Businessday 27 apr 2018

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Stakeholders outline ways to deepen Nigeria’s capital market DIPO OLADEHINDE, MICHEAL ANI & BUMMI BAILEY

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n a friendly and educative session on Thursday, investors, regulators, shareholders and other stakeholders discussed major issues facing Nigeria’s capital markets, probable solutions and means to deepen the market.

The discussions held during BusinessDay 2018 Capital Market and Investors Forum with the

Onyema explains dearth of IPOs on NSE Nigeria’s problem is lack of respect for capital – MD FMDQ Regulators need to make markets attractive - DMO DG

theme “Catalysing Listings in a Thriving Markets” outlined the need for long term capital in the nation’s capital markets.

Oscar Onyema, the Chief Ex-

ecutive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) explained in his keynote speech the several factors that have resulted in a lack of Initial Public Offerings

(IPO) since January 2015.

“The combined effects of the 2015 national elections, slump in commodity prices, global ecoContinues on page 34

$496m aircraft purchase: Senate, House of Reps seek further guidance on next steps

Continues on page 35

... as foreign brands remain in Abuja OBINNA EMELIKE

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n spite of the several assurances from the present administration on addressing security challenges, especially Continues on page 35

Coming out Sunday Read in BDSUNDAY Part One of the text of the 48-page 2017 Country Report on Human Rights released in Washington DC. The report is a very damning assessment of Nigeria under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari since 2015 by the United States Department of State.

PARLIAMO BAMBINI, producing locally manufactured furniture & clothing for children

OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, & KEHINDE AKINTOLA, Abuja

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Hospitality firms hold back investments in northern region on security challenges

Inside

... as opposition moves for Buhari’s impeachment ... Senate wants NNPC sanctioned over alleged N216bn subsidy fraud

oth the Senate and House of Representatives have taken a decision to seek further guidance on how to handle the alleged constitutional

FGN BONDS

TREASURY BILLS

L-R: Bola Onadele. Koko, MD/CEO, FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange; Patience Oniha, director-general, Debt Management Office (DMO)/guest of honour; Oscar Onyema, CEO, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE)/keynote speaker; Bola Ajomale, MD/CEO, NASD OTC, and Haruna Jalo-Waziri, MD/CEO, Central Securities Clearing System, at the BusinessDay Capital Markets and Investor Forum 2018, with the theme “Catalysing Listings in a Thriving Market” in Lagos, yesterday.

Pic by Olawale Amoo

Nigeria, others to earn $1.5m for World Cup preparation costs

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Herdsmen killings: FG, ECOWAS move to end open grazing … as food scarcity looms INNOCENT ODOH, Abuja

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he Federal GovernmentandtheEconomic CommunityofWestAfrican States (ECOWAS) have deepened their collaboration to end the incessant crises involving herdsmen and famers,whichhavekilledscoresand displaced many more across West Africa,especiallyNigeria.

President Muhammadu Buhari told a joint high-level meeting of ECOWAS Ministers of Security andAgriculture/AnimalResources On Pastoralism and Cross-Border Transhumance,onThursday,that open grazing of cattle needed to bereviewedinfavourofranching.

Represented by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the President, who declared the meeting open, noted that ranching was the most productive method of modern animal husbandry, adding that for West Africa to curb the damaging conflict it must meet this global standard.

Osinbajo submitted that the increasing deaths and destruction associated with the conflict had increased the tension, which had now been intertwined with ethnic and religious sentiments

and compounded by criminal banditry.

Vice President pointed out thatthecurrentcrisiswastriggered by competition for water and fodder, which were increasingly shrinking due to the negative impacts of climate change.

“Inrecentyears,wehaveseenan alarming escalation in tension betweencropfarmersandpastoralists acrossWestAfricaandeventhough these tensions have their origins in thecompetitionforresourcessooner than later they become overlaid or intertwinedwithethnic,religiousand partisangrievances.

“This is complicated by the actions of criminal bandits who havetakenadvantageoftheproliferations of illegal weapons as well asourporousbordersacrossWest Africa. Clearly the importance of regional cooperation in border management,inlawenforcement andinidentitymanagementcannotbeoveremphasised,”hesaid.

He noted that although the 1979 ECOWAS Protocols on Free Movement of Peoples and Goods guaranteefreemovementofgoods and services, “Nigeria can no longer allow the undocumented movement of goods and people that simply contribute to our securitychallenges.Wemustensure that the protocols are complied

with and the sections are duly followed.”

He added that the 1998 Protocol relating to Transhumance could be activated to address the crisis, warning that the crisis could cause serious food insecurity in the sub-region if not curbed since over 70 percent of the population depended on crop production for theirsurvival.

President of the ECOWAS Commission, Jean Claude Kassi Brou in his remarks, said despite the fact that West Africa had been recognised as livestock producing region, with 60 million heads of cattle, over 160 million small ruminantsandwellover400million poultry, the region had witnessed a deterioration in pastoralism and transhumance both within countries and between member states ofthecommunityandneighbouringcountries.

“In recent years, we have recorded numerous cases of conflicts, which unfortunately claimed human lives, caused forced population displacements, led to erroneous stigmatisation of ethno-linguistic and cultural groupsagainstabackdropofinsecurityandterrorism,resultedinthe adoptionoflegaltextsbycountries to delay, prevent or prohibit the movementofcattle.

Friday 27 April 2018

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Friday 27 April 2018

Harvard Business Review

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ManagementDigest

Does original content help streaming services attract more subscribers?

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ay TV has over $100 billion in revenue in the United States, with a wide array of large and small firms vying for a piece of the action.

As recently as 2012, over 90% of U.S. households subscribed to cable, satellite or another pay TV service. But the market is in turmoil — despite attempts to suggest it’s business as usual — because that proportion has dropped in recent years. Now, many “cord cutters,” or people who have ended their pay TV subscription, and “cord nevers,” or those who have never subscribed, are using streaming video services instead.

These changes aren’t particularly surprising, as they have antecedents in the early days of streaming. Further, we expect the calculus to continue: As more content becomes available, more households will find it worthwhile to drop traditional pay TV and merely stream.

More interesting is what’s driving the changes. Users have always wanted to save money on their subscriptions, for example, so price is a factor. Delivery method and technology matter too. But perhaps most important is original content, which some industry insiders believe can and does drive streaming subscriptions. Consistent with this belief is the recent trend of streaming content providers investing more and more in original content — Netflix and Amazon very notably; even Apple is starting to make its own shows. (Though it’s worth noting that Netflix recently claimed that customers don’t care where content comes from.)

Is there evidence to support this belief in original content’s importance? And perhaps more compelling, was there any indication during the onset of streaming services that original content might drive subscriptions?

To answer these questions, Shane Greenstein of Harvard Business School and I re-

searched the drivers of cord cutting, with a particular focus on content. Netflix and Hulu began offering streaming video services in 2007 and 2008, respectively. By the end of 2008, both had partnered with major networks to provide television content. These streaming services for network content are known as over-the-top, and serve as alternative means for accessing such content. The emergence of these alternatives altered the purchase decision for customers. With our focus on content, we asked whether OTT content offerings are important drivers of cord cutting.

To perform our analyses, we used a rich data set provided by Forrester Research.

The data consisted of independent cross-sectional surveys of tens of thousands of American households on an annual basis. These surveys collect information on technological purchases and preferences, as well as a wide range of demographic information (such as income and education) and location. We focused our analysis on the last few years of the survey in our possession (2007—2009), when the aforementioned shifts in the video content market occurred in

the United States. This means our analysis examined choices by early potential streaming customers. Importantly, the Forrester data contained information on what television channels the respondents who subscribed to pay TV claimed to watch regularly. Using the internet archive and news releases, we augmented this data with information on television content offered by Hulu and Netflix by the end of 2009.

Our analysis took each household in our 2009 data, and identified the set of households in the 2008 data that looked like that household on key demographic measures (location, education, household size, age of head of household and income). We then tested whether the 2008 households’ average viewing rate for television channels that offered content on Hulu and/or Netflix predicted the likelihood of a 2009 household subscribing to pay TV. Put more simply, we examined whether a household preferring channels subsequently offered by Hulu and Netflix predicted cord cutting.

The effectiveness of our approach rests on the assumption that the viewing habits of the 2009 households are, on aver-

age, the same as the viewing habits of their matched 2008 households. If these preferences predict cord cutting, it suggests that content replication is an important factor in the cord-cutting decision; if not, it suggests other factors are likely to be more important.

Our data indicates a significant increase in cord cutting from 2008 to 2009, making this period particularly promising for investigating its drivers.

Yet, our full analysis yields no evidence that a streaming service adding content from a TV channel is a notable driver of cord-cutting behavior. In other words, if the TV shows from someone’s favorite channel became available to stream on Netflix, for example, that alone didn’t make them more likely to end their pay TV subscription. We also we found evidence that households already prone to cord cutting (young and low-income people) became even more prone to do it during these years.

Our results indicate that if a streaming service wants to attract subscribers, offering content from TV channels is not a sufficient strategy. Building on this insight, we found that offering original content

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

can be one important way that streaming services can differentiate their offerings from competitors’. This finding both corroborates current trends around original content and shows that early streamers were already providing clues that this trend would emerge.

The latter point highlights the value in learning what drives (and doesn’t drive) early movers: The firms that most quickly understood the importance of original content stood to gain the most.

Looking ahead, it is notable that the profile of cord cutters and cord nevers still looks similar to what it was during our study. The likely next round of cord cutters are not wildly different from the early cutters of 2009, and the demographic trend we observed appears to be continuing. Further, given their demographic similarities to cord cutters, it is reasonable to believe our insights for cord cutters extend to cord nevers as well.

Consequently, it seems unlikely that this trend toward an emphasis on, and competition among, original content is likely to end soon. Within this setting, firms will have to strike a balance between investing in original content, which can drive subscriptions, and others’ content, which may drive retention given it takes up the majority of viewing hours.

(Jeff Prince is professor and chairman of business economics and public policy within the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. He is author of the textbook “Predictive Analytics for Business Strategy,” and co-author of the textbook “Managerial Economics and Business Strategy.”

Shane Greenstein is professor of business administration at Harvard Business School and co-chair of the HBS Digital Initiative. He is the author of the book “How the Internet Became Commercial.”)

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Friday 27 April 2018

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On being our brother’s keeper 1 EUGENIA ABU

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oo much is happening in today’s complicated world that if you are alone it is much lonelier than it was in the 70’s and the 80’s. It is tough out there and it is getting tougher.

So many things have contributed to the complications of this decade that it is getting more and more high wired.

First is the bludgeoning effect of social media, Instagram, Facebook and snapchat. Second is that desperate need to be like the joneses, something we did not feel that much pressured about when we were growing up. Add that to new and extreme leisure needs from drugs to extreme sports and the need to live more and more dangerously to get a rush. There is also the rise in driving under the influence, relationship challenges are at an all-time high and filial bonds are getting weaker by the day as fathers and sons are having a

moment of major disagreement and mothers no longer understand their arguing daughters and vice versa.

Something happened to society and dug deep into our very souls and unnerved us. Wars and bizarre killings are now front-loaded on television news networks that it is so easy to become depressed if you watch television news channels carpet to carpet.

There is very little to cheer you up.

The world has changed so drastically and technology has been a major part of this seismic shift. The internet has brought with it good and in several instances evil which includes child pornography, murder, suicide, serial killers and school murderers. It is an incredible time to be alive.

Resilience - that quality described by psychologists and psychiatrists as the ability to tough it out and be strong in the face of challenges and difficulties is not given to everyone. Some are born with it, others have to learn it and others still have to consciously build it. It is like working that muscle when you are working out and sweating it off at an exercise routine. Building inner core and watching yourself transform to a lean, toned better version of yourself. Resilient muscles can be built with practice. While it is easier said, trust me, it is possible.

I have often heard it said that Nigerians are resilient people.

While this is true to some extent, we also have among us a lot of vulnerable people. We have different personality types and therefore have different reactions to poverty, sadness and happiness It is fair to say we do not all possess this resilience of a thing but most of us are not trying to build it even in the smallest of things. Watch a family and see those who possess it are more often than not the ones who recover better when there is a challenge. Daunting as they are, we all deal with bankruptcy, grief, a broken heart, differently. There are those who have positive energy and continue to tell themselves it will get better no matter how bad it gets and there are those who are completely shattered by tragedy, a bad patch, love gone sour and have a hard time recovering. Others may never recover.

I have often heard it said that Nigerians are resilient people. While this is true to some extent, we also have among us a lot of vulnerable people. We have dif-

ferent personality types and therefore have different reactions to poverty, sadness and happiness. Two classmates at exactly the same position two years ago may have different outcomes in their lives down the road. It’s down to hard work, personality types and a bit of luck. Amongst our children, there are differences. Some take scolding better than others, some retain the family bad times in their head while others clean forget. Some are more sensitive than others while others are troopers. As a parent one must keep an eye on all these differences and validate children according to their strengths while gently working their weaknesses without necessarily dwelling on it. Children remember a lot of things, harbor a lot of things and are resentful of a lot of things. Children also remember happy moments, a kinder parent, a special aunty or Uncle. They file these things away in a memory card and it returns at the slightest challenge they have as adults more virulently. When you constantly tell a child he is awkward or she is not good enough, they carry it into adulthood and their memories are triggered by a nagging wife or a non-supportive husband. Parents be careful. Don’t say is it that small thing I used to say to her that you are saying is now making her a serial divorcee?

Don’t say, just because I used to beat his mother when she misbehaved is not an excuse for him to be violent and almost kill his wife. They were both nine years old when these things happened but they never forgot it. When you walk out of your family, especially the men, do you think that little girl old enough to be your daughter is worth the destruction of your children, the wife of your youth? When you bad mouth your husband all the time, how will that help your boys to be strong male role models and allow your daughters marry a decent man. Part of our duties as parents is not to bring up monsters. Today there are so many of them walking the street, looking okay but have gradually fallen apart. They do not know who they are and cannot even recognize love. This is where we all come in, where talk therapy is the new drug for maintaining a level of happiness, where a listening ear can be the difference between suicide for a brother, friend or sister and staying alive. To be our brother’s keeper is the next big thing to heal society but how do we even begin to go about it. Next week we bring you highlights of how together we can move mountains.

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Juxtaposing ease of doing business and cost of doing business in Nigeria

EMEKA OKOLO *Dr. Emeka Okolo is a Chartered Stockbroker and Management Consultant based in Lagos

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hen Nigeria recently received favourable rating in the area of ease of doing business, it was celebration galore. Reason being that it will faciliate and aid foreign investments in the country while encouraging budding and already existing entrepreneurs. Hitherto, the country had been ranked low as a destination of choice for foreign investors and even their local counterparts to engage in business.

To remove the negative perceptions of Nigeria as a difficult environment to do business, the federal government in 2016 inaugurated a high powered council - the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) - with the Vice President as Chairman and Ministry of Industry, Trade & Investment as Vice Chair. The mandate of the council as articulated is to remove critical bottlenecks and bureaucratic constraints to doing business in the country and make Nigeria a progressively easier place for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to do business and thrive. As at the time of the inauguration, Nigeria was ranked 169 out of 190 economies in the World Bank Business Rankings.

In its bid to register meaningful impact in the assigned mandate, the Council had since co-opted these critical organizations to aid in the objectives actualization: Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC); Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS); Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA); Nigerian Customs Service

(NCS); Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS); Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN); Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN); Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC); and Lagos E-Planning.

After more than one year, how has the council fared and what is the picture like regarding ease of doing business in Nigeria?

According to World Bank publication “DOING BUSINESS” (The World Bank Group 2017), the country has inched to 145th position. In specific parameters, the country was ranked as follows: From the presentation above, it is evident that out of the ten parameters on which the country was ranked, it improved on seven and went flat on three, namely protecting minority investors; trading across borders; and resolving insolvency.

Interrogating the parameters in specifics, can one realistically give thumbs up to the results as prresented?

Two areas need closer examination.

In the area of starting a business, for example, commendable as it seems that the country improved by 1.78%, the signal is that a lot of improvement beckons. As a matter of fact, not a few will question the credibility of that result. Though doing business, for example, at the Corporate Affairs Commission has improved, the verdict out there is that more needs to be done, especially in the area of digitalizing the place vis-à-vis the response time by officials there.

Getting credit which got the highest ranking (25% positive) obviously needs further scrutiny. There is no doubt that a lot of Nigerians will receive that ranking with some derision as if to say “are we talking about a country somewhere other than Nigeria?”. Though Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recently alluded to the fact that credit from money deposit banks has improved generally but breaking it down to sectors and sizes of the businesses concerned may

not present a palatable mix. There is no gainsaying the fact that Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are still facing hurdles accessing credits today in Nigeria.

On the flip side of ease of doing business is the cost of it. Though no scientific study has yet been undertaken to rank holistically the parameters associated with cost of doing business in Nigeria today, a priori what is known may be very telling.

Starting and running a business in Nigeria, quantitatively speaking, is not a child’s play. People jocularly put it this way: “a business man in Nigeria operates a local government of his own”.

Apart from sourcing capital with which to start the business which doesn’t come cheap, virtually all the basic infrastructure (ranging from access roads to electricity) needed to be and remain in business are provided by the business concerns. A cursory Interrogation of just three of the parameters will suffice.

Accessing credit which is very central to the sustenance of businesses has been a recurring issue, especially those in the manufacturing sector. Nigeria is not good at statistics but if what is revealed yearly by relevant bodies like the CBN, NBS et cetera is anything to hold on to, then the country needs to do more if the concept of industrialization is to have any meaning. A situation where less than 10% of credit advanced yearly by commercial and even development banks goes to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) speaks

volume to the economic growth and development agenda of the country.

A conscious paradigm shift needs to be instituted from trading economy to one embedded more in manufacturing. As an aside, if a break down is carried out on the World Bank’s favourable ranking of the country in the area of getting credit, it will almost be a certainty that majority of that credit is to trading concerns (mainly those in importation businesses) and the big multinationals. Yet it is an economic truism that MSMEs are the bedrocks and catalysts for economic growth and development.

Getting electricity which inched up by a modest 0.32% by World Bank’s Rating of ease of doing business in Nigeria did not tell the story as far as provision of infrastructure for businesses is concerned. A glance at any company’s annual report, especially those in manufacturing will reveal more.

A close scrutiny of the item called operating expenses will reveal even more.

Collation of these figures may be the starting point for rating infrastructure holistically as a vital component cost of doing business in Nigeria. The point has already been made about businesses in Nigeria operating as “local governments” of their own.

The third area of interrogation concerns taxation. Yes, the World Bank’s ranking of the country in the area of paying taxes is positive but the crucial question is: at what cost? It is trite to

say that businesses in Nigeria are overburdened as far as payment of taxes is concerned. Multiple taxation seems to have been accepted as the new normal of doing business in Nigeria. Different tiers of government impose identical taxes across the board. No serious harmonization of these taxes has been effected beyond sloganeering and empty promises and yet businesses are meant to thrive under such hostile environments. Granting of tax holidays to new but promising enterprises has never gone beyond having them in speeches usually delivered by those in authorities at business gatherings and fora.

Closely allied to the preceding is the magnitude sometimes of the increases in the known taxes and levies. A classic case in point is the recent increase in Lagos land use charges to between 400-500% which were later scaled down by half in some cases following outcry from businesses and individuals residing in the city. As at the time of writing this article, the issue is yet to be satisfactorily resolved with pockets of resistance still simmering. The fear has been expressed that Nigeria’s improvement on the World Bank ease of doing business index is severely under threat by this Lagos State move regarding the land use charge since the survey by the World Bank is usually skewed to Lagos (75%) and Kano (25%). This is aside increases in other levies such as toll gates, vehicle licence renewal where additional N500 had quietly been slammed on motorists in Lagos since 2017 as radio licence, et cetera.

It is clearly evident from the foregoing that a lot of work is still outstanding regarding ease and cost of doing business in Nigeria if the much expected growth and development of the economy would be realized and urgently too.

The time for massive improvement in the known parameters is now!

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A better way to prevent it Comprehensive, risk-based prevention is guaranteed to lead to a reduction in corruption levels, but the same cannot be said of the reactionary, recoverybased approaches successive Nigerian governments keep recycling

you “reduce” it to levels found in Malaysia if not by making it much smaller in all its attributes? If public funds were flowing through a pipeline the priority would be to start closing valves (guard) in ways that ensure they are not easily reopened but this halt, halts everything. At the start of the new administration, many feared this was the approach being adopted with the resultant panic within the productive sectors. We could ensure the pipeline is intact, keep the contents flowing but guard against risk of puncture. We can have an intact system, no punctures but risk of contents being emptied into wrong containers remains. We can also have an intact system, no punctures, contents being emptied into right containers, but funds not applied to the purpose for which they were intended. Reducing corruption this way then requires a risk-based, preventive approach rather than the reactive, recovery-based approach we currently employ.

Comprehensive, risk-based prevention is guaranteed to lead to a reduction in corruption levels, but the same cannot be said of the reactionary, recovery-based approaches successive Nigerian governments keep recycling. True, there is something to be said for ensuring those who make away with contents of the pipeline don’t get to enjoy or keep it but this seems a long route to corruption reduction and certainly not a strategy to be applied in isolation of prevention.

Every system can be described by a set of parameters or indicators and benchmarks or accept-

able levels can be set for each to describe acceptable functioning of the system. So, it levels drop below what is acceptable it should produce alarms and those alarms should send us implementing rehearsed strategies to contain the issue and cause us to reflect on how and why the limits were breached so we can improve the system even further.

At the most basic level, against certain types of risky behaviour, codes of conduct, corporate governance codes, codes of ethics and so on try to describe these parameters for behaviour and many set benchmarks as well, against international best practice.

What tends to be absent is the capacity to monitor and measure compliance. The next step would be to ensure a full understanding of all risks by geography, industry sector, transaction type, size of entity and calibrate anti-corruption efforts against these. We would ultimately like to be where our corruption prevention efforts then result in improved reputation for our people, groups, organisations and society in Nigeria through more effective and efficient resource allocation and usage for the good of all Nigerians.

Preventing corruption is serious business, certainly more serious than chasing politicians around with a whip and releasing lists with names on, it requires deeper reflection and more deliberate strategy. This is my take, what do you think?

kay, so you started reading this article a little curious about what “it” is? Nigerians are today preoccupied with and have their minds continually filled to a troubling extent with mindboggling tales of government, business and individual acts of corruption. Is this not a grand enough “It” to obsess on and write about?

The results of a 2016 piece of research by PwC Nigeria shows that “…corruption in Nigeria could cost up to 37% of GDP by 2030 if it’s not dealt with immediately.

This cost is equated to around $1,000 per person in 2014 and nearly $2,000 per person by 2030.

The boost in average income that we estimate, given the current per capita income, can significantly improve the lives of many in Nigeria.” The same piece of research goes on to suggest that if Nigeria were to reduce her levels of corruption to that found in Malaysia, she could add another $504bn to her $402bn GDP by 2030. Is this not worth obsessing about given the sheer cost of corruption to Nigerians at the moment?

Rather than thinking of “it”

though, let’s turn our attention instead to the word “prevent.” Why prevent anything? Most reasonable people would want to prevent for example, anything that would cause them loss, damage, and any form of impairment or decrease in value of an asset they have.

In the extreme, lack of prevention could bring about financial, social, human, or other costs (decrease in value) or impairments too heavy for the individual, group, organisation, society or even human race to bear! If the spread of nuclear weapons is not prevented for example, and they fall into wrong hands, we could potentially allow the obliteration of a major portion of the world as we currently know it!

If prevention is that important, then how is it done? Let’s use a simple example: Nigerians (at least those who do) tend to love their fish when it is fresh. At one level, loss could be prevented by stationing someone by the basket of fish to ward off cats, dogs or other creatures like humans from stealing from it. So, placing an effective guard on something is a good way to prevent its loss. But loss through theft is not the only risk it faces; there is also the possibility of a loss through contamination and spoilage. For that, you could have someone with a cover to the basket and a fly swat to kill the flies as they come but a better way might be to rub it down with salt and wrap hygienically or wrap up and refrigerate or otherwise condition it. These preventive methods might work for a while but the risk that the eventual taste

SOURIN BURAGOHAIN

Outsourcing VS captive business in emerging African

SOJI APAMPA Olusoji Apampa is the CEO of The Convention on Business Integrity.

Twitter: @sojapa E-mail: aviga@ cbinigeria.com

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Sourin Buragohain is Head of Pre Sales, iSON BPO

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he African continent is bristling with potential and tempered by a complex combination of economic and political risks that will make unrest more common and political trends harder to read.

Nations that can successfully navigate the difficult terrain will prosper—as will investors who can do the same. Africa’s growth forecast for the next decade is brighter than most other regions, and countries that can diversify and build flexible labour markets while managing expectations will have particularly positive stories to tell. But it will almost certainly be a bumpy ride. The companies that succeed will most likely be those that can tailor their risk management strategies to specific business activities and local contexts.

Talking about risk management strategies, business continuity is a critical piece to be given its due importance in all the Africa centric business discussions. One of the most effective way of BCP planning is looking at Outsourcing of the key noncore operations of any business

organization – like back office, clerical activities, customer services, retention and outbound campaigns, KYC and customer onboarding solutions, documentations, data entry, verification works, customer contact centres, digital care, social media solution etc. It is imperative that the customers are always engaged with in today’s highly competitive world.

For achieving a superior customer experience, it is of utmost importance that a well thought out and strategically planned outsourcing model is executed and monitored on daily basis.

Now, to decide if the entire customer experience management function outsourcing to external service provider, whether it would add value it is important for organizations to weigh its advantages and disadvantages, vis a vis a company’s culture, service needs, staff skills and resources. In order to grow and capture incremental market share, organizations needs to realize the underlining importance of relinquishing control to a third party service providers, who are experts in the business process outsourcing space.

Consider the following top reasons cited by companies that

might be impaired remains, so others prefer to cook, roast, fry, or otherwise transform the state of the fish to something that keeps better and preserves the taste from impairment as well. The ultimate way to preserve it from theft, contamination, spoilage and taste impairment is to simply consume it in your preferred way, while fresh.

Our long lesson on prevention shows that there are indeed better ways to prevent loss of something than by merely setting a guard over it. You may guard and condition it; you may guard, condition and transform it; you may guard, condition, transform and utilize (while still fit) for the purpose it was intended. If you like, we have the good, better and best ways to “prevent” loss, damage or other forms of impairment to a valuable asset in response to the specific risks faced. In other words, prevention is a function of understanding risks and putting in place effective strategies to minimise those risks.

So, back to corruption, how do

have successfully outsourced their non-core operations: • Deriving the benefits of rationalizing labour costs. Processes outsourced to third party service providers are done at much lower rates and at the same quality levels as in your location. This translates into major cost savings for companies. They also save on operational costs such as payroll, administrative costs, HR, power, rentals, and utilities.

• Lower infrastructure investments: Cut back drastically on expensive infrastructure requirements. State-of-the-art IT systems, customer service call centres and technical helpdesks result in heavy investments to companies.

Keep your costs low by outsourcing these functions.

• Focus on core functions: Outsourcing your business processes would free your energies and enable you to focus on building your brand, invest in research and development and move on to providing higher value added services.

• Get access to world-class capabilities and improve operational performance: Have processes delivered by dedicated teams that have operational and domain expertise in the outsourced process.

Their experience in the field trans-

lates into greater operational efficiencies.

• Access to skilled resources: You no longer need to invest in recruiting and training expensive resources for your business. Providers like iSON take care of the resourcing needs with their pool of highly skilled resources. The resources employed by iSON are well educated in the respective business areas and are experienced in handling the business needs of companies that want to outsource. Further, iSON employs world class business practices perfected over the years by catering to customers around the globe. Get access to the expertise and capabilities of iSON. • Enhance risk management: Get protection from natural calamities, accidents, market fluctuations, or technical crises. Disaster recovery mechanisms and detailed back up plans provided by the offshore partner will help you to respond rapidly and get operations back on track quickly.

The overwhelming advantages of outsourcing speak for themselves. More companies are drawing up plans to outsource work. Many companies now base their entire business plan around the delegation of functions to external service providers. Accord-

Send reactions to: comment@businessdayonline.com

ing to some experts outsourcing is not simply a way of cutting costs; it is now a business model.

One of the leading IT Services and BPO Outsourcing Company in Sub Sahara Africa is the iSON Group. It is focused on IT Services and Business Process Outsourcing for Telecom, Retail, BFSI and Govt. sectors in Africa, India, UAE and South East Asia. iSON Group has presence in 30+ countries worldwide. The group companies have expertise in providing IT services and solutions, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) services, Outbound and Telemarketing, customer & revenue analytics and CAF/KYC processes. iSON serves as on date customer base of 400+ million and handles approx. 40 Million calls per month and it is growing exponentially. It has expertise in providing Digital Care options through mobile app. The company manages the entire Social Media service requirements of its clients. One of its clients in Africa is consistently awarded the Social baker’s “socially devoted” accolade and has the highest fan base and engagement scores across the countries where it operates.

Send reactions to: comment@businessdayonline.com

12

BUSINESS DAY

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Editorial PUBLISHER/CEO

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

Bashir Ibrahim Hassan

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

Friday 27 April 2018

Mr President, sing the Federal Audit Bill

R

ecently both chambers of the National Assembly passed into law the Federal Audit Service Commission Bill. The proposal, which emanated from the House of Representatives, seeks to grant autonomy to the Auditor-General for the federation and establish the Federal Audit Services Commission and the office of AuditorGeneral of the Federation with provision for additional powers and functions. The bill, once it becomes law, will repeal the Audit Act 1956, the Public Accounts Committees Act; and enact the Federal Audit Service Bill, 2015. The same proposal was passed by the 7th National Assembly but was not signed into law by then President Goodluck Jonathan.

The main thrust of the bill is to promote transparency, accountability and good governance in most of our institutions. It empowers the office of the Auditor-General of the federation to express an opinion on whether the financial statement prepared by the government of the federation fairly represents the

financial position and results of operation; carry out audit of all revenues accruing to the federation and all expenditures of the federation from all sources; carry out audit of donations, grants and loans accruable to the federal ministries, departments and agencies or other public entities; carry out performance audit by ensuring that federal government and its agencies’ businesses are economically, efficiently and effectively performed; carry out audit on classified expenditure; carry out forensic audits; carry out audit of international institutions to the extent of Nigeria’s contribution to such bodies; carry out audit of all federal government and its agencies subsidies and their application; carry out audit of all federal government and its agencies’ counterpart funded projects in the country; carry out audit of all Nigerian embassies, consulates and foreign missions; carry out audit of public private information; carry out audit of disaster related grants and aids and carry out audit of public private partnerships entered into by the federal government and its agencies to promote good governance.

Similarly, the Bill outlines

the powers of the AuditorGeneral to include: powers to select the methodology to be adopted in respect of an audit; determine the nature and extent of audit to be carried out and request details, account statements and financial statements that he considers necessary; request in writing, any person in the employ of the federal ministries, departments and agencies and international institutions whose accounts are being audited to make an appearance at a specified place and time; or produce such records, books, vouchers and documents under the control of that person; investigate and make extracts from any record, book, document and other information of any federal ministry, department and agency or international institution whose accounts are being audited.

Since the advent of this democracy in 1999, the government has regaled us with the talk of fighting corruption but has done nothing concrete beyond setting up anti-corruption agencies that are soon channelled towards enhancing the profile or political fortunes of the president. Usually the same government vowing to fight corruption to a standstill

permit and promote corruption through its opaque structures and especially shielding itself, its agencies and particularly its cash-cow, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, from any form of accountability.

This proposed law is perhaps, the most far-reaching anti-corruption legislation that has been passed since Nigeria’s return to democrac y. Like we have always stated, corruption cannot be effe ctively fought through intra-elite displacement or the symbolism of grand gestures.

No, the only way we can defeat corruption is through the deliberate building of strong institutions of restraints; the creation, as it were, of a capable state – one that works according to laid down rules and procedures and is thoroughly accountable to the people.

That is what the bill seeks to do – and if the president, who came to power on the strength of his anti-corruption promises – is any bit interested in tackling this monster called corruption and is willing to enthrone transparency, accountability and good governance in the country, then he must sign the bill into law immediately.

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Friday 27 April 2018

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13

MoneyInsight Personal Finance: Investing Retirement

Taxes

Credit Cards

Home Buying

Small Business Shopping

Financing

Why you should know your credit score Stories By FRANK ELEANYA

I

f you are in business or planning to set up one that will require some form of financing from other people, credit score is one of the things you should pay special attention to.

A credit score in the technical sense is used to describe a three-digit number generated by a mathematical algorithm using data or information supplied by a user’s credit report. In simple terms, it relates to the possibility of repaying the money you borrowed either for business or personal use.

Credit scores are often designed by credit bureaus to predict risk, specifically, the likelihood that you will become seriously delinquent on your credit obligations in the 24 hours after scoring.

A credit bureau is an agency that collects and maintains individual credit information and sells it to lenders, creditors, and consumers in the form of a credit report.

Nigeria presently has three credit bureaus licensed in 2008 by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN): These include CRC Credit Bureau Limited; CR Services Credit Bureau Plc and XDS Credit Bureau Limited.

The importance of credit scores is underscored by

a recent study by the CBN – the Financial Inclusion Report – which disclosed that only 1.8 per cent of the country’s adult population borrowed or paid back a loan through a formal institution in 2016. That abysmal number is part of the reason most Nigerian banks are unable to lend to small businesses or even individuals.

Although the ‘customer is king’ defines many banks’ business approach, there is the shareholders and investors who demand accountability and therefore reserves major priority in the way banks lend their money

to any business. Until the coming of credit bureaus majority of the banks used to shy away from lending to small businesses which they consider high risk. The need to grow the economy and drive for financial inclusion by the CBN has however seen a number of the banks engage the services of credit bureaus.

Banks are not the only financial institutions engaging credit bureaus and paying more attention to credit scores. Most nonbank credit firms are making their lending decision based on credit scores.

To derive a credit report, the bureau compiles information on individuals and business entities regarding their credits and repayment.

It then creates a comprehensive credit record that may be made available to lending institutions and other users.

The primary users of credit information report include creditors, such as banks, mortgage finance companies, leasing agencies, insurance companies, micro-finance and SME lenders, asset management companies and other businesses that provide services

to consumers on credit, including landlords, telecom and utility service providers.

A good credit score comes with many benefits.

First it helps a financial institution decide whether to give you a loan or deny the application. A very good credit score could save you a lot of money in interest rate reduction.

In terms of getting finance for your business, your credit score helps lenders determine whether or not you qualify for a loan and how good the terms of the loan will be. Other benefits include ability to

obtain credit without collateral or with reduced collateral; ability to acquire capital intensive items such as houses, cars and household goods without saving up for extended periods to pay cash and earning a reputation of being a responsible person.

To build a good credit score you can start by settling your outstanding debts. Nothing hurts your credit score like piling up debt. It is also important to ensure that you do not take too long to clear old debts.

The number and severity of late payments can downgrade your score.

Also ensure you are forthright with information concerning your credit history. Do not try to fabricate or eliminate old debts from the information you provide. It could make you look dishonest and therefore a high risk. Leave old debt and good accounts on as long as possible.

Public records such as bankruptcy, criminal and civil judgments or tax problems should be clearly addressed before you apply for a loan. However, if you already have a criminal or civil record for instance, hiding from the information you are going to give could hurt your score badly.

Finally, do not ask for more than you need. Take credit responsibly.

How to identify bitcoin scams

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cammers on a daily basis are finding bitcoin more attractive for their business given its nature to be anonymous. Also the fact that just a few people really understands how it works makes its the golden fleece for making false promises and not be held accountable.

Thousands of bitcoin customers in South Africa recently had a bitter experience when BTC Global scam was exposed and over $50 million was wiped off.

In February, Craig Wright a self-acclaimed bitcoin inventor was accused of swindling more than $5 billion worth of cryptocurrency and other assets from the estate of a computer-security expert. People have also fallen victims to scams in form of initial coin offerings (ICOs) compelling a lot of countries to place a ban on them.

According to experts it is

very easy to set up a scam website, hence it is practically impossible to have an up-todate list of scams.

Luno, a cryptocurrency firm with outlets in Nigeria and other African countries explains that “Bitcoin is attractive to scammers for the same reason it is attractive to you. It is fast, it is international, and it is irreversible. Not surprisingly then, as bitcoin usage has grown so has sophistication around bitcoin fraud.”

So how do you identify a bitcoin scam? The firm says that same rules that apply to traditional money also apply to bitcoin. For instance, do not store cash under the mattress to prevent it from getting stolen and do not trust your money with strangers as they could be fraudsters.

Bitcoin scams often come with bogus promises of high returns or interest. It is important you question this

promise and not take it at face-value. Most bitcoin website will provide channels for feedback. Think about whether the promised returns are really sustainable and what the numbers actually mean. If it looks too good to be true, you probably should leave it alone.

Do not accept guarantees that you “can’t lose money”.

Every business comes with risk, even veteran investors still lose money every now and then.

Another red flag that you are probably dealing with a fake business is when there is little verifiable informa-

tion on the company and its owners. Although bitcoin transactions are largely conducted anonymously, the firms that provide services in it have faces. Hence, do your homework. Scammers love their anonymity for obvious reasons.

If it resembles a ponzi

scheme, you better be avoiding it – especially if there are hundreds of people that share same sentiments.

You can also detect a scam by attempting to withdraw your funds – particularly if you already invested money in it. Once you sense some difficulty, it could be a scam.

One way to verify this is to check whether the company is a registered corporation.

As much as possible avoid downloading new bitcoin wallets. Let those with the appetite for risk go for it and do not get involved until you are sure it is legitimate. When you decide to download a wallet go for the most popular ones with verifiable reviews from users.

