BusinessDay 25 Sep 2019

Private Equity spurs growth of Nigeria’s tech scene ...Lagos leads African cities in active hubs

LOLADE AKINMURELE

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n a region where investors historically preferred establishe d companies o v e r r i s k i e r s t a r t- u p s, data from GSMA show that tech e c o s y s t e m s a re f l o u r i s h i n g

throughout Africa and that’s luring big capital.

The number of active tech hubs in Africa, or organisations with physical addresses

p rov i d i n g s u p p o r t f o r t e c h entrepreneurs, rose by 40 percent, from 442 in 2018 to 618 in 2019, according to data by African Private Equity and Venture

Capital Association (AVCA).

Meanwhile, Nigeria (85) and Lagos (40+) led the continent in the number of active tech hubs by country and by city, respec-

tively, in 2019.

Investment from major global technology companies bodes well for the sector’s continued growth on the continent.

Over the next five years, for

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PMI warned of Q2 GDP slowdown, here’s what it says about Q3 MICHAEL ANI

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Atiku, PDP want Supreme Court to set aside tribunal’s decision on Buhari on 66 grounds

igeria’s economy will slow again in the third quarter (Q3) of 2019 adding to the lower growth witnessed in the previous quarter of the year.

The slowdown of economic activities is premised on a slower expansion seen in the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) within the period which expanded at a slower pace compared with the

FELIX OMOHOMHION, Abuja

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tiku Abubakar and the People’s Democratic Pa r t y ( P D P ) , Tu e s day, approached the Supreme Court in Abuja on a 66-ground of appeal against the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal on September 11 which affirmed the election of President Muhammadu Buhari.

The tribunal had dismissed the petition of the presidential candidate of PDP, Atiku, who had sought to upturn Buhari’s

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Inside Stalled legislations worsen healthcare delivery for Nigerians P. 2 L-R: Hadeel Ibrahim, Africa Center trustee; Aliko Dangote, chief executive, Dangote Industries Limited/chairman, Aliko Dangote Foundation; Mo Ibrahim, founder, Mo Ibrahim Foundation; Bill Gates, founder, Microsoft Corporation/ chairman, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Halima Aliko Dangote, president of the Center/group executive director, Dangote Industries Limited, cutting the cake at the inaugural forum of The African Center in New York.

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Wednesday 25 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

news Court orders Sowore’s release from DSS custody

L-R: Segun Alabi, manager, corporate communication, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI); Bunmi Banjoko, chairman, operation committee, Trade Promotion Board, LCCI; Toyin Seriki, head of SME segment, Airtel; Gabriel Idahosa, vice president/chairman, Trade Promotion Board, LCCI, and Jude Anele, group head, consumer and retail banking, UBA, at a press conference to announce the 2019 Lagos International Trade Fair in Lagos, yesterday.

Pic by Olawale Amoo

FELIX OMOHOMHION, Abuja

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Stalled legislations worsen healthcare delivery for Nigerians ANTHONIA OBOKOH & TEMITAYO AYETOTO

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egislations on critical health policies that could have enhanced access to better care and expanded the Universal Health Coverage for Nigerians have continued to suffer in the National Assembly.

Data compiled by BusinessDay show that bills older than a decade have been circumventing cycles of reintroductions without substantial effort to enable them become law.

The National Drug Control Bill, National Mental Health Bill and Bill on the Establishment of Cancer Registry are key among several pending bills that can directly impact Nigerians’ health outcome.

If they had been passed, evidence-based treatment and rehabilitation services for affected Nigerians could have been enhanced, while funding could have improved data collection and research on the growing detection of cancer.

“For too long, non-assent to these bills in the health system has resulted to increased health care costs and slowed

access to care for patients,” a government source told BusinessDay, noting that assent to these bills is an important step to fix the already weakened health sector.

“It will correct the balance by promoting faster resolutions in the sector, patient care, safety and quality improvements, and health information technology systems and policies that would help improve care and outcomes,” said the source.

The policy on mental health was first formulated in 1991 to foster advocacy, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation. The Bill protects the rights of persons with mental disorders, ensures equal access to treatment and care, discourages stigma and discrimination and sets standards for psychiatric practice in Nigeria.

It also makes provisions for access to mental healthcare services, treatment, accreditation of professional and facilities, law enforcements and other judicial protection for people with mental illness.

In 2003, Ibiabuye Martyns-Yellowe and Dalhatu Tafida, both senators, reintroduced the Bill for the Establishment of Mental

Health Act, but the Bill was withdrawn in April 2009.

Again in March 2013, the bill was re-introduced to the National Assembly by Samuel Adejare and Solomon Olamilekan Adeola, both senators. Yet, it remained in limbo.

“I think the delay of the National Mental Health Bill is due to general apathy from the legislature. The bill has been promoted by the psychiatric association of Nigeria but it has not seen the light of day,” said Richard Adebayo, a consultant psychiatrist/clinical psychologist at Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Lagos.

But while Nigeria has dilly-dallied, other countries have made progress.

Seventeen years ago, South Africa upgraded and assented to its Mental Health Care Act by replacing the Mental Health Act of 1973, ushering in improved psychiatry practise. Likewise Egypt in April 2009 adopted the “Law for the Care of Mental Patients”.

Nigeria has also delayed in the amendment of the National Health Insurance Act, amendment of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency Act, and

amendment of the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria Establishment Act. Other bills suffering the same fate are the Institute of Healthcare Management of Nigeria Establishment Bill and Certified Council of Allied Dental Health Professionals (Establishment) Bill.

The disposition of government towards these bills has been of concern to some stakeholders in the health sector who have been advocating that just as economic development is a function of improved regulatory frameworks and policies, so is concrete implementation of policies on performance of health systems in maternal mortality and high disease burden, among others.

In 2011, SA formally established its National Cancer Registry (NCR) under regulation 380 of the National Health Act, giving impetus to cancer surveillance. The legislation makes reporting all confirmed cancer diagnoses to the registry obligatory and mandates the NCR to implement populationbased cancer registration in South Africa.

•Continues online at www.businessday.ng

P&ID $9.6bn judgment: Senate summons Malami, Emefiele, NNPC officials, others SOLOMON AYADO, Abuja

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he Senate on Tuesday invited the attorney-general and minister for justice, Abubakar Malami, officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, to immediately appear before it to explain the state of the $9.6 billion judgment debt involving the country and an Irish firm, Process and Industrial Developments Limited (P&ID).

The summons by the Senate followed a motion by

Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (Ekiti Central, PDP).

L eading the debate, Bamidele said he was concerned about the judgment debt against Nigeria by an industrial court in the United Kingdom.

He asked the Senate to invite Malami and other relevant stakeholders in the judgment to brief committees of the Senate.

Consequently, the Senate approved the motion and ordered that Malami, Emefiele, officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), as well as professional arbitrators www.businessday.ng

to immediately appear and proffer comprehensive briefs on the matter.

Senate President Ahmad Lawan, while ruling on the motion, noted that it has become imperative for the government officials to interface with lawmakers and explain the circumstances on the judgment.

The contract for gas supply and processing (GSPA) was signed with P&ID by the administration of late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua.

The company was to build gas processing facilities around Calabar, Cross River State, and the government

was to supply wet gas up to 400 million standard cubic feet per day.

But P&ID sued the Nigerian government for breaching the agreement by failing to provide the gas – or install promised pipelines to the project site as agreed in the contract.

An arbitration tribunal in London had awarded the firm $6.6 billion (€5.9 billion) in damages in January 2017.

P&ID said the accrued interest of $1.2 million a year had pushed that amount to more than $9 billion – about onefifth of Nigeria’s declared foreign reserves of $45 billion.

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Federal High Court in Abuja, Tuesday, ordered the release of the detained activist and presidential candidate in the last general election, Omoyele Sowore, from the Department of the State Security (DSS) where he had been held for about 60 days.

The court ordered that the convener of #RevolutionNow protest be released to his lead counsel and human rights activist, Femi Falana (SAN).

Issuing the order, Justice Taiwo Taiwo said the senior constitutional lawyer, Falana, must produce Sowore in court to face his trial.

Justice Taiwo said the release was contingent on the grounds that the order of detention made on August 8 has elapsed and that Sowore has been in the custody of the Federal G overnment since August 3.

The judge had on August 8, while delivering ruling in an ex parte application brought by the Federal Government, ordered the detention of Sowore for a period of 45 days to enable officers of the DSS conclude investigation of alleged treasonable felony and other charges against him.

Th e cou r t, h ow e ver, ordered that Sowore would not be kept longer than the 45 days granted by it without a fresh application for his further detention.

The 45 days elapsed on September 21.

When the matter came up, Monday, the cour t held that following the expiration of the detention order for 45 days and the absence of any application for Sowore’s further detention, the court was inclined to order for his release.

The prosecution had applied for the extension of the order for 20 days.

However, the prosecution counsel, Godwin Agbadua, announced w ithdrawal of the application of the motion, adding that the defendant had already been charged with treasonable felony, money laundering and insulting the president.

He argued against Sowore’s release that the offence he is being charged with carries a capital punishment – death.

Justice Taiwo, in a short ruling, held that there is no application before him for extension of the detention order and there is evidence that the prosecution has concluded its investigation of the defendant, and accordingly ordered for the immediate release of Sowore.

He, however, ordered that Sowore submits his international passport with the court.

Sowore was arrested in the early hours of Saturday, August 3, in a hotel in Lagos by men of the DSS on account of the #RevolutionNow protest which he had spearheaded.

He was then moved to Abuja the following day and kept in custody of the DSS where he has been till date following an order of court.

U.S. Chamber of commerce appoints Benedict Peters to advisory board of the US-Africa Business Center HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE

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he U.S. Chamber of Commerce announced that Benedict Peters, C ha i r ma n a n d C E O o f AITEO, will serve on the Board of Advisors for the U.S.-Africa Business Center.

The mission of the U.S.Africa Business Center is to build lasting prosperity for Africans and Americans through job creation and entrepreneurial spirit, something that Peters has been active in on the continent for many years.

Welcoming Peters to the Board of Advisors, Chairman of the U.S.-Africa Business Centre, Scott Eisner, remarks: “We value and appreciate the insights from companies such as yours @Businessdayng

as they not only benefit the Center, but also play a pivotal role in strengthening the ties between the United States and countries throughout Africa.”

Peters will join CEO’s from many Fortune 500 companies who have a strong presence in Africa, including Banco Prestigío, BP, Caterpillar, Chevron, IBM, MasterCard, Microsoft, and many others.

Wednesday 25 September 2019

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Public policy and quality of life: Tracing the root of poverty (1) SMALL BUSINESS HANDBOOK

EMEKA OSUJI

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he Nigerian Economic Society recently held its annual conference in Abuja.

It was the 60th edition of that conference, meaning it is older than the country itself, counting from independence. The theme of the conference was “Economic policies and quality of life in Africa.”

Well, some critics were asking why the society was focusing on Africa when Nigeria is the worst performer in the area of poverty reduction. Hosting the largest population of poor people in the world, one would have expected Nigerians to remove the log in their eyes before helping others to remove the little specks in theirs, some argued.

However, most people agreed that the problems of African economies are largely the same, and prescribing a solution of general application to them may not be out of place.

Besides, wrong policy choices and failure to effectively implements sound economic policies is a general problem in the continent.

Africa is currently chairing the world conference of non-performing economies, despite the efforts of Rwanda and some small but wellrun spots in the continent. Nigeria,

which comes in and out of the hope of transformation, is hosting the world headquarters of the poorest – a manifestation of the failure of national planning and economic management.

With a government that has vowed to take so many people out of poverty in the near future, it is probably an appropriate time to question our strategies, if we are to avoid doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results. Given that quality of life is hard to define to say nothing of its measurement, there are some accepted approaches to understand the concept.

The World Bank and other leading world agencies have defined what constitutes good quality of life in the Human Development Index (HDI). So, this topic is not just appropriate but vital, especially now that we have a new government that has promised to do some outlandish things in lifting people out of poverty. It may be too early in the day to comment on this promise but one thing is certain, failure to work with the right data is a guarantee for failure.

Nigeria should be in a hurry to develop, both economically and socially because statistics in those areas is shameful. Our present travails are nothing but an aggregation of the symptoms of a stunted development effort that have been left to fester.

We do not know how many we are.

We invest in the wrong places and shamelessly promote the consumption of foreign goods we can avoid.

The result is low productive capacity, low income, both at national and individual levels, and poverty of the kind, which the technocrats at the leading multilateral institutions call

abject poverty.

Abject poverty is the kind of poverty that robs a man of everything that makes him a man. Abject poverty is the reason why many homes are rocking today – the man has long since ceased to be a man by function, however defined, but clings on what he thinks is his right. It is the condition that disposes an erstwhile strong man to be lectured by his wife on the subject of family headship, and be informed that it is, like Nigeria’s presidency, rotatory. He gets to learn that that family headship is no longer a permanent appointment in this 21st century, especially for those who are not so religious as the people of this century.

The conclusion that Nigeria’s problems are a result of her failure to plan properly is not the outcome of very deep thinking on my part, because I did not have to do any of those. Even a casual observation will reveal it. We stopped consist planning soon after the civil war, and then we replaced informed, data-driven planning with planning by hunch, this highlights Nigeria’s stunted development planning process.

What may be a discovery that requires very deep thinking to understand is that everybody knows the facts, and the problems holding Nigeria down, but nobody wants to confront them. In a manner akin to letting the sleeping dog lie, and not rocking the boat, every administration sings this song of the urgency of development in our country but none has had the courage to stir the hornet’s nest by doing something different; like insisting that no government agency should buy a car not made in Nigeria – we make cars

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Nigeria should be in a hurry to develop, both economically and socially because statistics in those areas is shameful.

Our present travails are nothing but an aggregation of the symptoms of a stunted development effort that have been left to fester

in Nigeria no matter the current level of local content. Besides, we recently launched a national automotive industry policy.

I shudder when I see some governors from openly bankrupt states driving Cadillac Escalades to Aso Rock and Baba sees nothing wrong in shaking hands and holding meetings with them. Although he is not to decide how they spend their state revenues, which have become their patrimony, he is supposed to give some direction, even if through mere words. Peugeot Nigeria and Innoson make cars and SUVs but they are not good for those paid with tax payers’ money. Instead what we do is pursue rice smugglers. How many bags of rice can you smuggle to cover the dollar equivalent of a Lexus 570 or Landcruiser VX; to say nothing about an Escalade, which Donald Trump and all his predecessors have been using?

A shameful battle is currently raging between the citizens and their representative in the National Assembly over the mindless cost of SUVs to be bought for legislators and nobody is asking why they cannot buy Nigerian-made cars. And to democratise such good thought and not to single out the representatives, they are in a position to make a law banning everyone in government, including the Executive they always refer to from buying big foreign made cars.

No. They won’t do it because of self-interest. And the beat goes on.

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

DStv’s step up & Boost: Beyond the next level

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o you love Game of Thrones? If you’re as big a fan as I am, then you will know it is currently showing on DStv 115 at 10:30pm daily. At 3 episodes per night, the whole show should be complete in 24 days. But that is not the story. I have seen the entire series at least 5 times, and I have also downloaded high definition copies on my hard drive. However, I have been following it on channel 115 because for some reason it is many times more exciting to know I am not the only person enjoying the HBO show at that time. But again, that is not the story.

Early this year, I discovered I could upgrade my DStv plan and move to the level after the next level (apologies, President Buhari). My Compact plan was about to expire when I got this memo, and I had planned to upgrade to the Compact plus package so I could watch UEFA Champions League. I did it, and I got the Premium package. That turned out to be one of the best entertainment decisions I made this year, and I’ll tell you why.

Valar Moghulis! – although some people will disagree, Game of Thrones was everything I expected, and more. It was exhilarating, but like all good things, it finally came to an end, with Brandon Stark becoming the king of the 6 Kingdoms.

Football season also ended with Man City and Barcelona winning their respective leagues, and Liverpool winning the Champions League trophy.

What this meant was I didn’t need to

have Premium anymore. Besides, I was going to be out of Nigeria for the most of July and August, so when my subscription ended in May, I downgraded to Compact.

But to be honest, it didn’t feel the same. I was used to having all the DStv channels including Comedy Central, MNET Movies Premiere, SS1 and 2, etc. So, when I returned to Nigeria late August, I knew I was going to upgrade to Premium so I could enjoy the full package. Football had returned as well, so I was motivated. However, before I could subscribe, I saw the good news; DStv Step Up & Boost was back.

Having successfully completed phase one of the DStv Step Up & Boost campaign between January and April this year, MultiChoice Nigeria officially kicked off phase two of the campaign on September 2nd. The campaign which will last for 3 months is aimed at providing both active and disconnected DStv subscribers an opportunity to pay for a preferred higher package and get a boost within 48 hours to view more channels, with exciting programming on a higher package.

Upgrading from a Compact bouquet to the Compact plus came with a boost to the premium package within 48 hours.

This significant upgrade offered improved television experience as expected. As a football fan, while my usual Compact bouquet already gave me the Premier League (Super Sports 3), the Spanish La Liga (Super Sports 7) and the Italian Serie A (Super Sports 8), the DStv Step Up &

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Boost provided a broader variety of sports channels and programs to choose from.

This meant that I could follow the best of tennis as well as keep tabs on the racing world with Formula One on Super Sports 1, 2, 11 and 12.

The movie experience also got an appreciable boost with the DStv Step Up & Boost. The double upgrade offered the opportunity to see premium blockbuster movies on channels like M-Net Movies Action+ (channel 106), M-Net Movies Premier (channel 108). It felt good seeing Avengers: Infinity War, Deadpool 2 and many more exciting Hollywood movies.

I always wondered why Africa Magic showcase was exclusive to DStv Compact plus, but with fresh episodes of My flatmates with Basket mouth, The Johnsons as well as blockbuster Nollywood movie premieres, I wonder no more.

The upgrade also brought my favourite Comedy Central with it. I never get tired of watching The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, it felt good to finally see fresh episodes on TV and other exciting international shows.

However, let’s consider some flaws. The DStv Step Up &Boost basically appeals to sports fans and movie lovers; two areas where it really offers value. Getting a boost from Compact to Premium will give you an addition of six new sport channels offering a variety of programmes and sport competitions as well as nine new channels for movies and entertainment. For this reason,

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CHIDI OKEREKE

the promo might not appeal to subscribers who have no interest in in those two areas.

Another flaw in the DStv Step Up & Boost is the amount of time it takes for the upgrade to take effect. While my upgrade took effect almost immediately, I have heard that it can take as long as 48 hours to take effect. If you are an impatient person, this might seem like an awfully long time.

However, the patient dog eats the fattest bone, right? Right.

In conclusion, the DStv Step Up &Boost is MultiChoice’ way of rewarding customers by giving them extra value for their money. Subscribers are offered the opportunity to enjoy programmes they do not regularly have access to. Having personally experienced it, I can conclude that the DStv Step Up & Boost is worth your time and money.

Upgrading your bouquet and getting the boost that follows will transform your TV experience and open your eyes to an array of exciting programming irrespective of your preference. Try stepping up today, so you can enjoy the level that comes after the next level.

Okereke is Lagos based writer

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BUSINESS DAY

Wednesday 25 September 2019

COMMENT CHARACTER MATTERS WITH DAPS

DAPO AKANDE

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here are many things that can influence or alter a person’s perspective. Alcohol is one and power is another. Both can be remarkably intoxicating.

I remember a time, in what I would call my young and carefree days, we’re talking of almost thirty years ago now. Myself, my younger brother Segs and our good friend Max were making our way back to our flat in London in the wee hours of the morning. Need I add this was after a very heavy night out on the town? Also, we had to walk home, having spent all our money partying all night. Well, staggering may be the more appropriate term actually. To get to our place we were better off cutting across the very large Battersea Park rather than walking around it.

The challenge, however, was how to do this at 4am when the gates would almost certainly be locked. But you know when you’re that inebriated, everything seems possible.

Segs and Max, who are both by nature far more daring than I, wasted no time in attempting to scale the extremely high fence. In awe, I watched their gallant, even if not so elegant effort, wondering if dangling near the top of this iron fence was soon to be my fate too. I didn’t know when this fearful thought pushed me forward as I reached for the handle, turned

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All form, no substance it and simply walked through the gate. Max and Segs froze seemingly mid-air. They couldn’t believe it. As if on cue, we all burst out laughing at the absurdity of the situation. Why didn’t they think of that? They hadn’t even tried.

We seem to be so good at causing ourselves almost incessant suffering in Nigeria. As much as I agree that our local producers and manufacturers need encouragement and some kind of leg up, we often end up shooting ourselves in the foot by putting the cart before the horse.

Government bans importation of poultry products, rice and sundry other staple food items before improving power supply, building an adequate road network, improving the existing ones and putting in place many other infrastructural facilities needed to aid production and ease the doing of business. We impose huge tariffs on the importation of cars (in many areas you can purchase two decent houses for the price of one new vehicle now!) but have done next to nothing to ease the burden of car assembly plants and manufacturers, putting the price of the vehicles beyond the reach of most Nigerians.

To make matters worse, the same government which proudly claims it’s doing this to protect and support local manufacturers is still patronising the best of Mercedes Benz, Range Rover, Toyota Land Cruiser jeeps etc., further putting unnecessary pressure on our scarce foreign exchange. Rice which used to sell for N12,000 for a 50kg bag just a few years ago now sells for N25,000. Rice and chicken, the black man’s favourite meat, have within a twinkle of an eye become

luxury items.

I’ve often wondered why we seem to have such a penchant for piling suffering on ourselves. For one, I think it’s because we have a tendency to favour form over substance. So, we portray ourselves to be doing something meaningful when it’s really not.

Or how else how do you explain why a Central Bank that’s trying to encourage a cashless society will increase charges on cashless transactions like POS payments? Something it’s apparently trying to encourage.

I’m sorry, I’m far from being an economist, so there may be something I’m missing here but from where I’m standing it doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense.

We have this destructive tendency to prefer appearance to actual content. One of the problems I see though is our notoriously short memories. Once someone finds himself in a position or office where all his needs are met, he instantly forgets where he’s coming from.

Now that he is being driven in a state provided SUV, he’s no longer bothered with how his power supply needs are paid for, he’s no longer subjected to enduring unending traffic because a path is always cleared for him no matter the traffic situation, his sumptuous meals are state-funded etc.

Not to talk of what he’s making on the side, the struggles of the past, swiftly become a distant memory. One should therefore not be surprised when he supports the draconian policies of his colleagues as it’s all “for the good of the nation.”

He’s the first to remind us that you can’t make an omelette without first

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We seem to be so good at causing ourselves almost incessant suffering in Nigeria. As much as I agree that our local producers and manufacturers need

breaking an egg, therefore we must be willing to make sacrifices to get to our promised land. Not that he’s willing to make any sacrifices himself, mind you.

The Senate President just last week reminded us that indeed some fingers are more equal than others (as if we needed reminding) therefore we can’t all be expected to play by the same rules. I would have been so impressed if he had toed the line of leaders in some African countries who, to demonstrate an understanding of their mandate as servants of the people, thought nothing of forgoing juicy perks hitherto enjoyed. These leaders saw wisdom in acknowledging the plight of their people and willingly made the necessary sacrifices to align with them and to rescue their country from economic ruin.

Senegal which decided in 2012 to resort to a unicameral legislature from a bicameral one in order to save costs readily comes to mind. But what did our wonderful “representatives” do instead? They remained true to type Nigerian leaders. Our Senate president insisted that they deserve imported SUVs which run into tens of millions of naira per unit. Why? Because government ministers already enjoy that perk and elected senators are senior in rank to appointed ministers.

Note: The rest of this article continues in the online edition of Business Day @https:// businessday.ng

Akande is a graduate of the University of Surrey, UK, author of the acclaimed book: “The last fight: A personal journey to discovering values.”

Contact: dapsakande25@gmail.com

Nigerians are the smartest in the world, not criminals

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igerians can easily be included amongst the most intelligent in the world, contrary to the misconception that all Nigerians are criminals.

I had been contacted by a woman who claimed to be from California in the US. Her intent was to convince me to become a part of the Bitcoin mining operation that she was involved with. She gave a very detailed presentation.

When I explained that I had no interest, she responded, “So you are from Nigeria?”

“Yes” I responded, and she blocked me immediately. Please keep in mind that she was the one who desperately tried to get me to invest in her operation.

This stems from an appalling situation that affects many Nigerians either directly or indirectly. Many believe that they would be better off if they were not Nigerian. This is wrong in so many ways and they should never think this way. They should be proud of who they are and of their heritage. The image of the Nigerians has been tarnished by the media within and outside the shores of Nigeria.

Please, do not rely on this misinformation to set your beliefs about our heritage.

It is information swayed by imbalanced opinions. It doesn’t represent the real truth about who we really are and the abilities

and knowledge that we could offer the world.

How can you label all Nigerians as criminals when it’s only a fraction of the population that have been involved in fraud? Nigerians have been stereotyped and that rattles me. Even, a few times, I have seen fraudulent social media advertisement posted by non-Nigerians.

Besides, Nigerian security operatives have apprehended foreigners for criminal offenses before. The Nigerian media do not amplify these reports. Once they break the news that ends it because there are no follow-up reports.

If you do diligent research, you will learn that Nigeria is no different from most other countries in the world. There are both good and bad people in every country, race, and religion.

Recently, the media reported that 77 Nigerians were involved in online fraud, the biggest in US history. I completely agree that they deserved to be apprehended because no man in his right senses should support fraud.

However, I see that ugly incident from a different angle. As far as I know, those Nigerian cybercriminals on the Federal Bureau of Investigation list are some of the smartest guys in the world. Their talent

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could have a positive social impact on the people but they chose to utilise their talent wrongly. They are not different from other cybercriminals in other part of the world.

The most important thing is for Nigerians to realise that the world admires our high level of intelligence. Just a few days ago, Uzoma Asagwara was elected into legislature of Manitoba province in Canada.

She is just one of those Nigerians who hold important positions both in the UK and US government. And we’ve had a lot more of such achievements in the past.

Academically, Nigerians do wonders.

In 2016, 43 of the 96 graduating Doctor of Pharmacy students at Howard University were Nigerians, and 16 of the 27 awards given went to Nigerians.

Nigerians are the most educated immigrants in the US, and they have the highest education attainment rate, according to the US Bureau of Statistics and Census.

Do you know that the world’s highperformance computing application in an oil reservoir modelling calculation using a novel mathematical formulation and implementation was designed by a Nigerian?

His name is Philip Emeagwali and the patent was awarded in 2015. It simply means that Nigeria has the patent to the world’s fastest computer: a Nigerian!

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JUSTICE OKAMGBA

It’s just disheartening that people are horrendously misinformed about Nigeria and they do not truly understand how influential, exceptional, and powerful Nigerians are. These are some of the qualities we are known for, hence, why we must start developing our country.

Nigeria knows what to do to solve its problems. If we are able to completely eliminate bad leadership and have the right people in critical positions, then, our hope would be restored.

Nigerians in the diaspora will begin to return home. Eventually, those people who see us as criminals will start begging to come to Nigeria.

Justice Okamgba. is a journalist, SEO specialist, and a web designer. writes from Lagos. godfreyjustice67@gmail.com

12

Wednesday 25 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

EDITORIAL PUBLISHER/CEO

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

Bashir Ibrahim Hassan

As Tijjani Muhammad-Bande serves as UNGA president

N

igeria is in focus as the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly continues from 17 to 30 September. Our compatriot, Prof Tijjani MuhammadBande effectively begins his presidency of the General Assembly following his election in June. He will serve for one year.

Mohammad-Bande’s election is the second time Nigeria will get the honour of the presidency of UNGA. General Joseph Nanven Garba, a former Minister of External Affairs and renowned diplomat, held the office in 1988-1990.

We congratulate Prof Tijjani Muhammad-Bande for this prominent position and all that it entails. He joins a growing list of Nigerians doing the country proud in significant areas across the world. His elevation comes at a critical point in the life of our country with reports of the bad conduct of a few threatening to drown the

good news of the laurels and achievements of others.

Scholar and diplomat, Muhammad-Bande is an example of the homeboy who made good on the global stage. He was born in 1957. He earned a first degree in Political Science from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria (1979), and continued with the MA Political Science at Boston University, USA (1981) and PhD Political Science from the University of Toronto, Canada (1987).

He spent his long service as an academic at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto where he rose from Graduate Assistant in 1980 to full Professor in 1998 and Vice-Chancellor in 2004. One of his plaudits is that “As Vice-Chancellor, with about twenty thousand (20, 000) full-time students spread across various faculties, the University came first in the accreditation of academic programmes in Nigerian universities in 2007”.

Muhammad-Bande then began service in the international diplomatic circuit. Between

2000 and 2004, he served as the Director-General of Le Centre Africain de Formation et de Recherche Administratives pour le Dèveloppement (CAFRAD), in Tangier, Morocco. Established by African Governments in 1964, CAFRAD is the continent’s premier intergovernmental Centre for governance reform. During his stewardship, the Organization improved on much-needed training for senior African public servants, conducted specialised researches on African governance issues and worked with a variety of partners, particularly the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA).

Muhammad-Bande served as the Director General of the nation’s think tank, the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru, for six years up to 2016. His citation says he inspired marked improvements in the programming and activities of NIPSS. He established the Political Parties Policy and Leadership Development Centre, the first

of its kind in Africa.

He then moved to the UN as Nigeria’s Permanent Representative. He served as the Vice-President of the General Assembly during the 71st session.

Muhammad-Bande, an Officer of the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) is a shining star. We urge him to do more for self and country in his new portfolio. We hope that he would go beyond the procedural strictures of his office to work with others to set an agenda that prioritises issues and concerns of all Africa and Nigeria. A significant concern is sustainable development.

Africa would watch the debate and the items before the UN High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development on September 24 and 25. Africa is also keenly interested in the discussions on Climate Action and Healthcare.

We pray that Prof Tijjani Muhammad-Bande has an outstanding tenure as President of the United Nations General Assembly. Ahoy.

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Wednesday 25 September 2019

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Harnessing the comparative advantage of Nigerians in diaspora

FRANKLIN NGWU

W

ith current efforts to manage our present economic challenges and diversify our economy, a fundamental question is how to identify and effectively utilise our comparative advantage(s) to provide short to longterm solutions. Excitingly, one of them is the huge population of Nigerians in the diaspora who have continued to maintain the values and culture of Nigeria in their different places of residence.

If the CBN can pay about 12 percent on Treasury Bills mainly to foreigners, it can also pay 10 percent to better incentivise the high Nigeria population in the diaspora to invest in dollar-denominated savings accounts which can be used to provide more foreign exchange to our businessmen and women.

With the current low savings rate in most developed societies (below 1 percent in the UK for instance), the payment of about 10 percent and flexibility to withdraw from the account either in dollars or in naira will create

the required incentive for Nigerians in the diaspora to effectively patronise and invest.

Given that we have over 15 million Nigerians in the diaspora, a significant pool of foreign currency can be generated which can be used to support the naira. If properly planned, marketed and managed, it is an idea that can generate over $50 billion of investible funds every year. Without any incentive, Nigerians in the diaspora remitted about $21 billion in 2015. From 2011 to June 2014, over $63 billion (about N12 trillion) was sent back to family and friends.

