Businessday 30 apr 2018 by BusinessDay

US report on human rights in Nigeria signals difficult talks between Buhari, Trump CHRISTOPHER AKOR

T L-R: Ladi Balogun, group chief executive, FCMB Group plc; Oladipupo Jadesimi, chairman; Funmi Adedibu, company secretary/general counsel; Olasubomi Balogun, founder, FCMB Group, and Adam Nuru, managing director, First City Monument Bank, during the 5th annual general meeting of FCMB Group plc in Lagos, at the weekend.

NEWS YOU CAN TRUST I **MONDAY 30 APRIL 2018 I VOL. 15, NO 43 I N300

he Nigerian government was happy to announce the invitation extended to President Buhari by US president, Donald Trump to visit the White House on April

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Nigeria urged to de-risk agriculture, adopt innovation CALEB OJEWALE & JOSEPHINE OKOJIE

igeria’s food production has for many years been unable to support the growing population, and the situation could get worse as the population continues to grow exponentially, projected to hit 450 million by 2050, without commensurate efforts being put into increasing food production. The future of agriculture in Nigeria requires a paradigm shift which is to be anchored on cutting edge innovations, driven strictly by the private sector, and the youthful population as many Continues on page 49

As food crisis nears on ageing farmers, exploding population Ranching is a must for cattle business – Ogbeh, Obaseki Interest rate for agric loans to become 5%

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South Africa’s PIC, banks may lose out as Erin Energy files for bankruptcy ... NYSE to delist shares DIPO OLADEHINDE

outh Africa’s Public Investment Corporation (PIC) and some Nigerian Banks may be on the hook after US listed Erin Energy formally known as Camac Energy filed for bankruptcy as it seeks to restructure its debt and regain financial viability. The PIC which manages assets worth nearly R2-trillion, mainly for the Government EmContinues on page 50

FG, GE sign $45m interim agreement for railway concession

Access Bank, NSE, Dangote Flour, FBN, Nestle CEOs receive BusinessDay awards P. 49 Oando posts fifth consecutive quarterly profit as FY 2017 PAT hits N19.8bn

30, to discuss bilateral issues such as fighting terrorism and economic growth. “President Trump looks forward to discussing ways to enhance our strategic partnership and advance our shared Continues on page 50

ENDURANCE OKAFOR

L-R: Uchechi Orji, MD/CEO, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA)/guest speaker; Godwin Obaseki, governor, Edo State/ special guest of honour; Ade Adefeko, vice president, corporate and government relations, Olam; Frank Aigbogun, publisher/CEO, BusinessDay Media; Emmanuel Ijewere, vice president, Nigeria Agribusiness Group, and Audu Ogbeh, minister, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development/special guest of honour, at the BusinessDay Agribusiness and Food Security Summit 2018 with the theme ‘Evolving Actionable models to make Agribusiness more Viable’ in Lagos, at the weekend. Pic by Olawale Amoo

he federal government and four companies led by General Electric have signed an agreement to start the interim phase of the Nigerian narrow-gauge railway concession. The deal is worth up to $45 million dollars sources tell BusinessDay. According to a statement Continues on page 50

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6 BUSINESS DAY NEWS Minimum wage: States resume call for separate salary scales IGNATIUS CHUKWU

tates have resumed the call for them to negotiate with labour differently from the centre and to pay each state according to its financial ability. This position was presented when the tripartite committee on Minimum Wage headed by the minister of labour and productivity, Chris Ngige, led the panel to the south-south geo-political zone with headquarters in Port Harcourt. Labour has stood against any plan to decentralise salary structure or to deregulate minimum wage negotiation, but the governors say they can no longer pay the same scale. Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike, making a case for decentralisation, argued that Nigerian workers would be better off when states were allowed to fix their separate minimum wages in line with their financial capacity. Speaking during a public hearing on the new national minimum wage for Nigerian workers in Port Harcourt on Friday, Wike said that states vary in financial capacity, making a uniform minimum wage unrealistic. He said: “And for us therefore, the single national minimum wage system is yet, another lie that betrays the distortions in our federation and the structured dislocation of the states in the power equation between the Federal Government and the federating states. “It is our view that the country and its workers would be better of, if States are allowed to fix and pay their own minimum wages indexed to the prevailing cost of living and ability to pay. “When this happens, it is possible that some States may go beyond the minimum threshold to pay a living wage, which is what our workers truly need.” The governor said the previous review exercise failed to give maximum weight to the existing disparity in economic potential and capabilities among the 36 states of the federation, adding that it has been difficult for most of the states to implement the existing N18, 000.00 minimum wage. He noted that majority of the states are within the fringes of financial viability and cannot meet their salary obligations to civil servants without bailouts from the Federal Government. He said enhanced wages could only be possible when the Federal Government improves the economy of the Federation. He said: “Here in Rivers State, we value our workers; we invest in their welfare in different ways, and we want them to earn living wages that can keep them and their families as comfortable as possible. “The Rivers State government therefore supports the ongoing consultations by the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage for arriving at a new national minimum wage floor for the country.”

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Kachikwu denies alleged interest in transfer of OML 11 to Chevron Nigeria OLUSOLA BELLO & KELECHI EWUZIE

inister of state for petroleum resources, Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, has denied any interest in the transfer of Oil Mining Lease (OML 11) to Chevron Nigeria. Oil Mining Lease (OML 11) contains 33 oil and gas fields, and is one of the most important blocs in Nigeria in terms of production. Kachikwu, while reacting to a letter written to President Muhammadu Buhari by a group known as Ken Saro Wiwa Associates (KSWA) al-

leging entrenched interest in the oil transaction, denied any involvement. The group in a petition to President Muhammadu Buhari alleged a plot by a minister “to unilaterally transfer CNL’s interest in the Yorla Oil Field (OML 11–Ogoni Fields) to an anonymous company in which he has interest. KSWA said it was an “organisation with global membership committed to promoting the ideals and the consolidation of the legacies of the Ogoni Hero and human rights activist, Ken Saro Wiwa and his fellow martyrs in the struggle.” In a statement signed by

Idang Alibi, director, press and public relation, Ministry of Petroleum Resources and made available to the press, Kachikwu categorically said Chevron Nigeria Limited had controverter the allegation in its entirety in the April 20, 2018 edition of The Guardian Newspaper and reiterated that “it does not have any equity in OML 11.” According to the statement, “The honourable minister of state has not held any conversation with Chevron Nigeria Limited to discuss OML 11 nor made any recommendation to Chevron in respect of OML 11, nor indicated an interest in any company

that might be collaborating with Chevron or any party to develop OML 11. Kachikwu further said he was resolutely committed and focused on delivering on the key aspirations of the #7BigWins of which Business Environment, Investment Drive, Niger Delta and Security remain key themes. Meanwhile, report indicates that Chevron Nigeria Limited, operator of the Joint Venture with the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has denied alleged transfer of its interest in Oil Mining Lease 11 (OML) in Yorla Field, eastern Niger Delta to an investor.

Esimaje Brikinn, general manager, policy, government and public affairs of the company, said in a recent statement, “Chevron does not have any equity in OML 11 as alleged in a recent report.” Brikinn said CNL has 40 percent equity in OML 51 in Rivers State in which the Yorla South Field was located. He said Chevron was not soliciting for expressions of interest (EoIs) for any of its assets, adding: “While CNL regularly reviews its asset portfolio to seek opportunities for optimising its businesses, any decision on acquisitions or divestitures will be made after following its established processes.