Make use of the two factor authentication. It usually requires having a unique code sent to your phone whenever you need to log in. This offers increased protection.

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Influencers

POLICY

Nigeria’s duty on solar panels seen as punitive, evidence poor fiscal policy ISAAC ANYAOGU

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ince January this year, the Nigerian Customs has been demanding payment of 5 percent duty and an additional 5 percent VAT on solar panels imported into the country citing obedience to Federal Government’s fiscal policy, which contradicts the country’s power aspirations.

Babatunde Fashola, minister of Power, Works and Housing is implementing the Federal Government’s incremental power policy which basically seeks to utilise power wherever it can be found in whatever form it can be harnessed.

In this vein, Nigeria has developed its first public Energy Mix statement that seeks to achieve 30 per cent of renewable energy by 2030, Fashola said during a public lecture at the London School of Economics recently.

The minster listed other major hydro-electricity projects, either being aggressively pursued towards completion or imminent commencement,

to include the 700MW Zungeru, 40MW Kashimbila, 30MW Gurara, 29 MW Dadin Kowa, all approaching completion, and the 3050 MW Mambilla, whose financing is now under consideration.

Pointing out that Government policy and action were stimulating consensus and action towards other sources of cleaner energy like solar, the Minister said that electric energy production capacity has increased from 5,000 MW to 7,000 MW and Distribution has increased from under 3,000 MW to 5,000 MW while work continues to expand the capacities with expected results in the short term.

It is therefore curious that the same government will seek to force a tariff on solar panels at a time it is seeking to grow the sector. What is even more incredulous, experts say, is the fact that the policy seems to be punishing the use of solar panels in power generation.

“The government must realise that to get to its energy mix targets that it cannot continue to introduce policy changes like the new reclassification on solar panels. This sudden shift which introduces a 10% tax on solar panels has the capacity to erode about 50% market share of the renewable energy sector in six months,” says Ify Malo, who leads the Power for All

campaign in Nigeria.

Malo further said, “many solar technology providers are groaning about this newly introduced tariff and it certainly does not ease doing business for anyone, enhance the country’s energy access goals or encourage more investment into the decentralised energy sector.”

Anthony Anyalogu, head of classification at the Nigerian Customs Service, in a presentation at the Nigerian Energy Forum last week, the Customs Service was only enforcing government fiscal policy, not inventing a new one.

Anyalogu, in his presen-

tation, said the tariff was not a new one and agitations against the tariff did not factor in explanatory notes to HS Codes 8501 that explained inclusions and exclusions of the tariff codes.

“Photovoltaic generators consist of panels of photocells combined with other apparatus, like storage batteries and electronic controls, voltage regulator, and inverter, among others.

“It also covers panels or modules equipped with elements, however simple (for example diodes to control the direction of the current), which supply the power directly to, for example, a motor, an electrolyser etc. As long as these are included, it attracts duty,” “These solar panels are not even manufactured in Nigeria. So, should we not encourage local industries?” he asked.

“Furthermore, the relevant exclusion notes from the provisions of the explanatory note, Vol. 5, p – XVI-85413 on Heading 8541, which clarifies that, “the Heading does not cover panels or modules equipped with elements,

however simple (for example, diodes to control the direction of the current). This implies that such panels are classified under Heading 8501 (which requires duty).”

The Nigerian Customs’ position is that only solar panels that are imported into the country without a charge controller, which can only be used as signal, is exempt from import duty.

“All importations of solar panels made up of the solar modules, diodes and junction boxes should be classified on the appropriate commodity code of heading 8501 according to the power capacity at 5% duty and 5 percent VAT in tandem with extant ECOWAS Common External Tariff (CET) 2015 – 2019,” said Anyalogu.

But this argument is seriously flawed. “If you take the Customs argument to the logical conclusion, it means that if you import solar panels to make them into furniture, they will be duty free. If you import solar panels to generate electricity, then you pay duty,” says Wiebe Boer, CEO of All On, an off-grid impact investment firm.

MARKET

Africa raises fight against energy poverty, launches world’s 1st renewable mini-grid forum Nigeria, others to host chapters of new Africa Mini-grid Developers Association takeholders in Africa’s electricity market have launched the Africa Mini-grid Developers Association (AMDA), pledging to leverage the potentials of minigrid renewable electricity sources to deliver power to at least 140 million Africans.

AMDA which plans to be continent-wide with chapters currently in Kenya and Tanzania, and new ones expected to open in Nigeria – which holds the potential to be Africa’s largest mini-grid market, said it would work to tackle energy poverty in the continent with greater commitment to business models of public-private partnership.

It announced its official establishment in Nairobi, indicating it currently has about 11 member companies including innovative startups and established utilities.

AMDA, explained it aims to combine private sector innovation, efficiency, and customer service with public sector support to help end energy poverty across Africa.

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“AMDA is the first trade association dedicated exclusively to the mini-grid industry, and is composed of developers operating AC mini-grids that ensure power reliability of at least 20 hours per day. The association also works closely with a variety of solution providers, including EPCs, hardware and software vendors and integrators.

“AMDA currently has chapters in Kenya and Tanzania, where member companies have built 430 kilometers of transmission lines, and renewable generation to serve over 11,000 connections, including households, schools, health clinics, micro-enterprise and agriculture,” said the new trade association in its inaugural statement obtained by OGN in Abuja.

It further stated: “AMDA, which plans to grow into a pan-African platform for private utilities, is in the process of setting up its next chapter in Nigeria, which will include seven additional local developers, and has so far received interest from three other countries.”

“AMDA’s vision is to see 100 per cent of Africa electrified before 2030, and this will require

utilities to incorporate new and innovative technologies, with mini-grids playing a central role,” said Jessica Stephens, AMDA’s Global Coordinator.

Stephens added: “Minigrids can deliver more connections per dollar, can be deployed more rapidly than traditional grid infrastructure and play an important role in stimulating local economic opportunities and creating job.”

A unified voice for Africa’s mini grid operators The statement further noted that by providing a unified voice for Africa’s renewable energy mini grid industry, AMDA aims to partner with governments and utilities to build next generation grids based on the needs of both industry and communities.

It stated that AMDA will share knowledge and feedback with policy-makers, regulators and investors, while also representing the voice of the customer, which is currently under-represented on the issue of energy access.

AMDA’s near-term objectives shared

The statement also highlighted some of AMDA’s intentions for the near future. It listed them to include: mobilize finance for mini-grids – that is, working with donors, national governments and other stakeholders to develop a smart Results Based Financing (RBF) fund to support scale-up of minigrids, as well as finding ways to unlock lower-cost debt capital; equalize public-private incentives which means achieving a level playing field, both regulatory and financial, for minigrids that is on par with other grid-based solutions; make integrated planning the norm – that is to establish national grid integration frameworks that are inclusive of mini-grids.

Other near term objectives of AMDA as stated by the statement are: better inform market support activities by highlighting useful areas for public interventions and providing market information to organizations funding R&D and innovation; unify and expand voice of the sector across Africa, that is to grow the number of members to at least 25 developers across seven countries by the end of 2018, with a longer-term

goal of representing all private sector developers across the continent.

Next chapter expected in Nigeria, Ethiopia, Uganda Perhaps aware of the potentials of mini grid power in Nigeria, AMDA stated that it will immediately launch its next chapters in Nigeria, with the goal of adding additional chapters in Ethiopia and Uganda by the end of 2018.

According to it, it has the supports of the Shell Foundation, World Bank and the UK Department for International Development (DfID).

A potpourri of support Its statement quoted Richard Gomes, Director of Market Development at Shell Foundation, to have said that: “Minigrids offer the quickest, most cost-effective way to bring 24-hour power to large parts of Africa, while other areas will be better served by standalone home systems or national grid extension.”

Gomes, further noted that: “Unlocking public and private capital to accelerate the growth of this sector is therefore critical to meet the continent’s energy

Isaac Anyaogu, Email: isaac.anyaogu@businessdayonline.com, 07037817378, Graphics: Joel Samson

needs. We believe AMDA will help facilitate this by providing an aligned industry viewpoint, accurate market information and technical support for investors and policy-makers that is missing in today’s market.”

Similarly, Amadou Hott, the African Development Bank’s Vice-President for Power, Energy, Climate and Green Growth said in the statement that: “Green mini-grids are an essential part of the bank’s New Deal for Energy 2 which envisions 75 million new connections coming from distributed energy solutions.”

“Through our various initiatives, including the Green Mini-Grid Market Development Program, the AfDB looks forward to working closely with AMDA to create the necessary conditions for scaling the sector, and energy access, across Africa,” Hott added.

AMDA listed its current members to include Engie, Ensol, Husk Power Systems, Jumeme Rural Power Supply, PowerGen Renewable Energy, Powerhive, Rafiki Power, Redavia, Rift Valley Energy, RVE.SOL and SteamaCo, most of which are based in Kenya and Tanzania.

Friday 27 April 2018

BUSINESS

COMPANIES & MARKETS

DAY

15

‘Nigerian banks are not marketing enough’

Pg. 16

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

Access Bank’s interest Income up 20.50% in Q1 ….Analysts at CSL places buy ratings on stock …Posts N22.11 bn net income in Q1 BALA AUGIE

A

ccess Bank Nigeria Plc’s first quarter interest income was up 20.50 percent as the lender continues utilise shareholders resources in generating higher profit amid tough and unpredictable macroeconomic environment.

Interest income and similar charges increased to N95.59 billion in March 2018 as against N79.33 billion as at March 2017, driven by a 28.66 percent rise in interest on loans and advances to customers, which was N74.20 billion in the period under review.

Access Bank’s top line or revenue also got a boost from noninterest revenue.

Fees and commission income grew by 34.61 percent to N15.71 billion in the period under review from N11.67 billion the previous year.

“We expect stronger loan growth in the course of the year to boost growth in fee and commission income,” said Gloria Fadipe, equity re-

Herbert Wigwe, group managing director/CEO, Access Bank Plc

LCCI wants deep-pocket investment in health sector CHINWE AGBEZE

T

he Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has called for more private sector participation and funding for the health sector as government and international donor agencies alone may not be able to finance the budget estimate for malaria across the globe.

This call was made on Tuesday during an interactive workshop with the winners of the 2017 NLNG prize for science organised by LCCI in partnership with the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) with the theme, ‘Innovations in Malaria Control.’

“In 2016, there were 216 million cases of malaria in 91 countries, five million more than the 211 million cases reported in 2015.

Malaria deaths in Africa accounted for 407,000 cases out of the global number of 445,000 in 2016, according to WHO statistics,” said Babatunde Ruwase, president, LCCI. “With $2.7 billion invested globally to fight malaria in 2016, this represents less than half (41 percent) of the estimated $6.5billion needed annually till 2020 in order to reach the 2030

global malaria targets. This calls for special attention on Africa.

African leaders must show commitment to fight malaria. We need innovative ways and means in enhancing our capabilities in ‘beating malaria.”

Ruwase said reports from the World Health Organisation (WHO) highlighted some population groups that are at considerable higher risk of contracting malaria to include, pregnant women, infants, children under five years, patients with HIV/ AIDS and mobile population adding that Nigeria needs national strategies and programmes to take special measures in protecting these population groups from malaria infection.

“The Global Technical Strategy for malaria for 2016 to 2030, adopted by the World Health Assembly in May 2015, provides a comprehensive framework to guide countries in their efforts to accelerate progress towards malaria elimination,” he said.

“I challenge us to give our support in every way possible to foster a better stakeholder engagement towards getting more funding for the fight against malaria in Nigeria,’’ he added.

Nike Akande, past president, LCCI and member, advisory board of the Nigeria Prize for Science, said she is confident that the partnership between Nigeria LNG Limited and the LCCI would endure and become an inspiration to Nigeria of what can be produced when resources are pooled together for the common good.

She advised other organisations to take a cue from Nigeria LNG and contribute their own quota to the scientific and technological resolution of the many problems that confront Nigerians as a nation.

Akpoveta Susu, chairman, advisory board of the Nigeria Prize for Science, said the board has placed great scientific innovations on the front burner in the country, prompting other remarkable research works apart from malaria research. ‘‘The increased number of entries for 2017 clearly indicates that Nigerian scientists have heeded the wakeup call to demonstrate their ingenuity in more functional works. This is more so in the face of growing competition as entries for the $100,000 prize is now open to scientists and researchers around the world, to help find solutions to Nigeria’s problems,” Susu said.

search analyst at CSL Stock Broker Limited, in a note to clients.

Net gains on investment securities surged by 400 percent to N27.67 billion in March 2018 as against N5.54 billion the previous.

Access Bank recorded an annualised Return on Average Equity (ROAE) of 18.2 percent as at March 2018, which is significantly ahead of 12.80 percent of 10 analysts surveyed by BusinessDay. However, the Nigerian lender’s net income remained flat at N22.11 billion, due to a foreign exchange revaluation loss of N6.82 billion in the period under review.

Access Bank’s interest expense was up 39.21 percent to N33.37 billion as at March 2018, from N25.58 billion the previous year.

Similarly, deposit from customers spiked by 30.45 percent to N33.37 billion in the period under review as cost of funds increased to 5.80 percent in March 2018 from 5.10 percent the previous year.

The bank saw a rise in funding costs last year, according to analysts at CSL “This, according to management, was as a result of the high interest rate environment com-

pounded by the issuance of international debt securities ($300m senior unsecured notes in October 2016 with a coupon rate of 10.5 percent took out the $350m senior notes which matured in July 2017, with a lower coupon rate of 7.5 percent) and a commercial paper to provide a liquidity buffer for the bank,” said analysts at CSL. Access Bank’s Non-Performing Loans (NPLs) increased to 4.7 percent in the period under review, from 2.3 percent the previous year.

The bank had taken 38 percent provision on its 9Mobile exposure and does not expect more impairment to be taken in 2018e.

Net impairment charge was up 55.48 percent to N4.96 billion in March 2018 from N3.19 billion as at March 2017.

Analysts at CSL have placed a ‘Buy’ rating on Access Bank’s stocks with a target price of N15.71/s.

We have a ‘Buy’ rating on Access Bank with a target price of N15.71/s.

Access Bank’s share price closed at N11.15 as of 2:00 pm in Lagos on Wednesday April 25, valuing it at N328.33 billion.

Union Bank reiterates commitment to growth of Nigerian businesses, customers Kelechi Ewuzie

U

nion Bank says it will continue to support the growth of Nigerian businesses through value added plans for its customers.

Emeka Emuwa, chief executive officer (CEO) of the bank, stated this at a customer engagement forum with leading business men and women in Onitsha, Anambra State.

Emuwa explained that the organisation of the forum stemmed from the need to re-introduce customers and stakeholders to the ‘new Union Bank’ which had emerged following a full-scale transformation process initiated in 2015.

“The forum was a platform for interactive discussions with customers and stakeholders in the state and aligns with the bank’s commitment to engage its customers, better understand their unique requirements and continuously work towards meeting their needs”, he said.

According to him, “Following our rigorous transformation programme, we are now better positioned to deliver on our promise to be a trusted financial partner. We remain dedicated to the success of our customers and assure you of our consistent efforts towards the provision of simpler, smarter banking services that help

our customers succeed.

These recent initiatives underscore Union Bank’s commitment to its customers across all sectors. With robust banking experience spanning over a century, Union Bank has come to be recognized as a trusted financial partner to generations of Nigerians; supporting the personal and business growth objectives of its customers.”

The CEO was joined at the forum by other executive directors of the bank including Emeka Okonkwo, head, corporate and investment banking; and Adekunle Sonola, head of commercial banking as well as the divisional executive for the region, Rosemary David-Etim.

The bank also recently held an insightful business master class for its commercial customers in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

The business master class was a platform to demystify the recent changes to the Nigerian tax regulations and assist the bank’s commercial customers as they navigate the waters of the new tax system.

The seminar featured an expert on the subject matter, Taiwo Oyedele, partner and West Africa Tax Leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC), who gave insights into the changes in the Nigerian tax space, implications for stakeholders and how businesses need to adapt to accommodate the changes.

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Friday 27 April 2018

COMPANIES & MARKETS

‘Nigerian banks are not marketing enough’ Hayford Alile was born on the 24th April, 1940. He attended the University of Ibadan, and Howard University, Washington D.C. Apostle Alile’s rich working history began as an economic and financial consultant to Louis Berger in the USA in 1968. Between 1969 and 1972, he served as assistant director, Rutgers University Entrepreneurial Development Center, New Jersey, and Rutgers Minority Investment Co Inc. He worked as an investment adviser/broker with Investors Diversified Services Inc, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Thereafter, he was appointed in 1976 as the executive director/CEO of the then Lagos Stock Exchange (LSE). He became the director-general and chief executive of the Nigeria Stock Exchange in 1979, from where he retired in 1999. He has been at the board of the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Plc and has served as the chairman of several companies, including Unilever Nig. Plc, Oceanic Bank Nig. Plc (now Ecobank Nig Plc), UTC Nigeria Plc, and Afrinvest (WA) Ltd. He spoke with ODINAKA ANUDU on economic issues.

Yo u s u p e r v i s e d t h e transformation of the Lagos Stock Exchange into the Nigeria Stock Exchange.

What really changed? f course, the name, the number of people, the number of stock brokers and insurance companies, the banks that would act as issuing houses and the brokers that would act as marketers. I think it was FirstBank that first listed on the stock exchange.

Within a year, we listed about 10 or 12 securities.

Do you think the stock exchange has been able to mobilise sufficient capital for the Nigerian economy?

Yes, but it depends on how fast the economy is growing. The challenge is that many Nigerian businessmen did not know they needed to graduate into a limited liability company.

Unfortunately, that mindset is still there. A lot of Nigerians are hoping to be owner-managers, instead of creating companies that will produce goods and services for the Nigerian economy.

I hope that the managers there will do as much as possible to train owner-managers to think of expansion.

Can you compare the stock exchange of then and now?

Of course, it is not easy to compare because they have expanded. When I took over, the exchange had between 16 and 20 securities. When I left in 1999, we had over 200. When I took over, the value of listed stocks was about N20 billion, but when I left, it was about N200 to N300 billion. Now the value is much, much higher—N14 trillion this week.

Do you consider Nigerian banks strong enough?

No. Why? Well, I don’t know. Some second and third generation banks are strong. The mangers are strong enough and their hands are clean enough. But many others are not strong enough.

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Is it in terms of margins, assets, liabilities or other fundamentals?

They are not marketing enough. They are not doing enough.

Do you think Nigeria is getting its monetary policies right?

Anything good can always have a better one. Strangely enough, CBN is not the manager of the economy. They are taking the right steps now, but monetary policy seems to be too slow. They have to speed up a little.

When you were telling me your story, I was wondering how the country got here. At what point did Nigeria derail?

Most of us in leadership positions in religious bodies forgot that there is God that created us. A lot of people that are corrupt and are being taken to court are members of one religion or another.

Are you saying that corruption is what got us here?

Immorality and corruption dealt a big blow on Nigeria.

Were there policies that brought us here?

You see, there are two ways. If they put you people at a certain pipeline through which the wealth of the country flows into the society, and they fail to do the right thing, the country will not be better.

We need to structure policies that will encourage certain things and discourage corruption.

You were 80 few days ago. Can you let us into

Hayford Alile

your life story?

When I finished Standard Six, I took my common entrance exam, passed and wanted to go further but, unfortunately, there was no money to pay for the school fees. My late father, James Alile, went to the Second World War and they took him to India. We were at home with our late mother.

After finishing my secondary school, I took entrance exams to university, and I got scholarships. The Catholic Mission was prepared to send me to Ireland to do my tertiary studies. When

We wanted them to send people abroad so that they would learn what stock exchange was all about—the vocabulary and the technology of the industry

my father came back home, he made a decision for me to go. There was a national exam in those days, and the best ten students were given state scholarships. That award used to come from the governor-general’s office.

I was the fifth person that was given the scholarship.

The federal government gave me a scholarship, and the Western government gave me a scholarship. Then Bendel was still part of the Old Western region. Altogether, I had five to six scholarships that year.

So, I had to choose one.

And of course, I had to choose the state scholarship.

If you were a state scholar and your parents were not working, the government would be giving them a certain amount of money. I later went to the University of Ibadan to study Physics and Chemistry. In my third year, I was elected as the secretary of the National Union of Nigerian Students. It was a very big challenge for a small man like me. In the third year, I led delegates to the International Students’ Conference.

I became a strong students’ leader, speaking on behalf of Nigerian students. The African Students wanted Nigerians to come to their meetings. Most of the African students’ leaders were anxious to have Nigerians as leaders. The first president of that union came from the host country—Kenya. The tenure in those days was for one year. I was elected the following year.

A lot of students’ leaders from African countries said they didn’t see why I should be replaced. They suspended the constitution and elected me for the second year. In 1965 or earlier, I had to represent Nigerian students at the American Annual Congress.

I went to Canada, attended Canadian Students’ Movement and later came back to Washington D.C. My people in Ibadan asked me to stay in Washington DC to represent them permanently. They said they would arrange station allowances for me, which they did. It was from there that I registered at Howard University. Instead of continuing with Physics and Chemistry, I converted to Economics and Maths.

When I finished, I was given a job by the university to teach maths.

From there, I went to Rutgers University, which is an Ivy League, where I did my MBA. They employed me and even gave me a scholarship. They also gave me a lecturing job and I was the first black to teach there. A South African later joined me there as an MBA student.

Both of us were the first set of black people there.

From there, the vice chancellor said I should stay as an assistant lecturer. I left there later and joined an engineering consulting firm.

When I returned, there was a man called Solomon Odia, who was the director for Management Development. He interviewed me in front of Papa Chris Ogunbajo. Within five minutes, Papa Ogunbajo had made up his mind, and that was how I got employed there.

Solomon Odia said he would not allow me to go anywhere to work. Over a year and half, Odia called me and said, ‘I said I would not allow you to work elsewhere, but there is Lagos Stock Exchange and they want to have a new director-general’. I had no alternative but to go to the Stock Exchange. There was a man called Samuel Asabi. He used to be deputy governor of Central Bank; from there, he went to FirstBank as the chief executive. He was also the chief executive of Lagos Stock Exchange.

Odia arranged for me to have an interview. They interviewed me and they said I was the type of manager they had been looking for.

Asabi introduced me to council members as the man he was recommending.

There was a lady called Toyin Olakuyi who, without my knowledge, recommended me to Odia.

When I resumed at the stock exchange, I was to visit one or two or European stock exchanges, the London Stock Exchange and the American Stock Exchange.

After spending a week at the London Stock Exchange, I found out that it was reflecting an economy that was far ahead. I got back home, told them that the stock exchange was representing an economy that was too far ahead of us. Our market was not big enough.

That was how we started our own here. We built our own market right from scratch. We started encouraging banks to start establishing their stock broking firms. We wanted them to send people abroad so that they would learn what stock exchange was all about—the vocabulary and the technology of the industry. We started working on licensing stock broking firms, looking at the minimum number of staff and the capital base. We put together a prospectus and how to put up shares at the stock exchange. We looked at how many weeks the prospectus would stay in the market and all that.

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COMPANIES & MARKETS Renaissance Capital FY 17 net income surges on derivatives income BALA AUGIE

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enaissance Capital (RenCap), a leading emerging and frontier markets investment bank, has recorded a surge in profit, thanks to contributions of derivatives business and fixed income security segment.

The investment bank also recorded impressive growth in key financial ratios while providing a unique offering to its global investor client base.

For the year ended December 2017, RenCap’s net income surged by 43 perent to $15.60 million, from $8.89 million the previous year.

Sales increased by eight percent to $145 million, supported by its fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) division (revenue up 78 percent year on year (YoY), cash equities (21 percent) and healthy growth in the investment banking business (up 43 percent YoY), with debt capital markets part being the main driver.

“We are pleased to report

strong 2017 results, which come after an excellent year for Renaissance Capital’s capital markets activity, highlighting our unrivalled market offerings in emerging and frontier economies,” said Ruslan Babaev, Co-CEO at Renaissance Capital.

Babaev said that the company led and executed a number of unique transactions, including the first corporate issue for a foreign borrower in the Russian domestic rouble market for Kazakhstan Temir Zholy, the state railway company of the Republic of Kazakhstan; the first-ever local currency international bond issue out of Georgia for Bank of Georgia.

He stated that others are the debut $350 million issue for Eurotorg, a privately owned retailer in Belarus; a $400 million international bond issuance for Fidelity Bank plc, a leading commercial bank in Nigeria; and the debut corporate infrastructure bond for Viathan Group, Nigeria’s largest captive and embedded power producer among others.

Renaissance Capital’s operating expenses were up by eight percent YoY to $121.7

million in the period under review, as a result of investment in personnel and new hires to meet growing client demand and to capitalise on market opportunities.

The firm’s equity-to-assets ratio stood at a healthy 15 percent as at December 2017. In other words, the investment bank is lowly geared and is less susceptible to financial risk.

The assets-to-equity ratio measures a firm’s total assets in relation to the total stockholder equity. Because assets are equal to liabilities and stockholders’ equity, the assetsto-equity ratio is an indirect measure of a firm’s liabilities.

By analysing this ratio, you can tell to what extent a business is financed by equity or debt.

Total assets and equity amounted to $3.26 billion and $486 million, respectively, as of 31 December 2017.

“Our strong financial performance is a result of a continuous campaign for providing career development opportunities, promoting internal people and strengthening our team globally with the best professionals,” said Anna Vyshlova, Co-CEO at Renaissance Capital

FBNQUEST Merchant Bank records N6.17bn PBT

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BNQuest Merchant Bank, the investment banking and asset management group of FBN Holdings Plc, has declared a profit before tax (PBT) of N6.17 billion for the year ended 31stDecember 2017, representing a 25.7 percent increase from the previous year’s position.

This was reported by Mallam Bello Maccido, chairman, at the 3rd Annual General Meeting, which held on the 24th of April ,2018 in Lagos. Total assets of the group grew to N140.701 billion, from N137.2 billion in 2016.

This positive performance, despite recessionary conditions, was attributed to the diversified nature of its businesses which was further enhanced by the acquisition of FBNQuest Asset Management and FBNQuest Securities in 2017. The chairman, in his

statement, noted that the effect of the acquisition is already evident in the synergies being experienced within the group, and its full positive impact should become more visible in the new financial year. He also commended the tenacity and professionalism of the management and staff which led to the strong performance amid the on-going change.

Speaking at the Annual General Meeting, Kayode Akinkugbe, managing director and CEO of FBNQuest Merchant Bank, said, “We are indeed proud of our figures, particularly considering the challenging business environment we had in 2017. Since we began operations as a merchant bank, we have remained committed to ensuring we deliver strong returns for our clients and shareholders. We continue to improve our inno-

vative capabilities as well as the products and services we offer; and guided by our pool of experts across the business, have taken informed risks which contributed to our growth.

“We harnessed the market and identified new business opportunities to increase revenue, which is reflective in the company’s year-end results.

We commend the hard work, passion and dedication of the staff, and say a huge thank you to our shareholders and Board of Directors for their valuable support and insights”, he added.

UK Eke, GMD of FBN Holdings, also commended the board of directors and management team for the positive results, noting that this will continue to bolster the confidence of the shareholders and customers of both the Merchant Bank, as well as the Group at large.

Business Event

L-R: Ade Bajomo, executive director, Access Bank; governor Akinwunmi Ambode; Opunimi Akinkugbe, CEO, Bestman Games Ltd; Ojoma Ochai, director, British Council and Damilola Aloba, director, transaction advisory services, EY Nigeria, at the just concluded Lagos State Tourism Summit recently

L-R: Dayo Adeneye, commissioner for information and strategy, Ogun State; Njide Ken-Odogwu, marketing and strategy sponsorship & promotions manager, MTN Nigeria; Okundola Bamgboye, events and sponsorship manager, MTN Nigeria, and Fred Amata, veteran Nollywood actor, producer and director, at the African Drum Festival 2018 in Abeokuta recently.

L-R: Taiwo Adeshina; Uwa Ohiku, both partners at Jackson, Etti & Edu; Tolu Olubajo, senior legal director, Africa & Middle East, Bristow Helicopters; Deji Amund, compliance officer, Stanbic IBTC; Adewonuola Adeniran, legal and compliance counsel, Baker Hughes Company Limited; Daniel Asapokhai, CEO Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria; Fola Olusanya; Asamah Kadiri, and Obafemi Agaba, all Partners at Jackson, Etti & Edu, at the regulatory and compliance crises: strategies & solutions organised by Jackson, Etti and Edu in Lagos.

SCB Nigeria CEO appointed new vice chair of United Nations Global Compact Board Modestus Anaesoronye

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tandard Chartered Bank Nigeria CEO, Bola Adesola, has been appointed the new vice chair of the United Nations Global Compact Board.

The UN Global Compact Board has a vital role to play

in shaping the strategy and policy of the initiative, which acts as the United Nations flagship for responsible business action. Designed as a multistakeholder body, the board provides on-going strategic and policy advice for the initiative.

António Guterres, UN Secretary-General, who announced the appointment

Adesola to serve as a new vicechair of the board of the United Nations Global Compact, says she will co-vice chair with Paul Polman. Bola Adesola succeeds the out-going vice-chair of the UN Global Compact Board, Mark Moody-Stuart, former chairman of Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies and of Anglo American plc.

L-R: Aruleba Olumide, brand manager candy; Uwadiae Chidinma, category marketing lead, West Africa; Amir Shamsi, managing director, and Bala Yesuf, director of corporate and government affairs West Africa, all of Cadbury Nigeria Plc at the unveil of the new TomTom Pack for the Super Eagles of Nigeria in Lagos.

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BUSINESS DAY

FINTECH News

Products Review

Technology Review

Personality Review

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Friday 27 April 2018

Company Review

PRODUCT REVIEW

Table shows First Bank, Diamond, Access, mobile apps lead top user reviews FRANK ELEANYA

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irst Bank, Diamond Bank and Access Bank mobile applications have received more positive reviews from top ten users surveyed on the Google Play Store, BusinessDay has found.

BusinessDay has been tracking the performance of the mobile applications of eighteen Nigerian banks on the Google Play Store. It should be noted that some of these banks have more than one mobile application. For instance, Wema Bank claims possession of the WemaMobile Bank and ALAT apps. GTBank has GTBank app, GTWorld, Bank *737*, GTBank Gambia and GTCube.

The survey has however focused on the mobile app that houses majority of the banks’ products and most preferred

are at any time using their mobile devices. The features on the apps enable users to take charge of their financial activities such as checking account balance, transferring funds, paying utility bills, access and download bank statements, monitor monthly savings among others.

For Nigerian customers, the most popular online store to download mobile applications is the Google Play Store.

A unique aspect of an app store such as the Play Store is the convenience of providing user feedback. Users can effortlessly leave a review and a rating for an app, providing quick feedback for developers.

It helps developers to better update their apps.

Over the years, increasing demand for convenience has giving rise to new features like biometric fingerprint login,

nessDay surveyed include Diamond, Access Bank, First

text alerts and expense tracking, multiple accounts transaction on several banks mobile applications. In turn, users give feedbacks on their interactions with the features.

The eighteen banks Busi-

Bank, UBA, Zenith Bank; Ecobank; First Bank; Stanbic IBTC; FCMB; Unity Bank; Skye Bank; Wema Bank; Union Bank; Fidelity Bank; GTBank; Sterling Bank; Jaiz Bank; Keystone Bank; and Heritage Bank.

See table below:

by customers.

Mobile bank applications or mobile banking refers to services provided by a financial service institution that enables customers carry out financial transactions anywhere they

The banks put together have recorded downloads in excess of six million, nine hundred and seventy thousand (6,970,000).

However, only six banks (30 percent) account for more than six million downloads.

These banks apps which include Diamond Mobile; Access Bank Plc; FirstMobile; UBA Mobile Banking; Zenith Bank Mobile App;and Ecobank Mobile Banking have been downloaded over one million times each by customers.

50 percent of the eighteen mobile apps have seen over 900,000 downloads. These include Stanbic IBTC Mobile; FCMBMobile; UnityMobile; SkyeMobile; ALAT by Wema; UnionMobile; Fidelity Online

Banking; GTWorld; and Sterling Bank Mobile.

Three banks - Jaiz, Keyston and Heritage – account for the remaining 70,000 downloads.

While five of the top six mobile apps have been updated in the first quarter of 2018, only FirstMobile is yet to be updated.

Zenith Bank’s mobile app won the battle for size with only 3.7M. Whereas, with a size of 80M, ALAT by Wema is likely the mobile app that takes the most space of all the banks apps on users’ devices.

The issues customers complained about some of the mobile applications include intermittent shut downs at the time of transactions; inability to log into once updated; too heavy, poor user friendliness;

too complicated to navigate; “It’s become buggy since the last update,” said a user of one of the mobile apps, “Takes quite a while to start, screen goes dark when you first open the app, could you check this please? Otherwise, great and helpful app.”

Another user wrote on the Play Store “Tried the app and it has a nice simple enough interface. User can perform basic banking tasks that usually require customers to go into a branch. This app got 3 start because it is heavy reliant on the use of SMS for confirmation and also displays inaccurate confirmation messages. Modern apps incorporate the use of email more. Fix the above to bring this app into the modern app space.”

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

research@businessdayonline.com

08106395676

How Nigerian consumers are interacting with media, entertainment & technology OMOSOMI OMOMIA

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he world is in the digital age. As a result, information is disseminated and distributed more rapidly than ever before, particularly via social media platforms and search engines. Nigeria’s venture into the digital age is driven by deepened mobile penetration and the country’s growing and digitally savvy youth demography.

It has therefore become necessary for stakeholders in Nigeria to understand the current consumer trends and preferences in terms of how consumers are interacting with media, entertainment and technology.

Subsequently, BusinessDay Research & Intelligence Unit (BRIU) conducted a nationwide survey to assess consumers’ media usage activities, social media preferences, as well as their level of usage. The chart below shows the states from which respondents were drawn. Lagos State with 35 percent accounted for the bulk of the responses, which is unsurprising considering the level of broadband coverage, mobile penetration and internet activities within the State. According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in Q4 2017 on the telecommunications sector, Lagos ranked the highest with 13.63 million internet users.

Focusing on six distinct age groups, the survey provides a snapshot of how consumers are interacting with media, entertainment and technology and considers their preferences in the future.The report was concluded in January 2018. A total of 925 respondents completed the online survey. Respondents within the age group of 21 to 25 years old accounted for half of the total sample size.

The survey sought to gauge respondents’ consumption and preferences for the various channels and medium of entertainment including television, computers and laptops, mobile devices, as well as the content they mostly view through these distribution channels.

Entertainment Activities Respondents were asked to rank their top three (3) preferred entertainment activities: Using the internet for social or personal interests accounted for the top activity with

78 percent; the second was watching television (on any device) with 58 percent, closely followed by listening to music on any device (57 percent).

Other ranked activities included: Reading books (any format) – 42 percent; Playing video games on any device (34 percent); Listening to the radio (any format and/or device) – 33 percent and Reading newspapers (either print or online) – 32 percent.

VIDEO When queried on the kind of videos respondents watched on their laptops, tablets and mobile phones, TV show episodes/clips accounted for 58 percent of videos viewed on any of the abovementioned devices. Entire movies (downloaded versions) accounted for 51 percent of video consumption.

Funny clips and videos constituted

Television Methods of Programming Content Respondents were gauged on how they watched television content.

Downloaded programming was the

content including television shows and movies, coupled with the increasing adoption of media consumption via smartphones and laptops, could account for the adoption of downloaded programming.

Live programming viewership accounted for the second most popular method of viewing television content with 28 percent of the respondents.

Live programming of sporting events particularly football and perhaps boxing, appears to drive viewing content among the male demographic in Nigeria. It plausibly drives consumption and demand for DStv and GOtv in the country. One of the biggest assets of DStv in Africa is sports because the brand owns the rights to most European league broadcast agreements in Sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria.

The third most popular method was on-demand programming or pay-per-view (with 16 percent of respondents). Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television service by which a subscriber of a television service provider can purchase events to view via private telecast. PPV is most commonly used to distribute combat sports events, such as boxing, mixed martial arts, and sports entertainment such as professional wrestling.

Streamed programming was the programming method adopted by

most popular method of watching content with 39 percent of the respondents admitting to the use of this method. Internet access granting users the ability to download and watch

10 percent of respondents. Again, the internet, in addition to the use of mobile phones and laptops could be accountable for this.

Programming recorded on digi-

46 percent closely followed by music videos with 43 percent of coverage.

Documentaries and movie previews/promos accounted for 33 percent of videos consumed respectively, while news clips, entire movies (streamed version) and spiritual videos brought up the rear.

tal video recorder (DVR) brought up the rear with 7 percent of survey responses.

Paid Television Purchase Preference When consumers were engaged on their preferred choice for purchasing paid television, 47 percent of respondents wished to subscribe only to channels they regularly watched as against a prepaid bouquet of channels offered. On the other hand, 43 percent preferred to subscribe to a package of channels. The remaining 10 percent expressed the wish to purchase only individual shows and events.

Associated activities while watching TV Respondents were asked what things they typically did while watching their TV at home. Results show that 34 percent of consumers revealed using a social media network and 33 percent said they browsed and surfed the web.

Social Media Usage Respondents were also gauged on their top 3 reasons for using various social media platforms comprising Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Twitter and Facebook.

Household Ownership Of Media Or Home Entertainment Equipment Smartphones, used by 84 percent of the respondents, accounted for the highest number of media entertainment devices in the household.

This was followed by laptops with 76 percent of respondents revealing their households possessed this device.

Flat panel televisions in the household were identified by 65 percent of the consumers. Tablets and desktop computers brought up the rear as a household media or home entertainment equipment by 38 percent and 26 percent of respondents respectively.

For more information on social media consumption and other results from the survey, go to www.businessdayonline.com to view and download the Nigeria Media Consumer Survey report.