Increasing every year, it was about $22 billion in 2018 and projected to be about $25 billion this year. As these figures are of recorded official remittances, the total figure when combined with unrecorded transfers should be above $40 billion every year. Separately or combined, the money sent

by Nigerians in diaspora is higher than what NNPC contributes to our national revenue. The question is how we effectively utilise this diaspora opportunity!

Supplying food products consumed

by Nigerians in the diaspora is another solution to economic diversification and foreign revenue generation in the short to long term.

The main reason why these foods that are in very high demand are not sourced from Nigeria is the lack of internationally accepted packaging centres in Nigeria. This is a challenge which the government can quickly address and which I had earlier asked the banks to provide possibly as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility.

With about 15 million Nigerians in the diaspora, it is a business with a poten-

‘

This venture will improve the naira’s value, generate foreign revenue and bring about financial inclusion. Not to mention employment generation and economic empowerment especially for the women and the poor.

It will provide the required stimulus for the much talked much-talked agricultural revolution

tial annual revenue of over $81 billion (about N28 trillion).

A brief illustration will be helpful.

A food expenditure of about $15 by each of the 15 million Nigerians in the diaspora translates to about $225 million every day and about $81 billion every year. As only a very small quantity of the foods Nigerians in the diaspora consume actually come from Nigeria, the above is sadly the amount of money that Nigerians in the diaspora send to other countries especially South America and Asia every year. To further illustrate, the UK imports plantains and bananas from Argentina, Ecuador and Uruguay.

The flight time between these countries and the UK is about 14 hours compared to six hours from Nigeria.

Food products supplied from Nigeria are not adequate to meet the demand, therefore they are very expensive.

The products imported from Asia are equally expensive primarily because of the flight time to the UK. Conversely, Ethiopia exports over £1 million worth of fresh flowers to the UK every day.

This is surprising but true and I mean “normal” flowers for expressing love, for condolences, birthdays, etc.

So, this is a big opportunity for Nigeria to generate revenue. The benefits are endless! Nigerians will always have a preference for foods imported from the homeland so there will be little or no competition especially if these are sold at slightly lower prices compared to the products from Asia/ South America. As a major problem is the absence of packaging centres that meet international standards, the government can immediately invest in this vital area by establishing packaging

centres in major cities in Nigeria. To ensure prompt take-off and success, distribution centres in major European and American cities will be needed to ensure efficient distribution to all other cities with significant Nigerian/ Afro-Caribbean populations.

This venture will improve the naira’s value, generate foreign revenue and bring about financial inclusion. Not to mention employment generation and economic empowerment especially for the women and the poor. It will provide the required stimulus for the much-talked agricultural revolution.

Not only will it lead to better revenue for Ozor Nwanjiam of Abakaliki, it will also increase his life span due to the psychological satisfaction that his yams are sold and consumed in London and America (Obodo oyibo!). It will help Abuse of Vandekiya village of Benue State to train her kids through the export of mangoes that are in abundance and wasting in her village. Aminu from Fagge in Kano state will live in peace with Joshua in Jos as they are both involved in the export of carrots and groundnuts to Canada. Gbadamosi will prefer to live in Ogbomosho than in Lagos due to his amala processing plant which provides him with good income. Imagine the yearly impact of over N28 trillion on the economy especially the less privileged Nigerians and the agricultural sector!

Dr. Ngwu is a Senior Lecturer in Strategy, Finance and Risk Management, Lagos Business School and a Member, Expert Network, World Economic Forum. E-mailfngwu@lbs.edu.ng,

The curious case of excess electricity in Ghana

A

n interesting crisis has arisen in Ghana recently. There is too much electricity in the country, and it cannot afford to pay for it all. The most evocative headline statistic of this Ghana power surplus crisis is as follows: peak national electricity demand in 2018 required only slightly more than 2,500 megawatts of installed capacity (according to the Energy Commission of Ghana), versus nearly 5,000 megawatts of actually available generation capacity nationally.

Perhaps more importantly, much of that available capacity has been contracted (by the government through its nominees) with private independent power producers (so-called IPPs), on the basis of purchase agreements that now require more than $450 million annually in payments for electricity that Ghana “does not need” according to the finance minister. How has such a problem arisen, in a continent and region perhaps best known for its significant and crippling infrastructure and electricity supply deficit?

Firstly, it is important to note that more than 85 percent of Ghanaians now have access to electricity, one of the highest in sub-Saharan Africa. However, connectivity rates are the lowest in rural and peri-urban areas, particularly among micro, small and medium enterprises in poorer areas. Indeed, industrial and residential (mostly urban) consumers account for more than 60 percent of the energy consumed in Ghana, those two categories being ahead only of transmission and distribution losses, which account for more than 20 percent annually on average.

Most of those losses are of the so-called “distribution and commercial” nature, which for the most part means energy

consumed but not paid for. This perhaps, is already one pointer to a source of the problem: the government is contracted as a buyer or guarantor of energy being faithfully made available by private suppliers, but more than 20 percent of that electricity is not being paid for; contributing to a “surplus” energy problem from a generation perspective.

But distribution and commercial losses do not entirely explain the problem, given the scale of the surplus relative to demand.

What else is happening here? This brings us to a second important point to note: electricity demand has barely expanded in Ghana during the last decade. In fact, just under 1,500 megawatts of capacity was sufficient to meet national consumption in 2006, implying an effective annual growth rate of no more than 5.5 percent in a dozen years to 2018.

Macroeconomic challenges in the intervening period (major currency, consumer price and fiscal crises, as well as commodity price swings across oil, cocoa, gold and bauxite), have been partly responsible. Inadequate reforms to improve the environment for doing business and enhance governance are also at play here, just as in most other African countries. The net effect has been on aggregate private investment trending flat or downwards at around the (still not immaterial) 20 percent of GDP level. In summary, there has been insufficient expansion in the levels of energy-intensive, heavy industrial, agro-processing and manufacturing investments that drive energy consumption.

Still, inadequate collections and poor macroeconomic conditions are not the only factors at play here. A legitimate question that is still being asked is: did the country

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simply procure too much electricity, relative to reasonable levels of projected demand?

At Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) – one of the leading private investors in Ghana over the last decade, including in electricity generation, where we are indirect investors in more than 500 megawatts of IPP capacity – we clearly disagree. Electricity production value chains are intimately linked, and the elimination of bottlenecks in one segment (in this case, generation) simply result in the creation of new problem areas when implementation is not properly wholistic.

Much work remains to be done to improve operational efficiency at the distribution and collection levels, the coalface of revenue generation in this industry.

A recently awarded 20-year concession to private investor-operators in relation to the state-owned electricity distribution utility is intended to improve performance in that regard. The thorny question of cost-reflective end-user tariffs will again need to be looked at, as will the appropriate measures to phase-out the more expensive sources of energy in the system. In the immediate term, there will clearly be a need to work with global development partners to create sustainable liquidity mechanisms that cover contracted energy payments.

In all the inevitable recriminations and finger-pointing, with a crisis of this nature, it is important not to forget the good news in all of this: Ghana has proven that electricity deficits can be eliminated in Africa, and within very short periods of time too, utilising time-tested, globally relevant private-sector led procurement strategies.

It is important to build upon this success in addressing the future challenges, and to

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avoid any actions that harm the hard work and good faith of development partners and private investors currently bought into the future of the country. It is also important to learn from any mistakes made.

What lessons can be learnt from the curious case of excess electricity in Ghana?

Firstly, African development is a longterm project, and even great successes will lead to new challenges that must be met.

However, there is no substitute for careful planning and implementation discipline, across all areas that are to be affected by any policy or program. Finally, macroeconomic stability remains one of the most underrated economic and human development factors. If Ghana can achieve this (and there are a lot of positive signals in this direction), the private investment in energy-intensive and job-creating industry will follow. At which point, the conversation might shift from the curiosity of excess, unaffordable supply, to the prescience of investing in energy infrastructure for the future.

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

@Businessdayng

14

Wednesday 25 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

AGRIBUSINESS

In association with

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$150bn global seafood market creates opportunity for Nigerian entrepreneurs JOSEPHINE OKOJIE

G

lobal demand for shrimps and prawns is on the rise and Nigeria’s seafood growers and entrepreneurs can position to explore the opportunity to earn substantial dollars through the non-oil export from the global $150billion market.

Despite having the potential to create hundreds of jobs, the Nigerian seafood industry which is estimated at about $1billion is still largely untapped as low technical knowhow and weak cold chain infrastructure have continued to hinder investments, experts say.

“The opportunities in shrimps and prawns cultivation are enormous if we can harness it.

Both global and local demand for it is rising daily,” said Bisi Adepegba, former director, Federal Department of Fisheries in a telephone response to questions.

“This is because Nigeria’s shrimps and prawns is one of the best in the world, as a result, there is high global demand for it,” Adepegba said.

Nigerian shrimp is largely produced in the Niger Delta, which is reputed as the second largest brackish habitat in the world, experts say.

Shrimps and prawns which is a subsector in the fishing sector have an inshore production of 17,654 metric tons annually, according to data obtained from the Federal Department of Fisheries.

E at i ng s h r i mp s h e l p s to

promote heart and brain health due to its rich content of omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidant astaxanthin. It is also high in several vitamins and minerals as well as a rich source of protein.

The global value of just shrimps and prawns which is a subsector in the seafood industry is estimated at $39billion and expected to reach $68billion by 2027.

“The potential of the seafood

industry is very huge in Nigeria but farmers and investors are not well informed of the opportunities,” Gbola Akande, former executive director, Nigerian Institute for Oceanographic and Marine Research (NIOMR), told BusinessDay in an exclusive interview.

“The Asians have identified this potential in the Nigeria’s shrimps and prawn industry and that is

why they are investing massively in it,” Akande said.

He stated that the country currently has an Indian firm that is cultivating farms shrimps and prawns by piping the Atlantic Ocean into their farms, saying that other Asian firms that do export also trawl theirs from the sea.

Ac c o rd i n g t o h i m, l o c a l farmers’ needs to be trained on the technology and cold chain infrastructures must be improved upon to drive investments in the subsector.

“Nigeria must provide support to farmers to harness these opportunities in form of cheap credit and infrastructure because cultivating shrimps and prawns requires a massive investment,” Akande added.

Currently, Indian owned – Atlantic Shrimpers, Nigeria’s biggest exporter of the seafood has made over $100million investment in the country’s seafood industry.

Other Nigerian players in the industry includes; Banarly Nigeria Limited, ORC Fishing and Food Processing Limited, Karflex Fisheries Limited, Seagold Fisheries Limited and other smaller players operating under the umbrella of the Nigeria Trawler Owners Association (NITOA).

TechnoServe trains processors on quality control in food fortification …collaborates with BASF West Africa, BioAnalyt JOSEPHINE OKOJIE

I

n a bid to ensure that small and medium scale edible oil processors become efficient in delivering Vitamin A in their products, TechnoServe Nigeria has collaborated with BASF - a leading global manufacturer of micronutrients and BioAnalyt - pioneer of on-the-spot micronutrient analysis to train processors on quality control in food fortification.

The regional training which took place in Lagos and Owerri respectively provided edible oil processors insight on the real cost of fortification, global best practices and reinforced the role of processors in improving the health and economy of the nation through their commitment to compliance.

“The training seeks to address the challenges affecting processors in fortifying their products with Vitamin A and how to get fortification right, starting from procument of the vitamin fortificant, to storage, application and internal monitoring and control,” Ayodele Tella, Program Manager – SAPFF, TechnoServe Nigeria said during the training.

Te l l a i n d i c a t e d t h a t t h e cumulative effects of malnutrition, some of which are increase in

A cross section of participants

healthcare spending and reduced productivity of the citizen, costs the country about 10% of its gross domestic product which is currently at $420 billion.

She noted that food fortification remains the most cost effective method of reducing micro-nutrient deficiency in the country and that Nigeria needs to spend about $50million on it annually for its 200million people, going by the World Health Organisation’s cost for food fortification of $0.5 to $0.25 per person per year.

TechnoServe Nigeria through its Strengthening African Processors of www.businessday.ng

Fortified Foods (SAPFF) initiative is increasing the compliance of processors in fortification of their products with essential micronutrients by understanding their challenges and helping them in closing the gaps.

TechnoServe is doing this by using a first time market-based approach to solving the problem of low industry compliance.

Claus Soendergaard, global application specialist – Food Fortification & Technical Marketing, BASF who trained the processors on Quality control and Compliance stated that food fortification is a

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long-term and complementary strategy to tackle hidden hunger.

He advised processors to always protect their Vitamin A as well as products already fortified with it from sunlight, as excessive light penetration causes a certain amount of degradation.

S oendergaard trained the processors on how to calculate the dosage of Vitamin A in a litre of oil. He specified that 20IU/kg is the recommended dosage by the Nigerian government for edible oil fortification with Vitamin A. T ra i n i ng t h e p a r t i c i p a nt s correspondingly, Anna Zhenchuk, @Businessdayng

managing director, BioAnalyt – a product innovator of diagnostics and food testing, noted that Vitamin A has more stability in oil than in sugar because the air around it can penetrate the particles and is a natural environment for oil.

Mark Eneh, factory manager, Apple & Pears Limited, one of the participants of the training, stated that the knowledge imbibed from the training was significant to their business. “ There have been some challenges in maintaining the same level of fortification for most processors but today’s workshop has aided us in understanding ways to store our products correctly and also educate our customers on this issue,” Eneh said.

Similarly, Adams Muyideen Olalekan, quality control analyst at SLABMARK Nigeria Limited said that his organisation has always complied with Vitamin A fortification for its oil.

“Calculating the dosage of Vitamin A to a litre of oil has been a consistent problem for us but today’s workshop has helped in addressing the issue,” Olalekan said.

At its conclusion other participants described the training as very insightful, rewarding and timely.

Wednesday 25 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

15

AGRIBUSINESS ag@businessdayonline.com

‘Investors will make at least 20% return on investment in Agrecourse farms’ AYOOLA OLUGA is the chief executive officer of Agrecourse, an agritech business that support smallholder farmers with finance. In this interview with JOSEPHINE OKOJIE, he spoke about how Agrecourse is reshaping the way people participate in farming and food production using their online platform to invest.

C

an you tell us about Agrecourse and how it operates?

Agrecourse is a digital alternative investment platform that gives everyone the opportunity to partake in agribusiness, by financing any of our farms and trading agricultural commodities.

At Agrecourse, we partner with financiers who are willing and able to provide smallholder farmers with the funds they need to improve their farm operations, thereby empowering these farmers, increasing their incomes, livelihood and enhancing food production.

Agrecourse typically provides the farmers with technical support and quality inputs for production. We monitor the entire process and train the farmers to engage in best practices during production.

After harvest, Agrecourse sells these commodities to agro-allied firms and share the profits with the farmers and the financiers.

Presently, we farm rice, maize, fish and poultry. The choice of commodities we produce is mainly informed by the availability of market.

In essence, we provide our farmers with access to finance and markets.

Although, Agrecourse was established in September 2018, we opened our first farm in November 2018.

As of today, we have raised just under $1 million from 745 financiers through our website. Since inception, we have reared about 45,000 birds and 550,000 fish. As a pilot, we have also cultivated

they currently produce.

Unfortunately, we do not cater for new farmers at this time but we have plans to train and work with them, subsequently. You must have operated your farm and understood the business for some time before we can work with you. This way, we would not be putting our financiers’ money at the mercy of inexperienced farmers.

Ayoola Oluga

a total of 543 hectares of maize and rice.

How is Agre cours e supporting farmers with finance and how many of them have been empowered?

Our mission as a company is to aid the transition of smallholder farmers from subsistence to commercial farming, through the support of our financiers, thereby achieving food security and economic growth.

Agrecourse uses the funds raised from financiers to provide the farmers with quality inputs. We make sure that the inputs provided to the farmers will help them achieve maximum output when best practices are applied.

Agrecourse has successfully empowered over 700 smallholder farmers across 6 states -Ogun, Kwara, Rivers, Kano, Jigawa and Kaduna and the FCT.

What is the least rate of return on investment on any of your farms?

Presently, our least return on investment is 20percent for our fish and poultry farms that run for 6 months. We offer higher returns for longer investment periods.

What mechanism do you have in place in selecting the farmers that Agrecourse work with?

We have certain criteria that farmers must meet before they can qualify to work with us. For crop farmers, you must belong to a registered cooperative or association.

This way, the body can identify and vouch for each farmer; and farmers can cross guarantee one another. The body must also be producers of the crop that we deal in, amongst other things. For livestock farmers, we look out for farmers that cannot meet the demand for what

With the high rate of insecurity and kidnapping on the farmland, how do you secure investors investments on your farms?

All our farms are usually insured by Leadway Assurance. Also, we are currently working with Leadway Assurance for Accident and Life insurance for all our farmers and extension agents.

For the safety of the commodities - crops and livestock; our extension agents monitor the activities of the farmers from the beginning to the end of the farming cycle.

We do everything within our pow er to prevent mistakes that could cost us.

As a proactive measure, we completely avoid working in communities that are either known for violence or prone to violence. Before we engage with farmers in any community, we do our due diligence to make sure we can operate in that area.

Agrecourse is a year old.

Can you tell us some of your expansion plans?

Presently, we are

struggling to meet up with the demand for fish and we see that as a good problem.

In the next few months, we are ramping up production by stocking at least 300,000 fish monthly. By mid-2020, we envisage we would have started stocking about 500,000 monthly to meet the growing demand for fish.

For poultry, we plan to commence processing in the first quarter of 2020, all things being equal. We have identified a gap in the poultry value chain and we are stepping up to fill that gap. We currently have several poultry farmers who claim that they do not have markets for their poultry, yet we discovered from our research, that most of these farmers actually cannot meet the regular demand- in terms of quality and quantity of large off-takers. We plan to bridge the gap by offtaking from poultry farmers and providing neatlydressed chicken in the right quantities to off-takers. It is worthy of note that in 2018, the total demand for poultry in Nigeria was 200 million birds and there was a shortfall of about 60 million birds.

As regards crops, we plan to empower more farmers in the coming months. We are also looking beyond just rice and maize. We are consider ing soybeans, wheat and ginger as we have had different off-takers request for these. We will also be engaging in a lot of commodity trading, both locally and internationally.

Why are youth not finding agric attractive and what can the government do to change that?

Hitherto, most youth saw agriculture as something meant for the poor, and I really do not blame them.

Majority of the farmers that engaged in agriculture saw it as a family tradition, rather than as a sustainable business so, it never looked attractive. Now, the narrative is changing. In the last 5 years, we have seen more youth get into agribusiness than in the history of this countr y. Innovations and technology like what Agrecourse is doing have further made it easier for youth to get into agribusiness without going to the farm.

As for the government, they just need to create a conducive environment for agribusinesses to thrive.

How can the government address the challenges in the agricultural sector?

In my opinion, the government should encourage the adoption and application of innovations to agriculture so as to make the sector more competitive and sustainable. If improved systems are introduced, food production may just keep pace with the population growth we are experiencing, thereby ensuring food security. The government needs to make policies that will discourage importation (like the recent one where the CBN has been banned from providing FOREX to food importing companies) and encourage exportation.

Big Dutchman, AFOS Foundation collaborate to train livestock farmers SEYI JOHN SALAU

B

ig Dutchman Agriculture Nigeria Limited has recently entered into a training par tnership w ith AFO S Foundation to train livestock farmers in the country.

The aim of the training is to improve the efficiency of the agricultural value chains in the livestock subsector and create a skilled workforce

within the industry.

The training, which is tagged ‘Technical Vocational Education Training (TVET)’, will be carried out in close cooperation with companies in the field of livestock and crop business in Nigeria within Lagos and Ibadan.

Thomas Ogundiran, MD/ CEO Big Dutchman said the partnership will expectedly create future pacesetting technicians within the www.businessday.ng

livestock industry in Nigeria.

“The Nigerian agriculture i n d u s t r y c u r re n t l y h a s a shortage of skilled technicians. For us to truly leverage the financial and technological interventions that are expected to guide Nigeria towards agricultural self-sufficiency, we need i n n ov at i v e t e c h n i c i a n s who are pace setters in the agricultural industry,” said Ogundiran.

Linda Itabor, the human re s o u rc e m a n a g e r, Bi g Dutchman Nigeria, while speaking on the benefit of the partnership urged other stakeholders in livestock farming to place priority on youth empowerment in Nigeria.

“Big Dutchman will provide training on poultry equipment for all trainees and improve the technical skills of all cooperating

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companies.”

According to Itabor, the training will run for over a year and will equip the participants with the relevant skills needed to ensure optimization of their job roles.

Sh e o p i n e d t hat Big Dutchman Agriculture Nigeria Limited offer practical, economical and environment-friendly solutions geared to future @Businessdayng

needs of livestock farming.

The training will consist of 11 classroom modules.

These modules will cover the entire value chain of poultry production, as well as, further instructions in economics, record keeping and people business.

After one week classroom training, the trainees will go back to their work place and will be exposed to other fields within their companies

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Monday 24 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

cityfile Oyo exempts churches, mosques from payment of levies REMI FEYISIPO, Ibadan

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L-R: Dapo Abiodun, governor of Ogun State; Gabrial Akogun, student, Welkin Int’l School; Francis Adebayo Beckley, proprietor, Welkin Int’l School, and Noimot Salako Oyedele, deputy governor, Ogun State, at the Repositioning our Education for Outstanding Performance Forum in Ogun State.

Ogun moves to install CCTV cameras at toll points RAZAQ AYINLA, Abeokuta

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s part of measures to boost internally generated revenue (IGR), Ogun State government has resolved to install Close Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras to monitor transactions at toll points.

The objective, according to the government, is to curb illegal ticketing, as well as create synergy between haulage operators and

business groups. Such include United Association of Gravel and Sand Dealers, First Nigerian Tippers Associations, Trucks Owners Association as well as Nigeria Union of Mines Workers.

C o n su l t a nt t o t h e government on finance, L ekan O namusi disclosed this during a recent geological services stakeholders’ meeting, held in Abeokuta, the state capital.

According to Onamusi, anyone caught with illegal ticket would be

handled in accordance with the provisions of the law, noting that, ‘’we are making frantic effort to reduce the bottlenecks militating against the ease of doing business in Ogun State.

“People paying monies into government’s coffer must make sure that illegal ticketing is eradicated,’’ said Onamusi.

Also, consultant to the state government on commerce and industry, Sola Arobieke insisted that toll points’

leakages must be blocked, in order boost the state’s IGR. She urged members of the associations to be patient, as the new administration would tackle challenges being faced by the associations and also erect signposts at all toll points.

Permanent secretary, Lydia Fajounbo said the purpose of the stakeholders’ meeting was to identify challenges on the field and possible approach to resolving them.

Shippers Council donates items to Abia community hospital GODFREY OFURUM, Aba

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igerian Shippers Council (NSC), the country’s ports economic regulator, has promised to sustain its social corporate social responsibility programmes in the South-East region of Nigeria.

Hassan Bello, executive secretary/CEO of the council, gave the promise at the presentation of medical equipment to Government Cottage Hospital, Abayi, Osisio-

ma Ngwa local government area, Abia State.

The items include 2-single motor hospital beds, 2-micro air alternating pressure overlay mattress, 7-HD 1172 Philips iron, 8-medium size towels, 7-medium size bedspreads, 7-medium size bedspreads, 1-washing machine, 1-Honda (5.5kva) generator, 1-LG double door fridge, 8-rechargeable lanterns, 5-mosquito nets and 8-blankets.

The donation is part of the NSC’s corporate sowww.businessday.ng

cial responsibility (CSR) towards boosting healthcare services in the rural areas.

Represented at the event by Winner Anayo, zonal director, SouthEast region, NSC, Bello, explained that the NSC placed high premium on its CSR programmes, w h i c h a c c o rd i n g t o him, are targeted at the grassroots with a view to touching lives at the base of the society.

He further stated that the donation was necessitated, by the council’s

passion to support and empower indigent Nigerians.

Bello, while presenting the items to the community, urged health providers in the medical centre to use the equipment to touch lives.

Obinna Okeugu, doctor in charge of the hospital, while receiving the items praised the NSC for providing the hospital’s core needs and urged the council to sustain gesture, especially in the rehabilitation of dilapidated buildings.

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yo State governm e n t h a s e xempted mosques a n d c hu rc h e s from payment of levies.

However, those having profit-making businesses such as schools, universities, hospitals, bakeries would continue to pay taxes.

Speaking at the thanksgiving mass to celebrate the 70th birthday of Gabriel Abegunrin, the Catholic Archbishop of Ibadan Diocese, Idowu Ogedengbe, the executive assistant to Governor Seyi Makinde, said that the decision to exempt the religious bodies was informed by the fact that they are not profit oriented.

He, however, stressed the need for individual

members of the religious organisations to pay their taxes.

“As Christians, the scripture says that we should submit to the law of the land. They should pay their tributes; so Christians are meant to pay their tributes, taxes to the government because to tackle insecurity, provide good road network, education, and all of the other amenities.

“Not necessarily the church but the members of the church; they are citizens, and all citizens should pay their taxes. So, individuals that constitute the church and the mosque must pay their taxes. If they pay their taxes, it would be of more or less double incidence of taxation if you now begin to tax the church, mosque as a body,” he said.

Festac Rotary offers free surgeries for women SEYI JOHN SALAU

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he Rotar y C lub of Festac Town in partnership with o t h e r n o n - g overnmental organisations (NGOs) would be sponsoring ten indigent women for free fibroid surgery and treatment.

The partners, including Gifted Hand Plus, a US based NGO and ROTD Dental Clinic, would be embarking on free medical outreach for eye, dental and BP kits to be shared to residents.

Speaking during her investiture as 38th president of Festac Rotary Club, Onyinye Ogbonna, said the club was also planning support 20 indigent on vocational

skills as well as provide equipment on hair dressing, sewing machines and others. The club would also be visiting Beth Tarrey Home in keeping with its education and empowerment programme.

“We are volunteers who work locally and internationally to fight hunger, provide quality education, improve health and sanitation, improve child and maternal health and eradicate polio,” said Onyinye.

Adeniyi Adesina, the editor of the Nation newspapers and guest speaker, said Rotary was a critical partner in the evolution of Nigeria with its contributions to the socio-economic development of the country and its people.

Oyo moves to shut illegal schools REMI FEYISIPO, Ibadan

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yo State government says it is set to shut illegal private primary schools. The government said on Monday that a taskforce would be set up in earnest to address the menace.

Nureni Adeniran, executive chairman, Oyo State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), who stated this during an inspection of schools in the state capital, said that the government without further delay would constitute a task force for this purpose. @Businessdayng

According to him, the task force would close down all mushroom private schools endangering quality in the education sector.

Ad e n i ra n , h ow e v e r, charged parents and guardians to enrol their children and wards in public schools, noting that the free education policy by Governor Seyi Makinde was already yielding positive results in schools in the 2019 academic session.

“Looking at the influx of new intakes in public schools, it is apparent that the free-education policy is yielding good fruits in the state.

Wednesday 25 September 2019

COMPANIES & MARKETS

BUSINESS DAY

17

COMPANY NEWS ANALYSIS INSIGHT

BANKING

Size matters: Bigger Nigerian lenders more cost efficient than mid-tier counterparts ISRAEL ODUBOLA & SEGUN ADAMS

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i g e r i a’s big banks spent less from operating income than their mid-tier counterparts in the first six months of 2019, as top lenders benefited from economies of scale.

On the average tier-one banks spent N63 from every N100 made as operating income in running their business while midtier lenders spent N81 on running costs.

Cost-to-income ratio gives a clear view of how efficiently the bank is being run, and is calculated by dividing the operating expenses by the operating income generated.

Cost-to-income ratio is important in determining the profitability of a bank.

The lower the ratio, the more efficient the bank is.

“Tier-One banks operate on a larger scale, hence they are able to spread fixed costs on the higher income that they generate,” said Gbolahan Ologunro, analyst at Lagos-

based CSL Stockbrokers Limited.

According to Ologunro, tier-one banks are more efficient than their midsized counterparts given their bigger balance sheet which enables them squeeze out more earnings from their interest-bearing assets which feeds through into higher operating income.

Banks with the lowest cost-to-income ratio in the period was Guaranty Trust

Bank (GTB) with 34.84 percent and Stanbic IBTC recorded 35.08 percent.

Zenith Bank had 56.83 percent.

Access Bank and Fidelity Bank recorded 67.07 percent and 67.7 percent respectively, while First Bank’s cost-to-income printed at 80.38 percent, the highest among Nigeria’s top lenders.

On the flip side, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated had the highest

among peers in the industry in excess of hundred percent. This means the Pan-African bank spent more than it earned as operating income.

On average, Nigerian listed banks spent about 73 percent of their operating income to run business, implying they have not able been to minimize cost and would have to intensify their cost-control strategy as they are spending more on each unit of

revenue.

Analysts say the inability of Nigerian lenders to cut cost might be because their revenue is not growing in tandem with cost.

“Some costs are market-driven and impacted by inflation. Nigeria’s inflation rate is in double-digits and will always reflect in costs, no matter how banks strive to manage cost,” said Emmanuel Noko, senior economist at Lagos-based advisory firm, M&C Con-

sulting Limited.

Noko maintained that sluggish recovery of the broader economy and relatively high inflation rate are headwinds to banks’ efficiency.

According to data by National Bureau of Statistics, Africa’s biggest economy which worth about $400 billion dollars grew slowed for the second consecutive quarter to print expansion at 1.94 percent, heightening doubt if the country would meet Federal Government’s 3.01 percent growth target for 2019.

A l s o i n f l at i o n rat e s l o w e d f o r t h e t h i rd straight month to 11.02 percent in August, buoyed by favourable harvest and weak consumer demand.

However the rate is slightly above the country’s apex bank 6-9 percent target.

The low interest environment which has seen some lenders record declines in interest income means no more free money for lenders, underscoring the need for them to be more cost-effective to boost future profitability.

SMES

Group chart path to improve funding for Nigerian SMEs DAVID IBEMERE AND ANGEL JAMES

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ME.ng an impact investment group said they are looking to help connect small and mediumsized enterprises (SMEs) especially women-led and youth-owned to transform them into formalized and sustainable business that support employment and create a lasting impact.

According to the group, during a two day conference held at the federal palace hotel themed “the funding space” said if SMEs can have access to funds especial women-led it will not only help scale up their inclusiveness but strengthen their competi-

tiveness to help break Nigeria’s poverty cycle.

Speaking at the event, O l u wat oy i n Ad e gb i t e Moore Executive Director West Africa Venture Philanthropy Alliance said many SMEs are into great work that helps achieve the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals but are dire need of funds to scale up but are unaware of the opportunities.

“There are investors who are ready to put in their money to businesses that have social and environmental impact alongside a financial return, unfortunately most SMEs in Nigeria are unaware where to access these

funds.”