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Severe head injuries (trust, deception and good neighbours)

BASHORUN J.K RANDLE Randle is Chairman/Chief ExecutiveJK Randle Professional Services Chartered Accountants

lso sharing the front page of “Daily Sun” newspaper of March 29, 2018 is an e ve n m o re d a m n ing headline:“Wasted Billions: Don’t Blame Corruption; Nigeria is Cursed” – by Newton Jibunoh “A few days ago, I was on the phone with a dear friend and, in our usual fashion, before long, the conversation steered towards the state of the country. After speaking about the previous articles I have written so far in this column, I gave him a run-down of what I planned to talk about next, which was the decay of the system and tracing it as far back as pre-Independence. My dear friend had once been a part of this debacle during his time as one of the ‘super’ permanent secretaries (as they were commonly known) under the Yakubu Gowon administration, so I knew he meant well when he said that, if I wanted people to read the article, I shouldn’t mention corruption. He advised that I make our situation seem like a curse so that the traditional and religious institutions will have things to do by evoking the spirits behind the curse. It was a joke, which we laughed over, but the words lingered on in my mind. Hence, the choice of this week’s column: are we cursed or just corrupt? Never mind the comments by the former Prime Minister of Britain about Nigeria being “fantastically corrupt.” We can’t possibly be described as such when we are yet to even agree on the scope of corruption: can we classify theft as corruption? Nepotism? Our past

EMEKA UCHEAGA Ucheaga is Managing Partner, Emeka Ucheaga Advisory

usiness owners can’t seem to have enough of this rhetoric, “...graduates just aren’t employable anymore”. True or not, skilled or not, if the public sector and private sector don’t start working together to solve the high youth unemployment crisis in Nigeria, it’s going to soon start costing us all the growth we very much desire. In 2017, unemployed and underemployed Nigerians between the ages of 15-44 eclipsed 28.4 million people, that is greater than the entire population in Ghana! This incomprehensible scale of idle capacity is costing Nigeria

President attempted to explain corruption to us when he announced that “stealing is not corruption,” but that explanation didn’t go down too well with many people. Therefore, the definition of corruption in the Nigerian context remains elusive. Unlike corruption, curses are things we seem to be more familiar with, wielding them as a defensive or offensive weapon against our enemies. We saw this in action just a few weeks ago when, His Royal Highness, the Oba of Benin, publicly placed a curse on human traffickers and those assisting them, in response to the continued exposure of illegal migration and human trafficking in Edo State. With media reports of mysterious deaths and diseases following the curse, some seem to believe in its ability to bring around the desired improvement in curbing the menace. While we hope that is the case, it is best we don’t hold our breath just yet, since we live in a country where snakes and monkeys cart away millions. As we debate the possibility of a cursed or corrupt nation, it is necessary to trace the country’s downward spiral from a booming economy with a currency that rivalled the dollar to one that is constantly at the mercy of unstable exchange rates, international aid and foreign investors. In our usual culture of keeping quiet and acting like nothing happened, we have failed to demand answers from key people over the failure of our industries. In the 1980s, with four refineries and its status as a leading oil and gas producer, Nigeria had the capacity to process refined commercial crude oil for domestic consumption and export. That was expected. But that has not been the case for many years as a result of the poor state of the refineries despite the billions of naira that have gone into the building and the refurbishing of these refineries.

The discovery led to the establishment of the Ajaokuta Steel Company, which consumed close to $10 billion at 98 per cent completion but, along the way, before we could celebrate its completion, the project was halted. Decades later, we are still yet to own a thriving steel plant Consequently, the nation has become a major refined product importer with very negative implications for its economy. Infact, it has been revealed that Nigeria’s refining capacity is one of the smallest compared to its peers. There have been many talks on reviving the refineries; all to no avail. The most recent move by the Federal Government in addressing the issue was to consider a policy whereby multinational oil and gas firms operating in the country would be compelled to build refineries in Nigeria. This might just be the best solution, since we have proven unable to do it ourselves. Another industry we ran down and are now struggling to revive is the steel industry. This is an industry that was to be the backbone of our nation as it could serve as a stimulus to national development and an economic boost to the industrial growth of any country. The idea of having a steel industry was conceived in 1958 by the federal government. For the most part of the 1960s, the federal government invited and received proposals from foreign firms, including those from the UK, U.S., Germany and Canada, most of these being on the feasibility of establishing steel complexes. At first, the efforts of the government did not yield significant positive result because they were based on the use of iron deposits in Agbaja and Udi, which were later found to be unsuitable for direct reduction. However, by 1973, suitable iron ore deposit was discovered in

Itakpe, Ajabanoko and Oshokoshoko all in the region around Kabba-Okene-Lokoja-KotonKarfe axis, now in Kogi State. This was great news at that time and looked to be the beginning of Nigeria’s industrial revolution. The discovery led to the establishment of the Ajaokuta Steel Company, which consumed close to $10 billion at 98 per cent completion but, along the way, before we could celebrate its completion, the project was halted. Decades later, we are still yet to own a thriving steel plant. If operational, the Ajaokuta steel has the capacity to become a major producer of industrial machinery, auto-electrical spareparts, shipbuilding, railways and carriages. The steel plant has the capacity to provide direct employment for 10,000 technical staff and indirect employment for about 500,000 for unskilled upstream and downstream employment, if it is in operation. There was also the case of our river basin authorities that would have revolutionised the agricultural industry. Six river basin authorities were built for the supply of potable drinking water and irrigation. The irrigation was also to promote two seasonal cropping in the year, which would bring about food security in most of the dryland regions that have lost their capacity. This, however, didn’t happen and the communities that were made to settle around the Chad and river basin authorities were left stranded. Still, most Nigerians do not have access to potable water. Another industr y we once had at optimum capacity was the paper industry. In the 1960s and 1970s, the federal government established three pulp and paper mills, namely Nigeria Paper Mill Limited, in Jebba, Kwara; the Nigeria Newsprint Manufacturing Company Limited, in Oku-Iboku, Akwa-Ibom ; and the Nigeria National Paper Manufacturing Limited, in Ogun state. Two of the mills – NPM and NNMC – per-

formed well in the 1980s, which faded out paper importation during this period. Unfortunately, bad management, corruption and other factors did not benefit the industry in the long run. It is believed that the nation is losing about N180 billion from the non-performance of the three paper mills. Their non-performance also means that jobs that should have been created are lost to other countries. According to an article in The Nation newspaper, this is also worsened by the fact that the federal government spends N50 billion on importation of paper annually. Then there were the vehicle assembly plants, of which we had six in the 1960s. The plants were going to enable Nigerian companies to produce vehicles in the country as done in other parts of the world, which in turn would create jobs and boost the economy. The blueprint establishing the plants encouraged or mandated the assembly plants to bring about reducing their importation of parts to about 40 per cent after 15 years so as to allow the local secondary industries to develop. Another former glory was our three major public institutions that cut across different sectors, in transportation, we had the Nigeria Railway Corporation, in telecommunications, there was the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) and in aviation, Nigeria Airways. These three institutions were the biggest employers of labour, employing millions of Nigerians across the whole nation. In an era when countries were expanding their infrastructure to be more sustainable and durable, we were losing ours. Now, as they enjoy the fruits of their labour, we work hard so we can afford to travel to these countries and spend our hardearned income under the cover of vacations/holidays and tourism. Send reactions to: comment@businessdayonline.com

Getting people employed is everybody’s business lost economic output of $60 billion (based on GDP per capita figures) annually and more than $10 billion in unearned taxes for the government! If this problem goes unchecked, industry revenue will soon plateau or even drop precipitously as aggregate demand gradually fades away with every additional unemployed youth. Creating jobs is neither solely the responsibility of the government nor the duty of industries and corporations, it’s everyone’s responsibility. If we do nothing to create jobs, we risk creating a society of high inequality, rising crime rates, stagnated economic growth and high level of poverty. This helps no one.

Mr President believes Nigerian youths are uneducated and lazy. To some extent that’s not untrue, some youths feel entitled and that creates room for laziness. But what Mr President failed to note is that several millions of unemployed youths in Nigeria are educated, hardworking and genuinely looking for employment opportunities. However, these opportunities are scarce and shrinking even further with the struggling economy, thus rendering millions of our vibrant youths idle. If the business environment were more conducive, many of them would have become entrepreneurs. Those who try to start-up their own enterprises quickly realize the support structure for start-up companies in the country is very

inadequate and inaccessible to a vast majority who need it most. Somehow the term unemployment is completely misunderstood by most people. To be unemployed according to International Labour Organization (ILO), you must have been actively looking for a job in the last six weeks, possess the capability to work if the opportunity presents itself but you have still not been able to find a job during this period. Therefore if 11.5 million youths are unemployed, they are not lazy, they have been searching but they haven’t found the opportunity to work. If 2.9 million graduates and 5 million semiskilled workers are unemployed, they are not uneducated, they are graduates of both local and inter-

national vocational and higher education institutions. That’s why we called them skilled! So if Mr President and wellmeaning citizens of the country feel Nigerian graduates are unemployable, make them employable. If they have no skill, teach them new skills. If they are lazy, force them to be hardworking. The problem won’t go away overnight, but it will take a conscious effort from all stakeholders to ensure that youth unemployment which National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported was 61.6% in 2017 drops to 6.16% in 2027. It’s going to be tough but who says it can’t be done?! Send reactions to: comment@businessdayonline.com

