate of the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) which gives members access to a network of 53 Chambers of Commerce across the United Kingdom and 49 other international affiliates around the world. The Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce is happy to associate with Osunkeye at 80, and wish him well as he marches on gracefully in life.

Published by BusinessDAY Media Ltd., The Brook, 6 Point Road, GRA, Apapa, Lagos. Advert Hotline: 08033225506. Subscriptions 01-2950687, 07045792677. Newsroom: 08169609331 Editor: Patrick Atuanya. All correspondence to BusinessDAY Media Ltd., Box 1002, Festac Lagos. ISSN 1595 - 8590.