BusinessDay 19 Jul 2018

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news you can trust I **THURSDAY 19 JULY 2018 I vol. 15, no 99 I N300

Sell

$-N 357.00 360.50 £-N 474.00 482.00 €-N 411.00 419.00

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FMDQ Close Foreign Exchange Market Spot $/N I&E FX Window 361.69 CBN Official Rate 305.85

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lockade of access roads in Nigeria’s commercial city of Lagos has assumed a frightening dimension. Since Monday, the Apapa-bound lanes of Oshodi-

...defy VP, Ambode’s order as motorists groan …Gridlock extends to 3rd Mainland Bridge Mile 2 Expressway have been on locked-down.

Disorderly queues of articulated trucks headed for Apapa continue to grow by the day,

and by yesterday, had stretched beyond Ilasamaja, towards Iyana Isolo. No lane of the expressway was spared, as petroleum tankers and container

carrying trucks spread all over, without a care in the world.

It was the height of a recurring Continues on page 38

Governors, ministers, royal fathers converge on Abuja for 2018 Governors’ Awards TELIAT SULE

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he Award Committee for the BusinessDay 2018 States Competitiveness and Good Governance Awards will announce the winners for this year’s awards today in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

The gala/dinner event which is meant to celebrate governors who have distinguished themselves in all spheres of their states’ economies will have in attendance Abdulsalam Abubakar, Continues on page 38

5 Years

10 Years

20 Years

0.08% 13.75%

-0.08% 14.05%

0.03% 14.23%

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Tankers takeover as Lagos roads turn Highway to Hell CYNTHIA IKWUETOGHU, JONATHAN ADEROJU & MICHEAL ANI

fgn bonds

2019: Obasanjo, Na’Abba, Wabara, others vow to redeem Nigeria from bad governance OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja

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summit of national leaders and elders convened by the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), Afenifere, Ohanaeze Ningbo, Pan Niger Delta Forum ended in Abuja on Wednesday with a resolution to redeem Nigerians from the shackles of insecurity, poverty and bad governance.

The summit which was attended by prominent leaders like ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, former House of Representatives speaker, Umar Ghali Na’Abba,

Continues on page 38

Inside

L-R: Wole Oshin, group managing director, Custodian Investment plc; Ibunkun Awosika, chairman, First Bank of Nigeria Limited/chairman of the occasion; Funmi Babington-Ashaye, president/chairman of council, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN); Yetunde Ilori, director-general, Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA); Muda Yusuf, director-general, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), and Eddie Efekoha, deputy president, CIIN, at the CIIN 2018 presidential valedictory lecture, with the theme “Insurance and Generation Next: Meeting the Needs Pic by Olawale Amoo of Stakeholders” in Lagos, yesterday.

Senate approves N348bn for Aiteo, Conoil, oando, others on outstanding subsidy P. 2 claims

Road to ‘Nigeria Air’ littered with skeletons of failed past efforts T IFEOMA OKEKE

he federal government yesterday unveiled Nigeria Air as its new national carrier at the Farnborough air show in the U.K, however historical precedents of failure suggest it will be a near impossible task to pull off.

While Hadi Sirika Minister of State for Aviation, stressed that the carrier will be private sector led, history has shown this is not the first time government is floating a private sector led

airline even as various attempts by past governments to set up national carriers failed over power play, government intervention, lack of management and unhealthy competition, amongst others.

Proposed national carriers and the ones that have gone into extinction in the past 50 years include Nigerian Airways, New Co, Nigerian Global, Nigerian Eagle, Virgin Nigeria, Air Nigeria, and Nigeria one.

An aviation expert Dondekojo Abayomi with the twitter handle @dondekojo explained in a

thread, the rise and fall of national carriers in Nigeria.

According to him, after independence, Nigeria bought out the equities of Elder-Dempster and British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) in the then West African Airways Corporation (WAAC).

It was renamed “Nigerian airways” in 1971. Nigerian airways lasted for about 40 years, and operated local and international flights to West and Central Africa. It also operated intercontinental flights to Europe, USA, Middle East and Asia,” he stated.

The airline was fully owned by government with supervision from relevant ministries.

Government paid the debts and determined its routes. Civil Servants and the Military used its services at will and engaged the airline in rescue operations, pilgrimages and missions without payment. This is where the problem began, analysts say.

“Then they started trading the call sign to private airlines, usually for Hajj operations so the huge over-flight, landing and parking charges were left for Nigeria Airways to settle.

Virtually, all the F27 and F28 work horses of the airline were either sold or given away to some African States by the Federal Government in a show of big brotherhood. We lent a lot to help the apartheid struggle in South Africa too,” Abayomi said.

“The airline owed IATA clearing house almost $50m. This led to the expulsion from the clearing house meaning, the airline couldn’t fly to a lot of places or connect airlines,” he explained.

Other national carriers that Continues on page 38

2 BUSINESS DAY NEWS

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Thursday 19 July 2018

Sovereign wealth funds Senate approves N348bn for Aiteo, Conoil, show way to go for investors oando, others on outstanding subsidy claims Endurance Okafor & Cynthia Ikwuetoghu

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hile some investors are tempted to move their funds from the public traded securities to less volatile private investments with more lucrative return, the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds (IFSW), the world’s biggest investors, think otherwise.

This was disclosed in its 2017 annual review of the industry, where 61 sovereign wealth funds were tracked. Meanwhile, IFSW represents more than 30 of the state-owned investment groups, which Nigeria is also a member.

The report proposes that there is declining interest in private assets investments, especially in property and infrastructure, two of the most popular investment classes of recent years, and there is increase in public listed market.

“Listed opportunities are on the rise, while there are certainly headwinds in private markets, sovereign wealth funds have increased their direct investments in listed companies during 2017. Sovereign wealth funds joined many other institutions to take advantage of the weak dollar, strong global growth, record-low volatility, and expectations of a tax reform in the U.S. pushing stock markets to record highs,” the sovereign wealth funds report said.

In 2017, sovereign wealth fund bought publicly listed shares in 119 transactions, that is 39 percent of the total – up from 94 deals in 2016, which represented 32 percent of the total.

This was achieved through partnership and co-operation with other institutions and in the last three years, SWFs have invested

alongside a range of partners. In 2017, the trend reached a new high as SWFs completed 203 investments in a consortium or partnership, over double the number of solo deals.

Although, the Nigeria sovereign wealth fund did not quite follow in the same trend as the international sovereign wealth, considering when BusinessDay looked into the financial reported for 2017, it revealed that the Nigeria sovereign fund made huge investments in the year under review compared to the year before, most of which went to infrastructure and private equity investment.

On whether Nigeria’s sovereign wealth fund will go in line with IFSWF, going forward, Johnson Chukwu, the MD of Cowry Asset Limited said the movement of investment from private unlisted companies to public listed companies by the international sovereign fund will have a minimal effect on Nigeria’s fund investments.

Speaking on the various sectors Nigeria sovereign wealth fund invest make its investment, Ayo Akinwunmi, Head of Research at FSDH said Nigeria Sovereign wealth invest in some critical sector of the economy.

“That is Agriculture, renewable energy, power and infrastructure given the fact that it is a long term fund to accelerate the growth of the Nigerian economy. Nigerian sovereign wealth fund is allowed to invest in some listed companies both locally and international and some other investment instruments that would have relative stability over a long period of time to gauge all the investment risk,” akinwunmi said in a phone response.

Continues on wwwbusinessday online.com

Naira undervalued, expect soft year-end rally – RenCap Emeka Ucheaga, Sobechukwu Eze, Abdullateef Eniola-Giwa & David Ibidapo

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enaissance Capital in its recently published currency watch report (Thoughts of a Renaissance Man) stated that Naira is currently undervalued in Investors & Exporters exchange rate window. RenCap fair value estimate of the local currency is N322 to $1 versus its current spot price of N361 to $1.

Despite an undervaluation of almost 11 percent, RenCap forecast Naira to rally only 2 percent this year due largely to capital outflows from emerging and frontier markets along with increased political risk in the country in the lead up to the 2019 general elections.

Investors who are likely to cut back on their exposure to Nigeria financial markets during the elections may likely increase foreign exchange pressure in the country thereby restraining the rally in the local currency.

Naira which has been hammered in recent years has enjoyed rare stability since the beginning of the year appreciating by 0.23 percent in the first half of 2018.

The stability in the exchange rate market is attributed to rallying oil prices which has helped Nigeria’s foreign reserves to swell to $47 billion, thereby

boosting investor’s confidence in the economic strength of the nation.

Omotola Abimbola, fixed income and currency specialist at Ecobank Transnational shared similar sentiment as RenCap on Naira undervaluation. Although he agrees that Naira is grossly undervalued when considering the pool of external reserves and the current account surplus in Nigeria, he opines that the possibility of a Naira rally this year is unlikely.

Abimbola told BusinessDay that a Naira rally before the election will be very difficult considering the headwinds from around the world.

Abimbola pointed to increase foreign outflows as investors exit EM markets to enjoy better yields in the West as America, Europe and Japan continue to tighten monetary policy. Investors avoiding political risk will also repatriate their funds for safety reasons, putting pressure on Naira.

Abimbola said that Naira missed its chance to rally against the dollar in Q1 when foreign inflows entered the country at record pace, but the apex bank prevented Naira from strengthening for obvious economic reasons.

If the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had allowed Naira to strengthen, it could have caused imports to surge in subsequent quarters.

Continues on wwwbusinessday online.com

OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja

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he Senate Wednesday approved the payment of N348 billion as outstanding subsidy claims to 74 petroleum marketers.

The marketers will be paid in the form of promissory notes.

This followed adoption of the interim report of the Committee on Petroleum Downstream on the Promissory Note Programme and a Bond Issuance to Settle Inherited Local Debts and Contractual Obligations to Petroleum Marketers.

Out of this amount, 55 oil marketers are to receive N275.75 billion while 19 others will get N73.45 billion.

While the committee recommended that the 55 oil marketers be paid 100 percent of their verified claims, it called for the payment of 65 percent claims to other marketers due to contentions in their figures.

Notable among the oil marketers and the amount approved for them are: Aiteo N4.98 billion; Conoil N5.58 billion; Forte Oil N15.48 billion; Bovas N5.95 billion; Capital Oil N8.33 billion; Mobil N8.28 billion; MRS

Oil and Gas N20.94 billion; Oando N14.97 billion; Total N21.56 billion among others.

The upper house also mandated the committee to continue its engagement with the Ministry of Finance, oil marketing companies, Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) and other stakeholders in order to update all the outstanding liabilities and clear all outstanding debts, interest accrued and forex differential once and for all.

Chairman of the committee, Kabir Marafa (APC, Zamfara State), noted that although marketers made claims to the tune of N670.49 billion as of June 30, 2017, the PPPRA verified and approved the sum of N429.05 billion to the Federal Ministry of Finance.

He explained that while the verified figure was approved by the Federal Executive Council, further verification by the Presidential Initiative on Continuous Audit (PICA) reduced the amount to N407.25 billion.

The panel observed that continuous delay of the approval of President Muhammadu Buhari’s promissory

note request will affect the liquidity of the Oil Marketing Companies and undermine their crucial role in the development of the economy.

“This issue including the determination of the terminal date of the subsidy programme amount paid to the OMCs and the interest accrued from 30th June, 2017 to date will be taken up and resolved in the final report. This committee will be submitting to the Senate in due course.

This submission should be able to reconcile and bring to the conclusion all issues in respect of petroleum subsidy programme implementation and payments.

“Further verification needs to be made to ascertain the discrepancies between the OMCs and the recommendations for payment made by FMoF (PICA); “In this respect, the Committee is of the opinion that interim payments should be effected to the OMCs pending full verification of PICA recommendations and updating on the full implication of interest accruals from 30th June 2017 to date.

Continues on wwwbusinessday online.com

Abdulrazaq Isa (l) chairman/ CEO, Waltersmith Petroman Oil Limited, and Taiwo Adeniji, senior director, Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), exchanging the signed documents at the $35 million debt facility agreement signing ceremony for the 5000bpd refinery project between Waltersmith and AFC in Lagos.

Pic by Pius Okeosisi

Dangote Cement to sidestep threat of rising carbon prices for now Emeka Ucheaga

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hile American, European and Asian cement producers hold their breath to see if increased efforts to decarbonize the global economy will lead to a rise in carbon prices for the cement makers, Dangote Cement need not worry, at least for now.

This is because Dangote Cement which is the biggest cement producer in Africa has majority of its operations in African countries with little to no carbon regulations in place which is unlikely to change for several years to come.

Dangote Cement which has 63.5 percent of its total production capacity in Nigeria alone also boasts operations in Cameroon (3.2%), Congo (3.2%), Ghana (3.2%), Ethiopia (2.5Mta), Senegal (3.2%), Sierra Leone (1.1%), South Africa (5.4%), Tanzania (6.5%) and Zambia (3.2%).

All of which excluding South Africa are currently not considering creating carbon tax laws anytime soon

according to Moody’s. If South Africa finalizes its carbon tax laws in 2019 as expected, its effect on Dangote Cement finances will be miniscule considering the country only accounts for 5.4 percent of production.

LafargeHolcim Ltd and HeidelbergCement AG who are the only global cement giants with a strong presence in Africa will see their cost of operations skyrocket as a result of their large exposure to developed regions where there is high regulatory risk for increased carbon pricing.

Moody’s stated that cement giants who are unable to transfer the cost of carbon prices to customers will see their profit margins erode significantly. Carbon prices and regulations that aim to protect the industry from carbon leakage will differ geographically, posing varying risks to companies in different jurisdictions.

As expected, carbon prices in Europe and America are the highest in the world, with Switzerland carbon tax as high as $101 per tonne of carbon emission. The cement sector

was directly responsible for 6 percent of global CO2 emissions or around 2.2 gigatonnes of CO2 in 2016.

The challenge for the cement industry will be to lower total emissions at a time when demand for cement is likely to continue to grow by 12 percent -23 percent by 2050, from 2014 levels, as world’s population grows and continues to industrialize and urbanize.

However, the key regulatory risk for cement producers will be a situation where the fourth phase of the European Union’s emissions-trading system (EU ETS) fail to provide sufficient protection against carbon leakage, thus putting profitability for producers in the EU could be at risk.

While Dangote Cement shareholders may sleep relaxed that they won’t be paying any penny for their carbon emission anytime soon, it will be wise for the company to begin investing in infrastructure and materials that will help to optimize clean production of cement.

Thursday 19 July 2018

BUSINESS DAY

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6 BUSINESS DAY NEWS Safetrust fully refunds investment in Safetowers - Ibie

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primary mortgage bank, Safetrust Mortgage Bank Limited, has given financial support to Macbosh Properties Limited to fully refund the investment made by Kunle Ogunmefun on Safetowers.

This is contained in a statement issued by Maurice Ibie, head, marketing and corporate communications of Safetrust Mortgage Bank.

Ibie affirmed that Macbosh Properties had entered into a commercial transaction with Kunle Ogunmefun on Safetowers located along the Lekki-Epe Expressway.

He said the statement had become necessary in the light of several conflicting one-sided reports making the rounds in the media. The statement added that it was important for the bank to unravel the truth for the sake of its hard built integrity over the last 25 years.

“Safetowers consists of 3 high-rise blocks of flats, and pent house duplexes. Ogunmefun indicated interest in the project and subscribed to a block which has 16 units of 3 bedroom apartments and 2 units of 5 bedroom Penthouse duplexes.

The estimated construction and delivery time was for a period of 24 months at a total price of N710,000,000.00,” he said.

He reiterated that Ogunmefun had previously bought some units in a previous development “Safecourt Apartments” financed by Safetrust Mortgage Bank, which was more than twice the size of Safetowers in monetary terms. The project was developed successfully and delivered accordingly.

According to the bank, It was mutually agreed with Ogunmefun under the terms of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) executed between Macbosh Properties and

Ogunmefun that on receipt of consideration as a whole (the entire sum of N710,000,000.00), not in installments, Macbosh Properties would complete the property within a time frame of 24 months. However, contrary to the terms of the MoU, the total sum was not paid up-front, rather the sum of N550,000,000.00 was paid in tranches through a company called Currant Limited.

The bank maintained that despite the breach of agreement

by Ogunmefun, Macbosh Properties in good faith commenced the construction of the property in line with its obligation in the MoU but that the economic crisis that bedevilled Nigeria in 2015 led to hike in construction.

It added that if Ogunmefun had paid at the agreed time, the unnecessary delay would not lead to hike in construction cost.

The bank stated that while it was not normal practice to make refund without selling any property or getting a new buyer, Macbosh Properties had proposed that a refund of payment till date be done in two installments and it showed faith to make an initial payment of N275,000,000.00 despite not having to resell the units. It lamented that this was still not acceptable to Ogunmefun who allegedly continued to harass the bank with some arms of the security agencies.

“However, with the bank’s staunch support, Macbosh Properties has fully refunded the outstanding balance of N275,000,000.00 to Ogunmefun, making the total amount refunded to be N550,000,000.00 representing the total investment made by him. This payment brings the transaction to an end,” he said.

Photocopies of the draft showing the evidence of full payment and Fidelity Bank cheques were also sent to BusinessDay.

We have no issue on declaration of ‘Customer Eligibility’ in power sector - Discos HARRISON EDEH, Abuja

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ssociation of Electricity Distributors (ANED) says its 11 electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) have no issue with the initial declaration of “Eligible Customer’’ in the nation’s power sector.

The DisCos in a document obtained from Sunny Oduntan, directorofResearchandAdvocacy of ANED, said they had issue as to whether the timing was right for such a declaration, due to a number of reasons.

Recall, Babatunde Fashola, ministerofpower,worksandhousing, had on May 15, 2017, declared four categories of eligible customers in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI).

Thedeclaration,whichpermits some categories of electricity customers to buy power directly from the generation company, was in line with the provisions of Section 27 of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (EPSRA) 2005.

The section permits an eligible customer to buy power from a generation company other than electricity distribution companies.

Fashola, had also recently at a news conference in Abuja, said the DISCOs had initially resisted thedeclarationofeligiblecustomer and were presently reluctant to cooperatewiththepolicymeantto supplypowertopeopletheDisCos could not supply.

According to the document,

the declaration seems to be a guise for pulling out major customers of the DisCos, which will lead to reduction of the funds available to run their business.

It said a provision inherent in the customer eligibility policy allowed the new participants to charge tariffs much higher than theDisCoswereallowedtocharge.

This, it said was against the competition being canvassed by the minister.

“We are worried that when these better paying customers are removed from the DisCos pool of customers, the tariffs of ordinary citizen and customers will need to be raised to compensate for the revenue loss which, we believe is unwise at this time.

“Thereisanabsenceofthelevel of competition clearly identified in the market rules and volume of energy that is required for such a declaration.

“There is lack of open access to transmission infrastructure, a critical requirement for such a declaration, and absence of a spot marketthatallowsforreadyenergy transactions to balance customer requirements against supply.

“While we recognise that the minister has a right to declare eligible customers, we doubt that hehasarighttofurthertakemoney outofourcustomers’pockets,with the potential tariff hike that will occur as the designated eligible customers leave the pool of DisCo customers.

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Nigeria lags in universal immunisation coverage 2017 ANTHONIA OBOKOH

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igeria records below 50 percent of vaccine coverage and also among countries that account for about 5.6 million people affected by conflict where access to routine immunisation services is critical to achieving and sustaining polio eradication in the worldwide immunisation estimates 2017 released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

According the agencies, globally, about 123 million infants, 9 in 10, received at least one dose of diphtheriatetanus-pertussis vaccine in 2017, protecting them from

infectious diseases than can cause serious illness, disability or can be fatal.

“If universal immunisation coverage is to be realised, an estimated 20 million additional children need to be vaccinated with DTP3; 45 million additional children need to be vaccinated with a second dose of measles vaccine and 76 million more children need to be vaccinated with 3 doses of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.

“Despite these achievements, almost 20 million infants did not receive the benefits of full immunisation in 2017.

“Of these, almost 8 million, or 40 percent, live in fragile or crisis-affected places, in-

cluding countries affected by conflict,” the UN agencies said.

In addition, about 5.6 million of them live in just three countries Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan, where access to routine immunisation services is critical to achieving and sustaining polio eradication.

The data show that in 2017, 10 countries had diphtheriatetanus-pertussis (DTP3) or one dose of measles vaccine (MCV1) coverage below 50 percent, which includes Angola, Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Syrian Arab Republic, and Ukraine.

Immunisation is a building block of strong primary health care and universal health cov-

erage, and provides a point of contact for health care at the beginning of life and offers every child the chance of a healthy life from the start.

“162 countries now use rubella vaccines and global coverage increased from 35 percent in 2010 to 52 percent in 2017, which represents an additional 25 million children vaccinated in 2017 compared to 2010.

“This is a major step towards reducing the occurrence of congenital rubella syndrome, a devastating condition that results in miscarriages, hearing impairment, congenital heart defects and blindness, among other lifelong disabilities,” the agency said.

L-R: Onybuchi Okereke, publicity secretary; Data Jaja, member external communication committee; Debo Fagbemi, vice chairman; Chikezie Nwosu, chairman; Temitope Oshuntuyi, council secretary, and Innocent Ohimor, council adviser, all of NAICE, during the press conference to announce the forthcoming SPE-NAICE 2018 international conference and exhibition in Lagos.

Pic by Pius Okeosisi

SEC warns investors to avoid Ponzi schemes EFCC urged to investigate N12.4bn IHEANYI NWACHUKWU

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igeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has again advised investors to desist from investing their money in investments that offer unreasonable levels of returns at little risk to investors.

This warning to avoid Ponzi schemes was given by Mary Uduk, acting director general of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) during a Town Hall meeting on Current Initiatives by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Nigeria to enhance investor value held Wednesday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Uduk who enjoined inventors to be wary of any investments that is proposing return levels that are unreasonably high, added that they should always cross check that such fund managers and the products they are offering are registered with the SEC. The acting director general of SEC told the audience that the specific objective of the meeting is to keep Nigerians abreast of the initiatives that SEC is currently undertaking in order to make the capital market more user friendly such that people can participate in it with greater ease, comfort and convenience.

“There is the added and allimportant purpose of ensuring that the gains of your participation, be these dividends, proceeds from share sales/transfers, etc. accrue to you seamlessly,

without sweat and in the shortest time possible. The purpose is also to ensure that you do not fall victim to the antics of fraudsters who purport to be able to double any amount of money you make available to them as investment value.

“These fraudsters or promoters of Ponzi Schemes are the false prophets of the investment environment, they are the ill wind that blows no good and at whose sight you must flee; they are to be avoided. This is one message you must take home to family, friends, relations and acquaintances in order to save them from the agony of loss of their hard–earned money” she stated.

Uduk also used the occasion to inform investors that SEC is currently leading the entire capital market industry in an effort to migrate all shareholders to an e –Dividend regime.

The essence of the e-Dividend Mandate Management System she said, is to eradicate or reduce to the barest minimum the incidence of unclaimed dividend.

“Unclaimed dividend is an undesirable feature of the Nigerian capital market which denies investors/shareholders the gains of participating in the capital market. It denies the economy access to the huge amount of money which should have accrued to shareholders and would have gone into circulation to oil the wheel of the economy.

non-competitive contracts in Discos TONY AILEMEN, Abuja

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n Adhoc Committee of the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) which recently investigated the Nigeria power privatisation has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission ( EFCC) to investigate suspicious cases of “ Corporate larceny” in the DISCOs as part of measures to ensure that they remain financially healthy.

The committee headed by Bashir Gwnadu, a member of the NCP, also had in its memberships, top government officials drawn from the Presidency, the Federal Ministry of Finance as well as the Bureau for Public Enterprises ( BPE) that midwives the Privatization process.

They include Itua Ighodalo, Akinbolahan Adeniran and Paul Ogbu as members, while Jide Adesanya, Consultant &Tech. Asst. to DG, BPE and Oluwaseun Umar, Anti-corruption Unit, BPE, served as Secretary 1 and 2 respectively.

But in a swift reaction, the DISCOs have dismissed the report as “ a non- issue” , adding that they have done nothing wrong.

A top player in the industry who do not want his name in the print, dismissed the report as “ handiwork of evil and envious people who do not like the

progress of other people” The top industry player dared EFCC to do its investigation on the issue as they had done nothing against the laws of the land.

The report had noted that the distribution segment of the Nigerian electricity market, has cases of suspicious transactions involving purchases from, or payments to, or award of contracts to companies co-owned by the owners and promoters of these DISCOs in breach of procurement procedures The report also alleged that there is collusion with the purchasers of the Discos, i.e, the 60% equity holders in making those payments or award of contracts. “ The Open Book Report of the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commissar (NERC) suggests massive cases of corporate larceny whereby purchases are made by the managers of the Disco without competition or simply in suspicious manner to aid transfer of funds out of the companies without requisite approvals of the BPE.” The report noted 60% share-holders won’t have to totally rely on dividends for their investment return, a situation that may not only affect their operations, but likely to create inefficiency.

Thursday 19 July 2018

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7 NEWS

BUSINESS DAY

NCC’s measures on call masking get support JUMOKE AKIYODE-LAWANSON

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L-R: Anuj Agarwal, regional chief financial officer, Allianz Africa; Sunkanmi Adekeye, MD, Ensure Insurance plc; Coenraad Vrolijk, regional CEO, Allianz Africa; Owolabi Salami, executive director, Ensure Insurance plc, and Adeolu Adewumi-Zer, regional head, M&A, Allianz Africa, during the press conference to announce the completion of the acquisition of Ensure Insurance plc by Allianz Africa in Lagos.

Pic by Pius Okeosisi

WalterSmith Refinery, AFC to produce 271m litres of refined products annually OLUSOLA BELLO

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$35 million debt facilities agreement has been executed between WalterSmith Refinery and Petrochemical Company and Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) for the construction of 5,000 barrels per day (bpd) modular refinery, to be built and completed within the next 18 months.

The total cost of the refinery is about $48 million. While AFC is providing $35 million of the money, the promoters of the project, which is being sited at Ibigwe field in Imo State, are to make available the balance.

According to Abdulrasaq Isa, chairman, WalterSmith Petroman Oil Limited, the facility will be scaled up to 30,000bpd after the first phase of the project must have been completed.

Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), kerosene and naphata would be the major products that would be produced from the 5,000bpd

refinery.

The WalterSmith boss said petrol, aviation fuel and Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) would be produced after the plant would have been scaled up to 30,000bpd.

In May this year, the company executed the engineering, procurement and construction agreement with VELEM, a consortium of two companies, VFUELS based in the United States and Lambert Electromec based in Nigeria.

On June 29, 2018, it also signed shareholders agreement with the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) for an equity investment of $10 million in the project.

“The investment by WalterSmith, AFC and NCDMB into the refinery project is clearly strategic and cannot be coming at a better time. On our part, we have been plagued by frequent unrest in the Niger Delta area, which has hampered our production for a cumulative period of 747 days.

This equivalent to two years out of the 10 years of the company’s existence,” Isa said.

He said the investment in the refinery became imperative to enable continuous production from its upstream business all year round, without interruption arising from vandalism of crude oil.

In addition, WalterSmith will be able to contribute about 271 million litres of refined products annually to the Nigeria economy, serve as an import substitution for meeting domestic demand for petroleum products, create both direct and indirect employment opportunities as well as reduce the amount of foreign exchange demand on the country’s treasury needed to import these products.

NCDMB investment in the project is in line with the Federal Government initiative of enabling local refining capacity in the downstream sector, as well as generating more employment opportunities for Nigerians.

Domestication of bill on crimes against humanity, war crime, genocide desirable before 2019 general elections KEHINDE AKINTOLA, Abuja

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xperts on international criminal courts, academia and coalition of civil society organisations who converged at the public hearing on domestication of Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC), on Wednesday, expressed support for the passage of the bill that seeks to criminalise crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide in Nigeria.

The stakeholders who frowned at the high level of impunity being perpetuated against thousands of Nigerians including women and children by insurgents, armed herdsmen and political thugs, called for the passage of the bill before the 2019 general elections.

According to the experts, domestication of the Rome Statute will forestall military coup, impunity by public and political office holders, among other crimes against humanity.

They expressed the support during the public hearing on a bill for an ‘Act to provide for the enforcement and punishment of crimes against humanity, war crimes, genocide and for other related offences’, organized by House Committee on Trea-

ties, Protocols and Agreements chaired by Yakub Abiodun Balogun (APC-Lagos).

Balogun explained that the criminal offences of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes are requisite [part of domestic legislation where a state wishes to prosecute persons for atrocities committed in the course of a conflict.

“These offences have long been recognized as crimes under international law but have not often been incorporated into national legislation. Fortunately, countries are free to adopt legislation providing for prosecution of these crimes committed in the past, despite the prohibition of retroactive prosecutions.

“This is because Articles 11(2) of the Universal Declaration of Human rights and equivalent provisions in all of the human rights treaties, declares that the rule against retroactive prosecution is not infringed if a crime was recognised previously under international law, and is clearly the case for genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.”

In his address, Ossai Nicholas Ossai, sponsor of the bill disclosed that the bill provides for

appropriate criminal sanctions to perpetuators of mass crimes within the jurisdiction of Nigeria, for example crimes committed by insurgents as well as provide for a network of corporation between Nigeria and International Criminal Court to ensure effective prosecution of criminals either in Nigeria or outside Nigeria.

He added that the bill will also prevent further military coups and civil war in Nigeria; checkmate all forms of impunity; address crimes committed by the Nigerian security forces that may have gone beyond the established rules of engagement in their conduct during any counter criminal activities as well as provide for punishment for those responsible for international crimes in Nigeria.

While applauding the establishment of the Victims Support Fund, which raised N80 billion under President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, and hoped to raise additional sum of $500 million within 12 months was in tandem with the provisions of the bill, the Delta lawmaker observed that the fund is being disbursed without domestication of the relevant law.

‘N10.69bn Green Bonds listing will open up investment in Nigeria’

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apitalmarketoperatorshave expressedoptimismthatthe listing of the Federal Government N10.69 billion Sovereign Green Bond on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) would place the country as a leading investment destination in Africa.

The capital market operators expressed the hope while reacting to the implications of the Green Bond listing on NSE slated for July 20 in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Wednesday in Lagos.

The Green Bonds are fixed income,liquidfinancialinstruments used to raise funds dedicated to climate mitigation, adaption and other environment-friendly projects.

They provide investors with an attractive investment proposition and an opportunity to support environmentally and socially sound projects.

GarbaKurfi,managingdirector, APT Securities and Funds, said the bond’s listing would enrich the nation’sbourseintermsofproduct diversityandmarketcapitalisation.

KurfisaidGreenBondpresents countries with an opportunity to demonstratenationalleadershipin the green financing agenda.

He added that it would open newinvestors’baseandstrengthen the country’s commitment to complying with the Paris Climate Change Agreement.

Kurfi, who commended NSE for the initiative, said it would help in moderating climate change by investing in solar plants, hydropower and agriculture against the backdrop that 90 per cent of Nigeria’s export income comes from crude oil.

Ambrose Omordion, chief operating officer, InvestData Limited, saidthatthemajordrawbackofthe initiative was lack of international standardisationofwhatconstitutes a Green Bond.

Omordion said that there was the need for strong monitoring mechanism worldwide to ensure compliance to the bond’s framework.

“There is no worldwide monitoring mechanism to ensure compliance with the parameters set by frameworks such as the Green Bonds Principles or Climate Bonds Standards.

“There is therefore, need to develop community of local verifiers that will assess whether issuers’ Green Bond meets the requirement of the Climate Bonds Standard,” he said.

ouse of Representatives Committee on Financial Crimes has commended the efforts of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to curb the menace of call masking and re-filing in the country and its promise to deploy a technological solution that will enable tracking of SIM boxes used for fraud.

Speaking while leading other members of the committee to a high-level meeting at the headquarters of the Commission in Abuja, Kayode Oladele, chairman of the committee, expressed concerns over the danger the menace of call masking portend in the country.

The committee would later listen to presentations on the complex problem from top echelon staff of the regulatory body led by Umar Garba Danbatta, the executive vice chairman of the NCC. “Within a very short time we are very impressed by the responses, and I wish Nigerians could be told about what we have done here today. Many people feel that nothing has been done whereas so much has been done, except that if you ask me what we have achieved

‘Greater involvement of stakeholders will better education in Lagos’ SEYI JOHN SALAU

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n a move seen at strengthening educational outcomes and ensure better utilisation of the Universal Basic Education (UBE) funding in Lagos State, stakeholders at a sensitisation workshop for community in Somolu, Surulere and Mushin local government areas say community involvement will strengthen collaboration for better outputs in the educational process in Lagos.

The sensitisation workshop on utilisation of UBE funds project was organised by Human Development Initiatives (HDI) with support from the MacArthur Foundation, and its aims at providing capacity building for members of School-Based Management Committees (SBMC), Parents’ Forum, Community Development Associations and Committees.

Olufunso Owasanoye, executive director, HDI, in a statement, said the quality of basic education in Lagos was a responsibility for all, as such there was a need to build capacity in advocacy for good education, especially among stakeholders.

Owasanoye said until stakeholders decide to offer Nigerian children the best basic education standard, Nigeria would not be able to meet up with the best education practice.

Therefore, stakeholders are to ensure school age children enrol, attend and complete schooling. “As agents of change, make demands on political office holders for the well-being of school children and the community at large,” Owasanoye said.

Furthermore, she wants the stakeholders to pioneer advocacy and mobilization for the full involvement of society members in basic education delivery.

“Stakeholders’ involvements strengthen collaboration and relationship between the supply and demand sides relations.”

today I will say that I am leaving here more confused because the problem is bigger than what we thought,” Oladele said, at the end of the meeting.

Earlier, Danbatta had told the committee that call masking was not peculiar to Nigeria’s telecom industry and the agency had already assembled its finest technical brains to select the best technology solution to be deployed for detecting SIM boxes used by the perpetrators in the country.

“When we notice a phenomenon which is anticompetitive or undermining the security of the land, we promptly take actions.

In this regard, we have taken some steps to ensure that operators licensed by the commission abstain from the act. And we noticed an anecdotal improvement as the numbers came down reasonably. Yet all of a sudden we have an additional dimension, SIM boxing. These are electronic boxes with a capacity to receive and transmit calls.

“We are at a loss how these items of equipment find their way into this country because we don’t type-approve them, and we couldn’t have type-approved them. It’s illegal to bring SIM boxes into the country,” he pointed out.

NSITF probe: Panel queries N62.56bn expenses KEHINDE AKINTOLA, Abuja

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dministrative Panel of Inquiry (API) set up by Chris Ngige, minister of labour and employment, has queried expenditure worth N62.56 billion used between 2011 and 2015.

The panel, which enquired into the financial state of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) and ancillary matters on February 15, 2017, alleged that there were several transfers worth N15,737,757,697.91 from one account to another, which were not submitted for verification.

Breakdown of the fund queried by the panel include: the sums of N2,990,184,262.77 was expended on computerization and other related lCT equipment ; N2,650,731,225.93 deducted from various payments in respect of Withholding Tax, Pay-As-YouEarn (PAYE), Value Added Tax, Pension and National Housing Fund were no remitted to the relevant Authorities and payment of N5,744,968,834.13 to Staff and Management of the Fund without the approval of National Salary, Incomes and Wages Commission.

Others are: payment vouchers worth N27,056,598,053.92 not presented to the Panel for audit examination and sighting; payment vouchers of N8,376,083,789.72 without adequate supporting documents,” the report stated.

According to Ishaya Awotu, chairman of the panel of inquiry, despite the appointment of external auditors for the period under review, the audited financial statements and the management letters for year 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 were submitted to the management.

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FG, labour may unveil new minimum wage in August Edo seeks CSOs’ buy-in, monitoring of Edo BEST programme JOSHUA BASSEY

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he Federal Government, organised labour and representatives of private sector employers are said to be currently wrapping up negotiations on the new national minimum wage, and may unveil an agreed figure before the end of August.

Implementation, however, is not likely to take an immediate effect, as ratification by the National Assembly will be required.

Bobboi Kaigama, president, Trade Union Congress (TUC) of Nigeria, confirmed that negotiations had reached advanced stage, just as the tripartite national minimum wage committee, comprising representatives of government, employers and labour met in Abuja on Wednesday to further discussions on the matter.

With the current N18,000 minimum wage (about $50 per month), Nigeria pays one of the least national minimum wages in sub-Saharan Africa when compared with South Africa ($517); Ghana ($128); Gabon

($418); Kenya ($331); Ethiopia ($77), and Tanzania, $149. The TUC and Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) are jointly demanding a raise to N66,500.

Nigeria’s poor minimum wage has been blamed on government’s lean resources, which impede ability to pay a higher wage. In contrast, however, Nigeria’s political class ranks among the highest paid in the world, as each of the 108 senators draws more than N14 million monthly from the national treasury.

Kaigama said the wage committee was at the verge of concluding negotiations on what was expected to be a new national minimum wage.

The Federal Government had set a September date to roll out a new wage for workers, although Chris Ngige, minister of labour and employment, was recently reported as “doublespeaking’’ on the issue.

“The tripartite meeting is holding today (yesterday) but I do not want to pre-empt the outcome or the level we have reached in our discussions, otherwise there will be unnec-

Boundary dispute: Edo, Delta urge border communities on peaceful coexistence … task Boundary Commission to expedite action on demarcation

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do and Delta state governments have called on border communities in both states to sheath their swords and live harmoniously pending the determination of boundaries by the National Boundary Commission (NBC).

The advice was contained in a communiqué issued after a joint inter-state boundary meeting between Edo and Delta states at the Government House, in Benin City, the Edo State capital.

The two states committed to prevailing on the NBC to expedite action on final demarcation and survey of the disputed boundaries between the two states, noting, “A committee has been set up to look into legal and boundaries issues relating to the two states.

“The committee will comprise of the Attorney General of each state, Commissioner of Police of both states; chairmen of Orhionmwon and Esan South East local government areas of Edo State and Ethiope East, Ukwani and Ika South local government areas in Delta State. Other members include Surveyor General of each state and the deputy chief of staff of Edo State.”

Edo State deputy governor, Philip Shaibu, called on border communities in Edo and Delta states to sheath their swords over claims and counterclaims of land ownership, stressing that efforts were on to resolve the dispute with the NBC leading the charge.

Shaibu, who stressed that the two states ought not to have such issues as they made up the defunct Bendel State and share historical and cultural ties, he said there was need to maintain the strong bond and not allow disagreement on boundary divide them.

He expressed apprecia-

tion to officials of the two states, noting, “Despite the boundary dispute, we are still brothers.

We were carved out of the old Bendel State and our history can be traced to Bendel. We should remain indivisible.”

Explaining that the dispute by border communities started shortly after the creation of the two states in 1991, he said, “In 2001, the Federal Government waded into the crises by directing the NBC to undertake the provisional demarcation of the boundary between the two states.

Shaibu urged the NBC to take urgent steps on the final demarcation of the boundary, as it will lay to rest the lingering tension and agitation between border communities of the two states.

“This Inter-state boundary meeting is convened to douse the mounting tension in the border communities of our states.”

Shaibu appealed to all communities in the border areas of Edo and Delta states to embrace peace, as the NBC and governments of Edo and Delta states intensify effort at ensure the demarcation of the boundary between the two states without further delay.

Deputy governor of Delta State, Kingsley Burutu Otuaro, said Delta and Edo states were sister-states and share common experiences and historical antecedents.

He noted that the boundary meeting for dispute resolution is held with the active participation and guidance of officials of NBC and the office of the Surveyor General of the Federation.

“It is pertinent to recall that from the series of communiqué issued after various joint meetings held with the NBC, both states were always enjoined to maintain the status quo in areas of dispute, as a means of sustaining peace, pending the completion of the process.”

essary anxiety. But by the end of August, I am assuring you that workers will know what the agreed new minimum wage will be,” he said.

President Muhammadu Buhari on November 27, 2017, approved a 30-member committee to work out a new minimum wage. Buhari was, subsequently, hailed by workers for listening to their cries for a review of the current N18,000 minimum wage put in place by former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011.

The labour movement, including the NLC and the TUC, had previously demanded N56,000 as new minimum wage.

However, Ayuba Wabba, president of the NLC, later submitted a memorandum to the wage committee, demanding N66,500 “living wage.” He said a living wage was necessary to restore confidence for workers, whom he said, had been devastated by years of exploitation and enduring slave wage.

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do State governor, Godwin Obaseki, has called on Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to join forces with the state in deepening the impact of the Edo Basic Education Sector Transformation (Edo-BEST) programme by monitoring its implementation in local government areas across the state.

Obaseki made the call during the courtesy visit by board members of Enibokun-Edoror Foundation, at Government House, in Benin City, Edo State.

He urged the EnibokunEdoror Foundation to support the programme by monitoring its implementation in Edo Central Senatorial District, to ensure efficiency and accountability.

He said, “As an organisation, we would like you to assist us in monitoring schools in local government areas where Enibokun-Edoror Foundation operates to ensure that teachers are always

present in schools to teach our children.”

Explaining that his administration is keen on curbing human trafficking and irregular migration by providing access to qualitative basic education for citizens, he noted, “One of the ways we are curtailing human trafficking is to improve education particularly at the basic level, so as to instil confidence in our youth. This is why we launched the EdoBEST programme.”

The governor commended the Foundation for its various skills acquisition programmes, adding, “The state government would work with you to broaden the scope of the Foundation.

When we see people like you, who are concerned about the situation of young people and ready to empower them with hands-on skills, we have no choice but to work with and support you.

“We will visit your skills

acquisition centres to see what you have on ground and areas where we can support you,” he said.

President of EnibokunEdoror Foundation, Rosemary Edoror, commended governor Obaseki-led administration for its transformational leadership as well as the development of the state, especially in the area of road infrastructure.

Edoror said the Foundation had members drawn from the five local council areas in Edo Central and is involved in youth empowerment and provision of financial assistance to indigent students and women.

She added, “In our five skills acquisition centres, we train youths on fashion design, bead making, cosmetology and electrical repairs. The Foundation seeks support from the state government to purchase more training equipment which we enable us sustain our skills acquisition programme.”

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Shielding the stock market from US-China trade conflict

UCHE UWALEKE Uche Uwaleke is a Professor of Capital market and the Chair of Banking and Finance Department at the Nasarawa State University Keffi

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ith the United States and China announcing new import tariffs by the day in a titfor-tat, there are concerns that sentiments towards equities could really sour in global stock markets especially if the current trade spat escalates into a full-blown trade war. It all began a few months ago with the US, in sync with Donald Trump’s protectionist policy, imposing a 10 per cent tariff on imported aluminium and a 25 per cent tariff on imported steel from China. In retaliation, China announced increased tariffs on over 100 goods imported from the United States. Only recently, in keeping with Donald Trump’s threat of additional punitive measures, the White House released another list of tariffs on Chinese goods coming into the United States with China promising retaliatory extra duties on US$34 billion of imports from the US. Not surprisingly, the escalating trade tensions have stoked concerns across global financial markets particularly taking a toll on both the Chinese and US stock markets. Bloomberg had reported swift market reactions by markets in developed and emerging economies with the Shanghai Composite dropping 1.8 per cent after the US Trade Representative set out the US$200billion of imports from China to attract a 10 per cent tariff while the FTSE 100 fell 0.3 per cent in London according to the Finan-

cial Times. The S&P 500 index shed 1.6 per cent while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by as much as 572 points or 2.3 per cent following reports that China was planning new tariffs of up to 25 per cent on US products in retaliation to the US announcements of more tariffs on Chinese products.

Emerging markets equities were also hard hit in the same week as the benchmark MSCI Emerging Market Index sank below the 1 100 mark.

Back home in Nigeria, the USChina trade conflict is equally weighing on investors sentiments given that collateral damage is already evident in plummeting stock prices compounded by an overhang for equities prices from interest rates normalization in the US. As a matter of fact, the Nigerian equities market has been severely impacted by the US Federal Reserve’s monetary policy tightening which is strengthening the dollar and triggering capital flows into United States. As indicated in the Nigerian Equities Market Bulletin for the month of May 2018 ‘’the stronger US dollar may have undermined sentiments towards emerging markets equity in May 2018 with a 2.2% decline in the MSCI Emerging Market Index over the month. The Nigerian Market was not spared as increased profit-taking in May pushed the index into negative territory’’. Also, as disclosed in the Nigerian Stock Exchange market report for the week ended July 13,2018 ‘’the NSE All-Share Index and Market Capitalization depreciated by 0.62% to close the week at 37,392.77 and N13.546 trillion respectively’’ pushing Year-to-Date return into the negative territory at -2.22 per cent. The market breadth was also negative with ‘’Twenty-one (21) equities appreciating in price during the week, lower than twenty-seven (27) in the previous week while Fifty-five (55) equities depreciated in price, higher than forty-five (45)

It is a no brainer that higher tariffs on a range of imported products from China would lead to higher consumer prices which could compel the Federal Reserve to frontload its interest rate normalization plans, hiking rates faster to prevent the US economy from overheating equities of the previous week’’.

This bearish performance is not unconnected with the exit of foreign investors who have continued their selling spree pulling out over N130 billion from the equities market in the month of May alone. According to the latest NSE Domestic and Foreign Portfolio Investment Report, while there was a 3.45 per cent decrease in foreign inflows to N62.06 billion in May from N64.28 billion in April, Foreign portfolio investment outflows from the nation’s bourse rose by 125 per cent in May ‘’from N58.25bn to N130.89bn within the same period,” Expectedly, such sell-offs rub off negatively on foreign reserves. Available data from the Central Bank of Nigeria indicates that the reserves stood at US$47.697billion on July 11, down from US$47.799billion on July 5 2018, a drop of US$102m in just six days!

It is a no brainer that higher tariffs on a range of imported products from China would lead to higher consumer prices which could compel the Federal Reserve to frontload its interest rate normalization plans, hiking rates faster to prevent the US economy from overheating. This has implications for emerging and frontier economies such as Nigeria both for the equity and debt markets as foreign investors turn to the US in

pursuit of higher returns. Moreover, higher interest rates make less attractive the strategy of investors borrowing cheap money in the US and investing in the Nigerian stock market.

Furthermore, in view of its adverse impact on global trade, the US-China trade conflict is likely to hurt crude oil prices through low global oil demand, a development that would hamper Nigeria’s oil revenue targets and the implementation of the government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan given that the country earns about 90 per cent of its foreign exchange from crude oil export. In his personal statement in support of a the Monetary Policy Committee’s decision in May 2018 to hold rates, Balami Hassan, a member of the MPC had opined that ‘’the China - US negotiations at the global level has implications for the Nigerian economy. It is likely that China would sacrifice imports from other countries such as Nigeria’s oil in the ongoing arrangement. The Federal Government’s capacity to fund the 2018 budget would therefore be constrained’’. Echoing similar sentiments, Nnanna Joseph, the Deputy Governor (Economic Policy) CBN admitted that ‘’geopolitical tensions and fear of protectionism remain the major downside risks to global economic growth’’.

Just recently, the US President and the British Prime Minister met in England to discuss a host of bilateral issues, including the future of US-UK trade relations.

In an exclusive interview with the British SUN newspaper, Donald Trump expressed disapproval of Theresa May’s “soft” Brexit plan which he warned would “kill” any future trade deal between the US and UK. Against this backdrop, intensified trade tension between US and China in particular and global trade tensions in general provide justifiable reason to be bearish on Nigerian equities. Therefore, it goes without saying that the Nigerian financial markets especially the

stock market would need to brace up for undue stress from these global headwinds especially from the combined effects of rising interest rates in the US and higher tariffs in both the US and China.

For sure, a slowdown in economic activities in the US and China, two of the world’s biggest economies, would naturally spill over to other developed countries with a negative pass through on the quantum of Diaspora remittances to Nigeria.

As a way forward, the Nigerian stock market can take shelter in an enabling domestic environment in which country-risk arising from economic uncertainties is substantially reduced. Indeed, these uncertainties have continued to weaken investors’ appetite for equities amid reports that a number of listed firms have put their capital raising plans on hold till after the 2019 polls. So, beginning with a radical and more result-oriented approach to tackling the insecurity situation caused chiefly by frequent clashes between farmers and herdsmen especially in the North East and North Central regions, a great deal of efforts should be put in defusing the political tension through constant assurances by the government of a commitment to conducting free and fair elections as well as regular meetings involving all political parties and stakeholders. In this regard too, the importance of implementing the capital component of the 2019 budget cannot be over stressed. While the stock market in Nigeria may not be shielded completely from a full-blown trade war between the US and China, making the home front conducive for investment will at least enable it weather the attendant storm.

Indeed, if fundamentals are anything to go by, the Nigerian stock market remains a good investment alternative amid the rising risk of a US-China trade war.

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Nigerians studying in the United States of America

F. JOHN BRAY Bray is United States Consul General in Lagos

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want to congratulate you on gaining admission to U.S. colleges and universities for both under-graduate and graduate studies. Well-done.

I know you had many choices of where to study, and I am pleased you chose to go to the

United States.

Please join me in acknowledging the Consulate’s Director of Education USA Chinenye Uwadileke and the deputy director Adeoloa Oseni.

I know that they have supported all of you in your journey to securing admission, and in many cases financial assistance, to study in the United States.

For those of you who are not as familiar with EducationUSA let me briefly explain what it is.