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The case for not so small government GREGORY KRONSTEN Gregory Kronsten Head, Macroeconomic & Fixed Income Research FBNQuest

he physical infrastructure was no better then than it is now, and banks’ lending was no more diversified. Yet earlier this decade Nigeria posted decent, if not spectacular, rates of per head growth, which might now give rise to nostalgia in some quarters. If we wanted to debunk the achievement, we could point to oil prices above US$100/b, the near depletion of the excess crude account (ECA), and the accumulation of sizeable arrears to contractors and others. To pursue this line of thinking, all tiers of government were supporting household consumption. The oil economy does indirectly account for at least 50 per cent of the Nigerian economy, if only less than 10 per cent in the national accounts. A repeat is not possible. The oil

SHOLA AWOJOBI Shola Awojobi is an Ibadan-based social advocate.

he extractive industry in Nigeria has played a strategic role in the nation’s development. Its sphere of influence spreads across energy and revenue generation, community and social investment, employment generation, and more. The oil and gas sector alone accounts for over 90% of the country’s foreign exchange earnings and 20% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product. Besides the oil and gas sector, Nigeria has a thriving mining sector as it is blessed with large deposits of 44 different minerals including gold, limestone, tin, marble, coal and clay spread across the country and contributing its quota to economic growth. Despite its immeasurable contribution to socio-economic advancement, the extractive industries in Nigeria is bedevilled with myriad challenges. The oil and gas sector for instance has been faced with adverse security challenges owing to the activities of militants in the oil rich Niger Delta region. Oil exploration activities and its attendant hazards such as air and water pollution has led to the indigenous people in affected communities demanding compensation and control of the oil wealth and activists in the form of militants confronting the multinational oil companies and the Federal Government.

price is now somewhat lower although it is possible to construct a scenario of recurring tensions in the Middle East and of economic meltdown in Venezuela to get us back to US$100/b. The balance in the ECA is little more than US$2bn, and the operation of the treasury single account has created something approaching a fiscal straitjacket. China has lifted hundreds of millions of its population out of poverty by delivering doubledigit growth over two decades. On the African continent, it is said that Ethiopia has achieved the same over one decade but for smaller numbers obviously. Nigeria needs a decade of 8 per cent plus annual growth to make a sizeable impact on poverty and unemployment levels. In our view this requires a core role for the government and the broader public sector including the CBN, but not a replication of their past efforts. We are not an advocate of small government. There is a compelling argument that an industry performs better with limited official intervention. It has been made for the telecoms sector in Nigeria and for horticulture in Kenya but it has limited application across the economy. The transformation of Nigerian agriculture from mostly subsistence to commercial, for example, will not happen unless the

We are not an advocate of small government. There is a compelling argument that an industry performs better with limited official intervention. It has been made for the telecoms sector in Nigeria and for horticulture in Kenya but it has limited application across the economy authorities are involved in proving inputs (including credit), let alone building rural roads. As analysts dissect the national accounts of the past few quarters, a consensus has emerged that agriculture has performed relatively well. It could have done better naturally but the progress it has made reflects the focus of the current and previous administrations. The government has a role to provide the correct enabling environment, and we can see the reward for its efforts in Nigeria’s move more than 20 places up the table in the World Bank Group’s Doing Business 2018. It can sell off some state-owned companies in industries where it has underperformed. It can provide incentives for industries it wants

to encourage, while remaining selective and recognizing the fiscal consequences of not being so. The public sector also has to provide credit where the private does not. Agriculture is a welldocumented case in point. The Anchor Borrowers’ Programme is the latest CBN initiative to release funds to the sector. Development banks and marketing boards were out of fashion in the 1980s, and many were closed down under World Bank credits in the name of structural adjustment. Fashions change, and we currently have the Bank of Industry, the Bank of Agriculture, the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria and the latest addition, the Development Bank of Nigeria. The commercial banks are not going to finance mass housing and support bona fide microfinance, so the relevant state institutions have to step in. Yet another role for government is to deliver good fiscal discipline including: rigorous procurement, reduction of wasteful expenditure, monitoring of public contracts, and best practice in debt management. From the far corner of this virtual room I hear the objection that these standards have proved beyond most Nigerian administrations. This may be the case but public officials have to work towards them.

The benefit of this discipline is that the FGN could then provide the largest input that would restore, and even improve upon the growth rates achieved in the first half of the 2010s, and on a basis to create employment and reduce poverty. That input is capital spending by the three tiers of government. The published numbers point to movement in the right direction. The Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation show FGN capital expenditure at N600bn in calendar year 2016, rising to N1.2trn last year. We all know that industry could function far more productively and at lower cost if it had uninterrupted access to power from the national grid. Some official estimates have put the funding gap in the power sector at US$10bn per year for five years. The bill could well be higher. The same could be said of the railways, the roads, the airports and broadband. This is the way forward for Nigeria to deliver the growth to create jobs, raise incomes and lift its citizens out of poverty. It has been tried elsewhere, notably in East Asia, and worked. It requires not so small government. The laissez faire alternative will not cover the many areas which the private sector will not enter. Send reactions to: comment@businessdayonline.com

Managing conflict and security in the extractive industries in Nigeria According to reports, over 2,000 pipelines have been destroyed by militants resulting in devastating impact on the economy. At some point, Nigeria was losing as much as 1 million barrels a day, leading to the loss of its place as Africa’s largest producer of oil. Security challenges has also geometrically increased the cost of running the oil and gas sector. Oil and gas producers stated that they spend five times more on security than their global peers, with over $500 million spent on security services such as escort vessels, convoys and guards. The mineral extraction industry is not left out as several of the mineral rich communities in the Northern region of Nigeria have become occupied by the terrorist group, Boko Haram, grinding mining activities to a halt. Furthermore, several communal and religious conflicts occur intermittently in the mid-belt region of Nigeria, which is known to be rich in minerals and metals, slowing down extractive activities in these sectors. In 2009, to stem the tide of insecurity in the country, the Federal Government of Nigeria proposed an amnesty programme which saw large numbers of militants surrendering their arms in exchange for training and compensation by the government. Briefly, peace was restored to the Niger Delta region. However, it was short-lived as new and more violent militant groups emerged.

Despite recurrent failures, and in order to show its commitment to ending the crisis and ensuring the development of the area, the Federal Government put in place other mechanisms such as the Task Force on Pipeline Vandalisation (April 2000) operated by the Nigeria Police Force in collaboration with the NDDC (Niger Delta Development Commission, 2001). Similar task forces were also set up by the navy, army and State Security Service (SSS) in various states of the Niger Delta. Other efforts include the convening of the first Niger Delta peace conference in Abuja in 2007, a Joint Task Force (JTF) in 2008, and a Technical Committee made up of stakeholders and the Niger Delta Ministry in 2008 were also employed. These efforts without doubt have yielded immeasurable success, though to a large extent, a lot still needs to be done as security challenges in the extractive sector remains volatile and has continued to result in cost premium for the oil and gas sector, affecting both operational and project costs. Scholars have thus recommended a collective non-violent approach to conflict management in the extractive sector. Analysis is that the failure of the various strategies earlier employed by the government was due to the primary fact that they lacked sufficient elements of democracy, accountability, equity and active public participation of all key stakeholders. This approach entails involving a team of negotiators, mediator(s)

and parties in a dispute; all working together to find a lasting solution. It combines the elements of nonviolence such as dialogue, negotiation and mediation in resolving conflict, building trust and seeking a ‘win-win’ solution. It rejects the use of violence as a conflict resolution mechanism. The Collective Conflict Management Approach is usually undertaken by an ad-hoc arrangement or coalition that deals with specific security challenges and immediate conflict management needs in the situation concerned. It is a democratic problem-solving approach that gives parties to a conflict equal opportunity for participation through dialogue and negotiation. For this approach to be effective, it requires a supportive environment as parties to the dispute must agree to the process and cooperate with the team, as it would otherwise not succeed. A mutually agreed neutral location, negotiators who possess the right skills and resources to engender success, as well as enlightenment and indepth knowledge of conflict management in the extractive industries, are key factors for effectively engaging aggrieved parties. Besides the Collective Conflict Management Approach, The Global Oil and Gas Industry Association for Environmental and Social Issues posits that achieving sustainable economic and social development is a key factor in resolving conflicts and improving lives of the people in the Oil Pro-

ducing region. In adopting this approach, Oil companies need to define their role in development more clearly and seek ways to strengthen the capability of government and civil society to take responsibility for economic development. They should also re-examine the way in which relationships with communities are structured, to manage expectations and avoid actions which may inadvertently lead to conflict. To manage conflict, oil companies should prioritize and set realistic goals for their operations. In this context, they should take steps to: fulfil their duty to protect staff and assets; manage the issues of working with state security; minimize local impacts on people and the environment; and support the efforts of government and civil society to assume their responsibility for promoting economic development. As I researched this subject, I came upon an impending conference on sustainability in the extractive industries being organised by a Nigerian non-profit. It was pleasantly surprising to see that the target audience of the conference included business, government and communities. The Sustainability in the Extractive Industries Conference, an annual event convened by CSR-in-Action, is held in partnership with the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).