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Friday 27 April 2018

FG working towards reducing cost of cancer treatment ....Health minister, Durosinmi-Etti, Ajimobi advocate lifestyle change to reduce scourge AKINREMI FEYISIPO, IBADAN.

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inister of Health, Isaac Adewole has rued what he called the low level of information and awareness on the debilitating effect of cancer across the country saying that Federal Government was working hard to cause a significant reduction in the cost of cancer treatment.

This is as Radiotherapy and Cancer Specialists, Abayomi Durosinmi-Etti; Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi and others advised against carefree habit and lifestyle that promote risk factors to cancer diseases.

In his address at the launch of the Oyo State fiveyear cancer control strategic plan, spanning five years (January 2018 to December 2022), in Ibadan, put the cost at conservatively $2,000 (N734,000) currently in the country, but the minister said it was still a far cry to the $10,000 (N3.7m) it cost to treat cancer in neighboring Ghana.

In nearby Ghana, it cost $10,000 to treat cancer while it cost $2,000 to treat the same disease in Nigeria.

But, even at that amount, it is still expensive for our people. We are working hard to make the treatment affordable.

He said that the FG would have loved to establish more cancer treatment centres across the country, in spite of the prohibitive cost, but

was being hampered by competing demands of other life-threatening diseases such as heart diseases, hypertension, kidney failure, cirrhosis, among others.

The minister lauded the state government and ABC Foundation for setting the pace for other states in the country with the cancer control strategic plan, an initiative he said Oyo State pioneered in the country.

“This is the first time in the history of cancer in Nigeria that a state will make a strategic plan on it. We now know that 40 per cent of cancer can be prevented if we change our habits and lifestyle, while 40 per cent can be cured if detected early.

“It is also advisable to localize this cancer plan, as this will be strategic to its success. Involvement of the local government administrations and other health platforms like the Primary Health Care should be integrated into the programme.”

Wife of the state governor and founder of Access to Basic Medical Care Foundation, Florence Ajimobi, who was the initiator of the project, as well as the state Commissioner for Health, Azeez Adedutan, said that the strategic plan was aimed at reducing cancer-related incidence and mortality.

In their goodwill messages, Wife of Niger State Governor, Amina Bello, Medical Director, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Temitope Alonge; and representative of wife of Kwara State governor, Lanre Bello, harped on

early detection and preventive measures to reduce the cancer scourge.

In his keynote, Durosinmi-Etti, who was the pioneer chief medical director of the National Hospital, Abuja, identified smoking, excessive alcohol intake, albinos’ exposure to sun and excessive body weight as some of the habits and lifestyles that promote cancer.

He said, “We need to pay attention to the spread of cancer in Nigeria in order to bring it to a near zero level.

From research, we discovered that breast and cervical cancer account for 50 per cent of female mortality.

“Apart from Gombe, Ibadan is the only state in Nigeria with facilities to treat cancer and this call for absolute readiness to campaign for prevention rather

than treatment. 33 per cent cure is sure with prevention and early detection.

“But, if people will just be careful about their habits and lifestyles, such as smoking, excessive drinking, exposure to paint and asbestos chemicals, excessive weight and obesity, as well as exposure to the sun in the case of albinos, there will be a significant reduction in cancer incidence.”

Launching the strategic plan, the governor said that the initiative was birthed with the collaborative efforts of the state government and the private sector.

Ajimobi stated that effective healthcare system could not be sustained by government alone, but with the support of the private sector, adding that mortality rate attributed to cancer had

been alarming and must be nipped in the bud.

The governor said, “May I reiterate the fact that effective healthcare service delivery the world over is a joint venture between government and the private sector. It is evident that health cannot be sustained by government’s efforts alone.

“Permit me to use this opportunity to commend the efforts of my wife, who I unequivocally describe as a philanthropist par excellence. She is a woman with the milk of kindness and concern for the welfare and wellbeing of others. I thank her for this initiative and others before this.”

In her welcome address, the wife of the governor said that the plight of cancer patients informed her decision to play a major role in

bringing smiles back to their faces, adding that the plan would harp on prevention of the disease rather than cure.

Ajimobi hinted that the strategic plan was targeting 500,000 people for screening annually, with 165 centers to be created across the state, while soliciting a special cancer fund to assist cancer patients in the State.

She said, “A significant proportion of the citizenry are not aware of cancer, neither are the majority equipped with much-needed information to protect themselves and their loved ones from it, leading to late presentation.

“The strategic plan is targeted at five identified priority areas and will be implemented in two phases over the next five years. Its implementation will also be supervised and coordinated by a steering committee comprising of relevant stakeholders.

“Over the next three months, 1,320 nurses across the 33 Local Government Areas of the state will be trained on cancer screening and 165 screening centers (5 in each LGA), capable of screening 500 thousand people annually, will be established.

“Although this plan has been designed to be sustainable, there is a need to establish a Cancer Fund to support cancer patients in the state. I am also aware that the State Health Insurance Agency is almost done with plans to incorporate cancer care into all its products and packages.”

African vaccination week: Ondo to immunize 350,000 children YOMI AYELESO, Akure

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s part of activities marking the commemoration of 2018 African Vaccination Week, the Ondo State Government has said that over 350,000 children between the ages of zero and five would be given free vaccination.

Addressing a Press Conference on Monday in Akure, the Ondo State capital, the Commissioner for Health in the state, Wahab Adegbenro said that the exercise would hold between Tuesday 24th and Thursday 26th April, 2018 in Akoko South West Local Government Area of the State.

The Commissioner noted that the Commemorative activities with the theme “Vaccines Work, Be an Immunization Champion”, would be held in all the 33 Primary Health facilities in the Local Government Area.

According to him, the Local Government was chosen ahead of other Council Areas for the exercise because of its suboptimal performance in the routine immunization for the months of January and February 2018.

Adegbenro,while revealing that the total 583 primary health facilities offers Routine immunization in the 18 council areas of the state, noted

that 14,484 children were vaccinated in the month of February, representing about 89% of the monthly target population.

He said, “In line with the directive of the Federal Government in commemoration of the week, a road show/walk is to hold in Oka Akoko this morning (Monday) in support of the week and to further create awareness for Vaccination in that local government and its environs.

“The Ondo State Government led by Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN believes in the sanctity of Routine Immunization in the collective drive to keep Vaccine Preventable Diseases at bay in Ondo

state and therefore continues to support the federal government’s initiatives in this regard.

“A s a r e s p o n s i b l e and responsive government, we shall continue to promote and support all efforts to improve the coverage if immunization services in our dear state,thereby keeping these diseases away from Ondo State.”

He advised pregnant women in the state to desist from patronizing the Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs) for delivery, rather embrace the free quality health facilities of the government across the state.

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WARIF Boys Conversation Café launched to create awareness against sexual violence in Nigeria KEMI AJUMOBI

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omen at Risk International Foundation, (WARIF) is a non-profit organisation, established to raise awareness and address the prevalence of rape, sexual violence and trafficking of young girls and women in communities across Nigeria. This the foundation achieves through the development and implementation of a series of initiatives which are impactful, measurable and sustainable, targeting both the intervention/treatment of these affected women, as well as providing preventive measures to reduce the high incidence.

Th e f ou n dat i o n re c ent ly launched a new initiative called the WARIF Boys Conversation Cafe. This initiative is designed to educate young boys between the ages of 12-16, on the prevalence of sexual violence in Nigeria and aims to change the attitudes, perception and behavioral pattern that exist

amongst young group of boys, towards gender inequality and sexual violence against women.

According to DaSilva- Ibru, Founder of WARIF, “We spend most of our time discussing how many women are raped in a community, how many school girls are harassed or whether or not consent was given and not enough time asking how many men rape women in that community and how many school boys harass young girls and how many screaming ‘nos’ are ignored.

‘Let’s shift the attention from educating girls and women on the prevention of sexual violence and rape and how protect themselves to teaching boys and men about positive masculinity and standing up for women and changing their mindsets so we prevent them from becoming perpetrators in the future.” She said.

DaSilva further added that “The goal at WARIF is to have a society free of rape and sexual and a vital part of this process involves education of young boys. A society where

boys are raised to become men who understand that sexual violence should not and cannot be tolerated is one we must all fight for”.

The café is intended to run a series of sessions with cohort groups of secondary school boys, where vetted male volunteers will be recruited from different organizations to serve as mentor’s/role models at these café sessions.

On the issue of sexual based violence in Nigeria, WARIF insists that there are no existing curriculums in schools and elsewhere that directly address these topics for boys. These conversations will highlight already existing issues and the potential for violence against women that subsequently occurs as these boys reach adulthood.

WARIF is also encouraging a

AXA Mansard births new easy care health plan KEMI AJUMOBI

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he AXA Group is a worldwide leader in insurance and asset management, with 166,000 employees serving 107 million clients in 64 countries. In 2016, IFRS revenues amounted to Euro 100.2 billion and IFRS underlying earnings to Euro 5.7 billion.

They recently launched a new health plan called “Easy Care health insurance plan” to help Nigerians access affordable and quality health plan.

“We are pleased to announce the launch of Easy Care health plan to our customers with the assurances of superior service delivery. With this plan, our customers will have access to the hospitals in their area of choice. Also, they have an additional opportunity of selecting the hospital of their choice from their dashboard on MyAXA Mobile app, where they can search for and book a hospital”. The Chief Executive Officer, AXA Mansard Health, Tope Adeniyi said.

What the plan offers is premium access to various health care services which include, In and Out Patient Care, General

HBL TEAM

call to action for everyone to raise their voices against rape and sexual violence of young girls and women in Nigeria and Africa, by carefully sensitizing boys about the topic as well. All parents, teachers and care givers should ensure that they teach their sons /wards about appropriate sexual behavior, and the impact it has on the community.

WARIF currently runs several initiatives such as the WARIF Centre, WARIF Educational School program, WARIF Know your community, WARIF Gatekeepers initiative and the WARIF through the Arts initiative.

WARIF seeks to re-dress the adverse effects seen as a result of Gender Based Violence both immediate with health and psychosocial risks to survivors such as new cases of HIV/ AIDS and unwanted pregnancies, as well as in the long-term societal problems that subsequently occur such as higher incidence of illiteracy and the adverse impact on girl learning and the social development of a nation.

DexaMedica partners CHI pharmaceutical to provide medical care to Olodo community ANTHONIA OBOKOH

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and Specialist Consultation; X-Rays; Laboratory & Diagnostic Tests. Other health care benefits accessible to subscribers on the plan are NPI Immunizations; Prescribed Medicines & Drugs; Accidents & Emergencies; Dental care; Evacuation of patients to the hospital; HIV/AIDS – to the Extent of Diagnosis and Treatment at Free Specialist Centres nationwide. A subscriber can get these with as low as N12, 000.

Adeniyi further added that “Asides from the various medical services offered on the plan, customers would also be able to beat long queues, request an out of pocket

reimbursement and access the 24/7 Customer Contact Centre. Customers can also select a payment option by either paying for a full year or half year health cover and enjoy access to a growing list of over 30 hospitals nationwide.”

“AXA Mansard is renowned to be at the forefront of health improvement and the company has continued to make a difference in the lives of her customers through their other offerings in investment and pension administration in Nigeria”, Adeniyi revealed.

AXA Mansard was incorporated in 1989 as a private limited liability

KEMI AJUMOBI, Editor - kemi@businessdayonline.com

company and is registered as a composite company with the National Insurance Commission of Nigeria (NAICOM). The Company offers life and non-life insurance products and services to individuals and institutions across Nigeria whilst also offering asset/investment management services, health insurance solutions and pension fund administration through its three subsidiaries - AXA Mansard Investments Limited, AXA Mansard Health Limited and AXA Mansard Pensions Limited respectively. AXA Mansard was listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange in November 2009.

n a bid to improve the health of Nigerians, major pain killer company, DexaMedica makers of Boska with CHI pharmaceutical on the 26th of April, conducted another wave of its Pain Free Day initiative to further expand the awareness of No.1 immune booster (Stimuno) at Olodo community in Oyo state to help consumers boost their body immune system this period.

The Pain Free Day event was attended by over a thousand people from the Olodo community as attendees were educated on the benefits of having and maintaining a strong immune system.

Ka f ayat Mo ra d e yo, brand executive DexaMedica, said that following the trend of lifestyles in Nigeria, STIMUNO helps our body to produce more antibodies and activates the immune system to work optimally “This Pain Free Day edition is specially designed to introduce Stimuno brand to consumers so that they can strengthen their immune system and avoid unnecessary breakdown. It is a recommended brand for everyone both healthy

and unhealthy for the total maintenance of the body system” ‘’ The brand works in all cases whether in sickness (for example immuno suppression, Adjunct in Hepatitis treatment, Adjunct in HIV treatment, cancer, tuberculosis and other infections) or health” said Moradeyo.

According to her, “From qualitative findings, we observed that consumers are faced with a lot of health challenges ranging from stress, recurrent infections such as frequent malaria attacks, diabetes, hypertension, kidney stone, liver damage, immuno-compromised disease such as HIV, tuberculosis that could be treated with Stimuno.

However, the team provided the opportunity for consumers to see health experts who provided full range of health services for free. They provided free eye glasses for those in need as well as prescribed drugs to treat eye, ear and nose defects. They also gave out branded items and Stimuno brand to Olodo consumers.

Besides rendering free health services, the team also leveraged the opportunity to educate consumers on how to live stress-free while at their various duties.

ANTHONIA OBOKOH, ANI MICHAEL, Reporters I David Ogar, Graphics

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Black Magic Tour, a show to remember Stories by OBINNA EMELIKE

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made Enter tainment truly brought more attention to the afrobeats community in the UK on April 20, 2018, when they presented the Black Magic Tour with Yemi Alade at the O2 Academy in Islington, London.

As well, Yemi Alade, Nigerian Afropop singer and songwriter, lived up to the expectations of the London audience. As the first female Afrobeats artiste to headline her own concert in the UK, ‘Mama Africa’ as she is popularly known, gave fans a show to remember.

During the phenomenal performance, her fans from various ethnic groups, showed her love and sang the lyrics of her popular songs word for word.

Her performance was brilliant and energetic all through the 1 hour 45 minutes she spent on stage dancing, singing and enjoying her fans.

However, there was a surprise performance by Moelogo and Lady Leshurr, rising stars who came to support Yemi Alade at the concert.

Speaking on the sold-out show, Junior Adeosun, CEO, Smade Entertainment, noted that Alade brought fresh vibes and originality to her performances, which thrilled audience at the London show.

“Yemi Alade lived up to the

expectations of the audience. She brought African Magic to life with every song she performed, every dance step she took and all the energetic moves”, Adeosun said.

With the success of the first tour, the CEO hopes to support another leg of Alade’s Black Magic Tour in Europe in the nearest future.

Alade made her musical debut in an all-girl group called Noty Spices in 2005, but her music became widely popular after she

won the Peak Talent Show in 2009.

She later released her first single “Fimisile” under the Jus’ Kiddin’ label.

In 2012, she signed onto the music label, Effyzzie Music Group, and released her single “Ghen Ghen Love”.

In July 2013, Alade released the video for her romantic afroR&B song “Bamboo”, produced

by Fliptyce. “Bamboo” went on to be a moderate hit and a popular wedding song. In the last quarter of

The ‘Fly Boy’ wins big

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or taking out time from his intensive flying career, Miracle Ikechukwu Igbokwe, a young pilot, won the 2018 edition of Big Brother Nigeria reality show, which was tagged Double Wahala. He won with 38 percent of the 170 million votes casted during the 85-day show.

For 85 days, the in-house pilot who was also called ‘Fly Boy’ maneuvered his way amid the stormy Big Brother House inhabited by 20 equally ambitious youths to win the prize.

With his success in the winnertakes-it-all reality show, Miracle is now rich with N25 million cash prize, a brand new SUV an SUV and other prizes with a combined worth of N45 million.

Of course, Miracle beat Cee-C, one of the most controversial house-

mates, to win the ultimate grand prize. The last five housemates who survived till the last day of the reality show were; Cynthia Nwadiora (CeeC) who emerged first runner-up, Tobi Bakre (Tobi) who emerged the second runner-up. Asogwa Alexandra Amuche Sandra (Alex) and Chinonso Nina (Nina) were evicted at the grand finale.

However, while the grand finale held in South Africa, Bisola; former Big Brother Naija housemate, hosted a live viewing in Lagos, Nigeria, and coverage of the show switched between the venues.

Nigerian serial hit maker, Davido, kicked off proceedings with his hit track, ‘Fia’ and the five finalists, Tobi, Cee-C, Nina, Miracle and Alex were then joined in the house by Ebuka, who gave them opportunities to clear the air on several controversial issues.

2013, she broke records when her most recent hit single, “Johnny”, produced by Selebobo, was leaked on the internet. The song became an international smash hit as it dominated music charts in Tanzania, Kenya, Ghana, South Africa, Liberia, Uganda, Zimbabwe, and the United Kingdom, among others. It has been listed as one of the best songs of 2013, despite the fact that it was released towards the end of the year and without a music video.

Alade has been featured on the covers of several magazines and performed around the world, sharing stages and songs with Mary J. Blige, Shina Peters, M.I, Wizkid, Becca, May D, Waje and Yemi Sax. She also headlined the Super Diva’s Nite at the 2013 Calabar Festival, and opened for the 2013 Headies Awards (popularly referred to as the “Nigerian Grammys”).

In 2014, Alade was featured on Yung6ix’s track “Lights”, as well as on a remix of “Sebiwo” by Beninese afropop star Lace. Alade teamed up with award-winning cinematographer Clarence Peters to create a music video for “Johnny”, which was released in March 2014 to critical acclaim and now has more than 32 million views on YouTube, as of December 2015.

Alade joined M.I, Waje, Timi Dakolo, and Burna Boy in singing the theme song for Port Harcourt, the UNESCO 2014 World Book Capital, as part of a project urging young people to read and stay in school. Shortly after that, Alade released a new single entitled “Tangerine”, featuring Selebobo; the critically acclaimed track charted across Africa. She appeared as a guest artist on Falz’s debut album.

She released her debut album, King of Queens, on October 2, 2014, and then went on tour. Yemi Alade then released her second studio album, titled “Mama Africa”, in March 2016.

Top jazz artistes headline LIJF 10th anniversary The first eviction of the night was then announced, as Nina was told to leave the Big Brother house.

Viewers also got the chance to hear from past housemates who were in attendance at the Lagos venue, as Bisola probed them on their relationships and ventures outside the house.

A pair of performances followed, first with ‘Legbegbe’ crooner Mr. Real thrilling viewers and then Kaffy and the Magneto Dance Crew performing expertly choreographed dance moves.

Another eviction was up next, as Alex was also evicted from the Big Brother Naija house. Following further performances by Dice Ailes and Kaffy, Tobi became the next housemate to be evicted leaving Miracle and Cee-C as the top two finalists.

After a very tense moment on stage, the venue erupted as Miracle Igbokwe was unveiled as the winner of Big Brother Naija: Double Wahala, with Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu, regional director, M-Net West Africa, presenting a cheque for N 25 million to Miracle.

This year’s edition of the show, according to the organisers, had more vote than the previous two editions by polling a total of 170 million votes cast in the 85-day event, with 30 million votes coming in the final week of the show.

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nspiro Productions, the organisers of Nigeria’s premier jazz festival, has unveiled the names of the artistes performing at its 10th anniversary extravaganza to be held in honour of Hugh Masekela, late South Africa jazz icon at Freedom Park, Lagos.

Topping the bill are Gloria Ibru, Gboyega Adelaja, Bright Gain, Sharp Band All Stars, Orliam, Dede Mabiakwu, Dezign, Benny Paladin, Nathmac and a host of others. The one-day event will be produced by Pretty Okafor, current PMAN President, a veteran performing musician and internationally trained professional concert producer, and will also spread over three stages.

Ayoola Sadare, festival director /founder, said “The choice of musicians for this year’s edition was based on a few factors. Most of the headline artistes have at one time or the other known or performed with Hugh Masekela and desired to honour him when approached.

Gboyega Adelaja was his band member and flat mate back in United States of America years ago, Gloria Ibru recently recorded a track with the legend before he passed, Mike Aremu had played on the same platform with him several times and had plans to have him perform at one of his Sax

Appeal shows. Dede was an associate of the icon from when he used to visit Fela way back.

They all feel a strong obligation to honour him especially as it also falls on international Jazz Day. The choice of the PMAN president Pretty Okafor to produce this special anniversary of the festival is also significant as he was there at the inception of the festival 10 years ago and also at Hugh’s 70th anniversary celebration in Cape Town in 2009 and feels this is the contribution he can make to honour the legend.”

The Lagos International Jazz Festival 2018 10th anniversary celebration will be held on international Jazz Day Monday April 30, 2018 at Freedom Park Lagos. The event is supported by Lagos State Tourism, Freedom Park, Sovereign Trust Insurance & a host of others.

Friday 27 April 2018

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Business Etiquette

Film Review – New Money

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ew money told a very heart touching and beautiful story of how one could sleep poor and welcome to great wealth. It was about a young girl who was single handedly trained by her mom, who never wanted to tell her that her dad was extremely wealthy for fear, that she might choose her dad over her, and go over to leave in wealth and affluence. She had to lie to her daughter that her dad was dead. A kind of funny twist to the story with Falz the bad guy doing what he knows how to do best, entertain and make his viewers smile. He did put up a good show as usual and it was a nice movie.

The Director Tope Oshin did put out a good yet funny story, one that made everyone laugh and wonder why the lead actor Toun “Jemima Osunde” had to play naïve to Falz the bad guy. The cast and crew selected were really good and did fit in well into their roles. There was a good choice of locations chosen and it was hard to tell which part of the city some scenes were shot. They also made a nice decision with the choice of costumes and the background songs from Falz just made the movie even better, everyone could just sing along and smile as they watched.

A sneak into this Nigerian movie, so the movie started out by showing us where Toun worked in a Super market on the Island, there was a man who came to the store to buy products and kept starring at her, when she finished scanning his products, told her to keep the change and wanted to touch her chic, she felt really insulted by that and went after the man to return the little change he had offered her.

He kept smiling and was so happy to have come so close to her. He introduced her to his PA and driver like she was interested and they drove off. Little did she know that the man she spoke rudely to was her father, who she never seen before, because her mother lied to her that he was dead. Days later a lady comes to see her mother and herself and gives her a tab, to watch the video request of her dad. He had a made a last wish and had handed over his entire empire to her, as the new CEO of Audere group. In just

with Janet Adetu

The Business of Events Are you a party goer? Do you enjoy attending social and formal events? o a large extent attending events has many major pluses, you are both networking and building future relationships or alternatively you are unwinding after a bout of stress. Today managing an event is now a booming business which has taken a new turn. It is one thing to look all glitz and glamorous at your special event, it is another to put the entire occasion together in a sane and positive way. A whole lot of planning, organizing, sorting, arranging and decision making goes into planning events, many do not realize its simply is a very tedious job.

Like I mentioned earlier, the business of events is that new dimensional approach to event planning that helps ease a lot of the headache that occurs with every event. Some party hosts will say that they are organized, that there is nothing behind organizing an event, that they can manage their own party very well. There is an assumption that event planners do almost nothing out of the ordinary but charge an arm and a leg for their services. Well I am of the school of thought that says there is no small party. When you are organizing and catering for 10 people it takes just as much time and energy as it would 50 or even 100 people. The difference is just in the quantity of food and drink and a few other things. It is understandable that the cost of vendors like the DJ or the MC or the cake may just remain constant regardless of the number of guests.

For those who appreciate the true value of an event planner they would not host a party without one. It is indeed a job and a half, it takes tenacity, courage, will-power, determination, strength, ruthlessness and lots more to manage many human beings at the same time; all in a bid to make a success of just one event. Events today have metamorphosed into what one may almost say carnivals. The list keeps getting longer; you have a choice to remove many items from the list and settle for what you are comfortable with. As the host you should always be on top of your game and direct the cause of events as you desire.

Let us look at the business of events and the strategic conduct expected of an event planner.

Unfortunately we see all sorts of mannerisms at events today; the drama comes from the domestic staff; to the disorganized vendors themselves and all through to managing highly disgruntled guests and their behavior.

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Cast: Jemima Osunde,Kate Henshaw, Blossom Chukwujekwu, Falz the bad guy, Wofai Fada, Wale Ojo, Dakore Akande, Etim Effiong, Femin Branch and many more Director: Tope Oshin Producer: Inkblot Production Casting 1hr 38mins Genre: Drama Written by: Naz Onuzo one click Toun became a billionaire and was offered a new home, new latest range rover sports with a driver and a magnificent office and company.

There was a big problem for her as she couldn’t comprehend why her mum would lie to her all her life and allowed her miss the opportunity of spending time with her dad, due to her selfishness. Now she had missed knowing who exactly her dad really was, and only saw him briefly which broke her heart even more. She felt sad because even the first encounter with her dad wasn’t a pleasant one as she was rude to his kind fatherly gesture, but the truth was that she had no clue. Toun had her own dreams of becoming a great fashion designer and she was about to lose all that to being the new CEO of Audere group, something she had never imagined, or thought of. For her she was worried that she wouldn’t be able to control the company and that she might do a bad job at it, but fortunately she proved them wrong and handled the company perfectly well, but her heart was still in her fashion dreams, she wanted both worlds which would have being so difficult to have. You will need

to see this movie to see how everything turned out for her good and the wise decisions she had to face as she battled with her wicked uncle and son who wanted to take over the company.

To my verdict I would say that “New Money” deserves an 8/10, because they had a nice storyline, production, cast, costumes and background song. Most of the viewers enjoyed the comedy and drama, making the viewer’s demands for more even after the movie ended. One act for me who really killed it was Falz the bad guy, his mannerism, attitude and composure, made everyone laugh all through the movie. Most people couldn’t help but wonder why Toun was with Falz and why she couldn’t see that she was being used all along. To all the drama and comedy lovers, watching “New money” would be an exciting and fun way to relax this weekend.

Feel free to review any movie of your choice in not more than 200 words, please send us a mail to linda@businessdayonline. com and stand a chance to win a free movie ticket.

Linda Ochugbua @lindaochugbua

THE BUSINESS OF MANAGING EVENTS PROTOCOL. As the events planner there are some simple etiquette strategies we expect from you to make a success of each of your events.

Provide a detailed list A potential client comes to you to manage their event, regardless of how experienced they say they are, always provide a comprehensive checklist for your clients to work along with as your project guide.

A decent list should include:- Event venue - Food vendors - Drinks vendors - Music - Rentals - Cake/Desserts - Outfits ( Optional) - Lighting

- Decoration - Photographer - Videographer - Press ( Optional) - Master of Ceremony - Comedian - Performers (Optional) - Gifts (Optional) - Special Seats (Hosts) - Fireworks (Optional ) - Flowers - Extra add on.

Be Transparent It is important to always carry your clients along with you at all times. Nothing is to be done behind closed doors or with the assumption you are making a decision on behalf of your client. When things are not going so well be open enough to explain but with the assurance that things are being taken care of and are e well under control, never sugar coat a potentially disastrous situation.

Be Organized It is important to request for a rekky with all your vendors at the beginning of planning an event; another just before the event starts, if possible at the end too. Organize all vendors accordingly that is ask for the number to be present and grant them authority. Each endor should state who is coming to represent their organization, do not be caught unawares. Take a full vendors list; with a logistical number, a guest list of 500 - 1000

will attract an additional 200 or more man labor inside the same venue.

Be Instructive Give instruction as to how you want each vendor to perform, be specific as to: 1. Time of arrival.

2. Set up time.

3. Flow of traffic.

4. Service flow.

5. Customer service.

6. Appearance or Dress code.

7. Line of Duty.

8. Level of authorization 9. Flow of Program Be Vigilant You cannot be everywhere at the same time, you need to have at least 2-3 supervisors working with you who are authorized to make important decisions where you may not be. You will

need to be very vigilant depending on the size and magnitude of the event. Be the second eye; focused and be forward thinking for the host as well. When time is fast spent and running out, you will need to be observant and move things ahead.

Think on your toes Even though there are still lots more to talk about you as an event planner must be thinking on your toes like clock work.

Issues and problems may arise quite unannounced at any point in time. Be very decisive and accurate in your decision as possible. Be calm and collected so that you do not agitate your clients. Ensure that guests are well taken care of, each guest gets to eat, drink, and enjoy the ambience. Take care of disgruntled guests too.

Be polite, friendly, kind, act with courtesy and respect I cannot rule out the fact that conduct and behavior is the key driving force behind your performance. You have to fix the puzzle together and make everything work. Your behavior, mannerism and show of courtesy and respect will say a whole lot about whether your service will be engaged again or not.

Make every effort to be polite, friendly and courteous always.

Good luck Janet.adetu@gmail.com

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CITYFile Makoko residents get insecticide nets from HOFOWEM

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The National Trauma Centre, National Hospital in Abuja where Sen. Dino Malaye is currently receiving treatment having jumped out of a moving Police vehicle in Abuja on Tuesday. Newsmen were prevented from entering the centre by Policemen, during the visit of the Senate President and other senators in Abuja. NAN

Victims of S/Kaduna violence seek N4bn compensation from FG ADEOLA AJAKAIYE, Kaduna

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ictims of 2011 violence in Southern Kaduna have asked the Federal Government to pay up the balance of N4 billion compensation earlier approved for them.

Ahmad Yandeh, spokesperson of the victims, said the victims had been abandoned and forgotten since the crisis that occurred seven years ago in which over 1, 000 people allegedly lost their lives.

“It is an incontrovertible fact that the April 2011 post election violence in some parts of Southern Kaduna had led to the death of over one thousand people.

“There was forceful displacement of over 25, 000 families from 38 settlements and the complete destruction of their dwellings, places of worship, farmlands, livestock and other means of livelihoods,“ Yandeh said.

According to him, the Federal Government promised to pay a compensation of N7

billion to the victims but only released N3 billion through the Kaduna State government.

The victims are denied rights of return to their places of abode, notably; the people of Matsirga are denied access to their farmlands,” said Yandeh.

He added that the violence had “left behind huge humanitarian challenges facing the survivors made up of widows, orphans, internally displaced persons who were robbed of their homes and means of livelihood.

Yandeh noted that in spite of the detailed investigation of the by Judicial Commission of Inquiry and Presidential Panel and issuance of white papers by both the state and Federal Government, “no one has been prosecuted for their role in the mayhem.”

“We acknowledge the efforts of various organisations, local and international towards peace building and mediation efforts in Southern Kaduna.

“We also wish to recognise the laudable efforts of the federal and Kaduna govern-

ments for beefing up the security architecture in and around Kafanchan and do hereby, appeal to for the extension of the same to other parts of the area.

“We commend the Kaduna state government for the establishment of the permanent peace commission with the aim of addressing all issues in the state. There should be fair trial and prosecution of all those found involved in the attacks and killings of people in all parts of the State.

“There should also be adequate compensation and rehabilitation of the victims to alleviate their sufferings. There is need to put in place a comprehensive long-term programme to guarantee the restoration of all lands, assets and properties of victims,” Yandeh said.

He urged the state government to empower traditional institutions to ensure check and balances within their domains, so that they can be held accountable for any breach of peace and extrajudicial killings in their areas.

Govt raises alarm over drug abuse among youth in Lagos JOSHUA BASSEY

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ommissioner for Youth and Social Development, in Lagos, Agboola Dabiri, has decried the rate of drug abuse and other social vices among the youth in the state.

He said it was a menace which had become a “cankerworm”, vowing, however, that the government was poised to fight it to a standstill.

Dabiri, who addressed journalists on Wednesday, said that drug abuse among the youth has gone beyond the conventional use of marijuana and cigarette smoking.

“They are now into strange things like intake of codeine, tramadol, mixture of soda drinks and bleach, toothpaste, use of LCD tablets, even to the extent of the use of the venom of black mamba snake,” he said.

Dabiri said that the state government was intensifying efforts on various opportunities for the youth, which include job creation, leadership and vocational training, among others.

“A lot of programmes have been lined

up to tackle the menace and we will fight it to a standstill. We are equally engaging non governmental agencies and youth organisations for them to sensitise their members and youths on peaceful conduct,” the commissioner said.

According to him, the state government in 2016 developed and launched the state’s youth policy, a document guiding the conduct and affairs of youths in the state.

He said that the government, to address the upsurge of youth unemployment, trained a total of 13, 314 youths in various vocations.

Dabiri said that his ministry has also commenced the implementation of the Youth Economic Empowerment Scheme, where a total number of 900 youths were expected to be trained in various vocations over a 9-month period.

During the period under review, the commissioner said that 57,350 students benefitted from individual and group counselling sessions to curb truancy, gangsterism and other social vices.

He said that five pregnant students were

assisted to access adequate antenatal and delivery services and were also integrated back to school.

Dabiri said 150 reported cases of sexual and physical abuse were treated, while with the introduction of the state’s safeguarding and child protection policy, more students and pupils were encouraged to report cases of abuse.

“The response has been helpful, effective and indeed created an open door for children and parents to sell information to us,” the commissioner said.

On rehabilitation services, he said that 1,680 beggars, destitute and mentallychallenged persons and street children were rescued off the streets, out of which 1299 rehabilitated were released to their relations for reintegration.

Dabiri said that 162 abandoned children were rescued during the period under review, comprising 62 male and 100 female.

On adoption and fostering services, he said 91 adoption cases were legalised at various family courts.

ope for Women in Nigeria (HOFOWEM), non-governmental organisation founded by the wife of the Lagos Stategovernor,BolanleAmbode,hasdistributed over 3000 insecticide-treated nets, at Makoko community, in Yaba area of Lagos, as part of activities to mark 2018 World Malaria Day. This is as Ambode has urged residents of the state and Nigerians in general, to be more concerned with preventing rather than curing malaria, a disease spread through mosquito bite.

Ambode described as unacceptable, a situation where a child dies every two minutes from malaria around the world, and an alarming global average of 400,000 deaths annually, according to World Health Organisation (WHO) report.

She submitted that efforts should be geared towards the prevention of the scourge, with wide-spread use of nets, indoor spraying with insecticide and preventive treatment of expectant mothers.

According to her, ‘We cannot fold our arms and allow malaria to continue to ravage our society. This epidemic has claimed too many lives, whether in our country, Africa or the world in general. Thank God it is not a disease without prevention or cure, and since it has both, the easier way out is to prevent it’.

‘The World Health Organisation tells us that more than 400,000 malaria deaths still occur annually, and at least one child dies of the infection every two minutes around the world, this is bad enough. It cannot go on this way, we need to scale down the ugly trend, by doing more to prevent rather than chase after cure.’

She noted further that the theme for this year, ‘end malaria for good’ was attainable, if governments, stakeholders and individuals, worked together to combat the epidemic.

She specifically appealed for more investment in malaria prevention, as well as greater funding for malaria control in endemic countries, stressing that this would aid the attainment of WHO’s Global Technical Strategy for Malaria projection of 40 per cent reduction in cases and deaths by 2020.

She further said that HOFOWEM as foundation, was concerned about the welfare and health of the family, adding that “the family cannot be productive if it is plagued with one of the fastest killers in medical history. This is why we are advocating for the use of treated insecticide nets, proper disposal of waste and a clean environment generally.”

Addressing the community members, chairman of Yaba Local Council Development Area, Kayode Omiyale, thanked the governor’s wife, for celebrating the 2018 world malaria day with the community and counseled Makoko residents to ensure the best use of the insecticide distributed to them.

Militants: Ikorodu community offers land for military barrack

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ke-Oko, Oke-Tapa and Isawo communities in Ikorodu, Lagos State, have earmarked 10 acres for the construction of military barrack in the area.

The traditional ruler of the communities, Muse Ibrahim, said that the gesture was in appreciation of the military’s efforts in ending militancy and pipeline vandalism in the areas.

Ibrahim said that the communities have continued to enjoy relative peace devoid of militancy and vandalism in the past two years.

He noted that the continued presence of security agents had deterred militants and other criminals from operating in the area.

The traditional ruler said that the land was part of the areas previously occupied by suspected militants and vandals who unleashed terror and killed many residents of the area.

BUSINESS DAY

Friday 27 April 2018

Hotels ‘Training has exposed me to limitless opportunities in the cookery business’ Bitrus Kukah John is a chef at Southern Sun Ikoyi Hotel who recently returned from a one-year training programme at the Christina Martin Culinary Art Studio in George, South Africa. In this interview, he tells Obinna Emelike his experience and opportunities the training offers.

How has your experience been at Southern Sun Ikoyi so far? t has been wonderful working in the Kitchen at Southern Sun Ikoyi Hotel now at the Commis 1 level.I was employed as a Kitchen Steward at the hotel’s inception in February 2009. Since then, I have moved up through the ranks to the main kitchen presently as a Commis 1.

The promotion came after I completed my Commis Chef training and it has really marked the beginning of my culinary journey at the hotel, which has been exciting so far. Prior to joining Southern Sun Ikoyi, I worked with a hotel in Kaduna and Abuja as a waiter.

My foray into the hospitality industry was by chance. I graduated from Nuhu Bamalli Polytechnic Zaria with a National Diploma in General Agriculture and wanted to get busy and be productively engaged. When the hotel opportunity came, I did not hesitate to take on the challenge.

What are your key functions as a Cummis 1 at the hotel?

As a Commis Chef like any other position in the hotel, my role is very important because we all work as a team in the service chain.

The kitchen department in any hotel is the core of the business and so our

I

Bitrus Kukah John

functions and relevance cannot be overemphasised.

I am particularly tasked with maintaining hygiene standards, ensuring clean food preparation areas, that equipment function properly, that work surfaces and serving areas are safe and that sanitary food handling practices and standards are strictly adhered to.

How has your role contributed to greater customer experience at the hotel?