EducationUSA is a U.S. Department of State network of over 425 international student advising centers in more than 175 countries that promotes U.S. higher education to students around the world by offering accurate, comprehensive, and current information about opportunities to study at one of the 4,700+ accredited postsecondary institutions in the United States.

In a nutshell: EducationUSA is your official source on U.S.

higher education.

To date, about 250 studentmembers of the Lagos EducationUSA Center studying at U.S. institutions in the fall of 2018, have received scholarships from U.S. institutions totaling over $4 million.

One 12th grader got a full ride scholarship to Harvard to study Political Science.

Many of the graduate students with whom EducationUSA worked were admitted to fully funded doctoral programs in the STEM fields.

Six Opportunity Fund Program grantees will be going for their fully funded PhD programs in STEM fields.

I am very proud of EducationUSA Lagos for reaching approximately 25,000 students this year, through various means, such as at the center, on-line, at fairs, etc. information on studying in the U.S. (Source: EducationUSA Lagos) You will be joining more than one million international students in the United States.

35,364 of these students come from Sub-Saharan Africa, and Nigeria ranks 1st in the region and 12th in the world as a sending country.

There are currently 11,710 students from Nigeria studying in the United States. 49.5% undergraduate; 36.2% graduate students, 2% are non-degree candidates, and the remaining 12.3% are on Optional Practical Training.

Compared to last year, this represents a 9.7% increase. The number of Nigerians studying in the United States has been going up for the past seven years.

One major reason for the increase of Nigerian students in the U.S. is the value that Nigerians place on a quality education. I am pleased to say that accredited U.S. colleges and universities provide a quality education.

Students from Nigeria attend about 800 institutions in each of our 50 states. The most popular state is Texas, with 1,540 students,

while the most popular college/ university is Houston Community College, with 220 students.

Whether you are interested in a large school or small school, a school in a rural or urban setting, or you want to study in a hot or cold climate, the United States has a school for you.

Finally, as Darcy said, I encourage all of you totake advantage of this opportunity to represent Nigeria in the best possible light.

You may be the only Nigerian that many Americans meet and therefore you are representing all of Nigeria.

• Being Remarks by United States Consul General F. John Bray at the pre-departure orientation for Nigerian students heading to U.S. to study Tuesday, July 17 at 10:00 a.m., Lagos

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President Macron: A validation of Fela’s legacy TOCHUKWU EZUKANMA Tochukwu Ezukanma writes from Lagos, Nigeria via maciln18@yahoo.com

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t seemed inconceivable that the President of France will visit the citadel of Afro Beat iconoclasm and activism, the New Afrikan Shrine. After all, the Shrine is a tin-pan, a boisterous, corybantic spot, frequented by bohemians and oddballs. What then was the president of one of the most important countries of the world seeking at the Shrine? Evidently, there is more to the Shrine that readily meets the eyes. Beneath the façade of clamorous licentiousness and hedonism that the Shrine connotes, it represents something more profound.

It is the bastion of Fela Anikulapo-Kuti’s legacy. President Macron revealed that he visited the Shrine because, in an earlier visit, its verve and energy struck a memorable chord in his then youthful mind. And that the Shrine is a “symbol and hub of African culture”. It is “an iconic place for a lot of African people and African culture”. Just as the Shrine embodies more than is readily obvious, Fela represented more than was plainly evident. He was more than just a dissolute, marijuana-smoking, eccentric consort of twenty eight wives. He was a trailblazing musician: a versatile, multi-talented maestro, yet unsurpassed in Africa.

With the exceeding excellence of his music and the stunning splendor of his stage work, he took music and entertainment in Nigeria to new heights. He was also a brilliant, well-read social crusader.

He had the learning and versatility of a professor, oratorical flourishes of a preacher, and the deep insight of a philosopher.

Macron’s visit to the New African Shrine was poignant and instructive. The visit was an emotional high-point for many Fela fans. They were thrilled by the recognition and reverence Macron’s visit bestowed on the phenomenon, Fela: his life, works and legacy. The visit also taught us that truly great men are neither stuck-up nor puffed-up. And, as such, the snobbery of the Nigerian political elite and the distance they deliberately maintain between themselves and the masses are the stuff for petty minds and panjandrums. Nigerians were pleasantly surprised by the humility and accessibility of the French president.

In shirt sleeves, he mingled with people; talking to ordinary Nigerians and shaking hands with them.

It would have been unimaginable for the president of Nigeria to freely socialize with ordinary Nigerians as the French president did.

Unlike the Nigerian president, he was not shielded from the people by a phalanx of security men. The Nigerian political elite are so conceited, and scornful of the people they supposedly serve. Therefore, they insist on copious buffers, between them and the masses, maintained by hard-eyed, stonedfaced and vicious-looking security men brandishing automatic rifles, and ready to punch and kick to pulp any one that breached secu-

More than twenty years after Fela’s death, his music continues to resonate because of the matchless splendor of its melody, and the incontrovertible pertinence of its message. Its message remains a source of inspiration to the Nigerian masses in the continued struggle for social justice, public accountability and elevated standards of political morality rity protocol. Nigerian presidents, governors, and legislators behave as though they represent an occupying power, and are therefore not only afraid of the citizens of the occupied country but also need to intimidate and repress them.

Fela’s global acclaim was inescapable because he possessed that very rare quality among Nigerians, courage. To Winston Churchill, “courage is the most important of all human qualities because it is the human quality that guarantees all others”. Fela’s courage, for the most part, defined his life. It endeared him to many in Nigeria, Africa and beyond but also brought him the cudgel of different Nigerian governments.

His persecution by different Nigerian governments culminated to the burning of his house and the killing

of his mother by soldiers, and a judicial burlesque that sentenced him to four years imprisonment.

Still, he did not flinch; he remained resolute in his stance against social injustice and the excesses of power.

Many years after his death, his message remains uncannily, some say prophetically, relevant to the Nigerian reality.

The father of modern Zionism, Theodore Herzl, once wrote that, “history is nothing but noise, noise of arms and noise of advancing ideas”. Fela’s noise was that of advancing ideas. He advanced the ideals of freedom, social justice and good governance with the power of music. His musical genre, Afro Beat, was a fusion of traditional Nigerian percussions, well-defined lead guitar of Highlife music and pronounced base-line of Rhythm and Blues, interlaced with delicately beautiful arrangement of horns (saxophone, trumpet and trombone) and exquisite piano play of Afro-American Jazz.

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Nigerian popular music was under the powerful influence of Western, especially, American music. Then, Nigerian musicians copied the music and vocals of James Brown, Otis Redding, the Rolling Stones, etc. Unlike the velvety singing of Highlife, and feigned American accent vocals of Nigerian Pop musicians, the vocalism of Afro Beat was loud and coarse. In its further deviation from orthodoxy, the lyrics of Afro Beat did not praise and ingratiate the rich and mouth romantic platitudes. It was fashioned as a tool for mass enlightenment, crusading against social injustices and denouncing abuse of power. With his poignant and defiant lyrics,

Fela brayed against social injustice, official corruption, mass poverty, police brutality, gutlessness of Nigerians, etc. His music captured the hearts and minds of the Nigerian masses because it expressed their moods and sentiments, and hopes and aspirations.

Lamentably, in spite of the exorbitant price Fela paid for his crusading fervour, the same evils he fought with his music continue to define the Nigerian society. Does that mean that laboured in vain?

No, because it is from such “acts of courage and convictions that human history is shaped”. For example, Theodore Herzl’s campaign for a Jewish homeland in Palestine was dismissed by many as the prattling of a starry-eyed idealist. But then, it sowed the seed of modern Zionism, a seed that sprouted, and, many years later, bloomed to the creation of Israel in Palestine.

And driven by his revulsion for slavery, Jim Brown set out, on his own, to overthrow the institution of slavery in the American South.

He was captured and lynched by a White mob. But the ripple effects of his failed assault on slavery later ramified, and through its many branches advanced racial equality and justice.

More than twenty years after Fela’s death, his music continues to resonate because of the matchless splendor of its melody, and the incontrovertible pertinence of its message. Its message remains a source of inspiration to the Nigerian masses in the continued struggle for social justice, public accountability and elevated standards of political morality.

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How trade wars penalize Asian currencies

DAN STEINBOCK Dan Steinbock is the founder of Difference Group and has served as research director of international business at the India, China and America Institute (US) and a visiting fellow at the Shanghai Institute for International Studies (China) and the EU Center (Singapore). For more, see http://www.differencegroup. net/

I

n January, I gave a global economic briefing on the outlook of the Philippines in the Nordic Chamber of Commerce in Manila. At the time, the peso was still about 50.80 to U.S. dollar. Among other things, I projected the peso to soften to 54 or more toward the end of the year, which I considered largely the net effect of normalization in advanced economies, elevated trade friction worldwide, as well as fiscal expansion (the Duterte investment program).

While skeptics thought the projection was too “pessimistic,” the peso is today around 53.40 to U.S. dollar and has occasionally almost exceeded 54.00.

In this view, depreciation pressures are typical to many currencies in emerging Asia, most of which are likely to continue to soften in 2019, including the peso.

The onset of trade wars Through his 2016 campaign, Donald Trump pledged tougher trade policies. When he arrived in the White House in January 2017, he buried the Transpacific Partnership (TPP), initiated talks about the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), suspended the US-EU free trade talks (TTIP) and intensified attacks against Chinese trade and investment.

In the global markets, these moves translated to occasional fluctuations, while increasing uncertainty about the global economic outlook.

Initially, the US-Chinese Summit in April 2017 seemed to offer some trade relief. Nevertheless, things changed quickly as Trump directed his administration to take a closer look first at Chinese steel and aluminum and later at intellectual property rights and the technology sector – particularly vis-à-vis national security.

With the most hawkish administration since the Reagan rearma-

ment era, these directives resulted in the kind of reports that were only to be expected in early 2018, when the Trump administration began a steady escalation of the US-Chinese trade war, starting in March. Last week, the White House made the “largest trade war in history” official, while starting to escalate trade friction with Europe.

Unsurprisingly, almost all Asian currencies are now taking hits not just from expected directions (rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve, the anticipated end of the European Central Bank’s quantitative easing), but also from more less-expected directions (U.S.-Chinese trade war, the nascent U.S.-EU trade war, and escalating rhetoric among the NAFTA partners; U.S., Canada and Mexico).

Impact on Asian currencies In Asia, the net effect has been as projected half a year ago. Among highincome economies, export-led currencies – Korean won (KRW, -5.1%), Taiwanese dollar (TWD, -2.7%) and Singaporean dollar (SGD, -2.3%) – have weakened relatively most against the U.S. dollar.

The same goes for the currencies of upper-middle income economies, including Chinese yuan (CNY, -1.5%) and Thai baht (, THB, -1.4%), respectively.

Among lower-middle income economies, it is those currencies that represent the relatively fastestgrowing countries – Indian rupee (INR, -7.5%), Philippines peso (PHP, -7.4%) and Indonesian rupiah (IDR, -5.0%) – that have weakened relatively most against the U.S. dollar.

Since these currencies also represent twin-deficit economies, they will remain relatively vulnerable in adverse scenarios.

Nevertheless, these twin deficits should not be compared with that of, say, the U.S. Unlike advanced economies that take more debt to sustain unsustainable living standards, rapidly-growing emerging economies seek to exploit twin deficits in the medium term to accelerate economic growth in the long term.

Yet, twin deficits come with exposure that should keep government leaders alert.

In the early phases of the trade wars, those countries – Taiwan, Singapore, Indonesia, Korea, and Malaysia - that export relatively more to China than to the U.S. tend to be better positioned. The reverse case implies greater relative vulnerabilities, which is why Vietnam has resumed the depreciation of its dong.

Other Asian countries try to avoid U.S. trade wrath by fostering

strategic ties with the White House (Taiwan, Korea). Still others seek to hedge their bets by seeking greater balance between Chinese economic cooperation and U.S. security ties (Philippines, Malaysia).

The worse is still ahead It is a highly dynamic landscape.

Among the high-income countries, the Trump administration has offered Seoul strategic relief from the trade war, thanks to Seoul’s cooperation in the Koreas’ nuclear talks, which will provide some cushion against won’s further weakening, in the short-term.

Among the upper-middle income countries, the Chinese central bank (PBOC) pledged last week it would keep the exchange rate stable, which put something of a damper on dollar increases. Since China accounts for more than a fifth of the Federal Reserve’s trade-weighted dollar index, more than any other country, it can subdue dollar rallies.

Note: the rest of this article continues in the online edition of Business Day @https://businessdayonline. com/

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Editorial PUBLISHER/CEO

Frank Aigbogun EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Prof. Onwuchekwa Jemie EDITOR Anthony Osae-Brown DEPUTY EDITORS John Osadolor, Abuja Bill Okonedo NEWS EDITOR Patrick Atuanya EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, SALES AND MARKETING Kola Garuba EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OPERATIONS Fabian Akagha EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DIGITAL SERVICES Oghenevwoke Ighure ADVERT MANAGER Adeola Ajewole MANAGER, SYSTEMS & CONTROL Emeka Ifeanyi MANAGER, CONFERENCES & EVENTS Obiora Onyeaso SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGER Patrick Ijegbai CIRCULATION MANAGER John Okpaire GM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (North)

Bashir Ibrahim Hassan

GM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (South) Ignatius Chukwu HEAD, HUMAN RESOURCES Adeola Obisesan

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD

Thursday 19 July 2018

The risk of having a Minister of Finance that can be blackmailed

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here has been a deadly silence sinc e July 7 when Premium Times broke a story that the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, may have forged her National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) exemption certificate. The online paper alleges that even though Adeosun finished her tertiary education at the age of 22, she got an exemption certificate from the NYSC in 2009 when she was not entitled to one. The law setting up the NYSC makes it mandatory for all Nigerians who finish their tertiary education before the age of 30 to undergo the one-year youth service programme, which is aimed at helping foster the country’s integration across multi-cultural lines.

But the NYSC has issued an official statement claiming that Adeosun applied for an exemption certificate. They did not state on what grounds she applied for an exemption certificate even though in the same statement they claim to be investigating how she purportedly got the exemption certificate she currently carries.

There are various grounds that one can apply for an exemption certificate from the NYSC. The most commonly used is if

a graduated from a Nigerian or foreign tertiary institution when he or she is older than 30 years at the time of graduation. Also, graduates that have served in the Armed forces, DSS, or Nigeria Police for more than nine months at the point of graduation can also apply for exemption.

Nigerian or foreign graduates who have also received national honours at the point of graduation can also apply for an exemption. Nigerians who did their tertiary education on a part time basis can apply for an ‘exclusion’ certificate since they are not eligible to participate in the scheme.

It is very difficult to see from the condition set above where Adeosun fits in. Obviously, she does not qualify for exemption based on any of the criteria set by the NYSC law. To put it bluntly, Adeosun should not be presenting an NYSC exemption certificate to any public or private institution. If she has one, then it is very difficult to argue that the certificate is not fake or forged. It is therefore baffling that the NYSC claims that it is still investigation an obvious case even after a past director general of the NYSC have come out to say categorically that there was no way she could have been issued an NYSC exemption certificate.

Since the allegation was published, Adeosun has neither refuted nor confirmed the allegation. Interestingly

the Department of State Security (DSS), which screens all ministerial nominees before they are cleared by the Senate, has also not made any statement about the issue. Is it an admittance of guilt that they failed to do a thorough vetting of the minister? The Police has also been silent despite a clear case of criminal allegations of forgery being made.

Even of more concern has been the uncharacteristic silence from the National Assembly on the allegations being made against the Minister. The National Assembly has not called for a probe or a public hearing on the allegations. This silence from the National Assembly is even more worrisome considering that the Premium Times publication has also accused them of using the information on the minister to blackmail her. The National Assembly has not come out to officially deny that they have been blackmailing the minister to release funds to them.

The silence of all the key organisations that should investigate the allegation about the minister is really worrying. Why are they silent? Is the silence borne out of the need to protect a colleague or is it inspired by the more dangerous prospect that they have seen a loophole to get their hands on the country’s treasury?

Adeosun is the country’s

treasury keeper. She determines and signs off on how and what cash is released to various ministries and parastatals. In any part of the world, her position is very influential and powerful. It is therefore very dangerous to have anyone vulnerable to blackmail holding the position of Minister of Finance.

That vulnerability could be exploited by crooked individuals into misappropriating or even embezzling public funds. Ministers of Finance are usually of the highest form of integrity. The allegation hanging on Adeosun’s head has obviously dented her integrity.

Sadly, she has not come out to defend her integrity.

It is important that if she cannot restore her integrity then she be relieved of her position, and this is mainly for her sake and that of the country, so that she does not become susceptible to further blackmail.

Besides, it does not speak well of the country that a Minister of Finance with unresolved ‘forgery allegations’ is seen representing the country at international fora. It is the kind of situation that does not instil confidence in global counterparties. Integrity is a valuable commodity in the global financial community and right now, the minister does not have much of it to hang on to.

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Thursday 19 July 2018

DAY

BUSINESS

COMPANIES & MARKETS

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Printing, logistics industries record gains from FG fertilizer initiative

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Co m pa n y n e w s a n a ly s i s a n d i n s i g h t

Scib looks to the future with optimism …promises greater capacity, efficiency Modestus Anaesoronye

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o re m o s t i n s u rance broker, Scib Nigeria & Co. Ltd after its first 40 years of successful operations in Nigeria, say’s it’s optimistic about the future, having earned for itself a pedigree that makes her a worthy partner to consumers of insurance.

Sola Tinubu, managing director/CEO of the Company said during the firms 40th Anniversary Gala Dinner in Lagos, that it will constantly rethink its tools, systems, and responses.

“We shall continue to do all the things that made us successful in the last 40 years in addition to doing new things.”

He said the company in its forty-years journey, have had to look continuously at the business model and a process to ensure maximum value is delivered to esteemed clients, which helped it remain in existence for these long years.

Going into the future he said “We will be wary of

providing old answers to new problems, so we will be more proactive and promptly seize windows of opportunity, to stay ahead of competition.”

Tinubu also stated that the Company will continue to be at the centre of the transformation of the insurance industry through cutting edge innovation and participation at all levels of industry activity.

“We will focus more on capacity building to achieve our vision to be the risk solution provider of choice in SubSaharan African and beyond.”

Tinubu further stated that the 40th anniversary celebration was a unique opportunity to give special recognition to the founder and father of the company, Olola Olabode Ogunlana for his foresight and vision.

The company also used the opportunity of the ceremony to give long service awards to its pioneer staff, and others who have put in long time with the company.

To have become a leader in the Nigerian Insurance Broking space, it was as a result of support from all its

Chinese firm to invest in Onitsha River ports Emmanuel Ndukuba, Awka

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Chinese company, Golden Promise Ltd., says they are interested in investing in the Onitsha River Ports increase economic activity in the region.

Willie Obiano, governor of Anambra State announced this while receiving the company at the Governor’s Lodge on Tuesday.

Obiano, who was represented by his deputy, Nkem Okeke said he was optimistic of doing business with the company as the state needed investors for infrastructure development.

He explained that the state instituted the Anambra State Investment Promotion and Protection Agency (ANSIPPA) to facilitate investment opportunities. ``Federal Government has invested a lot to upgrade the port at Onitsha to allow

larger ships into the port. ``The state needs constant power supply and massive construction of warehouses for large scale businesses. ``This is a golden opportunity for the state and ANSIPPA should utilise this opportunity,’’ he added.

Okey Onyekwere, who led the group to the state, said that their visit to Anambra was necessary to seek information and modalities on the intended project.

Sisley Yang, deputy manager, Golden Promise Ltd said the company’s major interest was to improve trading in Onitsha, especially the Onitsha Main Market.

Bob Wang, executive manager, Golden Promise Ltd., noted that the company has a shipping line from China to Lagos and believe that Anambra could benefit from such opportunities.

The company is incorporated with the China Construction Company.

stakeholders in various capacities and the commitment of her indefatigable staff.

Scib Nigeria & Co. Ltd. is the leading Insurance Broker amongst the over 500 registered Insurance Brokers in

Nigeria, offering Insurance, Reinsurance Broking, Consultancy and Risk Management.

Scib Nigeria & Co. Ltd. is a wholly owned Nigeria Company with staff strength of 70 regular employees and

additional 50 support staff, and has a highly motivated, experienced and multidisciplinary team.

Scib Nigeria & Co. Ltd. is the representative of Aon in Nigeria. Aon is the largest in-

surance broking company in the world and is represented in over 120 countries with 500 offices, and this status gives Scib Nigeria & Co. Ltd. global access to major clients across the world.

Fidelis Obishai, chief state head, Edo state, Benin Electricity Distribution Plc (BEDC) (3rd r) presenting cartons of energy saving bulbs to representatives of Ovbiogie community in Ekiadolor area of Benin for assisting the company in the arrest of electricity vandals.

SAA partner RadissonBlu hotel to promote domestic tourism in Nigeria …supports IoD tourism, hospitality forum IFEOMA OKEKE

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outh African Airways (SAA), Africa’s most awarded airline has partnered RadissonBlu Anchorage Hotel Lagos in a bid to promote domestic tourism and encourage travellers to experience Lagos and Nigeria in general.

While SAA from South Africa and beyond will fly in travellers, RadissonBlu Anchorage hotel Lagos will be providing exceptional accommodation

and experiential Lagos experience that aims to unlock the leisure tourism potentials of the city.

According to Kemi LekeBamtefa, SAA National sales manager, as part of 20th anniversary of South African Airways service to Nigeria, it is only imperative to as well contribute to the tourism development of the country.

“We are excited to contribute our own quota in promoting Nigeria’s domestic tourism through this partnership with

RadissonBlu, a reputable hospitality brand not only in Nigeria but globally,” Leke-Bamtefa stated.

Wellington Mpofu, RadissonBlu Anchorage Hotel Lagos director of sales, said the partnership with SAA will afford the hotel the much-needed platform to overturn the notion that Nigeria is only meant for business tourism by showcasing the numerous leisure offerings of Lagos and beyond.

Nigeria travel trade are being galvanized to be the

drivers of the SAA and RadissonBlu partnership. The travel trade will put together enticing domestic travel packages supported by SAA and RadissonBlu for travellers to enjoy unimaginable experiences.

In the same vein, South African Airways have supported the Institute of Directors Nigeria’s tourism and hospitality forum through sponsorship of the Institute’ s foremost event geared towards promoting tourism development in Nigeria.

FRC unveils new Code of Corporate Governance in Kano

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n a bid to promote ease of doing business in the country, Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC), has showcased the reviewed edition of Nigerian Code of Corporate Governance 2018 to stakeholders in the commercial city of Kano.

The new Code of Corporate Governance which replaced the suspended 2016 edition, was said to have been conceived to boost inflow of local and international investments

and enhance the integrity of private and publicly quoted companies as well as not –for profit establishments in the country.

Speaking at a public hearing, where the document was showcased on Tuesday in Kano, Daniel Asapokhai, executive secretary of the Council, disclosed that the new code is based on the principle of ‘Apply and Explain’, which is a departure from the previous one that was based on the

principle of law.

According to him, the code when become operational seeks to institutionalize the highest standards of corporate governance best practices in Nigerian companies, particularly, those who are not already covered by sectoral regulations.

“It is a thing of joy for us in Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, as the train of the Public Hearing which we kick –started couple of weeks ago

in South-South, South –East, and in Gombe state, as well as the Federal Capital Abuja, last week, has now moved to Kano.

“By the grace of God we expected the train to get to the South-West state of Lagos, in the next few days, precisely, on the 19th July, this year. The public hearing is conceived to provide opportunity for stakeholders from this part of the country to contribute to the discussions on how to fine tune the document.

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Thursday 19 July 2018

COMPANIES & MARKETS

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he multiplier value from the Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (PFI), a programme of the Federal Government of Nigeria designed to boost local capacity in the manufacture of fertilizer, has continued to impact various industries with the logistics and printing sectors recording major boosts, a statement has said.

Executive Secretary, Fertilizer Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN), Rabiu Kwa said in the statement that the PFI programme, in addition to solving the hitherto intractable fertilizer supplier challenges in the country, has also boosted activities in allied industries, a development that has advanced the overall health of the national economy.

Giving an example with the trucking sector, Kwa revealed that more than 24,000 trucking movements were involved in the 2017 PFI programme, ferrying ram materials and blended fertilizer across the country.

“PFI has considerably increased truck demands for

Printing, logistics industries record gains from FG fertilizer initiative Daniel Obi dry cargo volumes that had decreased significantly over the past years. This increase in volume of dry cargo has attracted new private investors and reinvestments in the subsector. Abandoned trucks are being refurbished with support from the Logistics Provider for the PFI programme,” he stated.

The FEPSAN boss also revealed that the initiative has led to the use of rail tracks from Lagos to Port Harcourt, Funtua, Bauchi, Jos, Minna and Kaduna as a result of which quick and urgent repairs of the tracks are being facilitated by the Federal Government, a development that will increase the rail network in the country for other purposes of mass transportation.

The statement further highlighted the multiplier effects of the PFI programme on allied industries, especially those in the local bag making and printing industries, where more than 14 million 50kg bags were contracted out and delivered.

“Apart from the boost it is providing to the bag making and printing industries, the PFI programme has also increased the utilization of polyethylene, a derivative of crude oil, another local raw material,” he said.

Already, the programme has, in addition to the two ports and warehouses in Lagos used for the 2017 programme, the 2018 cycle has added a dedicated jetty and warehouse at the Intels Onne facility in Port Harcourt to receive imported components used in fertilizer blending process by the 18 participating Nigerian blending plants.

L- R: Femi Asenuga, director, Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc; Olaseni Oduwole, MD, Radix Capital; Akin Ogunbiyi, Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc, chairman; Segun Omosehin, MD/CEO, at the completion board meeting of MUTUAL in Ibadan recently

Lessons from Togo: Making gains in the fight against illicit trade across W/Africa Akeem Ogunlade

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ews had filtered from across the border that our neighbors, the Togolese Government had on June 29, 2018 demonstrated to its population and the world at large, its firm commitment to fight against illicit trade across all sectors. This news came as part of celebrations marking the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. The Government had organized a massive destruction ceremony of all products previously seized by the various agencies involved in the fight against illicit trade and circulation of illicit products.

The exercise which was conducted under the theme, “For A Balanced Approach, Let

Us Together Support Preventive Actions for A Safe and Drugresilient Youthful Population”, saw the destruction of important quantities of cocaine, cannabis, tramadol or other fake medications, illicit cigarettes, fake alcoholic products amongst others.

Sadly, illicit trade in tobacco accounts for an estimated 600 billion cigarettes per year worldwide. These illicit cigarettes have either been smuggled, counterfeited or evaded duties. The illegality thrives on the fact that cigarettes are among the most commonly traded products on the black market due to high profit margins, relative ease of production and movement, weak regulations and low detection rates and penalties.

A historical analysis of proactive measures by the Togo-

lese Government to combat illicit trade in tobacco show that they had signed the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) on May 12, 2004 and this was later ratified on November 15, 2005. With the realization that illicit trade in tobacco was an even greater problem given the security, economic and health consequences that have arisen as a result of its growth, the Government took a giant step to adopt a directive to specifically regulate the transit of tobacco products through Togo in March 2016. Interestingly, Article 2 of this directive is very clear on the fact that any cigarette products declared as being in transit must imperatively carry the health warning clauses and other packaging and labelling requirements of the country declared as country

of destination. On February 1, 2018 the FCTC Convention Secretariat announced Togo as the 35th Party to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products.

At the June 29 event to mark the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking, over twelve containers of illicit cigarettes (over 120 million sticks) were destroyed during this exercise organized

by Togolese authorities. This included brands like YES, Bon International, Gold Seal, Force 10, Red, Legend etc. NGOs and the private sector have in the past raised several concerns regarding the growth of illicit trade in tobacco products and have continually called on firm actions to be taken in order to discourage people from gaining interest in this illegal activity.

The important seizures recorded during routine port controls and product inspections is an indication that the transit space has been increasingly used by smugglers to continue to feed illicit products into the sub-region. In effect, tobacco smugglers have found new ways of expanding their illegal activities and now focus on a trend called “cheap or illicit whites”, which is raising new challenges for Governments across the sub-region. These cigarettes may be legally produced but are then smuggled and traded illegally.

As part of the general trend, products are manufactured in free trade zones like the United Arab Emirates for instance, very minimal or no taxes are paid on them and they are shipped into West Africa and declared as transit. These products which do not meet the cigarette stan-

dards in the countries declared as either transit or destination eventually never get to the “masked” destination as they are later warehoused in remote locations and sold out illegally to the population.

The good news is that the Togolese government found a very smart and innovative way to tackle the issue. Other countries like Benin, Niger and Burkina Faso have also adopted similar measures to tackle illicit trade in tobacco products.

As such, whilst leveraging on the transit directive aforementioned, port activities in Togo revealed that these products which were destroyed had been declared as transit for neighboring countries like Ghana, Benin, Niger, Nigeria, Burkina Faso but did not in any way meet the cigarette standards prescribed by the authorities in these countries.

It has been observed that these products generally do not reach the declared destinations as they are later dumped in markets and across land borders at very cheap prices.

It should be noted that because they are declared as transit, the required taxes are not paid on them and thus significant revenue due to be paid to Government is lost. They are later sold out at very affordable prices thereby increasing youth access to cigarette consumption. Funds derived from this illegal activity are sometimes used to fund organized crime and/or finance other criminal activities like terrorism.

The Togolese Government’s initiative to adopt and implement a tobacco transit directive and the results that have come since this was done in 2016

is a glaring confirmation that West Africa is an area chosen by tobacco smugglers to carry out their organized crime. As such, it is time for all countries in the West African sub region to implement similar measures in a bid to stamp out illicit trade in tobacco products which in turn will reduce the increased access to tobacco products occasioned by these “cheap whites”.

Major legal players of the tobacco industry in West Africa such as British American Tobacco (BAT), Philip Morris International (PMI) and Imperial Tobacco Group (ITG) have all welcomed the regulatory direction taken by the Togolese government. For the industry, they believe that an ECOWAS directive to regulate tobacco transit is the ideal way to go as far as fighting illicit trade is concerned.

With the 40TH ratification of the WHO Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products which now makes it international law, following the ratification of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on 27 June 2018, it is hoped that more stringent actions will be taken to fight this phenomenon.

For Nigeria, Togo and our other West African neighbors have provided a robust and working mechanism against illicit trade that we must adopt without delay. As one of the countries most hit by insurgency, we must take up the challenge and stamp out illicit trade if we are to safeguard the economic growth of the nation.

Ogunlade is of the Centre for Promotion of Enterprise and Business Best Practices

Thursday 19 July 2018

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COMPANIES & MARKETS IEI-Anchor Pension Mangers target N100bn AUM next year Modestus Anaesoronye

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ne of the fastest growing Pension Fund Administrators (PFA), IEI Anchor Pension Mangers Limited said its committed to growing its assets under management (AUM) to N100 billion by end of 2019.

The PFA current have AUM a little above N80 billion from about N30 billion in 2015, Glory Etaduovia, managing director/CEO of the company said.

He said the company has continued to achieve milestone and making giant strides despite its late entry into the business.

“We realized that me came in a little late into the industry, so we have continued to be proactive, nimble in a mode of operation, and this is going

well with us, he said.

He added that its AUM increased from N30 billion in 2015 to over N75 billion at the end of 2017, sting that between January and March 2018, a total number of 2,414 benefits have been processed and N192 million paid out.

On the firms reainess for transfer window, he said when the pension transfer window finally opens, we intend to add about 30 per cent more contributors and pension assets, saying, IEI-Anchor PFA is well positioned for that and other initiatives that can grow the company for the better.

On the Pension Multi-Fund structure which commenced earlier in the month, he said the PFA company has raised awareness among its clients to better inform them on the benefits of this scheme.

Stating that his company equally has presence in

most states of the federation, he said, the firm is gradually penetrating the pension market, despite being one of the third-tier operators licensed

by PenCom. Speaking on how the company invests its huge pension assets, he said the pension guideline plays a key role in how his PFA invests its fund, as there is no room for unnecessary investment adventure, noting that the market presents good opportunities and initiatives - a good blend of Bonds, Treasury Bills, Money market and other safe investments.

ICT, according to him, enhances customer service, enquiries and enhanced interaction for better satisfaction, noting that people want constant up-dates as to the safety of their money and what the money is doing, hence, the need for this technology.

Business Event

L-R: Erhumu Bayagbon, head, public relations, Airtel Nigeria; Tola Adeyemi, partner & head, audit services, KPMG, and Dinesh Balsingh, acting chief commercial officer, Airtel Nigeria, during the 2018 KPMG Alumni Cocktail at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.

First Bank takes CSR to visually impaired, Down Syndrome Children KELECHI EWUZIE

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mployees of First Bank of Nigeria Limited as part of 2018 Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Week (CR&S), themed ‘Touching Lives; You First’ has made donation to physically challenged children in Lagos and also presented numerous foodstuffs and toiletries to them.

The CSR activity taking place all over Nigeria and other Africa countries where First Bank is located through its subsidiary; FBN Bank had staff visit orphanages; homes for the physically challenged, and other institutions that require support across the country. These subsidiaries include, FBN Bank in the Republic of Congo, Ghana, The Gambia, Guinea, Sierra-Leone and Senegal, Tunde Owolabi, group executive, retail banking, Lagos and West while speaking on behalf of the First Bank team, said: “First Bank Corporate Responsibility

and Sustainable Week is set aside to promote acts of random kindness and create opportunities for staff to give their time and resources to defined courses in line with the bank’s Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability strategic approach”.

Owolabi who led top-level management staff to visit Pacelli School for the Blind and Partially Sighted Children and the Down Syndrome Foundation of Nigeria in Surulere, Lagos respectively said ‘Hope Rising’ initiative is one of the key programmes of the Bank designed to empower people living with disabilities.

According to him, “Its key objective is engendering inclusivity and diversity through training as well as inclusive events. The partnership with Pacelli School falls under the Hope Rising platform and this includes support in cash and kind”, Owolabi noted.

Touched by the show of appreciation in the emotion-laden sonorous songs rendered by the pupils, Owolabi went ahead to

make a personal donation to the school, while appealing to other well-meaning Nigerians to render assistance to the needy.

The First Bank team also promised to send representatives and more gifts at the school’s annual graduation.

Similarly, the Bank presented foodstuff and other materials to orphanage babies home at Anua in Uyo and Generate of Handmaid of Holy Child of Jesus motherless home Ifuho Ikot Ekpene local government area of Akwa Ibom, with a view to giving the children a sense of belonging.

In Abuja, it was the same story as Al Ansar Orphanage Home and Abuja School for the Handicap, both in the Kuje Area Council of the FCT, Abuja, also received essential materials.

Expressing appreciation on behalf of management and pupils of Pacelli School for the Blind and Partially Sighted Children, the Headmistress, Sister Jane Onyeneri, thanked First Bank for the kind gesture and the timely gifts.

L-R: Kunle Abiola, brand manager SHOPRITE Nigeria; Adedayo Matanmi, route leader, Visionscape; Adeola Kahgo‎, executive director, SHOPRITE Nigeria; Doyinsola Ogunye, founder, Kids Beach Garden Lekki; Chiweta Uyaih, CSR lead, Visionscape; Fatai Oshungboye, store manager, SHOPRITE Circle Mall, and Barnabas Ebided, P.R.O, SHOPRITE Nigeria, at the Shoprite Africa’s Biggest Clean-Up Event in Kids Beach Garden Lagos aimed at getting more people collecting litter from Nigeria’s beaches, markets and waterways.

L-R: Otisi Diana, acting commercial manager, Ikeja commercial territory, Nigerian Bottling Company Limited (NBC); Chinedu Nwoye, winner of ‘my million don land’ initiative; Christy Uhomabhi, area manager, GRA, Nigerian Bottling Company Limited, and Frank Edoho, ace broadcaster/TV show host, during the presentation of one million naira reward to the winner on the ‘My Million Don Land’ market activation initiative organized by NBC in Lagos.

Edoline workers protest non-payment salaries IDRIS UMAR MOMOH, Benin

S

ome staff of Edo Line Transport Service on Tuesday protested over the non-payment of about 36 months salaries by the state government.

The protesters who were at the premises of the Edo State House of Assembly to register their displeasure over the non-payment of their salaries since June 2015 lamented that no fewer than five of their colleagues have died due to poverty

and sickness.

The spokesperson of the group, Tony Bamawo said the staff were neither sacked from their jobs or dismissed when the state government handed over the management to Bob Izua transport company limited in the same year.

The aggrieved workers who marched through major streets in Benin-City were armed with placards, with various inscriptions such as, ‘Edo line: Pay us our salaries, reinstate us now’, ‘Who is speaker Adjoto afraid of?’, ‘ Edo Assembly! Reopen

our case!’, “Today we are protesting the attitude of the Speaker of Edo assembly to our plight. We were 25 originally affected but 5 have since died from hunger and sicknesses “. “Adun as you are aware was the sole administrator of Edo Line who opposed unionism and was averse to labour leaders like many of us who opposed his highhandedness.

“We kicked against the vandalism of Edo Line and the cannibalization of the many vehicles that were abandoned at the time.

L-R: Jumoke Coker, member board of directors, Lara Day School; Erelu Adesola Obafunmilola Abisoye, member board of directors, Lara Day School; Olatomi Keleko, executive director, Lara Day School, and Patricia Tioluwani, head of school, Lara day School, during the celebration of Lara Day School’s 55th Anniversary.

Friday 13 July 2018

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Thursday 19 July 2018

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RESEARCH & INSIGHT A WEEKLY PUBLICATION OF BUSINESSDAY RESEARCH & INTELLIGENCE UNIT(BRIU)

BUSINESS DAY

research@businessdayonline.com

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08106395676

How can AB InBev weather the storm of infringement with Golden Guinea?

KELVIN UMWENI

A

s part of the efforts to restore the image of Golden Guinea Breweries after about 16 years of inactivity, the company has initiated legal proceedings in the Federal High Court sitting in Port-Harcourt against AB InBev’s Pabod Breweries, for what Golden Guinea described as infringement on its trademark.

The case was initiated in 2016 soon after preparations were in top gear by management of Golden Guinea Breweries to resuscitate its business.

Golden Guinea prayed the court to declare that it (Golden Guinea) is the sole proprietor of the trademark “Eagle Stout” which was registered as No 21153 in Class 32 at the Nigerian Trademarks Registry, Abuja and as such it has the sole entitlement to the exclusive use of the trademark for the production, sale and distribution of the product in the Nigerian market.

In a suit filed at the Federal High Court, Golden Guinea Breweries’ management is seeking the court to compel Pabod Breweries to pay N10 billion damages plus N10 million “aggravated damages” as contained in suit No PHC/PH/ CS/647/2016 at the Federal High Court, Port-Harcourt.

In addition to that, the Umuahia-based brewery prayed the court to order for the destruction of all infringing Eagle beer products possessed by Pabod either for sale or distribution.

Eagle Stout and Golden Guinea lager were Golden Guinea’s main brands in the 1960s alongside foreign brands such as Bergedorf premium lager and Bergedorf malta, a non-alcoholic brand, both of the Hamburg-based German brewers, Holsten Brauerei AG. However, Pabod Breweries alongside Intafact Breweries in Onitsha have since been merged with International Breweries, thus consolidating the position of the latter hitherto being the only listed firm among the three entities. This move was facilitated by AB InBev, the world’s largest brewer.

Consequently, of the 8.6 million ordinary shares of International Breweries, AB InBev indirectly holds 75.1 per cent equity stake (i.e. directly held through SABMiller Nigeria Holdings BV with 47.4 per cent and Brauhaase International

Source: Company financials, BRIU

Management GMBH with 27.7 per cent).

Against this backdrop, therefore, the BusinessDay Research and Intelligence Unit’s (BRIU) analysis spotlights the market, reputational and other sundry risks the litigation brought against Pabod Breweries by Golden Guinea Breweries will have on AB InBev’s drive to boost top and bottom line growth in a fiercely competitive Nigeria beer market.

Source: Bloomberg, BRIU

Source: Bloomberg, BRIU

History repeats itself Meanwhile, this is not the first time Pabod Breweries has been dragged to court for infringement on product designs or trademarks/logo of rival brewers. In 2008, a case with suit No CA/PH/561/2008 which bothers on infringement on product design was brought before the Federal High Court, Port-Harcourt by Nigerian Breweries(NB) against Pabod Breweries Limited and

Anor, a bottling manufacturer for Pabod Breweries.

In the suit, NB declared that it maintains proprietorship of the Star Lager beer bottle having being duly registered at the Trademarks and Patents Registry with registration number 7139. NB equally noted that Pabod’s Grand lager beer bottle resembles that of the Star lager beer and therefore infringes on its patent.

NB thereafter sought damages of N80 million and an additional damage of N10 million including the directive for the defendant (Pabod) to deliver about 2 million bottles of Grand lager in its possession for onward destruction.

However, NB lost the case on ground of failure to prove to the court beyond reasonable doubt that the Grand lager beer bottle design infringes on its brand.

NB thereafter appealed the case of which the appellant court upheld the decision of the lower court; NB lost again!

What can AB InBev do to savage the situation?

BRIU is of the view that should AB InBev’s Pabod Brewery loses the suit and it’s mandated to pay up the damages demanded by the plaintiff (Golden Guinea Breweries), that singular act will chop off revenue by a whooping N1.1 billion which will be quite impactful.

However, AB InBev could call for an out-of -court settlement given the obvious intricacies a court case could birth.

“I really don’t see this issue dragging and I don’t see it significantly having long term implications for International Breweries. An out of court settlement might be opted for by both parties,” Fola Abimbola,

an analyst at CSL Stockbrokers told BRIU. Obinna Dike, an energy and natural resource lawyer stressed the need for AB InBev to weigh the merit of their defence and see how to handle the situation noting that such legal case portrays immense risk for International Breweries.

“I will advise they settle out of court because such a case, as long as it remains within the purview of the media and the general public, can damage a company irredeemably,” Dike said.

Essentially, it will destroy the already budding public image AB InBev has tried hard to build since it made in-road into the beer market in Nigeria after it acquired SABMiller, the then world’s second largest brewer.

“The worst case scenario is that International Breweries decides to drop the brand name and do a little bit on rebranding and sensitization of consumers on the development. However, it is worthy to note that Eagle Stout is not a major brand of International Breweries,” Fola said.

Top brands of International Breweries are Hero lager, Trophy lager, Castle Lite and the recently introduced Budweiser hence revenue derivable from Eagle stout might not really matters even if the court rules for stoppage of production.

Since the news came up again recently, investors could be keeping a keen eye on how things play out. Fola however dismissed the idea of panic among the investment community and averred that investors have bigger concerns than the court case at the moment.

International Breweries’ top line for 2017 grew by 40.6 per cent to N32.71bn underlined by product expansion offerings to customers and cost management drive.

However, growth of bottom line dipped by 21 per cent to N2.9bn in 2017 financial year attributed to exchange rate loss.

“The fall in net profit was mainly due to foreign exchange loss incurred on revaluation of the company’s foreign loan facilities occasioned by the devaluation of the naira,” Sunday Akintole Omole, chairman, board of directors of International Breweries Plc said.

Earnings per share equally decreased from 81 kobo to 31 kobo.

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INSIGHT Millennial economy

Why millennials are driving China’s cashless revolution

Yuan Yang, FT

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hen Frida Cai left Beijing to study abroad in 2013, China’s financial tech boom was just beginning. She used a debit card for her big expenses and carried cash for everyday spending. By the time she came back, just three years later, everything had changed. “I tried to buy a watermelon from a street seller,” she recalls, “and he told me that he only took mobile payments through the WeChat app.” Ms Cai now says she cannot even remember the last time she got cash out of an ATM, but it was “more than a year ago”. The mobile payments revolution in China has happened with breathtaking speed and scale.

In only five years it has transformed daily life in Chinese cities and also laid the foundations for the country’s mammoth financial tech industry, which last year generated revenues of Rmb654bn ($98bn), according to iResearch. Last year, the value of mobile payments in China overtook the worldwide totals of both Visa and Mastercard. Almost half the world’s digital payments in 2017 were made in China, through apps such as Alipay (owned by Ant Financial, an affiliate of e-commerce juggernaut Alibaba) and WeChat (owned by Tencent), according to PwC research. Alipay and Tencent have now also outstripped PayPal, the US’s biggest online payments operator.

They each handled more payments in one month this year than Paypal’s $451bn for the whole of 2017, according to market research firm Analysys.

This transformation has been spearheaded by millennials, who were the early adopters of mobile payments, but it has rapidly spread across generations. Millennials’ parents — the 40-60 age group — have adapted to the technology, especially in big cities, although they tend to use it for fewer functions. “My parents now complain if they leave a parking lot that doesn’t take mobile payments at the exit,” says Ms Cai. Only the older generations cling on to cash. A survey by research company Ipsos, commissioned by Tencent, shows that the average person born in the 1990s now carries Rmb172 of cash ($26) compared with Rmb557 by those born in the 1960s.

China’s mobile payments revolution was partly spurred by the inconvenience felt by many of using traditional banks, from having to travel long distances for rural customers to having to queue in branches in the cities. But it was the unique formula offered by China’s tech giants that generated the explosion: by blending social, e-commerce and payment functions into single apps, customers could manage their finances at the same time as managing their social lives. “When users use this kind of fintech, they don’t think of it as doing

their finances, they think of it as part of the daily necessities of life,” says Li Chao, fintech analyst at market research firm iResearch.

The revolution was enabled by the dominance of Tencent and Alibaba, along with the latter’s sister fintech company Ant Financial (recently valued at more than $150bn). Together they have created an interlocking network, or “ecosystem”, of services that complement each other and can be accessed via a few “killer apps”. These have become the natural playground of millennials. Imagine Facebook bolted on to email with a builtin payment platform for splitting bills among friends: that is Tencent’s WeChat.

Or Amazon, with its own payment system that lets you send money to friends using only their phone number: that is Ant Financial’s Alipay. The network effect of such platforms is vast; if all your friends are using them, it is difficult to opt out.

To activate an app, users must first link it to a bank card. All payments are then routed through Ant Financial or Tencent.

Users often treat the “mobile wallet” on their smartphone as a deposit account, which can be used to pay at checkouts by scanning a QR code, make payments to family and friends, and buy “O2O” (online-to-offline) services from retailers, from haircuts to grocery deliveries.

“The way Beijing is developing, living without a smartphone will be difficult because of all the places that are starting not to take cash,” says Chauncey Zhang, a 23-year-old tech company employee. In large cities some stores, markets and food stalls now only accept mobile payments.

Not only is a smartphone necessary

for shopping, it has also become indispensable for hailing and paying for taxis. Beijingers joke that it is now more important to carry a phone charger than a physical wallet. Ray Chan, vice-president of Ant Financial, says it is millennials’ rapid adoption habits that have created the company’s extraordinary success.

“When we consider new products, we create them for this era, one in which young people have become the main driving force of our society.”

The development of fintech in China has relied on trust between strangers, he explains, whether paying someone for an unseen item on an online platform, or one person lending to another. Trust was not widespread in China after the cultural revolution of the late 1960s and early 1970s. But “young people are more open-minded”, says Mr Chan, adding that the first Alipay transaction, in 2003, involved a Chinese student buying a second-hand camera from another student living abroad, using the Taobao online marketplace.

Millennials have even created internet slang out of mobile payments. For Yuanxi Li, a 28-year-old entrepreneur in Beijing, love letters from her boyfriend come in the form of mobile payments — of either Rmb52.0 or Rmb131.4. Spoken aloud in Chinese, these numbers sound like “I love you” and “With you for life” respectively.

“I use fintech to connect with people,” she says, adding that it is much easier and more immediate than writing a card by hand. Now, the newest emerging natives of the smartphone-internet world are the “post-00s”, post-millennials born after 2000. As Mr Chan says of his own primary

school-age son: “Before, when parents took their kids shopping and they would scream for a toy, the parents could say ‘I don’t have any change’. Nowadays my son says, ‘Daddy, can you scan the QR code?’” Alibaba’s promotional video for its e-commerce platforms Taobao and Tmall features a young mother saying of her pre-school daughter, “Now when the doorbell rings, instead of running to the door and saying ‘it’s Daddy!’, she says ‘it’s the delivery courier!’” Apps leave old lenders in their wake Familiarity with mobile payments has also made customers more comfortable with other new fintech innovations, in areas such as peer-to-peer lending, investing in money market funds, and consumer loans. On the surface, China looks an unlikely place for this to happen. Saving, rather than borrowing, is what Chinese people typically do to afford big purchases. The country has one of the highest household savings rates in the world. When it comes to investment, property is viewed as the safest asset. However, many citizens and small businesses are still under-served by traditional banks, and fintech companies have seen the opportunity for mobile platforms to leapfrog the old lenders.

As a result, millennials, the original smartphone adopters, have become surprisingly adept at handling their money, despite often being stereotyped as the least financially savvy generation. “Fintech has made young people familiar with many different ways of managing their money,” says Zhechi Nathan Zhang, a 28-year-old tech company employee in Shenzhen. “My parents only had a low-level understanding, because traditional investments were so complex.”

Feidee, a company that makes personal financial management apps, says that 93 per cent of its users are young customers born

after the 1980s, and 42 per cent of these were born after the 1990s. Millennials’ shifting attitudes to finances have helped the growth of new fintech products. “China is special.