“The goal of bringing this funding space event together is that everyone within the SMEs can learn that there are funding opportunities out there and not just money but also non-financial funding and the role of my organization the African venture philanthropy aligns, it’s to really look at the entire eco system and bring social investors together with investees who are ready to be able to get the funding that they need, I mean capital in terms of financial , human resource intellectual capital are very essential as needs of SMEs, some people don’t need money all they need is the hu-

man resources in other for them to scale it’s not just about money it could be just about knowledge and human resources” she said Speaking on how fund raising helps the SMEs execute their business plan Sade Adebanjo a Special Adviser to Ogun State Governor stated that while funds is one of the major challenges to SMEs growth he noted that a good business plan should be far more important first to an SME to attract fund. “you give me an idea of what the business plan is if you do not have a strong conviction of what you are doing or selling there is no way we can give you money so you must have a

clear articulated business plan, the financial has been well documented so we know for sure you are it is not about to make money not just to collect money because at the end there must be return of investment to the giver” Speaking on how easily fund can be access Nnoli Nnoli chief sustainability and governance, Dangote on the first day of the conference said “In terms of accessibility of capital we are looking at capital that are financial and non-financial one of the things that i will have to say is that SMEs need to be prepared they need to ensure they have their business plan intact and

make sure they are connecting with all the foundations, the CAC is one place where they can find out all the organizations here in Nigeria” “ There are endless platforms to access fund starting from public institutions like the CBN and different banks although very often those opportunities are not accessed, Angel investment opportunity, rising tied Africa, advocacy platforms like the funding space initiative at the bottom of the pyramid like the growing foundation, states level initiatives like lsetf, foundations like the Dangote foundations, there are range of them.”

Editor: LOLADE AKINMURELE (lolade.akinmurele@businessdayonline.com) Graphics: Samuel Iduh

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Wednesday 25 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

COMPANIES&MARKETS

Business Event

TECHNOLOGY

Nigeria yet to benefit from $107bn global market - Trainquarters MODESTUS ANAESORONYE

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frican entrepreneurs and manufacturers can now monetize and sell their courses online, and get paid without hassles following the successful launch of TrainQuaters in Nigeria.

TrainQuarters is a first of its kind, one-stop digital platform built to help African entrepreneurs from different sectors of the economy to monetize their knowledge.

Stephanie Obi, founder and CEO of TrainQuarters said at the formal launch in Lagos that from creating, marketing and selling online courses to building a website, email list, blog post hosting and more, the platform contains every-

thing you need to launch an online course.

She noted that the global market is worth $107 billion, stating that Nigeria was yet to benefit from this market despite a lot of potential and knowledge available in this country.

On why she created the platform, Obi said “I was tired of seeing Africans struggle with monetizing their knowledge online, so, I created a solution that is appropriate for Africans across the continent”. “The beauty of this is that you don’t need to be tech-savvy to use the platform!” she added.

On the platform’s simplicity and ease of use, Obi added that “after working with over 200 women to create their online courses, we noticed a trend - The Tech! The tech is

very scary. It is overwhelming and many times people feel stuck and disappointed.

According to her, many of them wanted to impact lives but they gave up because of the tech. “We saw them struggling, which was hard to watch so we decided to help them make it easier.”

“The all-in-one platform grants you access to online courses at a discounted rate - rather than paying for different platforms - along with the assistance of the support team to enlighten and guide you through the process.”

Stephanie Obi is a tech entrepreneur and founder of online course creation platform, TrainQuarters.

L-R: Chioma Mbanugo, category marketing manager, PZ Wilmar Limited; Ifeyinwa Mogekwu, celebrity chef; Ipsit Chakrabarti, deputy managing director, PZ Wilmar Limited; Joyce Coker, human resource director, PZ Cussons; and Winifred Emmanuel, celebrity chef, at the official Mamador Fried Rice Day celebration at the company’s headquarters, in Lagos.

Pic Pius Okeosisi

Continue online @www. businessday.ng

SMEs

IE University offers platform to empower start-ups OLUFIKAYO OWOEYE

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E University, a Spanish origin entrepreneurship technology and innovative institution has extended its platform to young Nigerian start-ups to enable them gain visibility and support that helps them push their businesses to economic scale.

The institution, which has offered similar opportunities to about 35 countries across the world said Nigeria has huge potential, and being economic hub of West Africa with technology and innovation playing key role in economic expansion, the economy in key in growing the African economy.

The platform was launched in Lagos Weekend during the IE University’s first Digital Solutions Venture Day in Af-

rica held at Zone Tech Park Gbagada, Lagos “The idea behind the event is to give a platform to start-ups so that they can be visible, attract investment and other forms of support that they will need to grow their business from startup to scale economic effective size, say’s Onyekachi Eke, director of IE West Africa region.

IE Venture Day takes place annually in cities around the world, connecting the entrepreneurial community across all continents. IE has held more than 35 International Venture Days in cities such as Madrid, Shanghai, Tokyo, Miami, Bogota, London, Santiago de Chile, Paris and many more.

The Digital Solutions Venture Day in Lagos is a cutting-edge, highly competitive program designed to identify and sup-

port start-ups that have the ability to create innovative digital based solutions to everyday problems faced by businesses—whether private or public—so as to improve their operations.

Eke, revealed that “the winner of Venture Day Lagos gets a N5 million cash prize. The winner also gets the chance to pitch on IE’s stage in the South Summit Spain taking place at the beginning of October 2020.

The wining startup of Venture Day Lagos will have access to IE Business School’s campus for an intensive acceleration program that will take place a few days before South Summit in order to prepare their pitch for the event, she noted.

L-R: Leslie Oghomienor, chairman/CEO, Blaugrana Group International; Shiva Kumar, parent/special guest, Children International School, Lekki; Onwubuariri Elizabeth, parent/special guest; Tayo Awosanya, Parent/Special Guest, and Jorge Couto, technical director, Barca Academy, at the Barca Academy Parents Forum in Lagos.

Continue online @www. businessday.ng

CSR

Verraki Partners congratulates Junior Achievement Nigeria on 20th anniversary IFEOMA OKEKE

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anaging Partner of Verraki, Niyi Yusuf has congratulated Junior Achievement Nigeria (JAN), on its 20th Anniversary, paying tribute to the organization’s role in delivering unique, experiential programs focusing on the core content areas of work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy.

Speaking ahead of JAN’s 20th Anniversary celebration, Yusuf commended the JAN initiative and its leadership’s commitment to pool resources from the private and public sector to improve the delivery of practical education, particularly entrepreneurial education, to the nation’s youth, stressing the role this plays in igniting the spark in young people to enable them experience the world of

business and realize the opportunities and realities of work and life in the 21st century.

According to him, JAN has mentored a significant number of Nigeria’s leading entrepreneurs today, in sectors as diverse as entertainment, financial services, start-up, notfor profit, social enterprises among others and created a bridge between the classroom and the workplace for children and young adults.

“Nigeria needs conscientious business leaders who focus on ‘being’ over ‘having’; leaders who believe in living a mission-based life of impact and purpose. JAN nurtures this, with an environment and training that bridges the gap between knowledge, skills and real societal problems.

“I feel privileged to have been part of this idea as a volunteer from Andersen Consulting

during the early days of JAN and the organization has now impacted and trained over 970,000 Nigerians with 4,000+ volunteers since inception almost 20 years ago. JAN has started a movement that will continue to drive change in young people”.

Junior Achievement Nigeria (JAN), a member of Junior Achievement Worldwide, the world’s oldest and largest nonprofit economic education organization dedicated to empowering students on financial literacy, work readiness and entrepreneurship through experiential, hands-on programs, in partnership with JA-Nigeria Board Members such as Dangote, FirstBank, CitiBank, Stanbic IBTC, Deloitte, Schlumberger, Verraki Partners, Sigma Pensions and Agile Communications.

Continue online @www. businessday.ng

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L-R: Tiamiyu Olayinka, chairman, Association of Chief Audit Execitive of Banks in Nigeria (ACAEBIN); Adesola , CEO, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, and Uduak Nelson, vice chairman, Association of Chief Audit Execitive of Banks in Nigeria (ACAEBIN)/chief audit executive, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, at the 43rd Quarterly General Meeting of The Association of Chief Audit Executives of Banks in Nigeria (ACAEBIN).

L-R: Mohammed Ojibara, retail cluster head, Garki and Wuse Zones (Abuja), First City Monument Bank (FCMB); Cindy Nwabuaku, official of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC); Lukman Mustapha, regional head, Abuja and North, FCMB; Anya Patricia, winner of star prize of N1million at the third draw of “FCMB Millionaire Promo Season 6” in Abuja and North Region; Ncha Asu, official of NLRC, and Rita Agware, manager, First City Plaza Branch of the Bank, during the cheque presentation ceremony to the winner in Abuja.

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@Businessdayng

Wednesday 25 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

19

tax issues Use of digital technologies set to increase tax compliance Iheanyi Nwachukwu

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he eighth edition of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Tax Administration Series published on Monday September 23 shows how tax administrations are increasingly moving to e-administration and using a range of technology tools, data sources and analytics to increase tax compliance. ”Tax administrations, much like tax policy makers, are exposed to rapid change through the digitalisation of the economy and the emergence of new business models and ways of working.

“The data and examples contained in Tax Administration 2019 show how the availability of new technologies, new data sources, and increasing international cooperation are providing new opportunities for tax administrations to better manage compliance, protect their tax base and reduce administrative burdens,” said Pascal Saint-Amans, Director of the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration.

The Tax Administration Series, first published in 2004, provides wideranging comparative information on the performance of 58 advanced and emerging tax administrations as well as an analysis of the major trends and developments in tax administration.

Its purpose is to assist administrations, governments, taxpayers and

other stakeholders in considering how and where improvements can be made in the efficiency and effectiveness of tax administration.

Together the 58 tax administrations participating in Tax Administration 2019 collected net annual revenues of 11.4 trillion euro while dealing with the tax affairs of around 810 million personal income tax and corporate taxpayers.

As noted by Hans Christian Holte, Chair of the OECD Forum on Tax Administration and Head of the Norwegian Tax Administration: “The Tax

Administration Series is an invaluable resource in helping to frame the significant challenges and opportunities facing tax administrations. It contains a rich set of comparative information on the functions and performance of tax administrations which assists us at both the national and global level in understanding our strengths and weaknesses, and helps identify where we can enhance our peformance individually and collectively through working together.”

Some interesting facts from the publication:

Increasing e-administration: There has been a significant shift towards e-administration with increasing options for online filing of tax returns as well as online payments.

On average, e-filing rates for personal income tax are now above 70percent and those for corporate income tax are around 85percent. Digital contact channels (online, email, digital assistance) continue to increase (example email contacts are up 20percent) while traditional channels continue to decrease (e.g. in-person contacts are down 15percent). More than 40 administrations are using or planning to use artificial intelligence.

Growing use of behavioural insights as a compliance tool: Many tax administrations now report the use of behavioural insights and analytics to better understand how and why taxpayers act and to use these insights to design practical policies and interventions. More than 10 administrations are employing behavioural researchers and more than 35 administrations have data scientists.

Smarter compliance risk management: Tax administrations are taking an increasingly proactive approach to compliance risk management, where possible seeking to intervene at earlier stages rather than after tax returns have been filed. In almost two-thirds of the administrations, formal co-operative compliance approaches for large taxpayers exist or are planned. This is particularly important as data indicates that in most jurisdictions between 35percent and 60percent of total net revenue,

including withholding payments on behalf of employees, was received from taxpayers covered by their large taxpayer programmes.

Introduction of compliance by design: The increasing availability and sharing of data is now allowing compliance by design approaches to cover a variety of sources of income, including through the prefilling of tax returns which is done by close to 70percent of the administrations covered by the report. A number of tax administrations are now looking to introduce systemic approaches for other classes of taxpayer, including working with software developers on the integration of accounting systems and tax rules, and through the introduction of secure chains of information, for example through e-invoicing and the use of secure electronic cash registers. More than 20 administrations report having in place electronic invoice systems for tax purposes.

Tax administration workforce is aging: Since 2014, the percentage of staff older than 54 years grew in twothirds of the administration able to provide data. This confirms earlier observation that in many administrations the average age of staff is at a level where it is already or soon will create challenges to manage. To further complicate this challenge, most administrations are facing on-going organisational change with a need to acquire the new skills to operate a heavily data driven modern tax administration while retaining key intellectual knowledge.

Should tax be keeping pace with transformation, or help shape it?

The tax function is undergoing transformation at the hands of technological and political trends, and many businesses need to catch up, write tax experts at EY How’s your tax function doing? ow is your tax function measuring up to the multifaceted changes taking place within your organization? Are you helping lead it with insights on legislative developments and fresh perspectives on new business strategies to optimize decision making? To the casual observer, tax departments may seem unlikely drivers of the transformational wheel, but the reality is quite the contrary.

The role today’s tax professionals play in large global organizations transcends outdated perceptions of backroom employees juggling data, spreadsheets and forms to ensure compliance obligations are met.

In fact, your tax professionals today need to be more connected to your organizations than ever before, adding value to the critical business decisions being made in your organization. Tax departments should be able to respond quickly and proactively to demands for more transparency and information required from tax authorities, many of whom have themselves already dramatically invested and upgraded

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their digital tools that can gather and analyse corporate account information in real time.

This means your tax function needs to jump on the transformational bandwagon, upgrading and enhancing its own tax operating models by investing in people, processes and technology that connect directly with both your broader organization and with government tax authorities.

These upgrades enable tax directors to harness their own data to drive new insights and efficiency through automation within your organization. And it empowers them to build relationships with multiple internal and external stakeholders to keep the tax function attuned to changing market dynamics.

If your tax function doesn’t transform, it will end up increasingly disconnected from the world around it and struggle to meet its objectives — and by extension, your company’s business objectives.

An effective digital tax strategy for this transformative age will require the right combination of approaches to new technologies, personal skills sets, handling big data, collaborative www.businessday.ng

effectiveness, and management administration, among others.

At EY, we see several key trends driving the increasing digitalization of tax administration functions: Changing markets Technology changes everything.

And when ways of conducting business and engaging with customers change, it can often have unforeseen implications on how that activity is taxed.

“We see a lot of companies now bundling together goods and services,” says my colleague Nick Muhlemann, EY Asia-Pacific Operating Model Effectiveness Partner. “That might include services that weren’t provided before, such as those related to diagnostics and analytics. The concept of selling a bundle of goods and services creates a whole new framework for taxation.”

Processes are also undergoing changes that may act as a catalyst for corresponding changes in tax administration. For instance, my Singaporebased colleague Edvard O Rink, EY APAC’s Operating Model Effectiveness Leader, asks, “How much value can be attributed to an algorithm

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instead of people functions?”

“Technology — from 3D printing to robotics and artificial intelligence — will keep changing the way businesses operate, and where and how value is created. This requires new interpretations and applications of tax rules,” Edvard explains.

Albert Lee, EY Asia-Pacific Tax Technology & Transformation and Digital Tax Leader based in Hong Kong, says tax systems are trying to adapt. “A lot of the tax systems were built to tax tangible things, in a world where people didn’t really travel much, when things were more bricks and mortar,” he explains.

“But since the world has gone more virtual, and people and entities don’t have clear residency, it has become more difficult to come up with a clear answer to tax jurisdiction questions that were previously straightforward.”

As next generation products and practices race beyond the current capability of tax authorities and corporate tax functions to assess and report on them, new technologies and processes will need to be a priority.

The regulatory landscape @Businessdayng

Policy and regulatory trends inspired by these shifting markets can also have an impact.

After all, it’s not just businesses that are rethinking business models and operations as a result of emerging technologies. Public tax authorities increasingly also have access to the assets they need to transform how they collect tax — meaning that those reporting them are forced to move at their speed. “Tax administrations have the abilities to deal with big data, and they actually expect the taxpayers do, too. And what we have found is they are ramping up their audit activity and their audit requests,” says Houstonbased Carolyn Bailey, EY Americas Digital Tax Administration Leader.

This, says Zurich-based Clare Franklin, EY Switzerland Connected Tax Transformation Solution leader, has ushered in a significant and likely permanent shift in attitudes about how tax connects to business activity, and the need for transparency around these activities. “This is having a major impact on everything from workforce to supply chain to trade, as businesses adapt to the new demands of enforcement mechanisms,” she says.

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Wednesday 25 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

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BUSINESS DAY

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Wednesday 25 Seprtember 2019

BUSINESS DAY

MARITIMEBUSINESS SHIPPING

LOGISTICS

MARITIME e-COMMERCE

Congestion: Thousands of abandoned, overtime cargoes pile up in Nigerian Port terminals …As NPA seeks Wreck Insurance Policy on ships to deal with wrecks AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE

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ollowing the inability of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to auction or remove abandoned and other overtime cargoes that are presently occupying spaces at the nation’s seaport terminals, the number of this category of cargo has continued to increase by the day, BusinessDay can confirm.

This has not only threatened efficient port operation but has also resulted in the congestion of port terminals as spaces that are supposed to be used for the stacking of laden containers are currently being occupied by overtime cargoes.

Speaking at the third Maritime Stakeholder’s Interactive Session held in Lagos recently, Hadiza Bala Usman, managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), said there was an increasing concern around the presence of over time cargo that litter Nigerian Ports.

She called on the min-

ister of transportation to intervene in calling the attention of Nigeria Customs to facilitate the auctioning of these overtime cargoes.

“We have huge overtime cargoes in our ports and the last time an auction was done was in 2015.

We have written severally to Customs but they suggested we move the consignments out of the port terminals to Ikorodu Lighter Terminal,” she said.

According to her, Customs needs to understand that there is a provision for on-the-spot auctioning of these cargoes.

“This means that they can auction the cargoes within the ports. We need to facilitate that because our terminals are filled with overtime goods.

There is no space and this has become a big challenge to us,” Usman said.

Aside from overtime cargoes, Usman further expressed worry over the inability of Customs to deploy scanning machines for timely inspection of cargoes at the ports.

“Right now, all the cargoes coming into the country are being examined physically by all the agencies of government and this automatically

translates into congestion,” she said.

She however called on the minister to intervene with Customs to deploy scanners to the ports in order to facilitate inspection of cargoes and eliminate delays in line with the provisions of Ease of Doing Business.

In terms of port development, she said Nigeria needed to have a Port Master Plan to guide the development of deep seaports.

She further stated that the Federal Ministry of Transportation had granted NPA the approval to integrate all Nigerian deep seaports into the 25-year master

plan.

“The port master plan has not been completed yet but we are mindful of the ongoing procurement process for that and situating the deep seaport into the master plan. We want Ibom and Lekki Deep Seaports to be accommodated in the master plan,” she said.

She said Lekki Deep Seaport was coming up and at its completion; it would significantly move away the traffic challenges in Apapa. “We need to fast track the completion of the port.”

According to her, the absence of deep seaport has made it impossible for very large vessels with 17 meters depth to berth on Nigerian waters because Nigeria has river ports with a maximum of 13 meters depth.

“We need to ensure that the ongoing deep seaport projects are concluded within the timeline. Our current depth of water channel is not because of dredging but because we have river ports and we will continue to maintain our depth,” she stated.

Usman however said

that there were several abandoned vessels all over Nigerian waters by owners, who had downtime while carrying out fishing or oil and gas business.

“We have written to the minister requesting that vessels operating on Nigerian waters must get Wreck Insurance Policy.

Thereby, if ship owners abandon their vessels on Nigerian waters, the insurance company would be called upon to move the vessel,” she suggested.

She said the NPA is presently discussing with the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to jointly approach the ministry of Transportation on that issue.

“A huge number of these vessels are being detained by Nigerian Navy, Police and the Economic Financial Crime Commission (EFCC). We have approached the Chief of Naval Staff but we need to fast track the justice system in order to be able to discard those vessels because they are all abandoned.

They have translated into wrecks that would block our waterways and affect navigation,” she said.

Shippers’ Council recovers N215m for shippers in first nine months of 2018 AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE

A

s part of its economic regulation mandate, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) said it has recovered about N34,977,741.67 and $500,000(N180 million at N360/$), totalling N215 million for shippers that are doing business in the nation’s seaports.

The Council said it was able to recover this amount through its mediation in 116 trade-related and other disputes lodged by shippers between January and September of 2018.

Investigation shows that the Complaint Unit of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council was able to recover the amount sequel to its discussions with the parties involved in the disputes, and the investigations carried out on the matter.

A breakdown of the

Hassan Bello

number of complaints lodged and attended to by the Council during the period, indicated that 23 complaints were received in the first quarter of 2018; 52 in the second quarter and 41 in the third quarter.

On the type of complaints that were lodged, the Council said 34 disputes had to do with demurrage/ container deposit refund; 26 disputes were on arbitrary charges;15 disputes were on storage charges, eight were www.businessday.ng

on export related issues, while seven were on trade disputes.

Furthermore, six disputes were on import-related matters; another six disputes were on delay in transfer of containers; four were on missing cargo, and four were on delayed shipping/ terminal release /delivery order, while three were on delivery and another three were disputes around wrong documentation.

Also, out of the total number of complaints that were received within the period under review, 59 were from shipping companies; 24 from terminal operators; eight from exporters; six from importers and agents; three from consolidators; two from government agencies; two from haulage companies and one each from stevedoring and state government.

H o w e v e r, t o g u a r d against such complaints,

Hassan Bello, executive secretary/CEO through Moses Fadipe, deputy director of the Complaints Unit, advised shippers to ensure they are above board at all times in their documentation, and to report to the Council any observed infractions along the importation and cargo clearing chain, which is the economic regulator for prompt action.

Fadipe said shippers must learn to archive all their transactional documents because of unforeseen occurrences.

He also called on shipping companies and other service providers in the maritime sector to ensure that all their cost elements are transparent and tied to services rendered.

Shippers must always gauge the feelings of their stakeholders, meet with them formally and at intervals to share information.

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According to him, service providers must know that fraction of increment on cost of doing business affects the economy.

It would be recalled that the Council has been performing its mediatory function in line with its mandate to serve as a link between providers and consumers of shipping service, to facilitate trade as well as check a situation where loss of funds by importers would lead to passage of liabilities to consumers in the area of high cost of goods and services.

Also, the Council has been advising stakeholders on contemporary issues in the transport industry, as well as the Federal Government’s policy formulation and implementation as they affect the transport sector, thus ensuring that the industry increases its contributions to the economy.

Aside mediation, other @Businessdayng

areas in which the Council has been contributing to economic development include ensuring ports patronage, curbing arbitrary charges, proffering solutions to gridlock, paving way for fast clearing of goods, reduction of tariff in seaport sector by 40 percent, facilitating trade, planning cancellation of container deposits, building infrastructure for the economy, and acting as an enabler for the establishment of Dry Ports and Truck Transit Parks (TTPs) among others.

It has also been impacting on the nation’s maritime sector through industry support, representation, advisory, complaints handling, advocacy, and research, provision of information, enlightenment, and regulatory role as well as through various projects undertaken on behalf of government.

Wednesday 25 Seprtember 2019

BUSINESS DAY

23

MARITIMEBUSINESS NPA commits to attracting more businesses to Eastern Ports SHIPPING

LOGISTICS

MARITIME e-COMMERCE

AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE

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adiza Bala Usman, managing director of the Nigerian P o r t s Au t h o r i t y (NPA), has restated the Authority’s commitment to the optimal utilisation of Eastern Ports in line with the Ease of Doing Business Policy of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

Speaking when NPA hosted members of the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on Ports and Harbours in Lagos recently, Usman said that management of the NPA was working with all relevant stakeholders towards tackling the challenges that are impeding patronage of the Eastern Ports.

A statement signed by Adams Jatto, general manager, Corporate & Strategic Communications, said issues such as insecurity on the waterways, poor access roads, lack of rail linkage to ports and shallow depths strongly discourage vessel owners from patronising the Eastern Ports. To her, shallow depth hinders the movement of big vessels.

On the issues of draught limitations, Usman explained that following the approval of the contract by the Federal Executive

L-R: Ahmed Hassan, head of Africa Operations, Maersk Line’s Global; Hadiza Bala Usman, managing director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), and Kent Hagbarth, senior vice president Operations, Maersk Line’s Global during a working visit to the NPA management at its headquarters in Lagos on Monday.

Council in 2018, dredging works on deepening the Warri channel draft to 7.5 meters had been completed while consultants had been engaged to advise on the level of investments needed to improve the infrastructural capacity of the port in Port Harcourt.

While noting that the Onne Ports currently function at full capacity, she said the NPA had granted all requisite approvals for

the construction of the Lekki Deep Seaport for which construction has started.

She further said that the Authority was awaiting response from the promoters of the Badagr y Deep Seaport to enable conclusion on the final outline business case for the project.

She however noted that the maritime industry was becoming increasingly disposed to

patronising Deep Seaports which allows for bigger vessels and aid economies of scale. “Nigeria would only assure its future market share in the industry with the development of Deep Seaports.

On security, she explained that the NPA was perfecting plans to purchase patrol boats and working with the Nigerian Navy, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency

(NIMASA), and the Port Police Command to combat crimes on the nation’s waterways, and assured that progress is being made on this front.

“The NPA has drawn a basket of deplorable port access roads nationwide and written to the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing about the need to prioritise the rehabilitation of these roads. The ministry has commenced implementation of this process with the recent award of the construction of Ikom Bridge, which is a key road connecting Cross River State to the North Eastern part of the country,” she said..

She however expressed optimism that these steps would better link the ports with hinterland and attract more business to the Eastern Ports.

Earlier, BubaYakub, chairman of the Ad-hoc committee, said that the committee was on a fact- finding mission to know the reasons the Eastern Ports were not working optimally as the Western Ports, and how much that affects national development.

Yakub noted that this assignment would take his committee round all the ports and at the end of the day, the team would generate a blueprint that would improve patronage at the Eastern Ports and prevent agitations from host communities.

NIWA to complete concession of N4.5bn Onitsha River Port by October AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE

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he Nigerian Inland Water Authority (NIWA) will be completing the concessioning of the long- awaited Onitsha River Port in Anambra State by the end of October this year, Damladi Ibrahim, acting managing director, has said.

Ibrahim, who disclosed this in Lagos recently during the third

Maritime Stakeholder’s Interactive Session, said all the processes for the concessioning of the river port had been completed.

This is coming six years after the Federal Government under the then administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, invested over N4.6 billion in rebuilding the abandoned Port and, a year after NIWA announced that it had finally

secured a concessionaire to manage the port.

Onitsha Port holds huge economic implications to businesses located in the commercial Eastern cities of Onitsha, Nnewi and Aba, which would as a result of the concession, have the privilege to forgo the transportation of over N500,000 per container to take delivery of their consignments from Ports in Lagos.

According to Ibrahim, the only remaining thing was for the authority to carry out its due diligence of visiting would-be concessionaire, which he said would probably be an investor that would be coming from Belgium.

NIWA recently announced arrangements to declare and gazette Onitsha River Port as Port of Origin for cargoes coming into the country from any part of the world

and final destination to those going out of the country as export.

At the completion of the process, Onitsha River Port, will be recognised by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), as a port to which goods came be consigned from, and from where goods can also be consigned to, from any port located anywhere in the world.

VESSELS EXPECTED AT LAGOS PILOTAGE DISTRICT SHIP

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BLUESTAR DAN.REF 758.611MT BLUESTAR DAN. REF 13108.75MT BLUESTAR DAN.REF 5200MT BLUESTAR DAN.REF 5200MT CMA.CGM.NIG APMT 500FCL GOLDEN ABTL 52430MT GOLDEN ABTL 42300MT GOLDEN ABTL 50361MT INTERSHIP SBM 89000MT LANSAL APMT 850FCL MAERSK APMT 420FCL PEAK NOJ 10000MT PIL APMT 560FCL WAPS BOP 27000MT MOTOR VESSELS AWAITING BERTH AT LAGOS AGENT

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ETC NEFERTARI GRACE VICTORIA GRAND NS PRIDE PACIFIC A DORODCHI SEA LEGEND

BLUESTAR CMA CGM.NIG CMA CGM.NIG COSCO GAC MAERSK MAERSK MAERSK MAERSK MAERSK PIL PIL

www.businessday.ng BLUESEAS GREENLINK GREENLINK GREENLINK INTERSHIP INTERSHIP

DAN. REF 2500MT APMT 600FCL APMT 530FCL APMT 761FCL APMT 900FCL APMT 430FCL APMT 410FCL APMT 380FCL APMT 380FCL APMT 430FCL APMT 540FCL APMT 530FCL MOTOR TANKERS AWAITING BERTH

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54998.840MT 43998.218MT 30000MT 8984.8MT 89000MT

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169M 264M 260M 265M 261M 261M 249M 249M 349M 249M 233M 228M

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02/10/19 30/09/19 01/10/19 02/10/19 22/09/19 23/09/19 25/09/19 30/09/19 02/10/19 20/0919 27/09/19 22/09/19 25/09/18 20/09/19 DISTRICT.

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24

Wednesday 25 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

BANKING NIBSS Instant Payments leads in electronic banking channels in H1Y Stories by HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE

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he NIBSS Instant Payments (NIP) led other electronic payment channels as the volume on transactions stood at 504.2 million in the first half of 2019 with a transaction volume of N49.35 trillion.

NIP is an account-number based, onlinereal-time Inter-Bank payment solution developed in the year 2011 by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS). It is the Nigerian financial industry’s preferred funds transfer platform that guarantees instant value to the beneficiary.

The NIP service commenced with only two commercial banks as participants.

However, today, the number of participants has grown to include all commercial banks, Micro-Finance banks (MFBs), and Mobile Money Operators (MMOs).

Following the NIP was the Automated Teller Machine (ATM) which recorded 424.61 million transaction volume valued at N3.23 trillion.

Customers are yet to embrace m-Cash as this recorded low in terms of transaction volume at 119,197 and N380.85 million transaction value. M-Cash is an innovative solution designed to facilitate low-value retail payments, grow e-payments by providing accessible electronic channels to a wider range

of users and to further enhance financial inclusion in Nigeria, by extending e-payment benefits to Payers and Merchants at the bottom of the pyramid where usage of cash has been predominant.

Central Pay recorded transaction volume and value of 398,520 and N2.83 billion respectively. The report showed that the volume and value of transaction for Automated Clearing House System (ACH/NAPS/PMS) stood at 20.64 million and N11.59 trillion respectively.

The volume of transactions through Point

Access Bank extends products, services to Osun State

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here was profound jubilation among the people of Ipetu-Ijesha, in Oriade Local Government of Osun State, as Access Bank opened its new branch in the sleepy community.

Speaking at the event, which was graced by many dignitaries across the country, Herbert Wigwe, group managing director/CEO of the Bank, reiterated the commitment of the Bank to the welfare of many inhabitants of the town through inclusive banking system.

He promised to positively engage the people of the community in terms of provision of credit facilities for small scale businesses as well as employment for the youths.

According to him, such banking experience would accelerate commercial activities as well as human development, with inherent corporate social responsibility of immense value.

“The coming of this Bank to Ipetu-Ijesha is a testimony of rapid commercial growth in the town. The bank will also assist to promote and encourage the development of indigenes in all ramifications.

“We are committed to improving your standard of living economically and socially and we will do everything possible within our means to assist the community in their various entrepreneurial endeavours “, Wigwe said.

The traditional ruler of the town, Oba Adeleke Agunbiade, Ajalaye of Ipetu-Ijesha expressed excitement over the development, saying it is a new dawn of economic advancement in the community, as he eulogised the Bank for considering his domain worthy of

Heritage Bank sees poor identity management as barrier to accessing credit

such developmental project.