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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

Monday 30 April 2018

Nigeria’s terrible human rights record

he US state department, last week, released its annual report on human rights in Nigeria titled: “Nigeria 2017 Human Rights Report.” As expected, the report detailed human rights infractions, abuse of power, extrajudicial killings, corruption and transparency issues in Nigeria since 2015. The report affirmed that human rights generally remained appalling in Nigeria. it listed these infractions to include: extrajudicial and arbitrary killings; disappearances and arbitrary detentions; torture, particularly in detention facilities, including sexual exploitation and abuse; use of children by some security elements, looting, and destruction of property; civilian detentions in military facilities, often based on flimsy evidence; denial of fair public trial; executive influence on the judiciary; infringement on citizens’ privacy rights; restrictions on freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and movement; official corruption; lack of accountability in cases involving violence against women and children, including female genital mutilation/cutting and sexual exploitation of children; trafficking in persons; early and forced marriages; criminalization of status and same-sex sex-

ual conduct based on sexual orientation and gender identity; and forced and bonded labor.” In support of its damning verdict and as evidence of the impunity with which the Nigerian government operates, the report noted that the Nigerian government does not take steps to hold to account officials who perpetuated impunity whether in the security forces or in civil society. The report cited atrocities committed in the Northeast by members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), the army, police and officials who systematically abuse inmates in the various Internally Displaced People’s camps scattered across the region. It also cited the case of the extra-judicial murder of over 348 Shia group Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) and other civilians by Nigerian armed forces in Zaria, Kaduna State and the current unlawful detention of its leader even after the courts have ordered him released. It also cited the extrajudicial killings of members of the secessionist group, IPOB, the continued unlawful detention of Sambo Dasuki and many other such infractions. The report also took aim at the government’s supposed war on corruption aguing that “although the law provides criminal penalties for conviction of official corruption, the government did not implement the law effectively, and officials frequently engaged in corrupt prac-

tices with impunity. Massive, widespread, and pervasive corruption affected all levels of government and the security services.” True, the report presents an unflattering picture of Nigeria under Buhari, puncturing virtually all the supposed achievements of the administration especially in the war against corruption and insecurity and lays bare the series of abuses, impunity, corruption and disregard for the rights and freedoms of Nigerians. Not that the contents of the report are anything new. We have consistently been shouting about these issues for long but the government, in its self-righteous manner, have carried on as if everything were alright and it operates on international best practices. The game-changer however is that the United States is saying it boldly to the government this time. The implication for the country is that the country-specific annual human rights report, which must be produced by the US executive, is a statutory requirement of Congress since the 1970s to know the exact state of human rights situations in the countries they are dealing with and will determine the kind and nature of the foreign, security and trade assistance the US can offer Nigeria and agreements to be reached. The Nigerian government was happy to announce the invitation

extended President Buhari by US president, Donald Trump, to the White House, April 30, to discuss bilateral issues such as fighting terrorism and economic growth. “President Trump looks forward to discussing ways to enhance our strategic partnership and advance our shared priorities: promoting economic growth and reforms, fighting terrorism and other threats to peace and security, and building on Nigeria’s role as a democratic leader in the region,” the White House said in a statement. But the meeting may yet turn out to be an unhappy one for President Buhari and his handlers if the report will form part of the discussions as we expect it would. Given Nigeria’s size and population and its status as the largest black nation in the world, the United States has always held the hope that Nigeria will play a leadership role not only in Africa but in the world. Sadly the failure of Nigeria to meet this expectation, held by the United States since Nigeria emerged as an independent country in 1960, has been a source of frustration, disappointment and sometimes irritation to Washington and has dogged US-Nigeria relations over the years. We hope President Trump will use his leverage to drive home the point and get the government to begin to respect human rights and the rights and freedom of Nigerians.

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Dick Kramer - Chairman Imo Itsueli Mohammed Hayatudeen Albert Alos Funke Osibodu Afolabi Oladele Dayo Lawuyi Vincent Maduka Wole Obayomi Maneesh Garg Keith Richards Opeyemi Agbaje Amina Oyagbola Bolanle Onagoruwa Fola Laoye Chuka Mordi Sim Shagaya Mezuo Nwuneli Emeka Emuwa Charles Anudu Tunji Adegbesan Eyo Ekpo

ENQUIRIES NEWS ROOM 08022238495 Lagos 08034009034 08033160837 Abuja

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Monday 30 April 2018

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BUSINESS DAY

Monday 30 April 2018

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In Association With

Farming in Africa

Labour pains

Africa has plenty of land. Why is it so hard to make a living from it? Subsistence farmers cannot compete with commercial farms

URROUNDED by tangled shrubland, Wisdom Mababe’s farm in central Zambia seems incongruously neat. “In 2002, when I started, it was bare bush,” he says. Each year since, he has bulldozed an area the size of 40 football pitches. Maize grows in ordered rows; cattle graze behind a fence. “The land, the water, it’s in abundance,” he gushes. Beyond his fields, the tall grass waves. For most of its history, sub-Saharan Africa has been short of people, not land. In 2011 the World Bank estimated that the region had 200m hectares of suitable land that was not being used for crops—almost half of the world’s total, and more than the cultivated area of America. That potential excites many. “Africa is the future breadbasket of the world,” says Ephraim Nkonya of the International Food Policy Research Institute, a think-tank in Washington, DC. Yet such aggregate figures may deceive. Most of Africa’s spare land lies in just a few big countries, such as Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. In densely populated places (with more than 100 people per square kilometre of farmland), average farm sizes have shrunk by a third since the 1970s. The continent is already a net importer of food; by 2050 it may have twice as many bellies to fill. In hotspots like central Nigeria, clashes between cropgrowing farmers and herders have killed thousands.

Saudi Arabia is pushing out foreigners to create jobs for locals But new Saudi hires are not always up to the job

VER since the local laundrette replaced its Asian workers with Saudis, his Parisian silk shirts have come back as nylon cast-offs, says a lawyer in Saudi Arabia. The new hire at his chemist, a bashful Saudi girl, shies from his request to spray colognes on his hand. He himself has hired four Saudi lawyers in order to comply with the kingdom’s drive to replace foreigners with Saudis. They are useless, he says. “Labour pains,” tuts Ahmed Kattan, the deputy labour minister. As part of Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman’s “Saudisation” efforts,

Doom-mongers see a larger crisis brewing. From Mr Mababe’s tranquil farm, such fears seem distant. Only a fifth of land in his district is being used, reckons the council chairman. A German company has bought 40,000 hectares of private land to grow maize and soya beans. The government is trying to lure other commercial outfits to designated “farm blocks” around a country twice as big as Germany, with fewer people than the Netherlands. But even here, land is scarcer than it seems. The western half of the district is a national park. Locals complain that heavy-handed rangers on private game ranches stop them fishing and picking mushrooms. “This land we are in here, it’s not ours,” says one villager, “it’s for people who have money.” Human Rights Watch says that poor people in other

districts are being evicted by commercial farms. Despite talk of Africa’s unused land, few places are truly empty. “On a map it is like that,” says Mbumwae Nyambe, a paralegal with the Catholic church. “But when you go in the field you find there are already people there.” Uncultivated land is used for grazing, foraging or hunting. Occupiers are often surprised to hear themselves labelled as squatters. In northern Uganda people returning home after being displaced by war found their “empty” fields had been dished out among generals, tycoons and conservationists. Perhaps a tenth of Africa’s cultivated land is now in the hands of big business, which uses most of it for biofuels, timber and other non-food crops. As significant is the rise of mid-size farms (those between five and 100 hectares), often owned by

civil servants in the cities. “They have the political connections,” says Thomas Jayne of Michigan State University. Many are not serious farmers. Those who own more than 20 hectares often leave most of it idle. Middling farms now cover more of Zambia than small ones. Meanwhile squeezed smallholders farm their shrinking plots too intensively, degrading already poor soils. This happens even in spacious countries because people are concentrated along roads and in towns. This presents a conundrum. Better seeds and fertiliser, as well as niftier techniques, could send Africa’s farm yields soaring. But mechanised commercial farms do not provide as many jobs as subsistence agriculture. Most Africans still live in the countryside. That life there is so tough is why they are abandoning it faster than people on any other continent.