Elsewhere, consumer credit is an important financial market but here the post-1970s generation generally can’t accept the idea of borrowing to spend,” says Darcy Fang Liu, vice-president at Lexin, a major instalmentlending platform that listed in New York last year, one of a number of Chinese fintech initial public offerings. “But young people are very optimistic about their earning potential, and pursue what they want.” Credit that lets you ‘buy, buy, buy’ The rise of e-commerce has made borrowing to spend convenient:

retailers such as JD.com can sell goods to be paid for by instalment with a few taps on a screen. Lexin has followed its target audience, which it describes as educated young adults, as their needs grow.

It now expects to expand into travel services and childcare items as its millennial customers grow older. The user base is expanding rapidly, reaching 8.2m in April, up 64 per cent from a year ago. It takes only a few seconds for Lexin’s algorithms to approve a new user’s credit line.

Huabei, meaning “just spend”, the credit service integrated into Alibaba’s e-commerce platforms, promises that

“with no money in your balance, you can still buy, buy, buy”. It lends amounts of Rmb500-Rmb50,000 to be paid back in instalments of up to a year. Like Lexin, Huabei has found that its youngest users are more likely to buy smaller goods on credit more frequently, suggesting that instalments are becoming the default way of managing spending, rather than as a special tool for big purchases.

China’s government has become worried by this surge in access to credit.

Regulators as well as companies are now cracking down on opportunistic lending and high-interest rate loans.

Policymakers are particularly concerned about young people falling prey to bad lenders, and last year launched a push to stop such companies advertising scams on university campuses dressed up as “entrepreneur loans”, “trainee loans” and “jobseeker loans”. “Taking out loans online is easy and extremely fast,” says Liu Di, a 30-year-old music teacher. She prefers online instalment loans to her credit card, which she says is more expensive and inconvenient.

But she warns: “These things can create dependency, since the money comes so easily.”

Investment, too, has been normalised by being bundled up with Alipay and Tencent’s apps: in a couple of taps a user can deposit leftover money from their mobile wallet balance into a fixed-term investment.

As a result, Ant Financial’s Yu’E Bao, meaning “leftover treasure”, became the world’s biggest money market fund just four years after launch. Can it work elsewhere? The rapid uptake of fintech in China means customers, investors and entrepreneurs are asking whether the same tools can succeed abroad. “When I leave China, I feel I’ve gone back 10 years . . . Tencent, why don’t you launch [WeChat Pay] here?” complained a young French man in a video that went viral in China. Earlier this year, Pony Ma, Tencent’s chief executive, replied to the video, saying that it was “very difficult” to localise mobile payments abroad. “We went out and explored many markets to realise that China was actually very advanced in this respect,” he said. Tencent and Ant Financial have expanded internationally by following the surge of Chinese tourists travelling abroad, and are considering how best to serve local customers. WeChat Pay is starting to expand partnerships with shopping malls in Paris and Japan’s Hokkaido.

The company applied for a third-party payments licence in Malaysia “but when we got it, we found basic infrastructure was lacking,” says Mr Ma. It took Ant Financial and Tencent years to build the links with hundreds of Chinese banks that makes their services possible.

Ant Financial’s Alipay signed a deal last year with US payment infrastructure company First Data. Together they have installed Alipay devices in the stores of some US retailers, initially targeting Chinese tourists but hoping to roll out to local citizens too. At the start of

this year, however, Ant’s US ambitions were partially scuppered by the US government blocking its attempt to acquire MoneyGram, the payments company, on national security grounds. Ant has been better received elsewhere: together with Alibaba it owns a majority share in Indian fintech group Paytm. “The Chinese market is very different from other markets,” says Christophe Uzureau, research vicepresident at Gartner, a market research company.

“In most countries, consumer trust in banks is higher than in other providers.” Not so in China where, he says, “Alipay and WeChat enjoy stronger brand recognition.”

The threats from mainland fintech disrupters are being felt in Hong Kong.

Big banks such as HSBC are concerned about being crowded out; Alipay has already signed up more than 1m users for its Hong Kong joint venture. Despite the difficulties of exporting mobile payment systems abroad, Chinese fintech is an attractive model for foreign businesses, says Cliff Sheng, co-head of financial services in greater China for Oliver Wyman, the management consultancy. “Fintech ideas that originated in China are likely to be copied in the west, for example flight delay insurance, and automatic refund shipping insurance. China is gradually becoming a centre of innovation for these ideas — the platforms have millions of customers and transactions [and] they can experiment and find new products their customers need.”

The heads of banks in North America and Europe are also watching closely.

Previously when they wanted to see the future of their industry, they just went to Silicon Valley. Now they go to China as well.

After a recent visit to the country, Royal Bank of Canada chief executive Dave McKay launched an overhaul of consumer operations at Canada’s biggest lender. He aims to mimic the likes of Alibaba and Tencent by becoming a “platform”, offering extra services such as location advice for housebuyers and accounting services for start-ups.

China’s revolution leaves one great question unresolved. How will data regulators across the globe respond to the rise of fintech companies that could, as they already do in China, track every commercial decision in a person’s life?

It is a question, too, for consumers.

“Considering how many Chinese people pay for groceries, daily meals and entertaining with smartphones, that scale of data accumulation is beyond our imagination,” says Ms Cai, who adds that despite her concerns about privacy, mobile payments are just too convenient to opt out from. But she is cautious, too, about where this path may be leading, adding: “Whether we are constructing a futurist society or a cage for ourselves, I cannot tell.”

Additional reporting by Martin Arnold and Xinning Liu

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States Competitiveness and Good Governance Awards 2018 What are the awards all about?

They are meant to engender good governance at the grassroot; encourage state governments to open up rural economies for businesses with a view to making agriculture a lucrative business; promote judicious use of our scarce resources and ensure that each state has infrastructure that will aid the ease of doing business objectives.

Before 1999 the conditions of the Nigerian economy and state economies were pathetic, as infrastructure was in a bad state. The Nigerian economy remained mono-product driven with the oil and gas sector as the major source of over 80 percent of the nation’s revenue; the export of nonoil goods was fairly non-existent while unemployment was very high.

To ensure that the Nigerian citizens get value for their money, and in order to ensure the judicious use of the scare resources, West Africa’s premier financial and business newspaper, BusinessDay, decided that some metrics

that capture developmental strides in all the states must be set to gauge the performance of public officials, most especially, state governors.

This informed the coming on board of the States’ Competitiveness and Good Governance Awards. The motive of the project is to engender competition among state governments in Nigeria so that Nigerians can get the real dividend of democracy. The quantitative aspects of the awards are anchored by BusinessDay Research and Intelligence Unit (BRIU), while the qualitative aspects such as onsite inspections, interviews, interactions with the people and government officials are carried out by the Awards Committee which, comprises the editorial team and distinguished Nigerians.

The state governors who have distinguished themselves are nominated for different award categories after an extensive research by BRIU and the Awards Committee.

Nominees

Governor: Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, Rivers State

Political Party: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Educational qualifications: B.Sc, LLB, BL Ezenwo Nyesom Wike was born 24th August, 1967 to the family of Reverend and Mrs. Nlemanya Wike. He is a native of Rumuepirikom in ObioAkpor, Rivers State, Nigeria. He holds degrees in Political and Administrative Studies as well as Law. After a brief working period with private legal practice, Chief E.N. Wike was elected as the Executive Chairman of Obio/ Akpor Local Government Area for two terms from 1999 to 2002 and 2004

to 2007.

While in office, he served as Deputy President, Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, ALGON, in 2004 and was later elected the President of ALGON. He also represented Africa as a member of the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth Local Governments Forum.

Between October 26, 2007 and May 28th 2011, Chief N.E. Wike served as the Chief of Staff, G ov e r n m e nt Hou s e, Port Harcourt under the then Governor Amaechi’s tenure and was also appointed the DirectorGeneral of his re-election Campaign Organization.

On 14 July 2011 President Goodluck Jonathan appointed him as the Minister of Education of State of Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Rivers State has emerged one of the leading destinations of investments in Nigeria measured by capital importation, FDI, bilateral MoUs enhanced through the promotion of the ease of doing business. His administration has constructed and rehabilitated over 11 major roads; raised the standards of primary healthcare centres and hospitals while thousands of jobs have been created in agric, SME and other sectors.

Governor: Akinwunmi Ambode, Lagos State

Political Party: All Progressives Congress (APC) Educational qualifications: B.Sc, M.Sc, FCA Akinwunmi was born on June 14, 1963 in, Epe, Lagos State.

He began his education at St. Jude’s Primary School, Ebutte Meta in Lagos in 1969. In 1974, while still in Primary 5, he sat for the National Common Entrance Examinations and was admitted to Federal Government College, Warri in the same year. Ambode spent 7 years in Warri, where he completed his Ordinary and Advanced Levels and had the distinction of achieving the second best result in all of West Africa in the Higher School Certificate Examinations in 1981. Ambode proceeded to the University of Lagos where he studied Accounting, graduating at the age of 21 in 1984.

He completed his mandatory National Youth Service Corps year serving with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in Sokoto State.

Ambode commenced his career at the Lagos State Waste Disposal Board (now LAWMA)

as Accountant Grade II. He enrolled for the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) exams and at the same time was awarded a Federal Government Scholarship to pursue a Masters Degree in Accounting at the University of Lagos. By the time he was 24, he had qualified as a Chartered Accountant and had completed his Masters Degree programme in Accounting, specializing in Financial Management.

In 1998, Ambode was awarded the US Fulbright Scholarship for the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship program, in Boston University, Massachusetts, USA. His Fellowship Year was spent studying Public Leadership with emphasis on Finance and Accounting. During this programme Ambode had professional internships at The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, the Cabinet Office of Administration and Finance (Governor’s Office), and City of Boston Treasury Office as well as with the World Bank and IMF. Ambode became the governor of the largest state economy in Nigeria and the fifth biggest economy in Africa, Lagos State in 2015. He has left no stone unturned in his bid to transform the state into the third biggest economy in Africa.

To achieve this, infrastructure development and urban renewal is key. He has since constructed the over 100 roads, lay-bys, bridges particularly the Pen Cinema Flyover, the world class Oshodi Transport Interchange, new Art Theatres, Epe and Badagry Marina projects, Airport Road, Abule-Egba to Oshodi BRT lane, LAKE Rice project, among others. More importantly, the night economy has returned in Lagos, the centre of excellence.

Award Categories

1. Promotion of Made in Nigerian Goods 2. SME Development 3. Economic, Social and Youths Development 4. Ease of Doing Business 5. Sports Development 6. Agriculture Development 7. Tourism Development 8. Healthcare Development 9. Rural-Urban Infrastructure Development 10. Housing Development 11. Transparency in Governance 12. Peace and Security 13. Education Reforms & Development 14. Governor of the Year (Overall, North, South) Venue: Transcorp Hilton Hotel Abuja Date: July 19, 2018

Governor: Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, Gombe State

Educational qualifications: BSc, PGD, MSc, PhD, FCA, FCIB, FCIT, FNIM Political Party: Peop l e ’s D e m o c r a t i c Party(PDP).

Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo was born on 4th April 1962 at Herwagana Ward in Gombe City, Gombe State. He attended the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria and Graduated with Bachelor of Science degree in accounting. Later, he bagged a Doctor of Philosophy Degree (Phd) from Igbenideon University, Okada. No doubt, Dankwambo has transformed Gombe State going by his numerous programs for

the different sectors of the State’s economy.

Despite the proximity of the state to Borno, he has ensured that the state is insulated from crisis. In addition, he supported farmers by procuring quality seeds, thrasher machines, water pumps, and Nap sack sprayers while distributing fertilizers to farmers at highly subsidised rates. His administration has constructed a technology incubation centre for SMEs in the state, recruited graduates as teachers in secondary schools, and NCE holders as teachers in primary schools; this is in addition to procuring and distributing the tricycles and Suzuki cabs and buses as poverty alleviation measures.

Dankwambo added the New Snake Bite Hospital, an ultra-modern women and children hospital, and a cottage hospital in Hinna to boost the State’s health sector. He also built modern primary schools for IDPs, and a government girls’ secondary school to reduce the pressure on existing ones.

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States Competitiveness and Good Governance Awards 2018

Nominees

Governor: Ogbeni Adesoji Rauf Aregbesola, Osun State

Political Party: All Progressives Congress Educational qualifications: HND, FNSE, FNIM, FNATE, FCMCIN Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola was born on 25th May 1957. He had his primary and secondary education in Ondo State, and later attended The Polytechnic, Ibadan, studying Mechanical Engineering and graduating in 1980.

Rauf Aregbesola has a wealth of exp er ience garnere d through wide exposure in the private sector, such as the Nigerian External Telecommunications, now Nigerian Telecommunications Ltd. and Lagos Airport Hotel, before establishing his own Engineering Services Com-

Governor: Udom Gabriel Emmanuel, Akwa Ibom State

Political Party: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Educational qualifications: B.Sc, ACA, ACTI Udom Gabriel Emmanuel was born 11 July 1966 in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.

He attended Secondary Commercial School, Ikot Akpan Ishiet; School of Arts and Science, Uyo, and the University of Lagos where he obtained his bachelor’s degree in Accounting, in 1988. In addition to his academic laurels is a certificate in Advanced Management

pany, Aurora Nigeria Limited, in 1986, handling numerous projects for both government and private organizations in most States of the Federation.

He is a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Management (FNIM), Nigerian Society of Engineers (FNSE), Nigerian Association of Technological Engineers (FNATE) and Certified Marketing Communications Institute of Nigeria (FCMCIN).

A reformer, in spite of paucity of funds, Ogbeni Aregbesola has changed Osun’s status from a primarily rural economy to an emerging urban economy which now has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country. He was able to achieve these through rural-urban infrastructure development which opened up the opportunities in the state’s rural economy to investors, education reforms, social and economic empowerment. His massive empowerment projects through OYES, OYESTECH, OREAP has led to the engagement of thousands of residents in the state in income-generating ventures. Above all, his administration registered 24,000 cooperative societies in order to boost economic growth in the state.

Program he obtained at INSEAD Business School in Fontainebleau, France.

He is a Chartered Accountant by profession and trained with Price Waterhouse Coopers as well as a Fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Management.

His industry experience spans several firms including Diamond Bank and Zenith Bank. He also served as a audit manager of Price Waterhouse Coopers; Executive Director Africa Finance Corporation (AFC); Director, Nigerian Inter-Bank Settlement Systems (NIBBS); NonExecutive Director, Zenith Bank, United Kingdom; Zenith Bank- Gambia ; Zenith Bank-Sierra Leone; Zenith Insurance; Zenith Pensions and Custodian; Zenith Securities; Zenith Trustees and Zenith Registrars.

A sports promoter, Gov. Emmanuel has turned Akwa Ibom to the home of the Nigeria Supper Eagles; successfully saw the establishment of Nigeria’s first ever electric metering firm; syringe factory just as he has passionately promoted youth and sports development in his state.

Governor: Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, Sokoto State

Political Party: All Progressives Congress Educational qualifications: LLB, BL Rt Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal was born on January 10, 1966 to Waziri Tambuwal in Tambuwal Village in Sokoto State. He attended the Usman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto, where he studied Law, graduating with an LLB (Hons) degree in 1991. He completed his one year compulsory legal studies at the Nigerian Law School, Lagos, from where he obtained the BL degree and was subsequently called to the Bar in 1992. He has attended several courses

Governor: Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu, SAN, Ondo State

Political Party: All Progressives Congress (APC) Educational qualifications: LLB, BL Work Experience: • Secretary NBA, Ibadan Branch 1985-1986, • National Publicity Secretary NBA 1988-1989 • Vice Chairman, NBA Ibadan Branch 1992-1994 • Member, Council of Legal Education 1997-1999 • Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Ondo State 1997 • Chairman, Legal Aid Council of Nigeria 2005-2006 • National President NBA, 20082010 • Member, Council of Legal Education 2008-2010 • Member of Council, International Bar Association 2008-2010 • Member of Council, Pan African Lawyers Union 2008-2010 Political Party: All Progressives Congress (APC) Educational qualifications: B.Sc Umaru Tanko Al-makura was born in Lafia, Nasarawa State, on the 15th of November, 1953.

He attended Dunama Primary School, Lafia; Government Teachers College, Keffi ; Advanced Teachers College, Uyo, (1972-75) and Ahmadu Bello University Zaria (1975-1978), where he graduated with Bachelor of Education Degree with specialization in Social Studies.

Almakura was a teacher at the Government College, Makurdi, and later worked as a journalist after his graduation as an assistant producer, news and current affairs at the then Broadcasting

abroad, including International Legislative Drafting in Tulane University in 2005. He attended the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 2008, and the Kennedy School of Government at the Harvard University, USA. Governor Tambuwal gave education the highest attention with the allocation of the lion share of the State’s budget to the sector in 2017 in line with UNESCO’s recommendation.

It is also not surprising that his administration has trained 300 indigenes on grain/food security at the Henan University of Technology. He has also established a leather industrial cluster in Sokoto in partnership with UNIDO and set up a textile factory and the Kware Cement Factory through PPP arrangement.

Also, the agricultural sector got a boost under his administration as the Kware Irrigation Scheme abandoned for close to 90 years has been resuscitated. He developed grazing reserves to enhance meat and milk production and to end clashes between farmers and herdsmen.

• Member, National Judicial Council, 2010-2012 Profile Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu, Aketi as fondly called, was born on 21st July, 1956 in Owo, Ondo State to Late Rev. J. O Ola Akeredolu of Owo and Lady Evang. Grace Akeredolu of Igbotu Ese Odo Government Area of Ondo State. He started his primary School education at Government School Owo before proceeding to the famous Aquainas College Akure in 1968. He also attended Comprehensive High School Ayetoro for his higher Secondary School Certificate.

Oluwarotimi proceeded to the prestigious University of Ife now Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) IN 1974 where he obtained his LLB degree in 1977 and BL from the Nigerian Law School in 1978. Since graduation from the Law School, he has had a tremendous law career. In 1998, and as a mark of recognition of his industry, erudition, service and brilliance, he was conferred with the title of the Senior Advance of Nigeria, (SAN). In a bid to restore Ondo State’s lost glory in education, the state government has embarked on the reforms of the education sector, ease of doing business just as the state has recorded a number of new investment inflows.

Governor: Umaru Tanko Al-makura Nasarawa State

Corporation of Northern Nigeria (BCNN) which later became part of NTA Kaduna.

He established Almakura Nigeria Limited, a civil and building

Governor: Professor Benedict Bengioushuye Ayade, Cross River State

Political Party: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Educational qualifications: LLB, B.Sc, M.Sc, MBA, PhD Senator Benedict Bengioushuye Ayade was born in March 2, 1969. He attended the prestigious University of Ibadan for his doctorate programs where he won the Best Doctoral Dissertation Award in Environmental Microbiology. He was a member of the Nigeria Association of

Petroleum Engineers and the Cross River State Poverty Alleviation Board.

As a man of the people, he has constructed 5,000 housing units for the internally displaced people of Bakassi, constructed a garment factory that has created thousands of jobs, and another 21 megawatts power plant to ensure regular supply of electricity for businesses in the state.

In addition, his administration is credited with the completion of Sub-Saharan Africa’s first monorail that connects the Calabar Convention Centre with Tinapa Business and Leisure Resort, while his policies have enhanced investment-friendly policies that has attracted investments to the state. He recently inaugurated the 260 km dual carriage CalabarKatsina-Ala superhighway.

Political Party: All Progressives Congress (APC) Educational qualifications: B.Sc (First Class), PGD, LLB, MBA, D.Sc (honoris causa) Work Experience: CEO/Founder, Project Management Consulting Firm Worked in AT & T; Motorola Inc., Network Systems International BV Director General, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) Minister, the Federal Capital Territory from 2003 to 2007 Profile: Mallam Nasir El-Rufail was born in 1960 in Faskari LGA of Katsina State. He obtained his first degree in Quantity Surveying (First Class Honours) from Ahmadu

Bello University Zaria. He then founded and successfully ran a Project Management Consulting firm from 1982 to 1988 with his partners, handling civil engineering projects across Nigeria. He also held management positions in two internatinal telecommunications companies, AT&T Network Systems International BV and Motorola, Inc. The appalling state of education in the state before assumption of office propelled him to reform the state’s education system. The results may not be immediate, but there is a consensus of opinions that the decision was in the right direction and it is in the interest of all Nigerians. In addition, the current administration in Kaduna State has facilitated the regulation of the water sector, checked substance abuse, and ensured better primary healthcare services for the people. He has also curtailed street begging and hawking, given a facelift to the Kaduna Master plan, and the strengthened the State Vigilance Service.

In terms of empowerment, Mallam El Rufai’s administration has recruited several teachers, KATELEA marshals, and health workers. The state now parades international brands such as Olam, Vicampro, Flour Mills and the Dangote Group.

engineering company which in addition imported, sold and serviced agricultural and industrial machinery. This successful businessman and entrepreneur was elected into the Constituent Assembly in 1988 - 89 to represent Lafia - Obi Federal Constituency of the then Plateau State.

In 1980, two years after he ventured into politics, Almakura emerged as the Youth Leader of the then National Party of Nigeria (NPN) in the then Plateau State, today’s Plateau and Nasarawa State. As NPN Youth Leader and in line with the party’s constitution, he automatically became a member of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the defunct NPN in the second republic.

Between 1990 - 92, he served as the State Secretary of the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC) party in the then Plateau State. Almakura is presently the Executive Governor of Nasarawa State under the platform of APC elected in 2011 and 2015.

Convinced that without adequate infrastructure no meaningful development could take place in the state, Governor Al Makura introduced a scheme the identified infrastructure that must be developed to convince investors both local and foreign that the state meant business. Some of these projects include Kwandere-keffi road, Lafia-Keffi new road, Doma Barracks, support for reducing housing deficit in the state, power sub-station, among others.

Governor: Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, Kaduna State

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States Competitiveness and Good Governance Awards 2018

to the Minister of Defence.

2009-2011: Executive Secretary of Chad Basin Commission.

2011-2015: Deputy Governor of Kano State.

2015-Date: Executive Governor of Kano State

Nominees

Governor: Okezie Victor Ikpeazu, Abia State

Political Party: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Educational qualifications: B.Sc, MSc, PhD Work Experience: Deputy General Manager, Abia State Environmental Protection Agency (ASEPA) General Manager, Abia State Passengers Integrated Manifest and Safety Scheme Chairman, Obingwa Local Government Area Adjunct Senior Lecturer,Biochemistry Dept, Ebonyi State University HOD,Applied Biochemistry Dept, Enugu State Universityof Science & Technology Admin Manager, Cash Bond Investment & Credits Ltd, Lagos Lecturer, Calabar Polytechnic

GA, Science Laboratory Technology Dept; University of Maiduguri Profile Okezie Victor Ikpeazu was born in 18 October 1964 to the family of Late Pa Ishmael and Deaconess Bessie Ikpeazu of Uhuebere in Umubiakwa Village, Isialaukwu Mbato community in Obingwa Local government Area of Abia State, Nigeria. He was at the University of Calabar where he lectured while pursuing a doctorate degree in Biochemical Pharmacology. He obtained his PhD in 1994. He served as a Masters’ Degree External Examiner, to the Department of Biochemistry, University of Nigeria. His programs have cut across all the facets of Abia State economy.

The schools of nursing and midwifery at Aba, Umuahia and Abariba have been given a facelift just as the Child/ Maternal Healthcare Centre at Abia State University Teaching Hospital has been renovated. He is at the forefront of championing SME development and ‘Buy Made in Aba’ Campaign which has generated over N3 billion revenues to Aba entrepreneurs in the last two years.

Governor: Muhammadu Badaru Abubakar, FCNA, Jigawa State

Political Party: All Progressives Congress (APC) Educational qualifications: B.Sc, NIPSS Muhammadu Badaru Abubakar was born in 1962 in Babura town of Jigawa State. He obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Accountancy in 1985 from Ahmadu Bello University. In 2006, Alhaji Abubakar went to the prestigious National Institute for Policy & Strategic Studies, (NIPSS), Kuru Jos. His administration’s emphasis is on openness, accountability and transparency. He has made some giant strides in leadership, recording such major achievements as attracting $100m investment for sugar production from the Lee Group, commissioning Danmodi Rice Mills, and establishing a computer-based training (CBT) centre at Binyaminu Usman Polytechnic, Hadejia. In addition, he rehabilitated the College of Health Science and Technology, Jahun; he has also empowered women through micro-credit schemes.

Governor: Godwin Nogheghase Obaseki, Edo State

Political Party: All Progressives Congress (APC)

Educational qualifications: BA, MBA, CFS G o d w i n No g h e g h a s e Obaseki was born on 1st of July, 1959 in Benin City, Edo State to the families of Obaseki and Gbinigie of Owina Street, Ogbelaka Quarters. He attended the prestigious Columbia University and Pace University both in New York where he bagged an MBA in Finance and International Business respectively. Obaseki is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Stock Brokers, Nigeria. He is also an alumnus of the Lagos Business School’s Chief Executive Program.

Governor: Mohammad Abdullahi Abubakar, Bauchi State

Political Party: All Progressives Congress Educational qualifications: LLB Barrister Mohammad Abdullahi Abubakar was born on 11 December 1956 . He began his career in the civil service where he rose through the ranks to become the Bauchi State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice. He ran for public office as Governor of Bauchi State in 2015 under the platform of the All Progressives

He established Afrinvest West Africa Limited (then SecTrust) in 1995 and the company was later appointed correspondent stockbroker for Nigeria by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) in the same year. He leaves no one in doubt as regards the focus of his administration with the numerous successes he has recorded. # For instance, he has signed a technical capacity development agreement for “Electrify Edo Program” with Siemens AG, Ossiomo Power Limited, and Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC), to train youths on the practical aspect of electrical and electronics engineering. In addition, he has engaged 4,200 youths across the state in employment and established the Edo State Ministry of Mining. Governor Obaseki’s administration has rehabilitated 35 strategic roads within seven months in office, and kick-started the development of a seaport at Gelegele.

Congress, the state’s opposition party.

Due to negligence overtime, Bauchi State lost its place as the headquarters of West Africa’s tourism industry. This is already changing for the better.

On assumption of office, Barrister Abubakar set in motion eforms that have made the different wildlife resorts in the state tourists’ delight.

Above all, partnership with Arik’s Air now ensures that tourists can fly directly into the state from Lagos, the nation’s commercial capital. The state is endowed with Sumu Wild Life, home to Zebras, Giraffes, Wildebeests, Impalas, Monkeys and other herbivores; Yankari Resort and Safari, the home to critically endangered West African lions, buffalo, hippopotamus, roan and hartebeest; and the tomb of Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the first and only Prime Minister of Nigeria.

Governor: David Nweze Umahi,

Ebonyi State

Political Party: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Educational qualifications: B.Sc Dave Umahi Nweze was born on 1st January 1964 in Ebonyi State. He attended Umunaga Primar y S chool in Ubur u from 1971-1977 where he

Governor: Rt. Hon. Lawrence Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Enugu State

Political Party: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Educational qualifications: BSc, MSc, MBA Rt. Hon. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi

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Governor: Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, Kano State

Political Party: All Progressives Congress Educational qualifications: NCE, BSc, MA, MPA, PhD Work Experience: 1975-1976: NYSC, Teacher at Oleh College, Delta State.

1976-1976: Education Officer II, Ministry of Education, Kano State.

1976-1978: Gumel, Lecturer I, Advanced Teachers College.

1978-1979: Lecturer II, Bayero University Kano.

1979-1981: Personnel Manager, Norait Limited Kano.

1981-1993: Federal Capital Development Authority (F.C.D.A).

1994-1998: Commissioner, Ministry of Works, Housing and Transport.

1999-2003: Deputy Governor of Kano State.

2005-2006: Special Assistant

bagged his First Leaving Certificate with Distinction. Engr. Umahi started his secondary education at Ishiagu High School in 1978 and in 1979, transferred to the prestigious Government Secondary School, Afikpo, passed his WASC Examinations in Division 1 grade with excellent Alpha performances in all his subjects.

Profile: Abdullahi Umar Ganduje was born on December 25, 1949 at Ganduje village in the present day Dawakin Tofa Local Government Area of Kano State.

An erudite Ganduje has two master’s degrees; he also has a PhD in Public Administration from the University of Ibadan. Since he assumed office, he has focused programs on transforming Kano State into the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria.

His reforms ensured that the Kano State gross domestic product (GDP) stands at about $20 billion and that makes it the second largest state economy in Nigeria.

Enhancement of ease of doing business in the state has engendered strong and diverse SMEs which contribute about 70 percent of the state’s output and employment ; infrastructure development leading to the construction of Nigeria’s first ever 3-level flyovers/underpass, housing development and inter-state business promotion.

He got admission into the Anambra State University of Science and Technology where he obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering in 1987.

Between 1988 and 1989, he did his National Service in SAIPEM SPA in Benin City. Gov. Umahi worked

with SCC Nigeria Limited; an Israeli Company (Water Engineering Giant) and rose to the position of Project Engineer. It was here that his managerial and technical competence was brought to the fore in his supervision of the historic Umuahia Water Project and the Ndie g oro Aba Flood Control Measures between 1988 and 1990.

Since becoming the governor, Gov. Umahi’s touch can be felt in every segment of the state particularly in areas of infrastructure, healthcare and t ou r i s m d e v e l o p m e nt.

This has changed the state of transport, agriculture and healthcare ser vice delivery in the state.

was born in Enugu on March 20, 1964. He holds an MBA in Finance and another MBA in Accountancy from the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT). Before he went into politics, he was the Chief Executive Officer of Premier Brokers Limited, the prime Insurance broking firm in the South East zone of the country owned by the five states in the zone and ACB Bank.

His programs have touched

every sector of the state’s economy. Among the major projects executed by his administration are roads construction and rehabilitation across the state. He commissioned the Enugu Free Trade Zone, procured and distributed ICT equipment to all the states’ secondary schools; empowered traders towards reducing poverty and crime in the state while the Heliu Estate was inaugurated through the PPP scheme.

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States Competitiveness and Good Governance Awards 2018

Nominees

Governor: Senator Umaru Jibrilla Bindow, Adamawa State

Political Party: All Progressives Congress (APC) Educational qualifications: National Diploma Senator Bindo Umaru Jibrilla was born on June 16, 1963 in Adamawa state.

He holds a National Diploma in Business Administration.

He is an industrialist who has established three companies in Mubi, employing about four hundred people. He was elected as the senator representing Adamawa North senatorial district in the senate and was the Vice Chairman of Senate Committee on Defence and Army/ Science and Technology.

Governor: Abdulfattah Ahmed Kwara State

Political Party: All Progressives Congress Educational qualifications: B.Sc, MBA Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed was born on 29 December 1963 in Share, Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State. He had his secondary school education at Government College, Funtua, Katsina State (1973-1978) and then proceeded to the School of Basic Studies of Kwara State College of Technology (now Kwara State Polytechnic), Ilorin (1978-1980) for his ‘A’ Levels. He earned his B.Sc. in Chemistry in 1986 from the University of llorin and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree in 1992 from the same university.

He was an Assistant Manager at District Savings and Loans, Lagos, between 1991 and 1993;also worked for Guaranty Trust Bank Plc as the Head of Institutional Banking Group for the Northern region in 2003. Before, he became the governor, he had served in

Governor: Willie Obiano, Anambra State

Political Party: All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) Educational qualifications: B.Sc, MBA Willie Obiano,a native of Aguleri in Anambra East Local Government Area, was born on August 8, 1957. He attended the Holy Trinity Primary School and Christ the King College, both in Onitsha, for his primary education and West African School Certificate Examination. He proceeded to the University of Lagos where he earned his B.Sc. in Accounting Second Class Upper in 1979 and an MBA in Marketing in the year

different capacity such as Commissioner for Finance, Planning and Economic Development, among others.

He was appointed as the commissioner for Finance and Economic Development at the start of Abubakar Bukola Saraki’s Kwara State Administration till 2009. H He was appointed a member of board of directors of the International Aviation College, Ilorin, Chairman of the Millennium Development Goals implementation committee and Chairman of Songhai Farms Holdings Ltd. Gov. Ahmed has undergone several courses including Corporate Governance course at the Manchester School of Business (2006), Capital Budget Strategies and Techniques, London (2004) and Public Finance Management Course at J.F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University USA (2004).

From roads, water, to agriculture, health, housing and education, Government Ahmed’s administration has recorded giant strides in Kwara Statein spite of paucity of funds, the present administration in Kwara State has continued to invest in urban and infrastructural development in the state. The state government also intervened on some Federal roads to ease the economic activities of the state. The roads include: Patigi-Kpada-Rogun Road (On-going), dualization

1993. He won the John F. Kennedy Award for Essay.

Apart from academic award, Willie Obiano has also bagged several professional awards such as Distinguished Banker of the Year 2012 Award. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN); Member, Harvard University, USA CLASS, Member, Harvard Business School, Boston USA and Stanford University.

Governor Obiano’s vision for agriculture in the state has started to materialise. His partnership with the International Fund for Agricultural Development(IFAD), the Federal Government and Anambra East, Anambra West, Ayamelum, Awka North and Orumba North local government areas, as well as other top-notch agric projects, has transformed agriculture in Anambra State through jobs creation, vegetables export among others. His magical touch is also felt in infrastructure development, healthcare service delivery and education development in the state.

of Offa Garage-Dangote Road (South link road); Ilorin, Fate Road to GSS Roundabout, Kaiama-Kishi Road (Ongoing) and Ilesha-BarubaGwanara road.

Governor: Kashim Shettima, Borno State

Political Party: All Progressive Congress (APC)) Educational qualifications: B.Sc, M.Sc Alhaji Kashim Shettima was born on 2nd September 1966 in Shettimari, Shettima Mustafa Kuttayibe, Borno State.

He attended the Lamisula Primary School Maiduguri between 1972 and 1978, and Government Community Secondary School, Biu in 1978 where he got the West African School Certificate Examinations (WAEC) in 1980. He was admitted into the University of Maiduguri where he obtained the Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree in Agric Economics. He then attended the University of Ibadan from 1990 to 1991, gaining a Master’s Degree in

Governor: Hon. Henry Seriake Dickson, Bayelsa State

Political Party: People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Educational qualifications: LLB, BL

Governor: Yahaya Bello, Kogi State

Political Party: All Progressives Congress Educational qualifications: B.Sc, MBA Yahaya Bello was born on June 18, 1975 in Agassa, Okene LGA. He had his primary education at the LGEA Primary School, Agassa. He enrolled at Agassa Community Secondary School in Agricultural Economics. He was promoted to lecturer II in the Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Maiduguri in 1993, although he started lecturing by 1991.

Gov. Shettima worked with the Commercial Bank of Africa as an Agricultural Economist at its Ikeja Office, Lagos State (1993-1997). He then became a deputy manager, later manager, at the African International Bank Limited, Kaduna Branch (1997–2001), and was appointed Deputy Manager/Branch Head of the Zenith Bank’s Maiduguri Office in 2001, becoming General Manager five years later. In mid-2007, he was appointed Commissioner of the Borno State Ministry of Finance and Economic Development. Later, he became Commissioner in the Ministries of Local Governments and Chieftaincy Affairs, Education, Agriculture and later Health under his predecessor as Borno Governor Ali Modu Sheriff.

Housing deficit in his state was aggravated by Boko Haram insurgency and his administration has risen to the occasion through infrastructure development such as roads, bridges, hospitals and construction of affordable housing units for the residents of Borno State.

Hon. Henry Seriake Dickson holds a Bachelor of Law (LLB Hons) degree from the Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port Harcourt. He was called to the Bar in 1993, having earned his Barrister of Law (BL) from the Nigerian Law School, the same year. His Excellency had a stint as a Police Officer with the Nigerian Police Force before his voluntary withdrawal from service to actively practice Law. Governor Dickson served as Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Bayelsa State from 2006 - 2007.

He also served as a member of the Federal House of Rep-

resentatives, representing Sagbama/Ekeremor Federal constituency of Bayelsa State from 2007 – 2011. Hon. H. S. Dickson is a Member of the Nigeria Bar Association, International Bar Association, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (U.K) Nigerian Chapter and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria.

Hon. Dickson has touched every sector of the Bayelsa State’s economy particularly the health sector which now boasts of an internationally recognised specialist hospital which can reverse stroke, Bayelsa Diagnostic Centre, and referral hospitals in some of the local government areas.

1989. Changing school five times, he finally settled in at Government Secondary School, Suleja, Niger state, and sat for his Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE) in 1994 at the school. He got a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) in 1999 and 2004 respectively.

He became a Chartered Fellow of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) at Jos in 2004.

He spent his NYSC year at the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) in 2002 and was retained. He was subsequently appointed as Revenue Officer and then promoted to Accountant within a short

period. He later attained the post of Assistant Chief Accountant before leaving the commission. He is the managing director of FairPlus International Limited and the chairman of Kogi Youth Arise Forum.

Many states in the North Central geopolitical zone have had their fair share of attacks from insurgents. Kogi State, being the confluence state and the melting points of tribes and ideas, has sustained peace and ensured security of lives and property.

This is coming from no less a person than His Excellency, Yahaya Bello, the Executive Governor of the state, through his ingenious mobilisation of the grass root and provision of support for the nation’s security apparatuses.

Governor: Darius Dickson Ishaku Borno State

Taraba State Governor: Darius Dickson Ishaku Political Party: Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Academic Qualifications: B.Sc, M.Sc Darius Dickson Ishaku was born on 30th day of July 1954 to Ishaku Istifanus and Naomi at Lupwe, now in Ussa Local Government Area of Taraba State.

He attended St. Bartholomew’s Primary School, Wusasa, Zaria, in 1961, and obtained his first school-leaving certificate in 1967. He proceeded to St. Paul’s College Kufena, Zaria, for his secondary education, in 1972, where he sat for his West African Examination Certificate (WASC) exams. In the same year he secured an admission into Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria for his advance Level education, which was

then a requirement for gaining admission into university, and he passed out in 1974. In 1974, he was admitted into school of Architecture Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he obtained his Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Architecture in 1977. In the following year he enrolled for a Master’s of Science (MSc.) Degree in Architecture and graduated with a distinction in 1979.

With several decades of architectural practice and experience along with an insatiable thirst for higher academic laurels, he began a PhD program in Architecture also at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria in 2007.

As parts of achievements, declared state of emergency on the water sector and the water plants in the state was overhauled, installation of over 100 hand pump boreholes, establishment of water reservoir, while most of the towns in his state now have drinkable water, all in a bid to ensure Taraba residents live healthily. Taraba College of Nursing and Midwifery is back to life; the Jalingo Specialist Radiological Laboratory Equipment has been repaired and revived. His administration has upgraded the Takum General Hospital with a view to making healthcare service delivery available, accessible and affordable to all Taraba residents.

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CityFile

LASG to build intervention centres for people with autism

T

he Lagos State government is to build two early intervention centres in strategic locations in the state to cater for children suffering from autism.

Joyce Onafowokan, the special adviser to the governor, Akinwunmi Ambode on social development, stated this at the 8th annual autism programme sponsored by Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank), in Lagos, Tuesday.

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, defines autism as “a developmental disorder characterised by troubles with social interaction and communication and by restricted and repetitive behavior.

“Parents usually notice signs in the first two or three years of their child’s life.

These signs often develop gradually, though some children with autism reach their developmental milestones at a normal pace and then

worsen. Autism is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors.’’

Onafowokan said that the government remained committed to the provision of facilities to bridge the gap and support to the families of persons suffering the disorder.

“Two early intervention centres are to be built at strategic points to cater for those with the disorder. The centre will cater for the needs of children affected with the four ‘Ds’ namely: `Defect at birth, Diseases, Deficiencies and Developmental delays’ as well as physical challenges.

“These centres will be situated at Oregun and Sangotedo communities respectively,” the adviser said, adding that the centres will operate in the best progressions and support programmes in the interest of both the children and their families.

Gadal moves to address street hawking in Nigerian cities Agnes Iboroma

G

adal Capacity Development Foundation has unveiled detailed study of the problem of street hawking in Lagos and also proffered solutions to what has become a menace not only in the state, but also most cities in Nigeria.

Gadal is a not-for-profit organisation seeking to bring about a socially secure future for all Nigerians by economically empowering today’s youths, and harnessing the potentials of the informal sector of the economy. This maiden study by Gadal, conducted in what it called eight “hotspots” around Lagos State with 250 respondents (hawkers) survey, was launched recently in Lagos.

Chairman of the event, Godwin Ndubuisi Kanu, a

rear admiral, who was represented by the managing partner of Leading Edge Consulting, Ije Jidenma, pointed out that the problem of hawking and hawkers needed urgent attention by both the public sector and well-meaning private sector operators and development agencies.

He observed that Gadal’s approach of using empirical data to address a wellknown challenge was quite useful in removing emotions from the problem and focusing on solutions to the problem.

Also speaking, a patron of Gadal, Paul Dozie Arinze, elaborated on the importance of providing capacity development for hawkers in general and its ripple effect on the society at large, and also said the foundation was partnering several individuals and organisations to advance the cause.

Staff of Edoline Transport Company limited protesting unpaid 36 months salary. Pic by Idris Umar Momoh, Benin

Ondo community in danger as ocean surge wreaks havoc YOMI AYELESO, Akure

…collapsed bridge cuts off 15 communities in Katsina

ndo State g ove r n m e nt has raised the alarm that Ayetoro community in Ilaje local government is in danger following recurring surge from the Atlantic Ocean.

And save the situation, the state has appealed for an immediate intervention from the Federal Government. The surge last weekend submerged 25 buildings including the only secondary school in the oil producing community while over 200 people have been rendered homeless.

Agboola Ajayi, the state’s deputy governor who visited the affected Ayetoro community, lamented the loss of houses and other properties to the disaster, and the Federal Government to do more in protect-

ing the oil producing community. Ajayi suggested the deployment of modern technology to tackle the crisis.

His words: I remember when I was in the House of Representatives, I led members of the NDDC to this community and I also traveled to Netherland to look at the modern technology which we felt would have been able to solve the problem.

He said what was happening at Ayetoro was beyond Ondo State government. “Ayetoro is in danger. Ondo State is in danger and the Federal Government should rescue this oil producing community.

The residents of the community say they are now about three kilometers away from the Atlantic

O

Ocean. A lot of houses have been washed away, and children cannot go to school. We are worried, but we also want to assure our people that we will not relent on our efforts to stop this disaster,” he said.

In a related development, 15 communities have been cut off after a bridge linking them collapsed in Dandume local government area of Katsina State.

The bridge located at Kirkijim village collapsed after hours of rainfall on Sunday. Sani Hamza, the village head listed the villages affected to include Kauran Fawa, Unguwan Tofa, Unguwan Dakare, Unguwan Fulani, Katoge, Sako, Unguwan Sarkin Rafi among others.

Hamza said: “The collapse of the bridge is causing us serious hardship

as people now have to go through very long distance to get out of their villages for their day to day activities and the situation is already affecting social and economic activities.

“I appeal to the state and local governments to come to our aid and repair the bridge to enable us resume our normal activities.

There is the need for urgent intervention by the relevant authorities so that the residents of these communities will not continue to suffer as a result of the collapsed bridge.’’

Hassan Musa, acting chairman of Dandume local government, who visited the area to assess the extent of damage to the bridge, pledged to forward the issue to the Katsina State government for urgent intervention.

Edo residents protest death of six-year-old in flood IDRIS UMAR MOMOH

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ommercial activities were on Tu e s d ay p a ra lys e d at Us elu community in Edo State, following a protest by aggrieved residents over the drowning of a six-year-old pupil.

It was gathered that the primary school pupil simply identified as Segun, was swept away by flood water after a downpour which lasted several hours on Monday.

The aggrieved residents blocked the busy UseluLagos road with bonfires, destroyed several sign boards of the Edo State government in the area.

They accused the state government of not sending its officials to help find the body of the pupil.

CityFile learnt that the victim was walking with his mother after the close of school when they fell into a drain at Omosogie junction along BeninUselu road and was swept away. The mother, simply identified as Latifat, who

attempted to rescue his son was also almost swept away by the heavy flood.

She was said to have been rescued by a passer-by Hausa man.

Oni Enoma, the leader of the protesters, said the drainage was a death trap and a nightmare to them whenever it rains. The protesters demanded the state government to cover the drainage.

“A woman and her baby fell into a death trap they call gutter. It was a Hausa man that dragged the woman out but the baby

fell inside but we have not been able to find the body of the boy.

“We were surprised that nothing has been done by the fire fighters and the state government to find the body. We want the commissioner of works to come and cover the drainage or we will not stop this protest. We want them to cover that death trap”, Enoma said.

A n o t h e r p r o t e s t e r, who identified himself as Augustine Idahosa said the incident happened at about 2pm on Monday.

“ Th i s i s p a r t o f t h e N30bn water storm project. We blocked the road to make the government co m e a n d re cove r th e body,” he said.

“Late Segun and his mother, Latifat were walking home after s chool hours when they slipped into an open drainage at the Omosogie junction along Benin-Uselu road”, he added.

An e yew itness, who gave his name as Kehinde said it was a Hausa boy scavenging for scraps that saved the woman but her

son fell in.

“I quickly jumped inside the gutter but the boy was already gone. We have searched everywhere but we did not see the body.

The boy is scheduled for graduation ceremony to primary one next week”, he stated.

The police public relations officer, Edo command, Chidi Nwabuzor, could not be reached for c o m m e nt s. Bu t i t wa s gathered the some security operatives were later deployed to the scene to restore calm.

Thursday 19 July 2018

BUSINESS DAY

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

Year Open

38,243.19

Market capitalisation

N13.609 trillion

NSE Premium Index

The NSE-Main Board

NSE ASeM Index

2,564.13

1,713.69

1,087.32

Week open (22 – 06–18)

37,862.53

N13.716 trillion

2,707.98

1,691.04

949.59

Week close (29 – 06–18)

38,278.55

N13.866 trillion

2,720.42

1,719.17

949.59

Percentage change (WoW) Percentage change (YTD)

1.10 0.09

0.46 6.10

NSE Lotus II

NSE Ind. Goods Index

NSE Pension Index

330.69

2,560.39

1,975.59

1,379.74

149.45

903.41

2,553.17

1,956.40

1,481.73

927.72

323.22

2,626.59

2,008.70

1,490.07

NSE Banking Index

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

1,746.68

475.44

139.37

1,721.95 1,739.08

481.31

481.31

476.05

150.44

NSE 30 Index

1.66

0.00

0.99

0.32

-12.67

-0.44

-1.09 0.13

0.66 7.94

976.10

2.69 -4.96

-1.73

2.88

2.67

-2.26

2.59

1.68

Bond traders in cautious mood over uncertain direction of yields …eye on June inflation, MPC meeting

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espite expected inflows from c o u p o n payments, uncer tainty in the direction of bond yields in the interim is responsible for record caution trading activities by market participants.

The market participants are still awaiting the release of inflation and monetary policy rates. Bond investors demand higher yield to compensate for rising inflation risk, but bond prices fall when interest rates rise.

Nigeria’s inflation rate is currently at 11.61percent and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) postponed release date for June 2018 inflation report to July 23, 2018. Lagos-based Zedcrest Capital analysts expect June inflation rate to print within the range of 10.90percent and 11.20percent.

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) at its meeting on April 4, 2018 left the monetary policy rate (MPR) unchanged at 14percent. The next MPC meeting is scheduled for July 23 and 24, 2018.

Nigeria’s external reserves stood at $47.62billion as at Friday July 13, 2018, representing a 0.36percent decrease from $47.79billion as at July 2, 2018.

Investors had appeared to be slightly risk-off bonds on the longer end of the curve, as demand slowed down causing yields on the longer dated securities to expand on the average.

In the trading week to July 13, 2018, increased demand for bonds on the shorter-end of the curve caused yields to decline.

For instance, the 16% FGN JUN 2019 bond and 15.54% FGN FEB 2020bonds dropped 10 basis points (bps) and 27bps to settle at 13.31percent and 13.52percent respectively.

A n c h o r i a A M R e s e a rc h analysts noted in their July 16 note that “the bond market

traded on a mixed note last week as bearish sentiments were witnessed on the short-end of the curve while the longer tenor bond saw some demand from domestic investors with the demand well pronounced in 2027 and 2036 bonds. The average yield in the bond market fell by 3basis points (bps) to close last week at 13.88percent.”

FBNQuest research analysts noted in their Monday July 16 note said the FGN bond market was fairly active, saying yields also dipped at the short end of the curve. “As for the Eurobond market, there were spike in yields for selected maturities

as well significant dip in yields for some maturities. There was no clear direction”, FBNQuest research analysts added.

A l s o, Z e d c r e s t C a p i t a l a na l y st s e x p e c t t h e b o n d market to trade cautiously “as participants expects the release of the third-quarter (Q3) bond auction calendar by the Debt Management Office (DMO) sometime this week as well as continued weakness in emerging markets’ fixed income and currencies as U.S. treasury yields edged higher (after growth in retail sales figures) supporting the Federal Reserve’s pace of interest rate increases.”

8.00

Goldman takes more risk in commodities as earnings recover

G

HEANYI NWACHUKWU

0.56

oldman Sachs Group Inc. reported slightly higher risk-taking in commodities and signaled a recovery for the business that last year suffered its worst performance since the bank went public in 1999.

Commodity performance increased significantly compared with the second quarterof2017,ChiefFinancialOfficerMarty Chavez told analysts on a conference call.