He therefore implored his subjects to reciprocate the gesture through optimal patronage and concerted efforts towards protecting the Bank and its staff jealously.

“This is indeed a dawn of a new era in our town and a move towards economic emancipation and liberation. It is a signal of more developmental projects in our domain.

“I want to beg you to reciprocate this by opening accounts with Access Bank, this is the only Bank that guarantees safety of your money at any time.

“It should be noted that anybody who refuses to Bank with Access is an enemy of the king and by extension an enemy of Ipetu-Ijesha”.

Herbert Wigwe, Access Bank, Group managing director/CEO www.businessday.ng

of Sale (PoS) stood at 187.69 million, while the value was N1.38 trillion. Internet (Web) recorded transaction volume of 47.98 million valued at N223.90 billion. The volume of Mobile Money (MM) was put at 104.77 million, while the value stood at N1.96 trillion during the period under review.

The volume of cheques transaction stood at 3. 42 million at transaction value of N2.27 trillion. EBillsPay recorded 616,651 in transaction volume and transaction value of N281.

56 billion. Transactions done through Remita

were 21. 62 million valued at N9.84 trillion.

Intra-bank e-payment transactions volume stood at 1.76 trillion, while the valued was put at N203.35 trillion.

Godwin Emefiele, governor of the CBN said the payment services management department in the CBN will work to enable the build-up of a robust and secure payments infrastructure in Nigeria that is reliable and easy to access.

“We will reinvigorate our efforts at driving the cashless initiative across the country, due to the immense efficiency gains that will be derived from it, and the impact it could have on our financial inclusion drive,” Emefiele said in his fiver-year policy thrust.

The CBN last week Tuesday, in a circular to all Deposit Money Banks in the country, announced the commencement of its implementation of cashless policy which would impose charges on deposits in addition to already existing charges on withdrawals.

The charges were to attract 3 percent processing fees for withdrawals and 2 percent processing fees for lodgments of amounts above N500,000 for individual accounts.

However, the House of Representatives last week also, directed the CBN to suspend the implementation of the cashless policy on deposits which took effect from Wednesday, September 18, 2019 until appropriate and extensive consultative process is concluded.

H

eritage Bank has identified poor identity management as the greatest hindrance to boosting access to credit, especially for small and medium enterprises, in Nigeria.

Ifie Sekibo, managing director, stated this while speaking as a guest at the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria, FICAN annual conference which held on Saturday in Lagos.

Represented by Segun Akanji, divisional head, strategy and business solutions, Sekibo said the dearth of effective and standard identity management infrastructure makes access to credit for the SMEs in Nigeria tough as banks only see unmitigated risks.

“I am talking about identity management challenge. That is the biggest collateral to lending and that is what is missing in this economy. The day banks can verify where you live, everybody will get loan with ease, because you cannot run away,” he stated.

According to him, there is no need for bank customers to provide collateral to a bank if the bank knows where the customer resides.

“But the problem is this, I don’t know where you live. The address of the company is not where you live. And you can wake up in FESTAC today, but tomorrow you move to Ajangbadi or Victoria Island. You don’t have to tell me. And that is a huge problem for banks,” he said.

He noted that the problem is that “there is no value in our identity management as we have it. So, it is not just about banks, it is about the holistic structure where there is no value to the person that each of us will represent”.

He gave instances about developed economies such as the U.S where if one changes accommodation, they must notify all relevant

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institutions that they deal with because of the inherent value in the system.

“Just like they do abroad, when you are changing accommodation, you will be the one going to your bank, hospital, everywhere, you will dedicate a day in a week until you go around to everyone and inform them of the address change.

“Why? There is value to where you live. That’s where your mail, pension, cheque comes. Everything attached to you comes to that address.

So, there is value. We need to get to that and then no one will be needing collateral to get some minimum amount to do business.”

Sekibo also observed that although the banks had pushed the government to some form of identity management system through the bank verification number, BVN, it has not been enough to solve the problem of the identity constraining lending in the country.

“You can argue that the banks have driven the government to some identity management system through the BVN, but the problem is that the infrastructure that will keep everybody in the homes where they live and not just change is non-existent.

“People take a loan from banks and change accommodation, run away to Ibadan and you cannot find them. That must change.

“But how do you do that? It is very simple.

All the benefits that are allocated to you as a person, the day you relocate like that; you are as good as dead.

“Like when you live abroad, once you misbehave with your identity, you cannot bank, your credit goes bad, you cannot go to hospital and everything else goes bad and you cannot do anything.

@Businessdayng

Wednesday 25 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

PENSION today

25

In Association With

Like the comedian, many others want to see micro pensions on their table

O

Chioma Nnenna Ejikeme, executive secretary PTAD addressing staff on resumption of duties in Abuja.

According to PenCom, in order to achieve the Pension Industry’s strategic objective of covering 30 percent of the working population in Nigeria under the CPS by the end of 2024, the Micro Pension Plan is being given impetus as an initiative that would ensure the coverage of this important segment of the Nigerian economy.

Sequel to the formal launch by President Muhammadu Buhari in March, 2019, the registration of contributors has commenced under the Plan., PenCom said.

As the pension industry works towards commencing a robust enlightenment campaign to educate informal sector workers of the enormous advantages of the Micro Pension Plan, it is expected that the sector would embrace the opportunity.

The need for provision of pensions and most especially to the self employed informal sector workers, experts say is as result of the clearly breakdown of the family support system which hitherto helped parents at old age.

Besides that, there is need to avert old age poverty, even as it has become a global trend and has been implemented in certain jurisdictions like India, Kenya and Ghana Section 2(3) of the Pension Reform Act, 2014 extended coverage of the Contributory Pension Scheme to self-employed persons

with the objective to avail the contributor access to regular stream of retirement income at old age and improve living standards of the elderly.

Besides, it will enable contributors benefit from the various incentives to be offered by the PFAs; deepen financial literacy and inclusion, secures financial autonomy & independence of retirees; passage of wealth to survivors in the event

‘

There is need to avert old age poverty, even as it has become a global trend and has been implemented in certain jurisdictions like India, Kenya and Ghana

‘

ne of the first people that picked interest in taking up a micro pension scheme for his retirement savings when it was initially announced in the pension industry was Kenneth Uzoukwu, a 39 years old Nigerian comedian.

Uzoukwu, like many other self employed people who earn so much from their crafts have no structured savings plan meant to take care of them at old age.

They earn so much from their trade, and as the money comes so it is also spent. Their income is not regular, but when it comes, it is always big.

For Uzoukwu who realised that personal savings at will without any structured scheme has not helped him build reasonable resources for old age pensions, had said he could not wait to see micro pension people approach him.

Who is talking to this population; what should they do, and how can they access the scheme, some of the informal workers ask?

Uzouku’s plight is that he always goes to withdraw from his savings and most times for things that he later regrets, and believe that a structured savings scheme will enable him save better and build capacity for retirement benefits.

The expectation about the scheme, which targets to provide old age protection plan is that contributors will have the opportunity for savings withdrawal benefit as well as pension benefits. The flexibility is the selling point, which is that contributors use the same scheme for immediate and short term needs, while also remaining protected for pensions.

The scheme being developed by the National Pension Commission (PenCom) as an offshoot of the Pension Reform Act 2014 that targets to extend the CPS to the informal sector, is looking at a flexible system that captures the peculiarities of the target population.

Contributions are to be split into two with a smaller percentage going for savings and accessible to the contributor, while the greater percentage shall be strictly set aside for pensions.

This scheme like the CPS has individual portable retirement savings accounts that will be managed by Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) while the funds will be kept in custody of the Pension Fund Custodians (PFCs).

of death; increases national savings and long term funds; promotes growth and development of the capital, mortgage and insurance markets and overall positive effect on the national economy as pension asset increases.

The informal sector being discussed here is largely uncovered by any structured pension arrangement and represents over 70 percent of Nigeria’s total working population.

The objectives of the Pension Reforms are to ensure that every person who worked in either the Public Service of the Federation, Federal Capital Territory or Private Sector receives his retirement benefits as and when due.

It is also to assist individuals by ensuring that they save in order to cater for their livelihood during old age and thereby reducing old age poverty; and also to ensure that pensioners are not subjected to untold suffering due to inefficient and cumbersome process of pension payment.

It also aims at establishing a uniform set of rules, regulations and standards for the administration and payments of retirement benefits for the public service of the federation, federal capital territory and the private sector and stem growth of outstanding pension liabilities.

IS NOW RC634453

Diamond Pension Fund Custodian Limited 1A, Tiamiyu Savage Street, Victoria Island, Lagos State.

Tel: 01-4613753, 2713680, 2713954 Fax: 01-2713955 Email: info@accesspfc.com Website: www.accesspfc.com

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@Businessdayng

This section is created to increase awareness and deepen knowledge about the Contributory Pension Scheme.

If you have enquiries or contributions, send to this e-mail: accesspfcbusday@yahoo.com

26

Wednesday 25 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

insurance today

E-mail: insurancetoday@businessdayonline.com

Insurance stakeholders, others mull digital adoption for business expansion, growth Modestus Anaesoronye

S

takeholders in the insurance industry and the telecommunication sector have all reiterated the importance of digitalisation in achievement business and economic growth across all sectors of the economy.

They argued that technology is the way to go in deepening penetration particularly in insurance and other financial services sector of the economy.

The stakeholders who interacted at the Business Journal 2nd Annual Lecture and Awards themed “Digital Nigeria: The Path to Sustainable Economic Growth,” emphasised that a robust and sophisticated Information and Communication Technology (ICT) structure would significantly spike growth across the sectors.

Tope Smart, chairman of the Nigerian Insurers Association(NIA) who was the chairman of the event called on government to make digitalization of the country part of the national strategy.

Smart who is also the managing director/CEO of NEM Insurance Plc said “When we talk about insurance, banking, agriculture, and environment including other sectors and even governance and issues around some of these things, we need a very robust and sophisticated ICT structure, which unfortunately Nigeria is yet to adopt.”

“I think digitalization of Nigeria should be something that should form part of the national strategy if we truly want to move forward as a nation. Passionate effort should be made to see ICT as something very fundamental that Nigeria needs in order to make progress in our economic growth.

“This is because the impact of ICT changes everything including the way we live, the way we run our businesses, the

L-R: Richard Mofe-Damijo, a Nollywood actor and film producer; Tara Fela-Durotoye, founder/CEO House of Tara International; Tonye Cole, co-founder and former group executive director of Sahara Group; and Wole Oshin, group managing director/ CEO of Custodian Investment Plc during the second edition of Custodian Mentorship Conference in Lagos

way we work even the way we govern. Other benefits are that it ensures transparency by eliminating what we call black economy because when you are connected online, you can see what people are doing. It helps people to pursue their entrepreneurial aims because it brings out ingenuity in people. It creates jobs that provide means of livelihood for the citizenry.

“Digitalization of our operational processes is something that everybody should embrace; it’s something that should be encouraged; it’s something that should form part of the national strategy in order for us to be able to develop our economy.

Government at all levels should key into it so that we can grow our economy for the good of all Nigerians.

In her contribution, Tola Adegbayi,

executive director, General Business at Leadway Assurance Company Limited who spoke as guest speaker, stressed the importance of a digital economy and the roles of insurance which she said is to provide the necessary fundamentals by taking care of the risk aspect.

“As Insurers, we are not just sitting down. We may not be as the bank but in terms of fundamental, we are rugged to provide that fundamentals.

“When you talk about digitalization, how do we come in as insurers? We need every development but nobody really talks about the negative side of it as well. As we develop, crime advances. When crime advances, it challenges development because crime is a necessary part of the society. It does not stop. It will not stop,”

Adegbayi said.

She said insurance is at the forefront of understanding the technology so that they can help those who want to take risk in terms of digitalization to continue to take that risk.

Adegbayi posited that cyber crimes are some of the challenges associated with digitalization and that the industry is aware and are working out necessary solutions, adding that “As insurers, we stand in the very beginning and the end of it all to provide security.”

Earlier in his key note address, Umar Danbatta, executive vice chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), who was represented at the occasion by Henry Nkemadu, director, Public Affairs, said the commission will continue to provide enabling environment to support public-private investments in the telecommunication sector in order to enhance sustainable economic growth.

He said the Commission will continue to promote and facilitate creation or eproducts across Nigeria in order to drive national economic growth.

In his welcome address, Prince Cookey, managing director Business Journal said this year’s theme: “Digital Nigeria: The Path to Sustainable Economic Growth” which is focused on digital disruption in terms of opportunities and challenges presents opportunity to provide solution that will enable business.

He said the Business Journal Annual Lecture Series is a platform to examine and discuss emerging issues in the Nigerian Economy and generate workable solutions going forward, by bringing stakeholders across sectors together to review the stateof-affairs in the economy through robust conversation to examine the roadmap on how Nigeria could reap bountifully from the digital transformation era for sustainable economic growth.

Custodian Mentorship empowers young professionals …to discover potentials, scale up business Modestus Anaesoronye

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ustodian Investment Plc, through its baby project, Custodian Mentorship Conference is helping young Nigerians discover their potentials and scale up their businesses.

The conference now in its second year, having started in 2018 has continually brought young professionals and entrepreneurs with business ideas to interact with role models and successful Nigerian business people from different sectors of the economy for mentorship.

This year’s programme, which held weekend in Lagos had as key speakers –Tonye Cole, co-founder of Sahara Group; Tara FelaDurotoye, founder, Tara House International and Richard Mofe- Damijo, popular Nollywood Actor, with over 150 young people in

attendance.

Wole Oshin, group managing director/ CEO, Custodian Investment Plc in his welcome remark said, this is the Company’s own way of contributing to build a generation of young people that will add value to the society.

Oshin said that what determines the direction of any organisation that wants to do well in any sector of the economy is culture of that organisation, urging the youths to imbibe good culture in order to emerge successful in business endevours.

“Last year we decided to influence the thought direction of young people in the country because we realised that a lot of them do not have role models they look up to for direction even though they have many ideas.” He said Nigeria is blessed with abundant natural resources waiting to be tapped, adding that the youths must www.businessday.ng

be focused and determined if they are to harness the opportunities available to them in the country.

Tonye Cole, co -founder and former group executive director of Sahara Group speaking on the topic “Talk Business and Politics’ shared his business journey, emphasising the importance of integrity and sustainable values in business and relationship.

He underscored the need for corporate governance; diligent in tax payment; effective insurance of valuable assets; effective debt management; business partnership; family involvement and succession plans among others.

According to him, being a person of strong value will give you sustainable values, and if you stay with your values, the world will ultimately come back to you”, Cole said.

Fela-Durotoye, who also shared her business successes and how she positioned herself

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to stardom, tasked the participants to be positive, and not allow happenings in the economy or environment to hamper their vision.

She emphasized the need to have positive minds set. If your mindset is about seeking for survival in your business, you will not see growth, but if your focus is on growth, you will see new revenue opportunities.

According to her “Putting your best into anything that comes your way, integrity is a credit facility, avoid giving excuses in life, think through before you share your ideas with anyone. Never be afraid to take on giants”.

Richard Mofe-Damijo, a Nollywood actor and film producer explained that it is their respective brand equities that would attract their audiences to them.

He said a brand is a stored value or the totality of one’s upbringing, parenting and religion.

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Wednesday 25 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

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insurance today E-mail: insurancetoday@businessdayonline.com

NIA want retirees to embrace annuity and enjoy payment for life Modestus Anaesoronye

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mbrella body of insurance companies in the country, the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) has urged retirees to open their mind and consider various retirement options including annuity.

The body noted that annuity has unique benefits that offer payment for life, which matches the need and unique characteristics of most retirees in today’s challenging economic environment.

There is need for retirees to embrace annuity products offered by insurance companies as a way of staying happy and guaranteeing steady income in retirement, the NIA said.

The Association also asked prospective retirees to receive unbiased and independent practical advice and training, addressing their emotional pressures, fears, questions, personal financial planning and investment issues necessary for prudent management of their lump sum payment.

Retirement experts gave this advice this during a one-day workshop organized by the NIA, with the theme, “PREPARING FOR TOMORROW TODAY,” in

L-R: Onyekachi Eke, director of West Africa, IE University; Juan Antonio Moreda Otero, consul general of Spain; and Amy Jadesimi, managing director, Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics Base at the IE Digital Solutions Venture Day in Lagos

Lagos.

One of the presenters at the workshop, Olusola Ilori, who spoke on “Importance and necessity of building economic back up,” observed that many retirees were ill equipped to invest their lump sum themselves or even to choose the right financial advisers.

While speaking on what the retirees should do before investing their lump sum, she stated, “Take your time; Take a good look at yourself (especially your

financial habits and history); Get good independent advice from three good financial advisers; “Have a plan; Diversify don’t put all your eggs in one basket; Become knowledgeable and skilled in whatever thing you decide to do; and start a business on a small scale.”

During the workshop, the association warned t h e re t i re e s t o a v o i d scams and get rich quick s c h e m e s. S h e s t a t e d , “Don’t lend money to

people on your lump sum (if lent to your family, consider it a gift); Don’t buy a new car; Don’t marry a new wife; Don’t start building a magnificent house.”

While explaining the importance and necessity of building economic backups, she stated that there was need to maintain balanced lifestyle out of office.

The NIA said, “There is the need to attain financial independence. There is the need to strive for economic

self-sufficiency through other sources of income to compliment pension paid monthly to retirees”.

“On no account should one be pressurised to retire without planning and having at least two or three other streams of income to compliment pension.”

This gives financial security which guarantees dignity and comfort in retirement, she stated.

Ilori warned that: “No doubt, retirement is going to come someday and for the discerning, preparations for this critical phase of life cannot start sooner for time is not your greatest friend on this project, in planning for the long years of retirement.

“For those that do start early and prepare adequately, the usual worries about surviving will not be an issue. Unfortunately, in this country people tend to believe that retirement is best dealt with when the time comes and that somehow, there will be the money to fund it even though they may not have any idea where the funds will come from.

“The unfortunate thing about this strategy is that, it becomes too late and the consequences are often dire.” Most professionals and executive often fall into this trap, she observed.

PTAD verifies 10,357 pensioners in South East exercise Modestus Anaesoronye

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ver 10,000 pensioners of Federally Funded Parastatals, Agencies and Institutes under the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) have been verified by the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) during the fifth phase of the Parastatals Pensioners verification exercise in the South East region.

The exercise commenced on Monday August 26 across four centers in Awka, Enugu (Two Centers) and Owerri.

Owing to the large turnout of pensioners in Enugu and Owerri, the Executive Secretary, Chioma Nnenna

Ejikeme approved a 6-day extension for the center in Owerri and a 4-day extension for the center in Enugu.

The extension was to ensure that all eligible pensioners and Next of Kin who presented themselves were verified.The exercise which held simultaneously across the four centers recorded an average daily turnout of 344 pensioners.

This verification exercise did not include Customs, Immigration and Prisons Pensioners, Civil Service Pensioners, Police pensioners as well as Parastatals Pensioners who had already been verified by PTAD. The next phase of the Parastatals pensioner exercise in the North West region commences on Monday September 23 and ends on www.businessday.ng

Wednesday October 2, 2019.

Pensioners are again advised that they do not have to travel to the state or location they retired from to be verified. They can be verified at any of our centers that is within the geo-political zones where they currently reside.

All pensioners currently living outside the country will be verified whenever they visit the country provided they show proof of residency outside Nigeria.

Continuous mobile Verification will be conducted for sick and infirm Pensioners. The original documents of the pensioners must be brought to the verification venue together with proof of infirmity for authentication, before mobile verification can be scheduled.

Segun Bankole, deputy general manager, Sales & Corporate Communications, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc being presented with the “ Most Innovative Retail Brand Award 2018” by Fatai Adegbenro, executive secretary of NCRIB, at the 2nd edition of Eglon Communication Lecture/Awards in Lagos.

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@Businessdayng

STI honoured for excellence in retail innovation

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he journey to greatness has a lot of hard work and sense of purpose attached to it. For Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc, consistency, professionalism, integrity, creativity, an uncompromising stance for providing far-reaching retail products and services has earned the organization another Award at the 2018 Annual Lecture/ Award organized by Egelon Communications Company.

In recognition of the immense contributions of the organization to the development of retail and affordable insurance products to the insuring public, the Organizers of the annual Lecture/ Award through its Award Committee nominated Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc as one of the possible recipients of the award and at the end of it all, the company emerged the winner of the Award for year 2018. The event was gracefully attended by Captains of Industries, Brand Management and Marketing Practitioners, the Media and members of the Public.

The criteria for the Award as given by the Technical/ Award committee included, efficiency in service delivery, creativity in product development, branch network, the use of technology, media presence of the Brand, adherence to Ethics and Corporate Governance and the quality of Human Resources available to the organisation within the period of the nomination and the screening process.

It will be recalled that Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc launched a Personal Accident Cover with the acronym SWIS-F, (Sovereign Wellbeing Insurance Scheme for the Family with an annual premium of N1,500 for adults and N250 for children under 6-17 years with benefits to cover medical expenses for injuries sustained as a result of an accident, permanent disability compensation, burial expenses with a nationwide geographical coverage. In 2018, the company also introduced the Enhanced Third-Party Motor Insurance Policy, (E3P), a hybrid of the conventional Third-Party Cover and Comprehensive Motor Insurance with varied premium ranging between N10,000-N25,000 for the Insured to choose from depending on the range of cover he/she wants.

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Wednesday 25 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

Harvard Business Review

MANAGEMENTDIGEST

Spotlight on power couples: The spouse factor JANE EDISON STEVENSON A RECRUITER’S VIEW OF HOW COUPLES BALANCE THEIR CAREER AMBITIONS. erforming well as a high-level recruiter requires understanding what makes your candidates tick — and not just at work. That’s especially true if I’m asking them to consider a job that requires relocation. In many cases I already know something about a candidate’s family life — including the spouse or partner’s professional status, the ages of their kids (if any) and whether they have elderly parents living nearby. In cases where I don’t know, I find a way to ask, “Is there anything in your family situation we should be sensitive to?” If there is, it’s important to know early on, especially if these issues could become “blockers.”

In my 34 years of experience, the most difficult factor to overcome when recruiting a candidate who has to relocate for a new job has been children, especially those in high school or with special needs. (This is often true whether the candidate is married or divorced; moving can be especially hard for someone who shares custody with an ex.)

Spouses are the second most frequent reason a candidate will be reluctant to relocate, especially if he or she is part of a couple in which both are pursuing ambitious professional paths.

When I’m trying to recruit one member of a dual-career couple, it’s important to fully understand the other’s career, and also the city to which I hope to relocate them. For so-called trailing spouses, the most challenging careers are physician or lawyer in private practice or owner of a business that isn’t portable. People in these situations have often spent years building a client base and a local reputation, and it’s difficult to reproduce those in a new region.

The size of the destination city is also a factor. If the candidate’s partner works in a traditional

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corporate function, he or she will have an easier time finding a similar (or better) position in a big market like Los Angeles or New York than in a smaller city.

If the trailing spouse travels frequently for work, being near a major airport is also vital.

If the candidate’s partner won’t or can’t move, I’ll often ask whether the couple would consider a “commuter marriage.” Companies today are increasingly willing to let high-performing leaders commute or work remotely. However, they are much more willing to allow an existing employee to do so, because they know the person’s track record; the risk feels higher with a new employee.

Sometimes we have to think creatively. A few years ago a colleague and I were recruiting a female candidate who was based in Europe for a job in Asia. She had a long-term partner who had a great job and was unwilling to move to Asia. So we looked at the likely career path of the candidate (if she took the new role) and concluded that if she did a great job in Asia, she’d most likely be promoted to a

position at headquarters in the United States, where her partner was willing to move. So the two commuted for a couple of years, and then the woman I’d recruited did get a top job at headquarters; her partner moved to the United States, bringing them back together.

My work gives me a unique window onto how couples manage these situations, but my views are also informed by a research project I led at Korn Ferry on the careers of female CEOs. We interviewed 57 current or former CEOs about their paths to the corner office, and the most striking takeaway was the importance of strong spousal support for women who aspire to top jobs. When discussing the factors that led to their success, most of the women spontaneously brought up their husbands’ support. About half the CEOs had spouses with substantial careers; managing their dual careers involved complex calendar negotiations, turn taking, weighing of career decisions, a willingness to relocate and significant help from housekeep-

ers, nannies and so forth. About a third had spouses or partners who, by the time the women became CEOs, were assuming primary responsibility for home and children; some were househusbands, and others were retired or worked part-time.

Each of us has only so much energy to utilize, and dealing with a partner who isn’t truly rooting for you professionally saps that energy, limiting your potential. A few of the CEOs we interviewed said they had previously had unsupportive husbands or partners but ultimately went on to connect with moresupportive ones. They speculated that they wouldn’t have attained the top job if they hadn’t received the support they needed. Most male CEOs I’ve worked with say the same thing.

I empathize with couples who struggle with these issues, because I’ve faced them myself.

My husband is a pathologist.

We’ve been married 37 years. For roughly the first two decades, his career took priority. We moved several times to accommodate his medical school training, resi-

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dency, fellowships and stint with the U.S. Air Force. I tried to look at those moves as opportunities: When we moved from California to Philadelphia, my job search led me to executive recruiting.

When we moved to Texas, where my then employer had no office, I opened a new one, which was great experience. As my career has evolved, we’ve made changes. My travel schedule is insane.

In 2007, when our children were much younger, my husband left his hospital job and started consulting to have more flexibility and to be more available for the kids. Since then we’ve considered my career the priority.

Having experienced this push and pull, I recognize that it’s typically a phone call from someone like me — followed by a great job offer — that causes a couple to rethink their coequal arrangement. Very often, the resulting conversation will focus on the upside opportunity. It’s natural for partners to compare the potential of their careers and decide to prioritize the one with the higher return on investment.

In the past that was typically the man’s, but today it’s frequently the woman’s.

At such moments, many dualcareer couples will decide that one career has to take a back seat, or that the lesser-earning partner will make a leap of faith and hope that he or she can find (or create) a great job in a new city.

When couples face this prospect, I remind them that choosing to prioritize one partner’s career doesn’t mean it will be that way forever. Careers are long. The partner who’s stepping back right now may be able to step forward in the future. I like to think I have credibility when I make this argument, because I’ve experienced that shift myself.

• Jane Edison Stevenson is the global leader for CEO succession and vice chair of board and CEO services at Korn Ferry, and a coauthor of “Breaking Away: How Great Leaders Create Innovation That Drives Sustainable Growth — and Why Others Fail.”

Wednesday 25 September 2019

Harvard Business Review

BUSINESS DAY

29

MANAGEMENTDIGEST

What to do when you’re losing your audience during a presentation DORIE CLARK

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CONNECTING ou can tell when an audience has stopped listening to you during a presentation.

Instead of leaning forward and nodding along with your points, they begin slouching or tapping their feet. Phones come out. The more brazen may even start whispering to one another.

It’s dispiriting when you’re trying to convey important information and your audience has obviously lost interest. But your only chance at being heard is finding a way to reengage them.

As a professional speaker who has given more than 300 talks over the past half-decade, I’ve addressed plenty of audiences under adverse conditions, from the serious (employees smarting from news of impending reorganizational changes) to the banal (fighting to be heard over the clank of silverware during a lunchtime speaking slot). Here are four strategies that have helped me regain control of the room: — MOVE TO A DIFFERENT PART OF THE STAGE: Many pre-

senters default to delivering their remarks from behind a lectern.

This often feels safer to novice speakers. But it means missing out on an opportunity to leverage your physical presence. If you’ve been planted in one spot, in front of one part of the audience, you can reengage the rest of the group by moving to the opposite side of the stage. If you’re not on a stage, you can walk around the room.

Used judiciously, this maneuver

keeps audience members guessing where you’ll go next.

— SPEED UP — OR SLOW DOWN — YOUR SPEAKING PACE: Everyone knows that speaking in a monotone voice is deadly. But a corollary mistake is that, even if your voice has plenty of range, speakers often use the same rate of speech all the time. Fast speakers barrage their audiences, slow speakers keep drawling. When you deliberately

change speed, the audience takes note: What’s different here? Why does this part sound distinct?

And they’ll once again focus on you.

— LOWER YOUR VOICE, OR PAUSE: When I want an audience to focus on a key point, I’ll deliberately lower my voice to a near-whisper. I may even pause in silence for several beats. This is especially effective if you stop after a rhetorical question. “Win-

ning 40% market share might sound unattainable,” you could say. “So how do we do it?” A welltimed pause adds just enough suspense that your listeners can’t help anticipating your answer.

— INTRODUCE A STORY OR ANALOGY THAT ILLUSTRATES YOUR POINT: Even if your audience isn’t versed in particular technical specifications, they can still understand the difference between, say, a regional Amtrak versus a high-speed train. Citing a real-world parallel will help you make your point in a way everyone grasps: If investing an additional $1 million in research and development will get you “highspeed” performance, that may well be a compelling proposition.

If you truly want to inform, educate or inspire people, you must to learn how to capture their attention and re-engage it when necessary. By following these strategies, you can recover more quickly from interruptions or distractions and ensure your message is far more likely to be heard.

• Dorie Clark teaches at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and is the author of “Entrepreneurial You.”

6 ways to set boundaries around email — LEAD BY EXAMPLE: If you’re answering emails late in the evenings and all day on weekends, you’re telling your team that you expect the same from them. Use a service like Boomerang to schedule emails to be sent later or Inbox Pause to control when emails appear in your inbox. Or better yet, step away from your inbox entirely on weekends and uphold your end of the bargain.

The deluge of modern email has come at the expense of leisure time and quality time, and too much of it erodes our ability to do high-quality work. Prioritizing ruthlessly can help us reduce the digital clutter.

With that, your email inbox might get a bit simpler.

SARAH K. PECK WORK VS. LIFE mail is no longer just email: Messages are sent across dozens of platforms, from texting to Slack. The world is full of bids for our attention, and we get stuck in the loop of answering messages, putting in longer hours to “catch up.” And the more we answer emails, the more we receive emails — a vicious problem.

For far too long email communication has masqueraded as both urgent and important. Part of the problem is that there isn’t enough friction. We become inconsiderate in requests for time and attention because email is free and fast. We spend precious time sending messages speedily instead of taking time to really chew on ideas, punting work onto other people’s agendas rather than figuring things out ourselves. Ultimately, email isn’t really the issue — boundaries are.

Instead of getting “better” at email, we need to get better at prioritization. Today, we act as though we can have dozens of priorities, instead of choosing one thing to be in focus. We must learn to say “no.”

Here are six ways to set email boundaries and how to clearly convey them: — EMAIL SIGNATURE DISCLAIMERS: Write an explanation

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• Sarah K. Peck is the founder and executive director of Startup Pregnant. below your email signature that tells people how long it might take to receive a reply and what your office hours are. Increase transparency around how you work.

— USE YOUR AUTORESPONDER GENEROUSLY: Several writers I know use their autoresponders to carve out chunks of time (weeks!) to focus on bigger projects.

This communicates that you are away and when a reply can be expected. www.businessday.ng

— ADD INSTRUCTIONS ON YOUR WEBSITE OR ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Tell people your typical response times so they can plan ahead accordingly. Whether it takes you two months to get back to people or 48 hours is up to you. Just tell people what to expect.