The importance of my role in elevating customers’ experience at our hotel became clearer to me following my yearlong training at the Christina Martin Culinary School Art Studio in George, South Africa.

Working and schooling at

the same time with colleagues from other regions really challenged my career, my thought processes and has quite evidently made me a better chef since my return. Now, I am more confident in my abilities as a chef, paying more attention to details relating to health and safety, diet and nutrition and the quality of the produce from our suppliers. Also, I ensure cost effectiveness in meal preparations which all add up to ensuring that our end customers are pleased with the overall dining experience at our hotel.

Do you intend sharing your recently acquired skills with your team members?

The training has awoken

a new zeal in me; the desire to take my career to a whole new level. The training was quite extensive and intensive. Now that I am back, I will continue under the supervision of both the Chef de Partie and Executive Chef, imparting knowledge to my colleagues about the new techniques and the modern ways of cookery I have learnt. I particularly do this as we get rotation periods through various sections in the kitchen such as sauce, vegetables, fish, butchery among others. I share new and more effective methods of getting the job done with my colleagues as I go through each section.

What are your future aspirations with the new skills?

Well, my recently concluded training in South Africa was at a culinary school that is accredited and affiliated to City & Guilds of London (C&G), so the certificates that we earn at the school are recognised worldwide. For me, this is great as it gives me added confidence about my skills.

Since I have chosen the path of the cookery business, this training has exposed me to limitless opportunities. I believe that there is still so much for me to do and learn and this I will be doing in the future, just as I have done in the past nine years at Southern Sun Ikoyi.

25

Top BusinessDay Partner Hotels Novotel Port Harcourt Address: 3 Stadium Road Rumuomasi, Port Harcourt Rivers State, Tel: 0809 713 5734

Transcorp Hilton Abuja 1 Aguiyi Ironsi Street Maitama, Abuja Tel: +234-708-060-3000

Protea Hotel Apo Apartments Address: Ahmadu Bello Way, Apo, Abuja Tel: 09 480 1818

Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham Abuja 1 Uke St, Garki, Abuja.

Tel: +234 9 4603900, +234 805 7522500

Chida Hotel International Address: Plot 224, Solomon Lar Way, Utako, Abuja Tel: 0810 871 8882

Renaissance Lagos Ikeja Hotel #38/40 Isaac John St, Ikeja GRA100271, Ikeja Tel: +234-908-780 5555

206 Hotel Plot 206 Cadastral Zone B02 Opposite Kenuj 02 Mall, Oladipo Diya Road, Durumi District, Abuja Tel: 08119707993 Email: 206abuja@gmail.com

New look La Giara restaurant sets to open at Sheraton Lagos

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heraton Lagos Hotel has announced that on May 17, 2018, it will be reopening La Giara; its newly renovated Italian Restaurant. Sheraton Lagos Hotel is located on Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way at the epicenter of Ikeja’s bus-

tling area.

Authentically Italian, the restaurant brings to life different flavours of Italy with its unique style of cooking.

With a distinct rustic feel, and an open kitchen plan, aromas emanate teasing diners of the exquisite food

about to excite their taste buds.

The restaurant has undergone works to bring the Italian charm of dining to life.

Guests will be able to get the full Italian dining experience as they enjoy the traditional Italian Recipe, in a stylish

contemporary environment.

The new menu consists of traditional hand crafted dishes ranging from pizzas to pastas that are sure to delight lovers of Italian cuisine.

The hotel has carefully selected items the décor to create a modern ambience. It is guaranteed that all guests will leave feeling satisfied after being fully immersed in the culinary culture it provides.

At Sheraton Lagos, we ‘Go Beyond’ words and by doing this, the hotel believes that it will be cementing its place as a hotel not just business travelers but also a property that creates experiences leisure seekers too.

With the hotel’s proven success and exceptional reputation in culinary expertise, the Sheraton Lagos Hotel looks forward to inviting all food lovers and enthusiasts to the property to try out the new La Giara.

Protea Hotel (GRA Ikeja) GRA Ikeja

Protea Hotel (V/Island) Off Ajose Adeogun Street, V/ Island

Gombe Jewel Hotel, 22, Njamena Street, off Aminu Kano crescent Wuse 2, Abuja.

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

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BUSINESS DAY

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Friday 27 April 2018

BUSINESS SOUTH-SOUTH

COMPLETE COVERAGE OF SOUTH-SOUTH / SOUTH-EAST

NEPC moves to resuscitate cocoa produce output in Bayelsa …as Nigeria’s cocoa revenue moves southward to $0.55 m …Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana top with 1.7m MT, 800,000MT BEN EGUZOZIE, in Yenagoa

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t a time, the nation’s cocoa produce output is on a downward trend, hovering around 220,000 to 250,000 metric tons per annum, the Nigeria Export Promotions Council (NEPC) has begun a move to resuscitate cocoa produce development in Bayelsa, a littoral state, where cocoa beans were first planted in Nigeria in the 1870s, but was not sustained. By 1956, cocoa farming was completely abandoned when crude oil was first discovered in commercial quantities at Oloibiri.

To this end, the NEPC last week held a maiden one-day capacity building workshop for would-be cocoa farmers in the state. This is a first step to a further hands-on training for the farmers on the methodology for planting, harvesting, drying and bagging cocoa beans for export. But this would only come if the crowd of farmers, who trooped in the conference room of Domaris Hotel, Yenagoa on 18 April, move things up from mere expressing desire to take on cocoa development.

NEPC executive director and chief executive, Segun Awolowo, who was represented by the South-South regional coordinator of NEPC, Azuka Ikejiofor, while lapping on the theme of the workshop: “resuscitating cocoa produce development for economic diversification of Bayelsa State,” promised the farmers of the agency’s willingness to come back in a near future to practically train them on cocoa growing and value addition.

Awolowo informed that, while Nigeria earned some $242.23 million on cocoa exports in 2016, down from $338.17 million (in 2015), and further down to $0.55 million in 2017, the country could raise its cocoa output revenue to $1.1 billion, if it carefully implements the 2014 recommendations of MBA students from University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), on how to increase the nation’s cocoa output.

For instance, UCLA study recommended that Nigeria’s cocoa production can be increased substantially through “increase of yield, increase in land area

Ovenseri Otamere (l), PRO, Justice M.O.Oyanna (second l), Vice-Chairman of NICE presenting plague to Godwin Ehigiamusoe, CEO/Managing Director, LAPO Microfinance Bank (m), Eddy Ikponmwen, chairman of NICE, second right and Justice P.O. Isibor, secretary of NiCE during the induction of the LAPO managing director as honourary member into the Nigerian Institute for Character Education (NICE) in Benin-City.

LAPO boss inducted into NICE honorary member IDRIS UMAR MOMOH, Benin

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under cultivation of cocoa, increase in quality of cocoa beans through new techniques in fermentation and sustainable farming, increase of prices of cocoa through organic certification and target of new markets like USA.” Already, NEPC is currently working with Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko, Ondo State, for increased production and distribution of cocoa seedlings to farmers, and capacity building on improved processing to achieve premium cocoa for export.

The NEPC executive director also informed that the agency is collaborating with the Centre for the Development of Imports from Developing Countries (CBI) in the Netherlands, to build capacity for some small cocoa exporting companies, through a one-year capacity building programme on market access.

He said Nigeria must strive to regain its cocoa produce output position; and urged cocoa exporters to invigorate their business with the revamped Export Expansion Guarantee (EEG) scheme, which is expected to boost export business and make Nigeria exports competitive in the global market.

Also speaking, Ofon Udofia, the

executive secretary and chief executive of Institute of Export Operations and Management (IEOM), who chaired the occasion, reminded all the participants to work hard enough to put the workshop into practice, by going ahead to own cocoa farms.

Udofia also called on the Bayelsa State government to immediately put in place policies and agencies to support the growth of cocoa produce development in the state.

On his part, J.E. Alla, the director general of Bayelsa State Bureau for Cooperative Development (BCD), advised the incoming cocoa farmers in the state to organize themselves into credible cooperative societies, in order to make impact; as well as be able to access any government support.

Meanwhile, the program manager of Bayelsa State Agriculture Development Program (BY-ADP), Jackson Diegbegha, said, there was paucity of agriculture extension agents which hinders agriculture sustainability in the oil-rich state.

He said the state requires at least 174 Agric Extension Agents to oversee each of the 174 units in the state, but there are only 15 so far.

Akwa Ibom seeks refund of N140bn spent on federal roads ANIEFIOK UDONQUAK, Uyo

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kwa Ibom State has made a passionate appeal to the Federal Government for a refund of the money it spent on the construction of federal roads in the state; saying that it is being owed N140 billion.

Ephrain Inyang, the state commissioner for Works made the appeal in an interview with BusinessDay in Uyo, the state capital; stating that though the Federal Government had approved the payment of N70 billion after the verification of the job done, noting has been paid the state, despite repeated appeals.

He added that the payment would facilitate the completion of the Uyo–Ikot Ekpene road.

Inyang said it was unfair for the Federal Government to collect revenue on roads constructed by the state government; maintaining that the state government would not allow any company to lay pipes or

cables along the ongoing Uyo-Ikot Ekpene-Aba road without payment of revenue for such use of the road to the state government.

He expressed disappointment that despite its inability to refund the initial N70b approved after certification of federal roads undertaken by the state government, the Federal Government was however, eager to lay claims to such roads and revenues accruing from them.

“For most of the federal roads constructed by Akwa Ibom State government, the Federal Government is owing us N140bn, and had three years ago came to the state, accessed and certified the federal roads constructed by the state, and made approval for an initial repayment of N70bn; till date, not even a kobo has been refunded,” the Workd commissioner said.

He described the action as unfair for the Federal Government to consider Uyo-Ikot-Ekpene road a federal road, when it comes to collection of revenue.

“We are saying that we will resist every attempt by those who want to

break Uyo-Ikot-Ekpene road to lay cables. They must pay revenue to the state government; and not break the road we constructed, only to go and pay revenue to the Federal Government,” he said.

He assured Akwa Ibom people that the Uyo-Ikot Ekpene road recently rumoured to have been abandoned has taken a speed in the direction of earnest completion within the year.

“Any moment from now, Uyo Ikot Ekpene road, once considered abandoned, will be completed to at least kilometer 23, which is the last roundabout before the Four Points

by Sheraton Hotel. The other two kilometers to complete the road is considered compulsory for completion by September 23 by Governor Udom Emmanuel.”

The Works commissioner also affirmed an earlier assurance that the state government will commission the recently completed 34 new roads, as part of activities to mark the third anniversary of the administration and the 2018 Democracy Day celebration, come May 29.

odwin Ehigiamusoe, the managing director of Lift Above Poverty Organization (LAPO) has been inducted into the Nigerian Institute of Character Education (NICE) honorary membership.

The certificate of honorary membership into the institute and plaque was presented to him by the chairman of the institute, Eddy Ikponmwen in Benin-City, Edo State.

Ikponmwen said the institute was established in 2008, with a vision for a well-behaved citizenry for a better Nigeria; adding that it was also to create positive character development and manifestation in the Nigerian populace.

Other objectives of NICE are to develop and encourage the spirit of national consciousness in the Nigerian citizenry, as well as sustaining the dignity of labour and generate the spirit of moral uprightness in Nigerian citizens.

The NICE chairman said LAPO managing director, Ehigiamusoe was inducted into the institute because of the moral discipline he brought to bear in management of the organization, as well as the good character exhibited by staff in the discharge of their duties.

He added that the institute had about 23 individual members, 24 honorary members and three corporate members, adding that the institute was very selective of its members.

Responding, LAPO boss, Ehigiamusoe, commended members of the institute for the induction, and noted that the honour will spur him to do that which is good, right to all manners of people at all time.

He observed that the present Nigeria is in huge deficit in terms of value, as institutions expected to be custodian of values are not helping matters, however opined that character education was the panacea to the societal rot in the country.

Community calls on Ugwuanyi to dethrone their traditional ruler REGIS ANUKWUOJI, Enugu

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he people of Amaetiti Achi autonomous community in Oji River Local Government Area of Enugu State have called on Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi to dethrone their traditional ruler, Igwe Edmund Onyekwuru.

They have equally thanked the governor for suspending the monarch, whom they described as a tyrant, having no regard for the constitution of the community Emezie Ikeanyionwu, president-general of the community, who spoke on behalf of thousands of Amaeti Achi people, who trooped to Government House, Enugu, said, they were happy with the governor’s suspension of the traditional ruler last month.

Right now they have urged Governor Ugwuanyi to take a further step by dethroning Onyekwuru outright.

The community presented their request in a letter they submitted to the governor during their solidarity visit, where they also pledged to support the governor’s reelection bid in 2019.

Addressing journalists after the visit, Ikeanyionwu, the spokesman of the community and president general said, they were happy for their royal father’s suspension, which he said has brought peace and tranquility to the community.

“We came in thousands to tell

the governor that we are happy for what happened, because all this while, we have been having series of problems, series of misconduct from our traditional ruler. Then recently, on 17 April 2017, he was suspended, and for that we are happy,” he said.

According to the Amaetiti Achi president general, the traditional ruler was actually suspended due to a lot of misconducts which are inconsistent with peace and order in the community and state as a whole.

“He is one man who has been ruling us as a sole administrator, dictator and a tyrant. He has no respect for our constitution. Our Igwe has constantly and consistently violated our constitution by not even having a cabinet, by not even having a council that he is ruling us with,” Ikeanyionwu said.

He alleged that their igwe rules them with military dictatorship by writing letters and issuing instructions on what to do. This is exactly against the ethics of democracy which we are practicing now. What we really want is to ask the Governor to take further steps by dethroning him, so that we would have peace in Amaetiti autonomous community,” he said.

Similarly, a member of the Igwe’s cabinet, Ozor Ikenga Cletus Chukwu accused his traditional ruler of maintaining an illegal detention camp in his palace, where he locks up people at will, as well as ruling without his cabinet in the last two years.

Friday 27 April 2018

C002D5556

BUSINESS DAY

27

FEATURE World Malaria Day: Experts seek new strategies to combat disease April 25 every year is set aside to mark the World Malaria Day. This year, the theme is “Ready to beat malaria,” which is a clarion call for action to check the disease, as Nigeria suffers the world’s greatest malaria burden and accounts for a quarter of the burden of malaria epidemic globally with 97 percent of the population at risk of contracting malaria, writes Anthonia Obokoh.

H

uge progress has been made over the past 20 years in reducing malaria cases and deaths but it would seem difficult to believe considering that more people still die from malaria than any other disease.

In 2016, for the first time in a decade, the number of malaria cases was on the rise and in some areas there was resurgence, according to the World Health Organisation.

The disease’s persistence is partly due to the mosquito that transmits the disease and the parasite that causes it are developing resistance to the insecticides and antimalarial drugs used to fight them, health experts say.

Despite significant efforts to reduce the prevalence and increase in net coverage, malaria remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in children under five years of age and pregnant women.

Nigeria suffers the world’s greatest malaria burden and accounts for a quarter of the burden of malaria epidemic globally with 97 percent of the population at risk of contracting malaria.

Findings also show that Nigeria has the largest funding gap in malaria elimination in Africa. Nigeria faces a financial gap of N504 billion ($1.4 billion) to implement its national malaria strategy by 2020, according to the 2017 World Malaria Report, a publication by the World Health Organisation (WHO).

In addition to constituting 27 per cent of malaria cases worldwide, out of 30 African countries analysed in the report, Nigeria alone accounts for 53 per cent of the $1.3 billion funding gap for essential commodities that include 76 per cent of the funding gap in Artemisinin Combination Therapy (ACT) and 86 per cent of the funding gap for Rapid Diagnostic Test kits (RDTs).

Therefore, as part of effort in marking this year’s World Malaria Day, Nigeria has renewed its efforts by committing to raise malaria up the national priority list, including securing $300 million (108 billion) in new financing from the World Bank, Islamic Development Bank and African Development Bank to help finance its national malaria strategy.

According to the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP), deaths resulting from malaria have been estimated at over 300,000 per year in Nigeria, accounting for more deaths per year than HIV/AIDS and a major contributor to mortality in children and pregnant women.

Moreover, Malaria accounts for 60 per cent of outpatient visits to hospitals and led to approximately 11

per cent maternal mortality and 30 per cent child mortality, especially among children less than five years.

Malaria has a clear and significant impact on Nigeria’s business sector with an estimated annual GDP loss of $1.1 billion due to malaria related absenteeism and treatment costs.

What is malaria?

Malaria is a life-threatening disease, which is caused by mosquito bites.

Malaria is caused by plasmodium parasite and is transmitted in humans through the bite of Anopheles mosquito. After an infected mosquito bites a human, the parasites begin to multiply in the person’s liver. It progresses to infect and destroy red blood cells in the body.

Common symptoms of severe malaria include flu, fever and chills, deep breathing and respiratory distress, abnormal bleeding, signs of anaemia and impaired consciousness. Some cases of malaria can be controlled by early diagnosis.

The WHO says in a report that the current pace of malaria control is not sufficient as per its set target for 2020 under the WHO Global Technical Strategy for Malaria 20162030. The target calls for reduction in incidence of malaria cases and death rates by almost 40%.

Controlling malaria In most malaria-affected countries and Nigeria included sleeping under an insecticide-treated bednet (ITN) is the most common and most effective way to prevent infection.

In 2016, an estimated 54% of people at risk of malaria in sub-

Saharan Africa slept under an ITN compared to 30% in 2010. However, the rate of increase in ITN coverage has slowed since 2014, say the WHO Global Technical Strategy for Malaria report.

However, in many areas, access to the public health system remains low. National-level surveys in the African Region show that only about one third (34%) of children with a fever are taken to a medical provider in the public health sector.

Companies are making a difference According to a survey carried out by the Corporate Alliance on Malaria in Africa (CAMA), a GBCHealth-led

Malaria is a lifethreatening disease, which is caused by mosquito bites.

Malaria is caused by plasmodium parasite and is transmitted in humans through the bite of Anopheles mosquito

initiative to drive partnerships for malaria control and elimination.

Established by Marathon Oil and Chevron Corporation in 2006, the Alliance is a unique coalition of companies from various industries, all with business interests in Africa.

The survey result show that companies are already making a difference by making data on their current activities available through means such as this CAMA/PHN survey, companies can make smarter, more targeted investments.

The companies surveyed are investing over N3.2 billion in health in Nigeria annually, approximately 40 percent (over N616m annually) of which is being directed to support malaria control. Encouragingly, companies reported an expected increase in funding for malaria control in the next five years, compared to the previous five years.

The Private Sector Health Alliance of Nigeria represents the country’s foremost private sector led coalition and is at the forefront of the Saving One Million Lives initiative.

By forging solid partnerships, and focusing on innovation, advocacy and impact investments, PHN is creating landmark, innovative, health interventions and saving lives.

Proper diagnosis and management of fever is very crucial to prevent severe malaria, especially in young children. Testing can prevent the unnecessary consumption of malaria medication, which can contribute to resistance and lead to complications from not treating other fever-inducing diseases that are mistaken for malaria.

According to experts, a major

problem with the prevalence of malaria is that the mosquitoes and parasites that causes and spreads disease are developing resistance to the insecticides and antimalarial drugs used to fight them. Dirty environment contributes to menace as mosquitoes breed in dirty environment.

Chris Bode, the Chief Medical Director, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, Lagos said, Nigeria is among the countries which are still unable to eradicate malaria, although there has been renewed interest in researches and innovations in diagnostics methods, drugs productions and the developments i control measures to eradicate malaria.

Nigeria’s suffer untold deaths and a huge economy loss that affects manpower. However, the country is working with other relevant partners to curtail the prevalence and control measures.

“Increase in the number of people who sleep under long-lasting insecticidal nets, or protected as well as diagnostic testing of children and treatment of pregnant women will contribute to significantly lowering incidence and mortality in Nigeria.”

To achieve these putting all efforts resources in control and providing more domestic funding to fight malaria will have a huge impact.

Key facts on malaria Malaria is known to be a life-threatening disease, which is caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes.

Malaria can be cured and prevented.

In 2016, 91 countries and areas were going through malaria transmission.

The latest World Malaria report, which was released in 2017, says that the number of deaths caused by malaria among children under 5 years of age has reduced to 2,85,000 in 2016 from 4,40,000 in 2010.

Nearly half of the world’s population was reported to be at the risk of malaria in 2016, with most of the cases in sub-Saharan Africa.

Populations in WHO regions of South-East Asia, Western Pacific, Eastern Mediterranean and Americas were also reported to be at risk of malaria.

Children under 5 years of age, infants, HIV/AIDS patients, pregnant women, mobile populations and travellers are at higher risk of developing malaria.

To protect these populations, there is a need for the National Malaria Control Programmes to take special measures.

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BUSINESS DAY

Friday 27 April 2018

INTERVIEW

How INTELS scholarship changed my life, by Goni Barivule Goni is a physically challenged staff of INTELS Nigeria Limited, the Nigeria’s oil and gas logistics giant. She is a graduate of Economics from the University of Port Harcourt. In this interview with AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE, Goni shares her work experience with INTELS. Excerpts: By way of introduction, may we know a bit about you? y name is Barivule Angela Goni. I am a woman with physical disability of the legs caused by polio few months before my first birthday. I am from Rivers State, a graduate of Economics from the University of Port Harcourt and a likeable personality.

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How long have you worked in INTELS? I have worked with INTELS for three years and six months. Although, I did a one year Graduate Trainee with INTELS and after a successful completion of the internship, I was immediately employed to become a staff of INTELS. When did you become a beneficiary of the INTELS scholarship for physically challenged children?

I became a beneficiary of the INTELS scholarship in 2005 – that was same year I got admission, and after presenting a proof of my admission, INTELS gave me the scholarship.

How long did the scholarship last?

The scholarship lasted for four years – which was the duration of my course at the university.

What difference did the scholarship make in your life as a person?

The scholarship made a lot of difference in many areas of my life.

Most importantly, it enabled me to fulfill my dream of becoming a graduate. I was almost losing hope of going to the university due to lack of finance but the scholarship made this dream a reality. It took care of my tuition and daily needs while in school. So, I was able to meet the day-to-day demands of the school, which as a person with disability would have been difficult; for example, paying my transport fares to attend lectures.

How has it been working in INTELS with the physical challenge that you have considering that Nigeria as a country and many businesses in the country have little or no regard at all for the physically challenged?

INTELS has created an accessible platform that enabled me to carry out my job/responsibilities daily without hindrances. Though, I worked on the third floor, I have not had difficulties or been in need of human help getting there despite the fact that I am physically challenged.

This is great. Moreover, this is only seen in overseas where the physically challenged do not have to be assisted to work. INTELS has created an inclusive platform,

Barivule Goni

which the government and other businesses (especially multinational companies) in this country have failed to do. For many companies, investing in the lives of those living with disabilities is wasteful.

They would rather give working aids (wheelchair, crutches and or walking stick) as the case may be that are of low standards to them or share a few foodstuff during festive periods occasionally but INTELS has shown that people living with disabilities are employable and have done everything to ensure that they are happy in the community.

In the past, physically challenged persons are cheated out of their own share of the resources of the land and are seen as beggars and of no use thus, the universities and other public buildings are inaccessible to them but INTELS is changing all that through their scholarship and employment of the physically challenged.

One thing worthy of mention here is that I am not treated by my colleagues with pity just because I am physically challenged. I am accepted and respected as everyone else and I am allowed to carry out my daily task according to the job description for my level.

To say INTELS has changed my life is an understatement. INTELS

has greatly changed my life and it is getting better and better. I rise up daily with a sense of purpose and hope. I know that by the grace of God all my dreams will come true.

I own and ride my car thus, mobility problem solved. I pay my house rent – shelter issues taken care of. I feed myself, take care of my personal needs and contribute my quota in any association or social group I belong.

In addition, I have been able

INTELS has created an accessible platform that enabled me to carry out my job/ responsibilities daily without hindrances

to assist my siblings and take care of my parents in my little way. I am not a burden or liability to my family but an asset, someone that has prospects. Thus, dependency issue solved and I am treated with respect in my family and among friends.

How many physically challenged people work in INTELS at present and what is the company’s policy towards them?

At present, there are 13 physically challenged persons working with INTELS and one is still on training.

The company gives them all the necessary support and respect deserving of any human being. They are treated with dignity.

Tell us more about the company’s CSR, especially as it regards helping the less privileged and physically challenged children in the society?

The Corporate Social Responsibility of INTELS as regards helping the less-privileged and physically challenged children in the society takes care of education, which span from primary to tertiary education and, assistance in the provision of artificial limb for amputee, corrective surgery for polio affected children.

In addition to that, they ensure

the employment of the physically challenged.

I think INTELS understands that people living with disability are humans and a part of the society; that they too have something to offer and when given the opportunity can do great things. That is why it has taken its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) beyond what is known and seen in Nigeria. Indisputably, INTELS is the only company that not only has a growing number of physically challenged persons on its staff list but also has been consistent since the commencement of its scholarship in 2003.

They have done what I call “true empowerment”. That is, challenging the person to live out his or her God-given purpose by creating an opportunity and an enabling environment. The company has ensured the education of many persons living with disability from primary to tertiary level without financial hindrance as most of us are from poor backgrounds and can only dream of being educated but could not afford it due to lack of finance.

I must say here that for many companies this is a waste of time and scare resources and would bring in no profit. They would rather sponsor beauty pageants and all kinds of entertainment in order to promote their brands and company rather than carry out true CSR especially one in which the government of the day has no interest; one that would truly change the lives of the less privileged. Even when they do, they are not sustainable as INTELS which has done it for more than fourteen years and even through the economic recession or meltdown, ensures that lives are change through its CSR. What are your hopes and aspiration as a person who has benefitted tremendously from INTELS’ benevolence?

My hope as someone who has benefitted tremendously from INTELS is that government should appreciate what INTELS has been able to contribute in the community and create laws that will encourage companies and businesses to create accessible platforms for persons living with disabilities so that many can be employed too because, they have been neglected for so long.

In addition, government should make public places accessible to the physically challenged so that they can be informed and productive. I aspire to travel, see different places and experience many cultures of the world. I also want to inspire and encourage younger generations of persons living with disabilities to embrace education because it is their right.

BUSINESS DAY

29

Friday 27 April 2018

Live @ The Stock Exchange Top Gainers/Losers as at Thursday 26 April 2018 GAINERS Company OKOMUOIL NB UNILEVER FLOURMILL OANDO

Market Statistics as at Thursday 26 April 2018

LOSERS Opening

Closing

Change

Opening

Closing

Change

N73.5

N77.15

3.65

Company MOBIL

N172

N170

-2

N124.8

N127

2.2

NASCON

N20.8

N20.25

-0.55

N53

N54.9

1.9

FBNH

N12.2

N11.75

-0.45

N34.1

N35.2

1.1

WAPCO

N42.4

N42

-0.4

N8.7

N9.15

0.45

N11.55

N11.35

-0.2

UBA

ASI (Points) DEALS (Numbers) VOLUME (Numbers)

N

L-R: Omar Ben Yedder, group publisher & managing director, African Business Magazine; Austin Okere, non-executive director, Computer Wharehouse Group Plc; Oscar N. Onyema, OON, chief executive officer, The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE); Amy Jadesimi, managing director, LADOL Free Zone; Louise Donaghy, senior representative, Leicester Business School; Rupert Adcock, chief executive officer, Global Career Company Limited during Talent Agenda Series West Africa where the NSE CEO gave a keynote presentation. The event was organised by Global Career Company Initiative at Radisson Blu Hotel, Lagos.

traded increased by 7.75percent, from 350.9million to 378.1million, while the total value of stocks traded increased by 35.99percent, from N4.604 billion to n6.262 billion in 4,780 deals.

The Financial Services sector led Thursday activity chart with 261.05 million shares exchanged for N4.25billion; followed by Services sector with

31.24million shares traded for N45million.

Cadbury Nigeria plc released its first-quarter (Q1) to March 31 results which show profit before tax (PBT) decline to N31.5million from N95.8million in Q1’2017. The company’s Q1 revenue increased slightly to N8.2billion from a low of N8.07billion in Q1’17.

FCMB signs MoU with Export Promotion Council … Commended by stakeholders for facilitating export trade

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irst City Monument Bank (FCMB) has received another round of commendations for championing and executing initiatives that drive export trade, particularly nonoil exports in the country.

The action of the Bank, according to the stakeholders, has gone a long way to impact positively on the various initiatives of the federal government to diversify and develop the nation’s economy in a sustainable manner.

The commendation was given by the Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Olusegun Awolowo, exporters and other stakeholders who attended the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between FCMB and the NEPC on export development on April 26, 2018 in Abuja. The ceremony also provided an opportunity for the Bank and the Council to further engage and build

the capacity of exporters on new and emerging developments in the sector. This is the fifth consecutive year FCMB has organised such a forum in partnership with federal government agencies.

In his address at the ceremony, Awolowo, who was represented by the Director, Policy and Strategy of NEPC, Abdullahi Aliyu said, “FCMB has demonstrated commitment and support towards the promotion of non-oil exports. We believe that through the MoU, this partnership will be sus-

tained. This singular action of FCMB would also go a long way to address the age long challenge of access to finance that had been a nightmare to Nigerian exporters’’.

He urged exporters to take advantage of the numerous opportunities offered by the NEPC and FCMB to grow their businesses. Awolowo added that, ‘’the NEPC is doing its best through schemes such as the Export Expansion Grant and Export Development Fund’’. The Chief Executive further informed that exporters who participated in the recent NEPC/CHI Export

6,261,607,774.09 6.261

MARKET CAP (N Trn

Stories by IHEANYI NWACHUKWU

to-Date (ytd) return stood at 6.56percent. The All Share Index closed at 40,752.83 points as against the preceding day close of 40,755.73 points while Market Capitalisation closed at N14.771 trillion against preceding day close of N14.721 trillion, which represents N50billion value loss.

The volume of stocks

4,780.00

VALUE (N billion)

Mobil, NASCON, FBN Holdings, 23 others dip stock market igerian stock market recorded a decline on Thursday April 26, 2018 as Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc led other stocks in the basket of 26 losers. Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc stock price declined from N172 to N170, down by N2 or 1.16percent. Only 14 stocks gained as against 26 losers.

NASCON also lost, from N20.8 to N20.25, down by 55kobo or 2.64percent; while FBN Holdings Plc declined from N12.2 to N11.75, down by 45kobo or 3.69percent.

Okomu Oil Palm Plc rallied most, from N73.5 to N77.15, up by N3.65 or 4.97percent; Nigeria Breweries Plc rose from N124.8 to N127, up by N2.2 or 1.76percent; while Unilever Nigeria Plc rose from N53to N54.9, up by N1.9 or 3.58percent.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All Share Index (ASI) decreased by 0.01percent, while the Year-

40,752.83

Competency Development Programme in the Netherlands on Sales Awareness have been equipped with the relevant knowledge and capacity to enhance their export trade businesses.

Also speaking, the Regional Head, Abuja & North of FCMB, Lukman Mustapha, said the Bank is focused on empowering customers and other stakeholders involved in export trade. ‘’Our partnership with the NEPC and other sister agencies is a proof of our commitment to go the extra mile to add value to the operational capabilities of our customers. This also goes to further demonstrate how much we value their patronage and to inform the Market that we are seriously prepared to support the government and businesses in their efforts towards driving and growing export trade to boost non-oil revenue in Nigeria in a sustainable manner’’, he stated.

14.770

Audit committee urged to understand company’s operations, significant risks

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udit committee members have been asked to invest time in understanding the company’s operations and significant risks.

In line with their oversight functions, they are urged to always consider the reliability and understandability of the financial information presented before them by companies, as well as continually evaluate capabilities of company personnel.

These were the views of experts at the audit committee forum organized by EY with the theme “future of governance-digital technology and innovation”.

While speaking on the Evolving Role of Audit committee, Sayo Elumaro, Partner, Financial Services, EY saw the need for audit committee to understand complex accounting and reporting issues and how management addresses them; and review significant financial reporting and regulatory developments.

He also urged audit committee to assess the quality of the accounting principles and their appropriateness, and inquire about management’s considerations of its revenue recognition poli-

cies.

The identified audit committee risk oversight include to understand the company’s framework for risk assessment, policies and procedures; understand how the company documents and responds to identified risks; review whether the risk disclosures are appropriate, robust and understandable; review major financial risk areas and understand the adequacy of controls in place; periodically reassess the list of top risks, determining who in management and which board committees are responsible for each; focus on the company’s plans for achieving any information technology (IT) milestones; and understand the use, if any, of emerging technologies such as cloud computing, as well as their relevance to the company and the associated risks.

The introduction of new requirements for the accounting for expected credit losses in IFRS 9 Financial Instruments will be a significant change to the financial reporting of banks. It will impact many stakeholders, including investors, regulators, analysts and auditors.

Market regulators, operators pledge support for CIS development

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egulators, operators and well-wishers on Wednesday April 25, 2018 showered encomiums on the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) at the commissioning of its new corporate headquarters in Lagos, pledging support for efforts to globalize its operations.

The new headquarters, located at 71, Raymond Njoku Street, Ikoyi South West, was unveiled by the number living Stockbroker in Nigeria and founder, First City Monument Group, Subomi Balogun with top Capital market regulators and operators. The Acting Director General, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mary Uduk in her address pledged continuous support of the Commission for the Institute. Uduk who was represented by the Director, Lagos office of SEC, Stephen Falomo commended CIS for

ensuring that its qualification is widely recognized globally and should not rest on its oars.

“As we share the joy of inaugurating the Institute’s new home and congratulate all those who have collaborated to make this achievement possible, we also embrace its shared vision and commitment to safeguarding the quality assurance of the training of capital market operators.

“It is gratuitous to note that the Institute’s qualification is widely recognized both within and outside Nigeria as a professional business qualification and this is all the more reason why the Institute cannot afford to rest on its oars, as it has to step up its activities.

In order to meet up with the challenges of technology and other innovative developments in the financial world today”, Uduk said

30 BUSINESS DAY NEWS Institute, NEXIM, BoI to train Edo youth on agric, mineral resource processing, export

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iding on the growing influx of investors into the state, the Institute of Export Operations and Management (IEOM) says it has concluded plans to work with financial institutions on the training of Edo youths as well as providing them with financial support for processing and packaging agricultural products, mineral resources and art and craft products for export.

Some of the financial institutions the IEOM is finalising these deals with are the Nigerian Export - Import (NEXIM) Bank and Bank of Industry (BoI).

Executive secretary, IEOM, Ofon Udofia, disclosed this when a delegation of the institute, including members of the Benin Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, paid the Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki, a courtesy visit at the Government House in Benin City.

He said the Institute was ready to organise training programmes for youths in the state in the areas of product development, processing and packaging to meet international standards and quality.

According to Udofia, “The decision has been reached to complement the laudable socio-economic projects being embarked upon by the Godwin Obaseki-led administration. The plans to develop the Edo Inland

Dry Port, Gelegele Seaport and the Industrial Park are credible and will open the Edo economy to international markets.”

He said the partnership deals would include arrangement with NEXIM and BoI to provide funding for the processing companies, noting, “The processing companies would be set-up at the completion of the training programme.”

He said all that was required for the training was for the state to set-up a centre to serve as the training ground on export commodities development, adding, “In the centre, youths would be taught and exposed to viable business opportunities and how to harness export opportunities in agriculture, solid minerals and art and craft sectors.”

The governor, who was representedbytheSecretarytotheState Government (SSG), Osarodion Ogie, said the state would support investors to drive products manufacturing to supply domestic and international markets.

Obaseki explained that the Benin Industrial park, Gelegele Sea port and Edo Inland Dry Port will boost exportation, provide jobs for the teeming youth population and create wealth. “All of these cannot be achieved without empowering youths with requisite skills to prepare them to fit into the new job opportunities that would be created in the state,” he said.

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CBN auctions N230bn TBs via OMO

… as FG earns N345.75m from savings bond in 2 months HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE

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entral Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Thursday mopedup a total of N230 billion in treasury bills from the banking system via Open Market Operations (OMO).

The breakdown of the OMO auction revealed that N190 billion was offered for 245 days tenor at a stop rate of 12 percent. The offer, which matures on December 27, 2018, was oversubscribed by N602 billion with a total sale of N115.6 billion.

For 91 days tenor, N40 billion was offered and was oversubscribed by N111.02 billion with a total sale of the same amount. It was offered at a stop rate of 10.9 percent and would mature on July 26, 2018.

The Federal Government said it made N345.75 million

from sales of savings bond in March and April. The results of the sales published on website of the Debt Management Office (DMO) on Thursday in Abuja, showed that N151.82 million was allotted in March and N193.93 million in the April sales.

N30.52 million was allotted at 10.74 percent in 110 successful subscriptions to mature in March 2020, while N121.30 million to mature in March 2021 was allotted at 11.74 percent in 164 successful bids.

Also, N64.92 million was allotted at 10.75 percent with 144 successful subscriptions to mature in April 2021, while N129.01 million was allotted at 11.75 percent in 177 successful bids to mature in April 2021.

Savings bond issuance is expected to help finance the nation’s budget deficit, according to News Agency

of Nigeria.

The bond issuance is part of the Federal Government’s programme targeted at the lower income earners to encourage savings and also earn more income (interest), compared to their savings accounts with banks.

The bonds are debt securities (liabilities) of the Federal Government, backed by its ‘full faith and credit.’ Interests are to be paid at regular periods and principal repaid at maturity.

The bonds have tenure of between two to three years and a minimum size of investment of N5, 000 and maximum of N50 million.

The bond is aimed at deepening national savings culture, diversifying funding sources for the government and providing opportunity to all citizens, irrespective of income level to contribute to national development.

Illegal levies top list as female entrepreneurs present ‘charter of demands’ to Wike … pledges to intervene in market violence on traders IGNATIUS CHUKWU

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omen entrepreneurs and traders in Rivers State, backed by powerful activist organisations, have presented a ‘charter of demands’ to the Rivers State government topped by demand for abolition of multiple or illegal levies as well as violence by touts trying to extort levies.