Overall, Goldman Sachs’ profit in the second quarter (Q2) rose 44 percent to $2.3 billion, or $5.98 per share, compared with $1.6 billion, or $3.95 per share, in the same quarter a year earlier. Total revenue rose 19 percent to $9.4 billion, including increases in everything except fees from advising on mergers and acquisitions.

Goldman’s commodities unit, for decades the envy of Wall Street, became emblematic of the bank’s trading struggles last year. This year, the recovery of the unit has contributed to a rebound in the overall earnings at the bank, which reported its highestfirst-halfreturnonequityinnineyears.

The bank’s average daily value at risk (VaR) in commodities -- a measure of how much it could lose on a normal trading day -- rose to $13 million in the second quarter. That’s up from $9 million in the first quarter, and the first quarterly increase in more than a year.

Still, it remains muted by the historical standards of Goldman’s commodities unit, which reported VaR of as much as $51 million in 2008, and even in recent years reported average VaR of around $15 million to $25 million.

While the commodities business was stronger than a year ago, it declined from the previous quarter because of weaker performance in natural gas, Chavez said.

Losses in natural gas and power had beenoneofthemajordriversofGoldman’s pooryearin2017,butthenhelpeddelivera strong first quarter thanks to cold snaps in the U.S. and Europe, Bloomberg reported in May. Goldman made more money in commodities in the first few months of this year than in all of 2017.

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Nigeria Outlook H2-18: Caught between two stools Global Economy: Is the party over?

E

ntering secondhalf (H2) of 2018, the harmonised global growth of last year is fizzling out amid t ra d e t e n s i o n s b e t w e e n the US, China and most of the advanced economies.

Economies of commodityexporting countries are poised to strengthen as demand and supply dynamics continue to favour gradual uptick in prices. However, policy normalization in the US is rattling financial markets with currencies of emerging and frontier economies taking the most hit.

According to the World Bank’s mid-year revised projections for 2018, 45percent of countries are expected to experience further acceleration compared to 56percent in 2017. Furthermore, growth in advanced economies is expected to moderate slightly to 2.2percent in 2018 (from 2.3percent in 2017), as fiscal stimulus in the United States offsets lags in other areas. Meanwhile, growth in commodityexporting emerging market and developing economies is expected to strengthen as commodity prices trend higher. As such, global growth is projected to remain flattish at 3.1percent in 2018 and moderate in the next two years to 2.9percent by 2020.

Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA): Slow growth amid rising challenges In H1-18, SSA growth was restrained by poor momentum in Nigeria and South Africa (as at Q1-18) despite higher commodity prices, sustained global growth and increased fiscal stimulus. During the period, major economies i n t h e re g i o n ( Ni g e r i a , South Africa, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Angola, and Senegal), all approached the Eurobond market, issuing a total of $15.2bn. However, foreign exchange conditions weakened against the US dollar as portfolio funds reversed on the back of rising U.S treasury yields. A major milestone for the region during H1-18 was the endorsement of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) by 44 of the 55 African Union member countries, to promote intraAfrican trade and accelerate regional integration. That said, economic outcomes were divergent across the region as output recovery in Nigeria moderated in Q1-18 owing to relapse in critical non-oil sectors. Also, despite clarity in the political climate, South Africa recorded a broad-based slowdown in Q1-18 as GDP growth eased to 0.8%y/y driven by an underwhelming performance in the manufacturing and mining sectors. In H2-18, the build-up to 2019 election in Nigeria, upticks in commodity

prices and weak policy implementation, are the key factors to watch. Nonetheless, the ratification of the AfCFTA by individual member countries portends a positive outlook for the region beyond 2018.

Nigeria: Caught between two stools Macro variables in the Nigerian economy moved in tandem with our expectations in H1-18. Q118 GDP sustained gradual recovery, up 1.95percent year-on-year (y/y). Headline inflation rate moderated to 11.6percent in May-18. FX rates were broadly stable across segments as external reserves surged, adding $9.0bn from Jan-18 to Jun-18, settling at $47.8bn. Furthermore, oil prices surprised positively, averaging $71/barrel relative to our projected $55-60/barrel for the year. Monetary policy stance was less hawkish, though policy rates were held unchanged throughout the period. However, fiscal policy remained aggressive as the

averaging 12.6percent for the year. We think events in the local and global economy do not favour a rate cut in the immediate term, hence, we expect the MPC to keep rates unchanged in H2-18.

FX rate should remain stable despite political risk, thanks to a robust external reserves position which is enough to cover c.12 months of import.

Also, mop-up exercise by the CBN should increase as fiscal and political spending rises.

Accordingly, the overall theme for the Nigerian economy in H2-18 hangs on a balance between uncertainties around global geopolitical/local preelection uncertainties and investor optimism about the gradual improvement in the macroeconomic space. As such, we note that the outlook for the Nigerian economy in H2-18 is “Caught between two stools”.

Naira Assets: A wobbly finish to a stylish start As against the stratospheric start to the year, Nigerian equities closed H1-18 flattish, up 0.1percent, as foreign

RSA fund price of PFAs as at July 13, 2018 S/N 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

PFAs CrusaderSterling Pensions Premium Pensions ARM Pension Mgrs.

Stanbic-IBTC Pensions Legacy PFA PAL Pensions NLPC PFA First Guarantee Pension Trustfund Pensions SigmaVaughn Pensions Leadway Pensure PFA AIICO Pension Managers APT Pensions Fidelity Pensions AXA Mansard Veritas Glanvlls Pensions OAK Pensions Investment One Pension Mgrs.

IEI Anchor Pension Managers Radix Pension NPF Pensions

second tranche of the $5billion Eurobond approved by the national assembly in 2017 was issued in Feb-18 while the Voluntary Asset and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) deadline was extended till Jun18. Unsurprisingly, the 2018 Budget was delayed till June.

Going into H2-18, we expect pre-election politics to take center stage. We anticipate a choppier sociopolitical outlook as the usual electioneering cycle plays out again. Nevertheless, recovery in the broader economy is expected to improve, thanks to conditions in the oil market which continue to support Nigeria’s external trade balance, government revenue, business, and investor optimism.

The downside risk to stronger growth include the clashes between Herders and Farmers, which dragged Agriculture sector GDP in Q118, as well as a potential oil output volatility. Accordingly, we have adjusted our FY18 GDP growth forecast t o 2 . 3 p e rc e nt. In f l at i o n rate is likely to creep back to 12.9perecnt by year-end

CURRENT PRICE 3.9864 3.9705 3.8994 3.7408 3.6349 3.4473 3.4430 3.2980 3.2830 3.1608 3.0733 3.0479 2.7911 2.7407 2.7040 2.6523 2.5712 2.4770 2.3381 2.0434 1.4687

portfolio investors took a flight to safety in Q2-18. The fixed income market witnessed a moderation in yields (down 69bps) compared to December 2017 as the CBN scaled down on OMO mop-up and the DMO opted for funding from the international debt market to average down cost of debt servicing and incentivize corporate issuers in the local market.

In H2-18, we highlight that geopolitical and pre-election uncertainties in the global and domestic economy may offset the anticipated improvement in the macroeconomic space. Thus, we revise our return estimates for the equities market to 4.6percent, predicated on improved corporate earnings and the implementation of new MultiFund Structure for PFAs by PENCOM. For fixed income securities, the CBN would likely become more aggressive with OMO sales to keep naira assets more attractive and maintain FX stability. Amplified by the play of political uncertainties and fears of rising US interest rates, we expect a slight uptick in the yield environment.

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Analysts stock recommendation for the week Afrinvest: ur equity watchlist for the month of July remains Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Dangote Cement Plc, Okomu Oil Palm Plc, Zenith Bank Plc and Nigerian Breweries Plc. Our track-to-date (TtD) shows that GTBank (+2.8percent), Nigerian Breweries Plc (+6.8percent), Dangote Cement (+1.8percent) and Okomu (+15percent) closed in the green while Zenith further fell to 5.9percent.

Cordros Capital: Cadbur y Niger ia Plc (Cadbury) –hold. The shares of Cadbur y Nigeria Plc dropped by 9.35percent last week to N11.15. Cadbury t ra d e s at a s ig n i f i ca nt forward PE above its 5-year historical average of 24.9x.

Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc (Dangsugar) – hold.

The shares of DANGSUGAR closed lower by 5.41percent to N17.50. DANGSUGAR trades at forward PE of 6.6x, lower than its 5-year historical average of 7.5x.

Flour Mills Of Nigeria Plc – under review. The shares of FLOURMILL dropped by 5.54percent to N29.

FLOURMILL trades at 2018 PE of 6.1x, below its 5-year average of 19x.

Guinness Nigeria Plc – sell. The shares of

O

GUINNESS closed higher by 0.52percent to N97.50.

GUINNESS trades at 2018 PE of 25.3x, below its 5-year average of 27.7x.

Nigerian Breweries Plc – hold. The shares of Nigerian Breweries fell by 0.99percent last week to N111. Nigerian Breweries trades at forward PE of 22.3x, below its 5-year average of 31.5x.

Nestle Niger ia Plc – sell. The shares of NESTLE closed lower by 1.80percent to N1,527. NESTLE trades at 12-month PE of 26.2x below its 5-year average of 43x.

PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc – sell. The shares of PZ closed flat at N19. PZ trades at 2018 PE of 36.6x, below its 5-year average of 40.0x.

Unilever Nigeria Plc – sell.

The shares of UNILEVER inched up by 0.68percent to N51.85. UNILEVER trades at forward PE of 27.3x, below its 5-year average of 57.1x .

Dangote Cement Plc – sell. The shares of DANGCEM rose by 0.89percent to N227.

DANGCEM trades at forward PE of 13.3x, below than its 5-year average of 15.8x.

L a f a rg e A f r i ca Pl c – under review. The shares of LAFARGE closed lower by 3.85percent at N37.50.

LAFARGE trades at forward PE of 13.7x above its 5-year

average of 11.8x.

Cement Company Of Northern Nigeria Plc (CCNN) – sell. The shares of CCNN rose by 3.37percent to N23. CCNN trades at forward PE of 7.9x, above its 5-year average of 7.1x.

Access Bank Plc – under re v i e w . T h e s h a re s o f ACCESS closed lower by 1.92percent last week to N10.20. ACCESS trades at forward PE of 3.1x, above its 5-year average of 2.9x.

FBN Holdings Plc – under review. The shares of FBNH d i p p e d by 0 . 9 5 p e rcent last week to N10.40. FBN Holdings Plc trades at forward PE of 10.8x, above its 5-year historical average of 6.3x.

Guaranty Trust Bank Plc – under review. The shares of GUARANTY were higher last week by 3.73percent to N41.50. GUARANTY trades at forward PE of 6.9x, above its 5-year average of 6.2x.

United Bank for Africa Plc – under review. The shares of UBA dipped further by 3.38percent at N10.35. UBA trades at forward PE of 4.0x, above its 5-year average of 3.2x.

Zenith Bank Plc – under review. The shares of ZENITH closed lower by 1.23percent to N24. ZENITH trades at forward PE of 4.7x, below its 5-year average of 5.0x.

London Stock Exchange ‘ELITE’ surpasses 900 as eight Mexican companies join

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LITE, London Stock E xchange Group’s international business support and capital raising programme, has welcomed eight new Mexican companies bringing total number of ELITE businesses to over 900 from across 33 countries, with 225 companies joining in 2018 to date.

Lu ca Pe y ra n o, C E O, ELITE welcomed the CEOs of the eight new ELITE Mex ican companies to London Stock Exchange last week.

The eight Mexican c o m p a n i e s c o m e f ro m across the countr y and represent a diverse range of sectors from Aviation to

Health and Technology.

The companies and their respe ctive s e ctors are: Aerolineas Ejecutivas (Travel & Leisure); Embellé (Personal Goods); Grupo Manzano (Automobiles & Parts); Industrial Corona (Industrial Materials); KIO Networks Mexico (Software & Computer S er vices); Marzam (Health Care Equipment & Services); MX Desarollos (Real Estate Investment & Services); and Oxal (Industrial Materials).

The new Mexican companies bring the total number of businesses in the ELITE community to 915, from across 33 countries and 34 sectors. Together they are generating around

€67 billion in combined revenues and employ over 4 0 0 , 0 0 0 p e o p l e a c ro s s Europe and internationally.

“I can’t stress strongly enough the enormous potential for bridge-building between our financial ser vice ecosystems. As Mexico’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom I am committed to contributing to bringing London´s financial services closer to Mexican companies looking for capital and working toward enhancing their international footprint. The launch of ELITE in Mexico is a fundamental step in that direction,” said Julián Ventura Valero, Mexico’s Ambassador to the UK.

Thursday 19 July 2018

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Market review

Muted OTC activities shrink NASD trading income IHEANYI NWACHUKWU

S

ubdued trading activities by respective Participating Institutions (PIs) reflected on the fees and commission income recorded by NASD Plc the promoters of Nigeria’s OverThe-Counter (OTC) platform for unlisted securities.

Specifically, fees and commission income decreased to N50.39million in 2017 from N66.84million in 2016. Trading commissions declined remarkably in 2017 by 28.26percent. NASD earned N23.1million as trading commissions in the year under review in comparison with N32.2million in the preceding year.

“It is anticipated that reawakening of economic activities which is expected to be sustained in 2018 will buoy market activities as this will increase the performance of many businesses in the OTC market space and re-ignite investor interest,” Olutola Mobolurin, chairman, board of directors, NASD Plc to members at its 5th annual general meeting in Lagos.

With increased awareness of the OTC market and the

Board members of NASD plc at its 5th annual general meeting in Lagos recently.

support of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to provide the regulatory framework required to grow the fledging OTC space, he expects that these results will no distant time yield the much awaited results.

Despite that the volume of shares traded increased by 20percent, the number of trades executed on the NASD OTC market decreased by 42.68percent over the preceding year.

The audited financial statement for the year ended December 31, 2017 presented to members of the NASD show the value of transactions executed on the market was N4.36billion.

The Board has considered the use of an alternative trading platform which would align costs with the current slow pace of the development of the market.

NASD direct trading expense in the year under review was N63million against N82.4million in the preceding year, representing a decrease of 23.5percent.

“This is as a result of renegotiation of the lease payment to Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) for the use of its trading platform and the conscious effort to reduce cost generally. The lease payment to the NSE in 2016 for the use of its trading platform was the highest

trading singular expenditure item for the company.

The OTC market also experienced reduction in Participating Institutions (PIs) activities which resulted in registration fees of N24.5million in 2017 against N34million in 2016.

“High yield gilt edged securities presented a more rewarding and less risky alternative to investors who otherwise would have considered investing in NASD OTC stocks.

Underlying companies for most of the stocks admitted to trade on NASD were also under profit pressure due to weak consumer spending amid rising operational

costs,” said Bola Ajomale, managing director/CEO, NASD Plc. “We look for ward to broadening local retail interest in the OTC market and have embarked on a series of public enlightenment workshops that provide guidance for investors and entrepreneurs”, Ajomale said.

“We therefore witnessed a decline in the volume and value of trade in 2017 in continuation of the trend that started in 2016”, he noted adding that in 2018 they expect among others full operation of the NASD Enterprise Portal (NASDeP) which “we believe will

significantly deepen the reach and contribution of the capital market to the nation’s growth”.

At the year-end 2017, NASD had executed 2,784 deals worth N4.36billion.

This was below activity in each of the preceding twoyears -2016 (N4.67billion) in 4,856 deals, and 2015 (N50.92billion in 2,151 deals.

The NASD provides an opportunity for investors in unlisted securities to trade their holdings transparently in a formal and orderly manner. The NASD OTC Securities Exchange in 2017 enabled trade through a lease of the NASDAQ OMX platform from the Nigerian Stock Exchange. On the NASD trading platform, all unlisted publicly held securities registered with the SEC are eligible to trade.

Dematerialisation into the market continued in 2017 as investors anticipate a more conducive trading environment. As at end of 2017, the market was at the 37.4p ercent dematerialisation level with 40.65billion shares dematerialised into the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) up 151.24percent from 2016 closing dematerialisation level of 16.18billion shares.

Money market funds push collective investment schemes’ value to over N600bn

T

he net asset value of Collective Investment Schemes (CIS) under the re gu l at o r y wat c h o f t h e Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) surpassed N600billion mark in the first-half (H1) of 2018 as fund managers introduced more money market funds.

The SEC-regulated collective investment schemes are: equity based funds, money market funds, bond funds, fixed income funds, real estate funds, mixed funds, ethical funds and exchange traded funds ( E T Fs ) . A s i d e t h e E T Fs, others are also called mutual funds.

Th e Inv e s t m e nt s a n d Securities Act (ISA) defines Collective Investment S c h e m e a s a s ch e m e i n whatever form, including an open-ended investment company, in pursuance of which members of the public are invited or permitted to invest money or other assets in a portfolio. In this case two or more investors contribute money or other assets to and hold a participator y interest; the investors share

the risk and benefit of investment in proportion to their participatory interest in a portfolio of a scheme or on any other basis determined in the deed.

From record low of N304.4billion as at June 30, 2017, the value of Nigeria’s collective investment schemes reached new high of N615.13billion as at June 29, 2018, according to the apex regulatory data on net asset value for collective investment schemes.

The mutual funds’ net asset value increased from N298.7billion as at June 30, 2017 to N607.73billion on June 29, 2018 while the E xc ha ng e T ra d e d Fu n d s net asset value increased from N5.6billion to N7.39billion.

Details show that while the net asset value (NAV) of equity-based funds increased from N13.09billion to N14.49billion in one year, the net asset value of money ma rke t f u n d s i n c re a s e d from N177.33billion to N454.83billion in same period.

An equity fund is a mutual fund that invests principally

in stocks. It can be actively or passively (index fund) managed. A money market fund is an openended mutual fund that invests in short-term debt securities such as Nigerian Treasury Bills (T-Bills) and Commercial Papers (CPs).

Coronation Money Market Fund, Zenith Money Market Fund, and Afrinvest Plutus Fund joined others Money Market Funds such as Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund, FBN Money Market

Fund, United Capital Money Market Fund, AIICO Money Market Fund, ARM Money Ma rk e t Fu n d , Me r i s t e m Money Market Fund, AXA Ma n s a rd Mo n e y Ma rke t Fund, Greenwich Plus Money Market Fund, Cordros Money Market Fund, PACAM Money Market Fund, Chapel Hill Denham Money Market Fund, Abacus Money Market Fund, EDC Money Market Fund Class A, EDC Money Market Fund Class B, and Kedari Investment Fund

(KIF).

The value of regulated bond funds which invests in bonds or other debt securities increased slightly from N7.97billion to N10.69billion; while fixed income funds assets value increased from N24.22billion a s a t Ju n e 3 0 , 2 0 1 7 t o N47.14billion as at June 29, 2018.

Fixed income funds are open-ended collective investment schemes which invest strictly in fixed income instruments and contracts such as sovereign and subsovereign bonds as well as sukuk.

In the one year period, Lead Fixed Income Fund and Coronation Fixed Income Fund joined other Fixed Income Funds such as Coral I n c o m e F u n d , Va n t a g e Guaranteed Income Fund, Zenith Income Fund, Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund, SFS Fixed Income Fund, Legacy Short Maturity Fund, Stanbic IBTC Absolute Fund (Sub Fund), Stanbic IBTC Conser vative Fund (Sub Fund), PACAM Fixed Income Fund, Lotus Capital

Fixed Income Fund, Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund, ACAP Income Fund, and EDC Fixed Income Fund.

The asset value of real estate fund increased to N47.2billion as at June 29, 2018 from N46.25billion as at June 30, 2017. Real estate fund is a type of mutual fund that primarily focuses on investing in securities offered by public real estate companies; this type of fund can invest in properties directly or indirectly through Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs).

While the net asset value of mixed (balanced) funds grew from N24.6billion on June 30, 2017 to N27.69billion as at June 29, 2018; that of ethical funds increased marginally from N5.23billion to N5.66billion in the same one year period. Mixed fund diversifies investment in both debt instruments and equity instruments to lower the risk factor. Ethical fund is suitable for Islamic investors who want long-term capital growth by investing strictly according to the principles of Islamic finance.

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Why Instagram user engagement is 10x higher than Facebook in Nigeria FRANK ELEANYA

D

espite having the most diversified audience, user engagement on Facebook fall short by ten times that of its sister company Instagram, according to Terragon’s latest report.

The Digital Indicators for Nigeria report released on Thursday, 12 July, also found that Instagram outpaces Twitter with 84 percent user engagement.

Facebook retains the most active user spot with 22 million, YouTube follows with over 7 million, Twitter is third with 6 million while Instagram boast of 5.7 million active users.

Instagram which debuted in 2010 has become

ever y social marketer’s number one strategy due to its growing popularity among young people that make up the majority of its audience. With one billion users recorded in June, the number of advertisers on

Instagram has more than doubled to over a million.

User attraction to Instagram is a result of factors that include its exclusive mobile functionality. Users can easily edit images they take on the move to post on

the platform. Its few posting options are also major attractions, making it appear very simple to use.

Instagram has done a fine job of attracting younger audiences, with the majority of its users under the

age of 30, and has an energy that older social media brands have lost over the years. 69 percent of users on Instagram are between the ages of 18 and 34 compared to 42 percent for Facebook and 68 percent for YouTube according to data from Napoleancat.com.

Instagram also has the most gender diverse audience of the four social media platforms studied

by Terragon. Gender proportion on Instagram is 60 percent for male and 40 percent for female, whereas Facebook has 64 percent for male and 36 percent for female. Twitter has 68 percent for male and 32 percent for female, while YouTube has 69 percent for male and 31 percent for female.

As part of strategies to capture more share in the growing mobile video au-

AFF Hackathon to tackle challenges Farmcrowdy wins digital business of the year award professionals in the continent ahead of us as we continually CALEB OJEWALE in FMCG, financial services of Africa. strive to remain at the foreFRANK ELEANYA

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he second edition of the Africa Fintech Foundry (AFF) Hackathon will among other things, address challenges in the fastmoving consumer goods (FMCG), agriculture and financial services sectors in Nigeria.

The Hackathon, which will hold in July 2018, plans to bring together multiple teams of talented developers, designers, problemsolvers, unconventional thinkers, and coders to provide solutions addressing the many problems faced in the sectors.

To achieve that, the teams will be expected to utilise big data analytics, identity management and behavioural analysis to identify customers’ needs, providing investment advice and lending services. They will also focus on improving credit scoring and financing opportunities for small and medium scale enterprises.

“AFF remains fully committed to being at the forefront of the fintech space in Nigeria,” Adeleke Adekoya, business and digital solutions architect for AFF said in a statement. “We have received enormous support

from our partners and with the technology available for participants to explore and leverage, we strongly believe the prototypes from the Hackathon will be of the highest standard.”

This year’s edition is supported by companies like Unilever, Dell, AFEX, Trium Networks, Microsoft, IBM, SaS, and Terragon.

“The coming of the digital age and its consequent disruptive influences is driving traditional financial services providers to either adapt or become obsolete,” Ade Bajomo, executive director, Access Bank Plc, said. The bank is one of partners of the Hackathon.

“Only operators that understand the new demands of the market leverage the emerging technologies, agile business practices, personalised customer preferences and work in partnership with fintechs can continually adjust to market realities and deliver products that can satisfy the ever-growing needs of customers.”

Participants at the Hackathon will demonstrate the prototypes of their creations before a panel of judges on the final day of the event.

The judges will then select the winners and runners up.

The winners could go home with N5 million in gift items.

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armcrowdy, described as Nigeria’s first and leading digital agriculture platform has won the Digital Business of the Year award in Africa for 2018. The award was announced over the weekend at the annual Global African Business Awards (GABA) ceremony which was held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Launched in 2017, GABA, the world’s premier annual business award was created to celebrate, honour and generate public recognition of the achievements and positive contributions of organizations and working

Other nominees of the Digital Business of the Year award included e-commerce platforms - Konga, Jumia, Zando, Dressmeoutlet, Mall for Africa and Dealdey; WeFarm, which has described as the world’s largest farmerto-farmer digital network; Interswitch payment gateway; and Delvv.io, South Africa’s branding and refinement partners.

Onyeka Akumah, Founder and CEO of Farmcrowdy, speaking on the award in a press statement, said “we are honoured to have our hard work aimed at impacting on the lives of rural farmers recognised. We are delighted about the great opportunities

front of technological innovation in Agriculture across Nigeria and eventually the continent of Africa.”

With a team of 35, Farmcrowdy says it has, in the last 20 months, empowered over 7,000 direct and indirect rural farmers and given thousands of farm sponsors a platform to participate in Agriculture, from their computers or mobile phones in order to make profit at harvest. This impact has seen the platform plant Maize, Rice and Cassava on over 8,000 Acres of farmland in less than 2 years and raised close to 600,000 chickens to boost food production in the country.

The company also says

Jimoh Maiyegun, Farmcrowdy’s Chief Technology Officer at the Global African Business Awards ceremony in Addis Ababa, recently.

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

diences, Instagram in June 2018 launche d “IGT V ” a platform for watching long-form, vertical videos that can go on for 60 minutes. The platform also unveiled video chat which allows users call up to four people using Direct Messaging.

“With the Feed, Stories, Messaging, Live, IGTV and now Video Calling, Instagram is positioning itself as a one-stop hub for everyone to build strong, video based presence,” the Terragon report stated.

The report also noted that 65 percent of internet users in Nigeria watch online videos while 52 percent look for videos related to a product or services before entering a store. 92 percent of the mobile video consumers share what they are watching with other people.

it has raised $1.4 million in seed funding from local and international investors including Cox Enterprises, Social Capital, Techstars Ventures and most recently, won a grant from the GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator Innovator Fund.

So far, the funds have given the leading startup the potency to scale its operations to 10 states in Nigeria with plans for more expansion across more states and regions.

Farmcrowdy is an agrictech platform that gives Nigerians the opportunity to venture in and participate in agriculture by selecting the kind of farms they want to sponsor. Farmcrowdy uses the sponsor’s funds to secure the land, engage the farmer, plant the seeds, insure the farmers and farm produce, complete the full farming cycle, sell the harvest and then pay the farm sponsor a return on their sponsorship.

While this farm process is ongoing, the farm sponsors are able to keep track of the full-cycle by getting updates in text, pictures and videos.

Farmcrowdy was adjudged “Agro-Innovator of the Year 2016/2017” by the Nigerian Agriculture Awards as well as listed as one of the top innovative companies and institutions in Nigeria; cementing their place as game-changers within the agricultural sector.

Thursday 19 July 2018

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Ways to overcome phobia for flying Stories by IFEOMA OKEKE

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lying as people wrongly think is not just for the rich or for luxury but has become essential for businesses, leisure, education and many other developmental purposes.

Some destinations are almost impossible to access using the road as a means of transportation, thus, flying becomes inevitable.

On the other hand, there are several other reasons why people just have to fly. Some of them include the only means to save time, affords great room for productivity and relaxation, limits risk associated with other means of transportation and makes movement of goods and services easier and faster, amongst others.

There is therefore a need to address inhibiting factors limiting the movement of people from one place to another by air and one of such is the phobia for flying.

As is the case with any treatment, not every solution presented will be a cure-all; what may work for one could do nothing for another. However, the following suggestions could help in reducing phobia for flying.

See a therapist Cognitive Behavioral Therapy can be used outside of a flight-specific clinic as well. “If you change your thoughts, you can change your response and behavior,” says Lisa Jackson, the editor of Eat Drink Travel, who has also dealt with flying

anxiety. Addressing general anxiety can reduce the intensity during triggering moments, like being on a plane. Exposure therapy has been known to work as well.

Aisle, middle, or window?

Figure out which seat makes you feel the most comfortable. Window seats create a sense of place by being able to reference the ground, while aisle seats allow for blissful ignorance.

Middle seats give you two armrests to grip.

Visit the cockpit Most pilots are “happy to have people come up to say hi and look around,” says Kevin Kelly, a senior captain with a major U.S. airline, adding a caveat that this is not the case when the plane is in the air. If you’re one of the first to board, ask a flight attendant if you can take a peek at the cockpit. Meeting the people flying cre-

ates trust, as does seeing a functional control panel.

Medicate Anxiety medications work effectively as sedatives, so all the noise and movement doesn’t register as something to get worked up about.

Make sure to see a doctor for a prescription before your flight. Others recommend a glass (or two) of wine as an alternative, but the two should not be mixed.

Use logic Phobias are irrational, so for some, logic is a good antidote. “I read every statistic I can get my hands on about flying. I read pilots’ stories that validated my trust in the airline industry,” says Pilgrim Magazine’s Ashley Halligan, a travel writer who suffered from flight anxiety for more than seven years. “It’s important to interrupt yourself. It’s easy to allow

our fears to control us. Statistics and facts help, particularly from airline professionals.”

Take a flying lesson Whether in a real plane or a simulator, getting your hands onto a plane’s yoke will give you a sense of control. Lack of control (and not being able to see the navigational tools, the way you can in a car or bus), is a major contributor to flying anxiety.

Think about the destination, not the journey “Focus on the positive reasons for taking your flight,” says Robert Bor, a renowned clinical psychologist. “Perhaps you’re going on holiday, visiting family or friends or just doing your job well. These all give you a purpose for taking your flight and added motivation to overcome your fear and move forward with your life.”

Challeng e your ne gativ e thoughts Turbulence arises because of air currents, that’s all. People might be alarmed by the sensation and worry about the structural integrity of the aircraft, but technically speaking it’s a non-issue.

“However, turbulence is a ‘trigger event’; it switches on people’s anxiety.

It’s uncomfortable, but fearful passengers translate that into danger – and there’s a big difference between discomfort and danger. You might spill your hot coffee, but the plane isn’t going to fall apart. It’s important to identify such negative thoughts while flying and question them,” Bor added.

Learn relaxation and distraction techniques

“When you start having negative feelings during a flight, redirect this energy,” advises Bor. “Focus on the external environment: for example, strike up a conversation with a fellow passenger or watch the crew as they go about their duties. Do something which will distract you from the negative thoughts, such as listening to your iPod, reading a book or watching a film.

“If you start to feel unsettled, sit back, fix your line of sight on the seat back ahead or something in the distance and breathe deeply in through your nose for five seconds and slowly out of your mouth for five seconds.

Your heart rate will decrease almost immediately and within a minute or two, you will start to relax.”

Talk to the cabin crew The simplest way to make sure that loud whirring sound is perfectly normal is to check that the cabin crew are still serving teas. “Cabin crew are trained to support fearful flyers and very willing to help,” says Bor. “When you board the plane, tell one of the crew you are anxious about flying. Outing yourself is very positive, because otherwise you become ashamed of it – suffering in silence makes it worse. Tell them how they can help: by dropping by to reassure you the flight is proceeding normally, by explaining unfamiliar noises, or by reminding you to use relaxation or distraction techniques. If you’re travelling with someone who knows you are anxious flyer, tell them how you plan to manage your fear and ask them to help.”

Dana Air wins ‘Best Customer Friendly Domestic Airline’ award Experts to discuss aviation issues at LAAC seminar, awards today …pledges support for winner of integrity award

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ne of Nigeria’s leading airlines, Dana Air has emerged the Best Customer Friendly Domestic airline 2018 at a summit and award ceremony organized by the Association of Foreign Airlines and Representatives in Nigeria (AFARN) in Lagos recently.

Dana Air also pledged to support one of the recipients of the Integrity award who appealed for support at the event, as part of the airline’s strong commitment towards the well-being of Nigerians and encouraging honesty, and integrity among not just aviation workers but Nigerians in general.

Kingsley Ezenwa, Dana Air’s media and communications manager, while receiving the award on behalf of the airline said, “every frequent flyer in Nigeria knows that Dana Air is the best in terms of on-time departures, customer service and in-flight service, but I want to seize this opportunity to correct a wrong perception. Dana Air is owned by a Nigerian, born in Jos and had his primary and secondary education in Ibadan before proceeding to the UK for his higher education.’’

Speaking further to newsmen, Ezenwa said, “with a customer service department that works 24/7 and multiplicity of booking options available to our guests, capped with a

reward program that guarantees both flight-related and non-flight related benefits and rewards, we sure deserve the award. ‘’And on behalf of the Management of Dana Air and our evercommitted and professional staff, we wish to thank AFARN for this award.

We dedicate the award to our loyal guests who continue to fly the smartest way despite the recent efforts of some enemies of consistency and exceptional service.’’

On the airline’s support to one of the winners of the integrity award, Josephine Agwu, who appealed for support to travel to the east for an important family function, Ezenwa said, “Dana Air will fly her to and fro her destination. She is a shining light and a perfect example

that Nigeria is working. Dana Air is committed to the well-being of Nigerians and we will continue to do our best to encourage integrity and honesty among aviation workers and Nigerians in general.’’

The Afarn summit with the theme: Promoting the Nigerian Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Through Safety Consciousness in the Aviation Industry, provided an enriching platform for industry stakeholders to discuss the impact and role of aviation in the nation’s economy.

Dana Air operates over 27 daily flights from Lagos to Abuja, Port Harcourt, Uyo, and Owerri. The airline is reputed for its unrivaled on-time departures and arrivals, innovative online products and services and world-class in-flight service.

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ll is set for the earlier announced 22nd Annual Seminar & Awards of the League of Airport and Aviation Correspondents (LAAC) scheduled to hold today Thursday, July 19, 2018 at Sheraton Hotels and Suites, Lagos.

Hadi Sirika, the Minister of State for Aviation, would be the Special Guest of Honour at the event while Chief Executive Officers of aviation agencies in the country as well as private service providers would also grace the occasion.

Experts that would be speaking at the event include Nick Fadugba, former Secretary General of African Airlines Association, who will be speaking on Partnerships as Key to Survival of Local Airlines.

Harold Demuren; Former Director General of Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), ‘MRO Financing Options For Nigeria’ while Babatunde Irukera, Director-General of Consumer Protection Council (CPC) would speak on ‘A Passenger Perspective On Boosting Confidence And Increasing Traffic In Aviation.’

Also, Ayo Obilana, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Certified Security would also deliver a paper on ‘Funding

Perspectives Of Airport Security In Nigeria.’

Theme of the seminar is: ‘Financing Aviation Development through Private Sector Partnership’ while the event would be chaired by Allen Onyema, Chairman of Air Peace.

The 22nd Annual Seminar and Awards 2018 is expected to be attended by over 200 aviation industry professionals cutting across the aviation agencies, security agencies, international and domestic airlines operating in Nigeria, aviation support services, travel trade sellers and buyers and captains of the aviation industry in Nigeria.

Seven stakeholders made up of individuals and corporate organisations who have distinguished themselves in the industry would be honoured with various awards.

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BUSINESS DAY

Luxury

Malls

Companies

Deals

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Thursday 19 July 2018

Spending Trends

Price check: Where to shop for low-priced groceries

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onsumers are proactively searching for savings due to the state of the economy which constantly puts severe pressures on their stagnant incomes.

Consumers have become more cons cious, concerned, and conservative.

To point to consumers where they could purchase groceries at the cheapest price, BusinessDay monitored the prices of food and beverages in four grocery stores in Lagos State, a month ago. To achieve fairness in comparison, similar product sizes were tracked.

The four stores surveyed are- Shoprite, Grocery Bazaar, Prince Ebeano supermarket, and SPAR. Out of these stores, Grocery Bazaar offered consumers the cheapest prices on more items surveyed than other grocery stores.

Two weeks later, BusinessDay tracked the prices of toiletries from three stores- Shoprite, SPAR and Grocery Bazaar. The story

action toothpaste for less than Shoprite and SPAR. SPAR sells Omo multi A wash for N80 cheaper than Grocery Bazaar. Shoprite Ariel detergent price is lower than that of Spar and Grocery Bazaar.

A 1kg pack of So Klin detergent on Tuesday at SPAR was N795, N819.99 at Shoprite and N750 at Grocery Bazaar.

Within the same period, 140g of Colgate herbal toothpaste at Shoprite sold for N369.99, N370 at SPAR and N400 at Grocery Bazaar.

900g of Zip detergent was retailed for N589.99 at Shoprite, N560 at SPAR and N530 at Grocery Bazaar.

Also, 175g of Premier soap was sold for N179.99 at Shoprite, N175 at SPAR, N190 at Grocery Bazaar.

Likewise, a 75g Tetmosol sold for N199.99 at Shoprite, N200 at SPAR, and N170 at Grocery Bazaar.

Out of all the items surveyed this week, Grocery Bazaar prices were the cheapest followed by SPAR and Shoprite.

was the same as Grocery Bazaar prices on toiletries were cheaper than prices in Shoprite and SPAR. This week, BusinessDay stayed with the same products to see if there were fluctuations, but the prices remained flat.

From the table, the price of 400g of Peak milk at Shoprite was N1,299.99 as against N1,230 sold at SPAR, and N1,200 Grocery Bazaar on that same day.

Also a 500g tin of Quaker oat within the same period at Shoprite was N849.99, N910 at SPAR, and N700 at Grocery Bazaar.

Likewise, 415g of Heinz beans went for N399.99 at Shoprite, N410 at SPAR, and N355 at Grocery Bazaar.

A tin of 125g of Titus sardine stood at N239.99 at Shoprite, N240 at SPAR, and N240 at Grocery Bazaar.

Similarly, a tin of 500g of Bournvita was sold for N1,299.99 at Shoprite, N 1,115 at SPAR, and N1,150 at Grocery Bazaar.

Grocery Bazaar sells 75ml of Sensodyne rapid

Global retail update Widespread impacts in America he consequences keep rolling for Papa John’s following the founder John Schnatter’s use of a racist slur. The company’s top executives have decided to eliminate Schnatter’s image from its pizza boxes. At the same time, the University of Louisville has removed the company’s name from its stadium. Meanwhile, CEO Steve Ritchie is planning a company-wide audit of its diversity policies.

It’s war Amazon’s Prime Day isn’t just about Amazon anymore, as retail rivals such as eBay, Target and Macy’s jump on board with hot deals to lure customers. Online retailers are already seeing benefits with hits on search engines rising significantly.

Grizzly customers An intercontinental ‘pay your age’ event for Build-ABear ended on a sour note when crowds far exceeded expectations and customers fought to get their hands on limited bears and crafting supplies. In some instances, police were called after stores closed early to manage the angry patrons.

Fashion reveal in Europe John Lewis has unveiled its most significant investment in fashion with the launch of a new clothing range consisting of 300 designs, created by an in-house team. The department store

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is aiming to cultivate a GBP 500 million own-brand fashion business.

Holy cow Te s c o i s o f f e r i n g a 12-month contract to 1600 UK Aberdeen Angus beef farmers as part of its relaunch of the Sustainable Farming Group for Beef. The herds will be raised domestically and will be a part of the supermarket giant’s ‘finest’ range.

Poaching personnel Wilko has hired Craig McGregor, former retail director of Topshop and Specsavers, to take on the same role at the high-street chain. Meanwhile, Halfords has filled their vacancy for a chief financial officer by poaching Waitrose’s financial director Loraine Woodhouse.

New king in Asia, Australasia Alibaba’s Jack Ma has been ousted as Asia’s wealthiest person as Mukesh Ambani of Reliance Industries takes the top spot. It’s a close race with Ambani estimated to be worth USD 44.3 billion, while Ma’s wealth stands at USD 44 billion.

Joint venture Alibaba is working with hotel chain Marriott to trial facial recognition as part of the check-in process in two Chinese hotels. The technology would help guests jump queues and cut check-in times by a third.

Adopting changes Following the backlash of last month’s ‘bag ban’, shoppers at Australian supermar-

kets Woolworths and Coles who bring reusable bags will be rewarded with extra points on the local loyalty programme Flybuys.

Phenomenal failure in America Amazon’s much anticipated Prime Day started with some glitches, when their website and app suffered technical hiccups and failed to load. Meanwhile, the online titan’s German workers are on strike, joining their Polish and Spanish peers to protest against poor working conditions Solid growth US retail sales rose steadily in June, boosted by an

increase in purchases of motor vehicles, building materials and food services.

Economists suggest the positive growth sets the market in good stead for a robust second quarter.

Bouncing back Gymboree is coming back strong with a brand reboot, after filing for bankruptcy last year. The children’s clothing retailer is hoping its makeover will turn its fortunes around and is boasting a new store concept, a refreshed website and an app with augmented reality features.

Axe falls in Europe 351 managerial jobs at

beleaguered retailer Marks and Spencer are on the chopping block as the high street chain continues to restructure and streamline the business. CEO Steve Rowe expects further redundancies as part of the plans to cut costs by GBP 350 million over the next three years.

Probing partnerships Following the recent spate of alliances between supermarket retailers, France’s anti-trust authority will investigate whether the collaborations jeopardise competition rules and how they are likely to impact on suppliers and consumers.

Suspension lifted

Nestlé has been welcomed back into the fold by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, and had its membership reinstated, following its belated submission of an action plan committing to environmentally sound practices regarding the oil.

Keeping it fresh Tesco tech expert Paul Wilkinson has switched positions as he takes on a new role as head of product for space, range and display within the supermarket’s commercial sector. Meanwhile, competitor grocer Sainsbury’s has announced a trial partnership with WHSmith, which will see the former’s food-to-go ranges stocked at the latter.

Cash injection in Asia Alibaba-owned food delivery platform Ele.me is pursuing new funding of USD 2 billion from investors to gain an upper hand in the bitter battle for market domination against competitor Meituan Dianping. Ele.me is valued at USD 9.5 billion.

Virtual money Many Hong Kong retailers are preparing to take bitcoin payments, using a point-ofsale device from Indonesian start-up Pundi X. The broadening use of cryptocurrency for retail payments runs contradictory to the stance of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority who maintains that bitcoin is not an adequate method of payment.

Compiled by Chinwe Agbeze

Thursday 19 July 2018

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West Africa HVAC Expo 2018: LG demos latest ACs

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he West Africa HVAC expo is an event companies in the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning sectors look forward to showcase their latest products and make sales.

This year’s event which kicked off on Tuesday July 10, 2018 and wind down three days later brought industry players, buyers and participants under one roof at the Landmark centre in Victoria Island, Lagos State.

From big players like LG Electronics to smaller players, many companies displayed new products.

LG Electronics boot had more guests and those that visited said they were attracted to the brand’s innovative products. Products displayed by the giant brand include; Multi V 5 air-conditioning system, Smart inverter floor standing and All New Gencool air conditioner.

Cholyong Park, general manager, Air Solutions

L-R: Omotayo Somefun, assistant manager, Air Solution division LG Electronics; Paul Mba, marketing manager, LG Electronics West Africa operations; Adesumbo Kadiri-Adewale, assistant manager Air Solution LG Electronics; and Vijay Bakshi, technical manager, Air Solution LG Electronics; during the exhibition of LG Electronics products at HVAC 2018 Expo in Lagos recently.

Division, LG Electronics West Africa Operations, expressed satisfaction with the company’s performance at the exhibition.

“We are proud to be part of this exhibition, and as it was clearly observed, LG

Electronics displayed its array of unbeatable innovative products which has stood it out among other brands,’’ said Park. ‘‘Conceptualization of this whole idea is laudable one and most commended,” he said.

According to participants at the expo, the major attraction at the exhibition stand is LG’s Multi V 5 which is the fifth generation of Multi V designed to endure any ultimate environment.

The company said the air

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igs are already a trend among ladies but with the economy in the tanks, smart ladies are increasingly turning to wigs to cut cost. The tedium of going to the hair salon and the hassles of making the hair every week is enough deterrent. Since a woman’s hair is her crowning glory, many can’t afford not to look good.

Wigs can hide a thinning hair and restore confidence, it protects the health of your hair and also your budget since you won’t need as many salon appointments, wearing a wig in general is a fun way to spruce up your style and also add an element of Hollywood glamour, projecting a dramatic, “larger than life” effect.

“I wear wigs because it is cost effective. It saves me time, money and stress in going to the salon twice in a month. My scalp itches a lot whenever I weave my hair but with the wigs it does not,” Deborah Bende, a media personality told BusinessDay. A wig is a head covering made from human or animal hair, or synthetic fiber. With wigs you are able to maintain the style of the hair for a long time.

The growing demand for

wigs is making the business lucrative as a lot of people are going into the art of making wigs, especially among hair stylists who spend more time in making the wigs than weaving the hair on their customers.

Choice Goodwin, a salesgirl at Wholesalenaija, retail store dealing in wigs, said, “The sale of wigs has being booming for like two years now. Mostly ladies come here to buy the weaves so that they can make a wig out of it. Ladies love it especially in this hot season. It is versatile, save cost and time of going to the salon, and it is convenient.”

According to estimates, Africa’s dry hair market — that is, the market for weaves, wigs and hair extensions — is currently worth over $6 bil-

lion a year and growing quite rapidly.

Even though wearing wigs is fast becoming a tread.

Some ladies still prefer weaving their hair An anonymous lady said that she prefers making her hair than wearing wig because it leads to hair breakage, hair damage, loss etc.

But a hairstylist ,Christy salon, Ogba said that wigs worn without wig caps breaks the line of hair and it is better you protect the scalp with the caps before wearing the wig Wig caps act as protective barrier to a sensitive scalp and keeps your wig comfortable and secure during everyday use. They can be beneficial and detrimental to hair. There are different types of wig caps depending

nization UL (Underwriters Laboratories.’’

He also said that the Multi V 5 has large capacity outdoor unit with Biomimetic technology –based fans of MULTI V 5 which increases air flow rate, and reduces power consumption. ‘‘Along with other improvements in core parts, MULTI V 5 single outdoor unit can provide large capacity up to 26HP. The large capacity outdoor units of MULTI V 5 allow flexible use of floor space by minimizing installation area and significantly decreasing total installed weights,’’ he added.

The 2018 West Africa HVAC expo has come and gone, but it’s one that won’t be forgotten in a hurry for both exhibitors and visitors. LG Electronics used the occasion to prove to all that they are steps ahead of others in the industry, and consumers are confident that with LG life can only better.

9 things you need in your bag this raining season

With Nigeria’s economy in despair, wigs help ladies economise BUNMI BAILEY

conditioner has an ocean black fin heat exchanger that is a leading example of the new technologies which have been devised to tackle these problems head on. ‘‘It is designed for enhance corrosion resistance and long lasting performance, LG’s exclusive “Ocean Black Fin” heat exchanger brings durability and long lasting performance even in environments that are packed with corrosive elements,’’ said Park.

Continuing, he said, ‘‘it is designed from the ground up to offer durability with conventional models that operates a 3-sided heat exchanger alongside an impressive 4-sided heat exchanger. ‘‘LG’s corrosion resistance technologies allowed the Multi V 5 to pass the ISO accelerated corrosion test conducted by an independent test organization paving the way for a validation of the test result by the global certification orga-

on your taste and preference which are dome caps, net weaving cap, monofilament caps, lace front etc.

If you are thinking of purchasing a wig then its best you get the human hair wigs.

They are expensive but durable. They are hand-crafted and have monofilament cap.

They look very natural, are made of quality materials.

The cheapest wigs are synthetic hair wigs for entertainment (Halloween wigs and etc.), they look unnaturally and can be worn not for a long time.

“We sell more wigs than normal weaves here. A normal synthetic one costs like N5,000 while the natural one can go as high as N10,000 without closure but with closure it is like N13,000,” a sales girl said.

BUNMI BAILEY

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he rains are here again and going around the streets of Lagos can be quiet messy with poor drainage systems that sees puddles collect on every major road.

To navigate across the streets of Lagos, we bring you nine essential must haves for the rainy season: Portable Umbrella This must always be top on your list for the rainy season. A portable umbrella is easy to carry than a big one.

A portable one affords you the opportunity of throwing one into your everyday bag to avoid being beaten by the rain.

Rain coats These are waterproof or water resistant coat worn to protect the body from rain.

There are different types and sizes suitable for both men and women which are Tretorn wings jackets, Tretorn Erna raincoat, Nikelab essentials women’s parks, Adidas training parka, trench coats etc.

Shower cap This is also known as a bath cap. It is a hat worn while bathing to protect hair from becoming wet.

This helps to protect the hair from unpleasant odour as a result of the rain.

Rubber slippers

Analysts: Chinwe Agbeze, Stephen Onyekwelu, David Ibemere, Graphics: Fifen Famous

These types of slippers can be easy to walk in and they will not get damaged when dipped in water. It is better to protect your leather shoes from being damaged by the rain.

Sweater With the heavy rain comes the cold weather so it is best to cover yourself with a sweater.

Fancy plastic bag It is not safe to carry your leather bag in the rain as it can be damage by the rain. It is better you get a fancy jelly bag or plastics carrier bag that will help protect the items in your bag Rain boots These are waterproof, typically calf-length or plastic boot. Wellington boats are usually popular worn Moisturizers This comes in handy especially when you want to wash off dirt strains from the rain off your legs and hands. Moisturisers can come inform of petrol jelly or other body lotions and creams Vitamins supplements Cold drugs The flu, cough and other cold related ailments comes as a result of the raining season. So in order for you not to be caught by the cold, you will need to take vitamins to ensure optimum health and also have drugs that can fight cold handy.

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BUSINESS DAY

Thursday 19 July 2018

INTERVIEW

Asset light model permits any business to operate with flexibility, respond faster to changing demands From generating over £10,000 profit in one night in his first business as an undergraduate to over half a million pounds in revenue in his first year of entrepreneurship after graduation, Ikenna Ordor, a serial entrepreneur/founder, Starr Luxury Cars, now runs a multimillion pound luxury car concierge with clients, including global brands like Nike, Chelsea FC, Ubisoft, celebrities, among others. In this interview with Obinna Emelike, the London-based CEO unveils his drive and expansion plans to global tier 1 cities within Europe and emerging markets.