— TELL PEOPLE WHAT REQUESTS WILL BE IGNORED: Use your Twitter bio, your contact page or your employee operations manual to tell people how to use your

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communication channels. Inform people what will be deleted or ignored, such as unsolicited requests.

— SET COMMUNICATIONS GUIDELINES FOR YOUR TEAM: When adding new members to your team, taking on new clients or even starting a new project, specify how and when you like to be communicated with, and ask your colleagues and clients their preferences as well.

Get specific about your channels, style and availability. @Businessdayng

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Wednesday 25 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

TRANSPORTATION Motoring

RailBusiness

ModernTravel

Roads

Toyota Motor Corporation mulls small cars new platform MIKE OCHONMA Transport Editor

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oyota’s TNGA global architecture has become the basis of most medium-sized Toyotas launched in recent years, with the likes of Corolla and CH-R shifting onto a platform variant called ‘GA-C’ and larger vehicles such as the Camry and Rav4 moving over to the ‘GAK’ platform.

Now familiarised with Toyota’s latest platform jargon, it’s time to introduce the new smaller variant of the TNGA architecture, which will be called ‘GA-B’. Toyota says this platform will underpin its next generation of small cars, and although it has not mentioned any specific model names, the Yaris is the most obvious model that comes to mind.

Like many of the best modern platforms, GA-B is modular and was designed to emphasise space efficiency and torsional rigidity, while also aiming for a lower centre of gravity.

The platform can accommodate a variety of wheelbase lengths, vehicle heights and track widths, while also giving designers more freedom than was the case with traditional platforms, as Toyota explains. It also uses various smart packaging techniques to maximise interior space for occupants.

“The TNGA philosophy positions non-visible components to simplify vehicle design in key

EV powertrain takes centrestage at Tokyo Motor Show 2019 MIKE OCHONMA

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areas. As a result, vehicle designers will have the freedom to give each new GA-B model a visually distinctive and individual look with a low stance and appealing proportions.” Company sources said.

Engineers also placed an emphasis on creating a “confident” and “natural” driving sensation, through a number of design methods, including the placement of the driver’s seat as low, and as far back towards the centre of the car as possible. This also allows for the steering wheel to be positioned closer to the driver at an optimised angle.

Furthermore, advanced join-

ing technologies aim to create high levels of underbody rigidity, while also keeping weight and cost in check.

In addition, the platform allows for a variety of suspension types to be used, and can accommodate both torsion beam and multi-link rear axles.

Currently the European and Asian Yaris models have different platforms. The logical assumption is that both of their replacements will be underpinned by GA-B, but it remains to be seen just how closely related they will actually be.

There is also a fairly good

chance that a GA-B model will be built in South Africa at some point in the future which it is hoped will be exported to African markets, given that TSAM has spoken about producing a model that’s more affordable than the Corolla.

In 2017 TSAM CEO Andrew Kirby said that, the company was exploring the possibility of producing a more affordable model in South Africa. At the time he stated that the company was investigating a variety of options, although the sluggish economy was making it difficult to justify such investments.

n the wake of the Frankfurt Motor Show, manufacturers are gearing up for the next major automotive event; Tokyo Motor Show scheduled to kick off this year on Thursday, October 24.

EventhoughtheTokyoMotorShow is a month away, based on the models already reported to debut there, electrification is going to be a prominent theme throughout the event.

Already, a handful of Japanese car companies have been reported to debut new models at the show and all of them are coming with electric powertrains.

Last week Wednesday, Mitsubishi published a teaser image of a “downsized, lower-weight PHEV” SUV concept with an electric 4WD system that will make its debut at the show next month.

Mazda will be using the Tokyo Motor Show to debut the brand’s first ever fully electric production vehicle, which is expected to hit the market in 2020. The news was confirmed by a Mazda spokesperson last week but shared nothing more about the vehicle’s specs.

Earlier this month, it was reported that Nissan showed dealers in the US an upcoming electric compact crossover inspired by the IMx concept.

The model will allegedly launch in the US in 2021.

Like Mitsubishi, Lexus will also be bringing an EV concept to show off in Tokyo next month. According to the company’s vice president Koji Sato who spoke with AutoCar in August, the model draws design inspiration from the LF-SA concept introduced back in 2015. All models will be unveiled at the 2019 Tokyo Motor Show (if not before) which runs from October 24 to November 4.

Hyundai’s 45 EV Concept defines future over heritage MIKE OCHONMA

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yundai has paid tribute to both the past and future with its 45 EV Concept, an electric vehicle concept unveiled at the recently concluded International Motor Show (IAA) 2019 in Frankfurt.

The concept vehicle foreshadows a new era of Hyundai’s automotive design, focused on electrification, autonomous technologies and intelligent design.

45 EVs dramatic exterior excites the imagination, also drawing inspiration from the vehicle that first established Hyundai’s design DNA, the 1974 Pony Coupe Concept.

The car’s name also owes itself in part to the 45-degree angles at the front and rear, forming a diamond-shaped silhouette that further foreshadows the design direction of future EV models.

It strips away complexity, celebrating the clean lines and minimalistic structure of the original

coupe concept. Combining heritage with vision, 45 incorporates the evolution of Hyundai’s ‘Sensuous Sportiness’ design language.

“As an icon of Hyundai, it clearly reveals how Hyundai heads towards the future through heritage,” said SangYup Lee, Senior Vice President and the Head of Hyundai Design Center. “Through the 45 built upon our design language www.businessday.ng

‘Sensuous Sportiness’, Hyundai wants to present our vision on how we want to reshape people’s in-car lifestyle in the era of electrification and autonomous driving’’.

45 reinterprets the concept’s distinctive lattice radiator grille with a ‘kinetic cube lamp’ design, while a fastback profile epitomizes stability and dynamism, characteristics accentuated by

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the vehicle’s significant width and forward-oriented posture.

Daylight opening (DLO) terminates in the fast angle of the C-pillar, which generates a feeling of dynamic forward motion even when standing still.

Innovative te chnolog y is inherent in the details. At the bottom of the door, active LED lights show drivers how much longer they have before needing to recharge, even before they get in the car.

Some tech features may influence the model’s forthcoming production models, emphasizing Hyundai’s open architecture for the future, and leaving room to include self-driving system applications. These include a hidden Camera Monitoring System (CMS), while self-cleaning side cameras replace traditional wing mirrors, ensuring perfect visibility at all times.

Reimagining the in-car experience, the interior becomes a unique living space capable of transforming to accommodate a range of passenger lifestyle de@Businessdayng

mands.

Inspired by furniture designs, the minimalist cabin is fitted with an inviting fusion of wood, fabric and leather, creating a warm atmosphere that is both relaxing and spacious.

Lounge chair-style rear seats and front seats can rotate to face other passengers, and swivel as occupants open the door for convenient entry and exit.

Front-seat passengers can interact with the infotainment system via a projection-beam interface, replacing a single central touchscreen with a series of displays and functions integrated into the dashboard itself.

Clever storage ideas include door mounted device pockets to hold tablets or PCs. The 45 embodies the brand’s ‘style set free’ strategy for future mobility that emphasizes personalization of design and function. It was the centerpiece of Hyundai’s Frankfurt display, which showcased various future innovations in vehicle technology and integration of lifestyle applications.

Wednesday 25 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

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TRANSPORTATION Motoring

RailBusiness

ModernTravel

Roads

replaces plane with Apapa traffic abates as commuters’ hopes on sustainability KLM high speed train MIKE OCHONMA Transport Editor

MIKE OCHONMA

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ravel time into Apapa through the Costain and Lagos Island routes inward Ijora has reduced substantially following the drastically improved decongestion of tankers and trailers by the presidential task team on the restoration of law and order in Apapa led by Kayode Opeifa, execution vicechairman of the Presidential Task Team on the Restoration of Law & Order in Apapa (PTTO-RLO).

BusinessDay reporter who plies the affected routes leading to the Apapa seaports everyday can authoritatively report that, travel time through the Eko Bridge and Lagos Island ends has dropped significantly through the efforts of the Kayode Opeifa-led PTTO-RLO and a special police task team.

Checks by our reporter reveals that journey time from Ikoyi to Apapa which can last for many hours before as a result of total breakdown of traffic enforcements by the appropriates authorities according a resident on Banana Island now takes at most 30 minutes.

Travelling along the congested Ikorodu road inward Ijora into the ever-busy Apapa wharf road have also improved significantly as the deluge of trailers, tankers and containers and other articulated vehicles have disappeared, while other vehicles found along

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The usual traffic infested Ijora -Apapa Bridges currently looking good- to- go . Commuters hope this will be sustainable on the long run.

Pic by Pius Okeosisi

the Wharf road are said to have genuine businesses entering or exiting the seaport Despite the momentary relief coming the way of residents and the remaining business owners in Apapa, commuters who spoke to BusinessDay last Monday said, they are optimisitic that, the prevailing relative ease of traffic gridlock being experienced along the corridor would be sustained despite all challenges.

While the Vice President chairs the task force, its daily operations are supervised by an Executive Vice Chairman, Kayode Opeifa.

Membership of the team is drawn from the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), Nigerian Ports Authority and the Nigerian Shippers Council.

Other members include a special unit of the Nigeria Police Force led by a commissioner of

police as head of enforcement, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), representatives of the truck transport union, the Lagos state government through the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), and other relevant ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).

The directive followed an emergency meeting convened last April by President Muhammadu Buhari and chaired by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo.

World’s largest Airport opens in Beijing Daxing China MIKE OCHONMA

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eijing Daxing International Airport in China is set to begin its first commercial flights this week.

When it reaches full capacity, it is expected to become the largest airport in the world.

It is expected that the airport will have service to 112 destinations around the world by Spring 2020. China has one of the fastestgrowing travel markets in the world. Of the 20 fastest-growing airports in the world, 11 are located in China alone.

China Southern, one of the main airlines at the airport, deployed an Airbus A380 last week Friday September 20, but it could push back to next week Monday, September 30 to christen the airport, according to Chinese state media. Construction was completed back in June, but the airport only passed final inspection on Sept. 15.

The airport, designed by Zaha Hadid, measures more than 700,000 square meters. It has been nicknamed the “starfish” by local media for its resemblance to the animal, with several wings shooting off of one central point.

The airport will include separate passenger areas for domestic and international travel. It is expected to become the world’s largest airport in terms of surface area.

But despite its large size, the airport was designed to minimize how long passengers need to walk to get to their gate. According to CNN, it was designed so that passengers will not walk any longer

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than eight minutes to get from the security checkpoint to even the furthest gates.

Beijing Daxing will be capable of accommodating more than 100 million passengers per year once fully operational. However, it will take at least a few years to reach that capacity.

The airport is also expected to boast some high-tech features.

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Customer service robots will roam the terminal and provide passengers with up-to-the-minute updates on flight status and weather.

Beijing Daxing airport also hopes to become a transportation hub, complete with high-speed rail. Express trains will be able to get passengers from the airport to the city center in less than 20 minutes.

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n what may sound strange and a wake-up call to the Nigerian transport authorities at the helm of government affairs in the past 59 years after the country disentagled herself from the claws and apron strings of colonial rule, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is to replace one of its five daily flights between Brussels and Amsterdam Schiphol with reserved seat capacity on a Thalys high speed train service from March 29, 2020.

While cities have rail tracks linking into their airport, the reverse is the case as in Nigeria today, apart from the Nnamdi International Airport Abuja that was linked to a passenger train service few years ago which many described as after thought on the part of the city planners, no other airport can be said to have an inter-connectivity of either the passenger of freight rail train service linked to it.

The KLM Royal Dutch Airlines connectivity to train service is intended as the first step in a programme to gradually cut back the number of flights between Brussels and Am-

sterdam, with passengers using rail to connect with intercontinental flights at Schiphol. This would support the airline’s sustainability initiatives, and enable airport slots to be used for flights to long-haul destinations.

KLM said it was favour of replacing short-haul flights with rail ‘as long as trains fully match the speed, reliability and comfort that air travel offers’.

According to Pieter Elbers, President & CEO of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, ‘Intermodal transport involving trains and planes remains a complex and challenging businesses,. ‘Speed is key, not only in terms of the train itself, but also the transfer process at the airport. We aim to make maximum progress in both areas. Reducing our frequency from five to four flights a day is a good way of gaining more experience with Air&Rail services’.

High-speed rail is a type of rail transport that operates significantly faster than traditional rail traffic, using an integrated system of specialized rolling stock and dedicated tracks.

There are different types, operational speed and average speed of speed trains. For instance, while a high speed train runs on an operational speed of between 300 and 350 kilometers per hour and average speed of 250 kilometers per hour, semi-high speed trains does between 160 and 200 kilometers oer hour with average speed of 110 kilometers per hour.

Express trains runs between 110-140 kilometers per hour and 60 kilometers per hour to 90 kilometers per hour average speed, even as passenger train does between 50 kilometers per hour and 70 kilometers per hour and between 30 kilometers per hour and 40 kilometers per hour.

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BUSINESS DAY

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Wednesday 25 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

FINANCIAL INCLUSION

& INNOVATION

How inclusive is Nigeria’s financial inclusion?

Stories by ENDURANCE OKAFOR

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atest figures by N i g e r i a I n t e rBank Settlement System (NIBSS) put Nigeria’s active bank accounts at 72.97 million as at the first half of 2019.

According to data by the Lagos-based organisation analysed by BusinessDay, Nigeria has 39.26 million registered Bank Verification Number (BVN) as at 22 September 2019.

This implies that the 72.97 million active bank accounts are registered to the 39.26 million BVN owners.

Meaning there are multiple accounts to one BVN. “I have five bank accounts; but I frequently use one of them,” Arua Nnamdi, a 26 years old Lagos-based entrepreneur told BusinessDay adding that the persuasion from some of his friends who are marketers with different banks “pushed me to open the other four bank accounts.”

BusinessDay poll of 10 bank account holders revealed that on the average they have three accounts registered to one BVN. “I opened one bank account during my NYSC, another one when I got my first job which was com-

L-R: Modupe Benjamin, Deputy Finance Officer, FastCredit ; Philip Ayeni, deputy managing director, Precise Finance Systems [PFS]; Emeka IIoelunachi, CEO, FastCredit; Sunday Oludayo, group head, Public Sector, Fast Credit, and Yvonne Mamman, head, treasury, Fast Credit at the media activation of Clirec accounts reconciliation solution developed by PFS and hosted by FastCredit in Lagos.

pulsory as requested by the company to be used as my salary account. With the recent merger in the industry, my company moved its salary account to another bank,” Oyamedan Blessing told BusinessDay. The case was the same when BusinessDay contacted Tobi in Federal University at Ekiti. Sarah, Musa and Joshua also shared the same story when they were contacted by phone.

“Access to a transaction account is a first step toward broader financial inclusion since it allows people to store money, and send and

receive,” the World Bank said.

Latest figures by EFInA put Nigeria’s financial inclusion rate at 63.2percent, meaning that as much 36.8 percent adults still lack access.

According to the World Bank, financial inclusion means that individuals and businesses have access to useful and affordable financial products and services that meet their needs; transactions, payments, savings, credit and insurance -delivered in a responsible and sustainable way.

In the June 2019 edition of the NIBSS ‘Industry

Customer Bank Account Data’, it disclosed that Nigerians opened 10.97 million new bank accounts within the same period but also revealed that the number of inactive bank accounts rose to 49.4 million in H1’19 from 39 million in H1’18. On quarterly basis, the number was up 5 percent in the second quarter of the year, from 46.89 million in Q1’19.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) plans to ensure that 80 percent of Nigerian adults are included into the financial net by the year 2020.The apex through its collaboration with indus-

try stakeholders launched the National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS) in January 2012 with the aim to help achieve the set target.

If the apex bank is to going to achieve its target, it would have to bridge the 16.8 percent inclusion gap in less than five months; a target many have said is too ambitious.

Declining purchasing power and the high cost of account servicing are top reasons why many do not have interest in owing a bank account, Checks by BusinessDay show.

According to the CBN’s guidelines on bank charges, which took effect on May 1, 2017, withdrawals from other banks’ ATMs within the country, attracts N65 charge after the third withdrawal within the same month.

According to the guidelines, bills payment on electronic channels of the banks also attracts N50 for transactions below and above N10billion, while real-time gross settlement attracts N550 per transaction.

The apex bank stated that alerts on transactions should not be more than N4 per SMS, while bulk payments such as salaries and dividends attract a maximum of N50 per beneficiary, which is paid by the sender.

PayDay Loans: How Remita is stimulating consumer, SME credit

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dekemi Akande works with MilaGold Business Services, a startup in Ikeja, Lagos with five employees. Her dream is to become a chartered accountant, and as such, she has enrolled for the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) examination, to hold in November 2019.

However, her dream requires funding, and that’s the problem- she has no clue where the money would come from. Her salary, as is, has been overstretched.

One of her colleagues, Debola Togun advised her to apply for a loan from one of the banks that offer Payday Loans, a short-term facility which lets employees access a certain percentage of their salary before they receive their monthly income. Togun herself had enjoyed this advance a few weeks earlier when

she needed to meet an urgent family need. But Akande’s bank does not have any salary advance scheme, so she completely took the idea of her mind.

That was until Togun told her about PayDay Loan by some Nigerian banks, for which she did not need to be a customer of the bank to qualify.

All she needed was for her employer to process her salary with Remita.

MilaGold processes the payroll of its employees with Remita Payroll & HR, which also helps the company to remit all statutory payments such as taxes and pension. The salaries of its employees are among the over two million processed with Remita every month.

Today, SystemSpecs, the provider of Remita, has built partnerships with top bank and nonbank lenders across

Nigeria, delivering the technology that drives a swift, seamless lending process.

With Remita Data Referencing, par tner lenders have been able to expand their loan portfolios and now lend safely to employees of large firms and SMEs that deploy the Remita platform for payroll processing and salary payments.

David Okeme, Divisional Head, Payment Applications and Vertical Markets at SystemSpecs, explains that the company has developed a standardised integration to the Remita Data Referencing service using an Application Payment Interface (API).

“With our APIs, as a lender, you have details such as customer’s net salary, payment history, employment history and confirmation of the prospective borrower’s loan

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profile.”

He added that Remita Data Referencing service guarantees loan repayment for lenders. “Upon notification of a loan disbursement, Remita would be able to debit the amount from the customer’s next salary. Loan repayment is assured as long as the customer is still being paid a salary,” he further assured.

He disclosed that SystemSpecs has collaborated with top lenders including Access Bank, Carbon, Pettycash, Coolbucks, Ibile MFB, Arvo Finance and Credit Wallet to offer the data referencing service to customers.

Other lenders currently utilising the Remita Data Reference Service are PettyCash Nigeria, PayDayhub Online Nigeria, Free Cash Solution, CIT MFB, Devonsley, Happy Partners and Bridge Credit. Motion

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Yield and Consumer Microfinance Bank complete the list.

The ser vice meets the credit needs of employees, serving as an intersection between them, their employers and lender. Riding on employee consent, the seamless technology credits the customer’s account within a few minutes of application.

“We protect customer data and only data of consenting customers are shared at any point in time,’” Okeme said.

He told BusinessDay that with the Remita Data Referencing service, lenders can provide loans to customers with whom they do not have previous banking relationship and can access real-time confirmation of borrower’s salary and employment status. “There is no more guesswork in decisionmaking by the lenders,” he said. @Businessdayng

ITEX bags Super Agent licence from CBN

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tex Integrated Services Ltd, an innovative FinTech Company that deploys secure solutions to diverse customers, has been granted the licence to operate as a commercial Super Agent in the nation’s financial services by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The licence will enable Itex to provide basic financial services such as account opening, BVN capture, funds transfer, cash withdrawals, bill payments to the unbanked particularly in rural areas.

The licence will also enable the Company to recruit more agents to carry out financial services.a Commenting on the licence, Ernest Uduje, Managing Director and CEO, Itex Integrated Services Ltd stated that the Company is elated to have gotten the full approval to be a Super Agent.

He said “We are indeed happy to have qualified for this licence. Our primary goal is to provide ease of financial services and transactions for our customers including those in the rural areas. This licence gives us an opportunity to provide these services on an even larger scale, thus providing financial empowerment to the unbanked and underbanked”.

According to him, it is also a testament to the fact that “we have systems, structures and security to render the best payment solutions for our clients, providing tailor made services to them and providing solutions that will guarantee smooth and secure transactions.”

The Super Agent licence is part of CBN’s efforts to deepen financial inclusion in the country and reducing the financial exclusion rate to 20 per cent by 2020.

Itex is one of the first organizations to successfully deploy and manage Point of Sale (POS) Terminals in Nigeria. Their customary POS application eases the electronic payment and revenue collection of bills, tariffs, and airtime.

The Company currently has 2200 agents in the field and are already carrying out a volume of about two billion worth of transactions monthly and hopes to increase the number by virtue of the new commercial Super Agent licence.

Wednesday 25 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

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FEATURE How Lafarge Africa is pushing frontiers of sustainable agriculture SEGUN ADAMS

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ecology intervention that will address the interlink challenges of poverty, food security and climate change. Over 600 Farmers were trained on sustainable farming and 100 farmer cooperatives were formed across 10 communities.

“We are aware of the essence of maintaining a source of livelihood and such maintenance is what we are trying to achieve with farmers in Nigeria. Globally, agriculture remains a viable source of livelihood for millions of Nigerians and we are ready to play our part in growing the capacity of these individuals. For us at Lafarge Africa, it is another step in the right direction for our sustainability program,” said Ibrahim Aminu, the MD of AshakaCem. Human population growth and strong increases in global consumption have caused an everrising demand for agricultural produce worldwide. Simultaneously, weather-related events and climate change are also impacting the supply of agricultural produce.

Every day, countries across the world are saddled with generating ideas and implementing agricultural development programs that would help balance the scale of demand and supply of agricultural produce.

“We have been engaging with farmers at the local level to introduce them to the new solutions provided by agro-ecology. As a company, we are supporting the government and indeed Nigerians to achieve this objective through Agro-ecology” Adedeji Esan, the Plant Manager, AshakaCem. Globally, agro-ecology is thriving. In East Africa, The Guardian UK reported that more than 96,000 farmers have adopted www.businessday.ng

a “push-pull” system for dealing with problematic stemborer pests and striga weed resulting in a maize yields increase of an average of 1 to 3.5 tons per hectare without the use of chemical insecticides. In Kenya, nearly 400 farmers switched from single-crop maize to drought-resistant and nutritious sorghum and millet, intercropped with legumes and that boosted yields and fetched a better price for their crops. The International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) also reported that in Brazil, thousands of hill farmers using a mulch to cover crops made up of legumes and grasses saw their maize yields jump from three to five tons per hectare without using chemical fertilizer.

Interestingly, in Nigeria, farmers in the Lafarge Africa Agroecology initiative have also reduced seed usage by 30 percent using new planting techniques and the usage of fertilizers has been reduced by 40 percent.

“The objective of our agroecology intervention is to introduce all year round farming (three seasons) and new farming methods

as a way of building local farmers’ capacity. The initiative was part of efforts to improve sustainable food production in Nigeria; increase the resilience of farming systems and livelihoods in the company’s proximate communities and introduce sustainable farming in selected Nigerian communities,” said Folashade AmbroseMedebem the Communications, Public Affairs, and Sustainable Development Director.

Agricultural development can stimulate economic development outside of the agricultural sector, and lead to higher job and growth creation. Increased productivity of agriculture raises farm incomes, increases food supply, reduces food prices, and provides greater employment opportunities in both rural and urban areas. cknowledging the benefits of the agroecology program, Suleiman Haruna, the Village Head of Ashaka stated that “this project has introduced us to new farming methods which we were not known to us. At first, we were not sure about how those techniques will work to improve our farm produce. However, we took the ad-

“

We have been engaging with farmers at the local level to introduce them to the new solutions provided by agro-ecology. As a company, we are supporting the government and indeed Nigerians to achieve this objective through Agro-ecology

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“

he agricultural sector is a significant contributor to the growth of the Nigerian economy.

The sector has witnessed remarkable policy changes since the vision 2020 plan was introduced in 2009.

In spite of these, the sector still faces many challenges such as reliance on rain-fed agriculture, smallholder land holding, and low productivity due to poor planting material, low fertilizer application amongst others. It was reported in 2014 that agriculture contributed nearly 40 percent of Nigeria’s Gross Home Product. Unfortunately, that figure has dropped.

Now, agriculture’s contribution to the GDP revolves around 21 and 22 percent behind the service sector, which is over 50 percent.

This decline further confirms the relevance and need for an innovation such as agro-ecology.

Nigeria’s agricultural sector is dominated by smallholder farmers who work an average of 4–5 acres each, under rain-fed conditions. Most of them lack knowledge of modern practices, have insufficient capital and own little or no equipment of their own.

Only 40 percent of the farmland required to feed the nation is being cultivated. What this means is that the food security of the country is threatened unless we find sustainable ways to increase agricultural output.

These food security concerns have sparked a broad discussion among stakeholders and policymakers. In 2015, world leaders charted a new set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The second of these is to “end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture” by 2030.

Across the world, responsible organizations through their CSR activities are consistently defying the odds of operational challenges to help achieve the SDG goals and touch the lives of people in the communities which they operate. That succinctly describes the motivation behind Lafarge Africa’s agro-ecology initiative in line with its 2030 sustainability plan on circular economy, people and communities.

To this end, Ashaka Cement Limited, a subsidiary of Lafarge Africa Plc, collaborated with experts and the National Agricultural Extension and Research Lesion Services (NAERLS) ABU Zaria to develop and implement an agro-

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vice of the instructors and utilize the ideas. We started with the dry session farming and we recorded a lot of difference compared to our traditional way of farming. Due to the significant success recorded using the techniques for dry session farming, we did not hesitate to apply the techniques for wet session farming. We also recorded significant improvement. From all indication, the yield this time around will be excellent. I sincerely appreciate this company to for their support in building our capacity and for creating means for us to be self-reliant”.

Another beneficiary, Sarkin Lambu, a farmer from the Jugol Borkono Community three Kilometers away from the Ashaka Cement Company added that “we were supported with training, seeds, water pump machine, and pesticide. After the dry season harvest, we realized a high yield compared to our traditional method, our income increased and we were able to buy additional water pump machine and a piece of land. We have seen the advantages of this new farming method and it has increased unity amongst us, local community farmers”.

As a strategy for driving the agro-ecology project, Ashakacem leased 400 Ha of its land to the local farmers. So far, about 300 farmers were targeted in Jalingo, Feshingo Jalingo, Ashaka Garri, Gongilla, Jugol Gongilla, Lariski and Bajoga areas of Plateau state for training in sustainable weed control and mixed cropping techniques. Until date, more than 75 percent of the objectives of the initiatives have been actualized.

According to Trading Economics, GDP from agriculture in Nigeria averaged N3,832,973.14 from 2010 until 2019, reaching an all-time high of N5,288,339.21 in the third quarter of 2018 after which there was a decline to N4,978,775.48 in the fourth quarter of 2018 and N3,597,916.08 in the first quarter of 2019.

“In all we believe our interventions will bolster the enviable projections for agriculture in Nigeria, to impact lives and ultimately significantly contribute to Nigeria’s GDP. Evidently, there is no doubt that sustaining growth in agricultural production is essential to meeting an increasing global demand for food to achieve food security. However, the big question often asked is if agro-ecological farming can really feed the world, with the global population racing towards 9.6 billion by 2050. However, it is clear that there is increasing evidence it could,” Aminu concluded.

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Wednesday 25 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

news Nigerian professionals tasked to drive innovations to country’s economic challenges Daniel Obi

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rofessionals in Nigeria’s all walks of life have been challenged to assist the country which is experiencing high poverty, insecurity and unemployment level, to drive innovations and construct new keys to the logjam in which the most populous nation in Africa is locked up.

The world is advancing in all frontiers and if Nigeria must catch up, professionals both in the public and private sectors must lead in

economic transformations of creating jobs, reducing poverty index, and fixing body polity through innovations, entrepreneurs have advocated.

“If Nigeria must as a nation lead the black nation, the responsibility lie on professionals who must dedicate themselves to the craft of innovation through data”, Michael Oluwagbemi, a successful Nigerian entrepreneur said Tuesday at the annual general assembly of Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria, APBN in Lagos.

Linking the rising unrest

in some parts of the country to growing unemployment and ‘idle people’, a figure that is expected to hit 45 million by 2019, he cautioned that Nigeria “must either innovate our way to prosperity or be prepared to collapse under the weight of unrest”.

“At t h e h e a r t o f o u r problems are unsustainable behaviour and refusal to innovate” and change to new paradigms in spite of a plethora of professionals in government and the private sector who should stand in the gap. Professionals must tell the truth to the govern-

ment and operators in the private sector,” he said.

He wondered how, with professionals, Nigeria in 2018, budgeted N8tr, earned N3tr and spent N5tr. “Of N3tr earned, we spent N2.2tr on salaries and the balance on debt repayment. Since 1999, we have never had a balanced budget or one executed up to 50 %. Year on year we prepare fancy budgets that mean nothing.

Local governments have since become a joke.”

He s a i d t h e c ou nt r y must be re-imagined and be ready to transform positive

imagination into reality. He identified education, a new language for Nigerian children and building a spirit of intuitiveness as ways of re-building Nigeria.

On the huge subsidy spending, he strongly suggested that Nigeria should subsidise production instead of consumption. He tasked professionals to suggest to government to ensure that Kaduna-Abuja rail built with Chinese loans, 36 Energising University Projects built with green bonds, 24 strategic roads now being constructed with Sukuk bonds and others

Dangote, Bill Gates, Mo Ibrahim raise concerns over stereotypes, climate change on Africa GBEMI FAMINU

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enowned philanthropists, Bill Gates, Mo Ibrahim and Aliko Dangote, have expressed concern over the effect of climate change and the stereotypes on Africa that have hindered business opportunities in the continent.

Deliberating on the Future Business in Africa at The Africa Center, the three entrepreneurs said climate change is an issue that must be confronted headlong to minimise its effect on the continent.

African heads of state, business leaders and celebrities, including supermodel Naomi Campbell, were in attendance.

Bill Gates brought up the challenge of climate change saying “Africa is where we are going to meet some of our toughest challenges. Sadly, the impact climate change, although Africa had the least to do to cause climate change. The actual difficulties will first be felt by the farmers of Africa,” he said.

He asked rhetorically, “Why is the continent where the availability of the labour is the highest, where the availability of land is the highest, where the production per hectare is the lowest, why can’t it move not only to be self-sufficient but also to be a net exporter Aliko Dangote spoke about Africa’s rising wealth. He said: “Today when you look at it you are thinking about the five fastest-growing economies in the world - four are in Sub Saharan Africa.”

He said Africa has got potentials which if properly managed can lift the continent to an enviable height.

In his own view, Mo Ibrahim said the stereotype of African corruption is an issue.

“Let’s be frank, there is a lot of minds in the West here - people think Africa is a very corrupt place. Corruption is a problem a global problem. I don’t think it is an African problem.

“It’s not just about more seats, and more schools and more (inaudible) or more whatever we are doing there it is about the quality of that and what are we teaching our kids”, he added. www.businessday.ng

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must be commercially run to pay back the debts without bankrupting future generations.