Mr Kattan has slapped monthly levies on migrants (based on the size of their families) and the Saudis who hire them. He has also barred foreigners from 12 sectors of the economy, including baking and optometry. The scheme, he says, will reduce the kingdom’s dependence on about 8m predominantly unskilled foreigners, who far outnumber Saudi workers. He reckons this will cut Saudi Arabia’s jobless rate to 10% by 2022 (from around 13% today), get more women into work and encourage automation. Finding jobs for young Saudis— around half of whom are unemployed—is critical for Prince Muhammad, who is the power behind the throne. Having taken on the kingdom’s clerics, by loosening social restrictions, and alienated other princes by consolidating power, he is more reliant on popular support than past Saudi rulers were. Easing dress codes and increasing entertainment has won him praise. Saudisation, it is hoped, will improve his subjects’ living standards, too. But there are drawbacks, admits Mr Continues on page 19

Monday 30 April 2018

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BUSINESS DAY

In Association With

Medicine

Universal health care, worldwide, is within reach

The case for it is a powerful one—including in poor countries

Y MANY measures the world has never been in better health. Since 2000 the number of children who die before they are five has fallen by almost half, to 5.6m. Life expectancy has reached 71, a gain of five years. More children than ever are vaccinated. Malaria, TB and HIV/ AIDS are in retreat. Yet the gap between this progress and the still greater potential that medicine offers has perhaps never been wider. At least half the world is without access to what the World Health Organisation deems essential, including antenatal care, insecticide-treated bednets, screening for cervical cancer and vaccinations against diphtheria, tetanus and whooping cough. Safe, basic surgery is out of reach for 5bn people. Those who can get to see a doctor often pay a crippling price. More than 800m people spend over 10% of their annual household income on medical expenses; nearly 180m spend over 25%. The quality of what they get in return is often woeful. In studies of consultations in rural Indian and Chinese clinics, just 12-26% of patients received a correct diagnosis. That is a terrible waste. As this week’s special report shows, the goal of universal basic health care is sensible, affordable and practical, even in poor countries. Without it, the potential of modern medicine will be squandered. Universal basic health care is sensible in the way that, say, universal basic education is sensible—because it yields benefits to society as well as to individuals. In some quarters the very idea

leads to a dangerous elevation of the blood pressure, because it suggests paternalism, coercion or worse. There is no hiding that public health-insurance schemes require the rich to subsidise the poor, the young to subsidise the old and the healthy to underwrite the sick. And universal schemes must have a way of forcing people to pay, through taxes, say, or by mandating that they buy insurance. But there is a principled, liberal case for universal health care. Good health is something everyone can reasonably be assumed to want in order to realise their full individual potential. Universal care is a way of providing it that is pro-growth. The costs of inaccessible, expensive and abject treatment are enormous. The sick struggle to get an education or to be productive at work. Land cannot be developed if it is full of disease-carrying parasites. According to several studies, confidence about health makes people more likely to set up their own businesses. Universal basic health care is also affordable. A country need not wait to be rich before it can have comprehensive, if rudimentary, treatment. Health care is a labour-intensive industry, and community health workers, paid relatively little compared with doctors and nurses, can make a big difference in poor countries. There is also already a lot of spending on health in poor countries, but it is often inefficient. In India and Nigeria, for example, more than 60% of health spending is through out-of-pocket payments. More services could be provided if

that money—and the risk of falling ill—were pooled. The evidence for the feasibility of universal health care goes beyond theories jotted on the back of prescription pads. It is supported by several pioneering examples. Chile and Costa Rica spend about an eighth of what America does per person on health and have similar life expectancies. Thailand spends $220 per person a year on health, and yet has outcomes nearly as good as in the OECD. Its rate of deaths related to pregnancy, for example, is just over half that of African-American mothers. Rwanda has introduced ultrabasic health insurance for more than 90% of its people; infant mortality has fallen from 120 per 1,000 live births in 2000 to under 30 last year. And universal health care is practical. It is a way to prevent free-riders from passing on the costs of not being covered to others, for example by clogging up emergency rooms or by spreading contagious diseases. It does not have to mean big government. Private insurers and providers can still play an important role. Indeed such a practical approach is just what the low-cost revolution needs. Take, for instance, the design of health-insurance schemes. Many countries start by making a small group of people eligible for a large number of benefits, in the expectation that other groups will be added later. (Civil servants are, mysteriously, common beneficiaries.) This is not only unfair and inefficient, but also risks creating a constituency opposed to extending insurance to others. The better option is to cover as many people as possible,

even if the services available are sparse, as under Mexico’s Seguro Popular scheme. Small amounts of spending can go a long way. Research led by Dean Jamison, a health economist, has identified over 200 effective interventions, including immunisations and neglected procedures such as basic surgery. In total, these would cost poor countries about an extra $1 per week per person and cut the number of premature deaths there by more than a quarter. Around half that funding would go to primary health centres, not city hospitals, which today receive more than their fair share of the money. Consider, too, the $37bn spent each year on health aid. Since 2000, this has helped save millions from infectious diseases. But international health organisations can distort domestic institutions, for example by setting up parallel programmes or by diverting health workers into pet projects. A better approach, seen in Rwanda, is when programmes targeting a particular disease bring broader benefits. One example is the way that the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria finances community health workers who treat patients with HIV but also those with other diseases. Europeans have long wondered why the United States shuns the efficiencies and health gains from universal care, but its potential in developing countries is less understood. So long as half the world goes without essential treatment, the fruits of centuries of medical science will be wasted. Universal basic health care can help realise its promise.

Saudi Arabia is pushing out foreigners to create... Continued from page 18

Kattan. Many of the kingdom’s businesses rely on cheap labour. Rather than employ Saudis, who cost more and do less, around a third of firms may close, he says. Across the country, chambers of commerce groan at the potential contraction and beg for a respite, particularly since the economy fell into recession last year. “The government is passing on its political problems to the private sector,” gripes a businessman. Once a tax-free El Dorado, where petrol was cheaper than water, the kingdom is becoming less attractive to foreign workers. Insurance and entry fees have increased. Utility bills are rising. To avoid the monthly levy, which doubles to 200 riyals ($53) per family member in July, many foreign workers are leaving. Officials expect 700,000 will go by 2020. Others reckon the total number leaving may be far higher, not least because the authorities have arrested over 800,000 illegal migrants since November (around 200,000 have been deported). Saudisation “is probably a painful necessity”, says Steffen Hertog of the London School of Economics. If successful, the measures will narrow the pay gap between the bloated public sector, manned by Saudis, and the private sector, which is full of foreigners. Taxes on foreign workers should also raise $16bn in revenues by 2020, reducing the yawning budget deficit, says Mr Kattan. There are some signs the plan is working. Female Saudi receptionists welcome pilgrims to Mecca’s hotels. Though they cannot yet drive, women are running rentalcar agencies. Poorer Saudis are even trying their hand at manual labour, hitherto an exclusively foreign domain. Given the chance, many locals defy stereotypes that cast them as slothful and incompetent, some launderers notwithstanding. “Apologies for our shortcomings, we’re still new,” says a self-deprecating official.