You have succeeded in virtually every business you have ventured into from your undergraduate days. So, what is the driving force? would say a genuine love for what I do, fueled with passion and financial freedom. As they say ‘If you do what you love, it doesn’t feel like work’.

Over the years, I have been fortunate enough to be able to turn my passion to profit by identifying great business opportunities in sectors that I am passionate in – whether in hospitality or lifestyle.

At Starr Luxury Cars, we are building an innovative tech platform for The Ultimate Luxury Car concierge in the world, just like jet smarter has done with Jets and Airbnb with holiday homes. The possibilities of this are endless and that in itself is motivation for me.

Are there plans to expand to other parts of the world, Africa and Nigeria in particularly?

Africa is the future and the market is changing as we can see with the likes of Porsche opening their show room in Lagos. We are definitely looking at coming into the market in the very near future especially with the appropriate cars for key African markets.

Whilst there are a few supercars in Nigeria for example, they cannot be driven easily as they will be in the U.K - for example because of poor roads. So it is important for us to take our time to ensure that we are able to provide the right product for this market.

I

You seem to have an undying passion for cars, why cars?

I am a classic man and I have always viewed cars as a statement and expression of who you are or feeling, a much better statement than jewelry or clothes. The technology, engineering, design and luxury composition of a well-built vehicle is immensely satisfying to admire and drive.

It is astonishing how Starr Luxury Cars has become the ultimate luxury car concierge in less than two years. What are you doing differently?

For us at Starr Luxury Cars, it is important for us to stand out from the crowd and this is at the heart of everything we do. We ensure that we provide more than a chauffeur service and as such operate similarly to a concierge service. We go above and beyond for our clients, not only in terms of providing the most unique cars in the market but we ensure that our client’s needs are met at every point of their journey with us. In addition to this, our clients have access to us 24 hours a day and 365 days a year.

We also have the largest fleet of vehicles within this market, with a variety of automated luxury vehicles available. We have twelve luxury models to choose from chauffeur driven on our automated booking, no other company offers this.

How did you achieve a bulging list of clients, especially global brands like Nike, Chelsea FC and Ubisoft and what are you doing to

Bolu Odusanya

keep them?

Our reputation precedes us, in an industry of professionals and cowboys alike. For us our clients are our most valued assets and we treat them as such. By providing a superior service, we’ve gained a lot of new clients through referrals. One happy client brings in five new ones and more. Over the years, I have also been able to build a strong network which has played a part in winning over some great clients. Your network is indeed your net worth and this is evident in our client portfolio.

We do not take this for granted and we are always seeking new ways to deliver a better experience to our clients. We do this by building on existing relationships and fostering new ones. For example, some of our clients host some amazing charity events. We ensure that we are part of this, by supporting and raising awareness around these causes and taking an interest in what they are doing as businesses.

The market is forever changing,

so we listen to our client’s feedback and work with them to provide them with a product that can service them on both a personal and professional level. This is how we’ve managed to secure those corporate clients.

system for example, which will show a live feed of our inventory, will be available for clients to view and book, without having to speak to an agent.

You are reputed for operating an asset light model, what is the model all about and how does it work?

An asset light model permits any business to operate with more flexibility and allows them to respond faster to changing demands and new market opportunities. It also allows us the ability to scale up without the need for heavy investment in capital. We are also less prone to profit volatility, we do not have high fixed costs and that permits for better net results from our revenue. Our model works in the strength of our relationship with our suppliers, the likes of Hr Owen and Hertz have supplied vehicles to us. In the very near future, we want the bulk of our platform to be automated. An API

How are you pursuing your expansion plans, especially to global tier 1 cities within Europe?

First, there is a need to understand the market before diving straight in.

We have explored the eco-system for luxury transportation in cities like Geneva, Ibiza, Paris and Monaco and what we found is that not every city is a business and tourism hub like London. Ibiza is very good for seasonal tourism with supercars flooding the island in the summer months. We are engaging some key partners and ambassadors whilst dipping our toes in gently by offering parts of our services to already existing clients.

For now, our main focus remains the U.K. – the goal is to establish and prove this concept within our home turf before fully rolling out to other countries.

You seem to have a growing clientele base of Nigerian celebrities, how do you get them and what attractions does your outfit have hold for them?

Understanding our client has been key to our success. By keying into my existing network of friends and associates, we have been able to tap into the entertainment space. However, the beautiful thing with our generation is that we support each other. So being a Nigerian owned business, a celebrity like Tiwa Savage is more likely to reach out to us as we have one thing in common – heritage! Our celebrity clients expect a certain level of service, so it’s our job to ensure we know what they like and offering this. If Tiwa Savage likes champagne in the car, then it’s our job to provide that for her and if Mr. Eazi prefers a different type of champagne to Tiwa, then it’s also our job to provide this.

Going by your Nigerian name, is Ordor a Nigerian or British entrepreneur. How do you describe yourself?

I would say I was molded in Nigeria and polished in Britain. I have principles that have been instilled in me from growing in Nigeria. We as Nigerians are resilient with an unwavering spirit when faced with difficulties or adversity and that same spirit lives in me.

What is next line of for you?

For now, all my efforts are directed into Starr Luxury Cars but you never know. I am keeping my eyes on a few sectors within Europe and emerging markets. We have a long journey ahead of us with Starr Luxury Cars and it is important to keep our eyes on the road.

Thursday 19 March 2018

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Photo Splash Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria’s 2018 Presidential Valedictory Lecture in Lagos

Olumide Falohun, former managing director, Law Union and Rock Insurance of Nigeria (l), with Toye Odunsi, MD, Custodian and Allied Insurance Company Limited.

L-R: Olayinka Oladunjoye, commissioner for commerce, industry, and cooperatives, Lagos State; Wole Oshin, group managing director, Custodian & Allied Plc; Ibunkun Awosika, chairman, First Bank of Nigeria Limited; Funmi Babington-Ashaye, president/chairman of council, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN); Yetunde Ilori, director general, Nigerian Insurers Association; Muda Yusuf, director general, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI); Aderenle Adesina, commissioner, budget and planning, Ogun State, and Eddie Efekoha, managing director/chief executive officer, Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc.

Taiwo Osipitan (l), with Sunny Adeda, MD, Alpha Choice Insurance Brokers

Adeyemo Adejumo, chairman, A&E Integrated Services (l), with Adeyinka Adekoya, managing director, Wapic Insurance Plc.

L-R: Olayinka Oladunjoye, commissioner for commerce, industry, and cooperatives, Lagos State; Bimbo Onakomaiya, MD, Peakthrust Insurance Brokers Limited, and Muda Yusuf, director general, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI)

Ibunkun Awosika, chairman, First Bank of Nigeria Limited (l), with Funmi Babington-Ashaye, president/chairman of council, CIIN.

John Alabi, MD/CEO, AFN Brokers Ltd (r), with Wale Onaolapo, chairman, Davisther Brokers Limited

L-R: Suleiman Joshua, director, marketing and communication, Babcock University; Aderenle Adesina, commissioner, budget and planning, Ogun State, and Peter Offiong

Adetola Adegbayi, executive director, general business, Leadway Assurance (l), with Rachel Voke Emenike, former managing director, Old Mutual General Insurance Limited.

Pictures by Olawale Amoo

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GARDEN CITY BUSINESS DIGEST Egi: Testimony of the OML 58 grassroots capital development experiment •••TOTAL happy with ‘Catch Dem Young’ initiative •••CDy vs C2C; an overview •••Showers again on Cloud Nine, unveils First Class student from CDy batch IGNATIUS CHUKWU

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gi is a town in Ogba/ Egbema/Ndoni local council area made more famous in Rivers State, Nigeria and France by the presence of a very rich oil field known as Oil Mining Licence 58; mined by Total E&P as one of its money spinning ventures.

About 10 years ago, Total decided to experiment with some of the best primary school brains from the rural communities in Egi area by taking them to one of the most disciplined but well ordered colleges in Nigeria.

The school is located in Port Harcourt where students are groomed in self-confidence and sense of independence, in fact, where examination malpractice is said not to be an option.

The partnership between Total and Showers Christian High School at Igbo-Etche near Port Harcourt to house-manage the Egi boys is said to bear fruits. The rural Egi scholars are imbedded in the midst of well-heeled students in the city. The experiment which did not attract much applause at the beginning now seems to break the bounds to post huge testimonies from both Total and Showers. Today, Shell now runs something similar, the Cradleto-Career (C2C) project.

Shell’s however seems bigger. Another major difference is that whereas CDy beneficiaries are restricted to one town in one local council area, C2C covers three key Niger Delta states of Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta.

Also, whereas CDy is run in one top college in the Garden City (Showers), the C2C is run in four top colleges (Brookstone, Jephthah, Arch-Deacon Brown Educational Centre ABEC, and Bloombreed). C2C is always 60 beneficiaries per year, far more than the number for CDy. The biggest difference may perhaps be that CDy beneficiaries are stopped from the dream after secondary school while C2C beneficiaries cruise on to the

Showers CEO, E.E Akpan, holding a framed art copy to the deep admiration of Total’s Nkoyo Attah and Erika Ukey-Omodu

university, in fact to career stage.

Now, CDy has produced the first batch of university graduates with one First Class in the person of Chilem Amirize whereas C2C just produced the first batch of school certificate batch last academic year. Every year, Shell invited stakeholders in the education sector and previous scholars to witness the intake of another batch and the elevation of the old sets to new classes with open review of their academic performances. This allowed the public and strategic partners to evaluate the progress and review the original objective of the scheme which is to see how children of the poor would survive along with those of the rich. It is also to see how deprived and indigent children could handle their lives when exposed to same conditions with the privileged sets. The behaviourial findings being mined from this scheme are said to be huge. In fact, some children from the super rich were reported to have withdrawn from such schools in protest against being made to share same environment with the ‘poor’. On the other hand, some previously poor kids fought gallantly; moti-

vated by the contemptuous and disdainful visitations they got from the opposite class.

One example that always amazed the stakeholders every year at the C2C events was that of one Isaiah, the son of polygamous fisherman from Delta State who only wished to gain admission, if possible, into a nearby commercial school, only to find himself in one of the topmost schools in Nigeria with fees as high then as N3m per year. He kept posting amazing results with distinctions in all subjects to the end. On the other hand, Total CDy operated quietly, if not silently over the years, such that most observers felt that C2C was the only such experiment.

The Rivers State government so fell in love with the C2C experiment that they introduced their version, ‘Greater Horizon’, to fish out such indigent brains around the state into top schools in other parts of the country especially Lagos. The scheme, like any good thing started by government, suffered a bad end due to funding crisis and regime change.

On July 14, 2018, Total seemed to want to take a deeper look and turned out at Igbo Etche to see for themselves the

graduation ceremony of their wards, the ‘Egi wonders’, so to say. The delegation led by one of the founding officials who started the scheme, Nkoyo Attah (PhD), who is the Deputy General Manager, Corporate Social Responsibility, assisted

by Erika Ukey-Omodu (Community Development Manager), saw what many described as shocking positives from the Egi experiment.

According to insiders, the essence of the OML 58 host community scheme was to accelerate the academic and career development of some of the best baby-brains from the area in addition to many other CSR and community development schemes that Total is famous for in the Niger Delta especially in agriculture and entrepreneurship. It was suggested that by picking up some of the pupils and training them in a guaranteed environment of academic excellence, selfconfidence, discipline, order, creativity and zero-tolerance for cheating, the Egi wonders would form a new fulcrum of moral engine that may drive the rural areas of the oil region.

It was hoped that these young

scholars with strong belief in the future of the region would lead opinions against evil, vandalism and violence.

Total officials said they truly found those objectives being fulfilled, what with Showers just being named by the British Council as the best school in Nigeria for the Cambridge examination in the advanced levels in 2016/17. Showers was said to have done this feat through one of its brightest students, Francis Anyanwu, who shocked the Cambridge examiners by scoring the highest results across four A/Level subjects of Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology.

Total’s team also saw Amirize, the Egi scholar who smashed records at a Nigerian university and emerged as the best graduating student with a First Class.

Explaining why Total’s experimental child-scholars were abruptly stopped from such a laudable academic scheme after mere secondary school when the oil giant would have whetted the appetite of the formerly rural champions after showing them the new road to academic brilliance in high class environment, the deputy general manager (Attah) who represented her boss, Vincent Nnadi, rejected the term, abandonment. She said the scheme was meant to fish out the brilliant and serious-minded pupils and allow them compete with others for scholarships after secondary school. Attah said Total did not intend to waste the scholars but to watch and select only the best for university education.

Earlier, the Total’s Deputy GM had told the audience, “I have seen the evidence of the work being done here (Showers). Strong foundation is being built in these children.” She told journalists that the company would continue to support the Egi scheme, saying she agreed with the Showers CEO that Showers was the tutelage for hard work, discipline and sac-

rifice.

She urged the students to build up ethical codes because it was what helps Total to always go up. She also urged them to imbibe entrepreneurship, saying it is the way to go. She confessed that in the beginning, a lot of people objected to the Egi CDy. Now, she said, after the pains come the gains.

The community development manager, on her part, said the CDy was generating great results and that more successes were sure to come. “The decision is yielding fruits. Total is here for you. We wish to create those who can recreate the future”.

In his welcome remarks, the chairman of the governing council of Showers, an engineer, Anthony Akpan, said education is a partnership of three persons: the child, the parents and the school. He said the investment in the CDy was not wasted going by the high reputation Showers continued to post on discipline, zero-tolerance to exam malpractice, hard work, and excellent results hewed from the hardest stones of examination conditions. He said the teachers have not laboured in vain.

Speaking, the CEO of Showers, Ekama Emilia Akpan, who is also a council member and national deputy president of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), traced the history of perseverance, hard work and eventual successes of the school. She said the school is an attraction to parents that needed the best for their children.

The father of Francis, the Cambridge exams genius, Dr Anyanwu, said all the three medical doctors produced in his family (children) passed through Showers, calling it the centre of genuine child development.

“It may be difficult but it is the best place”.

Chioma Chiedu, the Chemistry/Biology teacher that taught the winner of the Cambridge award and many other best brains for Showers, was toasted and given awards and rewards. She said she once left Showers, only to rush back because she found that most other top schools aided their students into high flying results, but that Showers teachers were always sought after.

UPTH: The good that men do is interred in their bones

Port Harcourt by Boat With IGNATIUS CHUKWU

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hen people do bad, the story seems to tell itself, but as William Shakespeare said

in Macbeth, the good they do is interred in their bones, that is, hidden far deep for anyone to hear. It is the evil that men do that lives after them; that means it remains as a tale for a very long time.

It is difficult to know that people do good in places such as hospitals and prisons. For instance, lamentation and frustration seem to be the only story that comes out of our public health centres. The worst tale is often from accidents and gun incidents. The victims most often are left to bleed to death, to cry to death, or to agonise to death. It is

either that the authorities say there is no one to attend to them especially at night, or police authorisation must be obtained first. Some other times, it’s about outright indifference, lackadaisical attitude, or religious/tribal rebuff. Look, accidents and injuries must be treated first.

Yet, good things happen daily. Maybe, bad news is good news. Sam Onyeabo is yet to recover from the pleasurable shock of running into good doctors at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH).

Before now, the only welcome tale from those who

took patients there was how elephantine mosquitoes feast on patients, how delays kill everyone, how you queue up in several places to buy panadol, how drugs are often out of stock while shops nearby have them, etc. But, few years ago, a lady had complicated fibroid surgery where anaesthetics failed and she had to be opened up awake. She has remained impressed with the attention and love she received from the professors and other experts at her gate of death. Also, recently when other workers were on strike, many patients said they

received unusual cooperation and attention from the doctors who covered up for all others. The strange thing is that things rather went well and fast as if the fewer the better.

Now, Sam is a driver with a bank and her 11 year-old daughter fell to a strange attack that made her stiff and full of pains. From hospital to hospital, they later landed at the UPTH and it was diagnosed as worst case of tetanus at seizure level. At a point, she was fed from the nose. For a family of very low income, such emergency was far too

expensive but the wonderful doctors at UPTH and the nurses made things look playful. Love grew above pains and poverty. The infectious love even made other patients to surrender their food, provisions, and even bought drugs, all to save Sam’s daughter. At the end, the doctors whispered to an NGO that paid off part of the bill and Sam took his favoured daughter away with little amount. He is grateful and is telling the tale everywhere he goes. It’s good to hear this one because what is on show everyday is cruelty and sadness.

Thursday 19 July 2018

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Live @ The Stock Exchange Sell pressure continues on Lagos Bourse … GTBank, Okomu, FBN Holdings affected Stories by IHEANYI NWACHUKWU

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igerian stocks failed to push higher on Wednesday July 18, 2018 as more investors on Custom Street Lagos decided to exit earlier positions leading to 23 losers against 19 gainers.

The persisting negative performance was largely due to record sell-offs in market’s bellwethers despite analysts’ expectation of positive trading sessions this week.

“We expect market performance this week to be buoyed by investors drive to take position in stocks trading at attractive prices as we await first-half (H1) 2018 earnings results”, according to Lagos-based Afrinvest research analysts.

The stock market’s year-to-date (ytd) returns furthered into nega-

tive region and stood at -3.91percent.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All Share Index which tracks the performance of listed equities was down by 0.58percent from 36,963.70 points to 36,748.18 points.

The value of listed equities –the market capitalisation –decreased by about N78billion and closed at N13.312trillion, from a high of N13.390 trillion recorded the preceding trading day.

Transcorp Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, Oando Plc, and Access Bank Plc were topfive actively traded stocks Wednesday on the Lagos Bourse. In 3,854 deals, stock traders exchanged 181,281,784 units valued at N1.640billion.

The share price of GTBank Plc recorded the largest dip by N2.65 or 6.76percent, from N39.2 to N36.55.

Okomu Oil Palm Plc followed after its share price declined by N2 or 2.35percent, from N85 to

N83. FBN Holdings Plc lost N1 or 9.76percent, from N10.25 to N9.25.

Oando Plc declined from N5.25 to N4.75, down by 50kobo or 9.52percent, while Nigerian Breweries Plc made the top laggards least after its share price lost 50kobo or 0.46percent, from N108.5 to N108.

International Breweries Plc occupied the topmost position in the basket of gainers as its share price moved up from N37.5 to N41, representing N3.5 or 9.33percent increase.

PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc gained N1.5 or 9.74percent, from N15.4 to N16.9. Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc also gained, from N17.95 to N18.3, representing an increase of 35kobo or 1.95percent.

Cadbury Nigeria Plc stock price advanced from N11.15 to N11.5, up by 35kobo or 3.14percent, while Union Bank of Nigeria Plc gained 20kobo or 3.51percent, from N5.7 to N5.9.

NSE sets to host 6th Nigerian capital market information security forum

T

he Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) is set to hold the 6th edition of its bi-annual Nigerian Capital Market Information Security Forum (NCMISF). Themed, “Social Engineering, The Neglected Human Factor”, the forum will hold on Wednesday, July 25, 2018, at the NSE Event Center, 2/4 Customs Street, Lagos.

This free to attend conference which is sponsored by FPG Technologies Ltd and Control Risks, is designed to leverage on user education and layered technology defenses to better detect and respond to social engineering attacks in the capital market ecosystem, which will contribute to enhancing investor’s confidence.

The event will be headlined by Emomotimi J. Agama, deputy director/ head exchanges, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and will bring together information security professionals and

capital market participants to discuss emerging cybersecurity trends and share effective strategies and best practices to tackle cyber threats.

This edition of the Nigerian Capital Market Information Security will also feature panel discussion and speeches and presentations from Rex Mafiana, CEO FPG Technologies; Favour FemiOyewole, head, Information Security. Topics to be covered include, Reverse Social Engineering Attacks in Online Social Networks; Evolution of Cybercrime: The Present, Present, Future Social Engineering Attacks and Prevention; Plan for countering Cyber threats in the Nigerian Capital Market.

Commenting on the event, Favour Femi-Oyewole, head, Information Security at The Exchange noted that “with the growing use of technology and digital tools in the capital market, creating awareness and educating individu-

als and companies on the significance of information security management have become critical in addressing today’s constantly evolving cyber threats”.

“The 2018 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, which shows that more than 70percent of all data breaches in 2017 involved phishing or some other type of social engineering, underscores the need for continuous cybersecurity education, as human factor continues to be a key weakness. Cybersecurity is not just about technological defences, it is also about people.

Femi-Oyewole further stated that “NSE is committed to working with government, regulator, international and local partners, market participants and other stakeholders to monitor developments and effectively respond to cyber threats in its drive to provide a sustainable capital market. We all have a role to play in keeping the capital market secure”.

Next Goldman CEO to take on old problems, new businesses

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oldman Sachs Group Inc named David Solomon as its next chief executive officer on Tuesday, ushering in a new era for the Wall Street bank as it expands into different businesses and revamps familiar ones. Solomon’s promotion from his current role as president

and chief operating officer comes months after the 56-year-old investment banker was first reported as next in line to succeed longtime CEO Lloyd Blankfein. His first day in charge is October 1.

“David is the right person to lead Goldman Sachs,” Blankfein said in a statement. “He has dem-

onstrated a proven ability to build and grow businesses, identified creative ways to enhance our culture and has put clients at the center of our strategy.

Through the talent of our people and the quality of our client franchise, Goldman Sachs is poised to realize the next stage of growth.”

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Harvard Business Review

Thursday 19 July 2018

Global Business Perspectives Connec ting

Th e

World

One

Bus iness

at

a

time

The West’s Failure to Reform Threatens World Order Humphrey Hawksley

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wo years ago, China and Russia issued a joint declaration with the aim of throwing out an open challenge to the current U.S.-led world order.

Coming after Moscow’s annexation of Crimea and a court ruling against Beijing’s claim to the South China Sea, the two governments announced bluntly in June 2016 that they would enhance cooperation to establish a “just and equitable international order,” in effect saying they no longer trusted the rules-based system largely drawn up after the World War II. Since then debate has picked up about the threat posed to Western values by authoritarianism.

Beijing is well aware that the system created by the United States and its allies remains the bedrock of its own success.

Even now, China needs the West more than the West needs China. China, however, is stepping into an array of vacuums created by economic crises, weak governance and unpredictable populism, yet neither Beijing nor Moscow has the wherewithal to build rival institutions of the strength that has allowed the West to hold sway in the world order for centuries.

Still, the speed of China’s rise and Russia’s resurgence has put the West at a disadvantage, exposing many Westerndominated global and regional organizations and rules as being outdated and ineffective.

There is no question that a rebalancing of world power is underway. There must be reform if such a rebalancing is to take place without violence. That is not happening as of yet, and the West cannot afford further complacency.

Creation or reform of global institutions is difficult. Both the 1815 Congress of Vienna planning for the defeat of Napoleonic France and the 1919 Treaty of

China’s President Xi Jinping flanked by U.S. President Barack Obama and Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany on his left at the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, China on Sept. 4, 2016. On the right, Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey uses the photo-op to confer with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Versailles that ended World War I failed to keep a lasting peace in Europe.

There are no hard and fast rules as to what works in molding a group of countries into a cohesive unit, except that any organization, by testing its own boundaries, can expect to face more risks. Two organizations that don’t take risks are the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Commonwealth of Nations.

ASEAN, established in 1967, promotes the interests of its region with an emphasis on quiet diplomacy and consensual decision-making. While this low-key culture keeps the group united, weakness has been revealed in ASEAN’s failure to unify against China’s expanding influence, marked by the military bases in South China Sea territory claimed by four of its members. Hence the United States is directly involved.

The Commonwealth comprises a third of the world’s population. Ceremonial photographs of Commonwealth leaders with the British monarchy show a coming to terms with injustices suffered during colonization, a bench mark that

should not ignored given the ongoing link around the world between conflict and historical grievances.

At this level, the Commonwealth is effective. But member states routinely violate principles of democracy and human rights, and the Commonwealth rarely speaks up on contentious issues.

Two international organizations that do make tough decisions are the United Nations and the European Union. The U.N. is global, and its Security Council is a key arbiter of world order.

The EU is regional, representing the most successful attempt so far to bring numerous states under a single umbrella of shared values and laws. But it is faced with the high-stakes challenge of determining how far to intrude on individual national sovereignty.

The U.N. Security Council still operates under its original system designed more than 70 years ago. One of its more archaic mechanisms is the right of any one of the five permanent members to veto resolutions, which routinely leads to paralysis. The Security Council

also has ten rotating members, elected every two years in a process cloaked by behind-thescenes dealmaking.

Efforts by rising powers like India, Japan and Brazil to reform the Security Council have not succeeded. There are no formal drafts on how a new Security Council can be restructured. The last notable change was in 1965 when the number of rotating members increased from six to 10.

The world, however, has seen many changes since the 1940s, and it is difficult to see how the Security Council’s present system can remain fit for purpose.

The EU is facing pressure, too. But unlike the U.N., the EU has been in a state of constant change. In the 1950s, it was a six-member trade alliance for steel and coal; today it is a 28-member regional organization. Until recently, the EU was held up as a beacon showing how regions could bond.

But financial and immigration crises, the rise of nationalism and Brexit have weakened that reputation. Too many critics see the EU as elitist, unfair, undemocratic. “There is a list of

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triggers that could ultimately be devastating for the EU,” argues Ian Kearns, co-founder of the European Leadership Network.

“Unless the EU finds a more effective way of countering them, the entire European integration project will remain vulnerable.”

As with the U.N., the EU has no road map. French President Emmanuel Macron has set out an ambitious vision based on a closer union and “European sovereignty.” But his is a lone voice. The recent electoral victory of anti-Euro parties in Italy poses a direct challenge to the concept of European sovereignty.

None of this bodes well for the tasks ahead, but if Western democracies want their values to prevail over the coming century, they must clarify and model these values, and do so without conflict. They could begin immediately at two levels.

First, the U.N., EU and other institutions should initiate reform that accommodates the grievances of rising powers and those that feel shut out of the system. To begin the process, the Security Council’s permanent five members — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — should signal willingness to relinquish some of the powers they now enjoy. So far they have not. In a similar way, the big beasts of Europe — Britain, Germany and France — could concede that, Brexit aside, the EU may be unsustainable in its present guise.

Second, Western leaders should refrain from painting China and Russia as threatening archetypal dictatorships.

The situation is far more complex, and such stereotyping can be especially damaging for the countries, considering the 24hour news cycle.

In this current climate of inertia, the West’s failure to modernize the world order is becoming as much a threat to the current rules-based system as Russia and China’s attempt to challenge it.

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NEWS

How AfDB uses sustainable housing UK-assisted EFCC’s forensic lab development to create jobs, alleviate poverty to help reduce cyber crime CHUKA UROKO

T

hrough increased investment and sustainable housing development, African Development Bank (AfDB) has helped in alleviating poverty in its regional member countries (RMCs), which includes Nigeria.

Besides providing one of the major needs of man, which is shelter, housing development, more than any other economic activity, creates jobs, mostly for the poor who are engaged in various stages of construction as artisans or labourers.

AfDB leverages this a great deal in its finance system for poverty alleviation, which is consistent with its overarching objective of spurring sustainable economic development and social progress that contributes to poverty reduction.

With increase in housing investment and consumption related industries and services, many jobs have been created in the housing value chain. “A minimum of five million jobs on-site and off-site jobs are created for every one million housing units developed,” Emmanuel

Akinwunmi, Principal Private Sector Specialist at Nigeria Country Department in the AfDB Group, said.

What this means is that five million poor families would be able to put food on their table and pay house rents and children’s school fees because ‘enormous’ wealth has been created, assuming a daily income of N5,000 per worker per day for 18-24 months that it typically takes to deliver a housing project.

A couple of years ago, the bank approved a Senior Loan of ZAR 570 million to South Africa’s Housing Investment Partners Trust 2 (HIP2) also known as Vulumnyango Trust, to help finance affordable housing programmes in that country.

Expectation was that the loan would help improve access to long-term affordable housing finance to South Africa’s lower-middle income earners who had limited opportunities to access affordable mortgages.

Akinwunmi, who spoke at the ongoing Abuja International Housing Show, pointed out that the bank also develops instruments in support of housing development finance; gives senior loans

with portions deployed into residential housing such as students’ hostels, staff quarters, family homes fund, etc.

Its line of credit goes into housing construction, building materials manufacturing companies and housing infrastructure while it provides equity of up to 18.07 percent through Shelter Afrique, the Pan African Housing Fund.

The bank’s sustainable housing development so far has made positive impacts, which Akinwunmi listed as economic stimulation and improved economic growth and social peace. It has also improved contribution of the housing sector to GDP which is very low at 1 percent; more so when compared to other countries like Canada, UK, USA which have double digits.

House sector stakeholders who commended the bank’s intervention, however, noted that the bank still needed to do more in Nigeria, especially for its peculiar circumstances as the continent’s most populous nation with a housing demand-supply gap estimated at 17 million units.

What is missing most in the country at the moment, they said, was inclusive access to finance, lower interest and longer tenor.

JONATHAN ADEROJU

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nited Kingdom National Crime Agency says it will be funding, with about £500,000, a forensic lab for Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to help reduce cyber crime.

This was made known at a two-day capacity building workshop organised by the UK National Crime Agency for all the zonal heads of EFCC in Abuja on Tuesday.

Paddy Kerr, international manager of the British antigraft agency, described EFCC’s Digital Forensic Laboratory as a “Centre of Excellence” for every law enforcement agency in Nigeria, saying the lab was to enable the agency ethically and lawfully extract evidence from digital devices.

“We want to look at the skill gaps that the EFCC currently possess, if it does possess any, look at the training that we need to fill those gaps, that in itself will provide a catalyst with which to provide the momentum of anti-corruption activities,” he said.

Ben Ikani, director of Forensics, EFCC, commended the UK government’s support for the Commission’s fight against corruption in Nigeria, describing

the workshop as “significant”.

Recall in July 2015, the European Union-funded project known as ‘Support to Anti-corruption in Nigeria,’ was assisting the EFCC forensic experts to train all the beneficiary anticorruption agencies (ACAs) on basic forensic use.

Forensic experts from the United Kingdom and United States of America provided basic training to judges and prosecutors on the use of forensic evidence.

For more than one year, the experts have been mentoring the staff of the forensic lab of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on forensic fingerprints identification and computer forensics.

The ongoing forensic mentoring programme forms a strategic component of a €25 million programme funded by the EU aimed at upgrading the operational capacity of the EFCC. This programme, which is being implemented by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), has been providing support to the EFCC in several areas, including the establishment of a world-class IT system, training and mentoring, as well as several research and advocacy initiatives.

‘PSRP viable to manage power sector liquidity issues’

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igeria’s Power Sector Recovery Programme (PSRP) is robust enough to ensure viability of the power sector and manage the liquidity issues militating against the sector.

Alex Okoh, director-general, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), affirmed this at a meeting with the House of Representative Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation on Tuesday.

Okoh said however that optimising the potentials of the PSRP would be largely reliant on a simultaneous effort from all parties involved in the privatisation process as well as regulatory bodies.

Speaking further, during the meeting centred on proffering solutions to the challenges affecting the performance of the Electricity Generation and Distribution Companies (DisCos and GenCos), Okoh said the Nigerian power privatisation transaction was the biggest of its kind in the entire continent and that post-transaction challenges were inevitable.

Nevertheless, he expressed optimism that the challenges were not insurmountable, saying that a holistic approach alone would set the pace for an enduring solution to resolve the challenges.

38 BUSINESS DAY NEWS

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Road to ‘Nigeria Air’ littered with skeletons...

Continued from page 1

attempted to spring up after this were bedevilled with similar challenges and the dream of a national carrier died.

A typical example was Virgin Nigeria the Nigerian flag carrier airline which was established in 2004 and commenced operations in 2005.

Virgin Nigeria was established as a wholly new multinational company (MNC) with private ownership. Its ownership was spread thus, 51 percent Nigerian institutional investors, 24.9 percent Virgin (Sir Richard Branson, 51 percent owner of Virgin Atlantic), 24.1 percent Singapore Airlines (49% owner of Virgin Atlantic), so it can be said that while Nigerian Institutional Investors owned 51 percent of the venture, Virgin Atlantic owned 49 percent of its shares.

Virgin plunged into the Nigerian Market in 2004 with Virgin Nigeria after a bid and selection process as the new flag carrier after the Nigeria government announced the bankruptcy of its own Nigeria Airways, the then flag carrier. It was expected that Virgin’s many successes would be replicated in the new Virgin Nigeria Airways.

However, in 2009, barely four years after its commencement, Virgin, the major shareholders, announced their withdrawal from the partnership which signified the termination of what was known as Virgin Nigeria Airways.

A research paper by Eric Akpo, submitted to The University of Liverpool, Department of International Management research titled ‘Birth, Rise and Fall of Virgin Nigeria’, observed that Virgin Nigeria purportedly faced a lot of external challenges and internal squabbles in the build-up to Virgin’s withdrawal from the partnership.

Some of the external factors include the case made against its request for a permit by other major operators in the aviation sector in the USA based on the others’ claims “of an alleged failure on the part of the Nigerian Government to approve a code-share arrangement between American Airlines and British Airways. American Airlines claimed then that this alleged denial violated the US-Nigeria Open Skies Agreement.”

Other external factors for the closure of the then National carrier were poor infrastructure in Nigeria, conflicts with government aviation authorities as regards use of facili-

ties and poor profit turnout.

Richard Branson, the chairman of Virgin Atlantic said then: “We have virgin’s ill-fated footsteps by setting up a new airline in Africa in conjunction with Nigerian government. The details of the doomed attempts to crack the Nigerian market in the 2000s is better imagined. We put together a very good airline-the first airline in West Africa that was ever IOSA/IATA operational safety audit accredited but unfortunately it got tied down to the politics of the country. We led the airlines for 11 years.

“We fought daily battle against government agents who wanted to daily make fortune from us, politicians who saw the government 49% as a meal to seek for all kinds of favour, watchdogs (regulatory body) that didn’t know what to do and persistently asking for bribes at any point.”

Branson disclosed that N3billion was realised for the federal government of Nigeria during the joint venture and the government didn’t bring anything to the table except dubious debts by the previous carrier, Nigeria Airways.

He regretted that the joint venture should have been the biggest African carrier by now if the partnership was allowed to grow, but the politicians killed it.

Godwin Obaseki, governor, Edo State (3rd l); Taiwo Akerele, chief of staff to the governor (3rd r); Yakubu Gowon, special adviser to the governor on special duties (2nd r); Rosemary Edoror, president, Enibokun-Edoror Foundation (2nd l), and other officials of the Foundation, after the courtesy visit by Board Members of the Foundation to the governor, at the Government House, Benin City, Edo State.

2019: Obasanjo, Na’Abba, Wabara, others vow ...

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former Senate President Adolphus

Wabara and elder statesman Ango Abdullahi, also offered a platform for the exchange of thoughts on governance in matters that concerns the ordinary people of Nigeria.

It observed that “the country now witnesses unprecedented incompetence and enthronement of mediocrity in dealing with the horrendous spate of killings and general insecurity across the country.

“That in the eyes of many affected communities, there appears to be palpable government complicity in the killings going in around the country.”

A communique released at the end of the meeting declared that “the summit resolved to insist on the emergence of a visionary and dynamic leadership which will effectively deal with our security and economic challenges, and ensure good governance in the country.”

According to the communique which was signed by Edwin Clark (PANDEF), Ango Abdullahi (NEF), Ayo Adebanjo (Afenifere) and John Nnia Nwodo (Ohanaeze Ndigbo),

“It is imperative to revamp the security architecture of Nigeria; and also ensure the removal of marauding killers from the communities they have occupied and return same to their rightful owners who now live in IDP camps.”

On the issue of the national economy, the summit said it noted with dismay the mismanagement of an economy, already approaching recession by 2015 adding that “today, the economy is characterized by significant loss of output, massive youth unemployment, a rising level of poverty, instability, and irregular migration of skilled and unskilled labour. In fact, according to the World Bank, the unemployment rate in Nigeria has increased despite its purported exit from recession in 2017. This is a national embarrassment and a disgrace to a country that is endowed with abundant resources,” the summit observed.

The Summit further noted that, “according to World Data Laboratory, Nigeria overtook India this year as the poverty capital of the World.

In addition, Nigeria’s ranking on the Human Development index was one of the lowest in the World standing

at 152 out of 188 countries surveyed in 2017” On corruption, the Summit also “noted with great concern that despite the present Administration’s war against corruption, the highly acknowledged global monitor of corruption perception, Transparency Intentional, has adjudged Nigeria to be more corrupt today than it was in 2015. It is disturbing that Nigeria has in the last 3 years degenerated from the 136 “to the 148” place out of 180 countries surveyed for corruption perception in 2018.”

The Summit also observed that “the kleptocratic nature of governance and appointments to public offices and institutions, as well as the carefree attitude of government to citizens’ discontent have resulted in breading deep divisions and inter-communal distrust. This is a development that is of grave concern to all Nigerian patriots.”

In a speech, Obasanjo, whose letter to the Summit was read by former Osun State Governor, Olagunsoye Oyinlola, lamented the harm that “the present Administration of President Muhammadu Buhari by his action and inaction, has done and is doing to our common-

wealth and our common heritage”.

Continues on wwwbusinessday online.com

Thursday 19 July 2018

Tankers takeover as Lagos roads turn Highway...

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decimal in a purported “smart city”, where the state government continues to feign helplessness, even as the gridlock pounds an estimated N42 billion out of the state’s economy monthly.

Over 2,000 petroleum tankers and container laden trucks from other parts of the country have now entered Lagos and heading for Apapa where the nation’s premier port is located, sources tell BusinessDay. Most of the trucks have taken over major bridges and roads in the mega city of 20 million people turning them into a giant car park.

“The hard life I face trying to get to work on a daily basis is something compared to hell. Yesterday I got home around 1am due to the intense traffic on the mile 2 –Apapa route and it is unfortunate the government have no foresight to tackle the problem,” one motorist severely bitter about the situation told BusinessDay. The tanker drivers have now become a law unto themselves defying both the Federal and State Governments.

In November 2017, Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo flew over Apapa to have first-hand aerial assessment of the area and said then that the Muhammadu Buhari administration would find all possible solutions to end the gridlock.

The Vice President had directed that the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) implement clear objectives to tackle the Apapa traffic gridlock.

“We should look at all the components and find a quick solution,” Osinbajo said, listing steps to be taken to include relocation of containers within the Apapa area to holding bays, shipping companies no longer being allowed to operate holding bays within the Apapa Port location, while tanks farms would no longer be permitted within the Apapa area. A task force to manage the flow of traffic within the Apapa and Tin can Island environs was also to be established.

All the proposed plans by the Federal Government have apparently failed to make any impact.

In April this year, the Lagos state governor, Akinwunmi Ambode at the second quarter of the 2018 Town Hall meeting held at the Apapa Local

Government Area, instructed truck owners parking along the Ijora-Apapa Road and Lagos Island areas to utilise the Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, ABAT, Truck Terminal at Ijora to reduce traffic gridlock in Apapa area.

Ambode said that his administration had initiated the construction of the ABAT truck terminal at Ijora as part of the solutions to the traffic gridlock in that part of the state.

“We will work with security agencies on how we can move the trucks off our roads to the terminal. For now, the terminal can take about 300 trucks but it is being underutilised.

“We urge truck owners to utilise the terminal to reduce traffic gridlock on the roads in Apapa and Lagos central axis,” Ambode said.

However, recent indications have shown that the traffic situation in the area has worsened with spill over extending all the way to the third mainland bridge.

Motorists headed for Apapa resorted to driving against traffic flow on the Oshodi-bound lanes, as they sought alternative routes to escape the chaos.

Residents of Festac town were locked in, as most could not connect the expressway via Apple Junction, Fagbems, as well as First and Second Rainbow bus stops in AmuwoOdofin area.

And for a better part of yesterday, they remained trapped, with some who left home as early as 8:30am for work, staying on the road till 3:30 pm.

Some motorists trapped in the gridlock who spoke with BusinessDay said they’ve never seen it that bad.

“This is the worse I have seen in many years. I left home about 8:30.

This is almost 3:30 and I am still on the road,” said a resident of Festac who identified himself as Ezekie.

Little is being done by both the Federal and Lagos State Governments, as major roads such as Apapa-Oshodi, Western Avenue, Eko Bridge inward Ijora-Olopa and parts of Lagos-Badagry expressway are daily clogged by thousands

of articulated trucks. The state government has repeatedly said it was helpless under the circumstance and therefore left motorists in the state to their fate.

Continues on wwwbusinessday online.com

Governors, ministers, royal fathers converge...

Continued from page 1 former head of state; His Imperial Majesty, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, the Ooni of Ife, and His Royal Highness, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the Emir of Kano. Red carpet opens by 6pm.

Other dignitaries expected at the event include governors who are nominated for the different award categories, ministers, captains of industry, family members and their business associates. The different award categories on which the governors will be honoured are ease of doing business; promotion of made in Nigerian goods/SMEs; agriculture development; SME Development, Economic empowerment and social re-investment; tourism development; healthcare development and rural and urban infrastructure development.

Others are transparency in governance; education reforms and development; promotion of peace and security and the Governor of the Year, Governor of the Year (South West) and Governor of the Year (North).

Nominees for the different awards categories include gover-

nors Mallam Nasir El-Rufai(Kaduna State), Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu(Ondo), Okezie Victor Ikpeazu(Abia), Mohammad Abdullahi Abubakar(Bauchi State), Abdullahi Umar Ganduje(Kano), Muhammadu Badaru Abubakar (Jigawa State), Benedict Bengioushuye Ayade (Cross River), Godwin Nogheghase Obaseki (Edo State), Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal (Sokoto State), Ogbeni Adesoji Rauf Aregbesola(Osun State) and David Nweze Umahi (Ebonyi State).

Others are Rt. Hon. Lawrence Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu State), Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo(Gombe State), Senator Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Senator Umaru Jibrilla Bindow (Adamawa State), Udom Gabriel Emmanuel (Akwa Ibom State), Willie Obiano (Anambra State), Hon. Henry Seriake Dickson (Bayelsa State), Yahaya Bello (Kogi State), Abdulfattah Ahmed(Kwara State), Ezenwo Nyesom Wike(Rivers State), Kashim Shettima(Borno State), Akinwunmi Ambode(Lagos State), Abubakar Sani Bello(Niger State) and Umar u Tanko Almakura(Nasarawa State).

Politics & Policy Thursday 19 July 2018

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Sani denies dumping APC JAMES KWEN, Abuja

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ontrary to reports that the senator representing Kaduna Central Senatorial district, Shehu Sani has dumped the All Progressives Congress (APC), the lawmaker insisted that he was still a member of the ruling party.

Sani dispelled the rumour while briefing newsmen in Abuja where he disclosed that he was in talks with APC and other parties for the next line of action.

He lamented that he and some members of the party had suffered injustice, mar-

ginalisation and inequality from previous leadership of the party.

“I have not yet opted out of the APC but I can confirm we are talking with the PDP and we are talking with the APC and what is pushing us out of the APC is inherent injustice, marginalisation and inequity that have visited us.

“We have been treated badly by the party in the last three years but we are appreciating that we have a chairman, in the person of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole,” Sani said.

The Kaduna Central senator commended the present Oshiomhole-led National Working Committee for its

L-R: Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State; national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Secondus and former Governor of Sokoto State Attaihu Bafarawa when a delegation of the PDP national leadership visited Governor Tambuwal in Sokoto Government House on Wednesday over the recent killings in Gandi, Rabah Local Government Area of the state

Osun APC primary already skewed to favour Aregbesola’s man - Guber aspirant BOLADALE BAMIGBOLA, Osogbo

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governorship aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State, Kunle Adegoke, has accused the national leadership of the party of plans to impose the Chief of Staff to the Governor of the state, Gboyega Oyetola, as the APC’s candidate in the primary election of the party billed to hold Thursday.

Adegoke, who is one of the 17 governorship aspirants seeking APC’s ticket, said direct primary declared as the mode to be used to pick candidate of the party would be manipulated since no authentic register of the party exits at the moment.

Addressing newsmen in Osogbo Wednesday, Adegoke said up till the time he was speaking with journalists, guidelines for the primary had not been released, even to the aspirants that paid N7.5 million to the party.

He said that argument advanced by the National

Chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole, on the direct primary failed certain constitutional, legal, political and moral tests.

Adegoke further posited: “It is certain that INEC cannot mobilise at least 332 personnel to monitor the direct primary election in the 332 wards in the state.

“If the election would be conducted through and supervised by the compromised officials of government who are already prominent campaigners of the stateanointed aspirant, Gboyega Oyetola, then, military dictatorship cannot be less democratic as the determination of the present government in determining its successor is more than glaring.

“Less than 24 hours to the novel direct primary election, no guideline has been issued by the National Working Committee with the approval of the National Executive Committee to guide all aspirants and voters.

“It is clear that there are no rules in form of guidelines to even govern the election. It is a game without rules, which

is an advance notice of an imminent chaos.”

Insisting that APC has no credible membership register and that no such register has been publicly displayed or shown to any of the 17 aspirants less than 24 hours to the primary, Adegoke also alleged that supporters of Oyetola of threatening supporters of other aspirants not to appear at the ballot centres except if they are ready to vote for the purported anointed candidate.

“It would be impressive for our ‘democratic’ National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, to deepen democratic ethos in the party by applying direct primaries to all other elections like National Assembly, State Assembly, and governorship in all states so that our members can be more involved in the new-found democratic process of direct primaries.

“Any attempt to change the rule after Osun State gubernatorial election would only expose the military National Chairman as less than honest but hypocritical which I want to believe he is not,” Adegoke said.

Ekiti governorship election was massively rigged, Afenifere alleges INIOBONG IWOK

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eader of Pan- Yoruba socio cultural group, Afenifere, Rueben Fasoranti, has said that last Saturday’s gubernatorial election in Ekiti State was massively rigged in favour of the All Progressives Congress candidate, Kayode Fayemi.

Fasoranti, who spoke in a telephone interview with BusinessDay yesterday, noted that report from the vot-

ers and video evidence from observes who covered the election indicated that they were financially induced while several other malpractices also characterised the election.

He bemoaned the inducement of voters and monetisation of elections in the country in recent times, adding that the trend had become worrisome and likely to continue in subsequent elections.

Speaking further, he de-

nied insinuation that the group had decided to back former President Olusegunled collation against the APC in the 2019 general election, adding that the group has not taken any decision on the issue.

“We did not say we would back Obasanjo or any coalition, Obasanjo only paid me a private visit and we have not taken any other position on that issue. What the media is saying is not true,” Fasoranti said.

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move to resolve all lingering issues, adding that he and some members are presently exploring ways to get out of the party.

Sani however, revealed that their decisions to leave the party will be made known in the next few days.

“We are also exploring options of getting out of the party, but who remains in the party; the issue is still on discussion. Our decisions will be in the matter of weeks and not in the matter of months where we are going to review whether we will remain in the party or we will go to cross the red sea out of Egypt to the Promised Land,” the Senator explained.

We were not served any summon – Akogun Oyedepo SIKIRAT SHEHU, Ilorin

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he Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State, Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo, has said that the news of an order of injunction on the party was funny to him because the party was not served with any court process.

Oyedepo stated this on Wednesday in a statement signed by the party’s Publicity Secretary, Rex Olawoye.

“We heard as a rumour that an ex parte order of injunction has just been issued against the State Executive of the Kwara Chapter of PDP by an Ilorin High Court.

“The injunction may be to stop the Chairman and perhaps other members of the Executive from parading themselves as the authentic Kwara State Executive of the PDP. “This injunction if true, must have been issued by the honourable court in error. This is because we have never been issued and

Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo

served with any court process in respect of any case,” Olawoye said.

According to Olawoye, there was a case of litigation in respect of PDP congress conducted on November 13, 2017 which was filed at the Federal High Court by Prince Sunday Adeniran Fagbemi and others since December, 2017.

He added that the case was thrown out by that court on the 31st day of May 31, 2018.

“Instead of the Plaintiff, Prince Fagbemi and company to go on appeal, they decided to take the same case to a State High Court.

“The court has never served us court process so that the matter can be heard on merit; as there is no urgency to warrant an ex parte application in a matter that was instituted more than eight months ago,” he said.

According to him, “The only thing we hear is an order of injunction to stop our executive that has been a thorn in the flesh of the power that be from functioning”.

Olawoye therefore, appealed to PDP members and supporters to be calm as legal process will be set in motion to vacate the order of injunction forthwith.

Atiku mourns Katsina-Alu, jurist, soldier

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tiku Abubakar, a former vice president of Nigeria mourns the death of former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu, describing the news of his death as shocking and saddening.

Atiku notes that the late Justice Katsina-Alu was a remarkable patriot who served the country well both as a soldier and, later on, as member of the bench where he rose to the pinnacle of his

Justice Katsina-Alu

career.

A statement signed by his media office quoted Atiku as saying: “No doubt Nigeria has lost a remarkable patriot in Justice Aloysius KatsinaAlu. My condolences go to the Katsina-Alu family, the people and government of Benue State and the Supreme Court of Nigeria over the demise.”

He prays to God for repose of the soul of the late jurist and for his family to have the fortitude to bear the loss.