The state government has howeverpledgedtomoveintothe markets to stop the touts from further harassing the female traders and causing tears. Government also pledged to hurry the state’s lawmakers to pass the ‘Harmonised Tax Bill of 2017’ pending on theflooroftheHouseofAssembly.

The charter, read by the national president of the NECA Network of Entrepreneurial Women (NNEW), Modupe Oyekunle, supported by the Rivers State president, Temitayo Ojesanmi, and other top leaders, urged the state government to streamline fees payable by traders in the markets and make it clear who should collect them to avoid bands of boys invading the markets.

Groups that helped to train the women traders and female entrepreneurs under the auspices of the NNEW include the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Partnership Initiative for Niger Delta (PIND).

The charter came at the end of a one-day summit by NNEW with support from USAID and PIND at the City Hall in Port Harcourt on “Promoting a Business Enabling Environment (BEE).

Various women trade groups told tales of woes in various Port Harcourt markets and how young men throw traders wares into gutters and channels, and how they beat up women and sometimes strip them. USAID said it has video evidence of testimonies of violence against female traders.

Traders said the case of Oil Mill Market was special with touts invading the markets dishing out evil and wickedness on traders.

Some activists said they have been made to pay the levies for maltreated traders or even paid for destroyed goods to save the women from endless wailing.

The government representative however said most of those terrorising traders at Oil Mill Market were non-indigenes.

Now, a team of female lawyers have been put together to defend femaleentrepreneursundersiege.

The lawyers are led by Cordelia U. Eke, the Rivers State chairperson of the of the African Women lawyers Association (AWLA).

In a lecture, Eke said the authorities must consult the women traders before imposing levies to know whether or not the women could afford the payments. She said the right persons to collect the levies and the methods of payment must be made clear to thefemaletradersinsteadofbeing quick to attack defaulters.

She joined in the demand for the passing of the harmonised bill to facility ease of doing business in Rivers State. Eke lamented the failure of the state government to domesticate law on Violence Against Women.

L-R: Kemi Oluwasina, executive director, business development/strategy; Umar Sanda Mairami, MD/ CEO; Mosun Belo-Olosuga, independent director, and Kabir Ahmed Tijjani, executive dirctor, business development, during Premium Pension Limited 13th annual general meeting held at its corporate headquarters in Abuja.

Experts advocate mediation for ease of doing business, preserving relationships CHUKA UROKO

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egal experts have advocated for mediation as an appropriate, amicable, accelerated or alternative dispute resolution process, saying it has the capacity for promoting ease of doing business.

Aside attracting investment into the economy, they add that the process also preserves relationships among parties in dispute.

As an alternative to the highly expensive court litigation, mediation saves time and creates a platform for people in dispute to come out of the dispute better and happier, giving them the opportunity to save their money and timetofacebusinessandotherlife concerns.

“No need to waste time in court when disputes could be resolvedoutofitandrelationships saved,” Osarieme Ezekiel, managing partner at Oakwell Partners, said in her opening remarks at this year’s edition of the annual mediation conference organised by the company in Lagos.

The theme of this year’s conference, ‘Business Has no Busi-

ness in Court,’ highlights the point that business benefits a great deal when disputes arising from business relationships are resolved at zero-cost and within the shortest time possible.

It is believed within the business community that time is money and business is all about money.Consequently,anyjustice systemthatsavestimeandmoney should not only be encouraged, but also embraced because, according to Ezekiel, such a system is what mediation represents, and promotes ease of doing business thatencouragesinvestorstocome into an economy.

For this reason, lawyers, individuals, the corporate world and the business community at large have been advised and encouraged to embrace dispute resolution process.

Anthony Gross, the guest speaker at the conference, reasons that “an ounce of mediation isworthapoundofarbitrationand a ton of litigation” that should be embraced as much as possible by parties in dispute.

Justice Opeyemi Oke, the LagosStateChiefJudge(CJ),charged lawyers in particular to embrace

mediationasawayofcontributing to Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) without fear of loss of income earned from adversarial proceedings.

TheCJsaidmediationalsohas the benefit of enhancing lawyers’ health condition, explaining that it saves them the time and energy needed for heated argument in court, and also frees them from the troubles associated with clients court fees and service charge payments.

“Mediation is a better option for dispute resolution in every respect unless the parties are aiming at the determination of a constitutional question that can only be resolved by a competent court of law,” she said, recalling that, over the years, mediation has been used to resolve disputes between parties who could be business partners, landlord and tenant, husband and wife, etc.

She stressed that mediation has the capacity to reduce cost implications,hostilityandantagonism. It also guarantees privacy but,moreimportantly,itpreserves good business and personal relationships.

Friday 27 April 2018

Nigeria bans foreign herdsmen, open grazing TONY AILEMEN, ABUJA

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rked by the spate of killings across the country, Federal government Thursday, announced ban on foreign herdsmen from coming into the country and open grazing across the country.

Governor of Ebonyi State, Dave Umahi disclosed this while briefing State House Correspondents while briefing State House Correspondents after the Monthly meeting of the National Economic Council.

“Today, there was a meeting of ECOWAS countries on the subject and it was agreed that these movements have to stop, including those who have settled andintegratedfromotherpartsof the country like the middle belt, they sometimes go into conflicts with farmers.”

BusinessDay gathered that five armed Mauritanian herdsmenwerekilledinBenuestateby the military as they were caught attacking farmers in the Benue.

Umahi berated Federal government for previous lapses in implementing the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS), protocol requiring the nomadic herdsmen to travel with medical certificates for their animals.

“Welookedatthreecategories of herdsmen in Nigeria. We look at the foreign herdsmen that come in due to the treaty and we continue to say that the treaty is notbeingproperlyimplemented.

For any herdsman to come into Nigeriafromoutside,thereshould be a kind of certification, there must be a letter, even though you are not coming in with a Visa, you have to travel with ECOWAS documentation.”

“Animals coming into the country are required to be quarantined,butthisisnotbeingdone.

So this is one category of them.

Secondly, we have the nomadic herdsmen, who during the dry season, travel from up north to themiddlebeltdowntotheSouth.

Thiscreatesconflicts.Alsoforeign herdsmencomingallthroughthe wayfromneighbouringcountries and travelling through the farm lands also cause conflicts” “In all, we agree that movement is neither profitable to the herdsmen. So, the movement is not healthy for the cows as it dries up the meat and give less thantwolitresofmilkpercowper day, therefore, these movements must stop.”

NECsaidthefivestateswhich are considered to be mostly affected by the herdsmen farmers crises agreed to donate lands for ranching.

The states include Benue, Nassarawa, Taraba and Adamawa and Zamfara states while Kaduna and Niger States volunteered to made lands available for ranching.

The Umahi committee recommended that grazers must be taken care of as government is taking care of the farmers by way oftheAnchorborrower’sscheme.

They recommended an interest rate of “between 2 to 5%,” adding that “we should extend those gestures to the herdsmen.

Friday 27 April 2018

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31 NEWS

BUSINESS DAY

Cyber experts beam light on latest IT security attacks, prevention techniques JUMOKE AKIYODE-LAWANSON

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rganisers of NaijaSecCon 2018 have revealed plans to focus on building cybersecurity awareness, sharing knowledge and nurturing next generation cyber security gurus at this year’s first ever-technical online security conference in Lagos.

Industry watchers say this year’s cybersecurity conference comes at the right time, as it is projected that the devastating effect of cyber-crime will cost about $6 trillion by 2021. This is from an increase of $3 trillion recorded globally in 2015.

It is roughly estimated that about 60 percent of Nigerian companies suffered a form of cyber-attack during the year 2017, many of whichwentunreportedforreasons ranging from, lack of knowledge of such happenings, apathy, fear of losing customers, job security, etc.

NaijaSecCon 2018 is aimed, and not just identifying talents, but also bridging the gap between the techies and the corporate.

According to Rotimi Akinyele,

World Intellectual Property Day: Edo urges young inventors, innovators to patent products … decries economic impact of piracy

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overnor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, has urged young inventors, innovators, product designers and creative people to make the extra effort of securing patents, trademarks and copyrights for their works.

Obaseki gave the advice on the occasion of the World Intellectual Property Day, celebrated globally on April 26 each year.

According to Obaseki, “the new world economic order encouragesyoungpeopletoexpress themselves and creatively contribute to development through inventions and creations.”

He noted, “One of the hallmarks of the century is the dominance of tech-based applicationscreatedbyingeniousyouths across the globe.”

Hesaid“inNigeria,ouryouths are leveraging on the rising popularity and demand for these technology-driven applications” whileinthecreativeindustry,“our entertainers,moviemakers,musical artistes clearly lead the pack on the African continent, and rank tops on the global premier entertainment league table.”

The governor stressed that despite the successes so far recorded on all fronts, “many unregistered creative works are ‘stolen’ while several others end up as ‘public property’.”

He advised that inventions, literary and artistic works, designs and symbols should be seen by our youths as moneyspinners and not mere past time.

He decried the impact of piracyonthecreativeindustryand said “piracy robs hardworking creative people of their reward and entitlements.”

the lead convener, “NaijaSecCon is the first 100 percent technical cyber-security conference in Nigeria, complete with live technical demonstrations and hands-on workshops anchored by some of the best cyber security researchers in Nigeria and in diaspora.

“This year, the conference highlights an array of speakers, topics and technical live demos from digital forensics, malwares, incident response, Open Source Intelligence (OSINT), enterprise vulnerability management, and Governance,RiskandCompliance (GRC), etc.”

The conference would also host the finale of the “Nigeria Cybersecurity Competition for Tertiary Institutions Students,” popularly called the Capture ‘The Flag (CTF)’.

Akinyele, however, said unlike last year’s competition, which was open to all professionals, the 2018 CTF competition was focused primarilyonidentifyingandnurturing thepotentialsofstudentsintertiary institutions to promote interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).

Transcorp Group reports growth of 262% y/y for Q1 2018

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ransnational Corporation of Nigeria plc has announced financial results for period ended March 31, 2018.

The Group reported N26.3 billion in revenue, translating to 67 percent revenue growth for the period when compared with same quarter last year.

Group profit before tax (PBT) stands at N5.9 billion, a significant leap from N1.7 billion reported in Q1 2017.

This news of continued success for Nigeria’s own conglomerate gives good reason to believe that the success of 2017 will be sustained through 2018. The conglomerate’s Q1 2018 Operating Profit of N8.50 billion significantly trumps the N4.2 billion reported in Q1 2017 (101%YoY increase).

Transcorp closed out the quarter with Tax Expenses of N524 million, PBT of N5.9 billion compared with N1.7 billion in Q1 2017, and profit after tax of N5.4 billion compared with N1.5 billion in Q1 2017. This is a development that is expected to please shareholders that are already looking forward to the dividend proposed by the board of directors for the period ended December 31, 2017.

The company’s total assets also received a boost. The recorded N295.7 billion is a 3.6 percent increase from N285.5 billion in FY 2017; and the shareholders fund now stands at N101.8 billion, which is a 6 percent increase from N95.7 billion in FY 2017 Commenting on the result, the president/CEO, Adim Jibunoh, said, “The profit reported in the period ended 31 March 2018 was largely as a result of increase in power generation from our power business coupled with improved gas supply to our turbines. We also sustained our maintenance program and plan for the plant.

“Also, our hospitality business remains resilient, posting stronger year-on-year performance. Specifically, we continue to maintain market leadership with occupancy levels that are way ahead of competition.

L-R: Abubakar Sule, deputy managing director, Keystone Bank Limited; Omobolanle Osotule, divisional head, marketing/corporate communications, Keystone Bank Limited; Obeahon Ohiwerei, GMD/CEO, Keystone Bank Limited; Kanu Nwankwo, and Dapo Ajibade, during a strategic business visit to Keystone Bank Head Office in Lagos.

Minimum wage: Labour divided on demand … NLC - N66,500; ULC - N93,000, as FG foot drags review JOSHUA BASSEY

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rganised labour continues to push divergent positions on what should be appropriate minimum wage amid sliding standards of living among Nigerian workers, in an economy with unstable and weak currency.

While the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) are demanding N66,500, the United Labour Congress (ULC) has submitted a proposal for N93,000, all of them citing inflationary trends, depreciating value of the naira, high cost of living and transportation in the absence of efficient/organised public transportation system, as reasons the Federal Government should see the urgency to review the N18,000

national minimum wage.

The Federal Government had been seen in an unusually slow motion towards the review of the current minimum wage, which came into force in 2011 and meant for a review every five years.

By the provisions of the National Minimum Wage Act, the N18,000 ought to have been reviewed in March 2016.

However, the delay in the review of the wage may have already robbed the workers of their right for two years.

A source in the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment who confided in BusinessDay that the Federal Government might not be favourably disposed to paying any arrears if and when the committee agreed on a new minimum wage and approval given by the National Executive Council (NEC).

At a public hearing organ-

Northcourt Real Estate offers critical insights on housing delivery CHUKA UROKO

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namannersuggestiveofputting an end to the intractable debate on affordable housing delivery in Nigeria, Northcourt Real Estate Limited, a new generation real estate, firm has documented in a book form all that needs to be done to deliver housing ‘cheaply’ for low-income and home-seeking Nigerians.

The book simply known as ‘Affordable,’ authored by Tayo Odunsi, Northcourt CEO, will be launched and made available to the public next week Tuesday at Four Points by Sheraton, Victoria Island, Lagos.

Affordable is a ‘new normal’ in the housing lexicon in Nigeria, especially in its commitment to delineatingtherolesoffiveessential participantsindeliveringaffordable housing,includingthegovernment, private sector, professionals, community, and the individual.

“Wedevotedeachchapterofthe book to describe what a particular participant needs to do or view differently, so that sustainable affordable housing can be achieved,” Odundsi,whospokeatapressbrief-

ing in Lagos recently, said.

The book, which draws on experiences from European, Latin American and African contexts, is also designed to help all the stakeholderthinkcriticallyabouthousing issuesandtothinkdifferentlyabout its delivery, which has remained a huge challenge in the country.

While government plays a major role as the initiator, regulator and enabler of affordable housing, Odunsi pointed out that the communityandtheindividualwerevery critical stakeholders. “An enlightened community has the power to say housing should be affordable; they can influence the market and housing value,” he explained.

“The individual is the highest decision making participant in affordable housing delivery. He shouldbetheonetodecideanddetermine what is affordable because hecandecidenottobuyortobuyat a given price,” he said.

Henotedthateachtimepeople talk about the housing deficit in the country, focus was on the housing supplier, which in his opinion was wrong. The demand side is a major factor, he said, because as a people, Nigerians have wrong perception and attitude to homeownership.

ised by the tripartite committee on National Minimum Wage, for the Southwest Zone, Thursday, in Lagos, stakeholders including NLC, ULC and civil societies took different positions.

The NLC/TUC in a joint memorandum submitted at the public hearing, routed for N66,500; ULC asked for N93,000, while members of the civil society called for an amendment of a section of the wage act, which limits the national minimum wage benchmark to organisations with 50 workers and above.

This, they argued shot many workers in the private sector out of the minimum wage bracket. They noted that the section should be amended to capture organisations with three workers and above.

Agnes Sessi, chairman, political committee, NLC, Lagos State Chapter, said the

current wage structure could not sustain any worker at this critical period in the nation’s economy.

According to Sessi, the NLC and TUC believed that the N66,500 benchmark would lift the working class out of the poverty trap and would conform with the International Labour Organisation (ILO) standards on minimum to meet the needs of workers and their families.

Sunday Esan, representative of ULC in his submission, said N93, 000 must be the benchmark. He argued that N18,000 translates to $50 per month for an average worker and this placed Nigeria among the least paying country in Sub Sahara Africa when compared to South Africa ($517); Ghana ($128); Gabon ($418); Kenya ($331); Ethiopia ($77) and Tanzania which pays $149 as minimum wage.

Ecuadorian envoy commends free ICT training initiative for women JUMOKE AKIYODE-LAWANSON

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utgoing Ecuador ambassador to Nigeria, Leopoldo Rovayo, has commended the effort of Elbativeni Foundation for providing free Information Communication Technology (ICT) training to 20 ladies in Nigeria for six months.

The ambassador has also lent the full support of the Embassy to the ICT training initiative that empowers Nigerian/ African women by developing their skills in digital marketing, apps development, graphics and other technologies.

Elbativeni Foundation launched its ICT training programme at the last edition of ‘The Generation Next Youth Empowerment Summit’ organised by the Foundation in collaboration with the embassy of Ecuador in Nigeria, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Nanet Hotels, and other partners.

The Ecuadorian envoy, who visited with his wife Lucia Rovayo, said, “In 2015, I took the challenge to open a new embassy here and I really have

enjoyed working in Nigeria, as I have learnt a lot from Nigeria and from Africa. I am very sensitive to all the social issues and I have tried in my two and half years to find reliable partners to do something for Nigerian people and that is how we found Elbativeni Foundation.

“So, for the Embassy it is a pleasure to support this cause and the foundation can use our facility while we are not working on Saturdays. I have requested my government for a new representative as I know that Nigerian government takes four months to give the agreement and part of my recommendation is that they continue this partnership with the foundation.”

He urged the participants to utilise the opportunity to reinvent themselves to become useful to their immediate families and the society at large.

As it stands, 20 women are benefiting from the ICT training courtesy of Elbativeni Foundation and Elbativeni Impressions and Consult, non-governmental organisations based in Abuja; bridging the gap in women’s involvement in technology.

32

BUSINESS DAY

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Sports

Friday 27 April 2018

Super Eagles attracts more sponsorship ahead of World Cup Stories by Anthony Nlebem

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s part of its efforts to actively drive engagement and promotion of Nigerian Football at the grassroots, the Nigeria Football Federation on Monday in Abuja signed an agreement with the Simba Group, to make TVS the Official Motorcycle and Tricycle Partner of the Super Eagles.

NFF 2nd Vice President/ LMC Chairman Shehu Dikko represented the NFF President, Amaju Melvin Pinnick, at the short but impressive ceremony, and explained that the two –year agreement fits into the frame of the present NFF administration’s commitment to legacy contracts

T

he (NFF) Electoral Committee has commenced work in preparation for the 2018 NFF Elections, scheduled for Saturday, 29th September 2018.

Chairman of the committee, Barrister Mohammed Sani Katu told thenff.com at the weekend that a number of meetings have been held

Shehu Dikko, NFF 2nd Vice President/LMC Chairman (middle); Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, NFF General Secretary (left) and El Hadji Seikh (right)

that will benefit Nigerian Football beyond the tenure of the current office bearers.

“We are partnering with

the Simba Group with the objective of truly taking football to the grassroots. Scores of millions of football –passion-

ate Nigerians use the motorcycle and the tricycle, and this is a conscious effort to reach them with the message they

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which they could partner with Nigerian Football and grabbing the opportunity, while pledging that the NFF will abide by every letter of the contract.

The agreement was brokered by top sports marketer, Mr. Taye Ige of Hotsports Network.

El Hadji Seikh led the Simba Group team, which also included Amit Seth, Sandeep Rana, Surinder Pal Singh, Ravi Kumar and Afuye Olusola.

Other NFF top shots at the unveiling were Ademola Olajire (Director of Communications), Suleiman Tegina (Deputy Director, Audit), Karim Bako (Assistant Director, Finance), Alizor Chuks (Head of Marketing) and Dr. Christian Emeruwa (Integrity Officer).

NFF electoral committee commences work ahead of election already with the objective of ensuring adequate preparedness of the panel for the task at hand, and that guidelines and timelines would soon be rolled out in line with the provisions

of the NFF Electoral Code.

“We have started our work, with a number of meetings.

The committee is committed to doing its work fully in line with the dictates of the Electoral Code and to ensure the best –ever NFF Elections come September. “It is a huge responsibility that we have been saddled with but we are very much equal to the task and will ensure that we stage elections that the winners and the losers would be happy about.”

The members of the NFF Electoral Committee and the NFF Electoral Appeals Committee for the forthcoming elections were elected at the NFF General Assembly that held in Jos, Plateau State on Thursday, 19th October 2017.

It was at one of its recent meetings that the electoral panel elected Barrister Mo-

hammed Sani Katu as its chairman.

Katu heads the electoral body that also has Mr. Sani Salawu, Barrister S. C. A. Umeha, Barrister Olusola Oke and Mr. Mohammed Manzo as members, while the NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, is the secretary.

Standby members are Hon. Isong Isang and Barrister Mohammed Aliyu Sambo.

A. U. Mustapha (Senior Advocate of Nigeria), who is also President of the CAF Appeals Panel, heads the NFF Electoral Appeals Committee, with Mr. Mojeed Adegbindin and Barrister Gbwen Alex Gbejule as members, and NFF Head of Legal Unit, Barrister Okey Obi, as secretary. Standby members are Sir Emma Ochiagha and Barrister Mohammed Zanna Mala.

StarTimes assures Nigerians of uninterrupted World Cup moments

eading Pay-TV Company, StarTimes says all of the exciting moments of the 64 matches of the Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup will be delivered without signal interruption by rain, storm or any technical issue.

This, the company said is due to its huge investments in improving the technology behind signal strength and distribution across the county, in a bid to ensure that the most exciting moments are not missed by football loving Nigerians.

Speaking further on this, Brand and Marketing Director at StarTimes, Qasim

love so much.

“It is a two –year agreement, but our delight is that the Simba Group have committed to actively driving the engagement and promotion of the game at the grassroots.

In return, they will have access to our programs and can also use the images of our National Team players on their cycles.”

Dikko also noted that the union was in line with the vision of the present NFF team to bring on board partners from critical sectors whose activities can impact positively on the programs and activities of the Federation and those of the various National Teams.

NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi commended the Simba Group for seeing a window through

Elegbede noted, “All is set to deliver quality signal for all 64 matches live and in HD to subscribers without interruptions, not even by rain or storm”.

StarTimes is the leading digital TV operator in Africa, serving nearly 10 million subscribers with a signal covering the whole continent and a distribution network of 200 brand halls, 3,000 convenience stores and 5,000 distributors. The company also owns a featured content platform, with 480 authorized channels consisting of news, movies, series, sports, entertainment, children’s programs etc.

Special Olympics Nigeria commemorates 2018 World Malaria Day

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pecial Olympics Nigeria (SO Nigeria) through her ExxonMobil Foundation sponsored Skillz For Life initiative, will once again host a day filled with activities and fun to commemorate the 2018 World Malaria Day themed “Ready To Beat Malaria”. Special Olympics Nigeria has commemorated World Malaria Day in a continuous effort to raise awareness on the need to combat malaria and reduce its prevalence among people with intellectual disability (PWID), and the community at large. Attendees of this year’s event will be invited to participate in a family health forum (FHF) where health talks on malaria, HIV and their adverse effects on the community will be given as well as Voluntary Counseling and Testing on malaria and HIV. World Malaria Day was established in May 2007 by the 60th session of the World Health Assembly, the decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO). Observed every year on the 25th of April, it is a day earmarked

to raise awareness on the need for continuous investment and support to various countries, in their efforts to combat malaria and its related problems, as well as provide information and support where necessar y for communities prone to malaria.

People with intellectual disability fall into this category, as they are a highly marginalized group in our society.

This exclusion results in them having little or no access to vital health information and proper health care to deal with the prevention and treatment of malaria, HIV and other diseases. SO Nigeria has taken the lead in the campaign to eradicate malaria among PWIDs. In collaboration with Grassroot Soccer, the Skillz for Life initiative uses football as a learning tool to teach about the prevention and treatment of malaria.

The programme also engages families and communities by driving vital conversations that challenge stereotypes and encourage acceptance and inclusion of PWIDs.

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Why it pays to invest in people Continued from page back page Uganda’s Makerere also ranks among the top 500. Our premier university of Ibadan ranks 11th in Africa and 801 worldwide. Of the top 10 in the continent, 7 are from South Africa: Cape Town, Witwatersrand, Stellenbosch, KwaZulu-Natal, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Western Cape.

Most of our universities are a mere shadow of their former glory.

According to a recent report, Federal and State governments had a cumulative expenditure of N43.5 trillion during the three years covering 2016 -- 2018, with only N3.34 trillion earmarked for education. And during 2018, the two tiers of government budgeted a total of N17.5 trillion, with only some N1.32 trillion (7.5 percent) devoted to the education. The bulk of the expenditure in the education sector is directed mainly at recurrent costs -- salaries, general administration and overheads. Although date on sectoral spending is uncertain, it is clear that capital expenditure for education remains considerably low. Outside the formal education system, very little goes for adult literacy and for skills acquisition. As a consequence, the gains that were made in the past are being lost.

Nigeria’s adult literacy rate currently stands at 59.6 percent. We are faced by a situation of some 76 million of our countrymen and women who are locked in the dark night of ignorance and illiteracy.

Human capital theory also

emphasise the importance of research, development and innovation for economic prosperity. A review of countries by R & D expenditure shows that there is a direct relationship between investment in knowledge and innovation and national prosperity. It is not for nothing that the most affluent countries are also those who invest heavily in research and innovation: USA ($474 billion), China ($409 billion), Japan ($180 billion), Germany ($109 billion), India ($67 billion), South Korea ($92 billion), France ($60 billion), UK ($45 billion), Russia ($43 billion) Brazil ($35.4 billion), Israel ($13 billion) and Singapore ($10 billion). Nigeria invests a paltry US$300 million in this domain.

Historically, much of the research and scientific activity in our institutions of higher learning, research agencies and industrial firms brings little value because there is no enabling ecosystem and no proper framework for funding research, innovation and commercialisation activities. In rich as well as low-income countries, research is always a risky activity. The promise of success is not always guaranteed. This often means that government has to play a catalytic role not only in promoting research but also in mitigating the inevitable risks while providing the institutional support for commercialisation activities.

When billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates bemoaned our lack of commitment to investing in our people, we went berserk with hand-wringing

and lamentations.

Instead of getting so worked up with what he said, we should have just humbled ourselves to learn from a man who has built up a US$700 billion empire, with a net worth of US$90 billion by nurturing talents and investing in the creativity of his workforce. Investing in people is ultimately about creating an eco-system where talents flourish. Our policymakers will need to reframe the paradigm underpinning all our national development efforts to focus on peoples, skills, intellectual capital and the knowledge economy.

Education and health are the key to human capital development. An educated populace is also a healthy one. Research has shown that educated mothers are more likely to bring up healthy children who survive infancy. Maternal mortality is also less prevalent among literate women. Health is wealth. An educated and healthy workforce is the sine qua non of national prosperity.

We need accelerated action to boost investment in human capital so as to create a US$1 trillion economy within the coming decade. Investing in health, education and human development is a key driver for growth. Education, health and wealth go together. Linking them to the foundations of peace, freedom and social justice is the summum bonum of national happiness. It is the basis of what the ancient Greeks in the Age of Aristotle defined as Eudaimonia – the flourishing of nations.

BUSINESS DAY

Nestlé’s strategic investment...

Continued from page back page by empowering smallholder farmers on sustainable farming practices. The program, which is in its second year, includes over 10,671 participating farmers with 2943 of them also benefiting from business training programs on organizational skills, group dynamics and leadership skills.

In the last 2 years, Nestlé has helped the farmers through SMS, to see agriculture as a business. The farmers come together in clusters to foster co-learning and better coordination. Training programs are not just targeted at farmers but also extends to all the participants along the value-chain including the chemical spray technicians, aggregators, transporters, distributors, among others.

“Our experience has shown that grouping smallholder farmers into co-operatives or via Aggregators makes it easier to work with them.

Aggregation facilitates the farming process from distribution of high quality seeds, to training farmers on good farming practices and postharvest handling to improve crop quality and reduce losses,” says Nestlé’s MD/ CEO, Mr. Mauricio Alarcon.

The program has successfully facilitated access to finance for the farmers via LAPO Microfinance Bank.

729 farmers were granted input loans amounting to

N30.728 Million.

Beneficial outcomes for the participants in the SMS program include increased yield and improved quality of their produce, a steady source of income, sustainable supply of high quality grains and cereals to Nestlé; giving farmers more confidence to expand their farms and adopt the best practices they learn under the program. Ultimately, the farmers are an integral part of Nestlé’s success story.

Overall, farmers in the SMS project have witnessed 38 percent productivity increase in sorghum yields and farmer household income has increased by 27 percent.

According to a representative of one of the aggregators, “The presence of IFDC/ Nestle partnership has encouraged small holder farmers in Soba to invest more in white sorghum production.”

“We no longer have to suffer in the open market before we sell or produce,” said Ibrahim Suleiman, a farmer.

Another beneficiary, Saadatu Sani said that her family had been farming for 5 years without making commensurate income to justify all the hard work. Thanks to her participation in the SMS project, the yield from their farm increased from less than 1 ton/hctr to more than 2 tons/ hctr in one year.

The next phase of the SMS

33

program will comprise achieving measurable results in gender inclusion, youth development and support.

Despite the record successes of the SMS program, Nestlé is not resting on its oars in its quest to increase the percentage of local sourcing in its production. In October 2017, the food producer launched another project tagged the Maize Quality Improvement Program (M-QIP), in partnership with USAIDVEGA and CNFA. Over the next 3 years, the program will build the capacity of local associations and 150 local youth volunteers to train more than 20,000 smallholder farmers – 40 percent of them - women.

Nestlé Nigeria has collaborated with BusinessDay to organize the second edition of Nigeria’s largest Agribusiness Summit, themed Evolving Actionable Models to make Agribusiness more viable holding today, Friday, April 27, at the Landmark Centre in VI, Lagos.

Speaking on the company’s expectations, Nestlé’s MD/ CEO said, “We believe that this Summit provides a great opportunity for all stakeholders to review the agriculture value-chain from end to end to develop viable plans to close the gaps. We look forward to coming out of this summit with a roadmap to improve the agricultural sector significantly.”

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Friday 27 April 2018

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Cheap substitutes shrink Nigerian Breweries Q1 earnings ... PAT down 11% despite declining operational cost MICHEAL ANI

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igerian Breweries Plc, a leading player in the Nigerian brewing industry, is seeing low purchasing power causing a shift in consumers taste for its brand, thereby shrinking earnings for the beer giant.

Its first quarter 2018 scorecard shows that despite an 11.2 percent fall in the firms operational cost, its Profit after Tax (PAT) and Profit before Tax (PBT) were down by 11 percent and 13 percent respectively on a year on year comparison.

The firm Profit after tax declined to N10.2 billion in the first quarter of 2018, from the N11.4 billion that it recorded in the same quarter of 2017.

Gross earnings of N83.0 billion was also down by 9 percent from the N91.3 billion that it recorded in the same period of the preceding year signalling competitive pressure from other industry giants (International breweries and Guinness).

“The company is facing a difficult situation because of competitions from rivals which have affected its volume,” Dolapo Ashiru Managing Director/CEO at Lagos-Based Mega Capital Financial services said.

“International breweries is becoming a significant threat to NBs volume particularly the mainstream and the premium market segment. And we expect international breweries to repack this launch with a major marketing

campaign against the 2018 FIFA world cup,” he added.

“For the past 5 quarters, Nigerian breweries volume have been going down also, their foreign exchange loss has risen in Q1 which means that the company may not have fully marked to market the foreign exchange liabilities for last year,” Ashiru said on phone.

Nigerian Breweries Plc. is the largest brewer in Nigeria and the fourth largest listed company on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

The firm dominates Nigeria’s beer market with approximately 60 percent market share and a brand portfolio that includes lager beer, stout beer, non-alcoholic malt drinks, carbonated soft drinks, and read-to-drink brands.

NB with a market cap of N999.6 billion has its share price decline -7.49 percent year to date, underperforming the all share index of 6.57 percent.

In 2016 and 2017, the firm took in price increases to counter the effects of rising inflation on its gross margins.

This supported top-line growth in 2017. Meanwhile, FY’17 volumes declined mid-single digits, notably for stout and malt brands, while lager remained largely stable.

From the retail perspective, BusinessDay checks shows that the amount paid by retailers for one create of trophy, a brand of International breweries another major player in the beer market is N2000, while star which is a major brand of NB is N2500.

However, that of Goldberg and

Stakeholders outline ways to deepen...

Continued from page 1

nomic slowdown, recession and FX market illiquidity resulted in a dearth of IPOs in the Nigerian capital market,” Onyema explained.

The NSE head disclosed that the last IPO was by Transcorp Hotels in January 2015.

Since then, “Capital raised on the NSE fell by 95 percent between 2014 and 2016, from N43.95 billion raised in equities in 2014, to N2.59 billion raised in 2016.

“Listing activities on the NSE is currently dominated by supplementary offers, listings by introduction, debt issuances, mergers and divestments, since 2015.”

Nigeria’s equity market capitalization declined 27.54 percent to N9.54 trillion in 2016 from N13.16 trillion in 2014, before rebounding 42.12 percent in 2017, closing the year at N13.62 trillion.

Onyema also disclosed the several initiatives that the NSE is putting in place to attract new listings on the exchange which include the launch of the Premium Board.

This board is meant to showcase “deserving companies that have met thehighestrequirementsonliquidity, corporate governance and sustainability. The premium board offers issuers the benefits of greater visibility and opportunities to attract liquidity from impact investors, and Sovereign Wealth Funds,” Onyema said.

Onyema noted that interest in the Premium Board from issuers and investors remains high and in 2018, four companies migrated to the Premium Board, and the

Premium Board index continues to outperform the all share index (ASI), with a 16.02 percent return as at April 20, 2018; compared to 6.72 percent return for the ASI. He further disclosed that the Exchange recently launched its Corporate Governance Index (CG Index) to provide investors with additional data points and strengthen listed companies by tracking their corporate governance practices.

“The Exchange is also developing a co-branded index series with MSCI – a globally recognised index service provider. This index could potentially generate higher order flow into our market, as it showcases the index constituents on a respected, global platform with trusted index methodology. Issuers could leverage on this initiative to attract sustainable funding for their growth objectives.”

Patience Oniha, Director General (DG), Debt Management Office (DMO) who was the keynote speaker at the event said one of the prerequisite for a robust economy is a vibrant capital market.

“There are lots of advantage that’s comes with listing, as it helps to mobilize funds which we really need as there is still a lot of money in the informal sector that we need to move into the formal sector.

Listing promotes transparency, access to information, allows for corporate governance and helps in objective compilation of data and credit listing,” Oniha said.

“We have to discipline ourselves in the things that support the market which will help in attracting

33 exports which are also other brands of NB are sold to retailers for N2000.

Analyst say the increase in the prices of the firm’s major brands ignited a drift of taste by consumers given the fact that the economic downturn has eaten greatly into consumer’s purchasing power, thereby affecting their spending.

“We attribute the continued pressure on volumes to a persistent down trading especially on the firm’s mainstream products- albeit

at a much slower pace compared to the previous year; lingering weakness in consumer purchasing power despite gradual decline in inflation; and increasing competition in the brewery landscape,” analysts at Cardinal stone said in a note.

However, “For FY’18, we expect modest improvement in volumes especially as consumer purchasing power gradually recovers. We also think that the brewer will intensify efforts to cement its market leadership across key brands

such as Heineken and Star while ensuring competitiveness of its mainstream products.”

Several calls made by BusinessDay to the management of the Brewery giant to get their view regarding the issue, went unanswered.

However, in a filing statement to NSE by the Board of Directors, the brewing giant stated that “while there are some signs of improvement in the macroeconomic conditions, these are yet to be reflected in consumer spending.”

R-L: Herbert Wigwe, GMD/CEO Access Bank plc; Osagie Ehanire, minister of state for health; Omobolanle Victor-Laniyan, unit head, sustainability, Access Bank plc, and Shuaibu Belgore, senior technical assistant to the minister of state, health, during the minister’s visit to the bank’s head office for the private sector forum on accelerating investment for malaria elimination in Lagos, yesterday.

both local and foreign investors.”

The DMO DG further advised that progress start from the regulators of the capital markets as they need to review their policy and make it attractive by doing more in technology which will create room for more people who are previously excluded from the capital market.

“Nigeria’s capital market is essential in developing the economy as it provides a platform that will drive investment in the economy and improve infrastructure,” Director General of DMO concluded.

Amid all these expected positives, the dearth of new listings in equities, debts, derivatives, and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) as well as other alternative asset classes is increasingly attracting questions from many schools of thought which was the main focus of the first panel discussion with the theme “The role of Alternative Asset Classes in Deepening the Market.”

The moderator of the panel Ali Tomdio senior manager at Capital markets services said lots of alternative assets are barely in existence in Nigeria’s capital market.

Adeniyi Falade managing director of Crusader Pension said regulators need to improve governance compliance and get more private equity firms listed on the NSE. “Liquidity test, valuation test and governance test must be passed to ensure investors can invest in alternative assets and also ensure investors fund are protected which will attract more funds,” Falade said.

Babatunde Obaniyi, managing director of investment banking at United Capital said it’s impossible

to charge a market driven tariff in the capital market because the infrastructure is not certain.

“Regulatory frame work, quality of asset and structure of the economy are factors that affect capital markets,” Obaniyi said.

Osaro Eghobamien, managing partner at Perchstone & Graeys said Legal infrastructure must be domiciled in trust as regulators need to create credit enhancement scheme which will create specific transaction and ensure good corporate governance.

Eghobamien added, “We need to create tax and accounting treatment for investors which is not necessarily for tax waivers but tax neutrality.”

Uche Val Obi (SAN) managing partner at Alliance Law Firm said Stakeholders must unite and commit to developing the capital market.

“Inconsistency, delays and conflicts in policies are a hindrance to capital market growth most especially decision of investors who appreciate certainty as billions of dollars has eluded Nigeria because of uncertainty,” Val Obi said.