BUSINESS DAY

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Monday 30 April 2018 In Association With

Hard cheese

Fearing Brexit, Irish cheesemakers mull a switch to mozzarella Cheddar-producing dairies are exploring cheeses with wider export potential

HE herd of water buffalo ambling over rolling hills may look like a scene from southern Italy. In fact the beasts roam in southern Ireland. Johnny Lynch, who owns a 150-acre farm in County Cork, makes plump balls of mozzarella from their milk, and bids customers a cheerful, Irishaccented “Buongiorno!” in online advertisements for his produce. Of the 200,000 tonnes of cheese made each year in Ireland, 90% is cheddar. That could soon become a problem. Apart from America, which has plenty of cheesemakers of its own, the only country with a big appetite for cheddar is Britain. It buys more than half of Ireland’s cheddar exports, for upwards of €250m ($300m) a year. But its impending exit from the European Union could cause the dairy trade to turn sour. If Britain leaves the EU’s single market and customs union, as it intends to, Irish exporters can expect to face regulatory hurdles and perhaps tariffs. Conor Mulvihill of Dairy Industry Ireland, a lobby group, estimates that these barriers could add as much as €0.21 to the cost of cheddar made with each

litre of milk; its farm-gate price is only about €0.30. In that worst-case scenario, “there wouldn’t be a gram of Irish cheddar exported,” he says. So cheesemakers are following Mr Lynch’s example and exploring varieties with wider export

potential. One of the largest producers, Dairygold, has announced a “Brexit-proofing” plan to open a factory in Cork to make up to 20,000 tonnes a year of Jarlsberg, a Norwegian speciality, in partnership with

Norway’s Tine. Glanbia, a big dairy which already makes mozzarella in Wales and Northern Ireland, plans to invest €250m-300m by 2020 to increase production capacity in Ireland for a range of goods, including cheese. All the large dairies in

Ireland are investigating alternative varieties, including Edam and Gouda, says one big cheese in the industry. One snag is that Ireland’s grassfed cows produce far more milk in summer than winter. Cheddar, which can be left to mature for years, allows cheesemakers to smooth their output throughout the year. Switching to softer cheeses could mean summer gluts and winter scarcity. Some farmers have also found that the grass that gives Irish butter its prized golden colour also gives mozzarella an unappealing yellowish tint. But that may not matter much when it comes to sales to the food-service business—that is, for ready meals or pizza toppings— which make up the biggest slice of Ireland’s cheese exports. Continental competitors are not alarmed for the time being. “Everyone is free to produce it where they want. I’m for the free market,” says a magnanimous Pier Maria Saccani, the head of Italy’s Consortium for the Protection of Mozzarella di Bufala Campana. But, he cautions, “everyone should do what they know how to do. I would never buy whisky from Amalfi.”

Haftar nears the hereafter

As a Libyan warlord sickens, a power struggle grips his country With Khalifa Haftar lying in a French hospital, his allies look for a successor

HE most important story in Libya this year is unfolding in a Paris hospital. Khalifa Haftar, the general who rules the east of the divided country, checked into the Val-deGrâce military hospital earlier this month. His condition is a mystery. There are reports that he suffered a stroke and may be in a coma—or even dead. His spokesman insists he merely needed some tests and will return home in a “few days”, though he said that weeks ago. The French government is tightlipped. But reality may now matter less than perception. General Haftar has not been seen since early April. His grip on eastern Libya is faltering and his allies are scrambling to find a successor. It is a stunning fall for one of Libya’s most powerful and polarising figures. General Haftar (pictured above) backed the coup that in 1969 brought Muammar Qaddafi to power, but eventually ran afoul of the dictator and wound up in exile in America. He returned to Libya during the uprising that toppled Qaddafi in 2011. In early 2014, as the country descended into civil war, he set out to seize Benghazi, the country’s eastern city, and crush

Islamist militias. Three years later his Libyan National Army (LNA) declared victory. The general claims he brought a measure of stability to the east. His men control Sidra and Ras Lanuf, the country’s biggest oil port and refinery. Production rose by over half last year, to more than 1m barrels a day, though it is still well below pre-revolution levels. But his victory was pyrrhic. Benghazi is in ruins. He rules the rubble like an authoritarian. The LNA has looted

property from displaced families and tortured critics. And his growing power comes at the expense of the UN-backed government in Tripoli, the capital at the western end of the country. The UN wants Libya to hold elections this year. General Haftar has already hinted that he may not accept the results. Now it is unclear whether he will live to see them—or who will take his place. Though it styles itself an army, the LNA is really a patchwork of militias. Their

leaders are already jockeying to replace the ailing general. Much will depend on his foreign backers. Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt’s field marshal-turned-president, sees General Haftar as a kindred spirit: another military man eager to pound Islamists. The United Arab Emirates also backs him, with attack aircraft and Chinesemade drones deployed to bases in Libya’s eastern desert. But the two countries are thought to disagree on a successor. So do Libyans, divided as they are along tribal, geographic and ethnic lines. Consider General Abdessalam al-Hassi, a leading contender for the job. He is not a member of General Haftar’s Ferjan tribe, which may cost him the support of the LNA’s (mostly Ferjan) leadership. Yet installing another member of the Ferjan (ie, someone who does not hail from the east) could cause other tribes to leave the group. Adding to the confusion are General Haftar’s two sons, Khalid and Saddam, who have been groomed as successors. But they lack battlefield experience and support. Meanwhile, there are already signs of a power vacuum in Benghazi. On April 18th Abdel-Razaq

al-Nadhouri, the general’s chief of staff, another potential successor, survived a car-bomb. Days later clashes broke out between the army and police, who are nominally on the same side. Even if he does return, General Haftar no longer appears invincible. His empire in the east may be short-lived.

Monday 30 April 2018

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COMPANIES & MARKETS

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Turkish Airlines reaches highest load factor in Q1 2018 with 80.5%

urkish Airlines has announced its traffic results for March 2018 as Total Load Factor improved by 6 points, which represents an increase of 13 percent in capacity. The company’s International Load Factor increased by approximately 6 points to 81.7 percent and domestic Load Factor to 84 percent in March. Upon the double-digit passenger increases in January and February, total number of passengers carried went up by 24 percent reaching 6 million passengers,

in March. This passenger increase enabled the highest load factor in March in the last five years with 82 percent load factor. Double digit growth in demand (revenue per kilometer) that commenced in July 2017, kept on with 22 percent demand growth in March 2018. Excluding internationalto-international transfer passengers (transit passengers), number of international passengers went up by 28%. This has been an important indicator of the continued growing interest in Turkey. In March, cargo/mail volume increased by 29%, compared to March 2017.

Main contributors to the growth in cargo/mail volume are North America with 49% increase, Middle East with 42% increase, Africa with 38% increases and Europe with 32% increase. In March, Load Factor increased for all regions. N. America, C.&S. America, Africa, Europe showed visible load factor growth among other regions with 12 points, 10 points, 10 points and 5 points increase, respectively. While traffic results between January-March 2018 showed an increase in demand and total number of passengers was 25 percent and 29 percent, respectively, over the same period of last year. Total number of passengers reached increased to

FCMB shareholders laud consistent dividend policy, approve N1.98bn dividend

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

IFEOMA OKEKE

DAY

17 million. During the first quarter, total Load Factor improved by 6.5 points up to 80.5 percent, recording the highest load factor in Turkish Airlines history for the first quarter. While international Load Factor increased by 7 points up to 80 percent, domestic load factor went up by approximately 4 points to 85 percent. Thus, Turkish Airlines reached the highest international load factor in the last five years and record high domestic load factor in its history. Cargo/mail carried increased by 38 percent and reached 312 thousand tons, thanks to strong pick up in cargo/mail volume in March of 2018.

Abbey Mortgage Bank posts Q1 loss of N20.8m Endurance Okafor

n examination of the financial statements of Abbey Mortgage Bank for the first quarter of 2018 reviews accumulated losses continue to pile as it further records a loss of N20.8million, as compiled from company’s financials. The mortgage bank which is one of the listed firms on the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) for the first quarter ended March 2018, reported loss increase by 230.37 percent from N15.9million loss recorded in March 2017 to N20.8 million in the period under review. The mortgage bank’s recurring losses can be traced to its low operating income as against its high operating expense. The mortgage bank’s net operating income for the quarter under review was down by 22.04 percent from N228.2 million in March of 2017 to

N177.9million in comparable period of 2018. It’s operating expense on the other hand declined by N9.5 million from N208.3 million in the three month ended March 2018 to N198.7 million in the month ended March 31, 2018. This brought the bank’s gross earnings to N297.8 million in the first quarter of 2018, representing a N40.6 million decline when compared to the gross earnings of the comparable period of 2017. As at the close of market on Friday, 27 April 2018, the bank traded at N 1.30 per share and it has market capitalization of N5.460billion, as compiled from the Bloomberg data. The Company, which was incorporated in Nigeria as a private limited liability company on 26 August 1991, obtained its license to operate as a mortgage bank on 20 January 1992, commenced business on 11 March 1992 and later converted to a public limited liability company in September 2007.

BUSINESS DAY

COMPANIES & MARKETS Business Event

L-R: Hamid Joda, divisional head, public sector of First City Monument Bank (FCMB), and Abdullahi Aliyu, director, policy and strategy, Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), during the signing ceremony of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Bank and the Council to promote export trade in Abuja.