Speaking in the same vein, the President of APBN, Olumuyiwa Ajibola, said in this time of Nigeria’s life, all hands must be on deck to change the unpleasant narratives about Nigeria.

He said it is therefore important the government engages the Nigerian professionals and experts in different fields to drive change as this will infuse quality knowledge-based ideas in governance.

Wednesday 25 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

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38 BUSINESS DAY

Wednesday 25 September 2019

NEWS

NLNG vessel supports Spanish team to rescue two at Gibraltar Strait AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE

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L-R: Temitope Akinsanya, human resources director, BAT West Africa; Lolade Johnson-Agiri, general manager, British American Tobacco Nigeria Foundation (BATNF); Yarub Al-Bahrani, area director, BAT West Africa; Kola Jamodu, chairman, BATN Foundation; Olabode Abikoye, executive director, Bank of Agriculture (BOA), and Abimbola Okoya, executive director, BATNF, during the launch of BATNF Wealth is Here campaign in Lagos, yesterday.

Pic by Pius Okeosisi

UNDP- Sahara Group Synergy targets energy access for 10 Million Households in Africa SEGUN ADAMS

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n furtherance with the goal to power Africa, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Sahara Group have unveiled the Africa Renewable Energy Forum to boost access to sustainable energy for 10 million households on the continent through alternative energy initiatives and interventions.

The forum, launched at the margins of the ongoing 74th UN General Assembly in New York, would address issues critical to power and energy as the ongoing partnership between UNDP and the Sahara Group aims to create access to clean and affordable energy in Africa.

According to both organisations, the forum would serve as a platform for policy discussions, multi-stakeholder collaboration and funding towards the implementation of tailored renewable energy

solutions across the continent.

Ultimately, the platform will galvanise the political momentum needed to record significant progress through strong partnerships, effective regulation and mutual accountability, they said in an emailed statement Tuesday.

“Access to energy will enhance the cause of poverty alleviation and also yield huge benefits for education, healthcare, production, and socio-economic development,” Ahunna Eziakonwa, Regional Director and Assistant Secretary-General for UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa said.

“The UNDP-Sahara partnership is extremely crucial as it will provide a model for engaging a wide-range of stakeholders to address the continent’s energy challenge in line with the SDG framework.”

Africa has the highest percentage of untapped hydropower potential in the world,

with only 11% utilization capacity. Whilst the global electrification rate reached 89% in 2018 and 153m people gained access to electricity, according to World Bank figures, the biggest challenge remains in the most remote areas globally and sub-Saharan Africa in particular, where an estimated 573m people are not connected to grid power.

Overall, with over 6oo million Africans having no access to electricity, Ahunna explained that the continent urgently needed to embrace renewable energy sources to sustainably connect the poorest and hardest to reach households.

Kola Adesina, Group Managing Director, Sahara Power Group, said the initiative had the potential to create over one million jobs in Africa as the continent continues its march towards achieving the 2030 SDG Agenda.

According to him, renewable energy is still in its infancy

as far as Africa is concerned and there is the need for unrelenting awareness initiatives to inspire a mindset shift to renewable energy in Africa with the various governments, private sector and development agencies leading the charge.

“At Sahara Group we believe that interventions like the UNDP-Sahara partnership will enhance productivity and shared prosperity in Africa,” Adesina said.

The event had senior officials from both organisations in attendance, including, Ahunna Eziakonwa, Regional Director and Assistant Secretary-General for UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa, Kola Adesina, Group Managing Director, Sahara Power Group, Pearl Uzokwe, Director, Governance and Sustainability, Sahara Group, Bethel Obioma, Head, Corporate Communications, Sahara Group, and Babatomiwa Adesida, Private Sector Engagement Specialist, Sahara Foundation.

Dale Carnegie Nigeria holds the workplace conference October 3 in Lagos BALA AUGIE

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EOs, Senior Leaders, Human Resources Directors and Managers and other key organisational leaders will converge in Lagos, Nigeria, on the 3rd of October 2019 to gain insights on how to improve engagement, happiness and productivity in the workplace at a one-day conference being organised by one of the world’s leading training institutions, Dale Carnegie Training.

The Conference with the theme ‘Building the Workplace of Our Dreams’ is scheduled to hold between 10a.m. and 2p.m. on Thursday, October 3rd, 2019 at the Oriental Hotel, Lagos and will offer organisations innovative ideas on how to build the workplace where people feel happy, engaged and empowered to give their very best. A statement

issued by the Country Director, Dale Carnegie Training, Patrick E. Nwakogo, said the company was bringing its over 100 years’ experience in over 90 countries to the conference and urged companies interested in building the ideal workplace not to miss the event.

Mr. Nwakogo said the speakers and discussants, who were carefully selected for their expertise and experience in the area under discuss, “will share ideas on how to create work environments that enable people to unleash their full potential, stimulate growth and success for their organisations in particular and the economy in general.” He added that “currently, only 20 percent of the workforce is unleashing its full potential while the rest are intentionally withholding their best efforts, doing just enough to retain their

jobs”. This he said is a loss for everyone.

The Country Director noted that Dale Carnegie works with organisations to build courage, confidence and com-

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CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly known and addressed as Mrs. Ajose Aishat Iyabode now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Lamina - Ajose Aishat Iyabode. All Former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

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passion among their workforce by drawing out people’s natural strengths, so they can take command of their roles and inspire teamwork across the organisation.

CORRECTION OF NAME

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General public should take note.

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I, formerly known and addressed as Egbewunmi Bukola Saidat now wish to be known and addressed as Adegbite Bukola Omolaja.

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he Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) said one of its vessels called LNG Kano, recently supported the rescue of two persons, who were missing around the Gibraltar strait.

A statement by Sophia Horsfall, manager, Corporate Communications and Public Affairs, said on 24th August 2019, NLNG Ship Management Limited (NSML) received a distress call that two persons were missing in the waters around the strait and their position was unknown.

Horsfall stated that after keeping a sharp lookout at the vicinity for an hour, the bridge team onboard LNG Kano sighted two persons holding on to a semi-submerged jetski floating on the water, about 6.9 nautical miles into the strait.

“The crew immediately alerted the Spanish authorities then proceeded to raise an emergency alarm, which resulted in mobilising man-over-

board manoeuvres where the rescue boat team was quickly assembled and prepared for launching,” she said.

She further said that the crew of LNG Kano worked with Spanish Search and Rescue organisations, to keep sight of the two persons until the rescue helicopter and boats reached them.

NLNG vessels have a track record of professionalism and show of care at sea. In June 2013, LNG Sokoto rescued an ocean rower and adventurer who were on a TriFinance Ocean Challenge at the Indian Ocean, after his boat was run down by two tankers.

In October 2016, LNG Rivers rescued two French nationals and a distressed sailing vessel at La Reunion Island. The distressed vessel had reportedly lost power, prompting a distress call to LNG Rivers by Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) Australia. LNG Rivers, on receipt of the message, immediately changed course and proceeded towards the location for rescue.

Special Foundation ambassadors guide LEA school with analytical, public speaking skills TEMITAYO AYETOTO

S

pecial foundation ambassadors have offered analytical and public speaking skills, in addition to citizenship training, to young students in some select schools in the Federal Capital Territory with focus on LEA Primary School, Kuje, Abuja.

The special foundation, according to the ambassadors who spoke to BusinessDay, is actively involved in proffering solutions to learning gaps in school curriculum in the country by training young students in creating writing, public speaking, critical thinking, leadership, patriotism and national values.

“True economic development and good leadership can only be achieved by an inclusive educational system.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly known and addressed as Momoh Faith Queen now wish to be known and addressed as Ihionvien Faith Queen. All Former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly known and addressed as Cyril Patrick Ifeanyi now wish to be known and addressed as Nwankwo Patrick Ifeanyi. All Former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly known and addressed as Folashade Omowunmi now wish to be known and addressed as Ruth Omowunmi. All Former documents remain valid. General public please take note. @Businessdayng

When you educate young people, you are building the pillars of society. I believe in nation building and that citizens must be catalysts of the positive change they want to see in their communities,” Seyi Akinwale, founder, Special Foundation, told newsmen at the summer school lessons in LEA Kuje.

“We cannot look to the government for solutions to all the social problems we find in our community. This is the reason we created this platform to address specific societal ills in education,” Akinwale said.

Chukwuma Nwanze, an ambassador of the Special Foundation, said at the ceremony that there is no better time than now to join hands together to make the future brighter for every child.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly known and addressed as Olabisi Korede Adeyemi now wish to be known and addressed as Olabisi Korede Yusuf. All Former documents remain valid.

General public please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Ugochi Njideka Kalu now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ugochi Bassey Edet. All Former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly known and addressed as Ezike Maduabuchi Samuel now wish to be known and addressed as Ezike Samuel Maduabuchi. All Former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

Wednesday 25 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

39

news Atiku, PDP want Supreme Court ...

Continued from page 1

election on the grounds that Buhari was not qualified to contest the election, irregularities and partial non-compliance with the Electoral Act. In a unanimous judgme nt, the tr ibunal dis-

missed Atiku’s petition, saying the petitioners could not prove their case beyond reasonable doubt.

The tribunal ruled that Atiku and the PDP failed to make a case in the petition, holding that Buhari is eminently qualified to contest the election.

But in an appeal before the Supreme Court, Atiku and PDP are arguing that the five-man panel led by Justice Mohammed Lawal Garba erred in law in holding that President Buhari did not need to attach his academic qualification to the form CF 001 submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission to secure clearance to participate in the election.

In ground one of the appeal, the applicants argued that the learned Justices of the Court of Appeal erred in law when they relied on “overall interest of justice” to hold that the 2nd Respondent’s Exhibits R1 to R26, P85 and P86 were properly admitted in evidence.

In the particulars of error, the appellant submitted that Exhibits R1 to R26, P85 and P86 were not pleaded

by Buhari who is the second respondent in the petition.

He added that Exhibits R1 to R26, P85 and P86 were not frontloaded and that no leave of court was sought pursuant to paragraph 41 (8) of the 1st Schedule to the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) to receive Exhibits R1 to R26, P85 and P86 in evidence.

In ground two, the appellant submitted that the Justices of the Court of Appeal erred in law when they held that “Section 76 of the Electoral Act is clearly inapplicable to the issues under consideration” and that “the form referred to are the form to be used in the conduct of the election as FORM CF001 had been taken care of in Section 31 of the Electoral Act and the said FORM CF001 is tied to the steps laid down in the said Section 31 of the Electoral Act”.

The appellant also argued that the Justices of the Court of Appeal erred in holding that “the law is firmly settled that a candidate is not required by the Constitution or the Electoral Act to attach his certificates to FORM CF001 before the candidate can be considered or adjudged to have the requisite educational qualifications to contest election”.

In the particulars of error, the appellant submitted that the Court gave restrictive

interpretation to Section 76 of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) in order to exclude Form CF001 from its provisions.

“The conduct of election

by INEC which is 1st Respondent starts with the screening of candidates. No candidate can be screened unless he completes Form ​CF001 (Exhibit P1). In Form CF001, under the column for ‘Schools Attended/Educational Qualification with dates’, there is the clear provision: ‘ATTACH EVIDENCE OF ALL EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS’.

Certificates are evidence of educational qualifications,” the appellant argued.

In ground three, Atiku claimed that the learned Justices of the Court of Appeal erred in law when they held that “the reasonable inference or plausible meaning attachable to the above provision of Electoral Act 2010 as amended is that a candidate can list information concerning evidence of his qualifications or other relevant information(s) about himself” and that “the demand or information required in FORM CF001 cannot be more or higher than the statutory requirements”.

In the particular of error, the appellant submitted that “Form CF001 is designed to take care of the provision in section 31(2) of the Electoral Act (as amended) regarding the ‘list or information’ a candidate is expected to submit and verify by an affidavit”.

In ground four, Atiku equally submitted that the learned Justices of the Court of Appeal erred in law when they held that “there was/is no pleadings in the petition to the effect that 2nd Respondent’s failure to attach his certificates to Form CF001 amounts to lack of educational qualification to contest the election”.

In ground five, the appellant argued that the learned Justices of the Court of Appeal erred in law when they failed to consider and apply the recent case of A.A MODIBBO v MUSTAPHA USMAN AND ORS, an unreported decision of the Supreme Court in Appeal No SC/790/2019 delivered on 30th day of July, 2019, cited and relied upon by the Appellants wherein the principles enunciated therein have direct bearing on the Petition.

In the particulars of error, the appellant submitted that “in the above judgment, the Apex Court in clear and unequivocal terms stated the meaning and standard of proof of ‘false information’”.

“By the above decision, the Petitioners were only required to prove that any of the information in Exhibit P1 was contrary to truth or fact that is to say untrue simpliciter.

•Continues online at www.businessday.ng www.businessday.ng

L-R: Edu Atting, advert executive, BuisnessDay Media Limited; Onyinye Nwachukwu, bureau chief; Abdullahi Sule, governor, Nasarawa State, and John Osadolor, regional director (North), BuisnessDay Media Limited, when the BusinessDay team interviewed the governor in Abuja. Pic by Tunde Adeniyi

PMI warned of Q2 GDP slowdown, here’s ...

Continued from page 1

previous quarters, according to monthly PMI data obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria and compiled by BusinessDay. Since 2015 when the apex bank started tracking the data, the PMI has been a leading indicator of economic activities, exhibiting a positive correlation with the gross domestic product (GDP). When it expands, the economy follows, and vice versa.

In the second quarter of 2019, the PMI warned of a contraction in economic activities after it slowed in the period to 58.15 points from 58.3 points in the previous quarter. The GPD also slowed.

Economic activities in Africa’s largest economy slowed to 1.94 percent from a revised 2.01 percent reported in the second quarter of 2019, data from the National Bureau of Statistics show.

“The PMI has a close relationship with growth in GDP since it measures the direction of business activities, output and the level of production across different sectors and

segments of the economy,” said Philip Anegbe, head of research at Lagos-based investment house, Cardinal Stone.

Rewind to 2016, when Nigeria suffered a lengthy recession that crippled economic activities. The PMI already flashed the red light.

At that time, the PMI figure on an annual computation contracted sharply to an average of 44.6 points from as high as 50.7 points the previous year. Even when economic activities rebounded in 2017, the PMI had already flashed it as the data expanded at a faster pace.

The CBN’s PMI report is based on survey responses, indicating the changes in the level of business activities from purchasing and supply executives of manufacturing and non-manufacturing organisations in all 36 states in Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

A score of 50 points indicates an expansion of business activities while a score below that level indicates a contraction.

For the third quarter, the

Private Equity spurs growth of Nigeria’s...

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example, Microsoft will invest US$100mn to open two technology development centres in Kenya and Nigeria, while companies such as Facebook have already developed partnerships with hubs across Nigeria, in cities like Abuja, Jos, and Kaduna.

“Many of Nigeria’s tech start-ups have the potential to become unicorns and we look forward to playing our role in supporting their growth,” said Abi MustaphaMaduakor, Chief Operating Officer, AVCA. A Unicorn is a tech firm with a $1 billion valuation.

One of the main attractions of Africa to these global

companies is the rise of mobile technology.

GSMA have projected that smartphone connections in sub-Saharan Africa will more than double by 2025, and that Nigeria will emerge as a smartphone superpower, with an estimated 143mn smartphone connections by 2025. With more Nigerians integrating into the mobile economy, and younger consumers using mobile technology for data- driven, non-core communications services, tech entrepreneurs can bolster efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by continuing to innovate in the development of products and services addressing unmet demand, disrupting sectors from payments and

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data showed an unimpressive performance when compared with the preceding quarter.

“There is really no specific policy that has been introduced to jumpstart the economy across all sectors,” said Ayodeji Ebo, MD/CEO, Afrinvest Securities Ltd. “Everything in the economy looks at standstill. No innovation, no direct investment whatsoever that should warrant an increase in GDP,” Ebo said on phone.

The third quarter of the year witnessed a lot of policy uncertainties, from an outright restriction by the CBN on dollar provisions to importers of food items into the country to a closure of the country’s busiest border to check the influx of smuggled items including fuel, rice, fish, turkey and chicken, a situation analysts say would impact greatly on trade.

The CBN had in March this year cut its benchmark interest rate to 13.5 percent from 14 percent in a surprise move as part of an attempt to stimulate growth and signal a new direction. It was the first rate cut since November 2015.

The apex bank also ordered the adoption of a 60

percent loan-to-deposits ratio for commercial banks so as to force banks to lend to the real sector of the economy.

However, while this has pushed banks to extend credit further, it is yet to translate into growth for Africa’s most populous nation as companies still struggle with lower sales on the back of falling disposable income.

This has prompted most manufacturing goods companies to start trading cash for credit in order to stimulate revenue. A lack of clear policy implementation from the government that would drive reforms is hurting growth of business in the country, said Ibrahim Tajudeen, head of research at Chapel Hill.

“Hence, it is no surprise if we see growth slowing in the third quarter of the year,” Tajudeen said on phone.

Despite declining company revenues and falling consumer income, the government plans to increase value added tax (VAT) from 5 percent to 7.5 percent by 2020, a move analysts say would make firms shift the burden to consumers in the form of higher prices.

agriculture to healthcare and education. One of many examples is Kobo360, a Nigerian e-logistics start-up connecting truckers with cargo owners.

In 2018, the firm raised US$6mn in a seed investment round that included the IFC and PE firm TLcom Capital6, while in 2019 it raised US$20mn in a Series A round led by Goldman Sachs, with a further US$10mn in local currency working capital financing obtained from Nigerian commercial banks.

Theophilus Emuwa, Managing Partner, AELEX said “Nigerian start-ups secured the largest amount of funding in 2018 in Africa and Nigeria was also home to the highest number of start-ups that closed multi-milliondollar rounds on the continent. This shows the ecosys-

tem is in full swing and has the potential to transform the lives of millions of people in Nigeria and further afield by providing innovative solutions to challenges.”

However, while African countries are evidently not being left behind in the global digital revolution, the technology gap on the continent (and in Nigeria) remains significant. According to the United Nations International Telecommunication Union’s 2017 ‘Measuring the Information Society’ report, Africa remains the region with the lowest ICT Development Index, while Nigeria ranks 143rd out of 176 countries globally, and 15th out of the 38 African countries in the index.

@Businessdayng

•Continues online at www.businessday.ng

40

Wednesday 25 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

Live @ The STOCK Exchanges Prices for Securities Traded as of Tuesday 24 September 2019 Company

Market cap(nm)

Price (N)

Change

Trades

Volume

Company

Market cap(nm)

Price (N)

Change

Trades

Volume

PRICES FOR MAIN BOARD SECURITIES (Equities) BANKING ACCESS BANK PLC. 243,484.80 6.85 -1.44 219 7,039,337 UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC 205,196.53 6.00 -2.44 149 9,860,549 ZENITH BANK PLC 582,404.96 18.55 -2.37 253 6,481,127 621 23,381,013 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FBN HOLDINGS PLC 193,834.58 5.40 -2.70 221 13,342,757 221 13,342,757 842 36,723,770 TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES MTN NIGERIA COMMUNICATIONS PLC 2,829,277.31 139.00 -0.71 57 573,236 57 573,236 57 573,236 BUILDING MATERIALS DANGOTE CEMENT PLC 2,624,238.14 154.00 -0.39 69 103,567 LAFARGE AFRICA PLC. 241,616.93 15.00 - 51 302,601 120 406,168 120 406,168 EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PLC 270,684.50 460.00 - 6 6,600 6 6,600 6 6,600 1,025 37,709,774 REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS (REITS) SKYE SHELTER FUND PLC 1,710.00 85.50 - 0 0 UNION HOMES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST (REIT) 10,175.81 40.70 - 0 0 UPDC REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST 13,074.52 4.90 - 2 1,567 2 1,567 2 1,567 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS NIGERIA ENERYGY SECTOR FUND 411.91 552.20 - 0 0 VALUEALLIANCE VALUE FUND 3,312.39 103.20 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1,567 CROP PRODUCTION FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC 440.00 0.20 - 0 0 OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. 52,417.35 54.95 - 36 847,458 PRESCO PLC 40,350.00 40.35 - 12 72,080 48 919,538 FISHING/HUNTING/TRAPPING ELLAH LAKES PLC. 8,520.00 4.26 - 2 45 2 45 LIVESTOCK/ANIMAL SPECIALTIES LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. 1,410.00 0.47 - 2 87,353 2 87,353 52 1,006,936 DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIES A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. 688.30 0.26 - 1 1,000 JOHN HOLT PLC. 237.38 0.61 - 6 2,020 S C O A NIG. PLC. 1,903.99 2.93 - 3 560 TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC 41,054.47 1.01 -5.61 80 23,093,774 U A C N PLC. 22,041.92 7.65 6.99 194 7,134,907 284 30,232,261 284 30,232,261 BUILDING CONSTRUCTION ARBICO PLC. 711.32 4.79 - 0 0 0 0 INFRASTRUCTURE/HEAVY CONSTRUCTION JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. 24,486.00 18.55 - 5 2,111 ROADS NIG PLC. 165.00 6.60 - 0 0 5 2,111 REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PLC 3,325.95 1.28 3.91 122 7,537,425 122 7,537,425 127 7,539,536 AUTOMOBILES/AUTO PARTS DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC 954.53 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 BEVERAGES--BREWERS/DISTILLERS CHAMPION BREW. PLC. 9,003.92 1.15 - 9 107,018 GOLDEN GUINEA BREW. PLC. 242.22 0.89 - 0 0 GUINNESS NIG PLC 77,758.59 35.50 - 30 38,872 INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. 103,150.34 12.00 - 12 106,440 NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. 415,838.91 52.00 0.96 87 37,277,782 138 37,530,112 FOOD PRODUCTS DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC 111,000.00 22.20 -0.45 64 782,592 DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC 124,200.00 10.35 -6.33 72 524,485 FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. 57,405.31 14.00 -0.36 51 1,342,912 HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC 8,009.50 1.01 - 12 53,810 MULTI-TREX INTEGRATED FOODS PLC 1,340.10 0.36 - 0 0 N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. 766.26 4.30 - 0 0 NASCON ALLIED INDUSTRIES PLC 35,502.47 13.40 - 19 166,949 UNION DICON SALT PLC. 3,321.07 12.15 - 0 0 218 2,870,748 FOOD PRODUCTS--DIVERSIFIED CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. 19,627.21 10.45 -9.91 23 1,270,544 NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. 963,156.61 1,215.10 0.41 25 33,527 48 1,304,071 HOUSEHOLD DURABLES NIGERIAN ENAMELWARE PLC. 1,680.31 22.10 - 0 0 VITAFOAM NIG PLC. 4,840.77 3.87 - 12 122,002 12 122,002 PERSONAL/HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. 27,793.34 7.00 -1.41 26 341,365 UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. 166,605.16 29.00 - 17 107,974 43 449,339 459 42,276,272 BANKING ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED 163,311.01 8.90 - 22 188,274 FIDELITY BANK PLC 49,257.15 1.70 -0.58 52 1,221,892 GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. 831,430.81 28.25 -2.42 179 4,830,970 JAIZ BANK PLC 13,258.91 0.45 4.65 11 3,100,252 STERLING BANK PLC. 57,868.74 2.01 -8.64 37 2,829,254 UNION BANK NIG.PLC. 203,845.27 7.00 - 22 276,917 UNITY BANK PLC 7,948.75 0.68 - 4 41,625 WEMA BANK PLC. 23,144.68 0.60 -3.23 20 2,019,454 347 14,508,638 INSURANCE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES AFRICAN ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC 4,117.00 0.20 - 0 0 AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 4,504.63 0.65 -1.52 17 839,168 AXAMANSARD INSURANCE PLC 17,850.00 1.70 -5.56 9 554,431 CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE PLC 2,682.90 0.33 - 2 4,000 CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC 16,285.21 1.57 - 13 730,000 CORNERSTONE INSURANCE PLC 5,744.51 0.39 -7.14 15 675,250 GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC 909.99 0.20 - 0 0 GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. 1,228.00 0.20 - 0 0 INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE PLC 487.95 0.38 - 0 0 LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. 2,050.56 0.28 - 4 320,800 LAW UNION AND ROCK INS. PLC. 1,675.57 0.39 - 0 0 LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC 4,080.00 0.51 - 1 10,000 MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. 2,234.55 0.20 - 0 0 NEM INSURANCE PLC 10,561.01 2.00 - 8 291,400 NIGER INSURANCE PLC 1,547.90 0.20 - 0 0 PRESTIGE ASSURANCE PLC 2,637.45 0.49 - 0 0 REGENCY ASSURANCE PLC 1,333.75 0.20 - 0 0 SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC 1,668.16 0.20 - 0 0 STACO INSURANCE PLC 4,483.72 0.48 - 0 0 STANDARD ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC. 2,582.21 0.20 - 0 0 SUNU ASSURANCES NIGERIA PLC. 2,800.00 0.20 - 1 27,272 516.46 0.20 - 0 0 UNIC DIVERSIFIED HOLDINGS PLC. UNIVERSAL INSURANCE PLC 3,200.00 0.20 - 0 0 VERITAS KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC 2,773.33 0.20 - 0 0 WAPIC INSURANCE PLC 4,683.96 0.35 - 20 1,269,841 90 4,722,162

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MICRO-FINANCE BANKS NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 2,789.70 1.22 7.96 5 141,500 5 141,500 MORTGAGE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES ABBEY MORTGAGE BANK PLC 4,158.00 0.99 - 3 13,160 ASO SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC 7,370.87 0.50 - 0 0 INFINITY TRUST MORTGAGE BANK PLC 5,796.93 1.39 - 0 0 RESORT SAVINGS & LOANS PLC 2,265.95 0.20 - 0 0 UNION HOMES SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC. 2,949.22 3.02 - 0 0 3 13,160 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AFRICA PRUDENTIAL PLC 7,820.00 3.91 -2.25 16 179,369 34,408.91 5.85 -2.50 9 123,239 CUSTODIAN INVESTMENT PLC DEAP CAPITAL MANAGEMENT & TRUST PLC 660.00 0.44 - 0 0 31,684.34 1.60 -3.03 40 1,291,287 FCMB GROUP PLC. ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. 1,080.53 0.21 - 6 6,837 STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC 411,606.66 39.30 -8.28 32 951,250 13,200.00 2.20 -0.45 54 1,026,124 UNITED CAPITAL PLC 157 3,578,106 602 22,963,566 HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS EKOCORP PLC. 1,680.29 3.37 - 0 0 817.22 0.23 -4.17 2 236,000 UNION DIAGNOSTIC & CLINICAL SERVICES PLC 2 236,000 MEDICAL SUPPLIES MORISON INDUSTRIES PLC. 494.58 0.50 - 3 32 3 32 PHARMACEUTICALS EVANS MEDICAL PLC. 366.17 0.50 - 0 0 9,388.62 4.50 - 2 19,400 FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. 8,789.69 7.35 - 16 34,186 MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. 3,450.47 2.00 - 4 23,962 835.63 0.44 - 4 80,535 NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC NIGERIA-GERMAN CHEMICALS PLC. 556.71 3.62 - 0 0 325.23 1.50 - 0 0 PHARMA-DEKO PLC. 26 158,083 31 394,115 COMPUTER BASED SYSTEMS COURTEVILLE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS PLC 745.92 0.21 5.00 17 4,591,000 17 4,591,000 COMPUTERS AND PERIPHERALS OMATEK VENTURES PLC 1,470.89 0.50 - 0 0 0 0 IT SERVICES CWG PLC 6,413.06 2.54 - 1 20 NCR (NIGERIA) PLC. 534.60 4.95 - 2 25,400 TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. 282.12 0.57 - 4 66,481 7 91,901 PROCESSING SYSTEMS CHAMS PLC 1,080.09 0.23 -4.17 32 4,686,549 E-TRANZACT INTERNATIONAL PLC 9,996.00 2.38 - 3 151,000 35 4,837,549 TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES AIRTEL AFRICA PLC 1,065,435.95 283.50 - 10 583 10 583 69 9,521,033 BUILDING MATERIALS BERGER PAINTS PLC 2,173.68 7.50 - 4 15,758 CAP PLC 16,275.00 23.25 - 15 58,442 218,182.12 16.60 - 5 49,472 CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC MEYER PLC. 313.43 0.59 - 0 0 PORTLAND PAINTS & PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC 1,769.32 2.23 - 0 0 1,156.20 9.40 - 0 0 PREMIER PAINTS PLC. 24 123,672 ELECTRONIC AND ELECTRICAL PRODUCTS AUSTIN LAZ & COMPANY PLC 2,256.91 2.09 - 0 0 CUTIX PLC. 2,906.18 1.65 -2.94 13 568,100 13 568,100 PACKAGING/CONTAINERS BETA GLASS PLC. 29,873.33 59.75 - 0 0 GREIF NIGERIA PLC 388.02 9.10 - 0 0 0 0 AGRO-ALLIED & CHEMICALS NOTORE CHEMICAL IND PLC 100,754.14 62.50 - 0 0 0 0 37 691,772 CHEMICALS B.O.C. GASES PLC. 2,547.42 6.12 - 5 1,202 5 1,202 METALS ALUMINIUM EXTRUSION IND. PLC. 1,781.64 8.10 - 0 0 0 0 MINING SERVICES MULTIVERSE MINING AND EXPLORATION PLC 852.39 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 PAPER/FOREST PRODUCTS THOMAS WYATT NIG. PLC. 83.60 0.38 - 2 1,113 2 1,113 7 2,315 ENERGY EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC 1,252.54 0.20 - 9 623,005 9 623,005 INTEGRATED OIL AND GAS SERVICES OANDO PLC 47,239.37 3.80 - 31 101,923 31 101,923 PETROLEUM AND PETROLEUM PRODUCTS DISTRIBUTORS 11 PLC 55,351.37 153.50 -2.85 32 71,577 CONOIL PLC 11,658.40 16.80 - 8 2,611 ETERNA PLC. 3,912.43 3.00 - 15 165,455 FORTE OIL PLC. 22,077.05 16.95 -1.45 48 283,308 MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. 5,729.98 18.80 - 3 478 TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. 33,952.18 100.00 - 17 5,922 123 529,351 163 1,254,279 ADVERTISING AFROMEDIA PLC 1,820.01 0.41 - 0 0 0 0 AIRLINES MEDVIEW AIRLINE PLC 17,551.17 1.80 - 0 0 0 0 AUTOMOBILE/AUTO PART RETAILERS R T BRISCOE PLC. 294.09 0.25 - 0 0 0 0 COURIER/FREIGHT/DELIVERY RED STAR EXPRESS PLC 2,387.46 4.05 - 2 1,700 TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. 361.01 0.77 - 0 0 2 1,700 HOSPITALITY TANTALIZERS PLC 642.33 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 HOTELS/LODGING CAPITAL HOTEL PLC 4,723.78 3.05 - 0 0 IKEJA HOTEL PLC 2,452.98 1.18 - 2 50,100 TOURIST COMPANY OF NIGERIA PLC. 7,862.53 3.50 - 3 10,000 TRANSCORP HOTELS PLC 41,042.18 5.40 - 1 990 6 61,090 MEDIA/ENTERTAINMENT DAAR COMMUNICATIONS PLC 4,800.00 0.40 - 3 20,000 3 20,000 PRINTING/PUBLISHING ACADEMY PRESS PLC. 211.68 0.35 - 3 5,485 LEARN AFRICA PLC 956.60 1.24 - 9 41,111 1,183.82 1.99 - 0 0 STUDIO PRESS (NIG) PLC. UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC. 496.12 1.15 - 12 81,575 24 128,171 ROAD TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATED BUS COMPANY PLC 563.62 0.34 9.68 3 126,741 3 126,741

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Wednesday 25 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

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41

42 BUSINESS DAY

Wednesday 25 September 2019

news

House of Reps urges FG to create special security fund ...Calls for sufficient funding of counter-insurgency operations James Kwen, Abuja

T

he House of Representatives has urged the federal g ov e r n m e n t t o create a special security fund for the security agencies apart from the national budget.