Thursday 19 July 2018

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FINANCIAL TIMES Fed chair keeps rate rises on track — for now

Battle over Israeli military service exemptions threatens Netanyahu Page A2

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World Business Newspaper

Bernanke warns against reading wrong yield curve signal Distortions mean an inversion does not necessarily point to recession, says former Fed chief Gillian Tett & Joe Rennison

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t would be a mistake to think that the unexpected flattening of the US yield curve signals a looming recession, Ben Bernanke, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve has warned.

Mr Bernanke’s comments come as Fed officials under Jay Powell debate the significance of the narrowing gap between short- and long-term bond yields — a measure of the yield curve.

An inversion of the curve, where short-dated interest rates rise above longer-dated rates, is seen as a warning sign for recession, having preceded every economic downturn of the past 50 years — but some officials believe it has lost its signalling power because of market distortions caused by central banks.

“Historically the inversion of the yield curve has been a good [sign] of economic downturns [but] this time it may not,” because the normal market signals have been distorted by, “regulatory changes and quantitative easing in other jurisdictions”, he said, speaking with former treasury secretaries Hank Paulson and Timothy Geithner at an event to discuss lessons from the 2008 financial crisis.

“Everything we see in terms of the near-term outlook for the economy is quite strong,” he added.

Short-dated Treasury yields have been pushed higher as the Fed has raised interest rates.

Meanwhile, longer-dated interest rates have not risen as quickly. Neel Kashkari, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, said on Monday that the Fed should stop raising rates to avoid inverting the yield curve and risking economic turmoil, echoing some investors’ fears.

The last time the yield curve inverted was at the start of 2006, just as Mr Bernanke took office as Fed chair. The Fed continued raising interest rates until June that year. Rates were kept unchanged until September 2007, when it began to cut them again as economic conditions worsened.

But many now argue that the flat yield curve shows the system remains heavily distorted by the unprecedented central bank bond-buying programmes implemented after the financial crisis — meaning central bankers face a long path to return the system to normality.

Mr Bernanke himself did not comment on how badly distorted the financial system might currently be. However, he warned investors that they should not presume that the Fed’s balance sheet would shrink much further in the coming years.

Before the crisis the Fed held less than $1tn of assets, but this quadrupled during the crisis, before the Fed started recently cutting back. “We are not going anywhere close to $800bn again — I think the normal level of the Fed balance sheet is [going to be] closer to $3tn.”

Danske pledges to forfeit any gains from money laundering scandal Danish bank hires new compliance chief as it looks to recover from Estonian debacle Richard Milne, Nordic & Baltic

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anske Bank will forfeit any ill-gotten gains from its money laundering scandal in Estonia as Denmark’s biggest lender fights to regain its credibility, including by hiring a new head of compliance from Deutsche Bank.

Danske said it had generated gross income of about DKr1.5bn ($234m) from its non-resident business in Estonia — which serviced customers mostly from ex-Soviet states — and that any of that income

made from suspicious transactions would be made available for “the benefit of society”, by for instance helping combat financial crime.

“It is clear that we did not live up to our own standards or the expectations of society at large when it came to preventing our Estonian branch from being used for potentially illegal activities at the time when these transactions took place.

This is something we deeply regret and which we should not benefit from financially in any way,” said Thomas Borgen, Continues on page A2

The last time the yield curve inverted was at the start of 2006, just as Ben Bernanke began leading the Fed © Bloomberg

Quantitative easing helped vulnerable more than rich, says ECB Central bank publishes research that contradicts criticism of its response to financial crisis Katrina Manson & Kadhim Shubber

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he European Central Bank has said its aggressive monetary easing helped Europe’s vulnerable citizens more than the rich during the financial crisis, countering claims that the policy widened inequality.

The ECB’s crisis response, which included a huge bond-buying spree and negative interest rates, was attacked by critics who said the policy stoked inequality by boosting the price of stocks and bonds owned by the wealthy while less well-off savers earned paltry returns.

In research published on Wednesday by the ECB, the bank argued the opposite. By lifting growth and inflation, it said, the policy had helped the eurozone’s most vulnerable by creating jobs. “On the whole we find that monetary policy in recent years benefited most households and did not contribute to an increase in wealth, income or consumption inequality,” the economists, from the ECB and Princeton University in the US, said.

The most contentious element of the bank’s crisis-era stimulus was the €2.5tn quantitative easing programme. The policy, which

involved central banks around the region buying mostly government bonds, was widely credited with boosting the value of bonds and equities by forcing investors to switch their holdings from sovereign debt into other assets. Some have also argued that other parts of the aggressive stimulus, such as record-low interest rates, fuelled a house-price bubble.

However, the bank’s research said that the impact on asset prices was less important than the effect of QE on the incomes of regular households. The findings provide ammunition for Mario Draghi, ECB president, and other policymakers against attacks from critics, especially in Germany and the Netherlands, where hostility towards monetary easing was the greatest.

Mr Draghi last year faced a public grilling in the Dutch parliament, where lawmakers handed him a solar-powered tulip to remind him of the infamous tulip-mania asset price bubble and financial crisis of the mid-17th century. Wolfgang Schäuble, Germany’s former finance minister, also accused the ECB of stoking populism, saying the bank’s policies were an important factor in the rise of the anti-euro

Alternative for Germany party.

Loose monetary policy worked by lowering the cost and increasing the supply of credit, making it easier for governments, businesses and citizens to borrow. QE, introduced to counter the threat of a vicious bout of falling prices and weakening demand, helped lower government borrowing costs to record lows.

Interest rates entered negative territory in the summer of 2014. The current deposit rate charged on a portion of lenders’ reserves parked at central banks is now minus 0.4 per cent while the benchmark main refinancing rate is at zero.

“Low short rates do hurt savers via a direct effect, that is a reduction in income on their assets . . . however [low rates] also benefit savers, like all other households, via an indirect effect — that is, the reduction in their unemployment rate and the increase in the labour income,” the paper, called “Monetary policy and household inequality”, said. “The indirect effect dominates . . . The paper also finds that [QE] reduced inequality, mainly through a reduction of the unemployment rate of poorer households.”

Turkey’s two-year state of emergency set to come to an end Opponents say a proposed law will simply enshrine emergency rule by the back door Laura Pitel

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urkey’s state of emergency is due to come to an end on Wednesday after two years of upheaval, as opposition parties accused the government of extending it by the back door.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who declared a state of emergency in July 2016 following a violent attempted coup that left 250 people dead, used the exceptional powers granted to him to launch an extensive purge of the armed forces and bureaucracy.

Since then, 75,000 people have

been arrested for alleged links to the coup attempt, and 130,000 people have been dismissed from their jobs.

After renewing it seven times in the past two years, the government was expected to let the state of emergency expire on Wednesday night.

Turkish opposition parties, however, warned that a bill proposed by the ruling party would take some of the most worrisome aspects of emergency rule and enshrine them in law.

The legislation, due to be debated at a committee level on Thursday, includes measures to

allow dismissals of civil servants linked to groups deemed to be terror organisations and the extension of police detention times, and grants city governors the powers to ban protests.

“The end of the state of emergency does not mean our fight against terror is going to come to an end,” Abdulhamit Gul, the justice minister, said earlier this week.

Ozgur Ozel, of the opposition Republican Peoples’ party (CHP), accused the government of extending emergency rule in all but name. “They make it look like they are lifting the emergency but in fact they are continuing it,” he said.

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FT Danske pledges to forfeit any gains...

EU fines Google record €4.3bn over Android

Continued from page A1 chief executive.

Shares in Danske fell 7 per cent to DKr181.40, their lowest level in two years.

Danske has been embroiled in a growing scandal over as much as $8.3bn of suspicious transactions that flowed through the branch from 2007 until 2015, leading regulators and the bank itself to fear it was used for money laundering.

The bank, which has been reprimanded by Danish regulators and faces several further probes, is awaiting its own internal investigation before commenting fully. That investigation, which is looking through 9m emails, 7,000 documents and several million transactions, is due to report in September.

Mr Borgen, who was in charge of the Baltics as head of international banking from 2009 to 2013 when he became chief executive, told the Financial Times that he had not got any signals in that period that “things were not as they should be”. He added: “With hindsight, I should have taken much more time on Estonian operations, but we had our focus on other places, in particular on the financial crisis and Ireland.”

He said he had asked the board recently if it were sensible that he step aside. “The board said, and I have accepted that, that they would like me to take the bank through this period of time,” he added.

Danske said it would appoint Philippe Vollot, Deutsche Bank’s global head of anti-financial crime and anti-money laundering officer, as its new chief compliance officer by December. The German bank has had its own money laundering problems, paying $630m in January 2017 to settle US and UK probes into alleged mirror trades used to launder $10bn out of Russia.

Mr Borgen said Mr Vollot had “fantastic experience”, adding: “I don’t think one should stigmatise people who have been in a place with challenges. You can turn that around and say people like that have learned a lot.”

Danske on Wednesday reiterated that it did not expect any money laundering investigation to have “any material effect on its financial position”.

Its comments came as it reported first-half profits below analysts’ expectations and softened its guidance for 2018. Net profit fell 12 per cent to DKr9.1bn from a year earlier, missing analysts’ average forecast of DKr9.6bn.

The bank said that based on the performance in the first six months, its full-year net profit was likely to be at the lower end of its guidance of DKr18bn to DKr20bn.

Thursday 19 July 2018

Brussels penalises US group for abusing dominance in mobile operating systems Alex Barker & Mehreen Khan

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Ultra-orthodox Jewish men in Jerusalem demonstrate against army conscription in March © AFP

Battle over Israeli military service exemptions threatens Netanyahu Attempt to pass bill to compel ultra-orthodox community to serve has split government Mehul Srivastava

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rowing up in an ultra-orthodox neighbourhood of Jerusalem, Avraham had prepared himself for a life of intense study of the Torah, the holy books of Judaism.

Yet when he turned 18, he felt a pang of doubt. Across Israel Jewish men and women his age were being measured for uniforms as they headed off to begin their compulsory military service. But as he was studying in a Yeshiva, or religious school, Avraham was exempt.

“I was torn,” said the teenager, who was instructed by his Yeshiva’s rabbi to use only his first name when being interviewed by the Financial Times. “If there’s a war, we must all defend our families. I can worship and fight at the same time, I was sure.”

Avraham’s dilemma is part of long-running national introspection over whether ultraorthodox Jewish men should serve in Israel’s military.

The divisive issue has been thrust back into the spotlight by

a ruling from Israel’s Supreme Court that struck down as unconstitutional a long-held exemption of ultra-orthodox men from military service.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s race to meet a deadline of September to produce acceptable legislation on the issue has exposed deep divisions in his governing coalition, which includes two ultra-orthodox parties fiercely opposed to the court’s ruling.

Mr Netanyahu is now trying to get a bill through parliament that will both satisfy the court’s requirements, and prevent his administration from collapsing.

“I’ve watched Bibi try to find a way around this problem for a long time,” said an adviser to Mr Netanyahu, using the prime minister’s nickname. “But this Supreme Court deadline and the opposition from his own coalition mean he’s stuck between two hard places.”

Traditionally, the ultra-orthodox rarely signed up to Israel’s military, claiming a broad exemption granted by David Ben-Gurion when Israel was a newborn state — and the coun-

try’s ultra-orthodox community was tiny.

But with more than 10 per cent of Israel’s 8.8m population now defining themselves as ultra-orthodox, a debate is raging over whether the community takes its fair share of what many view as a “national burden”. Ultra-orthodox women are largely exempt, as are Israeli Arabs.

It is important to some parts of the Orthodox community that their leaders “articulate in the clearest terms that we have nothing to do with the army”, said Rabbi Yehoshua Pfeffer, an authority on ultra-orthodox issues from the Tikvah Fund, a philanthropic foundation. “We are not even willing to go to the army base to get our exemption.”

So far, the bill has made it through the first stage in parliament, with a second reading planned for as early as Wednesday.

But with the two ultra-orthodox coalition partners opposed, Mr Netanyahu must depend on one of his biggest political rivals — Yair Lapid, leader of the Yesh Atid party — to get the bill through parliament.

Morgan Stanley profits lifted by trading and deal-making boom Net income up 39 per cent reflecting strong second quarter for US banks Laura Noonan

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organ Stanley has rounded off the US banks earnings season on a high, as a trading and deal-making boom helped boost quarterly net income by 39 per cent surge while its wealth management division also improved profitability.

Shares rose 3 per cent in premarket trading as investors gave Morgan Stanley’s $2.4bn in net income a warmer welcome than some of the bumper profits reported by rivals in recent days.

“We reported robust revenue and earnings growth this quarter with strength across all businesses and geographies,” said the bank’s chief executive James Gorman.

“The second quarter performance reflected active markets and healthy client engagement. Our strong global franchise positions us

well to continue to grow organically across each of our businesses and to deliver operating leverage.”

Institutional securities, home to Morgan Stanley’s trading and investment banking businesses, was the standout performer with revenues up 20 per cent to $5.7bn and pretax profits rising 26 per cent to $1.8bn.

Sales and trading revenues were $3.8bn, up 18 per cent on a year earlier, far better than the average 9 per cent rise reported across the other big four US banks. Morgan Stanley’s fixed income revenues grew 12 per cent to $1.4bn, putting the bank well ahead of the $1bn quarterly fixed income target it set for itself just two years ago. Equity sales and trading remains almost twice as big, with revenues of $2.5bn in the most recent quarter, up 15 per cent year-on-year.

Investment banking also put in a strong performance, with

revenues of $1.7bn in the three months to end June versus $1.4bn a year earlier.

Growth was smaller in wealth management, where Morgan Stanley posted revenues of $4.3bn for the quarter versus $4.2bn a year earlier but the division’s pretax profit margins improved to 26.8 per cent from 25 per cent in the second quarter of 2017.

Most of the other big US banks produced big rises in second quarter net income, including Goldman Sachs, which on Monday said its net income rose 44 per cent year on year.

The group’s earnings per share came in at $1.30 for the three months to the end of June, well ahead of the $0.87 reported in the prior year period and the $1.11 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast. Net revenues were $10.6bn for the quarter, versus expectations of $10.1bn and $9.5bn a year earlier.

russels has hit Google with a record €4.3bn fine for abusing the dominant market position of its Android operating system for mobile phones.

The European Commission finding is the most consequential decision made in its eight-year antitrust battle with the US technology company. The fine significantly outstrips the €2.4bn charge Brussels imposed on the company last year for favouring its own site in comparison shopping searches.

The findings take aim at a core part of Google’s business strategy over the past decade, outlawing restrictions on its Android operating system that the commission says entrenched Google’s dominance in online search at a time when consumers were moving from desktop to mobile devices.

Android is the operating system used in more than 80 per cent of the world’s smartphones and is vital to the group’s future revenues as people increasingly use mobile devices for search services. Google has denied wrongdoing.

The commission found that Google had used illegal “tying” methods to force phonemakers to pre-install Google’s search app and Chrome browser as a condition of using Google Play, the smartphone app store. It also determined that mobile operating networks and device manufacturers were paid anti-competitive financial incentives if they pre-installed Google search and no other rival services.

Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s competition commissioner, said Google had imposed illegal conditions on Android device manufacturers “to ensure that traffic on Android devices goes to the Google search engine”.

“In this way, Google has used Android as a vehicle to cement the dominance of its search engine,” Ms Vestager said. “These practices have denied rivals the chance to innovate and compete.”

A third leg of the case relates to contractual restrictions that stopped manufacturers from selling phones using rival operating systems developed on the Android open source code.

Ms Vestager found that the restriction prevented the wider use of Amazon’s version of Android, called Fire OS. Such Android “forks” could have provided a platform for rival search engines to gain more traffic, the commission concluded.

Google is expected to end the illegal practices within 90 days. The changes will be reviewed by the commission to ensure they address the competition concerns. If the company remains in non-compliance, Brussels can impose penalty payments of up to 5 per cent of the average worldwide turnover of Alphabet, Google’s parent company.

Google argues that the commission has misunderstood consumer behaviour and wrongly defined the market, excluding Apple as a competitive rival.

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FINANCIAL TIMES

COMPANIES & MARKETS

@ FINANCIAL TIMES LIMITED

Fed chair keeps rate rises on track — for now

The market belief in a tighter and more rigorous Fed remains intact John Authers

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he Macmillan Dictionary defines the phrase “for now” as follows: “for a short time, until a situation changes”. Meanwhile, there are ardent debates on internet lexicography sites over the difference in meaning between “for now” and “for the time being”, with many suggesting that “for now” implies that the current situation is not likely to change.

These definitional concerns matter because Jay Powell, the Federal Reserve’s chair, testified to Congress on Tuesday and chose to make a small change to his published testimony.

The full sentence in question goes as follows: “With a strong job market, inflation close to our objective, and the risks to the outlook roughly balanced, the FOMC believes that — for now — the best way forward is to keep gradually raising the federal funds rate.”

The emphasis is mine. At one level, it is an unnecessary addition.

The comments about the strength of the economy show that the judgment about rising rate policy is contingent on something else.

But then, why choose to add it?

On the face of it, the change in the script was the slightest of hints that the Fed’s enthusiasm for higher rates was growing more hedged and conditional.

Coming after Neel Kashkari of the Minneapolis Fed had suggested that the flattening yield curve gave reason to stop tightening, this might have been a classic trigger to

buy stocks and sell bonds.

Mr Powell’s continuing insistence is that the Fed’s 2 per cent inflation target is “symmetrical” (meaning that an overshoot is no more problematic than an undershoot).

And yet it has not been treated that way, at all. Mr Powell did not add any more killer soundbites in his testimony to move the market, and avoided any detailed discussion of the yield curve, which suggests that the Fed may be too tight.

Senators avoided asking the kind of specific questions that might have elicited a marketmoving answer.

Instead, the yield on threemonth Treasury bills rose above 2 per cent for the first time since the summer of 2008, a big psychological moment in the steady tightening and normalising of financial conditions.

For the first time in more than a decade, short-term bonds now offer a higher yield than US stocks.

Cash is still not an attractive investment, but it is no longer trash.

Those wanting to park outside the market for a while have somewhere to go.

The dollar strengthened, emerging markets currencies weakened again, while gold fell further and is now down almost 10 per cent from its high in January.

As the gold price is possibly the ultimate hedge against central bank fecklessness, this suggests that the market belief in a tighter and more rigorous Fed remains intact, no matter the slight lexicographical shifts of Mr Powell.

Morgan Stanley: stormin’ Gorman Bank chief executive’s ‘make money’ strategy is neither bold nor innovative

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ames Gorman did not need his years of training at McKinsey to knock down a question on strategy when presenting second-quarter earnings on Wednesday. The former consultant — and now chairman and chief executive of Morgan Stanley — had just claimed to have achieved more change over the past eight years than in the previous 80 by building the wealth business, cutting trading and conserving capital. One analyst then wanted to know what he would do for an encore, at a time when rivals such Goldman Sachs appear to be ripping up the rule book. Mr Gorman fired back: “How about, make some money?’”

Fair enough. Big, transformational mergers are probably off the table, as the Federal Reserve still seems wary of any deal that might make a bank more complex and harder to manage. There is no point in urging the most powerful US

banking regulator to loosen up on capital structures by allowing higher returns to shareholders in the form of dividends and buybacks. This year’s stress test was the most stressful yet, imagining some scenarios — such as a 65 per cent drop in the stock market — that squeezed Morgan Stanley.

But as the bank’s results showed, it still has plenty of growth to go for. In lending, for example, Morgan Stanley has figured out that if it is going to be regulated like a bank, it may as well act like one. Corporate loans were up almost 50 per cent from a year ago at $21bn, while loans secured by rich customers’ securities portfolios were 11 per cent higher at $44bn.

The leaner-and-meaner trading division, too, looks to be in good shape. Bond-trading revenues were up 12 per cent from a year ago, more than double the peer-group average.

© FT montage; Bloomberg

Reasons to be optimistic about Africa’s future Important changes are taking place in the region that confound the ‘destiny instinct’ David Pilling

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n the early 1980s, Hans Rosling, the late great Swedish physician and statistician, worked as a district medical officer in Nacala, a remote part of northern Mozambique. Three decades later he returned to see what had changed.

He was amazed. Where firsttime visitors saw only poverty and lack of development, Rosling noticed improvements everywhere.

In the hospital, he saw that the wards had lightbulbs and that the nurses had glasses and could read and write.

For him it was evidence that — barring a catastrophic setback — Mozambique was on a path that would eventually lead its people out of poverty and towards dignity and prosperity. Rosling fought against what he called the “destiny instinct”. This was, in his words, “the idea that innate characteristics determine the destinies of people, countries, religions or cultures”.

At its worst, the destiny instinct is a form of racism, attributing certain qualities to certain races. Saying Africans are inherently corrupt or inherently “tribal” comes under this category. Even in its less egregious form, the destiny instinct is a sort of fatalism. This would have it

that because of a country’s historic or cultural trajectory it is doomed to be stuck that way forever.

Quite rightly, Rosling had no time for such ideas. After all, half a century ago, people were saying much the same thing about Asia.

It was commonly thought that the likes of Malaysia, South Korea, China and India were culturally and institutionally incapable of ever catching up. That proved nonsense.

In Nacala, Rosling saw important signs Mozambique could make it too. The country had been torn apart by war in the run-up to independence in 1975 and for nearly two decades afterwards. As a result, some indicators do not look good. With a nominal gross domestic product per capita in 2017 of $429, it is one of the poorest economies on earth.

Yet since 2000, life expectancy has risen more than 10 years to 61.

Child mortality has fallen dramatically from 176 per 1,000 to 71. That is still high. It compares with 49 in Kenya, 7 in the US and 2.7 in Japan.

But the direction of travel is clear.

As he pointed out, all 50 countries in sub-Saharan Africa have brought down child mortality faster than his native Sweden ever did.

In Factfulness, a book he cowrote with his son and daughterin-law, Rosling wrote about the

importance of monitoring steady progress: “Keep track of gradual improvements. A small change every year can translate to a huge change over decades.”

Ola Rosling, his son, says our inability to log incremental change is what prevented people from understanding the emergence of China. Few people noticed the enormous progress China was making in the 1980s and 1990s — and even, in terms of literacy and basic health, under Mao Zedong from the 1950s. They saw China’s emergence around the turn of the century as coming from nowhere.

In reality, it had been decades in the unglamorous making.

Take schools in Africa. Across the continent, governments have put greater effort into basic education. From 1990 to 2012, primary school enrolment more than doubled to nearly 150m, according to a 2015 Unesco report.

I put it to Ola Rosling that, still, one had to be realistic. Teachers were often absent or illiterate and in many schools very little in the way of meaningful teaching went on. Mr Rosling said I was missing the point. The children were in school and not in the fields. The precedent of education had been set. Some children would learn to read and teachers would get better.

Amazon joins the $900bn market cap club Peter Wells

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elcome to the $900bn market-cap club Amazon.

The e-commerce giant briefly became only the second company after Apple to cross this market value milestone on Wednesday after its shares rose as much as 0.8 per cent at a record $1,858.88.

The two tech titans have been locked in a months-long race to see which of them will become the first listed company to achieve a market cap of $1tn.

At their session highs on Wednesday, Amazon boast-

ed a market value of $902bn while Apple stood at just under $943bn.

In hot pursuit of the duo are Alphabet, at $826bn, Microsoft at $806bn and Facebook at $600bn.

Of these five stocks, Apple was the only one that did not close at a record high on Tuesday, and its plateauing share price over the past two months has allowed Amazon to close the gap in market cap to less than $42bn, which is the smallest the gap between the two has been since late July 2006.

Amazon said its Prime Day sale, which started on Monday

and initially suffered from web site glitches, saw members of its premium level service purchase more than 100m items for the biggest shopping event in the company’s history, surpassing last year’s sale as well as events like Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Despite the initial bounce on Wednesday, Amazon shares were down 0.2 per cent at $1,840.06 at pixel time, while Apple was down 0.6 per cent, Alphabet shed ¼ of 1 per cent, Facebook fell 0.5 per cent and Microsoft was down 0.8 per cent.

The benchmark S&P 500 was down 0.1 per cent.

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SPECIAL REPORT ON

BAUCHI STATE PRESENTATION OF 2018 BUDGET PROPOSAL Speech By His Excellency, Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar Esq.,The governor of Bauchi State on the occasion of presentation of the year 2018 budget proposal to the Bauchi State House of Assembly on Thursday 28th December, 2017.

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our Excellency, the Deputy Governor, Honourable Speaker, Bauchi State House of Assembly, My Lords, the Chief Judge and Grand Khadi, Members of the National Assembly here present, Honourable Members, Bauchi State House of Assembly, Secretary to the State Government, The State Chairman, All Progressives Congress APC, The Head of Civil Service, The Chief of Staff Government House, Chief Executives of Parastatals and Heads of Extra Ministerial Departments, Permanent Secretaries, Heads of Administration of Local Government Councils, Your Royal Highnesses, Heads of Security Agencies, Members of the State Executive Committee, All Progressives Congress APC, Distinguished Invited Guests, Members of the Press, Ladies and Gentlemen.

It is with humility and gratitude to Allah (SWT) that I stand before this Honourable House today to present the 2018 Appropriation Bill. This is exactly one year when I presented the 2017 Appropriation Bill in December, 2016. The reception we received during the 2017 Budget presentation, where members of this Honourable House exhibited high sense of responsibility by extending the normal hand of fellowship is still fresh in our memory. Mr. Speaker, Honourable members, the cordial relationship that exists between the Executive and the Legislative arms in this State is not by accident, it is the product of our collective desire to serve the people of the State. This explains the reason why the 2017 Budget proposal received timely consideration of the Honourable House after going through due diligence by the Honourable members both at the Committee level and the whole House. I am indeed grateful.

2. Let me also assure you that Government will continue to work with the House in moving the State forward through objective, fair and just approach to governance capable of guaranteeing Transparency, Accountability and value for money in executing projects and programmes.

3. To the citizens of this great State, I say a big thank you for standing with us since assumption of office by giving us all the encouragement through your support and prayers. In governance, not everybody follows and appreciates the task of nation building, but I am happy that most people really understand this and are giving us the necessary support.

4. I am therefore rededicating myself to provide services across all sectors of the State economy in order to uplift the standard of living of our people in all its ramifications.

5. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, the change mantra of our great party, the APC is no more a slogan but a deliberate policy towards changing the ways we conduct ourselves as people. Despite inheriting an empty treasury and an economy that was almost collapsing, we have succeeded in not only turning hopelessness to hope, uncertainty to brighter and assuring future and indeed raising the confidence of our people to achieve higher goals in their various human endeavours.

6. We are today redefining the concept of Governance from a common pool for looting and thereby breaching public trust and acting on the border of irresponsibility to a more acceptable concept of Transparency and Accountability. That is why we keep the government moving by channeling the scarce resources through efficient allocation for optimal results. It is therefore not surprising that Bauchi State is witnessing once more a revived infrastructural revolution.

REVIEW OF THE MACRO ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT 7. Prospects for the global economic recovery continue to stabilize despite events such as the recent US International Policies and continuing terrorist attacks leading to political instability in some countries.

8. Recent studies by the IMF have shown that the global upswing in economic activity is strengthening, with global growth projected to rise to 3.6 percent in 2017 and 3.7 percent in 2018. But the recovery is not complete because while the baseline outlook is strengthening, growth remains weak in many countries and inflation is below the projected target in most advanced economies.

9. Structural problems such as low productivity growth, high income inequalities are expected to affect the prospect of global Economic growth in the Medium Term.

Developed economies will continue to look inwards which may likely raise tariffs thereby threatening global integration, contraction of Foreign Direct Investment and low development Aid. This policy shift will take its toll on market confidence leading to the slowing of trade and investment because of negative impact on exchange rates, interest rate and other macroeconomic indicators.

10.The global economic outlook for Africa is showing a significant improvement as

recovery is projected at 2.6 percent in 2017 from the down turn of 1.5 percent in 2016.

The scenario of improvement will continue in 2018 as commodity price will continue to rise while agricultural output also increases due to improved rainfall. Relative peace in most African countries is another key variable for improved economic growth.

11. Nigeria had sluggish economic growth at the end of 2016 with the rate dropping to an estimated recessionary -1.5 percent in December 2016 leading the Federal Government to adopt an expansionary 2017 Budget to stimulate economic growth.

Fighting corruption and improving welfare through various social safety nets, provision of infrastructural projects and robust agricultural development strategy were some of the tools used to improve the economy.

2017 Budget Implementation 12. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, the implementation of the 2017 Budget has been largely successful despite dwindling revenue performance. Out of the Budgeted Recurrent Revenue of N86,424,147,628 the sum of N55,743,575,220 was realized representing 64.5% as at October. From the approved recurrent expenditure of N60,925,866,787 the sum of N41,015,293,521 was incurred, representing 67.32% as at October. It is also projected that performance in the revenue and expenditure will reach an appreciable level between October and December, 2017.

13. The projected Capital Receipts in 2017 stood at N43,102,346,855.00 and the sum of N24,291,925,578.02 was recorded as actual receipts as at October 2017 representing 56.36%.

14. Aids and Grants as well as actual receipts as at October 2017 stood at N11,478,001,205 against the Approved amount of N18,174,205,517 representing 63.16% performance.

15. The components of Capital Receipts and Aids and Grants have largely been

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SPECIAL REPORT ON

BAUCHI STATE Presentation of 2018 Budget Proposal applied to the completion of ongoing common man tailored projects and the execution of new ones in Health, Education, Roads Construction and Water Supply. We are hopeful that this performance will improve as a lot of commitments by the government have been redeemed.

16. The Approved Capital Expenditure for 2017 was N87,024,833,213 and an actual performance of N35,350,000,251 representing 40.62% was recorded as at October 2017. It is equally expected that the performance in Capital Expenditure will be far better when the Budget Performance for the year is finally compiled. This is because we have committed a lot of resources within the last two months to take care of the ongoing projects in the State.

17. Mr. Speaker, Honourable members, permit me to give a brief analysis of our Budget implementation Performance as at October during the year under review on sectoral basis. (a) General Administration 18. One of the basic functions of Government is to protect the lives and properties of its citizens. I am happy to report that we are doing everything humanly possible to ensure that peace reign supreme throughout the State. To this end, the State Government has been working in close and effective collaboration with all the security outfits in the State.

19. The establishment of an Air Force base in Bauchi has further complemented the existing collaboration. We are equally giving serious attention to local security outlets for intelligence gathering and crime control.

20. The Civil Service is greatly improving as positive outputs are manifesting across the MDAs in the State. This may not be unconnected with our disposition as workerfriendly administration. I can assure you that Bauchi State is among the few States in the Federation that are paying salaries to their workers as at when due. We will continue to maintain the tempo and things being equal move even further by reintroducing payment of monthly Other Charges to MDAs to ensure functional working environment. Similarly, Government is critically reviewing the accumulated Gratuity arrears with a view to settling it to the limit our resources can afford to alleviate the sufferings of our retired Civil Servants.

21. The Government actually prepared to start the payment of gratuity with the sum of One Billion Naira about two months ago. However, when the total figure was requested to do so the sum of about Twenty-Six Billion Naira was forwarded against the sum of fourteen Billion Naira the Government inherited two years ago. This figure was considered abnormal as two years of this administration could not account for the difference of about Twelve Billion Naira. Since then the Government has been trying to find out the cause of this discrepancy and as soon as this is done, payment will commence as the money is still available.

22. Mr. Speaker, Honourable members, Government has given attention to the digitalization of the Bauchi State Television (BATV) to beat the June 2018 switch-over dateline. We have equally given attention to the rehabilitation of some vital equipment of BATV and BRC for better service delivery.

23. On Tourism, we have appointed a Sole Administrator for Yankari Resort and Safari including Sumu Wildlife Park. The idea is to improve tourism services and generate revenue for the State. Similarly, I am happy to report to this Honourable House that a Staff of Yankari Resort and Safari representing the World Conservation Society has recently received an award in South Africa, to which I led the team from this State and used the opportunity to discuss with South African potential investors in the sector. (b) Economic Sector 24. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, it is clearly evident that relying on the Federal Government for funding is becoming an old fashion, hence the need to open our economic potentials to generate more revenues. In this regard, some key activities were undertaken in 2017. These include; • Signing of MOU with NAIC/NPK, NSITF to participate in the production of one million metric tons of NPK fertilizer in the country. This had led the State fertilizer company to produce and distribute 18,000 metric tons to farmers in the North-East Zone in the 2017 farming season.

• Government had opened discussions on a Private Public Partnership (PPP) arrangement with three different investors who are interested in acquiring equity in the Bauchi Meat Factory.

• A leasing arrangement of Galambi Ranching Company is being discussed and evaluated with interested investors.

• To ensure efficiency and economies of scale the Bauchi Plastic Company is merged with Recycling Plant.

• Government has also approved the transfer of N300, 000,000 worth of shares to

BIC Securities as requirement for a Stock Broking firm. A license for this has been secured, which makes it the only trading floor in the North East.

• Bauchi Investment Promotion Agency has been established and a Director General appointed. It has since swung into action by sourcing for potential investors both at home and abroad.

• To improve transportation in the State, Government has approved the supply of 60 units of 18–seater Toyota Hummer Buses. But before the arrival of these Government has approve N10m soft loan for the refurbishment of the existing fleet.

• The State has identified the most suitable way of accelerating industrial growth through industrial clusters. The objective is to expand rural export and to generate new products for exports through rural production, ensure price stability and improve the living conditions of the rural dwellers.

• In line with Nigerian Export Promotion Initiatives, four locations were identified as viable for export production villages in the following Local Government Areas:a) Alkaleri LGA - Kaolin and Gum Arabic. b) Kirfi LGA - Water Melon c) Dass LGA - Vegetables d) Zaki LGA - Onions 25. Mr. Speaker, Honourable members, we are equally prayerful that the positive report reaching us on the availability of Crude Oil, Gas and Gold deposits in commercial quantities across the State may soon become a reality. If that happens, the economic landscape of the State will completely change.

26. Our performance in infrastructural development is a delightful one and a sense of fulfillment. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members because of time and space constraints let me just mention but a few of our achievements in this sub-sector: i. Complete rehabilitation of Murtala Mohammed Way (CBN) Round About – Federal Low Cost – Railway Round About – 65.6% completion. ii. Construction of Fadaman Mada Link with Street Light – 80% iii. Dualisation of Kano Road to Km 2.5 - 35% iv. Rehabilitation of ATBU link Road – 60% v. Construction of selected Roads in Misau - 76% vi. Dualisation of Jama’are Road and Sule Katagum Road – 90%. vii. Construction of Darazo – Gabchiyari Road – 49%. viii. Construction of Mararaban Ganye – Jajuwal Gwalfada – Dokiyel Bakin Kogi Road – 50%. ix. Construction of Airstrip at Yankari – 58% x. Complete Rehabilitation of Misau – Bulkachuwa – Udubo Road - 58%.

The report on these and so many others not mentioned was as at October 2017.

Now that the rainy season is over, performance will be higher than reported.

27. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, the State Government has invested heavily on the provision of water to both urban and rural communities of the State. The State Water Board is undergoing transformation with a view to strengthening its institutional capacity. We have also through the Bauchi State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency constructed 7 solar power motorized Boreholes, 556 Hand pumps and 280 Latrines, while 62 solar power Boreholes, 884 Hand pumps were repaired. A total of 2,840 communities were Open Defecation Free (ODF) certified. (c) The Judiciary 28. The Judiciary interprets and applies the law in the State. It also provides mechanism for resolution of disputes, hence the need to provide a conducive working environment for this important organ of Government. In this regard, we have revalidated the construction of High Court Complex Phase II which is over 90% completed. The renovation of Chief Magistrate Court Complex is around 60% completion. Government has also granted approval for the renovation and upgrading of a Chief Magistrate Court Azare to High Court status aimed at establishing a Judicial Division there.

29. The renovation of the Magistrate Court premises is completed and was inspected by the National Judicial Council Committee and the Committee was delighted with the work done.

30. Furthermore, former High Courts 9 and 10 Fadaman Mada are undergoing total renovation and when completed some of the Magistrate Courts that are in Government rented houses will be moved to occupy the renovated courts. (d) Regional Sector 31. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, one of the major achievements recorded in this sector is the processing of the $90,000,000 Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP) to commence in the year 2018. Other achievements of the sector in the period under review include:

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BAUCHI STATE • The electrification and rehabilitation of Guyaba and its environs. – 100% completed • Sharifuri, Kalajanga/Gobirawa and Kwagal – 100% completed.

• Extension of electrification from Raji Quarters – Rilwanu Quarters – 100% completed.

• Electrification of some villages in Warji State Constituency – 80% completion.

• Electrification of some villages in Burra State Constituency is over 30% completion.

• About 845 projects were executed in the 20 LGAs of the State. These projects are drilling of Boreholes, digging of wells, construction of feeder roads, maternity clinics, dispensaries and classrooms, though minor in nature but they have a big impact in the lives of the rural dwellers.

passed. In 2016 however, the percentage moved to 17.6% and increased to 27% in 2017.

38. Basic education was another success story in terms of implementation as construction, renovation and provision of furniture continue to take the Centre Stage. We are also working very hard to ensure that the variables such as student/teacher ratio, student/classroom ratio, student/furniture ratio are improved.

39. Mr. Speaker and Honourable Members, we recognize and appreciate the efforts being made by the Federal Government in collaboration with the various States in addressing security challenges and other social vices nationwide. We remain optimistic that the situation will improve in the coming year, In Sha Allah. With your kind permission, I now wish to present the 2018 Budget.

(e) Social Sector 32. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, this administration has remained committed to providing over 15% of the State Budget to the Health Sector in keeping with the Abuja 2001 declaration. We have also articulated a Healthcare Manifesto in a five points Health agenda.

33. During the period under review, government has continued to provide Free Maternal and Under Five Healthcare services in the State. In order to strengthen routine immunization, we have paid our counterpart contribution to routine immunization Basket Funds following the MOU with Bill and Melinda Gates and Dangote Foundation. We have also provided essential hospital equipment and commodities to hospitals across the State.

34. Towards boosting the human resource for health, Government has completed the accreditation processes which include payment of accreditation for the training of Nurses and Midwives in College of Nursing and Midwifery Bauchi. The school has since commenced academic activities.

35. Other achievements in the health sector include but not limited to the following: • Establishment of a Committee on Cooperate Social Responsibility tasked with the mandate of mobilizing additional resources from corporate organisations and wealthy individuals to support Government in funding the health sector.

• The State Government has facilitated the accreditation and commencement of Medical Lab Technician and Health Information Management at the State College of Health Technology Ningi.

• Government has also constructed 19 Primary Healthcare Centres complete with accommodation and solar powered Boreholes.

• The State Government through the Primary Healthcare Development Agency has renovated 86 health facilities across all the LGAs of the State.

• Zonal medical stores were also constructed in Azare and Ningi.

36. Mr. Speaker and Honourable Members, Education remains the major weapon in changing our society for the better. Hence, during the period under review, we have invested heavily in this sector. Some of the achievements recorded are as follows: • Government has injected the sum of N425,336,480 for the settlement of registration fees and conduct of 2017 West Africa Senior Secondary School Certificate Examinations and National Business and Technical Examination Board (NABTEB).

• Revalidation of appointment and payment of 7 months’ salary arrears of 430 newly recruited teachers.

• Massive renovation of Senior Secondary Schools and provision of over 14,000 units of twin desk furniture as well as 218 units of solar lights to 10 senior secondary schools and Ministry of Education Headquarters.

• Provision of Technical Equipment to 8 Technical Colleges and construction of 250 Capacity Modern ICT Centres in 4 Tertiary Institutions which are equipped with 1000 unit of Desktop computers.

• A Step-down training on Modern Teaching Techniques conducted in 1,500 teachers, while another 2,317 were given Psycho–Social Training in some insurgency affected LGAs. • To ensure sustainability and functional education over 891 School Based Management Committee (SBMC) members were trained.

• The faculty of Agriculture of the State University has been completed. We are sponsoring 15 post graduate students to study at Czech University of Life Science with a view to managing the new faculty.

• At Aminu Saleh College of Education Azare, 4 additional under graduate courses have been approved by senate of the University of Maiduguri, making it 13 under graduate courses, 4 post graduate and 4 Diploma and Certificate Courses.

• The story is the same at ATAP where approval was granted by ATBU to start degree programmes in 8 disciplines.

• We have renovated male and female hostels, ventilated and water latrines, provided furniture and equipment at the State College of Agriculture.

37. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, the list is endless, but we are happy that our investment in education is beginning to yield the much desired result because in 2015 when we took over, only 3.5% of the students who sat for the SSCE examination

THE 2018 BUDGET 40. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) will continue to form the basis upon which our Budget is prepared. This is to comply with the Bauchi State Fiscal Responsibility Law 2009 and in conformity with International best practice. Hence, the 2018 Budget, apart from being prepared on Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF), it is also in line with International Public-Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) on Cash Basis. In the preparation of the Fiscal Strategy Paper, both scientific and historical approaches remained the major tools of economic analysis for a credible 2018 Budget and 2018 – 2020 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF). The State has also moved from the current 26 digits to 52 digits of IPSAS National Chart of Accounts. I wish to acknowledge the contribution of RTI/LEAD in supporting the State in achieving this feat.

41. Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, the 2018 Budget has been predicated on the assumptions of an oil production of 2.3million barrels per day; a bench mark oil price of US$45.00 per barrel; an exchange rate of N305 to US dollar and a robust and efficient system of internally generated revenue collection. Government has in the course of the preparation of the 2018 Budget taken the following measures into consideration:a. Achieving a recurrent to capital expenditure ratio of between 40:60; b. Create efficiencies in personnel and overhead expenditure to allow greater resource for capital development; c. Grow IGR by a minimum of at least 20% per annum; d. Allow 4% of revenue (CRF) for contingency reserve; e. Loans will only be used for capital expenditure projects; f. Long term target of funding all recurrent expenditure through revenue of a recurrent nature (IGR, VAT and Non-mineral component of Statutory Allocation); g. Targeting all other sources of capital receipts and financing outside of loans (e.g.

Aids and Grants, Private Public Partnership (PPP) etc.; h. Priorities will be given to completion of on-going capital projects and commencement of new projects that are crucial and necessary and i. Making sure that projections for revenue items, especially from the federation account were conservatively arrived at from the arrays of forecasting options, and to reflect real economic status of the State.

42. Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, our priority areas of Health, Education, Agriculture, Water Supply, Youth and Women Empowerment and Infrastructural Development will continue to receive required attention.

43. The five-points health agenda aimed at restructuring the sector, establishment of a State Health Care Insurance Agency and the provision of 1% of the entire State Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) for Basic Health Care delivery are clear manifestation of this Administration’s endeavour in tackling healthcare delivery problems in the State. Furthermore, we will continue to honour obligations through the payment of the required funds, implement the National policy guideline for primary health care under one roof as well as the allocation of over 15% of our Budget to the sector.

44. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members with success recorded so far, this administration will continue to place more emphasis on the rehabilitation of primary and secondary schools as well as the tertiary institutions. Upgrading some courses in our institutions of higher learning to a degree awarding status by both the university of Maiduguri and ATBU will further expose the institutions to higher student’s intake, thereby overstretching the existing infrastructures. Accordingly, Government will invest heavily in the provision of conducive learning environment, construction of additional structures as well as increasing the manpower capacity. Training and retraining are the key ingredients in uplifting the quality of teaching thereby impacting positively on the students through competitive results and sound moral character.

45. In our desire and commitment to fight poverty and provide employment for the teaming population of our dear State, the agricultural sector will receive special attention and boost in 2018 Budget. The objective is to ensure availability of enough agricultural produce for both subsistence and commercial purposes. Further to this, we believe it will have a multiplier effect in creating jobs and wealth. In order to realise this dream, Government has decided to take the following measures; • Purchase of 1,000 units of power tillers.

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BAUCHI STATE Presentation of 2018 Budget Proposal • Facilitate the empowerment of small scale farmers through Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme Loan from CBN. • Rehabilitation of 3 model farm training centres in the State.

• Implementation of the Accelerated Agricultural Development Scheme Project that will empower about 10,000 youths across the State through the acquisition of N1.5bn loan from CBN. • Establishment of farm produce processing products clusters that will comprise all related activities for quality improvement, marketing, training and other skill acquisition programmes.

• Each Area Veterinary Office across the 20 LGAs will have one or more Veterinary Doctor by 2018.

• Provision of drugs to reduce livestock diseases outbreaks in the State.

• The tractor hiring unit will be strengthened and all existing tractors will be refurbished or maintained.

46. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, it may also interest you to know that Bauchi State has been selected as one of the pilot States for the implementation of the National Egg Production Scheme that will empower 180 poultry farmers in the State.

With improved seedling, availability of agricultural commodities and the relatively stable raining season, the harvest season is hopefully going to improve. Agriculture is therefore taking its necessary and rightful position in the socio-economic development of our State.

47. This is premised in the fact that Agriculture is the genuine foundation for industrialization. Industrialization in this regard does not mean the existence of a big industrial complex, rather it has to do with engaging our farmers in micro, small and medium Agricultural processing value chain addition enterprises.

48. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, to stimulate industrial growth in the State, Government will continue to provide a friendly environment for investors and will also take into consideration the following: • Dormant/Ailing industries will be reactivated and resuscitated for onward privatization or commercialization so as to achieve best performance for effective industrialization of the State.

• Interested investors will be invited to participate in the promotion of industries using Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative.

• In order to boost commercial activities in the State, Special Credit Facilities will be made available through acceptable finance institutions to intended Small Scale Investors at affordable interest rates.

• The realization of the Export Production Village will be pursued in order to boost local production of raw materials, encourage production for export, improve income earnings of the people and generate more employment.

• Actualization of Inland Container Depot to boost Export activities in the State will be vigorously pursued.

49. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, as our economy has almost moved out of recession, there is an indication of improvement. However, recession is not a static economic condition. It is dynamic and can therefore move both positive and negative depending on the economic reforms put in place. Government will therefore continue to think out of the box to move the economy forward. To this end, all revenue generating MDAs will be seriously monitored to ensure that revenue collected are reflected in Consolidated Revenue Fund Accounts as provided by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and other Extent Laws of the land.

50. Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, development is measured in both qualitative and quantitative terms, while human capital development indicates improvement in social indices, physical development on the other hand is the key to achieving human development. This Government is convinced that the people of Bauchi State deserve better and that is why we are embarking on a robust infrastructural development.

Government is committed to the completion of all ongoing road projects in the State as well as embarking on others that are critical to the socio-economic development of the state.

51. Mr Speaker, Honourable Members, Women and Youth Empowerment is an area which this administration takes with every sense of responsibility. To this end, apart from collaborating with the Federal Government in the implementation of the various social safety net outfits, the State Government has through the State own BACYWORD developed a blue print to help people particularly youth and women to positively improve their socio-economic status. This we intend to achieve through continuous registration and engagement of unemployed Youth and Women and the State in well-articulated skills acquisition programmes.

2018 PROJECTED REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE 52. The sum of N167,957,420,800 has been budgeted for Capital and Recurrent services during the 2018 fiscal year. This comprises of Recurrent Expenditure of

N68,077,930,725 or 41% while Capital Expenditure receives the sum of N99,879,490,075 or 59%. The provision of 59% of our total Budget to capital expenditure is a clear manifestation of our prudent management of resources and vision to provide meaningful and viable projects that will touch the lives of our electorates in both rural and urban areas of the State.

The details of the projected Revenue and Expenditure are as follows: (A) RECURRENT ESTIMATES (a) Recurrent Revenue Estimates The sum of N114,600,617,381 is estimated as Recurrent Revenue. This is made up of the following:

N (i) Internally Generated Revenue

13,126,384,230 (ii) Statutory Allocation 101,474,233,151

114,600,617,381 (b) Recurrent Expenditure Estimates A total sum of N68,077,930,725 is earmarked for Recurrent Expenditure. The breakdown is as follows: N (i) Personnel Cost 28,530,933,150 (ii) Overhead Cost 26,779,394,308 (iii) Consolidated Revenue Fund Charges 12,767,603,267 TOTAL 68,077,930,725 The Consolidated Revenue Fund Charges comprises the following: N i.

Pension and Gratuity 7,500,000,000 ii. Public Debt Charges/Debt Servicing 4,349,163,064 iii. Public Officers’ Salary 918,440,202 TOTAL

12,567,603,267

(B) CAPITAL RECEIPTS It is projected that the State will realize Capital Receipts in the sum of N53,356,803,419 in the following areas:

N (a) Opening balance 315,000,000 (b) Internal Loans

15,210,000,000 (c) External Loans 13,269,051,304 (d) Aids and Grants

11,171,752,115 (e) Other Capital Receipts

13,391,000,000 TOTAL

53,356,803,419 (b) EXPENDITURE

N (a) ADMINISTRATIVE SECTOR 7,234,686,954 (b) ECONOMIC SECTOR

51,939,122,962 (c) LAW AND JUSTICE SECTOR 1,737,451,591 (d) REGIONAL SECTOR 3,589,148,817 (e) SOCIAL SECTOR 35,379,079,751 TOTAL 99,879,490,075 CONCLUSION 53. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, the National economy fell into recession in 2016 up to early part of 2017 when we commenced exiting same. Now that we are coming out of the recession it means that growth will be slow at the initial stage.