L-R: Tony Nwakalor, CEO, SoundCore; Usman Ibrahim of White Adler Integrated Limited, and Babatunde Alatise, chairman, Mining, Solid Mineral and Allied Services Group, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), during the LCCI master class training mines to market in Pic by Olawale Amoo Lagos.

R-L: John Ugbe, managing director, Multichoice Nigeria; Segun Ogunleye, senior brand manager, Seven-Up Bottling Company; Fela Ibidapo, chief marketing officer, Heritage Bank, and Martin Mabutho, general manager sales and marketing, Multichoice Nigeria, at the live screening of BB Naija Double Wahala Finale co-sponsored by Pepsi in Lagos at the weekend.

R-L: Mabel George, head, business development division West, Sigma Pensions; Oshun Wesley, retired Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP); Chinyere Odionye, Inspection & Investigation at National Pension Commission (PENCOM), and John Igiehon, business development manager, Sigma Pensions, at Sigma Pensions retiree forum held in Abeokuta, Ogun State

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COMPANIES & MARKETS FCMB shareholders laud consistent dividend policy, approve N1.98bn dividend

hareholders of FCMB Group Plc on Friday commended the board for consistent dividend payment, and also approved a dividend of N1.98 billion for the financial year ended Dec. 31, 2017. The shareholders at the company’s fifth Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Lagos, approved the payment of N1.98 billion dividend which translated to 10k per share. Speaking at the meeting, Boniface Okezie, the National Coordinator, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria (PSAN), lauded the company for its consistency in dividend payment in spite of the economic headwind. Okezie urged the company’s management to work very hard to maintain the tempo, while assuring the cooperation of shareholders support. He said the management must ensure adherence to regulatory rules to avoid payment of sanctions that would have been used to pay dividends. Okezie said the company should be more careful going

forward, noting that N28.26 million paid as penalties for various infractions should be avoided. Sunny Nwosu, the former National Coordinator, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), said that shareholders of the bank were not happy with the levy being imposed on banks by the Asset Management Corporation (AMCON). Nwosu said the N5.66 billion AMCON levy paid by the company in 2017, was unacceptable by the shareholders. He said the shareholders would resist moves by AMCON to extend its life line. Oladipupo Jadesimi, the company’s Chairman, told the shareholders that it would continue to shore up the capital of the bank through profit retention in preparation for the growth opportunities expected as the economy recovers. Jadesimi expressed gratitude to shareholders for their continuous support. “Although, we met a number of challenges as a group in 2017, I am pleased to say that we were able to surmount them, thanks to the commit-

ment of all the personnel of our group companies,” he said. Also speaking, Ladi Balogun, the Group Chief Executive of FCMB Group, said the group’s performance was an improvement over the previous year in spite of the reduction in headline numbers. Balogun said the key drivers of the group’s perfor mance include d increase in income from non-banking activities, lower impairment charges from the bank and its subsidiaries and improved operating efficiencies through more pervasive use of technology. He assured that the company’s successful acquisition of majority (88.2 per cent) stake in Legacy Pension Managers would go a long way in helping to achieve further diversification and earnings within the FCMB Group. “We see significant growth opportunities in the Pension management industry and will support and facilitate strategic growth initiatives that will position Legacy in the top-tier of its industry over the next few years,” he said.

Unity Bank rewards winners in UniFiers Project

s part of its new focus on the Youth segment and further to the launch of UNiFi product, the Bank’s new Youth and Digital Banking initiative, Unity Bank Plc recently rewarded the creativity of three young people. These recipients – referred to as Unifiers – demonstrated their innovativeness and distinguished themselves in an online competition. The UniFiers initiative was conceived as part of the Bank’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) which was instituted to empower young people who had developed definitive initiatives that had an impact on their immediate communities. Each of them were celebrated at the recent UNIFI-launch held at the University of Lagos. The three successful candidates received rewards of half a million Naira each for displaying their projects online as part of the UniFiers challenge and garnering highest number of votes from fans who endorsed their respective projects in each of the project category. According to the GM, Products & Channels, Bonaventure Okhaimo, “the UniFiers project is aimed at encouraging creativity and motivating Nigerian youths”, adding that, “the Bank identified three broad categories for the competition

which included ‘the Lanterns; targeting science & technology innovation, ‘the Humanitarians’, riding on social development and charity, and the ‘Builders’ – highlighting excellence in Art, design and culture”. The winners that emerged include: Tolulope Falope – Builders category, Mobolaji Oriola – Humanitarian category and Albert Kure – Lantern Category. As the Unifiers initiative continue to reflect the core essence of UniFi product offering, the Bank is currently taking the three winners through a mentorship programme intended to enhance the three winning projects and their promoters for the overall benefits of the society. UniFi is Unity bank’s new youth-focused proposition. In addition to an affordable

Savings account offering, Unifi also offers a lifestyle app which provides customers with a full digital platform, packaged to appeal to undergraduates and young professionals. The Group Head Retail & SME Banking Group, Funwa Akinmade, who addressed students during the launch described UniFi as a “product for the youth generation which offers a full digital experience that does not require them to ever visit the bank’s branch.” UniFi offers youths an interface with Unity Bank, giving them access not only to standard banking transactions like transfers and payments, but also the ability to make school payments, shop online, book movie tickets etc.

Delayed budget passage by NASS inimical to economy, says Don

sman Owolabi, a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Business Administration, Ladoke Akintola University, Ogbomosho, Oyo State, says delay in the passage of 2018 budget is inimical to economic growth. Owolabi made the observation in a recent interview in Lagos on Friday. The 2018 Appropriation Bill, presented to the National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari on November 17, 2017, is still pending before the National Assembly, five months after.

Owolabi said the delay in passing the budget would impede growth, especially as the country only recently exited recession and would require funds to consolidate on the growth of the economy. He said that accelerated appropriation of the budget was imperative, especially on infrastructure to stimulate the economy. “Quick disbursement of funds will lead to the completion of various infrastructural projects such as rail, roads and dredging of some rivers across the country,” he said.

He said quick passage of the budget was imperative in view of the fact that the general elections were less than a year. “Since the elections were less than a calendar year, funds should have been allocated on time for the various institutions to prepare for the elections in order to avoid last minute hitches,” he said. He said the Federal Government should embrace feedback mechanism to ensure that the mistakes of the past on execution of budget would not be made again.

LCCI: Nigeria can generate $20bn yearly from mining David Ibemere

f properly harnessed, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) said the 44 minerals deposits in Nigeria have the potential to add $20billion to the coffers of the government yearly. Babatunde Alatise, chairman, Mining and Solid Minerals Group, LCCI, disclosed this during a two-day master class entitled, ‘Mines to Market’. It was designed to enlighten the players in the upstream, mainstream, and downstream sub-sectors on how they could

successfully navigate through the sector for maximum benefit. According to Alatise, Nigeria has the reservoir of minerals which are in high demand in the international market, stating that government and private individuals can leverage them to generate export revenue. “Tantalite, which Nigeria has in abundance, can generate FX in billions. The sector is so endowed with huge potential for job, export revenue and local input for manufacturing and industrial production. It is sad that Nigeria is allowing its

enormous natural resources waste away.” Available record shows that Nigeria earned N62.2 billion from the solid minerals sector in 2015, an increase of 24 per cent on the N55.8 billion earned from the sector in 2014, based on yearly report of Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI). This, Alatise said, is not enough, considering how much more Nigeria can earn, while calling on players to get the required knowledge and techniques to enable them to fully reap the gains the sector provides.

BUSINESS DAY

Monday 30 April 2018

BUSINESS DAY

Monday 30 April 2018

BusinessDay Agribusiness and Food Security Summit 2018

Frank Aigbogun, publisher/CEO, BusinessDay Media, giving his welcome address at the conference.

Godwin Obaseki, governor, Edo State/special guest of honour, giving his speech at the conference.

L-R: Uche Odazor, managing director, AG Aviation West Africa; Frank Aigbogun, publisher/CEO, BusinessDay Media, and Godwin Obaseki, governor, Edo State.

Cross section of the participant at the conference

L-R , Mohammed Kagu, group head, agriculture finance First Bank; Ismail Darma of NIPC and Kabiru Musa.

Audu Ogbeh, minister, federal ministry of agriculture and rural development/ special guest of honour, giving his speech at the conference.