The House on Tuesday mandated the leadership to interface with parliament of other countries especially the United States of America Congress, with a view to overcoming all regulations that bar Nigeria’s security agencies from purchasing arms and ammunition from those countries and the US. It further called for the proper investigation into the activities of Non -Government Organisations working in the areas affected by insur-

gency and other humanitarian crisis to ensure that they do not constitute security encumbrances.

These resolutions were reached following a motion of urgent public importance on the ‘need for special intervention on the protracted security situation in Nigeria moved by Mohammed Monguno (APC, Borno).

Presenting the motion, Monguno said, the House had noted that Nigeria in recent times had witnessed an unprecedented level of insecurity which had made national security a major issue for the government.

He stated that, “the House further notes the efforts of President Muhammadu Buhari towards curtailing insecurity in Nigeria as well as other security measures

aimed at deterring or disrupting potential attacks.

“Aware of the interaction of the leadership of the House of Representatives with Security Chiefs on the deteriorating security situation in our country.

“Further appreciates the efforts of the security agencies in curbing the menace of insecurity despite the challenges they face. Cognisant of the need for new strategies and expedited action to ensure that insecurity in Nigeria is reduced to the barest minimum”.

The motion was unanimously adopted when put to voice vote after an extensive debate in its favour and the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila in his ruling noted that, with the revelation from security agencies, the House

with look at a legislation to checkmate NGOs while the motion was referred to the joint Committee on security, comprising, Army, Navy, Airforce and Police.

Si m i la rly , t h e Hou s e called on the Federal Government to prioritise sufficient funding of the counter-insurgency Operations across the country and mandated the Committee on Defence to ensure appropriated funds are judiciously applied to security needs.

The House took the decisions sequel to a motion on a matter of urgent public importance, calling on the Federal government to prioritise funding of counter insurgency operations going on the country sponsored

by Satomi Ahmed (APC, Borno).

NAMA takes delivery of CAT 3 ILS for Lagos, Abuja airports …equipment to help aircraft land in adverse weather conditions IFEOMA OKEKE

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h e Nig e r i a n A i rspace Management Agency (NAMA) has taken deliver y of consignments of equipment for category 3 Instrument Landing Systems/Distance Measuring Equipment (ILS/ DME) for Lagos and Abuja airports.

The consignments which were cleared over the weekend from Apapa wharf are already at the premises of the agency in Lagos.

Speaking on this development, Fola Akinkuotu, the managing director of NAMA, said installation of these land-

Group to address governance, development issues at 2019 conference Israel Odubola, Lagos

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L-R: Uche Olowu, president/chairman, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN); Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Bayo Williams Olugbemi, 1st vice president, CIBN, and Abdullahi Mohammed, executive director, Abuja and Northern Directorate, Polaris Bank, at the opening ceremony of the 12th annual banking and finance conference in Abuja, yesterday.

UN urges FG to bridge housing gap as accommodation crisis persist …recommends vacant home taxes Endurance Okafor

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aced with a housing deficit of more than 20 million units, the United Nations (UN) rapporteur has called on the Federal Government to tackle the accommodation crisis in Nigeria.

“Nigeria’s housing sector is in a complete crisis,” Leilana Farha, the UN special rapporteur on adequate housing, said Tuesday, adding that “Existing programmes will hardly make even a small dent in addressing the ever-growing housing need.”

Lack of adequate and affordable housing has left inhabitants in Africa’s most populous nation with the option to fund housing projects with personal servings in a country now described as the poverty capital of the world, with many living on less than $2 a day.

According to the Association of Housing Corporation of Nigeria (AHCN), an umbrella organisation for all federal and state housing agencies, more than 90 percent of new homes utilise funds from personal savings for

incremental construction.

“My 10 days fact-findings visit to Nigeria has presented an economic inequality in the country, which has reached an extreme level and is playing itself out clearly in the housing sector,” Farha said in Abuja.

The high mortgage rate remains one of the key culprits in Nigeria’s housing challenge.

A typical mortgage in Nigeria ranges between 7-10 percent for Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) and between 15-25 percent for commercial mortgage institutions, one of the highest in the world.

This has left the industry less attractive for many who find it difficult to feed three times a day, despite living in a country that is acclaimed to have the largest economy on the continent.

Nigeria has one of the world’s lowest mortgages to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rate at 0.6 percent. This lags Ghana’s 2 percent, South Africa’s 30 percent and crawls after the U.S and UK rates of 60 percent and 70 percent respectively.

Speaking at a news conference in Nigeria, Farha expressed concerns over the poor living conditions of Nigerians, saying informal settlements house about 69 percent of the urban population.

“Most residents in Nigeria’s ballooning informal settlements live without access to even the most basic services, like running water.” According to her, they “lack security of tenure, forcing them to live in constant fear of being evicted.”

According to the rapporteur, this is happening at the same time when newly built luxury dwellings are springing up throughout cities and made possible often through the forced eviction of poor communities.

“These units do not fulfil any housing need, with many remaining vacant as vehicles for money laundering or investment. So, in many jurisdictions; they have started to impose a vacant home tax.”

In the case of Nigeria, she added that “it could be used as a fund to upgrade informal settlements.”

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ing aids which would commence soon, was part of the agency’s effort to ensure that aircraft land in adverse weather condition especially during the harmattan season that occurs in the country from late November through January.

He also revealed that the second phase of the project involving the installation of ILS/DME in Kano, Port Harcourt and Katsina airports would happen as soon as the Lagos and Abuja installations were completed, stressing that the choice of these airports was informed by the severe weather conditions prevalent in them.

he Society for Corporate Governance Nigeria, a Lagos-based non-profit organisation, is set to deliberate on leadership, governance and development issues at its upcoming 2019 annual conference.

The conference themed ‘Purposeful Leadership and Governance as Prerequisite for National and Economic Development’ coupled with the President’s dinner and induction ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, November 21, 2019 in Lagos under the chairmanship of renowned Nigerian business tycoon, Pascal Dozie.

The event is expected to congregate captains of industry, heads of institutions, board chairmen and directors, company secretaries,

members of the diplomatic corps, regulators and other stakeholders to cross-fertilise opinions on the best way to address governance issues to enhance Nigeria’s economic development.

T h e c o n f e re n c e w i l l also feature key leaders of thoughts, boardroom experts and public servants with track record of excellence in a panel session to enable participants tap insight from their reservoir of knowledge in governance among others.

The Society for Corporate Governance has the vision to develop corporate governance practices in Nigeria.

It has since inception continued to deploy resources to enhance knowledge and practice of corporate governance best practices through research and intensive learning programmes for board chairmen and directors.

Legal Answers LLP advises Century on acquisition of $40m FPSO Armada Perdana, Front Puffin

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team of Legal Answers LLP lawyers, led by partner and principal commercial lawyer, Teinane Okpokiti, has advised Century Energy Services Limited (Century) on the successful acquisition of Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) units, ‘Armada Perdana’ and ‘Front Puffin’.

The Armada Perdana was acquired from Malaysian FPSO operators, Bumi Armada, for $40 million. The FPSO Armada Perdana now renamed ‘Tamara Tokoni’ would sail to the Okpoho Field Oil Mining Lease (OML) 119.

The FPSO Front Puffin was acquired via the acquisition of the shares of Sea Production Limited, a subsidiary of Rubicon Offshore International. The Front Puffin is currently deployed at the Aje Field (OML 113), offshore Lagos, where it is operating under charter to Folawiyo Aje Services Limited.

It was learnt that Century has been undertaking the operation and maintenance of

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the vessel since 2016 when she was first deployed to the Aje Field.

“We are delighted to have advised Century Energy Services Limited, a retaining client of the firm, on these milestone acquisitions in the offshore market,” Okpokiti said.

Okpokiti, who was also the lead lawyer on the deal, said both transactions were very complex and involved multiple jurisdictions. He, however, expressed delight over the success of the deal “We are delighted to have closed both transactions in a timely fashion. Our solid experience handling these sorts of transactions combined with our offshore market depth and expertise means that we are perfectly placed to advise clients locally and internationally. Furthermore, the acquisitions underpin Century’s capabilities as a foremost independent FPSO operator and also the preferred choice for international operators in the Nigerian market,” he said. @Businessdayng

Also speaking on the acquisition, Ken Etete, CEO of Century, said: “With the acquisitions, we can guarantee cheaper and efficient offshore solutions to clients as a result of de-risking our operating environment using local resources and expertise. Our strategy is to complement and collaborate with international FPSO operators to achieve a reduction of offshore operation costs and ultimately supporting offshore development in Africa.”

It was also learnt that Sea Production Limited was advised by Holman, Fenwick Willan (HFW), and that Access Bank acted as lenders to Century Energy Services Limited.

Legal Answers is a commercial law firm in the energy, banking and finance, shipping, financial technology and intellectual property markets. The firm comprises dynamic and innovative lawyers with requisite skill set and significant industry experience for rendering efficient legal services.

Wednesday 25 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

news Buhari reshuffles ministers, moves Keyamo to Labour Tony Ailemen, Abuja

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resident Muhammadu Buhari has approved the immediate redeployment of two Ministers of State This is coming just one month after he swore them in and assigned offices to 43 Ministers.

In a minor cabinet swap, Festus Keyamo, who was formerly the Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs has been asked to move to Ministry of Labour and Employment as Minister of State.

He will swap positions with Tayo Alasoadura, who is to move to Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs as Minister of State.

This redeployment, according to a statement by Willie Bassey, Director Information, Office of Secretary to the Government of the Federation, takes effect from today, Tuesday, 24th September 2019.

Although, no reasons have been given for the redeployment, sources close to Presidency revealed that Keyamo has been finding it “difficult” to work with the substantive Minister of

Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio.

Before he was appointed into the Cabinet, Keyamo was the Counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC, prosecuting Akpabio on corruption charges.

Both Ministers were seen a few days after they were assigned portfolios at the Presidential Villa ostensibly, trying to work out their areas of responsibility.

BusinessDay gathered that the President had no other choice but to separate them after several efforts to make them work together failed.

LCCI introduces Africa Hall initiative for 2019 LITF Gbemi Faminu, Lagos

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he Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has introduced the Africa Hall initiative to host African businessmen and women as part of the programs for the upcoming 2019 Lagos International Trade Fair.

Chairman, Trade Promotion Board, LCCI, Gabriel Idahosa, said the objective of the Africa hall initiative was to bring exhibitors from African countries together in order to showcase their goods, services, arts, and crafts.

“We believe Africans must grow trade and investment among themselves. The LITF platform is a great opportunity to do this; therefore in pursuit of this objective, we will have the Africa special day at the fair” he said.

On foreign participation,

Idahosa said LCCI had received expressions of interest from over 25 countries to participate in the 2019 LITF, adding that member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) like Benin Republic, Cameroon, Ghana, among others, had expressed interest.

He also said that the foreign exchange earnings received this year had surpassed the record of the previous year.

The trade fair has over 15 partners and sponsors including The United Bank for Africa (UBA) as the headline partner and its official banking partner; Airtel Nigeria, which is the official telecommunications partner, Max.ng, the official on-demand motorbike hailing service partner of the fair, and the African export-import bank (Afexim bank) which is the pan African partner among others.

Idahosa disclosed that by

the 2nd of October, the media and customer care centres would be available in order to fully plan and prepare for the event.

Emphasising the major highlights of the fair, Idahosa, who doubles as the vice president of the LCCI, stated that the 2019 trade fair would be different but better than the previous years as its many sponsors and partners have taken it up to play innovative roles and as well encourage all the participants with various incentives.

Toyin Seriki, head SME segment for Airtel, said besides providing fast and reliable internet connection at the fair, the telco would also give due attention to the micro, small and medium scale enterprises, especially as participants of the fair through the introduction of affordable internet plans to run their businesses.

Novarick Homes, Tobi Bakre seal deal as Brand Ambassador

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ovarick Homes and Properties Limited, a real estate investment and development firm, has signed a working relationship agreement with Tobi Bakre as its new Brand Ambassador.

Bakre, an ex-Big Brother Naija Housemate who is also a one-time investment banker, has over the years become one of Nigeria’s most sought-after entrepreneur

and influencer. He revealed that he was delighted with this development which is another major progress in his career.

Bakre embodies brand identity in every appearance, especially in demeanour and values and, as Brand Ambassdor, he would help Novarick Homes to create awareness, influence and drive sales.

Noah Ibrahim, Novarick Homes’ CEO, told newsmen

after signing the deal that the company was a reputable real estate company championing the drive for the development of greener and smarter communities across Nigeria.

“By signing Tobi Bakre as our brand ambassador, Novarick Homes is rightly positioned to reach and attract millennials and younger audiences, encouraging them to key into early investment in Real Estate,” he said.

Airtel Nigeria donates phones, SIMs, airtime to South Africa returnees Segun Adams

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eading telecommunications services provider, Airtel Nigeria, has donated phones bundled with SIMs and airtime to the second batch of returnees who arrived from South Africa last Wednesday, 18 September.

Airtel said the donation was a measure to assist the returnees settle down as well as help them make instant connection with their loved ones, family members and friends across the country.

Segun Ogunsanya, chief executive officer and managing director, Airtel Nigeria, described the donation as “a token of our affection, love and support for our fellow countrymen who are just

coming out of a difficult situation”.

“It is our hope that this gesture will help them reconnect with their family and friends and settle down to life at home,” Ogunsanya said.

“Airtel is committed to supporting laudable causes that will inspire and uplift more Nigerians. We are pleased to identify with the returnees and to help make them feel at home after what they have passed through,” he said.

The Airtel team was at the airport to welcome the second batch of returnees as well as perform the customary SIM card registration exercise in fulfilment of Nigerian Communications Commission’s (NCC) guidelines on owning a phone line.

Abike Dabiri-Erewa, chairman/CEO, Nigerian Diaspora Commission, commended Airtel for extending a helping hand to the returnees, saying that other corporate organisations should emulate the telco in helping the returnees settle down to life in their home country.

“Airtel has always taken proactive steps to help returnees. When we had returnees from Libya, Airtel was on hand to offer support; and now, they are offering similar support to the South African returnees. Aside these, they are also partnering with the Commission to further help Nigerians in the Diaspora. I commend Airtel for taking these fine steps,” she said.

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Wednesday 25 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

Live @ The Exchanges Market Statistics as at Tuesday 24 September 2019

Top Gainers/Losers as at Tuesday 24 September 2019 LOSERS

GAINERS Company NESTLE

Opening

Closing

Change

N1210.1

N1215.1

5

Company

Opening

Closing

Change

MOBIL

N158

N153.5

-4.5

UACN

N7.15

N7.65

0.5

STANBIC

N42.85

N39.3

-3.55

NPFMCRFBK

N1.13

N1.22

0.09

CADBURY

N11.6

N10.45

-1.15

ABCTRANS

N0.31

N0.34

0.03

MTNN

N140

N139

-1

JAIZBANK

N0.43

N0.45

0.02

DANGSUGAR

N11.05

N10.35

-0.7

ASI (Points) DEALS (Numbers) VOLUME (Numbers) VALUE (N billion) MARKET CAP (N Trn)

27,352.24 2,922.00 154,034,130.00 2.825

Stories by Iheanyi Nwachukwu

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Lorenzo Fiorillo, the vice chairman of the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS); Magdalene Ajani, permanent secretary, office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF); Folashade Yemi-Esan, acting head of the Civil Service of the Federation, and Bhaskar Pant of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) at the Opening Ceremony of the Two-day Training programme on Radical Innovation for Senior Civil Servants in Abuja.

this week. In 2,922 deals, equity dealers exchanged 154,034,130 units valued at N2.825billion.

On 6 stocks gained as against 28 losers. Mobil Nigeria Plc led the pack of losers after its share price decreased from N158 to N153.5, losing

N4.5 or 2.85percent, followed

by Stanbic IBTC Holdings which declined from N42.85 to N39.3, losing N3.55 or 8.28percent.

Also, Cadbury Nigeria Plc dipped from N11.6 to N10.45 after shedding N1.15 or 9.91percent, and MTNN Plc

which lost N1 or 0.71percent, from N140to N139.

On the gainers table, Nestle Nigeria Plc advanced most, from N1210.1 to N1215.1, adding N5 or 0.41percent, while UAC Nigeria Plc rallied from N7.15 to N7.65, adding 5kobo or 6.99percent.

AG Leventis moves to delist from NSE

EY reports global revenues of $36.4bn in 2019

G Leventis (Nigeria) Pl c ha s n o t i f i e d the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) that Boval S.A acting on behalf of itself, Leventis Holding S.A., and Leventis Overseas Limited (together, the “Core Shareholders”) has approached the Board of Directors of the Company with an intention to acquire the shares held by other shareholders of the Company at an offer price of 53 kobo per share, and subsequently delist the Company from the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

The offer price of 53 kobo represents a premium of 85 percent to the 60-day volume weighted average share price and 104 percent to the Company’s closing share price on September 23, 2019.

The Proposed Transaction will be implemented under a Scheme of Arrangement in line with section 539 of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, Cap C.20 Laws of the

Y has announced re c o rd c o m b i n e d global revenues of $36.4billion for the financial year ended June 2019.

Overall, financial year (FY) 2019 revenues grew by 8percent against 7.4percent it grew in FY18. Over the last six years, EY has recorded strong 8.3percent compound annual growth and at local currency rates has added nearly $15billion in combined revenue and more than 100,000 EY people.

All EY service lines delivered strong growth in FY19: in local currency Assurance grew 4.4percent ; Advisory 9.2percent; Tax 8.6percent; and Transaction Advisory Services (TAS) 15.5percent. Revenue also increased across all four of the EY geographic areas: the Americas 8.5percent; Europe, Middle East, India and Africa (EMEIA) 7.1percent; AsiaPacific 9.1percent; and Japan more than doubled its growth to 7.5percent.

Across the developed

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Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

The Proposed Transaction is still subject to the review and clearance of The Nigerian Stock Exchange and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as well as the approval of the shareholders of the Company.

The terms and conditions of the Proposed Transaction will be provided in the Scheme Document which will be dispatched to all shareholders following the receipt of the “noobjection” of the regulators and an order from the Federal High Court to convene a CourtOrdered Meeting.

“Further developments will be communicated to shareholders in due course.

A G Leventis (Nigeria) Plc shareholders are advised to exercise caution in dealing in the company’s shares until further information is provided”, the company said in a letter to the NSE signed by Bola Adebisi, Company Secretary/Legal Adviser. www.businessday.ng

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markets, the US achieved another impressive year, with $15.3billion in revenue, a 9.1percent increase over FY18 (up from 7.3percent in FY18).

Growth was led by Transaction Advisory Services due to a strong US capital and M&A market.

The US Advisory business also had double-digit growth supported by performance improvement services. Strong demand for transaction tax and international tax services and a steady flow of new audit engagements also contributed to revenue growth.

Carmine Di Sibio, EY Global Chairman and CEO, says: “While the past year has seen a number of strains in the global economy – from trade tensions, protectionism and recession fears – we have achieved strong growth from our continued focus on long-term value creation using technology to transform traditional EY services and to launch new, innovative solutions.

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FTSE 100 Index 7,291.43GBP -34.65-0.47%

Nikkei 225 22,098.84JPY +19.75+0.09%

Generic 1st ‘DM’ Future 26,793.00USD -170.00-0.63%

Deutsche Boerse AG German Stock Index DAX 12,307.15EUR -35.18-0.28%

S&P 500 Index 2,970.99USD -20.79-0.69%

Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index 2,985.34CNY +8.26+0.28%

13.314

Stock investors lose additional N149bn as sentiment remains negative nvestors in Nigeria’s stock market booked N149billion loss on Tuesday September 24 due to persisting negative feelings at the Bourse.

The year-to-date (YtD) return advanced further into the negative region, now at -12.98percent. Month-to-date (MtD), the market has lost 1.25percent of its value.

The stock market’s benchmark performance indicator dropped by 1.08percent to close on Tuesday at 27,352.24 points as against preceding trading day’s 27,657.27points.

The value of listed stocks decreased to N13.314trillion from a preceding day high of N13.463trillion.

Market watchers saw how the equities market remained pressured as most blue-chip stocks closed lower leading to the market breadth settling in the negative territory for the second trading day into

Global market indicators

SEC seeks vibrant commodities trading ecosystem

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n its avowed determination to further deepen the capital market and have a vibrant commodities exchange, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is set to hold a roundtable on the commodities Trading Ecosystem.

According to the Acting Director General of the SEC, Mary Uduk, the Roundtable which is scheduled to hold on October 3, 2019 in Lagos with the theme: ‘Building a strong Commodities Trading Ecosystem for Inclusive Economic Development’ is expected to convene industry experts, policy makers and thought leaders to have discussions to further develop the commodities market in Nigeria.

Uduk said the objective of the roundtable is to obtain the buy-in of policy makers and agencies of government and to get perspectives of stakeholders towards encouraging investments and get more participation in the commodities market.

According to Uduk, “The Capital Market Master Plan did an analysis of where we are and where we want to be as the leading capital market in Africa and one of the areas is the Commodities market which is very important, but one of the least developed. The Nigerian economy is mainly agrarian driven, all states of the federation have exportable quantities of commodities and we have some of the highest grades in the world.

“Government wants to diversify to agriculture and so we need to be able to export some of these commodities.

If the farmers do very well, the earnings of the country will be boosted” She said.

She disclosed that these commodities can be exported, while on the other hand industries can be set up that will employ a large number of our teeming population.

“If we can develop this very well, our country will be better for it. What we need now are better pricing, transparency and better quality and these are what we set to achieve with the farmers and that is why the Commodities Exchange is @Businessdayng

important.

“The crude form they are trading now does not provide the farmers the benefit of price discovery, transparency among others. The only way to achieve these is to have an exchange hence the need arose to set up the Technical Committee to look holistically at all the issues, the nation needs to harness the full potentials in the Commodities market.

According to her, the aim of SEC is to have an efficient commodities exchange because right now that sector of

Mary Uduk, acting director general, SEC

the capital market is dormant and that is why the Commission is leading other capital market stakeholders on capacity building and public enlightenment campaigns.

“We have already commenced capacity building for stakeholders and the public on commodities exchange to bridge the current knowledge gap to ensure we reap the benefits of trading in commodities, all these are part of the implementation of the report of its Technical Committee on Commodities Trading Ecosystem” she said. Some of the topics to be discussed at the roundtable include, enabling environment for functional commodities trading system, developing a thriving commodities market: success stories from Africa and Emerging economies and Private sector involvement: Key to a strong commodities trading system.

Recall that the Commodities Trading Ecosystem committee’s report, published on SEC’s website, contains no fewer than 40 recommendations on how to have an efficient commodities exchange

Wednesday 25 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

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Wednesday 25 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

POLITICS & POLICY Ishaku promises to provide more funds for community development NATHANIEL GBAORON, Jalingo

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araba State Governor, Darius Ishaku has promised to make funds more available to the Community and Social Development Projects (CSDP) in the state to enable the agency reach more communities in the state.

Governor Ishaku made the pledge on Tuesday at training session organised by the CSDP for local government stakeholders in Community Development Plans (CDP).

The governor, who was represented by Saleh Wunuji, permanent secretary with the state ministry of finance, said that “the remarkable transformation going on at the rural areas through the CSDP has helped to bring the government closer to the people than ever before in the history of this state.”

“I am overwhelmed by the testimonies of the people who are getting access to power supply, portable water, roads, and several other interventions for the first time. I strongly commend the management of CSDP for judiciously using the funds at their disposal

for the development of the people. As a government, I want to assure you that we will do even more in the days to come. More funds will be made available so that other communities will also benefit from these projects,” he said.

Rimamsikwe Karma, chairman of Ussa Local Government Area, who spoke on behalf of the local government chairmen and the other stake-

holders in the state, said that “the CSDP has become the unstoppable rescue train captained by the governor himself with a very strong crew at the CSDP determined to reach the people in the rural areas despite all the challenges that are there”.

Earlier, the state general manager of CSDP, Iremia Ezekiel Danjuma said that the training had become impera-

tive to ensure that the people are abreast with the best practices in community development projects planning and execution so as to ensure that the projects delivered are of the best quality.

Danjuma urged the people to take ownership of the projects in their various communities and to guard them jealously so that they will last long for further generations to also benefit from them.

Douye Diri

L-R: Annette Dixon, World Bank Vice President For Human Development; Henrietta Fore, Executive Director, UNICEF; Godwin Obaseki, Governor of Edo State, Nigeria; Mabel Van Oranje, Chair- Girls Not Brides, Peter Tabichi, 2019 Global Teacher Prize Winner at the World Bank Group event on Ending Learning Poverty.

Kogi West: Appeal court reserves judgment in Adeyemi vs Melaye case FELIX OMOHOMHION, Abuja

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he tussle for the Kogi West Senatorial District, shifted to the Appeal Court, Abuja, on Tuesday, as Senators Dino Melaye and Smart Adeyemi argued their cases before the 3-man appeal panel.

After listening to their submissions, the court reserved judgment in the three separate appeals brought before it

by Melaye, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC).

Justice Abubakar Datti Yahaya, who presided over the three appeals, announced that the date for judgment would be communicated to the parties in the case.

The National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Lokoja, Kogi State capital, had last month quashed the election of Melaye on the grounds of over-voting and declared Adeyemi as winner of the February 23 election.

The three applicants

prayed the appellate court to set aside the majority decision of the tribunal and restored the victory of Melaye.

The PDP, represented

by Jubrin Okutepa (SAN), in his final argument prayed the appeal court to set aside the majority decision of the tribunal against Melaye for what he termed denial of fair hearing and refusal to evaluate evidence adduced during the hearing.

The party claimed that the tribunal failed to evaluate the testimonies of its witnesses while no reference was made to all the documentary evidence it supplied before the tribunal.

He said the tribunal came to a wrong conclusion of over-voting, even when the petitioner did not tender voter register.

The PDP further claimed that the tribunal turned justice on its head when over-voting was used in cancelling the senatorial election and the number of collected permanent voter cards rather on the voter register as required by law.

The PDP therefore, urged the panel of Justices to invoke section 16 of the Court of Appeal Act and dismissed the petition for lacking in merit.

In the second appeal filed by INEC, through its lawyer, Kola Olowookere, the Appeal Court was urged to dismiss the allegation of mutilation of election result and favouring a particular candidate as alleged by the petitioner, Senator Adeyemi.

In the third appeal filed

by Melaye and argued

by Onyekachi Ikpeazu (SAN), he urged the Appeal Court to set aside the over-voting decision of the tribunal because it was based on hearsay instead of polling units agents’ result.

The senior counsel drew the attention of the Justices to the fact that only three witnesses were called, adding that the evidence of the three witnesses based on hearsay cannot justify the cancellation of the senatorial election.

Melaye’s counsel further submitted that muti-

lation of result sheet was untenable because the final result of senatorial election was endorsed by agents of the candidates and the parties, and that the petitioners failed to establish that the alleged mutilated result substantially affected the final result collation.

However, Senator Adeyemi and the All Progressives Congress (APC) pleaded with the appellate court to dismiss the three petitions because the petitioners were not denied fair hearing and that the tribunal based its findings of over voting on the report of INEC which comprehensively contained the number of collected voter cards unit by unit.

Adeyemi and APC through their counsel, Adekunle Otitoju, argued that INEC breached an order of the federal high court to the effect that the senatorial election result must be collated and announced in Kabba, the senatorial district headquarters and not in Lokoja as done by the electoral body.

Bayelsa guber: Dickson to lead PDP governorship campaign SAMUEL ESE, Yenagoa

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overnor Henry Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State has assured that he would lead the governorship campaign of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) flag bearer, Douye Diri for the November gubernatorial election.

Dickson, who stated this during a media chat in his office in Yenagoa told Bayelsans that he would also use the occasion of the campaign to thank them for their support in the 2015 governorship election.

The PDP had earlier named one of the governorship aspirants, Nimibofa Ayawei as the director-general of its governorship campaign, but the governor promised to be at every stop by the campaign train.

In the media chat which was broadcast live by some local television and radio stations, he refuted allegations that some members of his Restoration Team were defecting to other parties, saying that he faced a similar situation in 2015, but still emerged victorious.

He explained that defection was also a usual development at periods like this, asking rhetorically if stakeholders expected to see defections after the election. He stressed that they would not determine the outcome of the election.

While describing Diri as a tried and tested candidate with the requisite experience to govern the state, he cast aspersions at the All Progressives Congress (APC) and its candidate, David Lyon, saying he lacked the education and experience to govern Bayelsa.

According to Dickson, while the PDP has a candidate, there were still questions hanging around the governorship candidate of the APC due to ongoing litigations which could deny the party’s participation in the November 16 election.

The governor deflected the question about the running mate to Diri, which has remained a contentious issue within the party, arguing that it is the prerogative of the governorship candidate to name his running mate.

On the ongoing expansion of the Isaac Boro Expressway, he said he had already signed an irrevocable standing payment order (ISPO) to Julius Berger to ensure completion of the 12-kilometre road as soon as possible.

He accused the APC of sabotaging construction efforts by sending hoodlums to dig up roads in the capital Yenagoa in a repeat of what they did to derail him in 2015 and assured that the Bayelsa International Airport would be operational within one month with the completion of the perimeter fence.

We will make transparency our watchword in Oyo - Makinde REMI FEYISIPO, Ibadan

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eyi Makinde, governor of Oyo State, has pledged that his administration’s watchword would remain openness and transparency throughout his tenure.

The governor said that he would conduct the business of governance in the state in an open and transparent manner in order to bring the desired development to the state.

According to him, Oyo State is open for business and we try to take a different trajectory from what we have been used to in the past.

What we are doing is very simple. It’s just to be open and transparent; these are our watchwords.

Makinde, who stated this while receiving a delegation of the First City Monument Bank (FCMB) led by Bukola Smith, who paid him a courtesy call in his Office, Secretariat, Ibadan, said that Oyo State was open to business that breeds development.

A statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Taiwo Adisa, quoted the governor as saying, “We want to conduct government business in an open and transparent manner.”

He added that his admin-

istration was ready to partner any organisation whose proposal would bring value to the government and the people of the state.

Makinde assured the FCMB team that his government would give equal opportunities to all banks, urging the team to be comfortable in making their proposition.