I therefore wish to urge the citizens of the State to continue to exercise patience with the Government and continue to be more industrious as we continue to forge ahead in addressing this slow recovery process. The task of nation building is always difficult but not unsurmountable. May I therefore plead with all to put all hands on deck in moving the State forward. Let me also use this opportunity to express my deepest appreciation to our traditional rulers and the good people of Bauchi State for their understanding and support over the years.

54. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, I wish to express my appreciation for your rapt attention during the presentation of the 2018 Budget proposal tagged “BUDGET OF CONSOLIDATION. “I am convinced that the document will receive your usual urgent attention leading to early passage.

Long Live Bauchi State!!!

Long Live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!!!

55. Thank You and God Bless.

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BAUCHI STATE PRESENTATION OF 2017 BUDGET PROPOSAL Speech by His Excellency, Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar Esq., The executive governor of Bauchi State on the occasion of presentation of the year 2017 budget proposal to the Bauchi State House of Assembly on Wednesday 21st December, 2016

Y

our Excellency, the Deputy Governor, Honourable Speaker, Bauchi State House of Assembly, My Lords, the Chief Judge and Grand Khadi, Members of the National Assembly here present, Honourable Members, Bauchi State House of Assembly, Secretary to the State Government, Members of the State Executive Council, The State Chairman, APC, The Head of Civil Service, The Chief of Staff Government House, Chief Executives of Parastatals and Heads of Extra Ministerial Departments, Permanent Secretaries, Chairmen, Local Government Caretaker Committees, Your Royal Highnesses, Heads of Security Agencies, Members of the State Executive Committee, APC, Distinguished Invited Guests, Members of the Press Corps, Ladies and Gentlemen. Assalamu Alaikum Warahamatullahi Wa Barakatuhu It is with gratitude and humility to Allah that I stand here before you to present the 2017 budget proposal to this Honourable House. It is just like yesterday that I presented the 2016 Budget. This tells us that time is not on our side. We therefore thank Allah, the Almighty for sparing our lives to witness yet another Budget Presentation. You will recall that in December 2015, I presented the 2016 Budget which was tagged “Budget of Revival”. The speed with which this Honourable House deliberated on that Budget Proposal and passed the subsequent 2016 Appropriation Bill into Law was unprecedented. I therefore wish to sincerely thank you for your understanding and display of patriotism. Your timely deliberations and subsequent passage of the budget gave us the legal backing for its implementation. Let me also use this opportunity to thank the citizens of the state for having faith in us and for their perseverance. I assure you of our commitment towards fulfilling the covenant between you and us on the basis of which you elected us into office. We have without any iota of doubt, steered the affairs of our dear state to the path of development and sustainable progress for almost two years now. As you are all aware, Government has awarded contracts in all sectors of the economy across the State in order to satisfy the yearnings and aspirations of our people.

2. Mr. Speaker and Honourable members, in line with the change mantra of our great party, the APC, we will continue to be transparent and accountable in all our actions in order to continue to demonstrate that it is indeed not business as usual. In furtherance of this, our budget has been carefully formulated across critical sectors of the economy which aims at transforming the socio-economic and political future of our dear state. Government is determined to fulfill not only its campaign promises but also take a holistic development approach that will move the state to greater heights.

REVIEW OF THE MACRO ECONMOMIC ENVIRONMENT 3. Mr. Speaker and Honourable members, the stagnation in the world economy which started six years ago is predicted to continue into 2017. Though economic indicators show a projected stabilization in energy and commodity price for rich economies, this may provide only a slight improvement in the world economy in general terms. In actual sense, the global growth is around 3.1% in 2016 and likely to increase to 3.4% in 2017.

4. The consensus among economists is that the US elected President Trump’s policy proposals of higher tariff on trade, curbing illegal immigrations, increased federal stimulus and tax cuts for corporations and wealthy U S citizens are likely to provide short term boost for the US economic growth but May likely impact negatively on the global economy at least in the medium term.

5. Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest economies will continue to struggle with lower commodity revenues. The forecast shows Nigeria’s economy shrinking to 1.7% in 2017, while South Africa will barely expand. However, non commodity exporters in the region, such as Ethiopia, Kenya and cote divoire are expected to continue to grow at a robust pace of 5%.

6. Economic activity in Latin America like several other countries is also experiencing recession, with recovery expected to start in 2017. However countries in the Middle East are still battling with low commodity price, civil conflict and terrorism.

7. The Nigerian economy entered recession in the second quarter of 2016, the first time in over twenty years. This is largely due to the effects of external shocks. In particular, a fall in the global price of crude oil. Growth slows sharply from 6.2% in 2014 to an estimated 3% in 2015.

Inflation increased from 7% to 9% and is currently around 18%. The sluggish growth is mainly attributed to the slowdown in economic activity which has been adversely impacted by the inadequate supply of foreign exchange and aggravated by the foreign restriction targeting a list of 41 import items, some of which are inputs for manufacturing and agro-allied industry.

This has resulted in cuts in production and shedding of labour in some sectors. However, with the increasing policy concern over the decline in growth, the central bank has moved to reduce the cost of borrowing for government and private sector to stimulate the economy.

8. The 2016 outlook shows slow economic recovery but when some of the ongoing reforms begin to yield results and when measures to boost the economy, such as increased spending on infrastructure are implemented the trend is expected to improve significantly. Some specific reforms pursued by the present administration to lay a foundation for renewed growth are commendable. The key reforms include the rationalization of public sector in order to cut the cost of governance; enforcement of the treasury single account to block financial leakages; renewed efforts at enforcement of tax compliance; preparation for zero–budgeting which started in 2016; and increasing the budget ratio of capital to recurrent to 30:70 e.t.c.

2016 BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION 9. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members; a number of challenges were faced in the implementation of the 2016 budget. While an Actual Recurrent Revenue of N33,704,285,352.60 was recorded as at 31st October 2016 representing 45% of the total Budgeted Recurrent Revenue of N75,073,911,861 billion for the year; it is projected that over 85% would be met by the end of the year. Of the N64,895,109,167 Budgeted as Recurrent Expenditure for the year; N36,153,554,411.58 was actually incurred as at 31st October 2016 representing 56% of the Projected Recurrent Expenditure for the year and is expected to reach 90% by the end of the year.

The Projected Capital Receipts in 2016 was N59,400,767,678 out of which N22,937,146,091.64 was realized as at 31st October 2016 representing 39%. This shows a great improvement when compared to 2015 where only N4.9billion out of the expected N40.4 billion was achieved. The Projected Capital Expenditure for year 2016 was N70, 407,990,843 and the Actual Expenditure of N11,341,949,057.37 for the year was recorded as at 31st October 2016. This has largely been applied towards the completion of ongoing important projects and the execution of new proj-

ects in Health, Education, Roads Construction, and Water Supply. We are hopeful that this performance will improve as a lot of commitments by the government have been redeemed.

10. Mr. Speaker and Honourable Members, we recognise and appreciate the efforts being made by the Federal Government in collaboration with the various States in addressing the menace of pipeline vandalisation and oil bunkering as well as other security challenges nationwide. We remain optimistic that the situation will improve in the coming year In Sha Allah.

With your kind permission, I now wish to present the 2017 Budget.

THE 2017 BUDGET 11. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, when we took over in 2015, the recurrent expenditure was almost 90% of the total Budget; leaving a little or none at all for capital Development. Hence our decision to deal with this ugly trend head on. The rationalization of Ministries, Departments and Agencies from Twenty-Eight (26) to 16, adoption of Eight year tenure of Permanent Secretaries, the drastic reduction in Government expenditure, placement of embargo on employment on temporary basis, prudent measures taken regarding the training of civil servants, and cuts in the expenditure for overhead e.t.c. are some of the measures taken by the present administration to reduce cost of governance thereby drastically downsizing recurrent expenditure. The staff verification exercise, though tedious and complex, it has in the end assisted in blocking loopholes of siphoning public funds. Generally, Government has succeeded in inculcating the virtues of ethics, probity and accountability in the administration of the state.

12. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members in compliance with Bauchi state Fiscal Responsibility Act, the 2017 Budget has been prepared within the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and fiscal strategy paper for the period 2017-2019 and the use of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) on Cash Basis. In the preparation of the Fiscal Strategy Paper, both scientific and practical approach were used in arriving at the state’s resources profile that would give credibility to the 2017 budget and projected revenue for the period 2017-2019. To further enhance the implementation of the road map, the State is making effort to expand the current 26 digits to 52 digits and subsequently move to IPSAS on accrual basis.

I am happy to note that an international partner (RTI/LEAD) has shown interest in assisting the State in this regard.

13. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, the 2017 Budget has been predicated on the assumptions of an oil production of 2.2million barrels per day; a bench mark oil price of US$42.50 per barrel; an exchange rate of N305 to US dollar and a robust and efficient system of internally generated revenue collection. Government has in the course of the preparation of the 2017 Budget taken the following measures into consideration:j. Ensuring that the fiscal policies and the budget policy statement are reflections of the State’s economic status as well as the nation’s economy while taking into consideration the global economic trend; k. Making sure that projections for revenue items, especially from the federation account were conservatively arrived at from the arrays of forecasting options, and to reflect real economic status of the State; l. Ensuring that every revenue generated by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) must henceforth be backed by law before they are spent; m. Making sure that all on-going projects that have direct bearing on the lives of the populace are completed and new ones are prioritised and included in the Budget; n. Exploring more sources of funds most especially from the development partners and donor organisations. In this regard, the Government will do all it can to settle her counterpart obligations; o. Making sure that Recurrent to Capital Expenditure ratio at 40:60%; is achieved; and

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BAUCHI STATE Presentation of 2017 Budget Proposal p. Ensuring that Internally Generated Revenue grows to a level commensurate with the level of economic activity in the state.

14. The Budget will focus on our priority areas of Agriculture, Health services, Education, water supply, Youth and Women empowerment and infrastructural development.

15. In the health sub-sector, one of the cardinal principles of this administration has been the need to address the sector holistically; hence government has developed the five-pointhealth agenda for the State which aimed at strengthening the Primary Health Care Services with particular emphasis on diseases affecting the maternal, new-born and child population as well as routine immunization exercise. In addition to the above, Government is implementing the National policy guideline for Primary Health Care under one roof. Consequently, Government has again allocated over 16% of the Budget to the Health Sub-Sector.

16. In continuation of our renewed thinking of using agriculture as our main weapon for fighting poverty, funding of the agricultural sector receives further boost in the 2017 budget.

The objective is to create Jobs, create wealth in the hands of our people and to ensure food security. In pursuant of this dream, government has decided to take the following measures:• Purchase of strategic grains to cushion the effect of price fluctuation on farmers’ income and store for future use.

• Provision of farm implements, fertiliser, insecticides, pesticides.

• Establishment of farm training centres and demonstration farms.

• Support the Biometric data capturing of farmers in the state, which will enable small farmers access inputs directly at subsidised prices under the Nigeria Agricultural payment initiative.

• Key into the Federal Government Anchor Borrowers/Agricultural Scheme.

• Government is proposing to empower Youths in irrigation Agriculture at Waya Dam irrigation project in Bauchi South, Galala Dam irrigation project in Bauchi Central and Adalda irrigation scheme in Bauchi North, covering a total of about 300 hectares of land.

• Government intends to complete the abandoned 50,000 fish capacity modern fish hatchery to provide virile fish fingerlings all year round at affordable prices.

• The tractor hiring unit will be strengthened and all existing tractors will be refurbished/ maintained while simple and affordable new ones will be purchased.

17. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, the measures enumerated above will have a multiplier effect in boosting the agricultural output, creating employment opportunities as well as wealth creation.

18. Similarly to enhance industrial development in the state, Government will continue to create an enabling environment and will undertake the following measures: • Purchase of chemicals for the production of 2017 fertiliser farming season.

• Relocation and installation of Bauchi plastic company from its current position to Bauchi waste recycling plant and provision of working capital for the kick start operation of the plant.

• Acquisition of Bazamri PVC Pipes and Holyphant.

• Establishment of Bauchi-Gwana Cement Company at Gwana in Alkaleri Local Government Area.

• Establishment of Export Promotion Village (EPV) cluster identified centres such as:(a) Utilisation of the 20 Hectares secured in Alkaleri LGA for Kaolin and Gum Arabic processing with NEPC/UNIDO; (b) Establishment of Kirfi Water Melon/Mango processing Plant; (c) Establishment of Dass Tomatoes/Vegetable processing plant; (d) Establishment of Inland Container Depot; and (e) Expansion of Wikki Hotel and tours • Improving skills acquisition centres by providing and equipping them with state of the art machines.

• Collaboration with non-governmental partners and other stakeholders who share our vision of putting the state in an enviable position in the country.

19. Mr. Speaker and Honourable Members, that Nigeria is in recession is no more news, and if Nigeria is in recession, then one can imagine what Bauchi State is going through. Therefore, Government will not fold its arms and watch, but rather we are taking all necessary steps towards diversifying our economy to enhance revenue generation. To this end all revenue generating agencies will be made fully accountable and responsible towards performance.

20. Youth restiveness is a real threat to our socio-political and economic development. To address this ugly trend government is operating on a multi-dimensional basis by accessing useful intervention from Federal Government, Development Partners, Civil Society Organisations as well as individuals. In this regard, I am happy to announce that Bauchi State took the third position in the entire nation and first in the North-East Sub region in the just concluded N-Power recruitment exercise by the Federal Government. Through this Federal Government scheme we have succeeded in removing more than 43,000 youths from the streets. Similarly, Bauchi is the only State in the North-East Sub-region implementing the Youth Employment and Social Support Operation (YESSO) whose target is the engagement of youths and women from the poor and vulnerable houses on a continual basis. So far, a total of 10,800 households have been enumerated for enrolment into the Conditional Transfer component of the programme where each household will receive a monthly stipend of N5,000 for a period of two years. In addition to this, the Public Workfare component of the YESSO Programme will soon engage a total of 14,736 youths on intensive labour related activities in various communities and each participant will receive the sum of N7,500 on monthly basis also for two years.

21. In the area of Education, this administration will continue to place emphasis on the provision of conducive learning environment. To this effect, Government will build, renovate and equip our schools and other learning centres. Despite the economic crises, this administration was able to meet its obligation of providing the 50% UBEC counterpart fund for 2014 and 2015 respectively. Accordingly, over 695 Blocks of classrooms are currently undergoing renovation while the supply of teaching equipments, Training and retraining of Teachers and other Educational personnel will continue to receive due attention.

22. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, investment in infrastructure is not only a sine qua non (precondition) for economic growth but also for real development. This informed the decision of this administration to massively invest in this sector. Hence our decision to award the following contracts: * Complete Rehabilitation of Misau-Bulkachuwa –Udubo Gamawa Federal Road of over 100kms; * Complete rehabilitation of Murtala Mohammed Way (CBN round about) Federal Low cost – Railway round about. Work has already reached an advanced stage and we hope to complete it by 2017; * Design and construction of 1.3KM link roads with street lights at Fadaman Mada. I am pleased to inform this Honourable House that this project has been completed and will be commissioned by Mr President in due course. * Dualisation of (Awalah Round about to Giwo Science Academy along Bauchi-Ningi Road 2.5KM);

* Rehabilitation of some selected roads in Bauchi Metropolis; * Rehabilitation of ATBU link road at Permanent site Gubi; * Construction of some selected roads in Misau; * Design and construction of Darazo-Gabchiyari Road; * Design and Construction of Hanafari-Jurara–S/Kafi –Dogon Jeji; * Design and Construction of Itas-Ataffowa-Magarya Road; * Dualisation/Rehabilitation of Gidan Mai –Zaranda Hotel –Miri (Jos Road); * Dualisation of Azare-Jama’are Road and Rehabilitation of Sule Katagum Road Azare; * Design and construction of Mararaban Ganye-Jajuwal-Ganye –Gwallfada-Dokaral –Bakin Kogi Road.

23. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, work has begun in earnest on all these projects as we have paid 30% down payment in respect of each of the contracts. We have equally made reasonable allocation for the execution of the projects in 2017. Let me at this juncture assure the people of the State that this administration is just and fair. They should therefore exercise no fear as we will sooner than later cover as many areas as our resources can afford.

2017 PROJECTED REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE 24. The sum of N145, 447,258,163 has been budgeted for Capital and Recurrent services during the 2017 fiscal year. This comprises of Recurrent Expenditure of N58,845,256,077 or 40% while Capital Expenditure receives the sum of N86,602,002,086 or 60%. The provision of 60% of our total Budget to capital expenditure is a clear manifestation of our prudent management of resources and our vision to provide meaningful and viable projects that will touch the lives of our electorates in both rural and urban areas of our State.

The details of the projected Revenue and Expenditure are as follows: (A) RECURRENT ESTIMATES (a) Recurrent Revenue Estimates The sum of N83,682,705,791 is estimated as Recurrent Revenue. This is made up of the following:

N (iii) Internally Generated Revenue

11,182,705,791 (iv) Statutory Allocation

72,500,000,000 83,682,705,791

(b) Recurrent Expenditure Estimates A total sum of N58,845,256,077 is earmarked for Recurrent Expenditure. The breakdown as follows:

N

(i) Personnel Cost 28,087,755,798

(ii) Overhead Cost 20,715,164,065

(iii) Consolidated Revenue Fund Charges

10,042,336,214 TOTAL 58,845,256,077 The Consolidated Revenue Fund Charges comprises the following: N

(a) Pension and Gratuity 6,500,000,000

(b) Public Debt Charges/Debt Servicing 2,700,551,631

(c) Public Officers’ Salary 841,784,583 TOTAL

10,042,336,214 (B) CAPITAL RECEIPTS It is projected that the State will realize Capital Receipts in the sum of N61, 764,552,372 in the following areas:

N (f ) Opening balance 250,000,000 (g) Internal Loans

21,460,000,000 (h) External Loans 8,160,543,655 (i) Aids and Grants

18,012,205,517 (j) Other Capital Receipts 13,881,803,200

61,764,552,372 (b) (f ) (g) (h) (i) (j)

CAPITAL EXPENDITURE ADMINISTRATIVE SECTOR

ECONOMIC SECTOR LAW AND JUSTICE SECTOR

REGIONAL SECTOR

SOCIAL SECTOR

N 5,987,600,151 43,486,748,923 1,754,047498 3,478,415,027 31,895,190,487 86,602,002,086

CONCLUSION 25. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, you will recall that this administration came at a time when the state economy was almost collapsing; we inherited a Government that was indebted and virtually had no clear direction. Unfortunately when we were making efforts aimed at redeeming the situation, the national economy fell into recession. As difficult as the situation is we are still determined to steer the affairs of the State out of the quagmire. However, you will agree with me that the change we envisage will definitely not come on a platter of Gold. There is therefore the need for all hands to be on deck. I am therefore soliciting for the continued co-operation of the Honourable Members and indeed the entire citizens of Bauchi State in carrying out reforms in all the sectors of the economy.

26. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, I am happy to note with delight your rapt attention throughout my presentation of the 2017 Budget proposal tagged “BUDGET OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT’’. I trust and have confidence that you will consider and pass this budget early enough, the details of which are contained in the main document, so as to maintain the tempo and zeal of our commitment to change the lives of our people for the better. I wish to thank each and every one of you in this gathering for finding time to associate with us. On this note, I wish to thank this Honourable House for giving me the opportunity to present the 2017 Bauchi State Budget Proposals. Wishing you a happy Christmas and a prosperous new year.

27.

I wish you Allah’s guidance in your deliberations.

28.

Thank You and God Bless.

Thursday 19 July 2018

C002D5556

BUSINESS DAY

A11

SPECIAL REPORT ON

BAUCHI STATE PRESENTATION OF 2016 BUDGET PROPOSAL

Address by His Excellency Mohammed Abdullahi Abubakar Esq. Governor of Bauchi State, on the occasion of the presentation of the year 2016 budget proposal to the Bauchi State House of Assembly on Wednesday 6th January 2016

Y

our Excellency, the Deputy Governor, Honourable Speaker, Bauchi State House of Assembly, My Lords, the Chief Judge and Grand Khadi, Members of the National Assembly here present, Honourable Members, Bauchi State House of Assembly, Secretary to the State Government, The State Chairman, APC, The Head of Civil Service, The Chief of Staff Government House, Your Royal Highnesses, The Commandant Armored Corps Centre and School, The Asst. Inspector-General of Police Zone 12, The Brigade Commander 33 Field Artillery Brigade, The Commissioner of Police, State Police Command, Members of the State Executive Committee, APC, Special Advisers and Senior Special Assistants, Special Assistants, Permanent Secretaries, Chief Executives of Parastatals and Heads of Extra Ministerial Departments, Chairmen of Local Government Caretaker Committees, Distinguished Invited Guests, Members of the Press Corps, Ladies and Gentlemen.

PREAMBLE Assalamu Alaikum Warahamatullahi Wa Barakatuhu We have to thank and express our deep gratitude and appreciation to Allah (S.W.T) for His infinite mercies and in sparing our lives to witness this occasion of presentation of 2016 Budget proposal to this Honourable House. This is the first time this administration is presenting an Annual Budget to this honourable House. It could be recalled that I had last year presented 2015 Reviewed Budget, to the House. Mr. Speaker and Honourable Members may I seize this opportunity to extend my sincere appreciation to the House for the speedy deliberation and passing of the 2015 Reviewed Budget into Law. That enable the implementation of the laudable programmes provided for in the Budget. This is a clear indication that the 8th House of Assembly is quite passionate in the discharge of its functions towards meeting the yearnings and aspirations of the electorates at the grassroots. It is on the basis of that, Government commenced in earnest the implementation of the Budget so as to achieve its set goals and objectives. As you are aware, government had so far awarded some contracts for the provision of infrastructures and social amenities across the State towards ensuring that the Budget is implemented to the latter.

2. Mr. Speaker and Honourable Members, the 2016 Budget proposal was formulated on the basis of change mantra in line with our great party’s manifesto, which aims at transforming the socio-economic and political fortune of the State, in order to re-assure the citizens that government is determined to fulfill its campaign promises and take the State to greater heights.

REVIEW OF THE MACROECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT 3. Mr. Speaker, it is worth noting that the global economy is finally transiting from the Great Recession to a period of more stable growth, but there are still pockets of weaknesses, as well as new risks. The global economy is in a “new mediocre” phase in which economies are muddling through with sub-par growth rates. Between 2015 and 2020, a return to annual global growth rate is anticipated more than the global economy has enjoyed in many years; though it still does not represent a robust recovery from the lost output during the 2008-2013 period. This outlook also includes both bright spots and stagnant markets. Importantly, the United States is returning to sustainable growth. However, Europe has yet to fully address the core scores of the on-going financial and economic fragility.

4. In Japan, economic recovery will be determined by whether the government undertakes structural reforms in 2015, a highly uncertain prospect given the domestic political constraints.

Emerging markets are experiencing a slowdown, driven by near-term cyclical and long-term structural factors, but many of them are still growing relatively quickly. There is a shift in the drivers of emerging market growth from most of the BRICS nations of Brazil, Russia, India,

China and South Africa – towards the next wave of emerging growth economies.

5. An important global economic development is the apparent reversal of the resource super-cycle that dominated commodity markets in the 2000s. Most notably, the price for a barrel of oil fell from its peak of $133 in July 2008 to just $86 in October 2014 and continued to fall to below $40 in 2015. It was predicted that global oil prices will remain below $100 per barrel until at least 2020. This fall in global oil and other commodity prices should provide a boost to global growth as consumers will have more spending power, and thus aggregate demand should increase. The global economy has since June 2015 witnessed continuous and sharp decline in oil prices from a four-year stable price of about $105/per barrel due to a number of factors among which include several years of growing volume of oil supply with downward surprises in demand; emerging geopolitical risks, especially in the middle east, that had threatened production, changing OPEC policy objectives, appreciation of the U.S. dollar, and US energy policy. Sustained lower oil prices will adversely impact oil producing economies by deteriorating fiscal and external positions and weakening economic activity.

6. The Japanese economy was expected to rebound very strongly because of Abenomics’ three arrows – a massive fiscal stimulus, aggressive monetary easing and structural reforms, but the economy unexpectedly fell into recession in the third quarter of 2014, shrinking 1.9% at an annualized rate, driven primarily by the April sales tax hike. After years of a very low inflation and deflation, Japanese inflation was forecast to remain above 2% target for 2014 and fall short of it in 2015at 1.8%.

7. In the United States, the economic outlook is stronger than it has been in years, bolstered by financial sector stability, private sector growth and rising demand. Despite lingering signs of weakness, U.S. economic stability has increased. Thanks to stronger financial markets increasing the provision of credit, the wealth effect from greater stability in the housing market, and improved worker mobility. Private sector activity is also much stronger as companies increase their level of fixed investment, beginning to employ more workers. Aggregate demand is rising as a result of this. The reduced level of Federal Government fiscal policy stability is also giving U.S. economic growth a boost.

8. The United Kingdom is experiencing a rapid recovery characterized as “household-led” growth. The 2% inflation rate that is back on target and the greatest rate of job creation since records began in 1971.

9. Apart from oil, trade is also a key force in the global outlook. Over-all world trade grew by less than 4% per annum during 2012-14, considerably lower than the pre-crisis average annual growth of about 7%. Cyclical factors, notably persistently weak import demand in high-income countries, and structural factors appear to be the driving forces behind this slowdown in global trade.

10. The real GDP growth rates of some selected countries chosen to represent different economic blocs of BRICS, MINT, N-11, Petro-economies on the average are Mexico- 3.2, Indonesia – 5.8, United States – 2.6, Turkey – 3.3, Germany – 1.3, United Kingdom – 2.2, China – 7.1 and Brazil – 1.8. The inflation rates of these Countries are Mexico- 3.5, Indonesia – 5.8, United States – 2.0, Turkey – 7.3, Germany – 1.5, United Kingdom – 2.1, China – 2.7 and Brazil – 5.6.

11. Assuming a gradual strengthening of the world economy and improvements in political and social stability in those African countries currently affected by conflicts, the African continent is projected to record a projected +5% economic growth in 2015.

12. In 2015, the Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) and external financial flows will play an increasingly important role in Africa’s development and economic growth prospects. Equally important is improved institutional performance and better governance in 2015. African resourcerich countries are expected to remain the prime destination for FDI’s into the continent, with manufacturing and services projected to attract an ever increasing share of the new Greenfield FDI projects. Should commodity prices recover from its current lows; the growth outlook will be robust. Growth will further be accelerated with stable macro-economic environments, large investments from BRIC countries and rising internal consumer spending. However, the three main challenges to the scenario above include stagnating traditional European export markets; China’s growth is slowing and the falling oil price. All of the above are expected to negatively impact the growth outlook of Africa’s extractive industries.

13. Mr. Speaker to determine which emerging markets are likely going to drive investment opportunities and growth in 2015-2020, the 25 largest emerging markets were analyzed - as measured by the size of the economy, population, per capita GDP at purchasing power parity – across eight (8) key sectors, two (2) of which are policy factors. This analysis went beyond simply comparing GDP and related economic forecasts to include structural factors that position markets to withstand unforeseen economic shocks and foster longer term economic growth and stability. The factors considered for the analysis were size of the economy, economic performance, economic resilience, economic imbalance, labour force, infrastructure, regulations and governance, as well as reform status.

14. At the end of the analysis, Nigeria is ranked 16 out of the 25 largest emerging markets as the likely driver of growth in the next five years. Nigeria’s market is generally expected to grow moderately within the next five years. Considering the eight factors, the size of the economy is expected to grow moderately; economic performance is expected to be very high; economic resilience moderate; economic imbalance high; labour force, infrastructure, regulations and governance very low, while reform status is expected to be moderate.

2015 BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION 15. Mr. Speaker, Honourable members, as you rightly know, this administration had inherited a Budget that was passed into law by the previous administration. This necessitated the need to review the Budget in order to bring it in tune with reality and in line with the priority of current administration, and to reflect the manifestos of our great party. In spite of the review, the implementation was faced with a number 0f challenges. While the actual recurrent revenue of N42.52 billion recoded as at 30th October, 2015, representing 77% of the total Budgeted recurrent revenue of N55.2 billion for the year, it is projected that 92.51% would be met by the end of the year. This was largely applied to meet personnel and related overhead cost. Of the sum of N65.91 billion budgeted as recurrent expenditure for the year, N44.5 billion was actually

A12

BUSINESS DAY

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Thursday 19 July 2018

SPECIAL REPORT ON

BAUCHI STATE Presentation of 2016 Budget Proposal incurred as at 30th October, 2015 representing 67.5% of the projected recurrent expenditure for the year. 80.98% is projected to be achieved at the end of the year.

16. The performance of the projected capital receipts has been seriously affected in the 2015 fiscal year, the reason being high level of insecurity that made it difficult to access anticipated funding in terms of grants and concessional facilities from international development partners, including external borrowings. With this development, out of the sum of N40.04 billion expected only N4.9 billion was realized as at 30th October, 2015 representing only 12.3%. over 14.7% will be achieved by the end of the year.

17. Mr. Speaker and Honourable members, with current trend of spending over 90% of collectable revenue to cover Recurrent Expenditure at the expense of capital development that touches the lives of our dear citizens, the trend must be reversed. It is against this background Government decided to introduce far reaching measures that will cut-down Recurrent Expenditure by restructuring and right-sizing Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) from Twenty-Eight (28) to Sixteen (16), adoption of eight and ten year tenure policy for Permanent Secretaries and Directors respectively in the civil service and the introduction of contributory pension scheme in the state. Though the policy will affect government in terms of payments of retirement benefits in short-term, however, it has a medium and long term effect in reducing recurrent cost of running government’s business, thereby freezing much needed resource for capital development as well as timely settlement of workers’ benefit on retirement.

THE 2016 BUDGET 18. Mr. Speaker, Honourable members, the 2016 Budget has been prepared within the Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper for the period of 2016 – 2018, in compliance with Bauchi State Fiscal Responsibility Amendment Law of 2009, and on the cash basis of International Public Sector Accounting Standard (IPSAS). In coming up with Fiscal Strategy Paper, both scientific and practical approach were used in arriving at the state’s resource profile that will give credibility to the 2016 budget and projected revenue for the period 2016 - 2018. With respect to IPSAS, the state is making effort to ensure the implementation of the road map for the expansion of the current 20 digits accounting codes to 52 digits, and subsequently move to IPSAS on accrual basis.

19. Mr. Speaker, Honourable Members, the 2016 Budget has been predicted on the assumption of an oil production of 2.2 million barrels per day; a bench mark of oil price of US$38 per barrel; an exchange rate of N198 to a US$ and a robust and efficient system of internally generated revenue collection.

20. As for the policy of government, the Budget will build on the foundation laid in the 2015 Reviewed Budget, with emphasis on projects and programmes that will address areas of security, youth and women empowerment programmes to reduce youth restiveness, sanitation (i.e waste management and disposals), functional health services, qualitative education, agriculture and water supply for human and animal consumption. In addition to the areas of priority and other related sectors such as construction/ rehabilitation of urban and rural roads, bridges, culverts and traffic/ street lights, and other related projects that are capable of meeting socio-economic and political growth and development of our dear State will be implemented in 2016.

21. Taking into account the dwindling revenue from the Federation Account as a result of drastic fall in oil price, effort will be geared towards boosting the State’s internal revenue generation through diversifying and deepening revenue base. Other sources which government will pursue are strengthening of relationship with International Development Partners to provide necessary support and assistance to the State, as well as exploring the possibility of engaging reputable private companies to enter into public private partnership for the provision of infrastructure, related facilities and services and also explore maximum levies on derivables from our abundant mineral resources in accordance with extant laws 22. To address youth restiveness in the State, adequate provision has been made in the proposed Budget for skill acquisition equipment that will provide/upgrade the skills of youth for gainful employment. Besides the provisions for skill development, Government in its collaboration with youth employment and social support operation (YESSO), assisted by World Bank, will engage at least 400 youth in the areas of public workfare and skills for job before the end of this fiscal year. To further boost social activities that will engage our teaming youths across the State adequate provisions were made in the Budget for the purchase, provision and refurbishing of sporting equipment and facilities in the State.

23. To improve the sanitary condition of the state in the area of waste management and disposal, provisions were made to address Erosion and flood control, purchase of waste disposal equipment and facilities, construction of waste collection centres, preservation of environment through tree planting campaign and construction of public toilets in designated public places.

24. In the area of Health, effort will be made to improve and strengthen functional Health services, projects in the Health Sectors which includes purchase of Health and medical equipment, constructions/provisions of Hospitals/Health Centres in all Senatorial Districts, rehabilitation of Hospital/Health Centres across the State, Construction and provision of infrastructures in the health centres and purchase of drugs, medical equipment and accessories for hospitals.

To make service delivery effective and efficient in the existing health institutions, Government will give priority to training and re-training of our health workers and recruitment of additional and qualified ones in some critical areas. It is because of the concern this administration has for the Health sector, that 15% of the 2016 Budget is set aside so as to ensure that Health programmes reach all the nooks and crannies of our State.

25. Education being the bedrock of any development, priority will be accorded to provision of qualitative Education. Projects to be implemented include purchase of furniture and fittings, supply of instructional materials, library book and equipment to the existing schools. In addition, provisions were made for the construction of more public schools as well as rehabilitations of existing ones. To facilitate furtherance of educational pursuit of our youth, provision was also made for Local and Foreign Scholarships. In the same vein, as the case with health sector training and retraining of teachers and recruitment of additional ones in core teaching subjects will be accorded priority by the Administration. Government will ensure that all our students studying in tertiary institutions in and outside Nigeria receive their scholarship bursary awards as and when due.

26. Agriculture being the major employer of the labour force, and contributor of over 70% of the Nation’s GDP, adequate allocations were made for the purchase of farm equipment/implements, fertilizer/agrochemicals etc. To ensure that farmers at the grass root benefit from these inputs, government will continue to use effective and efficient method of fertilizer allocation to reach community levels in all the Local Government Areas for the benefit of our grass root farmers. Besides provisions of agricultural inputs to farmers at subsidized rates, allocation

were also made for construction/provision of Agricultural facilities to existing farm centres, and Rehabilitation/repairs of other Agricultural facilities across the State.

27. Another area of priority in this year’s Budget is the provision of portable drinking water for human and animal consumption. Substantial allocations were made for the provisions of earth dams, rehabilitation and repairs of all related water facilities. As a priority of the Administration, activities of water supply in the affected MDAs will be harmonized for avoidance of duplication and achievement of effectiveness in service delivery.

28. Mr. Speaker, Honourable members, construction and rehabilitation of urban and rural roads, infrastructure and electrification of rural areas are other priority areas of this administration. In this regard, construction/provisions, rehabilitation and repairs of urban and rural roads, construction and provision of electricity, construction of traffic and street lights will be given adequate attention in 2016 Budget. Though security challenges facing the State and entire North-East sub-region is improving, government will however not relent in its effort, to seeing that lives and properties of its citizens are well protected. This will at the same time attract investors and Development Partners to the State, so as to boost economic activities of the State.

2016 PROJECTED REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE 29. Mr. Speaker, the sum of N135,303,100,010 (One hundred and Thirty Five Billion, Three Hundred and Three Million, One Hundred Thousand, and Ten Naira) is the Budget for Capital and Recurrent services for the 2016 fiscal year. This comprises of: (i) N 65,498,008,456 for Recurrent Expenditure (ii) N69,805,091,554 for Capital Expenditure The details of the projected Revenue and Expenditure are as follows:(i) RECURRENT ESTIMATES (a) Recurrent Revenue Estimates The sum of N67,136,820,593 is estimated as Recurrent Revenue. This is made up as follows:

N

(i) Internally Generated Revenue

9,998,136,773 (ii) Statutory Allocation

57,138,683,820 Total

67,136,820,593

(b) Recurrent Expenditure Estimates A total sum of N65,498,008,456 is earmarked for Recurrent Expenditure. The breakdown is as follows:-

N (a) Personnel Cost 25,182,118,675 (b) Overhead Cost 23,745,885,004 (c) Consolidated Revenue Fund Charges

16,570,004,777 TOTAL

65,498,008,456 The Consolidated Revenue Fund Charges comprises the following: N (a) Pension and Gratuity

8,500,000,000 (b) Public Debt Charges/Debt Services

7,021,949,827 (c) Public Officers’ Salary 1,048,054,950 TOTAL

16,570,004,777

(ii) CAPITAL RECEIPTS It is projected that the State will realize Capital Receipts in the sum of N57,714,770,077 in the following areas:

N a. Opening balance

250,000,000 b. Internal Loans

21,600,000,000 c. External Loans

7,774,261,216 d. Aids and Grants

9,993,223,164 e. Other Capital Receipts/LG Joint Project 18,097,285,697 TOTAL

57,714,770,077 (iii) CAPITAL EXPENDITURE a. ADMINISTRATIVE SECTOR

5,478,080,005 b. ECONOMIC SECTOR

30,530,128,621 c .LAW AND JUSTICE SECTOR

1,954,049,750 d. REGIONAL SECTOR

3,323,696,504 e. SOCIAL SECTOR

28,519,136,674 TOTAL

69,805,091,554 CONCLUSION 30. Mr. Speaker, Honourable members, we came into power at a difficult time, when the economy was at the brink of total collapse. Public treasuries at all levels of government were empty, with high levels of corruption and insecurity of lives and properties nation-wide. Addressing these issues require total sacrifice and commitment of all. I am therefore soliciting the cooperation of the Honourable House in carrying out a reform in all the sectors of the economy.

We know that it is not an easy task. We must be ready to face the challenges of reforming the entire system in the interest of all.

31. Finally, Mr Speaker, Honourable members, I wish to appreciate your rapt attention to this presentation of 2016 Budget tagged “BUDGET OF REVIVAL”. I wish to appeal to the Honourable House to expedite action, consider and pass the 2016 Budget into law to enable Government implement the Budgeted programmes/projects that we believe will meet the yearnings and aspirations of our dear people. Mr. Speaker, permit me to express my sincere appreciation for the cordial working relationship between the executive and the legislature. I believe this cooperation will translate into realization of our set goals and objectives of bringing changes in our socio-economic and political lives so as to improve our State and put it at the rightful position. It is my ardent hope that such cooperation and understanding will be strengthen by the years for the benefit of our teaming electorate. In the same vein, I wish to thank all those that are here with us to grace and witness the presentation of the 2016 Budget proposal to this Honourable House, particularly our Royal Fathers, other Statesmen, gentlemen of the press, ladies and gentlemen.

32. Thank you and God bless all.

Thursday 19 July 2018

C002D5556

BUSINESS DAY

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LegalBusiness BD Business Law Industry Report Practice Intelligence Partnerships

Reflections: Dealing with Legal Issues of Digital Afterlife

INSIDE Irukera advocates Competition law as vital tool for economic growth

Chuks Okoriekwe “The only certainty life contains is death” - Patricia Briggs

M

an has come to accept this inevitable reality and legal systems have designed laws to manage deceased’s affairs after his passage to the great beyond.

Since the inception of the 21st century, there has been rapid advancements in Information Communication Technology (ICT) with regulation slowly playing catch up.

This has brought to the fore the issue of certainty in the administration of Digital Asset (DA) upon the demise of a user of ICT. If for instance, Mr. A operates a digital wallet on Nairabox (an online digital wallet) with which he makes payment to merchants online or operates a bitcoin account, upon his death can such account devolve to his estate bearing in mind the non-transferability clause in the Terms of Service Agreement (ToS)?

The writer seeks to explore the legal regime for the administration of DAs in Nigeria vis a vis the Wills Act/Law and Administration of Estates Law of Lagos, development in other climes and proffers practical steps in protecting DAs after death.

Understanding Digital Assets DAs have become increasingly significant due largely to continuous online presence of internet users. Section 2 United States Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, 2015 (UFADAA), defines DA as an electronic record in which an individual has a right or interest.

The term does not include an underlying asset or liability unless the asset or liability is itself an electronic record. These include: photos, emails, videos, texts, and online account information.

In Nigeria, the closest definition for DAs can be found in section 45 Electronic Transaction Bill, 2015 (passed by the National Assembly and awaits the assent of the President) which defines electronic data to include “...all data created, recorded, transmitted or stored in digital or other intangible form by electronic, magnetic, optical or by any other means, including non-paper means, that have capabilities for creation, recording, transmission or storage similar to those means.” This is rather a more generic definition covering all forms of data under the Bill.

Nigeria’s internet boom can be gleaned from a report released by Internet Live Stat in 2016 - show-

A15 NBA Elections: electoral committee prohibits proxy verification

A14 Young Lawyers to benefit from NBA Lagos Branch Mentorship Programme ...ALP International (ALPi), a cross-continental combination of African law firms, at its quarterly board meeting held at the ALP Nigeria offices in Lagos held discussions on the impact of the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement and the future of legal services in Africa. ALPi combines practices in Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. Representatives of the firms are pictured above, along with hosts Olasupo Shasore, SAN and Aisha Rimi, partners at ALP Nigeria.

ing significant increase from a meagre 78,o00 internet users in the early 2ooos to over 86 million users as at (July) 2016. This, coupled with the absence of any definitive legislation covering DAs and thus exposing Nigerians to the whims of cleverly crafted one sided standard form contract, could fuel the fire of potential controversy surrounding DAs in Nigeria.

Transferability of Digital Assets The trend in most online platforms is to have a non-transferability clause in their account opening ToS which ordinarily bars third parties from access to user’s profile or account. For instance, Clause 4, paragraphs 8 and 9 and Clause 18, paragraph 6 of Facebook’s Statement of Rights and Responsibilities reads: “You will not share your password (or in the case of developers, your secret key), let anyone else access your account, or do anything else that might jeopardize the security of your account. You will not transfer your account (including any Page or application you administer) to anyone without first getting our written permission.

You will not transfer any of your rights or obligations under this Statement to anyone else without our consent.” By signing up a user account, user unequivocally surrenders the right to transfer his account to a third party without first making recourse to Facebook.

Similarly, Google’s ToS in Clause

1, paragraph 1.1 item c provides: “… Customer may not sublicense or transfer these rights except as permitted under the Assignment section of the Agreement.”

Given the challenges encountered by third parties attempting to access deceased user’s account, it is often a battle less desirable for the families of the deceased, who already have their hands full dealing with emotional trauma of the loss of their beloved relative.

Avoiding such would definitely help to assuage the survivors’ sense of grief and loss.

A particular instance involved the social media giant Facebook and the family of Alison Atkins whose parents after her death, in a bid to immortalise her fading memory unsuccessfully made attempts to gain access to her Facebook account. The request to have access to her account was turned down by Facebook using the Stored Communication Act (SCA) as a basis. The SCA extends the Fourth Amendment of the American Constitution by protecting privacy of account holder, effectively leaving the disposition of the deceased’s DAs at the mercy of social media platforms.

Although, this was before Facebook introduced its legacy contact option where a user can designate a contact as his legacy contact with the ability to; write a pinned post for deceased user’s profile, respond to new friend requests, update profile picture and cover photo, and download a copy of

what has been shared on Facebook. The legacy contact, however, has its limitations including; inability to log into deceased’s user account, remove or change post or anything shared on deceased’s user timeline, read messages or remove friends.

Passing Title in Digital Assets to Successors: Going through A Needle’s Eye In Nigeria, succession is generally governed by the Wills Act 1837, Wills Law of the various States, Administration of Estates Laws of the various States and customary laws. Where a person dies testate (that is, the deceased made a Will before his demise), an application is made to the Probate Registry (if the Will was deposited at the Registry) for the reading of the Will. After the reading of such Will, the dispositions are determined and executors appointed by the deceased testator would proceed to make an application for Probate. Upon grant of Probate by the Registry after paying the requisite estate fees, the executors can distribute the estate of the deceased in accordance with the provisions of the Will.

Where the deceased dies intestate (dies without a Will), the process becomes complex. The Personal Representatives of the deceased would make an application to the Probate Registry attaching the deceased’s death certificate, title documents to properties owned, evidence of financial account with banks,

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and other assets owned by the deceased as may be required by the Registry. The Registry thereafter sends Bank Certificateto the banks to ascertain the amount of money with them. Upon the grant of the Letters of Administration (LoA) after payment of the requisite estate fees, the administrators can thereafter have access to the assets listed in the LoA. It is noteworthy that where any of the deceased’s asset is omitted in the LoA, such would not be reckoned with as constituting part of the deceased’s asset for distribution.

The challenge therefore lies in the classification of DAs for the purpose of transmission to successors of the deceased user.

Section 1(1) Wills Law, Cap. W2 Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria 2003 (Wills Law) provides that: “it shall be lawful for every person to bequeath or dispose of, by his will executed in accordance with the provision of this law, all property to which he is entitled, either in law or in equity, or at the time of his death….”(emphasis supplied).

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Thursday 19 July 2018

BDLegalBusiness

NBA Elections: electoral committee RIGHTS WATCH HEDA petitions IGP, seeks prohibits proxy verification investigation of Finance Minister ...threatens to Drag Defaulters to Disciplinary Committee

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he Electoral Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (ECNBA) has warned that it would drag to the NBA Disciplinary committee, any lawyer caught updating the election portal for other In a letter of warning to members of the bar, signed by the Secretary of the ECNBA, Bolaji Agoro, the committee warned against proxy verification made by certain members for others.

The letter read: “Reports reaching the ECNBA indicates that some individuals are updating the particulars of others in the ongoing verification exercise.

“Please note that by the design of the exercise, the verification code is secret and personal to each eligible voter. It is not permissible for anyone to verify for another under whatever guise.

“Members should take note and not allow any person to do their accreditation which has commenced on their behalf.

“It should be noted that anyone impersonating another to verify the details of another by engaging in such conduct is in violation of the NBA Rules of Professional Conduct (RPC).

“The ECNBA will not hesitate to refer anyone caught or reported to have engaged in such reprehensible act to the Disciplinary Committee. Members are advised to be

Abubakar Balarabe Mahmoud, SAN, President, Nigerian Bar Association​ (NBA)​

rightly guided.”

It would be recalled that due to reported challenges being experienced by lawyers in verifying their data, they have resorted to other members for assistance.

Currently, all the candidates vying for the office of the NBA President have set up “help desks” to assist members with the verification exercise.

This is seen by many NBA stakeholders as a campaign strategy to

show that they care for the welfare of the members, even as there are fears that some candidates may use the ploy to mine data to give them advantage during the voting exercise.

However, the ECNBA has frowned against this practice, even as it extended the verification deadline to July 17. The extension is an acknowledgement of the hardships some members are going through in order to verify their data.

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he Human and Environmental Development Agenda Resource Centre (HEDA), a non-governmental organization, has asked the Inspector-General of Police to conduct an urgent and thorough investigation into the scandalous allegations of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) certificate forgery against Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, Nigeria’s finance minister, which was recently brought to limelight by the media.

In a petition forwarded to the IGP and signed by HEDA’s chairman, Mr. Olanrewaju Suraju, the Resource Center said if the Minister is found culpable of the allegation she should be prosecuted, adding that the State Security Services officers responsible for vetting of her certificate and Members of the Parliament accused of extorting her situation for budgetary favours, should also face the music.

Taking its cue from an online media report, HEDA said. “According to an exclusive report in, an online Newspaper, dated the 7th day of July, 2018, Nigeria’s finance minister, Kemi Adeosun did not participate in the mandatory one-year National Youth Service Scheme, instead she allegedly forged an exemption certificate many years after graduation.”

The Resource Centre said that it was worth noting that the yearlong service organized by the National Youth Service Corps is compulsory

Kemi Adeosun

for all Nigerians who graduate from universities or equivalent institutions, within or outside Nigeria, at less than 30 years of age. According to the provisions of Section 13 of the NYSC Act, eligible Nigerians who skip the service year are liable to be sentenced to 12 months imprisonment and/or N2000 fine.

Section 13(3) of the said Act also further provides for a jail term of three years or option of N5000 fine for anyone who contravenes the provisions of the law. Section 13(4) of the NYSC Act specifically criminalizes giving false information or illegally obtaining the agency’s certificate and as such provides for up to 3 years jail term for offenders.

“According to reports, Mrs. Adeosun is said to have graduated from the University of East London, forContinued on page A16

TheBar Young Lawyers to benefit from NBA Lagos Branch Mentorship Programme

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everal young lawyers in Lagos will benefit from a mentorship programme launched by the Lagos branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).

This is part of the branch’s commitment towards the development of young lawyers in Nigeria, in a bid to prepare them for the challenges and opportunities of legal practice in the 21st century.

Speaking at the formal launch of the programme in Lagos, the Chairman of the branch, Chukwuka Ikwuazom disclosed that the objective was to match young lawyers with senior lawyers in a mentor/mentee relationship in a bid to build capacity and facilitate the development of young lawyers, with particular regards to emerging practice areas.

“The benefits of this arrangement, transcends each individual mentees and in-

L-R: Ikechukwu Uwanna, Chukwuka Ikwuazom, Chairman, Lagos branch and Desmond Obla of Templars.

cludes the mentors as well as their respective organisations in terms of increased knowhow and contacts across or-

ganisations,” he said.

Outlining the objectives of the project, the Chairman stated that there was need

to use the instrumentality of mentoring as a means of building the mentees’ confidence, broadening their perspectives, increasing their knowledge of their chosen profession and expanding their networks.

Also speaking about the programme, which is scheduled to last for a period of 12months for each batch of mentees, the chairman of the continuing legal education and mentoring committee of the NBA’s Lagos branch, Tobenna Erojikwe described the programme as a catalyst for upward mobility – on both the economic and social fronts – for young lawyers, and urged them not to use it as an avenue to solicit for money or job opportunities from their mentors.