Kennedy Ichibor vice president at Zenith Capital Ltd said there are issues of aversion to risk and high opportunity costs in Nigeria’s market.

Adekunle Adebiyi vice president at MBO Capital said Private equity is still highly risky in the capital market, whereas private equity has proven overtime to outperform other asset classes in other part of the world.

The second discussion a fire side chat which was moderated by Frank Aigbogun, Publisher BusinessDay had on the panel leading regulators

in the capital market which include Haruna Jalo-Waziri, managing director of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS), Bayo Olugbemi managing director of First Register, Bola Onadele-KoKo managing director FMDQ OTC securities Exchange, Bola Ajomale CEO of NASD OTC, Oscar Onyema, CEO of NSE who was represented by Tony Ibeziako, acting divisional head listing, business and head primary market NSE. “The structure and size of fees, confidence in the market, processes, and state own level of consultation is some of the issues that have hindered the growth of our capital market overtime,” Ibeziako said.

Ibeziako added “We are building a market that will be pegged on best international practices, a market that is transparent, a market that imbibes good corporate governance in its DNA, a well-run market.”

Haruna Jalo-Waziri, managing director of CSCS said the cost of governance in the capital market is very huge but is hardly taken into consideration because it has no monetary value.

“The investment bankers collect about 7 percent spread when you are coming into the market; however, even though the issue of fees might be a major issue, it is still far cheaper to borrow from the capital market than from the bank.”

“We need to build institutions that are strong enough to withstand the individuals that come and go,” Jalo-Waziri said.

Bola Onadele-KoKo managing director FMDQ OTC securities Exchange said the problem Nigeria Continues on page 35

Friday 27 April 2018

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$496m aircraft purchase: Senate, House of...

Continued from page 1

breach by President Muhammadu Buhari in authorising the payment of $496 million to the US government without approval from the National Assembly.

At the Senate, yesterday, April 26, resolution to seek further guidance followed a motion moved by the Chairman, Senate Public Accounts Committee, Matthew Urhoghide (PDP, Edo State) who called on the upper legislative chamber to invoke Section 143 of the 1999 Constitution by impeaching the President.

But Senate President Bukola Saraki who presided over plenary, referred the matter to the Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters for legal advice.

Saraki ordered the panel chaired

by David Umoru (APC, Niger State) to submit its report to plenary on Wednesday, May 2, 2018.

Moving the motion, Urhoghide submitted that it was procedurally wrong for the President to have withdrawn the money without permission from the National Assembly. He submitted that by the President’s action, Section 80 of the constitution has been grossly violated.

There are consequences for such gross violations of the constitution, he said. He called on the Senate to simply invoke section 143 to get the President removed from office.

Chukwuka Utazi (PDP, Enugu State), who backed the motion, said the time has come for the Senate to invoke the impeachment clause to check against the series of abuse of laid down governance procedures by the executive.

Saraki, recalled that the leadership of the Senate was informed of the proposal to purchase aircrafts by the United States Congress as far back as August 2017.

While stressing that there has been a breach of the constitution, he wondered why it took President Buhari so long to inform the legislature.

“We all agree that from what has been presented to us, there is a breach of constitution. The question is, what are the circumstances surrounding the breach of the constitution? Whether those

circumstances justify the breach of constitution,” Saraki argued that Buhari had enough time to seek the approval of the National Assembly but declined to do so.

“Between September and February, with all due respect, there was ample time for the executive to have carried us along on this issue. It was after we agreed in September that the US government went back to give approval to the executive to pay to their own government so they can go ahead and sell this equipment to Nigeria. If we all agree, I will put it to vote and refer the matter to the judiciary and give them a short period of time, that by Wednesday next week, they submit it.”

Sam Anyanwu, (PDP) noted that what the President has done was similar to the anticipatory spending for which former Senate President Chuba Okadigbo was removed.

He argued that the letter sent to the Senate by the President was an admittance of his guilt.

Anyanwu suggested that the provisions of the constitution regarding the breach be strictly applied to serve as deterrent to subsequent Presidents.

But the Senate Deputy leader, Bala Ibn Na’Alla, rose to suggest

in the northern region of the country, local and foreign investors in the hospitality industry are still reluctant to expand their presence in the region beyond Abuja, the Federal capital territory, which they presume to be safe.

At present, seven foreign hotel brands with over 15 hotels in the northern region of the country are mainly based in Abuja, leaving the rest of the region, especially Kano and Kaduna with indigenously managed independent hotels, which often lack capacity to host high profile guests who demand details of security measures in place for their safety.

Kano and Kaduna seem more peaceful (compared to other areas in the North), yet feasibility studies and investment advice do not encourage hospitality investors to set up there because of the vulnerability of the cities to surprise violent attacks.

The development has resulted in willing investors pulling back, those who cannot wait until the security issues are resolved moving to the

which empowers National Assembly to appropriate for revenue, as encapsulated in section 80 of the 1999 Constitution.

While stressing the need for the House to be properly guided before taking further action, Dogara stressed that “people are looking unto this House to protect the Constitution, people are looking to us to stand by the truth,” just as he observed that the House has additional responsibility of putting national interest at the front above personal interest.

To this end, he mandated the House Committee on Rules and Business to check the archive for precedence in other climes.

But Ossai Nicholas Ossai (PDPDelta) urged that the House should not endorse illegality perpetuated by the anticipatory approval given

by President Buhari.

The Delta lawmaker maintained that the President through the letter admitted to have breached the provision of the Constitution.

On his part, Sergius Ogun (PDPEdo), noted that failure to take decisive action by invoking relevant sections of the Constitution for such a grievous breach, will turn the Parliament into laughing stock.

He argued that the House will continue to be scandalized and rub-

L-R: Mbanugo Udenze, company secretary; Chukwuemeka Okolo, chairman, and Andrew Otike-Odibi, MD, all of C&I Leasing plc, during the 27th annual general meeting of the company in Lagos. Pic by Pius Okeosisi

Hospitality firms hold back investments in...

Continued from page 1

that the Senate should refer the matter to its Committee on Judiciary for legal advice.

Similarly, at the House Representatives, after a heated debate on the constitutionality and procedure Buhari’s request to approve money that has already been spent, the House resolved to verify whether there was precedence by any legislative House in other climes that embarked on approval of already spent fund without prior approval of the National Assembly.

Speaker Yakubu Dogara who presided over the session, acknowledged that the issue surrounding the request was controversial, hence requires further consultation including previous antecedents in other climes.

Dogara who earlier noted that the 2017 Appropriation bill was passed into law in May 2017, argued that Nigeria still has an active budget till May, 2018.

He however noted that: “I don’t think as a matter of law, there’s a straight forward answer to this... yet on the other hand, we are duty bound to consider it.”

He disclosed that President Buhari’s request as contained in the letter “to make appropriation for expenditure,” was in breach of the Constitutional provisions

southern part, especially Lagos while the more ambitious investors are going further to Ghana, and Gambia.

While some investors from the northern region are ready to invest, mostoftheinternationalhotelbrands argue that their would-be guests still see the region as unsafe, hence cannot assure investors on quick return ontheirinvestmentasoccupancyrate is vital to hotel business.

The development has resulted in Abuja becoming the hub of hospitality investment in the entire northern region with 3,726 hotel rooms in the pipeline after Cairo in the Top 10 Cities by Number of Planned Rooms, according to the Hotel Chain Development Pipelines in Africa 2017, by W Hospitality.

The likes of Radisson Blu, Marriot, Accor, Hilton, among other international hotels brands are eager to expand their presence in the northern region but are only concentrating in Abuja for now.

As well, indigenous hotels are even suffering more as one third of such investments have closed in the region from 2009 till date due to lack of patronage.

At present, only a few hotels are

recording slightly above 30 percent occupancy rate in Jos, Plateau State in North Central region, while some have closed down due to dwindling profit that longer sustain the business.

Before the crisis, an average room in Jos was around N10, 000, it fell to N5000 at the height of the crisis. It also improved with relative peace but needs sustained peaceful environment to improve further.

“A right thinking investor will take his investment to Lagos or more peaceful cities where that same room can fetch as much N30,000 per night. We cannot expand our business if we keep having low patronage occasioned by crisis. But government has to go beyond speeches to curtail insecurity so that we can pay our taxes,” Bitrus Yakubu, a hotelier, said.

Collaborating Yakubu’s opinion, Tamwakat Weli, Commissioner of Tourism, Plateau State, said the state is open to investors who have capacity to make its tourism rebound.

However, the clarion call is yet to be answered as most investors still look at the state with further probing eyes.

The commissioner noted that

35 NEWS

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the state is after investors who have capacity to turn around Hill Station Hotel and other tourism assets across the state.

The commissioner assured that the relative peace in the state would be sustained, but the would-be investors are still deterred by some skirmishes that are often reported across the state and its neighbouring states and fearing that same would discourage tourists from visiting.

John Enejo, an Abuja-based hotelier who converted his hotel in Bauchi to a private school due to low patronage, said that a significant proportion of hotel deals in the northern region signed between 2009 and 2014, including his proposed Best Western Kaduna have not progressed beyond the groundbreaking ceremony due to low patronage of the existing hotels occasioned by insecurity.

“As a businessman, I hope to plough back my profit into new projects because bank interest rates are killing. But I cannot continue with the construction of my hotel in Kaduna because there is no money due to low patronage. We need sustained peace to bring back guests to the north because it is still part of Nigeria at large,” he concluded.

bished if such approval is granted.

Also speaking, Frederick Agbedi (PDP-Bayelsa) argued that the motion was in conflict with extant procedure and convention, adding that any issue relating to finance and budget should come by way of bill not motion.

Lovette Idisi (PDP-Delta) urged the House not to fall into the trap set by the Executive, arguing that “what we have been asked to do is to indict ourselves. Most of us are lawyers here.” He maintained that the request of Buhari was unconstitutional and that section 36(8) prohibits retrospective approval of such request or legislation.

However, Kayode Oladele (APC-Ogun), Simon Arabo (PDP) noted that the 2018 budget is still in the works, and maintained that the President’s request was in order and can still be accommodated in the 2018 budget.

Meanwhile the Senate has called for sanction of officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) involved in illegal payment of fuel subsidy in 2017 worth N216.9 billion.

The upper legislative chamber observed that while there was no request for subsidy in the 2018 budget, the Corporation was still paying itself the amount under the guise of ‘operating cost’.

It also mandated the Corporation to stop the illegal payments without appropriation, even as it asked the state-owned oil firm to make a formal request to the National Assembly for appropriation for the payments.

The Senate Public Accounts Committee made the recommendations in its report on the investigation into the illegal subsidy payments, which was adopted by the Senate at Thursday plenary.

Presenting his report, Chairman of the committee, Matthew Urhoghide, revealed that the Federal Government spent N3.8 trillion on subsidy payment between 2010 and 2016.

The upper legislative chamber also asked its Committee on Appropriation as well as Public Accounts to liaise with the Executive to submit the appropriation for subsidy to be included in the 2018 budget still under consideration by the National Assembly.

•Continues online at www.businessdayonline.com

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Continued from page 34

has is lack of respect for capital.

“You have to be serious in other to attract capital and until we have people in our government that are transparent, accountable and accessible,wecannottalkaboutgettingour market right,” Onadele-KoKo said.

Bola Ajomale CEO of NASD OTC said the integrity of the players in the market matters a lot.

Ajomale added, “For there to be growth in our capital market, there is need for cohesiveness of the government for a sustainable economy.”

Bayo Olugbemi managing director of First Register said when an enabling market is not there, you cannot be talking about getting the market right.

The annual event had in attendance government officials, apex and self-regulatory organisations, capital market operators, investment bankers, policy makers, chief executive officers (CEOs), economists, researchers, analysts, academics, and private equity firms.

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FG pays compensation to Apo 8 killed by DSS FELIX OMOHOMHION, Abuja

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he Federal Government on Thursday made good its promise by releasing a cheque of N135 million to relatives and victims of eight persons killed by the Department of State Service (DSS) in 2013.

The payment is coming four years and seven months after a panel of inquiry by the National Human Rights Commission indicted the security agency of grossly violating the rights of the victims and consequently ordered the State Security Service to pay compensation of N135 million to the dead and injured victims.

Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, who made the presentation on behalf

of the Federal Government, said the gesture was a confirmation of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to upholding the rule of law, justice and respect of human rights.

Eight persons were reported to have died and 11 others sustained various degrees of injuries when security operatives, said to be acting on intelligence report on September 20, 2013, killed the victims in Apo area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Malami said: “This gesture in no small measure has emphasised the role of the National Human Rights Commission as an independent organisation which statutory duties for the promotion and protection of human rights.

“It also serves as an extrajudicial mechanism for the enhancement of the enjoyment of human rights. The commission

FG galvanises private sector investments to fight malaria ... CAMA, Access Bank call for support JOSEPHINE OKOJIE

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heFederalGovernmenthas urged the private sector to join in the fight to end malariabymakingmoreinvestments in Nigeria’s health sector.

In his keynote address at the CAMA Private Sector Malaria Forum held yesterday in Lagos, Osagie Ehanire, minister for state for health, said the government was looking at ways to work together with the private sector in tackling the huge burden of malaria.

“There is need to have a management structure to ensure sustainability, and that is why the government is encouraging private investors to invest in our hospitals,” Ehanire said.

“We are looking for private money to drive growth of the health sector. We are promising the private sector that we will make use of their expertise, efficiency, management skills and also their distribution skills. We would also give them full partnership and management of all programmes in which private sector is working with the government,” he said.

The Federal Government is currently working with the

primary healthcare system to build up the country’s national healthcare, he said.

The minister of state added thatthehealthministrywasworking with the Ministry of Water Resources and Ministry of Environment to provide safe and clean water for Nigerians as well as a better environment.

According to Ehanire, these form the social determinants of health, and strengthening it means fighting against the prevalence of diseases.

Also speaking at the forum, Nancy Wildfeir-Field, president, GBCHealth, said, “Nigeria’s economy loses $1.1 billion each year due to malaria related absenteeism in the workplace and treatment costs.”

Wildfeir-Field stated that despite challenges in the fight against malaria in the Nigeria and Africa at large, progress had beenrecorded,sayingNigeriahad recorded a 35 percent decline in thenumberofunder-fivechildren testing positive to malaria.

“Good health means good business and investing in health is both a business and social imperative. The resources to drive the development in Nigeria need

PAC provides insight at Commonwealth Business Forum on ‘Green Finance: Returns with Responsibility’ STEPHEN ONYEKWELU

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t a roundtable session at the recently concluded Commonwealth Business Forum held in London, CEO of PanAfrican Capital Holdings, Chris Oshiafi, provided insights into the financial and environmentaladvantagesofinvestingin sustainable development.

It is important to realise that green financing is for long-term good, and therefore countries must develop creative ways to deal with economic activities that impacts on the environment, including deforestation, Oshiafi said.

He went further to explain that the Capital Market could be

used to generate large amount of funds for green energy, however, there had to be an increase in education towards the direction of climate change.

Education is key to getting people to understand that the global world is changing at a very rapid speed.

Still on the capital markets, he stressed that a major distinction exist between the primary and secondary capital market in Sub-Saharan Africa. The secondary market instruments cannot be used effectively without a vibrant primary market.

Therefore, the depth of the primary market must be deep enoughtoraisethekindoffunding required for green projects.

performs its statutory functions without interference from the Federal Government.”

Incoming executive secretary of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Tony Ojukwu, said although, there was no amount of money that could compensate for the injuries sustained or losses occasioned by the incident, the payment had however renewed hope of getting

justice in the country.

Ojukwu, however, commended the Federal Government and the DSS for complying with the decision of the commission.

“Though it has taken four years to implement that decision of the commission, it has come to confirm the posture of the present government to respect human rights as well as the deci-

sions and recommendations of the commission,” he said.

He disclosed that the commission had put in place measures to ensure that the right persons were paid, adding, “All payments relating to this compensation are being made through the bank after verification of the accounts, signatures and photographs of the victims.”

While stating that the com-

mission feels fulfilled as a result of the payment of compensation to the victims, Ojukwu said his administration would ensure that Nigeria abides by all treaties signed regarding protection of human rights.

A breakdown of the payment shows that N10 million each was awarded to the dead victims, while each of the 11 injured got N5 million.

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Oscar Onyema, CEO, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), delivering his keynote address at the conference.

Patience Oniha, director-general, Debt Management Office (DMO), delivering her speech at the conference.

Frank Aigbogun, publisher/CEO, BusinessDay M at the conference.

L-R: Adekunle Adebiyi, vice president, MBO Capital; Adeniyi Falade, Crusader Sterling Pensions Ltd, and Alice Tomodio, senior manager, capital markets services, PwC.

Uche Val Obi, managing partner, Alliance Law Firm, (l), Kennedy Ichibor, vice president, Zenith Capital Ltd.

Kehinde Ayo-Kasumu, managing partner, Ayo-Kasu Tajudeen Ahmed, general manager/group head bu

L-R: Joseph Kadiri, media relations officer; Olumide Orojimi, head of corporate communications, and Clifford Akpolo, digital manager, all of Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

Seyi Osunkeye, MD/CEO, Pilot Securities Ltd (l), with Akeem Shadare, MD/CEO, Chapel Hill Denham Securities Ltd.

Chuka Mordi (l), with Tony Ibeziako, acting div primary markets, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NS

L-R: Richard Arowolo, Elisabet Ekpenyong and Tosin Kalegha, all of Perchstone and Greys .

R-L: Yemisi Otugbile and Yomi Adebule, both of Zenith Capital, and Ted Iwere, publisher, SME Media Limited.

L-R Adekunle Adebiyi, VP, MBO Capital Management; Patrick news editor, BusinessDay, and Dolapo Ashiru, MD, Mega Cap cial Services .

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t and Investors Forum 2018

Media, delivering his welcome address

L-R: Bayo Olugbemi, MD/CEO, First Registrars; Frank Aigbogun, publisher/CEO, BusinessDay Media, and Bola Onadele. Koko, MD/CEO, FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange.

L-R: Osaro Eghobamien, managing partner, Perchstone & Greys; Bola Ajomale, MD/CEO, NASD OTC, and Haruna Jalo-Waiziri, MD/CEO, Central Securities Clearing System.

umu & Company Legal Practitioners (l), with usiness development, BUA Group.

L-R: Ezeagu Onyenwechukwu, chairman, ASHON; Charles Ohamara, consultant, financial system strategy (FSS) 2020, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and Muhd Alibaba of CNB Abuja.

L-R: Zella Akindele, partner, Templars; Michelle Watts, director, PwC; Niyi Onifade, head, client coverage, United Capital, and Susan Adeoye, partner, Alliance Law Firm.

visional head, listing business and head, SE).

k Atuanya, pital Finan-

L-R: Igah Cletus and Temitope Sanni , both of CSCS.

L-R Taiwo Titilayo, head, operations, Infoware Limited and Adetola Fasuyi, head of wealth management, United Capital Plc

L-R: Uche Obi, managing partner , Alliance Law Firm; Oscar Onyema, CEO, NSE; Bayo Olugbemi, MD/CEO, First Registrars and president, CC Institute of Capital Market Registrars, and Simeon Oyakhilome, partner, Alliance Law Firm.

R-L: Chukwudi Akpulonu, online services, CSCS and Uwa Egbomile of Infoware Limited .

R-L: Amaka Ajaegbu of Broll Nigeria and Kemi Adeniji of Goldmine Global .

Pictures by Pius Okeosisi and Olawale Amoo

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BusinessDay Capital Market and Investors Forum 2018

Oscar Onyema, CEO, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), delivering his keynote address at the conference.

Patience Oniha, director-general, Debt Management Office (DMO), delivering her speech at the conference.

Frank Aigbogun, publisher/CEO, BusinessDay Media, delivering his welcome address at the conference.

L-R: Bayo Olugbemi, MD/CEO, First Registrars; Frank Aigbogun, publisher/CEO, BusinessDay Media, and Bola Onadele. Koko, MD/CEO, FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange.

L-R: Osaro Eghobamien, managing partner, Perchstone & Greys; Bola Ajomale, MD/CEO, NASD OTC, and Haruna Jalo-Waiziri, MD/CEO, Central Securities Clearing System.

L-R: Adekunle Adebiyi, vice president, MBO Capital; Adeniyi Falade, Crusader Sterling Pensions Ltd, and Alice Tomodio, senior manager, capital markets services, PwC.

Uche Val Obi, managing partner, Alliance Law Firm, (l), Kennedy Ichibor, vice president, Zenith Capital Ltd.

Kehinde Ayo-Kasumu, managing partner, Ayo-Kasumu & Company Legal Practitioners (l), with Tajudeen Ahmed, general manager/group head business development, BUA Group.

L-R: Ezeagu Onyenwechukwu, chairman, ASHON; Charles Ohamara, consultant, financial system strategy (FSS) 2020, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and Muhd Alibaba of CNB Abuja.

L-R: Zella Akindele, partner, Templars; Michelle Watts, director, PwC; Niyi Onifade, head, client coverage, United Capital, and Susan Adeoye, partner, Alliance Law Firm.

L-R: Joseph Kadiri, media relations officer; Olumide Orojimi, head of corporate communications, and Clifford Akpolo, digital manager, all of Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

Seyi Osunkeye, MD/CEO, Pilot Securities Ltd (l), with Akeem Shadare, MD/CEO, Chapel Hill Denham Securities Ltd.

L-R: Richard Arowolo, Elisabet Ekpenyong and Tosin Kalegha, all of Perchstone and Greys .

R-L: Yemisi Otugbile and Yomi Adebule, both of Zenith Capital, and Ted Iwere, publisher, SME Media Limited.

Chuka Mordi (l), with Tony Ibeziako, acting divisional head, listing business and head, primary markets, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

L-R Adekunle Adebiyi, VP, MBO Capital Management; Patrick Atuanya, news editor, BusinessDay, and Dolapo Ashiru, MD, Mega Capital Financial Services .

L-R: Igah Cletus and Temitope Sanni , both of CSCS.

L-R Taiwo Titilayo, head, operations, Infoware Limited and Adetola Fasuyi, head of wealth management, United Capital Plc

L-R: Uche Obi, managing partner , Alliance Law Firm; Oscar Onyema, CEO, NSE; Bayo Olugbemi, MD/CEO, First Registrars and president, CC Institute of Capital Market Registrars, and Simeon Oyakhilome, partner, Alliance Law Firm.

R-L: Chukwudi Akpulonu, online services, CSCS and Uwa Egbomile of Infoware Limited .

R-L: Amaka Ajaegbu of Broll Nigeria and Kemi Adeniji of Goldmine Global .

Pictures by Pius Okeosisi and Olawale Amoo

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BUSINESS DAY Online

Highlight of the news reports on our digital platforms this week

Best five stories this week Senate invasion, Fulani killings: Anxiety grips Int’l community over 2019 elections Following last Wednesday’s invasion of the Nigerian Senate by a group of suspected thugs, who carted away the mace during plenary session, anxiety has gripped foreign missions in Nigeria over the 2019 elections as signs emerge that the general elections may trigger violence that could truncate democracy anddestabilise the country.

Oil revenues racing to 2014 highs as Nigeria allows crisis go to waste Petrodollars are flocking back to Africa’s largest oil producer, but the disappointment is, having come through the worst, Nigeria may now go back to business as usual. The Federal Government raked N3.69 trillion in gross oil revenues between January and November 2017, according to data compiled by BusinessDay and sourced from the Central Bank.

Towards a greater financial inclusion The benefits of the financial inclusion of all citizens can be phenomenal. It will create such a positive and unstoppable force that will propel a country’s economic growth. The tapping up of the huge and largely idle funds at the hands of the financially excluded would definitely promotes capital accumulation, credit creation, increased economic activity, and increased investment.

Reduction in vacancy rate across cities underpins opportunities for investors In the last 10 months, from mid-2017 to the last quarter of 2018, there

Video of the week

has been a positive shift in the property market in Nigeria with marginal reduction in residential vacancy rates across the country’s major cities of Abuja, Lagos and Port Harcourt, close market watchers have said.

UPDATED: BusinessDay to unveil top 25 Nigerian CEOs Leading a company and creating value depends on many skills that are hard to measure—strategic vision, authenticity, long-term planning. Investors aren’t the only stakeholders that need tending to; the best-run companies connect effectively with customers, employees, and the communities where they operate.

Cartoon of the week

Poll of the week

Tweet of the week

POLL RESULTS: So we conducted a poll across our social platforms to see what Nigerian thought about the stolen mace and who should be punished for the lack of security in the Nigerian Senate, seeing that the Mace that must be used for carrying our plenary meetings was stolen.

82% thought the security should be punished, 6% thought the thugs should be punished and the remaining 12% were of the opinion that the CCTV cameras be punished.

That’s just on the humorous side but the ugly truth is that a nation cannot lose its Mace. It was reported found on 19 April, but a government building should not be porous.

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Germany braced for imposition of US steel tariffs Trade tension set to rise as exemption for EU is expected to expire next week oligarchs. European businesses fear GUY CHAZAN AND NEIL HUME that the sanctions could hit manuermany expects US facturing across the continent.

The sanctions “negatively affect tariffs on steel and aluminium to take effect our economy, and in a sensitive from May 1, when a way,” he said. He added that there temporary exemption was a possibility of obtaining exfor the EU expires, a senior official in emptions for EU companies, and Berlin said ahead of Angela Merkel’s Germany “would of course welcome that”. trip to Washington this week.

The sanctions in effect bar EuSuch a move would threaten a fresh escalation of trade tension ropeans from doing business with between the EU and the US that had targeted companies and their owners. One of the main targets is Rusal, been eased by the exemption.

“Looking at this from the per- the world’s largest producer of spective of today, we have to assume aluminium outside China.

Aluminium prices soared after that the tariffs will come on May 1,” the official said, adding that Germa- the sanctions were imposed and ofny would still push for a “long-term ficials have sounded the alarm about the effect they could have on EU deferral” of the measures.

He was speaking hours before Ms industries from cars to aerospace.

Rusal supplies most of Europe’s Merkel flies to the US for talks with Donald Trump that will tackle an ex- leading aluminium producers panding catalogue of disagreements from a giant alumina plant in Ireover everything from trade to the land, which is now under threat of closure. European officials have future of the Iranian nuclear deal.

Ms Merkel hoped to persuade Mr warned that the sanctions could Trump to indefinitely extend a tem- have a direct impact on supplies of porary carve-out for EU companies, key products.

The German official said Berlin shielding them from the punitive 25 per cent tariff on steel and 10 per was concerned about the “extratercent tariff on aluminium that he ritorial effects” of the sanctions.

When companies are affected announced in March. Cecilia Malmstrom, the EU’s trade commissioner, “that have no direct or indirect conhas demanded an “unconditional nection to any Russian behaviour, and permanent” exemption from then that crosses a line which for us is very problematic,” he said. the measures.

Ahead of Ms Merkel’s visit, the US An EU official said there was “no clarity” yet about what would hap- Treasury moved to ease some of the pen after May 1 and that Ms Malm- restrictions that had threatened to strom would have further contacts upend Europe’s supply of aluminium.

On Monday, Washington gave with Wilbur Ross, the US commerce US and non-US citizens an extra secretary, over the coming days.

The tariffs were imposed as part five months to wind up business of a drive to bring countries to the with Rusal and softened an earlier negotiating table to address what requirement on payments. Together Mr Trump sees as unfair imbal- these measures should allow Euroances in global trade. In response, pean companies to resume trading Brussels threatened retaliation and with Rusal until October.

The US also set out how Rusal prepared to challenge the tariffs at could be removed from its sanctions the World Trade Organization.

The German official said Ms list, saying its oligarch owner Oleg Merkel would also address the Deripaska needed to relinquish US’s recent sanctions on Russian control of the company.

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Angela Merkel is flying to the US for talks with Donald Trump © Reuters

Huawei pulls €500m bond offering moments before pricing Debt issue called off despite strong demand on report of US probe DON WEINLAND

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uawei Technologies, one of the world’s largest smartphone makers, pulled a €500m bond just moments before it was set to price, as rumours swirled on Chinese social media that the company was under investigation by the US Department of Justice.

Bankers and fixed income investors close to the deal said demand for the bond was strong on Wednesday evening until the company called off the deal without explanation, something that led investors to assume the cancellation was connected to news that Huawei was under investigation in the US. “I have never seen this before. If a deal is cancelled, it’s because there is low demand,” said one Hong Kong-based fixed income investor.

Some investors speculated that Huawei stopped the deal because the company was aware of an investigation and wanted to protect buyers from any impact on the price of the security.

The US government, including the Federal Communications Commission, have long suspected Huawei acts in the interest of the Chinese government and helps it collect intelligence.

A report in the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday said the US was investigat-

ing whether Huawei, which is also one of the world’s top telecommunications equipment makers, had violated US sanctions connected to Iran.

Huawei said: “In spite of the overwhelming responses received during the eurobond bookbuilding process, we decided to put the eurobond issuance on hold.” The company declined to comment on why the deal was pulled at the last moment.

“Huawei complies with all applicable laws and regulations where it operates, including the applicable export control and sanction laws and regulations of the UN, US and EU,” Huawei said in a statement with regard to the reported US probe.

Bond yields for the group have risen sharply this year amid a string of US actions against Chinese technology groups, and after Huawei lost the right to sell handsets in the US via AT&T, on suspected security concerns, in January.

The group has been a subject of US fears about Chinese snooping.

Semiconductor makers’ shares round the world fell on Wednesday following the report.

Huawei began marketing for the debt deal about a week ago as a US dollar and euro-denominated issuance but later dropped the dollar tranche, according

to people close to the deal.

Bookbuilding for the €500m bond kicked off on Wednesday, attracting strong demand from Chinese banks and other state investors.

However, as orders came in for the bond, rumours began spreading on Chinese social media and messaging application WeChat that Huawei was under investigation in the US for potential breaches in sanctions on Iran.

That did not deter investors. Orders remained strong until the final price guidance was issued late in the evening in Hong Kong, which indicated that demand had intensified throughout the day.

BNP Paribas, Citibank, DBS, ING, JPMorgan Chase and Standard Chartered were joint global coordinators and bookrunners on the deal.

Chinese telco equipment makers have been under heavy scrutiny in the US in recent weeks. Last week, the US hit Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE with a denial of export privileges over alleged violation of US export laws to North Korea and Iran. The order, from the US Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry, would prohibit ZTE from sourcing US components, which it is highly dependent on for its phones and other products.

Deutsche Bank retreats in investment bank overhaul

Mario Draghi acknowledges ‘moderation’ in eurozone growth

US and trading operations to be scaled back in refocus on Europe and corporate customers

CLAIRE JONES AND DELPHINE STRAUSS

OLAF STORBECK

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eutsche Bank announced a retreat from the US investment banking market under its new chief executive, scaling back its trading operations in the country to refocus on Europe and corporate customers.

Germany’s largest bank on Thursday announced significant job losses to meet its 2018 costcutting target after pre-tax income in the corporate investment bank (CIB) collapsed by 74 per cent in the first quarter.

Deutsche did not disclose details on the planned measures.

A person with knowledge on the matter told the Financial Times that 300 US-based investment

ECB signals no change to monetary policy despite recent weak economic data

bank staff were fired on Wednesday before the bank’s announcement, with another 100 to be laid off by the end of this week. The person added that those job cuts are just the prelude to further redundancies in the coming weeks. Deutsche at present employs about 10,000 people in the US. “We are not strong enough in [some] areas,” Christian Sewing, Deutsche’s chief executive, said on the group’s CIB. “Therefore we have to act decisively and to adjust our strategy. There is no time to lose as the current returns for our shareholders are not acceptable.”

The lender said it would exit from its investment banking activiContinues on page A8

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ario Draghi, European Central Bank president, acknowledged a “moderation” in the pace of the eurozone recovery, but signalled no change in monetary policy.

Speaking on Thursday after a meeting of the ECB’s governing council that kept in place the bank’s promise to maintain its asset purchase programme at least until the end of September, Mr Draghi said there had been “a loss of momentum that is pretty broad based across countries and all sectors”.

But he added that his overall assessment was one of “caution tempered by an unchanged confidence” of moving towards the

ECB’s inflation target of just below 2 per cent.

Mr Draghi said that “some normalisation was expected” after several quarters of above average growth, and that temporary factors — including cold weather, strikes and the timing of Easter — might have played a role.

On a more dovish note, the ECB chief cautioned that some indicators could suggest “a more durable softening in demand”.

The euro continued to rise up above its recent dollar lows during Thursday’s press conference, rising 0.4 per cent overall to $1.2209. It was up about 0.2 per cent before the ECB’s announcement and at the start of Mr Draghi’s remarks.

Mr Draghi said a modest rise in inflation in February was largely due to food price inflation.

Even after factoring in the recent rise in oil prices, inflation is set to remain well below the ECB’s target for the rest of this year, and an “ample degree of monetary accommodation” was still needed.

“The risks surrounding the euro area growth outlook remain broadly balanced,” Mr Draghi added. “However, risks related to global factors, including the threat of increased protectionism, have become more prominent.”

He said it was not yet clear what the concrete effects of “what is so far rhetoric about protectionism” would be, especially when it came to the extent of retaliation.

“What is known is that these events have a profound and rapid effect on business, on exporters’ confidence . . . and confidence can in turn affect growth.”

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Ronny Jackson withdraws as Donald Trump’s veterans affairs choice Key administration positions remain unfilled as White House churn continues COURTNEY WEAVER

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hite House doctor Ronny Jackson has withdrawn from consideration to head the department of veteran affairs following allegations about his professional behaviour.

In a statement, Mr Jackson denied all the allegations against him, which included alleged drunken behaviour

on overseas White House trips and the inappropriate distribution of prescription drugs to White House colleagues.

“The allegations against me are completely false and fabricated. If they had any merit, I would not have been selected, promoted and entrusted to serve in such a sensitive and important role as physician to three presidents over the past 12 years,” said Mr Jackson.

He said he was withdrawing because the claims had become a distraction from the president’s agenda.

In a telephone interview with Fox and Friends on Thursday morning, US president Donald Trump said he had a couple of candidates in mind to head the VA in lieu of Mr Jackson.

He alleged that Democrats had been out to “destroy” Mr Jackson. “He would have done a tremendous job,”

said Mr Trump.

He placed blame for Mr Jackson’s withdrawal on Jon Tester, the ranking Democrat on the senate veteran affairs committee, who faces a tough re-election race in his home state of Montana, which Mr Trump won.

“I think this is going to cause him a lot of problems in his state,” said Mr Trump.

While most US presidents have had

North Korea nuclear test site said to have ‘collapsed’

Deutsche Bank retreats in investment bank...

Continued from page A7 ties where it lacked a “sustainable competitive advantage”. It did not disclose the number of job cuts it was planning.

Mr Sewing said he wanted to lower the CIB’s contribution to group revenue to 50 per cent by 2021, down from about 54 per cent in 2017.

Analysts welcomed the plan in principle but pointed out that the lack of detail made it difficult to assess its real significance. “We applaud [Mr] Sewing for getting full management support for a ‘shrinkage’ plan so quickly. What we are missing is timeframe and details,” wrote Kian Abouhossein, a JPMorgan analyst, in a note to clients.

Daniele Brupbacher, analyst at UBS, pointed out that “it is unclear whether this is a radical change”.

In calls with analysts and journalists, Mr Sewing stressed that the cuts did not imply the investment bank was fully retreating from the US. Shares in Deutsche initially fell by more than 3 per cent in early Frankfurt trading but later recovered the losses and were trading up 0.5 per cent at 10.20am.

In corporate finance, Deutsche will focus on offering “global industry expertise to corporates, financial institutions and financial sponsors whose activities are closely aligned with the strengths of the German and European economies” and will scale back US and Asian-focused activities. The bank will also reduce its US rates sales and trading business and in equities wants to cut back its business activities with hedge funds.

Meeting the 2018 target of bringing adjusted costs below €23bn will require additional cost cuts, with the investment bank’s front, middle and back office facing the axe. Deutsche said it planned “a significant reduction in workforce through the rest of the year”.

James von Moltke, chief financial officer, said the bank now expected flat CIB revenues for 2018, taking down the more positive outlook of a rise given in mid-March.

Mr von Moltke told analysts in a call that as most of the job cuts would happen outside Germany, where labour laws are rigid, they could be implemented quickly.

“We are aiming to execute them in 2018,” said Mr von Moltke.

He said the additional cuts in investment banking would come with €300m in further costs in 2018.

In the first quarter of 2018, Deutsche’s income before tax more than halved to €432m compared with the same period a year earlier, missing average analyst expectations by almost a third.

problems with one or two candidates they have put up for administration posts, Mr Trump has had more than his fair share.

According to a report by Politifact in March, only 57 per cent of Mr Trump’s nominees have been confirmed by the Senate, compared with 67 per cent of Barack Obama’s and 78 per cent of George W Bush’s at the same point in their presidencies.

Damage could explain Pyongyang’s willingness to halt testing, experts say CHARLES CLOVER

D ECB president Mario Draghi said there had been a ‘loss of momentum that is pretty broad based across countries and all sectors’ © Reuters

Mario Draghi acknowledges ‘moderation’ in eurozone growth ECB signals no change to monetary policy despite recent weak economic data CLAIRE JONES AND DELPHINE STRAUSS

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ario Draghi, European Central Bank president, acknowledged a “moderation” in the pace of the eurozone recovery, but signalled no change in monetary policy.

Speaking on Thursday after a meeting of the ECB’s governing council that kept in place the bank’s promise to maintain its asset purchase programme at least until the end of September, Mr Draghi said there had been “a loss of momentum that is pretty broad based across countries and all sectors”.

But he added that his overall assessment was one of “caution tempered by an unchanged confidence” of moving towards the ECB’s inflation target of just below 2 per cent.

Mr Draghi said that “some normalisation was expected” after several quarters of above-average growth, and that temporary factors — including cold weather, strikes and the timing of Easter — might have played a role.