The governor further stated that the working proposal submitted by the team would be studied and acted on accordingly, saying: “You don’t have to lobby anybody if what you have in your proposal is good and is able to bring value to the government and people of Oyo State. Of course, we will be open and discuss it with you. If we have issues that we are not clear about, we will put them on the table.

“So, you should really be comfortable dealing with us, because we will definitely give you equal opportunity with other banks. We don’t have any preference for any bank. We are value-driven. If there is value on the table, we will deal with.”

Earlier, the leader of the team, Bukola Smiths, who is also the Executive Director of FCMB, said the visit was to intimate the governor with the products of the bank.

Wednesday 25 September 2019

FT

BUSINESS DAY

47

FINANCIAL TIMES

World Business Newspaper

JANE CROFT IN LONDON AND GEORGE PARKER IN NEW YORK

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he UK Supreme Court has ruled that Boris Johnson’s advice to the Queen on suspending parliament was unlawful, plunging the government’s Brexit strategy into turmoil and prompting demands that the prime minister resign.

In a damning unanimous ruling, Britain’s highest court concluded the UK prime minister’s actions had stopped parliament from carrying out its scrutiny of the government.

Mr Johnson’s critics claimed the fiveweek suspension, or prorogation, to October 14 was intended to stifle debate on Brexit.

“The effect upon the fundamentals of our democracy was extreme,” said Brenda Hale, president of the Supreme Court.

“The court is bound to conclude, therefore, that the decision to advise Her Majesty to prorogue parliament was unlawful because it had the effect of frustrating or preventing the ability of parliament to carry out its constitutional functions without reasonable justification.”

Lady Hale added: “Parliament has not been prorogued. This is the unanimous judgment of all 11 justices.”

Parliament will now be recalled on Wednesday, and Mr Johnson is cutting short a three-day visit to New York to return to London. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said Mr Johnson should “consider his position and become the shortest serving prime minister there has ever been”.

Mr Johnson’s aides said the prime minister would not be resigning. But the authority of Mr Johnson, who is

Supreme Court rules against Boris Johnson on parliament’s suspension

Advice by prime minister to Queen declared unlawful by judges in unanimous verdict

Vladimir Putin meets Russia’s prime minister Dmitry Medvedev in Moscow on Monday © VIA REUTERS

due to address the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, and his ability to pursue a no-deal Brexit, are now badly damaged.

Mr Johnson told a business audience in New York he “strongly disagreed” with the Supreme Court ruling but respected its judgment.

He will fly back to London overnight, arriving just before the resumption of proceedings at Westminster. He will also hold a conference call with his cabinet later on Tuesday.

The court ruling is a landmark decision for the Supreme Court which has now laid down a marker

that courts have a wider ability to take a view of political decisions made by governments.

“Although this decision does not in any way stop the UK from withdrawing from the EU, it sets clear limits to the government,” said Nikos Skoutaris, a lecturer in EU law at the

University of East Anglia. “It reminds the executive that in its goal to ‘take back control’,it cannot simply frustrate the democratic processes and functions of the UK constitutional order.”

The case is also a huge victory for anti-Brexit campaigner Gina Miller and 70 parliamentarians who brought separate legal challenges in English and Scottish courts arguing the prorogation was unlawful. Ms Miller was supported in her legal battle by former Tory prime minister John Major.

Sir John said Mr Johnson owed parliament an “unreserved apology”.

“I hope this ruling from the Supreme Court will deter any future prime minister from attempting to shut down parliament, with the effect of stifling proper scrutiny and debate, when its sitting is so plainly in the national interest. No prime minister must ever treat the monarch or parliament in this way again.”

The Supreme Court had to consider two conflicting decisions by lower courts. The highest court in Scotland had ruled that Mr Johnson’s advice on prorogation was unlawful and “clandestine” and was aimed at stymying parliament. By contrast London’s High Court found that Mr Johnson’s action was not even reviewable by the courts.

Shares in private equity group Volkswagen bosses charged over emissions cheating EQT surge 25% after IPO Diess, Pötsch and Winterkorn accused of withholding information from shareholders Swedish investment firm valued at more than €7bn in offering JOE MILLER IN FRANKFURT

RICHARD MILNE, NORDIC AND BALTIC CORRESPONDENT

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hares in EQT surged by more than a quarter as the Swedish private equity firm became the biggest buyout group to list for years.

The Swedish group saw its shares jump from SKr67 to SKr84.57 in early trading on Tuesday, giving it a market capitalisation of more than €7bn.

In a sign of how strong the interest was from investors, EQT had already priceditsIPOtowardsthetopofitsprice range, which in turn was at a valuation well above the €4bn bankers indicated was possible earlier this summer.

Few private equity firms have listed on the stock market in recent years amid a wave of dissatisfaction from buyout executives at how investors have treated them. Oaktree and Carlyle both had disappointing IPOs in 2012 while smaller French firm Tikehau Capital achieved a valuation of €1.5bn two years ago.

Leon Black, co-founder of listed private equity firm Apollo, said in June that he had regrets about taking his group public. “The public market doesn’t understand creatures like us

very well,” he added.

EQT’s big first-day jump came amid a debate among market observers as to whether recent IPO attempts could mark the top of the current cycle. Sceptics point to the concerns around the now-postponed listing from WeWork in the US. Proponents argued that the listing of EQT — founded 25 years ago by the Wallenberg family of industrialists — would allow investors to benefit from the big management and performance fees earned by the top private equity firms.

Christian Sinding, EQT’s chief executive, told the Financial Times this month that the listing was “not particularly related to the cycle”. He added: “We’ve had a fairly long bull cycle. So as an investor today you have to be prepared for a certain change in the markets or a downturn.”

EQT raised SKr5.8bn ($600m) in new capital from the listing, while in total SKr13.5bn could be raised as existing shareholders such as the Wallenberg family investment vehicle Investor and senior executives sell down their stakes. Investor said its stake had been cut to 18.5 per cent in EQT but underscored that its shareholding was “long term”. www.businessday.ng

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er man pros e cutors have charged Volkswagen’s chief executive, chairman and former chief executive with market manipulation, for allegedly withholding information from shareholders about the carmaker’s emissions cheating scandal.

CEO Herbert Diess, chairman Hans Dieter Pötsch and former boss Martin Winterkorn are named in a 636-page indictment, brought by the public prosecutor in Braunschweig, close to where VW has its headquarters.

It accuses the trio of being aware of the presence of defeat devices in VW vehicles for months before the scandal broke in September 2015, and not complying with their legal duty under Germany’s Securities Trading Act to inform capital markets immediately.

S e p a rat e l y , D a i m l e r ha s agreed to pay an €870m fine over allegations that almost 700,000 of its diesel vehicles failed to comply with emissions regulations, although the Mercedes-Benz maker continues to challenge the German Federal

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Motor Transport Authority’s justification for recalling the cars affected.

VW, meanwhile, robustly defended the conduct of its executives in the lead-up to the “Dieselgate” scandal, as its supervisory board prepared to meet to discuss the indictment.

Hiltrud Werner, VW’s board member for integrity and legal affairs, said the company had “meticulously investigated this matter with the help of internal and external legal experts for almost four years” and added that the allegations were “groundless”.

Lawyers for the three men charged maintained that while their clients were made aware of compliance issues in emissions tests of VW’s EA 189 engines at the centre of the scandal during the summer of 2015, they could not have predicted the scale of the problem or the potential for multibillion dollar payouts, and saw no reason to alert the markets.

Prosecutors allege that the executives deliberately sat on the information, thus “unlawfully influencing the company’s share price”. Shares in the German carmaker plunged more than 40 per cent in the aftermath of

@Businessdayng

Dieselgate four years ago, wiping billions of euros from its market value.

Mr Diess, who joined VW from rival BMW in July 2015, is accused of having knowledge of test manipulations and an understanding of the consequences to the company’s bottom line from as early as July 27. Details of the matter were first published by the US Environmental Protection Agency authorities on September 18.

VW’s first announcement came several days later, on September 22. It said it was “working at full speed to clarify irregularities” concerning the software used in diesel engines, and had set aside €6.5bn to deal with the fallout. The scandal ended up costing the group more than €30m in legal fees and compensation payments.

After meeting on Tuesday, members of VW’s supervisory board came to the defence of the indicted managers, saying that the rapid fall in VW’s share price was “due to the fact that the US authorities published their allegations completely unexpectedly during ongoing discussions with Volkswagen”.

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Wednesday 25 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

FT

NATIONAL NEWS

Ghosn opens up host of questions with $1m SEC deal Former Nissan boss hopes US settlement will not impact defence against Japanese charges LEO LEWIS AND KANA INAGAKI IN TOKYO

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arlos Ghosn has agreed to pay $1m to settle fraud charges with the US Securities and Exchange Commission over allegations the former Nissan boss hid more than $140m of his pay package.

Nissan and Greg Kelly, a former director, also reached a settlement with US regulators but all three neither admit nor deny any of the charges made by the SEC. The US regulatory action comes at a crucial moment. Mr Ghosn, who was arrested last November in Tokyo, is set to appear in court next year to deny several charges by Japanese prosecutors that he inflated his pay and used Nissan funds for personal gain. The details of the SEC’s document are laid out with an assertiveness that seems to hit Mr Ghosn’s reputation hard. But for all its apparent certainties, the SEC’s document raises as many questions as it answers.

Why did Mr Ghosn settle with the SEC? Mr Ghosn’s decision to settle with the SEC is based on the hope of his vast international legal team that doing so would not have any negative impact on his criminal trial in Japan.

Mr Ghosn has vowed to “vigorously fight” the charges.

Junichiro Hironaka, his lawyer, said on Tuesday that a court dispute with the SEC would have been too time-consuming and expensive — and he is surely correct. “This makes economic sense,” Mr Hironaka said.

“Mr Ghosn can now focus his energy on striking back (in Japan).”

But that confidence may be misplaced. As well as preparing for trial, Mr Ghosn and his team are engaged in a worldwide media battle for the moral high ground and the perception that he has been the victim of a Japanese nationalistic conspiracy.

Has the SEC found anything new?

In a 22-page complaint, the SEC provided more details than Japanese prosecutors have yet released of how Mr Ghosn allegedly hid more than $140m of his pay package. It did not make a single new allegation, and — a big caveat — its conclusions, which appeared to be based largely on documents and evidence provided by Nissan and Japanese prosecutors, were reached without interviewing Mr Ghosn.

But its timing means that the SEC has been first out of the blocks in laying out granular details of one of the charges Mr Ghosn faces. The regulator cites letters and email exchanges with Nissan employees, many of which are likely to come up again when he stands trial in Japan.

The big significance of the SEC’s complaint, though, is that for the first time since his arrest almost a year ago, a government institution other than the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office has formally laid out why it thinks Mr Ghosn was involved in something unlawful.

That conclusion dents the Ghosn camp’s claims that the Japanese charges were concocted as part of a conspiracy to bring down a promi-

nent foreign figure.

“The settlement with SEC does weaken Ghosn’s claims that he was framed,” said Yasuyuki Takai, a former prosecutor and now a defence lawyer. “It will also have a certain impact impression wise on Japanese judges.”

But “unlawful” is not the same as “criminal”, and the SEC’s charges do not mean that Mr Ghosn’s conviction in Japan is anything like a foregone conclusion.

Whose names are missing?

Despite its apparent thoroughness on the alleged attempts to disguise the scale of Mr Ghosn’s pay, the SEC document leaves some glaring gaps. It is the kind of omission that has prompted questions over why he and his top aide, Greg Kelly, are the only two individuals facing criminal charges in a fraud that must, by definition, have involved many more participants.

In its explanation of how these schemes were set up and administered, the SEC includes multiple references to the acquiescence and co-operation of “Nissan subordinates” and “senior employees”.

It does not mention Hiroto Saikawa, Mr Ghosn’s handpicked successor as chief executive of Nissan, in whose name several years of falsified annual reports were filed.

Mr Saikawa stepped down as Nissan boss last week after he admitted to being improperly overpaid.

Nissan has maintained that other executives, including Mr Saikawa, were not aware of the understated pay because Mr Ghosn had the sole authority to set director compensation.

Why did Mr Ghosn go to such lengths to understate his pay?

At the heart of the SEC’s document is an explanation of what drove Mr Ghosn as he pushed his staff into the alleged web of fraudulence that concealed the true scale of his salary.

Rules imposed by Japan’s Financial Services Agency from 2010 forced companies to reveal individual executive salaries over ¥100m ($1m). Many Japanese companies detested the idea, and many CEOs felt vulnerable to criticism. But for Mr Ghosn, it appears to have triggered a genuine crisis.

“After the impending change to Japan’s disclosure rules was announced, Ghosn became concerned about criticism that might result in the Japanese and French media if his total compensation became publicly known,” the SEC said in its complaint.

This interpretation is pivotal.

If accurate, it depicts Mr Ghosn ripped between two positions — his heartfelt belief that he had saved Nissan and deserved every last yen of remuneration, versus his heroic public status in Japan that he did not want damaged by the perception of personal greed.

In a way, the FSA rule forced on Mr Ghosn the great culture clash between himself and Japan that he had always strived to avoid: his efforts to downplay his salary may reveal a lack of confidence that he had truly convinced Japan and Nissan that he was worth the money. www.businessday.ng

Hunter Biden and his father, Joe, the former US vice-president © 2016 Teresa Kroeger

Trump impeachment calls rise over Ukraine contacts

Pressure intensifies after reports president pressured Kiev to investigate former VP’s son DEMETRI SEVASTOPULO IN NEW YORK AND LAUREN FEDOR IN WASHINGTON

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emocratic calls for impeachment proceedings against Donald Trump grew on Tuesday after reports the president told White House staff to withhold $391m in aid to Kiev days before allegedly pressuring Ukraine’s leader to investigate the son of former US vice-president Joe Biden.

The New York Times and Washington Post reported on Monday that the US president in July told Mick Mulvaney, the acting White House chief of staff, to withhold the military aid despite the fact Congress had approved its disbursal.

The revelation has raised new concerns that Mr Trump may have attempted to use millions in taxpayer dollars as leverage to persuade a foreign leader to gather dirt on a front-runner for the Dem-

ocratic presidential nomination.

The reports have prompted a group of freshman Democrats in the House of Representatives, many from conservative-leaning districts, to publicly call for impeachment proceedings in a column published by the Washington Post.

“Congress must determine whether the president was indeed willing to use his power and withhold security assistance funds to persuade a foreign country to assist him in an upcoming election,” the congressmen wrote.

“If these allegations are true, we believe these actions represent an impeachable offence.”

The controversy centres on a July 25 telephone conversation Mr Trump held with Volodymyr Zelensky, the new Ukrainian president. The phone call prompted a whistle-blower within the US intelligence community to raise a red flag with superiors, reportedly because of Mr Trump’s comments about Mr Biden during the

conversation. Mr Trump has acknowledged discussing Mr Biden during the call.

While many Democrats refrained from pushing for impeachment following the Russia probe led by Robert Mueller, the mood on Capitol Hill appears to be rapidly shifting.

“We are 100 per cent moving into impeachment territory,” said one Democratic lawmaker.

“There’s no question about it.

None.”

Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic House Speaker, has long opposed impeachment over concerns that it would energise Trump voters and have no chance of success, since the Republican-controlled Senate would not vote to oust the president, even if he were impeached in Congress’ lower house.

But the California lawmaker has come under growing pressure from her members to alter her stance because of the Ukraine revelations.

EU court strikes down Brussels’ €30m tax ruling against Starbucks Judge says Vestager failed to prove ‘existence of an economic advantage’ to US company MEHREEN KHAN IN BRUSSELS AND JAVIER ESPINOZA IN LONDON

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U judges have struck down a European Commission order for Starbucks to pay €30m in back taxes to the Netherlands, in a blow for Brussels’ state-aid enforcer Margrethe Vestager.

The EU’s second highest court on Tuesday ruled Brussels was “unable to demonstrate the existence of an advantage in favour of Starbucks” from a “sweetheart” corporate tax arrangement for the US company in the Netherlands. The general court annulled the 2015 decision from Ms Vestager that ruled the corporate tax arrangement constituted illegal state aid.

In a similar case, the general court, however, found that car-

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maker Fiat Chrysler would have to pay as much as €30m in back taxes to Luxembourg under a tax scheme that did constitute illegal state aid.

Both governments had challenged the commission’s decisions, which marked a significant escalation in Brussels’ investigation of multinational tax avoidance.

Menno Snel, the Netherlands minister responsible for tax, welcomed the decision and said the Dutch government was in compliance with international standards on corporate tax laid out by the OECD. “This ruling means that the tax authorities have not treated Starbucks better or differently than other companies.”

In response Luxembourg’s ministry of finance said it would “analyse the judgement with due diligence”. “We will continue to par@Businessdayng

ticipate actively and constructively in the ongoing discussions on a reform of the international corporate tax system,” said a statement from the ministry.

The rulings are being closely watched as Apple is also appealing against a decision from Ms Vestager that it must repay the Irish government €13bn in back taxes — by far the highest repayment bill Brussels has handed to any company. The Irish government is also challenging the ruling that will probably take years to conclude.

Ms Vestager will serve her second five-year term as the EU’s competition commissioner from November 1. In a statement, the Danish commissioner said she would “study the judgments carefully before deciding the next step”.

Brussels can appeal today’s ruling.

Wednesday 25 September 2019

BUSINESS DAY

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FINANCIAL TIMES

COMPANIES & MARKETS

@ FINANCIAL TIMES LIMITED

Prosecutors probe surveillance of star Swiss banker Iqbal Khan Executive who is joining UBS from Credit Suisse has raised a case with Zurich prosecutors SAM JONES IN VIENNA AND STEPHEN MORRIS IN LONDON

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wiss prosecutors are investigating whether Credit Suisse had a highflying executive who defected to arch rival UBS illegally put under surveillance that led to a confrontation outside a chic Zurich restaurant last week.

Iqbal Khan, who ran Credit Suisse’s wealth management business before abruptly leaving in July, has raised a case with Zurich’s cantonal prosecutor.

Three men tailed Mr Khan, 43, his wife and child, through the streets of Zurich last Wednesday, culminating in a chase and a confrontation outside a restaurant behind the Swiss National Bank, German and Swiss newspapers reported this weekend.

“The Zurich public prosecutor’s office has opened a criminal case for coercion and threat,” an official told the Financial Times. “We cannot provide further information because of the ongoing procedure.” Three arrests have been made by Zurich police.

In an internal memo sent to Credit Suisse staff today, a copy of which was seen by the FT, the bank said that there had been “significant inaccuracies” in the reports of events which had emerged over the weekend. The short memo gave no details as to what elements of the incident the bank disputes.

“A detailed enquiry has been launched by the board of directors into these events and we

are confident that the truth will emerge,” according to the memo signed by chief executive Tidjane Thiam and chairman Urs Rohner.

Mr Khan noticed the surveillance and attempted to evade it with his family, resulting in a chase, according to people familiar with the matter. When he could not shake off the men pursuing him, a verbal confrontation is understood to have occurred.

A spokesperson for Mr Khan did not respond to a request for comment. Credit Suisse declined to comment.

The ambitious Mr Khan’s sudden exit from Credit Suisse in July followed tensions with Mr Thiam over his profile and future, the Financial Times reported at the time. He was close to joining Swiss wealth manager Julius Baer as chief executive, but decided to join UBS at the last minute, according to two people familiar with the situation.

Last month he was named by UBS as the new co-head of its core wealth management unit, making him one of the leading internal contenders to succeed the bank’s chief executive Sergio Ermotti, now in his eighth year in charge.

Mr Khan is due to start in the role on October 1. At present he remains an employee of Credit Suisse.

Details of the incident first emerged on Friday, through the blog Inside Parade Platz, which reports on gossip from the insular, elite world of Swiss banking.

Failed promise of marketplace lending faces a new test Industry faces threat of economic slowdown just as underwriting skills show improvement ROBERT ARMSTRONG

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cott Sanborn, chief executive of Lending Club, describes his company’s core business in appealingly simple terms.

“We go after the nearly half of Americans that have credit card debt and tell them, you have a loan, and not a very good one,” he says.

Lending Club loans generally carry a lower interest rate than cards, making repayment more likely.

“These are high-quality loans that community and regional banks would have if they had the technical and operational capacity to originate them,” he says.

The summary captures the promise of marketplace lending, which took root on both sides of the Atlantic almost 15 years ago with the founding of Prosper and Lending Club in the US, and Zopa in the UK. Since then, investors have put millions behind the likes of SoFi, Greensky and Kabbage in the US and Funding Circle in the UK. The pitch is seductive: there are

good borrowers that banks cannot serve well because of high overheads, clunky technology and rigid regulation. But a tech platform can connect those borrowers with investors starved of yield in a world of low interest rates. Personal loans (Prosper, Lending Club, and Greensky), small business (Funding Circle and Kabbage) and even real estate (the UK’s Assetz Capital) could all be upended.

And the platforms themselves are capital-light business, charging fees for originating and servicing the loans while taking no direct credit risk — a formula for high returns.

Yet the industry has not delivered. Only a few marketplaces have achieved profitability, and only just. Of the biggest publicly traded marketplaces, Lending Club and Funding Circle are lossmaking and at OnDeck and Greensky margins are thin. Shares in all four are down over 70 per cent since they listed over the past few years. In July, Funding Circle shares lost half their value as the company cut its revenue growth outlook in half. www.businessday.ng

The Joint List of Arab Parties said they will not sit in a coalition with Benny Gantz, Blue and White party leader, although they have recommended that he be given the first opportunity to form a government © AFP

Israel’s Arab Joint List backs Benny Gantz President set to decide which party leader gets to form coalition MEHUL SRIVASTAVA IN TEL AVIV

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en of Israel’s newly elected Arab members of parliament have recommended that Benny Gantz, the leader of the Blue and White party, be allowed the first chance to form a government after last week’s inconclusive polls.

Israel’s president, Reuven Rivlin, is canvassing opinions from all the parliamentarians before assigning either Mr Gantz, or the embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the task of corralling 61 members of the 120-member Knesset into a coalition. Neither currently has a majority, signalling tortuous negotiations ahead.

Tuesday’s polls gave the Joint List of Arab Parties — which includes Islamists, Communists and Palestinian Nationalists — 13 seats after Arab turnout rose in response to Mr Netanyahu’s campaign.

All 13 have said they will not sit in a coalition with Mr Gantz, who has refused to back a return to peace negotiations with the Palestine Liberation Organisation.

Instead, the Joint List have pre-

sented their decision as a tactic to ensure that Mr Netanyahu, who has regularly assailed the Arab-Israeli parties, does not stand a chance of securing a record fifth premiership.

Mr Netanyahu’s Likud party trails behind Mr Gantz’s Blue and White by two seats, but the rightwing bloc of parties has secured 55 mandates out of the 61 required to create a government.

“The Arab Palestinian citizens of Israel have chosen to reject Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his politics of fear and hate, the inequality and division he advanced for the past decade,” the chairman of the Joint List wrote in an editorial in the New York Times. “We have decided to demonstrate that Arab Palestinian citizens can no longer be rejected or ignored.”

Three of the members of the Joint List declined to give either Mr Gantz or Mr Netanyahu their backing, including the influential Balad party lawmaker Ahmed Tibi, often cast as a foil to Mr Netanyahu’s Likud in election slogans like “Bibi or Tibi,” referring to the four-time premier’s nickname.

Arab parties have often stayed on the sideline of Israeli politics,

even as the Arab population of Israel has grown to about a fifth.

Arabs left within the borders of Israel established by the war in 1948 were eventually granted citizenship, but lived under martial law until about 1966.

Palestinians, including East Jerusalem residents, who came under Israeli-controlled territory in the 1967 war, do not have the right to vote in Israeli elections. In elections in 1992, the Arab parties threw their unofficial support behind then Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, as he pursued negotiations with the PLO, eventually leading to the 1993 Oslo Peace Accords.

Mr Netanyahu assailed their tentative and symbolic backing of Mr Gantz as a threat to Zionism.

“The Arab parties that oppose Israel as a Jewish & democratic state and glorify terrorists recommended Gantz for prime minister,” he said in a statement. “The Likud will make every effort to establish a stable and strong government committed to maintaining Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.

We can’t have a government that relies on Arab parties that oppose the State of Israel.”

How Facebook’s Libra fuelled push for central bank-run digital currencies Technical debate previously confined to research papers has now become an urgent matter MARTIN SANDBU IN LONDON

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hen Facebook announced its plans for a private digital payment token called Libra in June, its intention was hardly to goad governments into creating a public electronic currency instead.

But that may turn out to be just what it has achieved, by injecting political urgency into a technical debate previously confined to the research papers of central banks.

Bruno Le Maire, the French finance minister, wants next

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month’s World Bank and IMF annual meetings to open a global discussion on the need for government-issued electronic currencies, or e-cash.

Mr Le Maire has been one of Libra’s most outspoken critics. At a meeting of EU finance ministers earlier this month he said that “under current circumstances, we should refuse the development of Libra in the EU”, and called for a common European framework for digital currencies.

Another political impetus came from Mark Carney, Bank of England governor, who suggested @Businessdayng

in a speech in August that a new “synthetic” currency, “perhaps [provided] through a network of central bank digital currencies” rather than a private provider such as Facebook, could gradually replace the dominance of the US dollar in international transactions.

Why is this an issue now?

The Libra announcement shocked policymakers and regulators. The G7 group of large economies immediately set up a working group on Libra and other so-called “stablecoins”, chaired by Benoît Cœuré of the European Central Bank’s executive board.

Thebigread

BUSINESS DAY Wednesday 25 September 2019 www.businessday.ng

Can Africa’s continental free trade area overcome its high risks?

A large pool of adjustment funds to offset dislocation costs must be integral to the AfCFTA Harry Broadman

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frican policymakers have long sought mechanisms to increase international trade, as a means to integrate the region into the world economy, as a pathway to sustained growth and to make a permanent dent in poverty. As a highly fragmented continent comprised of numerous small countries, many of which are landlocked, this goal has been largely elusive. However, Africa’s leaders are now on the verge of an economic gamechanger.

This year, 54 of the 55 countries in Africa became signatories of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), an unprecedented initiative to generate vast economies of scale on an intra-continental basis, principally by eliminating 90 per cent of tariffs on goods and significantly reducing non-tariff barriers (NTBs) on merchandise and are enshrined in policies ranging the financing for, and services, such as differences in at Dock workers Moften ombasa port, Kenya © Bloomberg licensing regimes and regula- external to trade agreements implementing a continent and are cynically, but some- wide social safety net able to tory standards.

The AfCFTA aims to inte- times accurately, viewed as meet these needs must be an grate the entire region into an afterthought. The size and immediate priority for Africa’s a unified market that could duration of financing for such leaders before the execution of embody a combined GDP of assistance is the responsibility the AfCFTA. One cannot overstate the $2.5tn and a population of of each signatory, rather than over 1bn, 60 per cent of whom a collective enterprise among magnitude of meeting such all jurisdictions. The ineffec- a challenge. This is not only are below the age of 25.

To say the AfCFTA was a tiveness of the standalone US because Africa is generally heroic undertaking would be Trade Adjustment Assistance comprised of low-income an understatement. At the programme in ameliorating countries, but also because same time, it is hard to argue the effects within the US of the the elimination of tariffs under with its intent and goals. The North American Free Trade the AfCFTA will necessarily reIMF estimates that the AfCFTA Agreement (Nafta) is one ex- duce African governments’ fiscal resources. All other things will produce an increase in ample of such problems.

Whereas a wealthy couneconomic welfare for the continent as a whole of between 2 try like the US has wriggle and 4 per cent, depending on room to rectify such design how extensively and quickly flaws, in Africa, home to half its reforms are implemented. of the world’s extreme poor, Those are hardly inconse- the stakes for easing into a If Africa’s leaders quential gains — if they can regime of trade liberalisation, especially one as ambitious as look to the adbe realised.

But the AfCFTA’s success the AfCFTA, are a great deal vanced countries will depend on the extent to higher.

Thankfully, social safety which it incorporates from the to model such outset a robust, sufficiently nets in Africa have greatly a programme, financed and continent-wide enlarged over the past decade integrated programme to al- and a half (albeit, of course, they will fail. In leviate the significant transi- from a low base). However, tions and dislocations among there is appreciable variance advanced econofirms and workers that trade in their scale across countries. liberalisation policies induce Few are designed or nearly mies, adjustment everywhere around the globe, large enough to deal with mechanisms are while also facilitating the entry existing unemployment and underemployment, weatherof new businesses and memgenerally ill derelated calamities or external bers of the workforce. signed If Africa’s leaders look to the macroeconomic turbulence advanced countries to model such as a global downturn in such a programme, they will commodity prices, let alone fail. In advanced economies, the additional socio-economadjustment mechanisms are ic impacts of significant trade generally ill designed. They liberalisation. Structuring, ar-

”

equal, this means there will be diminished public funds available for trade adjustment assistance. Unctad has estimated that this reduction will be more than $4bn annually continent-wide.

Needless to say, truly innovative approaches to meet such financing needs are called for, beyond the routine method of securing loans from multilateral financial institutions. One such approach might be the formation of a continental public-private partnership, in which African businesses that will profit from the expansion of trade under AfCFTA would be major financiers.

There is an equally critical issue that must be confronted by the continent’s leadership before the AfCFTA becomes effective. Unlike other regions’ pursuit of regional integration, Africa’s existing pattern of trade suffers from a pernicious structural problem: less than one-fifth of the average African country’s exports are bought by customers located in other African states. Put differently, more than 85 per cent of exports from African economies are sold outside the continent. Africa’s pattern of low intraregional trade is almost the opposite of what occurs in most other parts of the world.

This anomalous condition stems largely from the fact that not only are the vast majority

of African businesses locally based small and mediumsized enterprises, but also that there is a daunting lack of costeffective infrastructure to get goods and services to market at competitive rates. Indeed, there are instances where, because of variation in railway gauges across some African countries, it is necessary to offload shipments at a border and put them either on different rail cars or on trucks to get them to their final destination.

The cost of shipping a product from, say, Johannesburg to Kigali can be a multiple of that of shipping the same good from Johannesburg to Beijing.

The consensus of projections of the effects of the AfCFTA is that once fully implemented it could increase intra-African trade of goods and services by as much as a third, with most of the nearterm growth in trade taking place in manufacturing. Indeed, Africa’s manufacturing sector is thought to be able to double in size and create 13m to 16m new jobs under the AfCFTA. This would help shift the composition of Africa’s exports to the rest of the world away from undue dependence on raw commodities.

Nevertheless, for such gains to be realised, the longstanding and well-known continentwide infrastructure gap, which exists not only within but also across Africa’s countries, must be addressed. Closing this gap is arguably the largest public good for which the requisite financing needs to be incorporated within AfCFTA from day one. It is the other critical area where a continental publicprivate partnership should be sought by Africa’s leaders without delay.

Much is at stake for a successful AfCFTA. If there ever was an economic growth opportunity for the African continent to act in unison as well as to show other parts of the world how to design integrated trade reform, this is it.

Harry G Broadman is a partner and chair of the emerging markets practice at the Berkeley Research Group LLC, a global consultancy focused on international investment, and a member of the Johns Hopkins Faculty. He is a former US Assistant Trade Representative; private equity investment executive; PwC chief economist; World Bank official; and faculty member at Harvard University.

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