Reginald Udom, a partner at Aluko & Oyebode gave young lawyers at the event ‘an overview of the changing face of mentoring in the 21st century, and the many choices open to them as they

navigate the twists and turns of their careers.

According to him, mentorship options include shortterm, goal-oriented mentoring; peer-peer mentoring (also known as the buddy system); speed mentoring; e-mentoring; reverse mentoring; job-fit mentoring; and mutual learning, adaptation and change.

In closing, Gbenga Oyebode, MFR, Chairman, Aluko & Oyebode, implored the young lawyers never to rely solely on luck as a path to success, stating that one could make his or her own luck by a combination of hard work and the cultivation of relevant social skills.

He said, “We do not always get what we want, but we usually get what we deserve.

More often than not, we get what is coming to us.”

Oyebode thus urged prospective mentees to cultivate the power of networking as a powerful tool for social mobility and professional growth.

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New Partners Admitted at ALP

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frica Law Practice has announced the admission of two new partners into the firm’s partnership.

This change in the firm’s partnership structure, which took effective from July 1st, 2018 brings the number of partners at ALP to six.

Speaking about this development, Olasupo Shasore, SAN, said, “We are honoured to welcome Bello to senior management’. “He is an excellent barrister and one of the few Nigerian international arbitration practitioners with significant ICSID arbitration experience. With his hands-on commitment, demonstrable leadership and talent for problem-solving, Bello has had a major impact on the firm and our clients”.

According to Shasore, the admissions are in line with ALP’s policy of enabling the mobility of young practitioners as well as the quest to increase capacity at all levels of the Firm’s practice.

Joining ALP from inception, Bello Salihu is a commercial dispute resolution practitioner with significant and varied commercial litigation and international commercial & investment arbitration experience. His casework specialisation is cross-border asset-tracing and recovery.

Atinuke Y. Dosunmu, formerly a Partner at Gravitas Law Firm, joins ALP with considerable transaction experience in Independent Power Projects and in general Energy Sector advice.

Her practice areas include aviation, e-commerce, mining and solid minerals, project finance, M & A, trademarks and arbitration. Her corporate commercial advice experience includes work as in-house counsel in the banking industry.

‘Tinuke brings to the firm a razor-sharp mind and an uncanny ability to provide creative solutions to complex cross-border transactions. A strong believer in the concept of law as a tool for

Bello Salihu .

socio-economic development, Tinuke served on the Lagos State Law Reform Commission as a member of the Ad Hoc Advisory Committee (Trade and Commercial Law Sub-Committee) on a project that culminated in the

enactment of the Laws of Lagos State 2015 Both partners practice in both the Corporate & Commercial and Litigation & Dispute Resolution divisions of the Firm.

Also, section 25 Wills Law further defined property to include: “… right of occupancy, sublease, subunderlease and funds, securities for moneys, shares, debts, chose in action, rights, credits, goods and all other property whatsoever which by law devolved upon the executor or administrator and any share or interest therein.” In the same vein, Section 1 Administration of Estates Law, Cap. A3 Laws of Lagos of Nigeria 2003 defines property to include: “…a thing in action and any interest in real or personal property.”

Although, there is no direct classification of DAs under Nigeria’s laws, it can be said to constitute a chose in action. Channel J. in Tokington v. Magee [1902] 2 K.B. at p.430, opined, “a chose in action is

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RIGHTS WATCH Irukera advocates Competition law as vital tool for economic growth

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he Director General of Consumer Protection Council, Babatunde Irukera has identified competition law as a key and invaluable tool for regulating markets and consumer protection.

Irukera who spoke at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva early this week emphasized the need to promote innovation, small businesses; value for money; fair prices; standards and choice in Nigeria and Africa.

This according to him will provide security and comfort for investors and attract many others.

He said, “In a large vibrant and loyal market such as Nigeria, the absence of broad competition regulation is tragic. It discourages innovation, start-ups and market entry, but encourages operator conspiracy, collusion and is a market entry barrier. It prevents appropriate quality standards, or improvements, choice, and fairness, but promotes exploitation, gouging, and lack of options for consumers.”

He noted further that unregulated markets in competition context constitute the otherwise “legitimate” vehicle for both financial and social extortion.

“We must free the market for the people, especially the poor whose lives will be more affordable and satisfying when they have choices and pay fair prices.

The Director General also stated that the prerogative of choice, fairness of price and possibilities of success in business are the most vital components of the true and real empowerment that our nation needs.

“Far more than stomach infrastructure or Okada/ wheelbarrow empowerment, a well regulated competitive market is what creates entrepreneurs, who create jobs. It promotes an economy whose growth is not just in the indices and numbers, but one that provides jobs and truly translates many from poverty, and results in shared prosperity, this is what competition does! It is the catalyst for a competitive economy,” he said with a note of finality.

Babatunde Irukera, Director General, Consumer Protection Council (L) during a courtesy visit on H.E Ambassador Kadiri Audu, Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN & Other International Organisations.

The DG participated in the UNCTAD intergovernmental Group of Experts for protection of consumers meeting at the UN, Geneva.

Tinuke Dosunmu .

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a personal right in property which can only be enforced by taking legal proceedings and not by taking physical possession.” DAs being electronic with user exercising personal rights, can therefore be enforced through an action in court. As provided under the laws examined above, in my humble opinion, DAs are therefore disposable to successors under a Will or upon intestacy.

Having established that DAs constitute chose in action, the question that arises thereafter is whether users’ DAs held in another jurisdiction (for example in the USA) are transferable? In a revolutionary legislation, after much debate, the United States’ Unified Law Commission revised the UFADAA to enable fiduciaries have access to the DAs of deceased/incapacitated users. By the way, the UFADAA has been

enacted by 13 States in the USA. Under the UFADAA, there is an obligation on custodians (a person that carries, maintains, processes, receives, or stores a digital asset of a user - online platform owners/operators) to provide access to DAs to fiduciaries as provided under section 5 UFADAA. However, it is instructive to note that the grant to the fiduciary is limited to access to the deceased/incapacitated user’s DA and does not by any means constitute power to engage in transactions with such DAs. The UFADAA is only applicable to users who reside/resided at the time of death in a State that has enacted it into its laws as provided under Section 6(4) (b) UFADAA. The implication is that users outside the USA cannot reap the benefits provided Continues on page A16

SERAP to INEC: Prosecute perpetrators of vote buying in Ekiti election or face legal action

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he Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, (SERAP) has sent an open letter to Professor Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) urging him to “promptly, thoroughly and effectively investigate allegations of vote buying by both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during last Saturday’s governorship election in Ekiti State, and to collaborate with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in any such investigation.

The organization also urged INEC to “prosecute anyone suspected to be involved and/or complicit in the alleged vote buying, if there is relevant and sufficient admissible evidence of electoral

bribery and abuse of the electoral and democratic process against them.”

The organization requested Professor Yakubu to “take steps within 14 days of the receipt and/ or publication of this letter, failing which SERAP will institute legal proceedings to compel you and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to discharge your constitutional and statutory responsibilities in the public interest.”

In the letter dated 17 July 2018 and signed by SERAP executive director Adetokunbo Mumuni the organization said, “It is the responsibility of INEC as an independent body to take meaningful steps and action to minimise electoral bribery by politicians, ensure political equality and prevent unfair electoral competition.

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High Court showdown over legal aid fees begins

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NITED KINGDOM: A High Court on Tu e s d a y b e g a n hearing a dispute over legal aid reforms, which the Law Society says will amount to as much as a 37% fee cut for practitioners.

Under reforms to the litigators’ graduated fee scheme (LGFS), which remunerates litigators for Crown court work, the Ministry of Justice has capped the number of claimable pages of prosecution evidence (PPE) at 6,000 rather than 10,000.

Blackstone Chambers’ Dinah Rose QC, representing the Law Society, told Lord Justice Leggatt and Justice Carr DBE this morning that the effect is to reduce ‘significantly’ the maximum fee that can be paid under the scheme.

Rose pointed out that cases of between 40-60 days’ length, which fell under a very high cost cases (VHCC) scheme, now fell

under the graduated fee scheme.

Even though they represent 2% of Crown court cases under the LGFS they represent 24% of the value under the scheme. ‘At no point does the lord chancellor ask in the analysis what that 2% is worth,’ Rose said.

She added that changes to the way the Crown Prosecution Service serves evidence also created a ‘lacuna’ in the scheme. Over time, evidence has increasingly been served electronically.

Rose told the court that evidence generated electronically is frequently the central material on which the prosecution is built

and material which has to be ‘analysed and considered with great care’ by the defence.

Under the amended scheme, the Legal Aid Agency has discretion - based on case law and government guidance - over whether to pay certain electronic evidence as PPE. ‘There is nothing in the regulations or guidance that requires PPE to be paid for electronic evidence of peripheral relevance or that can simply be electronically searched by the defence,’ she added.

The government announced its controversial LGFS consultation ‘out of the blue’ and ‘with no warning’ in January 2017.

‘Before the lord chancellor could lawfully decide to fundamentally change the scheme, he had to have at least some evidence that the rise in PPE didn’t reflect an equivalent rise in the workload of providers,’ she said.

-LAW SOCIETY GAZETTE

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under the Act, even if the custodians are based in a State where the Act is applicable.

It would appear that in Europe, there is yet to be a unified code to collectively regulate the transferability of DAs. Currently, the only recourse of users or fiduciaries as the case may be is to national laws where such is protected under general private law principles.

Transfer through Wills and Trust?

It is arguable whether transfer of DAs by the user to a third party in a Will or Trust Instrument does not violate the non-transferability clause in the platform’s ToS. It is desirable that users device means to protect such DAs to avoid being lost, locked or frozen by online platforms since it constitute incorporeal property to which users have proprietary rights. Hence, while making plans to draft a Will, users who desire to transfer DAs should make provisions in their

Will to enable the executors have unrestrained access to such DAs by providing user’s name and password. Such clause in the Will must specifically grant the powers to access, distribute, handle, dispose, modify, delete and control the DAs to the executors of the Will. Alternatively, users may opt to create a Digital Assets Trust to manage the DAs. The trust arrangement would ensure the DAs are protected and transferred to successors as though the user was not deceased. Such trust arrangement is governed by a trust deed stating its objectives and instructions to the trustee.

Another issue that may arise in granting Probate or LoA on DAs is the estate fee that would otherwise be paid upon valuation of the deceased’s estate to the State. Although, this is not the thrust of this article, the State stands the risk of substantial revenue loss in a situation where users convert their tangible assets into DAs through astute estate planning.

Conclusion

With emerging trends in the use of ICT, both users and governments need to take drastic steps to catch up with the pace of development. Given that conventional legislative action is slow, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) should set the ball rolling with championing policies and framework that protect users in Nigeria. The resultant outcomes/deliverables can thereafter be adopted by the various States in the administration of estates of their residents as may be applicable.

At the user ’s level, there should be provision for the transmission of his DAs in his Will where he intends his DAs to be retained by his estate upon his demise. This would prevent economic loss as well as protect the interest of his beneficiaries who might have developed sentimental attachment to his DAs. *Chuks Okoriekwe is a commercial lawyer and practices with LeLaw Barristers & Solicitors.

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merly known as Polytechnic of East London in 1989 while she was at the age 22. According to her curriculum vitae, she was born in March, 1967.

“Having graduated at 22, it was obligatory for Mrs. Adeosun to participate in the one-year national service, for her to qualify for any job, public of private, in Nigeria. This is premised upon the fact that her entire circumstances do not even in the first place qualify her for an exemp-

tion certificate from the mandatory service. However, reports have it that the embattled minister, having being concerned that she might run into trouble for skipping the mandatory scheme, sometime in 2009 allegedly procured a fake exemption certificate.

“Further investigation confirming the alleged forgery is the fact that Mrs. Adeosun’s purported exemption certificate is dated September 9, 2009 and purportedly signed by Yusuf Bomoi, a former Director-General of

Thursday 19 July 2018

the corps. However, officials said Mr. Bomoi stepped down from the NYSC position in January 2009 and could not have signed any certificate for the corps eight months after.

Top officials of the NYSC, both current and former officials, familiar with the issues of exemption and the likes stated that the NYSC does not issue an exemption certificate to anyone who like the minister, graduates before turning 30.”

HEDA stressed that it is pertinent to note that Mrs. Adeosun has used

SERAP to INEC: Prosecute perpetrators of vote buying in Ekiti election...

No body politic worthy of being called a democracy entrusts the selection of leaders to a process of auction or barter.”

The organization said, “Vote buying amounts to undue influence and improper electoral influence. When politicians buy votes, they reinforce social subjugation and do long-term damage to poor voters, as vote buying impairs voters’ already limited political power and participation in governance.

Offering and giving poor people money to buy their votes is the hallmark of political disrespect, as it implies that politicians perceive voters as lacking autonomy.”

The letter copied to both the ICPC and the EFCC read in part: “Investigating the allegations and prosecuting all those suspected to be involved would indicate your agencies’ willingness to exert your authorities and act as a deterrent against breaches of the electoral process, Nigeria’s anti-corruption legislation and international standards.”

“SERAP therefore urges you to carry out investigation and prosecution of vote buying in Ekiti election but also in the elections in Anambra State, Edo State and Ondo State, in collaboration with the ICPC and EFCC of the allegations of vote buying, as highlighted above, and to send a strong message to politicians that INEC under your leadership would not tolerate any infringement of the electoral process ahead of the 2019 general elections.”

“Turnout of poor voters may decrease if they view a wealthdriven electoral system increasingly stacked against their interests. It is inconsistent and incompatible with the principles of democracy, the rule of law, transparency and accountability for politicians to use vote buying to perpetuate systems of regular patronage, knowing that such acts would purchase them sympathy and support, especially from socially and economically vulnerable communities.”

“Vote buying amounts to undue interference in the free exercise of the right to vote, as it implicitly aims at influencing or attempting to influence a voter not to vote or to vote in a particular manner. Specifically, the alleged giving of N3,000 or N5,000 to voters during the Ekiti election or

payment into the bank accounts of voters is corruptly intended, and clearly aimed to influence their choice of candidates and voting intention. This practice seriously undermines the right of voters to freely vote according to their convictions.”

“Further, vote buying gives wealthy politicians an advantage in election campaigns and outcome greater than what they already possess, and it biases political decisions in favor of the wealthy. Our democracy cannot be sustainable when the electoral system inordinately prioritises the rights of political parties and their candidates in elections over and above those of the ordinary voter.”

“When politicians buy votes from the poor, political equality will suffer. If voters choose candidates for public office at least in part based on the voters’ economic interests, and these economic interests vary depending upon one’s wealth, candidates chosen in elections where the wealthy buy the votes of the poor more likely will reflect the views of the wealthy. Thus, economic disparities will translate into political disparities in the election of candidates.”

“According to reports, agents of the APC and the PDP allegedly openly engaged in vote buying in some polling units during Ekiti Governorship election. Many voters were videoed moving in numbers to ‘cash collection points’ in lieu of their votes. Others received credit alerts on their mobile phones.”

“We consider allegations of vote buying as political corruption, because it is the promising or giving of value in the form of money, in return for a promise of a vote. We are concerned that the failure of INEC to rein in electoral bribery is illustrated by the fact that the body has failed and/ or neglected to investigate and prosecute similar incidents of vote buying in places like Edo State; Anambra State and Ondo State.”

“SERAP is seriously concerned that vote buying undermines the ability of INEC to discharge its responsibilities under Section 153 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and paragraph 15(a) of the third schedule of the Constitution, the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) and under the UN Convention against Corruption to which Nigeria is a state party.”

the alleged ‘fake’ certificate to clinch high profile jobs in Nigeria illegally, ranging from her service as a managing director with Quo Vadis Partnerships, Commissioner for Finance with the Ogun State Government and currently serving as Minister of Finance with the Federal government.

“The alleged forgery is also reported to be a tool being used by the National Assembly to ‘blackmail’ Mrs. Adeosun to release funds to the legislative arm of government, the National Assembly having discovered the forgery during her screening/confirmation exercise as finance minister in 2015.

“According to an official statement

of the NYSC as regards the forgery scandal, the scheme purportedly stated that there is evidence that the embattled minister had indeed applied for an exemption certificate and promised to investigate the alleged forged exemption certificate.”

The Resource Centre averred that, “The said NYSC statement confirms to a reasonable degree the allegations of forgery, as the corps would have made bold to state authoritatively that it issued the said exemption certificate, if that was the case, without requiring further investigations, since the corps is deemed to have records of all its issuance of exemption certificates.

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Opinion

Now is the time KINGSLEY MOGHALU Kingsley Moghalu is a Presidential Aspirant of the Young Progressive Party (YPP) and was a Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria from 2009-2014.

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xactly 20 years ago, Nigeria had an opportunity. The end of military rule was in sight with the death of Sani Abacha, and the time was ripe to fundamentally remake the character of the Nigerian state. Some of those who had fought military rule positioned themselves to take advantage of that opportunity by getting involved in party politics at all levels. But many were ill-equipped to manage Nigeria and her vast resources. Many others, some of whom were this country’s best and brightest, also stayed away, for a variety of reasons including fear for personal and family safety. Others preferred to watch from afar. The Nigeria we have today is a direct descendent of that chaotic period in our history.

Back then, I was in my early thirties, making my way in the UN system and contributing to the rebuilding of nations torn apart by war: Rwanda.

Cambodia. Former Yugoslavia. I was optimistic for Nigeria’s future after Abacha passed and hoped things would work out.

They did not. The optimism that led many to return around 10 years ago, me inclusive, has been replaced

with increasing despair. So much so that we are seeing more and more young Nigerians leave for elsewhere through legal and not so legal means.

You may know someone who has already done this, or is planning to; risking life and limb in the process, or being sold as slaves.

Who can blame them? There is little to convince anyone that Nigeria values life. If it is not communal clashes, it is tankers and trailers. If it is not malaria, it is cholera, or some other disease long forgotten in much of the world. If it is not armed robbers, it is SARS. It is sometimes difficult to tell the difference between the two.

Another cause for despair was the widespread vote buying that characterised the recent Ekiti elections.

People sold their votes for N5,000 or less, and this money no doubt came from our public funds. What else could it have been used for? If elections are decided by money to that extent, then it means the thieves win more often than not. It also means that once in office, that ‘investment’ must be paid back somehow. Who pays for it? All of us. We will pay in that hospital not refurbished, those doctors and teachers not paid, those roads not fixed.

However, I still have hope for this country. I still believe that a genuine improvement in the quality of life for the majority is possible, because I have seen it happen with my own eyes elsewhere. Shattered countries like Rwandastood shakily to their feet and moved forward after the terrors of genocide. Colombiasurvived 50 years of an insurgency, while simultaneously combating drug related violence in its major cities. There is no challenge

that Nigeria is facing now that other nations have not surmounted.

The first step is to believe it is possible, to believe that Naija is still worth fighting for. The best time to change this country was 20 years ago. The next best time is now.

Today’s young generation should not make the mistake of staying away from politics. START EARLY. The NotTooYoungtoRun movement has done well to get the ages for eligibility into public office reduced. It is a small but crucial step, made possible through concerted organization and advocacy. What needs to happen now is for the lessons from that campaign to be documented and disseminated, as a guide for navigating the politics necessary to make any kind of social change possible in Nigeria There are many, many things in our country that need changing, but these changes will not come overnight.

They are the result of painstaking work to bring people together, educating them and making them see the gravity of the issues at stake. The civil rights movement in the US to the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa and many others in between, are the result of hard work done behind the scenes.

The mentality that Bring Back Our Girls and NotTooYoungToRun brought to bear on their activism is important. They did not restrict themselves to merely complaining on social media, they organized and lobbied.

They didn’t just sit on their hands, hoping the authorities would act. They went out and forced their hand.

Power gives up nothing without demand, that is why for as long as all we do is complain on social media about our leaders, nothing will change.

We must demand better. We must demand that Nigerians stop dying needlessly without consequence. We must demand that our government create opportunities for Nigerians to achieve their potential. We must demand an end to the corruption that has retarded our efforts for decades.

These demands can only be met through the ballot box, by electing people with a vision for our country, instead of those who are part of the problem, no matter what name they bear this time around. But we cannot make these choices without being able to vote. How many of us have their PVCs? Do you know that the last date for registration for the elections is August 17th, just over a month from now?

There is no one today who can argue that our government protects the weak from the strong. If anything, the strong are given the freedom the attack the weak, safe in the knowledge that nothing will happen. Hundreds die but it takes days to get a response from the government. Grievous allegations are made, but mum’s the word.

Mahatma Gandhi said once that the measure of a society is not in how it treats its strongest, but how it treats its most vulnerable members, those some might call ‘nobodies’. Government is there precisely to protect the weak from the strong.

However, you and I are the only ones who can change this. No one is coming to save us. There are no messiahs or magic wands. Only you and I can make the case daily that things do not have to continue in this direction, that there are alternatives to our current situation and those who led us here.

There is a reason why otherwise

well-meaning and accomplished technocrats go into government and leave with their reputations damaged more often than not. It is not that they do not know what needs to be done. They do.

The problem is that very often, the priorities of the political leaders are very different from theirs, and politics wins every single time. Politics in Nigeria is bigger than any policy. That is why for any reform to take hold, political will is the be-all and end-all. It does not matter how good the idea is, it doesn’t matter how many lives it can enhance.

It is in our power to change our destiny. It is within our power to write a new chapter in our history. Many are leaving Nigeria because they feel things are hopeless. They read the news and look at their own surroundings and are driven to despair. We must not give in to the cynicism which says that Nigeria is “finished”. It will only be finished if we do not speak up.

Four years ago, a sitting President in Nigeria was voted out of office for the first time. It was unprecedented, because of the power of incumbency and the vast access to resources it confers on the holder of that office. But it happened anyway because enough of us chose not to reward failure. Many thought it would be the start of better governance, but have come away feeling disappointed.

However, we have not yet reached our goal, and so we must not give in to despair. We must draw inspiration from the various countries and social movements within those countries that have taken years to succeed. Our own journey has just begun. If we pull back now, if we give up and go home, we will only surrender to those who think Nigeria is for them-

selves and their children. Therefore I say: no retreat, no surrender.

There are many who will make the argument that we have to enter into coalitions with other parties to push the current administration out of office. I say no, and that is because these coalitions have many of the same people who have actively destroyed this country. They are only aggrieved only because they are not “chopping” right now. Only a clean break from the people and thinking of the past will produce a different outcome. Rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic is not good enough.

There will also be those who say that it is not yet time for such talk.

They will say that Nigerians are not yet ready for a nationwide issuebased campaign that rejects money politics. They will say that Nigerians only understand appeals to religion and ethnicity, as well as stomach infrastructure. Once again, I disagree.

About two weeks ago, French President Emmanuel Macron visited Nigeria, and one of the things he recalled was how some people told him to ‘wait a little bit’ before pursuing his presidential ambition.

He built a party – La Republiqueen Marché – from nothing to winning a huge majority in the French parliamentary elections in just one year, because they were offered a sharp difference from the existing political establishment in France.

He did not wait for his time, and the rest is history.

And so I say to you all today: It is time. I also say to Nigeria’s failed and recycled politicians: Time’s up.

This is an adaptation of his talk @ TEDx Maitama, Abuja on July 14, 2018

AMCON: Like Biafran cassava and Nigerian generator

IK MUO Ik Muo, PhD. Department of Business Administration, OOU, Ago Iwoye, Ogun State

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cute hunger was our inseparable companion during the Biafran war of independence. Nothing could be imported while local farming and production were at ground zero because almost everybody was a refugee and the ‘kind-hearted’ Nigerian soldiers (who treated soldiers as brothers but brutally dealt with civilians, as the president revealed recently), especially the pilots and their deadly jets, made any form of economic activity almost impossible.

But cassava was available. Cassava is a generous plant, which you just need to cut a stem into 10 pieces, stick them into the ground, exercise some patience and viola, food is ready. So cassava came in handy to rescue the starving populace, never mind that it is just starch. It is at such times that you know that before you talk of balanced diet, you must first have some diet! However, being the only thing available, and haven survived the bomb-rain of those days, the Biafrans offloaded their anger and hunger on the cassava, as if it committed an offence by its availability. We ate the tubers, ate the leaves, some even attempted to eat the stems while we harvested the helpless cassava before

it matured. In effect, for offering to help us out, cassava was used, misused, abused and overused! Indeed we had a song in those awful days about how cassava offered to help and got into trouble!

Forward to Nigeria of today and probably starting from the 1990s.

The generator came in as a stand-by source of power when NEPA started distributing more darkness than light and mischievous Nigerians gave it the baptismal name: Never Expect Power Always. It was not always like that because while I traversed the North, (Jos, Kaduna & Kano, 1987-1994), it took three days’ notice to the freezer if you wanted to trace the goat-head or whatever that was resting at the floor of its bowel. Anyway, originally generators were used by the real bigmen and some big organisations.

I remember that the Honda that could power my one-man flat as at 1982 cost about N500 but I didn’t buy; power outage was uncommon and most important, I did not feel like disturbing my neighbours at 11 Obianado Street, Achara Layout, Enugu. Then suddenly, just suddenly, the generators took over and became a must have by everybody, including beggars and cassette hawkers. The generator offered to assist us (standby) but it became the major source of power and as at now, like cassava in Biafra, it is abused, misused and overused, to the extent that Nigeria has the gold medal in the global generator-importation business Unfortunately, the fate of cassava in Biafra and generator in Nigeria, is the current faith of Asset management Company of Nigeria, a government sponsored bad-bank that came in as a part of the banking reforms of Sanusi II. Its broad objectives are to

revive troubled banks by purchasing their eligible non-performing loans(NPLs), recapitalising those in which the CBN has intervened, providing financial accommodation and consequently freeing up their balance sheets and providing liquidity to enable them perform their basic role of credit creation. By stabilizing the financial system, AMCON is expected to save the Nigeria and Nigerians of the pangs of distress and its complicated consequences. Unfortunately, as at today and like the cassava and generator before it, AMCON is being used, abused, misused and overused!

What AMCON has done in the past 7 years is to take over eligible NPLs, drink tea (the exact words of AMCON CEO) while negotiating repayment plans with the debtors, most of whom are big-boy debtors, and take over the assets and businesses of these unrepentant debtors. On the other hand, most of the debtors ignored AMCON and their letters, undertake a tie-in strategy by engaging AMCON in an endless legal cul-de-sac and finally let them have whatever is left of their distressed businesses and over-valued assets.

But while the debtors are living their lives and while we have been mercifully saved from another round of large-scale distress, it is obvious that AMCON is in dire stress. And this is the obvious conclusion when the recent news from AMCON and its stakeholders are considered.

AMCON recently, and helplessly told a bewildered nation that its debt stock is N5.4 trn (from about 13000 bad loans) that are at least 12 years old, that 350 Nigerians owe 80% of these debts (N4.3trn, half of our contentious 2018 budget) that 90% of the debts are encumbered by litiga-

tions, that the tedious legal process is hampering debt recovery efforts and that it would soon seize the assets of the debtors, and has made a total recovery of 682bn while it is planning to adopt name and shame strategy which never worked for the banks.

The CBN on its own is toying with the idea of establishing Private Asset Management Companies (PAMC), private sector-driven bad banks to take over the estimated N2trn NPLs in the system while the National Assembly is planning to amend the laws to grant AMCON more punching powers in its dealings with the debtors.

The best debt recovery strategy of AMCON is acquisition but its MD has recently lamented that “our ability to successfully divest these assets at competitive market price, is severely hampered by several factors including valuation methodology, unperfected title documents, state of the economy, purchasing power.” In 2014, I had raised issues about these amorphous acquisitions by AMCON (AMCON and Its Acquisitions, 1/4/14), especially whether AMCON could run these businesses and for how long it would do so. The above lamentation by the CEO reinforces my position then. AMCON has been acquiring everything and anything and I believe that it lacks the capacity for effective management of these assets; and of course managing these assets are not its core responsibility. For instance, Sea Petroleum & Gas, was one of the relatively small acquisitions by AMCON (compare it with Aero or Arik). However, we can only appreciate the ‘trouble’ which AMCON also acquired when we look at the assets involved: the company’s business, which sits on over 9000 square kms of land along the Lekki-

Epe Express Way; two tank farms of 500 metric tonnes capacity; three properties located at Lekki, seven office/filling station complexes scattered around Lekki, and Abuja, staff located in Lagos, two properties at Oniru axis of Lagos, and a gas plant at Karu, and a farm both in Abuja.”. This is just from a single case and one of the small ones. Just imagine what the scenario would look like if AMCON successfully achieves 200 business seizures? As I had asked before, can AMCON manage these amorphous acquisitions?

As we think about the fate and future of AMCON, I have the following question for the corporation, its stakeholders and its new chairman, Muiz Banire. Even if the legal process is loosened up so that it can easily acquire the assets backing up these N.5.4trn debts, how can/will AMCON manage these businesses sustainably before disposal? If the businesses could not service the loans while in full operation, how can they service the loan now they have been destablised by AMCON intervention/interference? How saleable are these assets, especially under this inclement economic weather? Who will come out to bid when there is a possibility that the now independent Nigerian Financial Intelligent Unit can ask buyers to indicate the source of their money? Beginning from the beginning, how were those assets valued by the banks before they were collaterised: normal valuation or banking valuation? These question are also germane for the NASS, that has promised to review with the AMCON act How will a year one accounting student classify an organization with N2trn assets and N5.4 trn debts

hanging on its neck or an organization which the CEO publicly announced that its debts have far outweighed its assets? The fact is that AMCON is in trouble and worsening its trouble by overburdening itself with businesses and assets which it cannot manage well and cannot sell easily. Long time ago, our elders asked the native doctor who claimed that he could cure diarrhea, how immune he was from the sickness. AMCOM set out cure diarrhea but it did not fortify itself very well and he has been affected by the ailment.

All said and done, the weight of the pot has become heavier than the weight of the water just as the letter has become bigger than envelope.

As we usually ask the journalists, who will watch the watchdog? It appears that AMCON also needs rescue and so, who will rescue AMCON? The other day, a bank which has received my salaries for the past 14 years, refused to execute a transfer on my behalf because the account balance was N150 (yes, just N150) less than the amount requested and that was caused by some bank charges which I was not aware of and failure of their automated online processes to update my account balances! How come individuals are owing such a bank and others like it billions of Naira? Are there different banking processes and procedures for different people? These are surely evidence of banking signs and wonders! I also think that the person which named the organization AMCON probably has a good sense of humour. Which assets is AMCON managing? Why not call it DeMCON (Debt Management Corporation of Nigeria or DiMCON) Distressed-Firms Management Corporation of Nigeria?

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ANALYSIS

WORLD CUP MADE US FALL IN LOVE WITH RUSSIA INFANTINO

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IFA president Gianni Infantino says that football has an “energetic and positive impact” in Russia and that the World Cup made everyone fall in love with the country.

FRANCE ARE CROWNED WORLD CHAMPIONS Anthony Nlebem, reporting from Moscow

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here was to be no final, dramatic twist in a World Cup which has been full of joyous surprises and jaw-dropping late drama.

Twenty years after France won the first World Cup in its country’s history, a youthful Les Bleus side beat Croatia 4-2 in Moscow to win football’s most prestigious prize for the second time.

This was the highest-scoring final since 1966 and an entertaining climax a wonderful tournament deserved. In 90 high-octane minutes there was a controversial VAR decision, an own goal, record-breaking feats, a pitch invasion and an underdog pushing a heavyweight to its limit.

A Mario Mandzukic’s own goal and a controversial Antoine Griezmann penalty either side of Ivan Perisic’s wonderful long-range strike gave France a 2-1 lead at the break.

Arguably, France was undeservedly ahead but by the hour Les Bleus had scored two further goals, through Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe, to put France in command and the result in little doubt.

A dreadful error by captain Hugo Lloris allowed Mandzukic to reduce the deficit in the 69th minute and though Croatia went in search of more goals in the closing 20 minutes France, despite nerves creeping in, refused to fold.

As the heavens opened, France celebrated wildly on the pitch and Didier Deschamps, who etched his name in the record books by becoming the third man to win the World Cup as a player and head coach, following Brazil’s Mario Zagallo and Germany’s Franz Beckenbauer, was thrown into the air by his players and staff.

Mbappe, aged 19 years and 207 days, also further cemented his status as the most exciting young talent in world football with a longrange strike which made him the second-youngest player to score in a final after Pele, who scored as a 17-year-old in 1958.

Deservedly, the Paris Saint-Germain star was named the competition’s best young player.

Editor: Anthony Nlebem Tel: +234 803 836 9508 Email: tony@businessdayonline.com

On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin handed over the mantle of World Cup host to the emir of Qatar, whose country will stage the 2022 edition of the tournament.

At a Kremlin ceremony, Putin handed an official World Cup ball to Infantino who then handed it on the to Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani.

“Today I am a happy man... As far as I am concerned, we all fell in love with Russia. And I am sure in four years we will fall in love with Qatar,” Infantino said at the ceremony.

“It is football. It is passion. It is emotions. It is love. It is family. It is unity. These sentiments that we have felt here in Russia we [now] transfer to Qatar. And I am sure that this incredibly energetic and positive impact that football had in Russia, it will have in Qatar in four years.”

Putin said Russia was proud of its achievements in hosting the World Cup, and would share its experience with Qatar.

“The World Cup in Russia is coming to end,” he said. “Russia is handing over the relay baton for hosting the FIFA World Cup to Qatar.

“We are proud of what we did for fans of this wonderful sport. We ourselves, the whole country, got an enormous amount of pleasure from interacting with soccer, with the world of soccer, with the fans who came here from all over the globe.

“I’m sure that our friends from Qatar will be able to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup on the same high level. We are, of course, ready to share the experience we acquired in holding the World Cup this year, along with our friends.

The Qatari emir said his country would apply all its efforts to making a success of the 2022 World Cup. “We hope to overcome all the difficulties,” he said, adding that his country would also try to outdo the success on the pitch of the Russian team, who surpassed expectations by reaching the quarterfinals.

“Although it will be hard to repeat that success as we’re a small country, but we are very keen on sport.”

Designed by: Aderemi Ayeni Tel: +234 703 435 2828 Email: aderemi.ayeni@businessdayonline.com

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NEWS

RUSSIA FACES STRUGGLE TO FILL WORLD CUP STADIUMS S

ochi’s Fisht stadium has been witness to some of the best games of this year’s World Cup: Spain’s thrilling 3-3 draw with Portugal, Germany’s last-minute winner against Sweden, and underdog Russia’s battling loss on penalties to the finalists Croatia.

But to ensure any football is played there at all after the tournament ends with Sunday’s final, local authorities had to persuade a friend of President Vladimir Putin to move a team to Sochi.

How to prevent state-of-the-art stadiums becoming white elephants after a big tourna-

Mr Rotenberg bought Dinamo St Petersburg, a second-division side, and moved it to Sochi, where it will play as FK Sochi when the new season starts this month.

In Samara, where local side Krylia Sovietov is traditionally Russia’s most popular, the local government wants to turn the out-of-the way stadium into a sports cluster. Training pitches and adjoining facilities will be used to house a sports medicine centre, and create homes for sports ranging from competitive dancing to beach volleyball.

Sergei Yurchenko, the deputy mayor, is keen to promote Mr Rotenberg’s investment

Nikitin, Nizhny Novgorod’s governor, says he is negotiating with foreign investors about developing the stadium, home to a second-divison team that the city recently created from scratch.

“Our beaches sadly aren’t as good as in Brazil. It might be 30 degrees now, but it could be minus 30 in the winter, so we need to help them train,” said Alexander Fetisov, deputy governor of Samara.

A trickier issue is funding the reconstruction. Mr Fetisov estimates the upkeep will cost R500m ($8m) a year, which he hopes will be funded by Moscow.

ment has been a headache for many host nations. Officials in Manaus have mooted turning a stadium in the Brazilian Amazon, where England played in 2014’s World Cup, into a prison.

But the predicament is particularly acute in Russia, where vast distances between host cities, a lack of a strong football tradition outside of Moscow and St Petersburg, and tight regional finances mean local governments are seeking creative ways to keep the stadiums in use.

Sochi, which built the stadium for the 2014 Winter Olympics and then converted it to a football ground, has perhaps gone the furthest. The Black Sea resort city has been unable to support a top-flight football team.

Zhemchuzhina, a leading side in the 1990s, went bankrupt in 2003, while FK Sochi lasted two seasons in lower divisions a decade later.

To ensure the pitch remains occupied, local authorities enlisted Boris Rotenberg, a childhood friend of Mr Putin’s, as an investor.

as a rare triumph for privatisation in Russian football. Only five top-flight sides are privately owned, while the local governments and state-run firms that own the others struggle to fund their teams.

“We’re going to be in the premier league in a year or two at most. We have a serious investor so we don’t need state funding,” said Mr Yurchenko.

But Mr Rotenberg’s investment carries clear hallmarks of the state. Arkady, Mr Rotenberg’s older brother and Mr Putin’s long-time judo sparring partner, became a billionaire after his friend became president through winning pipeline contracts for Gazprom, the state gas monopoly. The brothers are under US sanctions.

Other cities without Sochi’s prestige and patronage are seeking more creative solutions to keep their stadiums occupied. Four of them do not have top-flight teams and lack the budgets to fund a push for Russia’s premier league without outside sponsors. Gleb

Alexei Kosolapov, the Volgograd mayor, expects to spend R350 a year keeping the stadium running for local side Rotor. He hopes the shortfall will be compensated by an uptick in tourism to the second world war site of the battle of Stalingrad. He wants to raise visitor numbers from 700,000 to 1m a year. “The infrastructure is all ready — the hotels, transport, the international airport,” he said.

Most cities will still likely rely on subsidies or debt markets. World Cup expenses accounted for significant rises in several host provinces’ net debt since 2012, including nearly all of Samara’s, according to Moody’s.

Nonetheless, some officials argue their cities will still save money. “We’re moving the Greco-Roman wrestling centre into the stadium,” said Alexei Merkushkin, head of World Cup preparations in Saransk. “Now we don’t need to build them a new gym — we just have to give them some new mats.”

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n English football coach once wryly noted football’s relative importance to life and death. But he said nothing about commerce. In Turin, Fiat cars and Juventus football club are both owned by the Agnelli family. One union called a strike after Juventus decided to spend over €100m on 33-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo, complaining that the Agnellis should invest more in Fiat.

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US-BASED IMAGINA FINED $24M FOR BRIBING SOCCER OFFICIALS

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Yet, clubs can absorb these high salaries. True, the cost of players rises inexorably. Less understood is that club finances have improved markedly. In the English Premier League all but one team made an operating profit in the 2016 season, says Deloitte. Four years earlier less than half of those same clubs did. Lucrative media deals have not only improved the lot of English clubs, but German, Italian and Spanish ones too. Not all of the money disappears into the coffers of players and their agents. While there is evidence that debt levels for top clubs have increased with wage demands, rising cash flow appears to support this leverage. Player transfer fees have soared since 2012. Against ebitda — a cash earnings measure — net debt of eight major clubs has dropped precipitously, according to FT analysis. That suggests at least some clubs can sustain their heavy player spending.

UEFA’s Financial Fair Play, an attempt to control uneconomic expenditure, has also had an effect. Fiat workers may have scored an own goal. Juve’s recent trend of paying up for stars has paid off with seven successive Italian league titles and some decent finances to boot.

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Florida-based unit of the Spanish sports media group Imagina pleaded guilty to charges of bribing Latin American soccer officials and was ordered to pay more than US$24 million, the latest penalty imposed in the sprawling US investigation of corruption at world soccer’s governing body Fifa.

At a hearing in New York before US District Judge Pamela Chen on Tuesday, US Imagina LLC general counsel Erika Lucas said that beginning around 2008, the company bribed officials of the national soccer federations of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras and of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU).

She said the company paid the bribes to secure media and marketing rights to qualifying matches for the 2014, 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

Lucas also said that in 2012, Roger Huguet, a US Imagina executive, entered into an agreement with sports marketing company Traffic Group to split the cost of a bribe to Jeffrey Webb, then president of Concacaf, which governs soccer in North and Central America and the Caribbean.

Lucas entered a guilty plea on behalf of the company to two counts of wire fraud conspiracy.

Chen ordered the company to pay a criminal fine of about US$12.9 million, pay restitution to the soccer federations and CFU totalling about US$6.6 million and to forfeit about US$5.3 million in criminal proceeds.

The fine will be paid by the Spanish parent company, which has entered into an agreement to avoid prosecution, according to the office of US Attorney Richard Donoghue.

Under its plea deal with prosecutors, the company has agreed not to appeal the judgment.

“This resolution, which comes after Imagina’s extensive cooperation with the US Justice Department’s investigation of the matter, enables Imagina to move forward as a stronger company,” Imagina said in a statement.

Huguet and another executive at Imagina, Fabio Tordin, pleaded guilty to US charges in 2015 and were terminated by the company.

Imagina said on Tuesday that it had determined the misconduct was limited to Huguet, Tordin and a third former executive whom it did not name, and that it had taken “significant steps” to ensure compliance in the future.

Imagina is one of more than 40 entities and individuals charged

by US prosecutors in connection with the Fifa inquiry.

The investigation has yielded more than two dozen guilty pleas and one trial of three former soccer officials, two of whom were found guilty by a jury.

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NEWS

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orld Cup 2018: Gianni Infantino hails VAR as he confirms Fifa will push ahead with plans for 48-team tournament in Qatar FIFA chief Gianni Infantino claims football has been changed forever by the introduction of VAR as he refuses to give up on plans to expand the World Cup to 48 teams.

And the head of the world game insisted: “Offside goals are now finished.”

Infantino, who declared himself an early “sceptic” about the introduction of the technology, has emerged as its biggest convert.

Fifa referees’ chief believe that, thanks to VAR, 99.32 per cent of key decisions made in Russia have been correct.

And Infantino said: “Nobody is asking about VAR any more - and that is because it is accepted. It’s working and has worked well.

“The results, and we’re talking about facts, not words, perceptions, are extreme-

ly clear and positive.

“In the games there have been more than 440 checks and 19 reviews over 62 matches. That’s one every three and a half matches.

“There were 16 decisions changed from wrong decision to a right decision.

Progress means to make things better, to improve. This IS progress. This is better.

“VAR is cleaning football, making it more transparent and honest. In the games, without VAR, 95 per cent of decisions were already correct. But thanks to VAR it was up to 99.32 per cent.”

He added: “We can say offside goals are finished in football, with VAR. “You will never see an offside goal scored that counts because with VAR you either are or are not offside.

“How many times written have you written and argued about whether a goal was offside or not? Now you have to have other arguments because offside is finished. Decisions are more clear and transparent.

“And look at how many red cards we have seen at previous World Cups for vio-

lent conduct.

“In this WC, so far, zero. Why? Not just because of VAR but certainly because players know that if they do something one of the 36 or so cameras will spot it and they will be sent off.

“We are very happy that have introduced VAR. It was a brave decision but now, today, it’s difficult to think about the World Cup without VAR. “It has been, certainly, a more just competition. This is what we wanted to achieve and have achieved so far.”

The Swiss also revealed he is pushing ahead to expand the competition to 48 teams for the Qatar 2022 World Cup. While Fifa have set in stone the 28-day window between November 21 and December 18, Infantino is still determined to force through the expansion.

“We will decide whether it’s 48 or 32 teams in the next few months. We must have have discussions with the Qataris and then if there is a possibility with the Fifa Council and stakeholders. Then we will decide calmly and quietly what the decision is.

“For now it’s a World Cup with 32 teams but everybody is open-minded and we will have a frank and open debate.”

That would include playing games in other Gulf states outside Qatar - despite the current trade and border blockade between the tiny country and it’s Saudi-backed neighbours.

Infantino added: “I will be happy if it stays at 32 teams as previously established.

Qatar could insist on 32.

“But if everybody comes on board and thinks it might be positive to change to 48 we can have a look. All options will be on the table.

“Maybe, through Fifa and football, we could bring countries together and allow them to start having dialogue. Football can open up the doors to communication between nations.”As for the suggestion that a 48-team tournament would dilute the quality of the World Cup, Infantino maintained: “The decision has already been taken, for 2026.

“We analysed the question very thoroughly and decided unanimously to extend to 48.

“The World Cup started with 13 team, then went up to 16, 24 and now 32. The number of members of Fifa and quality increased.

“In this World Cup we had teams who are normally regulars, like Italy, Holland, Chile, Cameroon, USA, who did not qualify. So the quality is certainly there.

“When we go to 48 teams that is less than 25 per cent of Fifa members. It’s still a reasonable number.”

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exism has been a bigger problem than racism at the World Cup in Russia, according to anti-discrimination experts advising FIFA. Fans harassing female broadcasters while they worked are among about 30 cases of “sexism on the streets” reported to FIFA by the Fare network.

Analyzing the World Cup’s issues at a briefing recently, the head of FIFA’s diversity program also acknowledged wanting fewer images of attractive women in stadiums to be shown on future broadcasts.

Federico Addiechi said FIFA plans to talk with national broadcasters and its own TV production team about the issue.

Racism was predicted to be the main World Cup problem because of longstanding issues in Russian soccer and other European fan bases.

“There haven’t been a great deal of incidents of the type we expected,” Fare director Piara Powar said, praising Russian people who “played a magnificent role making people feel welcome.”

Instead, soccer’s treatment of female media workers and fans provoked debate.

Powar said about half of those reported incidents involved female broadcasters being “accosted while on air.” He estimated up to 10 times more unreported cases where Russian women were targeted.

With World Cup costs for travel and tickets — $105 for the cheapest seats at group games for visitors — always rising, the different audience for games helps explain changing patterns of behavior.

Powar said with Russian authorities

also keeping home-grown hooligans away from games, the World Cup had an international crowd “very different to the fans that come to domestic football.”

“If you come to this tournament with prejudices, and don’t like people from a different nationality, then generally you’re in the wrong place,” he said.

Still, FIFA did impose fines during the tournament on soccer federations including Serbia, Russia and Poland for racist, nationalist and offensive banners displayed by fans at games. The fines started at 10,000 Swiss francs ($10,100) for a first incident.

FIFA and Russian organizers worked to identify fans linked to incidents of discrimination in Russia, and the most public violent incident was when Argentina fans attacked Croatia fans inside a stadium.

Addiechi said some of the 1.5 million people issued with fan identification laminates had them stripped, and were deported. About 700,000 of the Fan IDs went to international visitors, he said.

FIFA worked with Fare to ensure three expert monitors attend each of 64 World Cup games.

At future tournaments, FIFA hopes

hundreds of millions of television viewers worldwide will get a more respectful view of women at games.

Addiechi said FIFA’s stance was “a normal evolution,” and broadcasts in Russia have already improved from the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

FIFA has already intervened with broadcasters “on a case-by-case basis when some cases arose, and they were pretty evident,” Addiechi said.

Taking lessons from the World Cup in Russia, Powar said he hoped for more coordination between FIFA and its six continental governing bodies to ensure a consistency of monitoring and punishing discrimination cases.

Russia has won praise for its hosting of the World Cup, including embracing some social programs FIFA requires of host nations.

Addiechi acknowledged FIFA could have “a limited impact” from next week, and looked to former Russia player Alexei Smertin to continue leading its anti-discrimination work.

“We definitely expect and count on the support of Alexei,” Addiechi said, “and the Russian football union.”

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NEWS

R

ussian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday handed over the mantle of World Cup host to the emir of Qatar, whose country will stage the 2022 edition of the tournament.

The ceremony marked a handover from the world’s largest country by landmass to one of the smallest. Qatar has a population of 2.3 million people and an area slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Connecticut.

Qatar’s size, as well as its broiling temperatures and its lack of ready stadium infra-structure, have prompted some to question the decision by FIFA, soccer’s world governing body, to make it host.

Qatar’s rulers say they will rise to the challenge.

With hours to go until the final between France and Croatia that will bring down the curtain on Russia’s hosting of this year’s tournament, Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani joined Putin and FIFA chief Gianni Infantino at a

Kremlin ceremony.

“Russia is handing over the relay baton for hosting the FIFA World Cup to Qatar,” Putin said.

“We are proud of what we did for fans of this wonderful sport. We ourselves, the whole country, got an enormous amount of pleasure from interacting with soccer, with the world of soccer, with the fans who came here from all over the globe.”

“I’m sure that our friends from Qatar will be able to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup on the same high level. We are, of course, ready to share the experience we acquired in holding the World Cup this year, along with our friends,” Putin said.

At the climax of the ceremony, Putin handed an official World Cup ball to Infantino, who then handed it on to the emir.

The Qatari emir said his country would apply all its efforts to making a success of the 2022 World Cup. “We hope to over-

come all the difficulties,” he said.

He said his country would also try to outdo the success on the pitch of the Russian team, who surpassed expectations by reaching the quarter-finals.

“Although it will be hard to repeat that success as we’re a small country, but we are very keen on sport,” he said.

In the build-up to this year’s World Cup, some Western politicians called for a boycott over Russia’s annexation of Crimea and over allegations, denied by Moscow, that the Kremlin assassinates its opponents overseas.

There were also warnings from some campaign groups about the potential for hooligan violence, racist attacks and homophobia.

The tournament proceeded without any significant organizational hitches, there was no violence, and no widespread evidence of racism or harassment of gay visitors.