On a more dovish note, the ECB

chief cautioned that some indicators could suggest “a more durable softening in demand”.

The euro continued to rise up above its recent dollar lows during Thursday’s press conference, rising 0.4 per cent overall to $1.2209. It was up about 0.2 per cent before the ECB’s announcement and at the start of Mr Draghi’s remarks.

Mr Draghi said a modest rise in inflation in February was largely due to food price inflation.

Even after factoring in the recent rise in oil prices, inflation was set to remain well below the ECB’s target for the rest of this year and an “ample degree of monetary accommodation” was still needed.

“The risks surrounding the euro area growth outlook remain broadly balanced,” Mr Draghi added. “However, risks related to global factors, including the threat of increased protectionism, have become more prominent.”

He said it was not yet clear what the concrete effects of “what is so far rhetoric about protectionism” would be, especially when it came to the extent of retaliation. “What is known is

that these events have a profound and rapid effect on business, on exporters’ confidence . . . and confidence can in turn affect growth.”

In a formal statement that was word for word the same as its March communique, the bank’s governing council also reiterated it would keep interest rates at record lows “well past” the end of the quantitative easing programme.

The ECB’s benchmark main refinancing rate is zero, while there is a negative interest rate of minus 0.4 per cent on a portion of lenders’ deposits held at central banks.

The expectation among investors in recent months has been that the ECB would stop buying new bonds later this year before raising interest rates towards the middle of 2019. Purchases are currently running at €30bn a month, down from €80bn at the height of quantitative easing.

But the weak economic data for the first quarter have triggered increasing speculation that the first interest rate rise will be delayed until later in 2019. A smaller number of analysts are expecting the bank to continue quantitative easing into the new year.

CFTC chair plans overhaul of Dodd-Frank swaps rules Giancarlo calls his plan to relax derivatives regulation a ‘software upgrade’ KADHIM SHUBBER

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he head of the main US derivatives regulator on Thursday set out a 100-page blueprint to pare back regulation of the swaps industry that was introduced after the financial crisis, calling it a software upgrade for the rules rather than an attempt to “burn down the house”.

Christopher Giancarlo, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said that small banks should be exempt from collecting margin payments on over-the-counter swaps and that regulators should give banks more leeway to use their own internal models.

The white paper penned by Mr Giancarlo and Bruce Tuckman, the CFTC’s chief economist, contains a mix of short-term policy proposals

and longer-term goals for reform of the rules governing swaps, derivatives contracts in which traders exchange financial instruments.

Mr Giancarlo said he would prioritise an overhaul of swaps execution rules, which he has long argued are too restrictive. He said that the Obama-era CFTC inadvertently pushed the trading of certain swaps into less-regulated parts of the market by being too specific about how execution platforms should operate.

The CFTC chair, a former executive at interdealer brokerage GFI, proposed allowing the platforms to operate more flexibly while also forcing a wider range of swaps on to the platforms. He said he would introduce new rules later this year.

The proposals come as President Donald Trump, the Republican-con-

trolled Congress and newly-appointed regulators work to roll back some of the financial regulations imposed under the Obama administration.

In March, the Senate passed a bill that relaxed regulations on smaller banks, for example by removing them from the Federal Reserve’s toughest oversight regime. Meanwhile, the activities of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau have been curtailed by its part-time director, Mick Mulvaney.

“None of this advocates either not implementing or undoing any of the core elements of Dodd-Frank,” Mr Giancarlo said of his white paper. “Maybe some people thought anybody that’s an appointee of this administration would be looking to burn down the house. That’s not what we’re looking to do here.”

amage to North Korea’s nuclear testing facility has caused it to collapse, according to Chinese scientists, casting new light on Pyongyang’s offer to halt its nuclear testing programme and close the site.

However, the conclusions of the Chinese have been disputed by US experts who point to evidence that the Punggye-ri site in the north-west of North Korea is still operational.

The paring back of Pyongyang’s nuclear programme is a key bargaining chip for North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un when he meets South Korean president Moon Jae-in at a historic summit on Friday. The topic will also be the focus of talks between Mr Kim and US president Donald Trump at a summit in May or June.

Two groups of Chinese experts said the testing site at Punggye-ri, under a mountain near China’s border, caved in after a test on September 3 and was leaking radiation.

The test detonated a 100-kilotonne bomb that excavated a cavern 200 metres in diameter and opened a hole in the surface of Mount Mantap, the peak under which the facility is located, they said.

“In view of the collapse of the North Korea nuclear test site . . . it was necessary to continue to monitor the leakage of radioactive materials that may have been caused by the collapse event,” said a statement by geophysicists led by Wen Lianxing at the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei.

Mr Wen’s team findings are expected to be published next month in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post reported.

Another Chinese study, published last month in Geophysical Research Letters by a team led by Liu Junqing of the Jilin Earthquake Agency said: “The explosion created a cavity and a damaged ‘chimney’ of rocks above it.”

However, the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies said on Monday that it was wrong to conclude the test site had been destroyed and was inoperative.

North Korea map “There remain two portal areas located in more pristine competent rock that can be used for future tests if Pyongyang were to give the order,” it said.

Mr Kim said last Saturday that North Korea’s nuclear testing programme was “complete” and the facility would be closed.

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THE NEW WEALTH OF NATIONS

Opinion

Why it pays to invest in people OBADIAH MAILAFIA Dr. Mailafia is a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, a development economist and public finance expert with a DPhil from Oxford obmailafia@gmail.com; 08036590990 (text messages only)

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lusola is a young friend of mine; a pharmacy graduate from the University of Ibadan. He was posted to our national capital for his national service. He decided to remain in Abuja to pursue his career as a pharmacist. Over launch at a restaurant in the Central Business District the other day, he told me the story of his life. His parents had moved from Lagos to Kaduna where he grew up and went to school. He later matriculated at Ibadan.

During his final year as an undergraduate his tutor had the cheek to assign him a research topic that ought to have gone to a Master’s student. It was on the subject of using local additives to bolster medicinal products – “excipients”, he called it. He worked on plantain as a pharmaceutical additive. The external supervisor congratulated him for the work and told his professor that the outcome was of commercial value.

During national service in Abuja he was posted to the National Hospital -- a “wasted year” – he laments. Most days he had nothing doing. There were no drugs in the hospital. He decided to work in the evenings for one of the local pharmacies pro bono. Even there, he faced a lot of frustrations.

Patients would walk in and simply announce: “I

need some antibiotics”. As a trained pharmacist it was his duty to know precisely what the diagnosis is and to recommend the type of antibiotics that would help. As far as patients were concerned, it was none of his business. His job was to sell them the drugs they wanted. Anxious not to lose custom, the drug firms oblige their follies. It’s no surprise that these days there is an epidemic of antibiotic resistance.

He confesses that many doctors are also in the business of misdiagnosis just to boost their low incomes. Patients have been subjected to expensive triple by-pass surgery for ailments that hardly require more than an analgesic and a good bed rest. He tells me he is currently undergoing some external professional exams that will enable him relocate to Canada, Australia, Britain or the United States.

Life in contemporary Nigeria has become a nightmare for many of our middle-class professionals – doctors, pharmacists, architects, accountants and others. Not only is the regulatory environment weak; salaries are low and most clients do not believe professionals should be adequately compensated for their services.

Every day, many of our young professionals are scheming how to leave for so-called “greener pastures”.A recent report estimates that some 2,000 doctors leave our shores every year. They spend years preparing for the gruelling American professional certifications that will allow them practise in the United States and other advanced countries.

The median annual salary for a neurologist in the United States, for example, is about US$728,000; in Nigeria, by contrast, it is N6,840,000 (US$19,000).

The difference is clear. Nigeria has 80,000 registered doctors, of which more than 50,000 are practising abroad. Recent surveys show that, of those remaining, 92 percent are considering finding a job abroad while 70 percent are taking examinations to enable them move abroad.

One could argue that exporting human capital is not necessarily a bad thing. They point to the increasing volume of remittances that currently stand at the order of magnitude of US$22 billion

in 2017, according to the World Bank. In the 1980s when the brain drain became a matter of national concern, the Babangida military administration set up a panel to examine the problem and come up with solutions. After months of collecting allowances and estacodes for aimless tourism abroad, the committee came back with a single recommendation: “Let them go!” Their convoluted logic was premised on the notion that jobs were in any case none-available in that brutal structural adjustment environment and that those who could sell their skills abroad were free to do so.

A country where the brightest and best are hankering to move elsewhere is a country on the path to systemic breakdown. Today, the ratio of doctors per population in Nigeria averages 1:6,000.

This contrasts with the WHO recommendation of a doctor per 600 people. The principality of San Marino has 1 doctor per 21 people; Cuba has 1 doctor to 169 people. Overall, Nigeria currently places at 187 out of 191 nations in terms of the WHO index on national health performance.

Nigeria’s average life-expectancy is a low 54.5; as contrasted with poverty-stricken countries such as Yemen (65); Mozambique (57); and DRC (59).

We are behind such countries as Japan, where life-expectancy averages 87 years; UK (81); and USA (79). Life in our beloved country has become a Hobbesian nightmare – nasty, brutish and short.

Malaria – a preventable disease – costs us over N300 billion annually in lost income; accounting for 11 percent of maternal mortality and 30 percent of child deaths. Nigeria has the third highest infant mortality rate in the world, at 9 percent (behind India (24%) and Pakistan (10%). Every single day, 2,300 precious under-five year olds and 145 women of child bearing age die due to preventable diseases.

The combined lessons of economic science and of world development in the last two decades make it abundantly clear that human capital is the driver of the wealth of nations. The new endogenous growth theories pioneered by economists such as Robert Lucas at Chicago and his student Paul Romer – both of them Nobel laureates – place

emphasis on human capital, technology, innovation, knowledge and creativity as the critical factor in creating the society of abundance. The Paris-based OECD defines human capital as, “knowledge, skills, competencies and attributes embodied in individuals that facilitate the creation of personal, social and economic wellbeing”. It has to do with the quality of the workforce, knowledge, intellectual skills and the institutional interrelations that reinforce innovation and creativity.

Sir Winston Churchill once prophesied that “the empires of the future will be the empires of the mind”. The great British wartime Prime Minister was prescient enough to foresee the knowledge revolution of our twenty-first century. In our day and age, natural resources alone are no longer a guarantee of wealth. In fact, they can prove to be more of a curse than a blessing. The nations that prosper today are those that deploy knowledge in harnessing and adding value to their natural resources for domestic as well as global markets.

The greatest wealth of a nation is therefore its people. It is in investing in knowledge, education and skills that the foundation of national wealth and power is built.

In the first decade after independence our pioneer universities were world-class. The Oxford chemist and Nobel laureate Dorothy Hodgkin once told us that the University of Lagos was one of the world centres of expertise in her field of crystallography. In the seventies, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria had the first world class computer centre on the continent. The University Ife also had a notable pool of expertise in nuclear physics.

Our premier University of Ibadan was one of the leading centres of excellence in tropical medicine.

We are told that the Saudi Royal family used to frequent Ibadan for medical treatment. Today, unfortunately, the glory has departed. According to the Times Higher Education Rankings of World Universities for 2017, the University of Cape Town stands atop the African pantheon. It is the only institution that ranks among the top 200 worldwide.

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Nestlé’s strategic investment in agribusiness yielding viable results …as 80% of raw material inputs for production processes sourced locally fosters collaboration and cooperation along its value-chain to achieve mutual growth and success for the food giant’s stakeholders.

As a result of the manufacturer’s local sourcing strategies, an average of 80 percent of raw materials (comprising maize, sorghum, millet, soya, cassava starch, cocoa powder, palm olein) are now being supplied by over 41,600 Nigerian farmers and processors for the Company’s products and brands.

One of the programs, Nestlé Cereals Plan currently has over 30,000 farmers who supply 100% of the grain requirement for GOLDEN MORN Maize. Another is the Sorghum and Millet in the Sahel (SMS) project, now called (Nestlé Nigeria & IFDC / 2Scale Project Sorghum & Millet) aimed at strengthening and improving the resilience of millet/sorghum farming systems

OMOSOMI OMOMIA

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ith a contribution of about 22 to 25 percent to Nigeria’s GDP, Nigeria’s agricultural sector is yet to deliver as much output and wealth as counterpart sectors. Oil & gas for instance, plays a crucial role in the economy, even though it barely contributes 10 percent of GDP. There is overwhelming evidence that lack of structure in the sector, limited modern farming skills, lack of affordable financing, supply insecurities, inconsistencies in government policies and regulations are top among constraints facing agribusiness investments in Nigeria.

The uncertainties of accessing a market at the right time and at the right price, is a very discouraging element for agribusiness investment in Nigeria. Post-harvest losses remain of serious concern to producers and other players in the agriculture value chain. Furthermore, the process from farm to market is an added hurdle, due to storage and transport infrastructure deficiencies.

Nigeria’s agricultural sector is highly fragmented and predominantly characterised by smallholder farms mainly engaged in subsistence agriculture. This model has resulted in poor farming practices, low crop yields and post-harvest losses leading to food security challenges.

Overall, the challenges confronting agribusiness in Nigeria are as enormous as the potential for prosperity if they are resolved.

Nigeria’s leading food and beverage company, Nestlé is helping to address these issues

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through its focus on increasing local sourcing for the past 7 years. Working alongside partners, the company has significantly transformed farming models across segments of the agribusiness value-chain connected to its business in the country.

According to Mauricio Alarcon, Nestlé’s Managing Director/CEO, “The Industry has huge needs and we must help farmers improve their yields to meet them. To achieve real success with connecting farmers to industry, a 360 degree approach which will include the

aggregators, processors, and logistics suppliers must be considered within this value chain.”

The company has successfully realised tangible results through strategic programs and plans aimed at enhancing local sourcing of raw material inputs for its production processes. The significant support toward ensuring increased agricultural productivity in Nigeria is part of Nestlé’s commitment to contribute to society while ensuring the long-term success of its business, a principle called Creating Shared Value (CSV). To achieve this objective, the company

MAURICIO ALARCÓN Alarcón is the Managing Director and Chief Executive of Nestlé Nigeria Plc.

Published by BusinessDAY Media Ltd., The Brook, 6 Point Road, GRA, Apapa, Lagos. Ghana Office: Business Day Ghana Ltd; ABC Junction, near Guinness Ghana Limited, Achimota – Accra, Ghana.

Tel: +233243226596: email: mail@businessdayonline.com Advert Hotline: 08116759801, 08082496194. Subscriptions 01-2950687, 07045792677. Newsroom: 08169609331 Editor: Anthony Osae-Brown. All correspondence to BusinessDAY Media Ltd., Box 1002, Festac Lagos. ISSN 1595 - 8590.

RECALL CONFERENCE BUSINESS DAY FOR MEN Conference for men dares stereotypes, invites new beliefs about masculinity

In Partnership With

STEPHEN ONYEKWELU

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elief in masculinity and dominance has rendered African men slaves of their concepts and it is time to start the process of changing this, to make men understand how much they owe femininity.

The Yetunde Bernard Company, set up to help individuals and business owners craft and refine their messaging and project for maximum influence and impact globally is organising its first City Centre Conference for Men in Africa to deal with this.

Things Fall Apart’s Okonkwo char-

acter gives insight into how many African men want to be perceived.

Okonkwo despised and refused to accept his father Unoka. To the community Unoka was weak and considered to not be a true man. He was a failure in the eyes of society and constantly borrowed money.

Unoka had only taken one wife and was unable to support his family.

This inability to support his family stemmed from his bad work ethic and laziness.

Seeing his father’s inability to provide for the family Okwonko devoted his life to hard work and to hate everything his father loved. Unoka’s failures sculpted Okwonko to the man he was in the novel he became

hard working and despised laziness.

He was the complete opposite of Unoka, earning many titles, having many wives and being a successful man.

Today’s African man needs help to better position himself in society.

This inaugural edition of the Recall Conference for Men is focused on men in order to make a difference.

Recall Conference for Men is designed and presented by CityCentre conference for the urbane man aged 20-45 years convened by The Yetunde Bernard Company, a personal brand development agency in Ikoyi Lagos.

It is a one-day live conference that is targeted at providing the African

man living in today’s urbane, competitive and demanding society with insights and practical tools to enable him meet his evolving world with intention, clarity and a deep sense of tenacity.

The inaugural theme, ‘The 21st Century Man: The Hustle Is Real’ explores a world currently embroiled in an equality dispute, this conference focuses on Purpose and Passion, the place of identity in finding freedom and peace, proffering practical steps to create a more balanced and fulfilling life for Men. RCM 2018 brings organisations and delegates from around Africa to interact with thought leaders and learn how to leverage on the status of

J.J Omojuwa, Speaker

Edi Lawani, Speaker

DJ Jimmy-Jatt, Speaker

Adebola Williams, Speaker

Bankole Bernard, masterclass facilitator

David Wej

kunle afolayan

Mudi, masterclass facilitator

Kola Aina, masterclass facilitator

the African man to create productivity platforms on all fronts.

According to Olakunle Soriyan, thought revolutionist, knowledge owner, mastermind, and the principal transformation strategist at the Olakunle Soriyan Company and the lead strategist of the Recall Conference for Men, “The Recall Conference for Men is an invasion of the norm. It is designed specifically to serve as a resource point for men.

Men have become the endangered species not because they have more challenges, but because they don’t speak about these challenges.

This conference is to serve as a platform where men can converge and connect, sharing thoughts and ideas.”

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‘We are providing African man with insights, tips to meet evolving world’ Today’s man is more challenged than ever before. With constant open-ended and unexplained shifts in standards of identity, the African man is fast becoming an endangered specie. In this interview, the CEO of The Yetunde Bernard Company, Yetunde Bernard this Recall Conference for men is to assist men with tips to cope with challenges. She further explains that ‘Recall For Men’ is a Resource centre. With industry Masterclasses running through the year, business tips/mentoring, emotional and for psychological support. Excerpts Your company is organising the first ever un-biased conference for men, what is the objective behind this conference? t is a one-day live conference that is targeted at providing the African man living in today’s urbane, competitive and demanding society with insights and practical tools to enable him meet his evolving world with intention, clarity and a deep sense of tenacity while sharing experiences and interacting with other men.

Why do you think the objective is relevant this time and what is the theme of the conference?

Men are pressured to adapt to distinctive physical and behavioral standards in order to be socially accepted. The African man is especially culturally and societally bound by ideals and values he does not necessarily believe or understand. You’re not a man if you’re afraid or show weakness. A picture painted by society on a false canvas that celebrates appearance over reality. Today’s man is characterized by his bank account and defined by the question “What are you worth?, which leaves a generation to ceaselessly pursue wealth (at any cost) in order to validate their manhood.

A man isn’t a man because of what he can or can’t do. A man is a man because of who he is.

With constant open-ended and

I

Yetunde Bernard

unexplained shifts in standards of identity, The African man is fast becoming an endangered specie. Our inaugural theme is The 21st Century Man: The Hustle is Real!

Who are you targeting to attend the conference and who are the expected speakers?

Recall For Men Conference is for the urbane man aged 20 to 45 .

Speakers this year are JJ.Omojuwa on Digital Age and Acceptability, Edi Lawani and Jimmy Jatt on People and Relevance and Adebola Williams on Social Belonging. The Lead Moderator is Olakunle Soriyan. We also have Industry Masterclasses.

Fashion/Retail- MUDI (Mudiaga Enajemo) David Wej (Adedayo Eweje), Aviation/Travel&Tours- Bankole

Bernard, ICT-Kola Aina, Film&The Arts-Kunle Afolayan Media-Simon Kolawole Will it be an annual event?

Yes it will be.

This conference appears to be a shift from concentration of conferences and empowerment for women to men, do you agree?

I won’t call it a shift per say. I’d say its an intermediation Why do you think the men themselves did not think out this idea of organising a conference for their empowerment?

Even though it is generally assumed that men will be alright and can figure things out by themselves, I do believe a few men have and are putting together empowerment initiatives for men. As its common with this gender however, they are just quieter about the things they do. Lol What outcomes are we expecting from this conference?

Beyond the conference, Recall For Men is a Resource centre. With industry Masterclasses running through the year, business tips/mentoring, emotional and psychological support, we provide a community for today’s man to thrive in Africa’s peculiar socio-cultural terrain. We converge on a conference like this once a year.

Could you tell us more about The Yetunde-Bernard Company?

Our programs are sectioned

into 2 core segments - Recall which caters to identity and Potential and - YouNow which caters to spiritual, emotional and psychological well being. Recall has 3 offerings -Personal/ Identity coaching sessions to identify and/or develop and monetize talents , giftings and innate abilities-Recall For Men -Recall campus Intervention. YouNow also has 3 offerings YOUNOW 121 which is a 60 minutes one to one with the Identity Coach that offers you the transformation you need through introspecting and crystallizing your thoughts on what is yours to do in order to achieve your highest. YOUNOW Soiree: usually at the end of the year, this is a goal setting/vision mapping group session strictly for ladies.

YouNow : The Worship Room; A place of spiritual incubation for ideas, talents, gifts and purpose through Music and Words.The Yetunde Bernard Company is a personal brand development agency. Set up specifically to work with individuals and business owners who desire to harness their distinct message (identity) craft and refine their messaging (niche) and project it for maximum influence and impact globally. We work with you on creating and sustaining an authentic brand while helping you and/or your business gain clarity for thoughts, anxieties and questions about Purpose, Gifting, and Talents.

Re-inventing men’s hut in a digital age

A

Simon Kolawole, Speaker

dvocacy for women empowerment and girl-child education abound but few of such initiatives exist for boys and men, this is about to change with this conference for men.

“Men have become the endangered species not because they have more challenges, but because they don’t speak about these challenges. This conference is to serve as a platform where men can converge and connect, sharing thoughts and ideas” Olakunle Soriyan, Lead Strategist of the ‘Recall Conference for Men’ said.

In the hundred-thousand years of human existence before men were reduced to civilians in megacultures, we lived in traditional groups of 18 to 36 people.

Within that group half were women and a third were children.

The remaining six to twelve were

men. They gathered in the Men’s Hut, similar to the concept driving this conference. It is in our genetic code to seek the hut, the place where we are free from our societal roles, where we can share our lives and be witnesses to our brothers.

It is where our stories are told and where we find rest, support and kinship. Establishing or joining a men’s group can return you to the hut. It has been many generations since most men have been there, hence the path to its re-establishment can be difficult but this men’s conference is meant to smoothen the path, back to the hut.

This conference has been designed as a map. Like any map, detours and deviations might be needed, but it will take you and your brothers back to a seat at the ancient circle of men.

While it is possible to make

friends from co-workers, it is difficult. Everyone at work is someone who supervises and evaluates you, you oversee and assess, or you vie with for promotions and salary.

These assigned roles are barriers to revealing one’s authentic self.

Many men say that during undergraduate days or military service, where conditions were different, they had the best relationships than they ever had. Then they moved on to jobs, finding a partner, and establishing themselves in society.

They worked hard but somehow, without realising it, through all the moves they lost an important part of their lives.

Men have various needs to be addressed among which are the following: A man needs three kinds of human relationships. First and foremost he needs his family. The bond of parent, spouse and child

is the centre of happiness and our society recognises this and has built institutional support for these relationships.

Second he needs a network of 6 to 10 close friends that for lack of a better word we will call his “group,” -a group of men that he meets with frequently for support, advice and to share his life.

While central to society for thousands of years, our current culture fails to back or even recognise this vital bond.

The third is the larger communal context of society; these include participation in work, social networks, charity and professional organisations, churches, social and recreational clubs, political parties, sports attachments, national allegiance and all other groups larger than twelve. Participation in these are either supported or mandated by our culture.

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WOMEN’S HUB Friday 27 April 2018

OLAMIDE Olatunbosun

BUSINESS DAY

IFEDAYO Durosinmi – Etti

PARLIAMO BAMBINI producing locally manufactured furniture & clothing for children

EDITOR’S NOTE Welcome to this edition of Women’s HUB.

This week, as our cover personalities, and LEADING WOMEN are Ifedayo Durosinmi – Etti and Olamide Olatunbosun.

They co-own Parliamo Bambini, a company into producing locally manufactured furniture & clothing for children.

Lina’s Rheumatoid arthritis story in AGAINST ALL ODDS is truly worth the read.

In WOMEN IN FOCUS, we share with you brief biographies of 5 outstanding young women doing well in their endeavors.

Also in this edition, Adebola Atoyebi, CEO / Director of Studies, Heritage House Montessori Centre and President, Chosen Vessels Empowerment Foundation, shares her view on gender inequality and sexual harassment in the workplace.

Is there a law in place? Is it applicable?

Read her opinion.

In WORKPLACE PALAVER, Kike, almost lost her job…did love later find her? Find out in that section.

These and more we have for you this week.

Enjoy!

KEMI AJUMOBI kemi@businessdayonline.com

Leading Woman

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Parliamo Bambini, producing locally manufactured furniture & clothing for children ????????????

Ifedayo Durosinmi – Etti Co-Founder, Parliamo Bambini

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fedayo Durosinmi – Etti is a sales and marketing expert with over 10 years of management and leadership experience working in the fashion, marketing and manufacturing Industries. She holds a first degree in Biochemistry and an MBA in Global Business. Prior to moving back to Nigeria in 2012, she worked with Arcadia Group Plc, a British multinational retailing company headquartered in London and Aspire Acquisitions. She later joined Nigerian Breweries (Heineken Operating Company in Nigeria) as a Young African Talent (YAT) and transitioned to their Corporate Communications Department as Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability Support Manager where she successfully managed various corporate social responsibility and sustainability projects. Ifedayo is also an associate member of the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON). With her passion for women and children, she launched Parliamo Bambini and Philos and Zoe, startups disrupting the baby and child industry through locally manufactured furniture and clothing for children with the aim of reducing poverty, empowering our youth and promoting access to quality education in Nigeria and Africa.

Growing up Growing up for me was amazing. My Dad is a Chemical Engineer and my Mum is a Lawyer. At a very young age, he left a job at Mobil to start his own business while my mum had a couple of businesses growing up. But it’s so funny how even though both my parents were entrepreneurs, I never thought about being an Entrepreneur. I always wanted to get a blue collar job and just rise to the top in my career. It is funny how I’m following his footsteps. My mum smiles through every situation. I think I got that from her.

No matter the challenge, I always took for a way to push through.

She has a very humble and kind spirit. One thing my parents did not joke with was quality education. They believed that was the best gift they could give their children. They also made me believe at a very young age that I could be anything I wanted to be and till date they still support whatever decision I make and give me advice whenever they can.

Why the decision to go into locally manufactured children furniture and clothing line?

When I had my first child, I bought her furniture from a company in London and it cost so much. At the time, that was the norm, so I did not think anything of it. So I shipped it into Nigeria. When it got to Nigeria, I got a call from Customs saying it will cost me a certain amount to clear because furniture was contraband. I thought to myself, ‘How did I not know this? How does everyone else do it? We then said we’d find a way to reduce the cost for other mothers. At first, we struck a deal with the company I bought my furniture from and they gave us huge discounts at the time and we started getting orders because our rates were more affordable than others available in the market and we got quite a number of

customers. But one day, my partner and I thought to ourselves that we could actually start producing our own line of baby furniture in Nigeria and we will be even more affordable. We did our research and we just went in. The rest is history.

Response so far?

The response so far has been amazing and we cannot thank God enough. Since we launched in 2015, we have never had a time when we were actively looking for customers. The demand is there, we just need to supply.

Your passion for fulfilling the United Nations Sustainable Development goals As a result of my background in Biochemistry and an MBA in Global Business, I have been privileged to understand the importance of sustainability through some of the courses I took and coincidentally, I worked as the Corporate Social Responsibility and Support Manager at Nigerian Breweries for about 4 years, so Sustainability has not only become a part of me, it has become top priority in anything I do. It simply means that I work in a way that my personal and business operations solve the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It is very important that we all work this way. The Sustainable Development Goals are a set of 17 interrelated global goals to end poverty, fight inequality, injustice and tackle climate change by 2030. I am passionate about contributing positively to these goals because they will give a chance to end poverty and ensure human right and dignity is respected.

Challenges One of our major challenges is Talent Management.

It is very difficult to find talented educated people in our industry who will understand our vision. Another challenge is scaling in our industry in Nigeria; there is also the challenge of lack of infrastructure. Nigeria lacks the basic infrastructure and logistics to support entrepreneurship. If you must run a business in Nigeria, you must have the financial muscle to support your own infrastructure. To manufacture locally, you need to provide your own electricity, water supply and other amenities that makes business operation run smoothly. This single issue lengthens the time frame from initial planning to full business operations when you want to compare it to developed countries. This also eats into your profit as a Startup and sometimes, it is difficult to plan because there are no certainties.

How do you intend to make your business global?

We intend to take the business global first by standardizing all our products to meet international requirements. We also have hopes of collaborating with international companies through distributorship agreements or franchising.

How are you able to reach an understanding with your partner when it comes to implementation of ideas?

As partners, we have grown to understand our strengths, so when it comes to implementation of ideas, we work with each other’s strengths and go with the option of the person who is better skilled in that area but in cases where we feel strongly about a certain issue, we either speak to our accountant and business consultant or a Mentor.

Where do you see this business in few years to come?

I see both businesses becoming household names in Africa. I see them as the next Mothercare in Africa. I see it becoming the first point of contact for African mothers for both our products, services and even growing online community. Sometimes motherhood takes a toll on you, and it’s awesome to be able to discuss with other people who have walked your walk.

Starting up and where you are now, what is the difference? What have you learnt?

My 3 years of being a business owner has been a time of growth, personally and business wise. I have learnt not to take things too seriously and that the sky is truly big enough, I have learnt to document processes and procedures, I have learnt that you cannot know it all, I have also learnt to share my problems. I’m not the kind of person that will say ‘Ah, If you have a problem, don’t let anyone know’. You should have a trusted person because sometimes, things will get hard but most importantly, I have learnt that you need God, people, networks (GPN) to thrive as an entrepreneur.

to grow the business organically and it’s currently running itself. However there would be need to expand in the nearest future so we can serve customers better.

How do you intend to make your business global?

In the nearest future we intend to have served every home across Africa. In addition, our long term plan is also to begin exportation of our furniture items to other neighboring countries creating more awareness for the brand. We are also open to partnering with other related companies with similar vision in other parts of the world as the saying goes “collaboration is key”

How are you able to reach an understanding with your partner when it comes to implementation of ideas?

Firstly it is easier identifying the fact we have the same vision for the company. What has worked best has simply been to identify her strengths which helps in assigning and execution of tasks relating to the business. Effective communication has been the most vital.

Where do you see this business in few years to come?

I see Parliamo Bambini as the leading children’s brand that should be reckoned with around the globe.

Starting up and where you are now, what is the difference? What have you learnt?

I remember how exciting the journey has been and even the very first customer that believed in the business. It has been a roller coaster and faced challenges as any start up and also recorded milestones and achievements till date. We initially started as a trading company and over our few years of existence we have expanded and are now a manufacturing company. I can say we have grown organically as a brand and we are still learning to serve better.

I personally on the job have learnt perseverance, resilience and also people management.

lamide Olatunbosun holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, and a Masters’ Degree in Human Resource Management. She is responsible for the business development, operations, finance management, Human resources and employee relations. She began a career in Human Resources with IBM (International Business Machines) U.K as a Human Resource Personnel. She is very passionate about employee motivation and retention as they directly and indirectly play a vital role in the growth of the business. Her passion to put a smile on parent’s faces can be trailed as far back as her undergraduate days where she constantly researched on how the environment played a fundamental role in child’s cognition. She is a graduate member of CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel Department). She has worked in different organisational sectors with human resource functions ranging from setting structures in place, recruitment and selection, facilitating training programs, payroll management and HR audit, reengineering, recommendations and proffering solutions. She has also undergone the Quality Management System Internal Auditors training for the certification of the ISO 9001:2015.

Growing up I am of a family of 6 inclusive of my parents and 3 siblings. We were an average family with kids understanding the routine of going to school. As a child I was exposed to travelling at an early age. My parents gave me the liberty of travelling with my friends families out of the country. They were of the opinion that every child should be accorded the opportunity so they understand that there is life outside where we lived in and also for the exposure as well. On trips back to the country I would buy little stuff to sell. It is safe to say that is where I developed my being independent and not overly micro managed. That sales trait trailed my path all through my high school, undergraduate and workplace. It was no surprise that I followed the path of entrepreneurship.

Why the decision to go into locally manufactured children furniture?

It was an idea that had been on my mind for a while and fortunately I was speaking to my friend (Ifedayo Durosinmi-Etti) who is now my business partner. At the time, she was pregnant of her daughter. I shared my ideas with her and we found ourselves engrossed talking for hours and immediately I found it interesting to see someone have the same vision as yourself. We decided to

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kick off the journey together using her daughter’s nursery as our first trial. It worked out well and it we immediately identified a market and carved a niche for ourselves. We are an alternative to importation of children’s furniture and our focus on locally made children’s furniture was greatly influenced by economic factors such as, cost of importation of kids furniture, fluctuation in the rate of exchange, high unemployment rate, poverty rate and youth empowerment.

How has the response been so far?

It has been phenomenal. We have received awards from the African Creative Exhibition for the Best Emerging Home and Lifestyle Brand, recognition from the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Foundation as one of the ideas that can transform Africa, grants from the Jumia Startup Nigeria and magazine features one of which is the Savvy Media magazine in their “power of local business made in Nigeria edition” amongst others. It definitely motivates us to do better. Parliamo Bambini set out to provide safe, quality yet affordable products and services that would put depict our customer’s imagination and put a smile on their faces and their kids all over Africa and the globe.

In what ways are you passionate about employee motivation and retention?

Dealing with unmotivated employees can send even the sharpest manager or business owner into a fit of frustration. In fact, if they are not careful, it can even lead managers down the road toward wrongfully stereotyping entire groups. As a business owner and a leader, I have realized there are times that employees are at their lows. Sometimes, it has nothing to do with the job or the person; it is just an emotional thing at the point in time. The same applies to me the business owner. However, I remember I have a responsibility to not let their motivation die, by inspiring passion that drives the employee’s motivation.

Passion itself has a shelf life, so I try to keep the passion burning. Overtime, I have observed and been blown away by their services and productivity of the employees.

Challenges The major challenge we face is man power and funding. We work with a lot of artisans and low level skilled individuals, factors such as exposure, etiquette and training are sometimes a barrier. We have had to invest in a lot of trainings for gaps that were identified. Our kind of business is capital intensive like every other manufacturing industry but we have been able

What are your challenges?

As it is all a learning curve it is fair to say set backs are inevitable.

Nothing major asides the usual in our industry which is man power and communication barrier. We work with a lot of artisans with little or no exposure so the honors is on us to ensure communication is effective and they get a clear picture if what you are trying to relay to them.

What role do you play in the business?

I am responsible for the core operations, Business Development and Human resources and finance management.

Olamide Olatunbosun Co-Founder, Parliamo Bambini

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BUSINESS DAY

Friday 27 April 2018

WOMEN’S HUB

Against All Odds

Lina’s Rheumatoid Arthritis story I

ADEBOLA ATOYEBI CEO / Director of Studies, Heritage House Montessori Centre; President, Chosen Vessels Empowerment Foundation

Gender inequality and sexual harassment in the workplace

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he issue of gender inequality in the corporate world is a phenomenon that cuts across continents and countries.

Even developed countries like USA have maybe just about 4 or 5% of women only in leadership executive positions. The reasons are hydra headed and cannot be explored in its entirety here.

It has its roots in several things.

1. The way women and men are wired- which determines our approach to things, which may not necessarily fit the corporate world, or perceived differently.

2. Gender stereotypes which dates back to many years and is still very much alive. People expect that a man should be head in everything, especially in workplaces, and not a woman.

They will do anything to enforce that, even where there’s a quali-

fied woman for the intended position.

3. The several caps that women wear and roles that they play as wives, mothers, home keepers and managers and so on, makes their lives very demanding such that balancing their roles become a problem. As natural nurturers, they end up sacrificing their careers for their family and go for less demanding or less lucrative jobs. A man won’t do that. These are a few of the reasons.

On laws for sexual harassment, I don’t think there are such laws, perhaps at organisational level but not at national level. Each organisation can determine their laws but I do not think Government has any in place. Should we have? Hmmm!

Yes & No! Yes, it will be good to have but who will enforce it?

We still struggle with issues of sexual abuse of children where families don’t want to go to court because of the shame and stigma, even where fathers abuse their daughters and should be incarcerated! People plead to settle out of court and bury the case. We struggle with cases of domestic violence where husbands beat wives to death and father in-laws are trying to bribe the judge to pervert justice, to set their sons free (even Pastor’s sons)! So, if we have laws against sexual harassment, good as it may sound, I don’t think it’ll be enforced. People will laugh it off and consider it trivial. Are we genuinely prepared for this?

Having asked this crucial question, I remain positive about a change that will reorganise the status quo for the best.

am 31 years old and 13 years ago my symptoms began, not in the clearest way for the doctors and therefore an opportune diagnosis (essential for the disease control) was not the expected one. Unlike the commonly known about RA or the symptoms in which many doctors are “married” with, there are cases that do not meet these requirements, such as: is not always in symmetrical joints, there is not always a genetic predisposition of suffering RA, is not always manifested in more than one joint at the beginning, laboratory tests do not always confirm that RA exists as an autoimmune disease, it is not an exclusive disease of older people and RA also has more invisible symptoms like fatigue and decreased visual acuity that are not always taken into account.

I started with pain and swelling in my right wrist. Without reason which explains it. At that time, the doctor who took care of my wrist was a hand surgeon, who after several infiltrations to reduce inflammation, medications and tests (laboratory tests, MRI, bone scan) failed to explain or improve my condition, so he referred me to a Rheumatologist. After a long wait for an appointment with that “rheumatologist”, she just looking at my face concluded that I did not suffer from anything that she could help me with. So, I went back to my hand surgeon, who had no choice but to suggest a right wrist synovectomy in order to determine with the synovial tissue biopsy, what could be the cause of the inflammation. The first surgery did not report any abnormality, the second neither, the only result of those two interventions ended in having an extension degree of 0 ° (when it should be 80°), a bending degree of 5 ° (when it should be 70 °), and beautiful scar impossible to hide.

After that initial catastrophic management and 4 years later, soreness appeared in another joint (the left elbow), zero “typical symmetry of arthritis”. With other health insurance and better management, I began to see a real rheumatologist and with whom I am fortunate to still count 8 years later. He initially diagnosed me with “Seronegative RA“. When you are 24 years old and all the tests give you negative results, you feel that you are tagged in a diagnosis with which you are not satisfied. We are so conditioned to make like a “checklist” with symptoms and results, that if you don’t comply with the 100%

of those mandatory criteria, you don’t accept the diagnosis so you don’t start to look introspectively and instead of waiting for a Why? , you delay the process of creating health by looking the “for what” and the “what”. What is my body trying to teach me? What behaviors should I change? What habits should I assume? What things should I thank for those daily teachings? What should I learn from RA? This phase of acceptance, which is not easily reached, is the key for the body to harmonize with the available treatments. I went through: methotrexate + prednisolone + folic acid, hydroxychloroquine, sulfazalacin and leflunomide without lasting success. The one that lasted the longest was leflunomide (5 years) until the hepatic toxicity of the drug began and a loss of efficacy with the dosing modification. I was almost all of 2017 without treatment, only with pain management with NSAIDs, until at the end of the year (this time now with a seropositive diagnosis and an exacerbated disease activity), my rheumatologist decided to start with biological treatment; a relatively recently created wonder that has been able to get me out of that black hole in which a rheumatic crisis can submerge you.

Despite of the amount of side effects described in these medicines, being able to count on them and their high effectiveness slowing the progression of the disease are magical and an incentive to not lose hope. That word of which I spoke to you at the beginning, that word that I tattooed in my first affected joint to remind me daily that I must feed by wishing with all my strength to reach a stage of remission of the disease, to not be part of the percentage that has serious side effects, taking care of my body, loving and respecting me, changing toxic habits, evolving daily, learning from my mistakes, forgiving me for all the unconscious damage I may have done to my body, but more than all this, we must keep alive that hope that a cure will be available as clinical research goes forward.

To finish, I leave this phrase of the author Daniel Defoe: “All our dissatisfaction for what we lack comes from our lack of gratitude for what we have.” Do not forget to thank God (or whatever you believe in), every moment that we can enjoy health, treasure those moments with deep love and the healing feeling of gratitude will work in every pro-inflammatory cell of our body.

With my total admiration for all those who know the RA closely, I wish you the best, courage and hope warriors.

CMYK

Imposition Studio 5.1.1

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BUSINESS DAY

Friday 27 April 2018

Women In Focus

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unmi Otitoju, is the Founder of Minku. She is a 30-year-old Nigerian fashion designer and entrepreneur, holds two Computer Science degrees - a Bachelor of Science degree with first-class honors from Howard University and a Master of Science degree from Virginia Tech. But her first love was Fine Art. As a high school student in Lagos, she won the Fine Arts prize at school every year – for 3 years. Having moved to the U.S. when she was 17, and then to Europe at the age of 25, Otitoju found herself deeply enmeshed in western culture.

Keen on preserving her Nigerian

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Adaora Mbelu-Dania Creative Industrialist

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daora Mbelu-Dania is currently Head Of Innovation at A2 Creative – a Trellis Group Company. Trellis group is a group of companies in the brand development and experiential marketing space that has worked on several projects across various industries, with brands such as Microsoft, Google, Sterling Bank, Union Bank, Techno Oil, Lagos State Government, Nokia, Diageo, Absolut. Trellis is also home to Nigeria’s Foremost Graffiti Artist, Osa Seven, Professional Violinist, GodwinStrings, Media Personality, Denola Grey.

Upon completion of her Bachelors Degree in Economics and Entrepreneurship, Adaora moved to Nigeria in 2008, and found that there were so many young Nigerians in the creative sector that were unable to harness their creativity and build sustainable brand/ business structures – she focused on bridging this gap. She has worked with various creative people to bring their ideas, projects, and brands to life. Adaora has a passion for innovation and a belief in the power of creativity to achieve extraordinary business results. Her experience spans across various industries, where she has gathered priceless experiences.

Prior to forming Trellis Group, has worked as content director for various projects.

Aside from her academic and professional accomplishments, Adaora has a passion for learning and teaching, as well as nurturing and building dreams. She is the founder of Socially Africa, a foundation that gives back to the community through several projects, one of which is Art For A Cause. Art for a cause is a platform to inspire and educate Children using Art as the medium of Communication.

Every two months, together with a team of artists and volunteers, the Socially Africa team visits a school and paints educational artwork on their walls. In addition, the team spends time with the kids, Conducts a spelling bee, Teaches

the importance of Nutrition and Exercise, as well as gives out merchandise, books, bags, crayons and Drawing books to the kids. Art For A Cause has been implemented in 11 schools across Nigeria, and 1 in Sri Lanka.

Adaora believes in sharing her knowledge, and also teams operate at optimal capacity. She currently conducts brand and productivity trainings through the Decisive Advantage Enterprise Program at Trellis and her podcast “The Ripple Effect”. She is co- founder of www. theoctagon.com.ng, a platform that seeks to raise the level of thinking by bringing professionals together to discuss solutions to the various challenges across Nigeria’s Industries.w One of Adaora’s philosophies is the importance of living a purpose driven life, and using as many of her gifts as possible. As a result, she finds several mediums to express to her creativity.

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ilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola Founded WeCyclers in 2012, using low cost cargo bicycles called WeCycles to provide convenient recycling services to households

BILIKISS ADEBIYI-ABIOLA General Manager, Lagos State Parks and Gardens Agency.

Founder, WeCyclers

self-motivated implementer, Hannah obtained a BSc in Business Economics from Queen Mary University of London.

For six years she worked as a Business Analyst in the public sector where she was instrumental in the strategic developments of Galaxy Backbone Plc. Her wealth of experience spans across customer support, marketing, corporate strategy, research and relationship management.

She proceeded to do a MSc in Renewable Energy & Enterprise Management which eventually led to the start-up of CREEDS ENERGY. Her areas of focus and interest are Solar Photovoltaic Systems, Community

WOMEN’S HUB

identity and eager to propagate facets of Nigerian culture, she

KUNMI OTITOJU Founder, Minku

Development, Energy Efficiency, Carbon Development Mechanisms (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI). She was part of a team that executed a carbon reduction scoping project for Hexham Abbey Newcastle, UK. For the Abbey’s Property Committee, the team conducted an audit and developed a preliminary assessment report suggesting energy efficient measures and possibilities of incorporating renewable technologies to reduce the energy costs and carbon dioxide emissions for the Grade 1 building.

She is a member of African Renewable Energy Alliance (AREA), Energy Institute UK, International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA)

conceived the idea of lining highquality leather bags with Aso-oke fabric, a hand-loomed cloth woven

by Nigeria’s Yoruba people.

In 2011, after stints at Goldman Sachs and a few other international corporations, Otitoju established Minku, a fast-growing high-end Afro-centric brand that produces luxury bags, wallets and other fashion accessories for men and women by subtly blending Aso-oke into contemporary Spanish leathers to present a transcontinental finish.

All Minku’s products are hand-made at a workshop in Barcelona, Spain, but they are sold at high-end stores in Nigeria and on the company’s website.

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uth is a lawyer and a real estate entrepreneur passionate about the way people live, work and invest. Founder and CE at 3INVEST, one of Africa’s leading real estate brands, filling the gap with innovative platforms that is changing the way investors/consumers approach real estate in the future.

3INVEST’s advocacy platform serves as a valuable source for real estate stakeholders to obtain industry information and connects with professionals in what has become the Industry flagship event, Real Estate UNITE gathering global real estate investors and stakeholders yearly.

In 2016, she and her team created the company corporate real estate model with the launch of Lagos Cowork, the 1st timeshare cowork space that provides flexible office spaces to start-ups and growing businesses Having attended high-levels management programs such as the Harvard Business School Real Estate Management program and Pan Atlantic University Certificate of Entrepreneurship Management Program, she is equipped to lead her team.

Ruth has spoken at several real estate summits including MIPIM, the World’s Largest Real Estate Event amongst others.

She hosted a weekly real estate show called Real Estate On Air for 6 years on Classic and Beat FM, Lagos. Now ROO Property Talk Show on Digital Media.

HANNAH KABIR Managing Director, Creeds Energy

across Nigeria. Although born and raised in Lagos, Bilikiss initially developed the idea for her business in the US whilst she was a student at the MIT Sloan School of Management.

This followed a five-year career as a corporate software engineer at IBM where she gained invaluable business and technology experience. Whilst at MIT, she was assigned to a study project aimed at finding solutions to tangibly help people at the bottom of the social pyramid.

Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola is an awardwinning social entrepreneur who has built a sustainable and viable business model to help the poor communities of Lagos reclaim their neighborhoods from the scourge of pollution and waste.

Going back to her country roots in Nigeria, Bilikiss was inspired to work on finding a much-needed and effective new solution to the

problem of waste management.

Her project, which eventually became the inspiration for her company WeCyclers, was a practical response to dealing with huge local waste issues in Lagos, where only 40 percent of the city’s garbage is collected.

WeCyclers is a successful initiative that enables low-income communities in Nigeria to make money from the waste piling up in their streets. The company deploys a fleet of cargo bicycles to collect and recycle this unmanaged waste in Nigeria’s capital, Lagos. Every week, these bicycles go around people’s homes picking up a variety of plastics, cans and sachets. The residents receive points based on the weight of recyclables they collect, which they can redeem for basic food items, consumer electronics, or even cash. Bilikiss is currently General Manager, Lagos State Parks and Gardens Agency.

RUTH OBIH-OBUAH Chief Executive, 3INVEST

BUSINESS DAY

Friday 27 April 2018

WOMEN’S HUB

Workplace Palaver How Nurse Kike almost lost her job…did love later find her?

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KEMI AJUMOBI

he Rose Hospital was in a state of confusion on this particular day. The number of patients wheeled in for various accident related cases was quite high. Everyone was on their toes attending to different people. Nurses running around to meet with instructions given by doctors. It was surely one of those busy days. It felt like another season of Grey’s Anatomy.

Babatunde Badmus and his wife were among those that were rushed in. Babatunde had a compound fracture from a severe car accident that put his right leg in a dicey state. His wife was rushed to the emergency unit. As they wheeled her there, though in pain, he kept shouting “Please help save my wife, save her life ...please!!”. The nurses were doing their best to calm him down “Not to worry sir, she will be fine, we urgently need to attend to you too, the fracture you sustained is severe” Nurse Kike told him. She was one of the nurses wheeling him to the emergency room.

Apparently, he did not feel pain when the accident happened but pain later came upon him with so much intensity he shouted “I am in pain…help!!”. Babatunde required urgent surgery to clean the area of the injury because there was a break in the skin and the bone on the leg was out, the doctors feared debris and infection could travel to the fracture location, and lead to a high rate of infection in the bone. The doctors were glad he was rushed in not long after the accident happened.

Dr Mike Raymond conducted a physical examination and asked him questions about how and where the injury occurred. Though Babatunde was in pain, he managed to explain what happened. The wound was thoroughly examined to determine the extent of the damage.

The Doctor ordered an x-ray to get a better look at the bone.

They commenced surgical cleansing of the wound, treated him with appropriate antibiotics and stabilized the fracture. He was also given tetanus shots.

The doctor then placed the injured limb in a splint to keep the

From Her Point Of View

bones from moving until it was time for surgery.

Babatunde was operated upon; external fixation was used for him because the wound and bones were not yet ready for a permanent metal implant.

The surgery was successful; he was wheeled out of the surgery room. Again, it was Nurse Kike that was with him. As they wheeled him to his room, though tired, he asked Kike about his wife. She heard but acted like she did not hear, she did not want to be the one to give the bad news.

“Ma’am, can I please know how my wife is faring?” he managed to speak and Kike responded “sir, you just came out of surgery, you need to relax sir”.

Nurse Kiki was assigned to take care of him so she kept checking on him to ensure he was stable.

After about 2 hours of sleeping after the surgery, he pressed the side bell and Kike rushed in. He said he was hungry. Kike called the kitchen and he was served. When he was done, Kike came to check on him. After checking his BP and other vitals, as she turned to leave he held her right hand and she turned to look at him. Then he said “She’s gone right? Please don’t lie to me…tell me please I beg of you, tell me? Please!!” he said as he burst into tears. “You need to be strong sir so you can heal soon and start Physical therapy” Kike said. By this time, Babatunde began to wail. He couldn’t believe his wife was gone.

He was in pain and the thought of his wife aggravated the pain “Why me Lord? Why me?? Nurse but you told me she would be fine, why me?” he shouted and the Doctor came in. “Nurse Kike, what is going on here?” he asked. By this time she was already jittery. He managed to calm him down, he requested for a specific medication, Nurse Kike ran to get it, it was administered to Babatunde and he slept. “Come with me to my office Nurse Kike” the doctor said and left the room.

He immediately assigned another Nurse to Babatunde.

Kike knew she was in trouble and prepared her mind for the worst.

“Nurse Kike, why did you tell him his wife is dead? Is it appropriate

to give him that kind of news? Is it professionally right?” responding to him she said “Sir, I did not mention it to him. He kept asking and all I did was distract his mind from the matter. The more he asked the more he cried sir, I never said anything to suggest so sir.” She explained.

“Kike, I am sorry, your excuse is not valid. You will have to be away for two weeks pending when we decide on what to do to you. You can leave now”.

Kike left the office in tears. Another nurse was already assigned to Babatunde. When he woke up, he asked about Nurse Kike and he was told she had left. He knew something had gone wrong and even

though they tried to keep the news from him, he knew something had happened to her. He told the Doctor that Kike never told him his wife was dead and that he concluded so because while he was asleep, he saw his wife waving at him and as he tried to get closer, she was nowhere to be found. After a week, Kike was called back. The smile on Babatunde’s face when he saw her was that of satisfaction, knowing that he did not cause someone to lose her job because of him.

Babatunde’s marriage to his wife was just a year and a half. He asked that his wife be embalmed till he could at least stand. He wanted to give her a befitting burial.

After a month and a half of being in the hospital, he underwent another surgery and after another month, he was discharged but was on crutches. His wife was buried and it was a painful period in his life. He continued to receive therapy, he experienced stiffness and discomfort for several months but Kike was always by his side (Kike had quitted from the hospital). Babatunde is quite rich, so he employed her as his personal nurse. She assists him even after the Physiotherapist leaves. It’s been two years after the accident and Babatunde is almost back to walking normally…with Kike by his side, let’s just say things are looking good!

things I could do with my talent; one of which was marketing and communications. Sometimes, we are rigid about what we set out to do and what we don’t realize is there are plethora of directions we could go in based on natural talent. The best thing you can do

for yourself is to evaluate what you’re doing with where you think you should be. This is always an eye opener for me.

It is always important to know what you’re good at. I am sure there is someone reading this and wondering – but I am done with school and I didn’t study what I was passionate about in university. This is okay. Take a step back and evaluate your strengths; that one thing you do with ease. You have an advantage over millions of people; you are gifted with this passion. Use that to your advantage and find out what you need to do to make the transition.

Remember, knowledge is power.

I believe if plan A doesn’t work, take a step back and re-strategize.

No one is a tree you’re movable.

However, always remember your focal point, your end goal. Things don’t always pan out the way we want them too but as long as you remain focused, you will achieve greatness.

Be Focused!

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here were two things I loved to do while I was growing up; the first was talking (which I still enjoy) and the second was letting my imagination run wild. I was a creative child.

When my parents asked me what I wanted to be/what I wanted to do, it was expected that I would say I want to be a “designer lawyer.”

What does that mean my parents asked? I didn’t know either but I remember always saying that.

Based on my dream of becoming a lawyer, it was only natural to proceed to law school. Well, I started inquiring about law school in my second year of university. I wanted the best but I soon found out that the best would cost a minimum of $40,000/Year at the time. Where were my parents to get that kind of money from? I proceeded to plan B. The designer aspect of my dream career.

I found out quick that my wild

Graphics by David Ogar

OMOWUNMI MARTINS Head of Marketing and Branding at a multinational

imagination could be developed in the field of marketing. No one needed to tell me twice, I signed up for the course and immersed myself. I graduated with a degree in Marketing and I have worked in this field for most of my career. I’m sure you’re wondering,

but you said you wanted to be a lawyer? Yes, I did. This is where I want to point out to you that focus is important. I knew what I was strong in so I went for it. I found out that loving to talk doesn’t mean I have to be a lawyer; I realized there were a million other

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Friday 27, April 2018

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ANALYSIS

NIGERIA, OTHERS TO EARN $1.5M FOR WORLD CUP PREPARATION COSTS …. As FIFA rakes over $250million from ticket sales …1.7million tickets sold out in Phase 1 & 2 … A total prize money pool of $400million for participating teams Stories by Anthony Nlebem

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he World Cup excitement continues to build as the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) may have successfully raked-in an average of $250 million from Phase 1 and Phase 2 tranche of ticket sales for the forthcoming World Cup final in Russia in June this year.

Nigeria’s Super Eagles with 31 participating teams will be paid $1.5million to cover preparation costs. Also, each of the 32 teams will be guaranteed a participation fee of $8million. Progressing through to the first knock-out stage boosts the prize to $9million while a quarter-final finish is

worth $14million. In the much-derided third place play-off, $42million is shared between the two sides with the victor taking home $22million. Runners-up in the final can console themselves with a $25million prize as the winners take home $38million.

FIFA also stated that “1.7million tickets have been allocated to fans worldwide since sales started in September 2017 and the closure of the second period of Phase 2 of ticket sales, with the overall international demand accounting for 53%” “Most of these tickets have been allocated to Russian fans (796,875), followed

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by fans from the USA (80,161), Brazil (65,863), Colombia (60,199), Germany (55,136), Mexico (51,736), Argentina (44,882), Peru (38,544), China (36,841), Australia (34,628) and England (30,711) - the top-ten countries,” the FIFA said in this week’s statement.

The excitement started building seven month ago, as requests for the World Cup tickets remained high since September 14.

As at the end of phase-1 sales window, a total of 742,760 tickets were successfully sold to subscribers. The majority of ticket applications came from host nation Russia with 47 percent, while all other nations had tickets allocated equivalent to 53 percent of the total number of sold tickets.

FIFA’s Head of Ticketing, Falk Eller, said the world football body was already overwhelmed by the positive response from both the host country and international fans.

“We are again expecting high demand once sales. Considering such remarkable interest in the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia from fans all over the world, we will like to once again stress that the only official, legitimate and user-friendly source to purchase tickets is the FIFA.com/tickets website. Fans who purchase tickets from other sources put themselves at significant risk of missing out on the World Cup, and of course we will not want that to happen,” Eller said.

The first window of phase-1 ticket sales started on September 14 and ended October12; while the second window also in

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phase-1 started on November 16 lasted till 28th.

The first window in phase-two opened on December 5 and ended on January 31; while the second window in Phase-2 kicked off in March 13 until April 3, 2018.

The last phase of world cup ticket according to the world’s football governing body will started on April 18 and runs till the closing date in July 15, 2018.

“With few days left until the start of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, another ticket sales period drew to a close today, April 3rd,” the world’s governing football body said in its statement.

“During the first-come, first-served sales window, which opened on 13 March, a total of 394,433 tickets were allocated to fans across the world,” according to the FIFA. “Most of the tickets during this sales period were allocated to Russian fans (216,134), followed by fans from USA (16,462), Argentina (15,006), Colombia (14,755), Mexico (14,372), Brazil (9,962), Peru (9,766), China (6,598), Germany (5,974), Australia (5,905) and India (4,509) – the top ten countries from abroad,” the statement said.

The Phase 2 of ticket sales for the quadrennial world football championship was divided into two periods, just like during the preceding Phase 1.

The first period of the Phase 2 of ticket sales was launched on December 5, 2017 and closed on January 31, 2018. The second period of Phase 2 dubbed as the “First-come, first served” will open on March 13 and provide sales services until its closure on April 3.

Phase 3, dubbed as the “Last Minute Sales,” will run from April 18 up until the final match day of the competition and the remaining tickets will be available for purchase on a first-come first-serve basis.

The most expensive ticket for the 2018 final will cost $1,108, up from $990 for the 2014 final in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. However, Russian residents get significantly discounted tickets. While the Category 4 ticket is reserved exclusively for residents of Russia; Categories 1, 2 and 3 are avail-

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able to all customers.

For the opening match, BusinessDay checks on FIFA website for individual match tickets show Category 1 spectators are paying $550 for the ticket; Category 2 ($390); Category 3 ($220); and Category 4 ($55). For the Group Matches, Category 1 ticket costs $210; Category 2 ($165); Category 3 ($105); while Category 4 ticket costs $21.

The ticket prices for Round of 16 shows Category 1 costs $245; Category 2 ($185); Category 3 ($115); and Category 4 ($37).

The ticket price for Quarter Finals shows Category 1 spectators are paying $365; Category 2 ($255); Category 3 ($175) and Category 4 ($65). World Cup ticket prices for Semi-final show $750 for Category 1 spectators; while Category 2 fans are buying tickets at $480; Category 3 ($285); and Category 4 ($78).

For the third-place match (Play-off),

Category 1 fans are buying the tickets for $365; while Category 2 fans are paying $255; Category 3 ($175); and while Category 4 fans are buying the ticket for $65.

Category 1 fans will pay $1,100 for the Final Game while Category 2 fans pay $710; Category 3 ($455); while Category 4 fans are paying $122 for the ticket.

On the first phase of ticket sales, most of the applications are from Russia, while international demand accounts for more than 30 percent. German, Brazilian, Argentinian, Mexican, US, Colombian, Egyptian, Chinese, and Polish fans all rank in the top 10, while around 150,000 tickets have been requested for the Opening Match and more than 300,000 for the

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Final.

Nigeria’s senior male soccer national team, the Super Eagles is making its sixth appearance and are in Group D with Argentina, Croatia and Iceland. Nigeria was the first African country to book a berth in Russia and finished unbeaten in Africa’s Group B, winning all their home games with two draws and a victory away under German coach Gernot Rohr. The nation, which is the only one of Africa’s five representatives from the last World Cup who returns for the 2018 edition in Russia, will be looking to get into the last round of 16 in Brazil.

Already, a crop of exciting youngsters headline the national team representing Africa’s most populous nation including Leicester City’s Kelechi Iheanacho, Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi, Henry Onyekuru and Moses Simon represent a new generation that has emerged since the 2014 finals as Nigeria surprisingly qualified easily from a tough group that included Algeria, who also reached the second round of the last World Cup, and African champions Cameroon.

The winning team for this year’s World Cup in Russia will be awarded a record $38million (£29m) in prize money; FIFA boosted its financial offering to record levels. A total prize money pool of $400million represents a 12 per cent increase on the $358million paid out to teams at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, where victors Germany received $35million. The money is paid to a nation’s football association, who will have negotiated their own financial agreements with their players.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino

said the prize money increase represented “a positive sign in terms of the healthy financial situation of FIFA”, despite the organisation’s $369million loss in 2016. The tournament begins on 14 June with Russia playing the opener at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow. Of the 32 teams, 20 will be making back-to-back appearances following the last edition of the tournament in 2014, including defending champions Germany, while Iceland and Panama will both be making their first appearances at a FIFA World Cup. A total of 64 matches will be played in 12 venues located in 11 cities. The final will take place on 15 July in Moscow at the Luzhniki Stadium.

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TRAVEL

WAKANOW, GEO TRAVEL UNVEIL SCHEME FOR WORLD CUP FANS Anthony Nlebem & Ifeoma Okeke

Eagles ready for England friendly, says Mikel … As match tickets sells for 70 pounds at Wembley Stadium

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uper Eagles Captain Mikel John Obi, has assured that the Nigeria will be at their best for the prestige international friendly match against the Three Lions of England, coming up at Wembley Stadium on 2nd June 2018.

Speaking to thenff.com, the midfield enforcer, who celebrated his 31st birthday on Sunday, said there will be no option for the three –time African champions other than to give their best with the FIFA World Cup right by the door on that day.

“The match comes up only two weeks before our first match at the FIFA World Cup. It will be a big occasion and a big match for both teams as we both look forward to our respective first matches in Russia.

“England is a special place for me having spent so many years playing there, and it is one country I love to go to. We are already talking to ourselves and everyone is looking forward to the game.”

Nigeria take on Croatia in their first match at the 21st FIFA World Cup finals at the Kaliningrad Stadium on Saturday, 16th June before games against Iceland (Volgograd; 22nd June) and Argentina (Saint Petersburg; 26th June) in Group D. England will play their first match against Tunisia (Volgograd; 18th June) before matches against Panama (Nizhny Novgorod; 24th June) and Belgium (Kaliningrad; 28th June) in Group G. Meanwhile, tickets for the England/Nigeria match are still selling, with the lowest ticket going for the sum of 35 pounds sterling. There are also tickets for 70 pounds, 55 pounds and 45 pounds. Concessions are available for students, persons under the age of 16 and senior citizens, with 10 pounds off their preferred ticket. All tickets are subject to availability and subject to the terms and conditions of The Football Association.

Organizers said no tickets would be sold on match day at the Wembley Stadium, while urging Nigerian fans to buy the ‘Away Tickets’ as Nigeria will benefit from sales of ‘Away Tickets’. The tickets are available on www.thefa.com/nigeriatickets.

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s the excitements continues to build ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup which kicks-off in less than two months with the opening match in the Russian capital of Moscow on June 14, 2018. Wakanow, an online travel agency as part of its drive to boost the ability of football loving Nigerians wishing to travel to Russia to catch the actions live for the FIFA World Cup, has designed a new travel payment scheme, ‘Travel Now Pay Later’ aimed at alleviating the strain of outright payment for travel packages on her customers by allowing them pay in convenient installments even after their travel date.

According to a statement by the Managing Director of Wakanow, Obinna Ekezie, these new offerings accentuate Wakanow’s commitment to boost the financial capacity of Nigerians to afford air travel and benefit from the innumerable benefits of travel and leisure. As a company with keen interest in sports, it was ideal to launch the product exclusively to encourage the live participation of Nigerian football lovers at the forthcoming World Cup. “Generally, flights in Africa are far more expensive compared to what is obtainable in Europe and other advanced economies. The absence of open skies across Africa’s biggest economies and convoluted routes make travel cost expensive, inhibit trade and result in lower passenger demand. We believe that by making travel cheaper and more affordable, we will be empowering more Nigerians to afford air travel,” Ekezie said.

Also, Geo Travel and Tours recently partnered with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) as the official travel partner for the FIFA 2018 World Cup in Russia. The event, themed: “Road to Russia,” is poised to connect football-loving Nigerians to the Super Eagles when they face their counterparts in Russia.

The travel agency said its backing is critical and strategic.

It said: “It is important to make the Super Eagles feel the presence of home support by turning up a massive crowd in Russia. Geo travel and tours will collaborate with the local football loving community to give our full support to the Nigerian football national team by flying proud supporters to Russia to cheer on and support the Super Eagles.”

It further added: “Nigerians will also have the option of choosing from our number of customized packages that gives them the flexibility of choosing to see the first, second or third game only, or a combination of the first and second games, second and third, or all three games.”

According to Damilola Osikoya, Head of Business, Geo Travel and Tours said: “Geo travel and tours aligning with the NFF is the company’s own way of making travelling to the world cup as easy as a phone call.”

Osikoya said Geo Travel and Tours will also adopt flexible payment plans for Nigerians hoping to book now and pay on a later date.

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NEWS

FIFA STRUGGLES FOR SPONSORS AS WORLD CUP DRAWS NEAR

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t’s shocking to hear that in 48 days to kick-off of the most glamorous football tournament on earth, the world soccer governing body FIFA is struggling to find suitable sponsors for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Fewer companies have signed sponsorship deals for this year’s tournament in Russia than had done so two months prior to the 2014 competition in Brazil.

FIFA divides sponsors into three groups — partners, World Cup sponsors and regional supporters.

Seven “partners,” all global brands with financial muscle, have signed up to FIFA’s highest level of sponsorship.

Brands such as Coca-Cola, Hyundai-Kia Motors, Visa and Adidas have remained FIFA’s loyal, long-term partners. Newcomers to FIFA’s top roster of sponsors have been limited to the Middle East’s Qatar Airways, Russian state oil giant, Gazprom and Wanda Group, which calls itself the world’s biggest private property developer.

A pressing concern for FIFA is the declining number of businesses sponsoring its prime tournament.

Five companies have agreed to funnel money to FIFA in return for logos plastered across Russian stadiums and other media exposure during the month-long World Cup, compared to a total of eight in Brazil.

A trio of Western brands — Continental, Johnson & Johnson and Castrol — opted not to renew their sponsorship deals in 2018, the same year as reports of corruption at the top of FIFA came to light.

Instead, Chinese firms have stepped up to fill the void left by U.S. and European brands.

Mengniu, China’s second-largest dairy company signed a sponsorship deal in December, granting it the right to air commercials across a total of 64 World Cup games in June and July. The company is among the five firms listed in FIFA’s second group of tournament-only sponsors.

Sports marketer and former FIFA employ-

ee Patrick Nally said FIFA’s toxic brand is the main driving force behind Western firms disassociating themselves from sponsoring the World Cup. “Clearly, FIFA has become a toxic brand,” Nally said. “It has been a corrupt organisation. Companies are concerned with their own image nowadays, so you can understand why it (FIFA) isn’t an attractive proposition.”

U.S. prosecutors arrested seven FIFA officials in a raid at FIFA’s Swiss headquarters in May 2015, culminating in a ban from football activities for the body’s former president Sepp Blatter.

Nally, who worked on bringing Coca-Cola in as a sponsor for FIFA and helped establish the organisation’s marketing packages for the 1978 and 1982 World Cups, believes the alignment of Chinese, Russian and Middle Eastern companies shows “political decisions” have replaced decisions made on a purely commercial basis at the top of FIFA. He added that nothing can change the perception of FIFA as a “toxic brand,” but did propose one solution. “FIFA will continue to be in decline and should consider a complete name change or brand image change.”

ACCOMMODATION

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ussia’s consumer rights watchdog Rospotrebnadzor has reported that a total of 591 cases of inflating hotel accommodation prices had been registered across the country in host cities of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The Russian Federal Agency for Consumer Rights Protection (Rospotrebnadzor) said in its statement that as

the result of the discovered violations, the agency imposed numerous penalties to the total sum of almost six million rubles (about $97,800).

“A total number of 591 violations of hiking up accommodation prices were registered, while 135 cases were also reported in regard to hotels having no necessary certificates of compliance,” the statement from the agency said.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup kicks off in less than two months with the opening match in the Russian capital of Moscow.

Russia selected 11 host cities to be the venues for the matches of the 2018 World Cup and they are Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Kazan, Saransk, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg and Samara.

The matches of the 2018 World Cup will be held between June 14 and July 15 at 12 stadiums located in the 11 mentioned above cities across Russia. Two of the stadiums are located in the Russian capital.

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TRAVEL

FIFA SAYS OVER 164,000 TICKETS SOLD IN 24 HOURS

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ver 164,000 tickets for matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup were sold within a 24hour period after the third and the final phase of ticket sales for the world championship kicked off on Wednesday April 18, the FIFA said in a statement.

The statement from the world’s governing football body, FIFA, said that “164,136

tickets have been allocated to fans around the world… in the first 24 hours of the last-minute sales phase, which started on 18 April at 12:00 Moscow time.”

“Most of the tickets have been allocated to Russian fans (87,902), followed by fans from Argentina (7,740), Mexico (6,598), Brazil (6,198), USA (5,780), Germany (5,181), Peru (3,799), Colombia (3,756), China (2,930), Egypt (2,370) and India (1,905) - the top ten countries outside host nation Russia ,” the statement said.

Ticket sales’ Phase 3, dubbed as the “Last Minute Sales,” runs starting April 18 up until the final match day of the competition in July and the remaining tickets

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are available for purchase on a first-come first-serve basis.

“The last-minute sales will be open until 15 July 2018. In this phase, fans are able to purchase tickets online, subject to availability, in real time and on a first-come, first-served basis,” the statement from the FIFA said.

The world’s football organisation keeps reminding, “At the request of the Russian authorities, all fans attending matches at the 2018 FIFA World Cup need to apply for a Fan-ID - the official identity document issued to fans.”

Russia came up for this FIFA World Cup with an innovation, which is the so-called Fan-ID and it is required for all ticketholders. This innovation was successfully tested during the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup in Russia and earned high marks from the world’s governing football body.

The Fan-ID plays an important security role during the major football tournament in Russia as it grants admittance to the stadiums and also serves as visa for foreign visitors to enter the country.

A Fan-ID holder is allowed to enter the country without having a Russian visa and stay for the duration of the global football tournament. Fan-IDs are obligatory, in addition to purchased tickets, in order to attend matches of the 2018 World Cup tournament in Russia.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup kicks off in 57 days with the opening match in the Russian capital of Moscow.

Russia selected 11 host cities to be the venues for the matches of the 2018 World Cup and they are Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Kazan, Saransk, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg and Samara.

The matches of the 2018 World Cup will be held between June 14 and July 15 at 12 stadiums located in the 11 mentioned above cities across Russia. Two of the stadiums are located in the Russian capital.

DESPITE SOUR RELATIONS, US REQUEST FOR WORLD CUP FAN-IDS RISES

U

S President Donald Trump recently wrote on his Twitter account that reads “Our relationship with Russia is worse now than it has ever been, and that includes the Cold War” But despite the statement from Trump, requests from the United States for attending matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, keeps steadily increasing despite the recently soured relations between Washington and Moscow, a senior official with the Russian Ministry of Communications and Mass Media said.

Andrei Chernenko, the head of the ministry’s department for the strategic projects implementation, said “the number of requests from Americans is on the rise.”

“This situation, which is inflamed by mass media, has no impact whatsoever and there is no negative trend,” he said. “The applications from Americans keep flowing in and the trend is positive.”

The US national football team did not qualify for the 2018 FIFA World Cup; however, US nationals are leading among other foreigners in terms of tickets’ purchase for the matches of the upcoming

world football championship in Russia.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup kicks off in 54 days with the opening match in the Russian capital of Moscow.

Russia selected 11 host cities to be the venues for the matches of the 2018 World Cup and they are Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Kazan, Saransk, Kaliningrad, Volgograd, Rostov-on-Don, Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg and Samara.

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ANALYSIS

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IFA President Gianni Infantino said the governing soccer body is keen on hastening the expansion of the World Cup to 48 teams for the 2022 tournament in Qatar, a move that might require the tiny Gulf nation to share games in the region.

The world football governing body will now study if Qatar can alone cope with the additional logistical challenges of hosting 16 more teams and 16 more games than originally planned for the Middle East’s first World Cup. The jump from 32 to 48 teams was originally only due to apply from the 2026 tournament under plans Infantino secured approval for last year. But he is highly receptive to a request received from South American confederation CONMEBOL and its 10-member associations to accelerate the expansion plans.

“It seems to me a very interesting idea,” Infantino said after attending a CONMEBOL meeting in Buenos Aires. “Of course we have to study the feasibility of this proposal. If it’s possible, if it is feasible, if the others agree too, because it is not a decision that only the president of FIFA or CONMEBOL make ... of course we are going to study it.

“And I really think it is something very interesting. We have to study it seriously and if it is possible, why not?”

An early expansion would allow FIFA to generate more revenue to replenish the coffers hit by corruption scandals and potentially strengthen Infantino’s position among the 211 memberships before seeking re-election next year.

“I firmly believe as president of FIFA in an enlargement of participating national teams because I am convinced that it is good for the development of football all over the world,” Infantino said. “That is why we have proposed it and that is why we have agreed to it since 2026.”

Qatar currently has plans to build eight stadiums, whereas bidders for the 48team 2026 tournament have been told they need 12 venues. Rather than further straining the requirements on Qatar, one option to accommodate the leap from 64 to 80 would be to share games in the Gulf.

Qatar won the FIFA vote in 2010 with a vision of the World Cup benefiting the Middle East but with all the games in the small desert nation. Hopes of a unifying

tournament for the region were eroded when Qatar’s neighbors, including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, cut diplomatic ties last year.

Kuwait, which retains relations with Qatar, could be a co-host after Infantino worked to ensure the country’s suspension from FIFA was lifted in December.

Qatar World Cup organizing committee secretary general Hassan al-Thawadi has not ruled out the possibility of sharing matches with neighbors.

“Qatar has always been open to dialogue,” Al Thawadi told The Associated Press in November. “It’s always been open and it’s always supported our brother nations, to the extent that if (sharing the World Cup) was the ultimate goal, all that would have required was a simple conversation.”

Before being elected FIFA President, Infantino served as general secretary at European governing body UEFA under Michel Platini, who called on Qatar to share games in the region after voting for the country in the contentious hosting vote in 2010.

The Qatar tournament is already due to operate on a tight 28-day schedule to please club sides after FIFA shifted the event from its usual June-July slot to November-December because of the extreme heat in the desert nation.

The condensed tournament program was agreed to minimize disruption to club schedules after FIFA faced opposition from within the European Club Association. FIFA’s latest attempt to change the international tournament schedule could provoke further concern from the ECA’s influential members who have most of the world’s top players in their squads.

The ECA declined comment Thursday on the 2022 expansion plan being championed by CONMEBOL President Alejandro Dominguez.