L-R: Folusho Olaniyan, programme director, Agrainnovate West Africa; Edeme Kelikume, CEO, Connect Rail Services Limited; Nwaneri Olubukola, CEO, Naija Pride Agribusiness Global Limited; Hans-Willem Van Ser Waal, managing director, Agrofair Europe BV; Fatih Ermis, head of agricultural services, Nestle Central and West Africa Region Limited; Prakash Kanth, senior vice president, Olam International Limited all are panelist at the conference, with them is the moderator of the panel Bernard Orji, partner, Consumer and Industrial Products Consulting Practice, Deloitte and Touche.

Audu Ogbeh, minister, federal ministry of agriculture and rural development (l), with Mauricio Alarcon, MD/CEO, Nestle Nigeria Plc.

L-R: Fatih Ermis, head of agriculture services, Nestle CWAR; Oluwaseun Akinoso, supplier development manager , Nestle Nigeria Plc, and Francis Widm of French Embassy.

R-L Seidu Adebowale, Mayowa Fakolujo and Opera Alexander.

Uchechi Orji, MD/CEO, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA)/guest speaker, delivering his speech at the conference.

L-R: Eme Tony-Uwebo, Nkiru Okpreke and Alex Iwu.

L-R: Omobola Adekoya, Biodun Ariyo, and Ikenna Egbukole.

Hans-Willem Van Ser Waal, managing director, Agrofair Europe BV/keynote speaker, delivering his keynote address at the conference.

L-R: Bukola Awosanya, group head, agric and export, Sterling Bank; Muhammad Kagu, acting group head, agric finance, First Bank of Nigeria Plc; Mezuo Nwuneli, managing partner, Sahel Capital Agribusiness Mangers Limited; Lois Sankey, head, agrifinance desk, Diamond Bank Plc; Emmanuel Ijewere, vice president, Nigeria Agribusiness Group; Ujwalkanta Senapati, managing director, WACOT Limited, all are panelist at the conference, with them is the moderator of the panel Andrei Ugarov, partner, corporate finance practice, PwC.

L-R: Gbola Lala, Akinwobi Biodun, Ernest Urhudeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

L-R Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State , Rerhe Idonije, head of sales conferences , BusinessDay and Mauricio Alarcon, MD, Nestle Nigeria.

Michel Deelen, deputy Netherlands ambassador to Nigeria, representing the ambassador, giving his goodwill message, at the conference.

L-R: Olusegun Ojo, director-general, National Agricultural Seedcouncil; Nneka Eze, partner, Dalberg; Soji Apampa, CEO, The Convention on Business Integrity; Kola Masha, managing director/CEO, Babban Gona; Onyeka Akumah, co-founder/ CEO, Farmcrowdy; Fred Ijewere, chairman, ESAN MFB, all are panelist at the conference, with them is the moderator of the panel Caleb Ojewale, agric editor, BusinessDay Media.

L-R: Adesola Afolabi,Kikilowo Akpati and Lekan Tobi.

Participants at the event

Pictures Okeosisi and Olawale Amoo

BUSINESS DAY

Monday 30 April 2018

BusinessDay Top 25 CEOs Award in Lagos

L-R: Frank Aigbogun, publisher/CEO, Businessday Media; Oscar Onyema, CEO, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) receiving the Top 25 CEOs special award from Bamanga Tukur.

Abimbola Ogunbanjo, president, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) (l), presenting the CEO award to Lanre Jaiyeola, managing director, Honeywell Flour Mills Plc.

Abimbola Ogunbanjo, president, NSE (l), presenting CEO award to Pius Apere, MD/CEO Linkage Asssurance Plc.

Ayo Aboderin, finance director, May & Baker Nigeria Plc, (r), receiving the CEO award from Abimbola Ogunbanjo, president, NSE , on behalf of Nnamdi Nathan Okafor, MD/CEO, May & Baker Nigeria Plc.

Aderemi Saka, chief finance officer, Nascon Allied Industries Plc (r), receiving the CEO award from Abimbola Ogunbanjo, president, NSE, on behalf of Paul Farrer, MD, Nascon Allied Industries Plc.

Saraki Iyiola, S.A to GMD, NEM Insurance Plc, (r), receiving the CEO award from Abimbola Ogunbanjo, president, NSE (l), on behalf of Tope Smart, GMD/CEO, NEM Insurance Plc.

Abimbola Ogunbanjo, president, NSE (l), presenting the CEO award to Ibrahim Aminu, MD/CEO, Cement Company of Northern Nigeria Plc.

Abimbola Ogunbanjo, president, NSE (l), presenting the CEO award to Mauricio Alarcon, MD/CEO, Nestle Nigeria Plc.

BUSINESS DAY

Monday 30 April 2018

BusinessDay Top 25 C

L-R: Demola Shogunle, chief executive, Stanbic IBTC Bank (r), receiving the CEO award from Abimbola Ogunbanjo, president, NSE, on behalf of Yinka Sanni, chief executive, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc

Tope Fasoranti, executive director, Zenith Bank Plc (r), receiving the CEO award from Abimbola Ogunbanjo, president, NSE (), on behalf of Peter Amangbo, GMD/CEO, Zenith Bank Plc.

Aderemi Saka, (right) CFO, Nascon Allied Industries Plc receiving the CEO award from Adenrele Adesina, commissioner for budget and planning,Ogun State on behalf of the CEO.

Olusegun Ajala, head marketing, Nascon receiving the CEO award from Adenrele Adesina, commissioner for budget and planning,Ogun State on behalf of the Ag GMD Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc .

Haruna Jalo-Waziri,( left ) MD/CEO CSCS, presenting the CEO award to Urum Kalu Eke, GMD/CEO FBN Holdings Plc.

Obaro Odegbe, general manager, Fidelity Bank Plc, receiving the award on behalf of Nnamdi Okonkwo, the MD/CEO of the bank from Haruna Jalo-Waziri,( left ) MD/CEO CSCS.

L-R Oscar Onyema, CEO, NSE presenting the Prudential Plc.

Adenrele Adesina, commissioner for budget a award to Uzoma Dozie, the GMD/ CEO , Diam

Imokha Ayebae, corporate finance manager, Fidson Healthcare Plc receiv ing the CEO award from Haruna Jalo-Waziri,( left ) MD/CEO CSCS, o behalf Fidelis Ayebae the CEO of the company.

BUSINESS DAY

Monday 30 April 2018

CEOs Award in Lagos

e CEO award to Peter Ashade, MD/CEO, Africa

Oscar Onyema, CEO, NSE presenting the CEO award to Peter Folikwe, MD/CEO Berger Paints Nigeria Plc.

Alex Mbakogu(right) receiving the CEO award from Oscar Onyema, CEO, NSE on behalf of the MD/CEO C&I Leasing Plc.

and planning. Ogun State presenting the CEO mond Bank Plc.

Adenrele Adesina, commissioner for budget and planning,Ogun State presenting the CEO award to Ade Ayeyemi, group CEO of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated Plc.

Adenrele Adesina, commissioner for budget and planning,Ogun State presenting the CEO award to Mahmud Tukur , MD/CEO, Eterna Plc

von

Haruna Jalo-Waziri,( left ) MD/CEO CSCS, presenting the CEO award to Joseph Umolu, company secretary representing Paul Gbededo, the GMD/CEO of Flour Mills Nigeria Plc

Tolulope Onipade of GTB receiving the CEO award from Haruna Jalo-Waziri,( left ) MD/CEO CSCS, on behalf of Segun Agbaje, the GMD/CEO of the bank.

Kennedy Uzoka, GMD/CEO, UBA Plc, receiving the CEO award from Anthony Osae-Brown . Pictures Okeosisi and Olawale Amoo

BUSINESS DAY

Monday 30 April 2018

BUSINESS DAY

Monday 30 April 2018

BusinessDay Top 25 CEOs Award in Lagos

L-R: Demola Shogunle, chief executive, Stanbic IBTC Bank (r), receiving the CEO award from Abimbola Ogunbanjo, president, NSE, on behalf of Yinka Sanni, chief executive, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc

Tope Fasoranti, executive director, Zenith Bank Plc (r), receiving the CEO award from Abimbola Ogunbanjo, president, NSE (), on behalf of Peter Amangbo, GMD/CEO, Zenith Bank Plc.

L-R Oscar Onyema, CEO, NSE presenting the CEO award to Peter Ashade, MD/CEO, Africa Prudential Plc.

Oscar Onyema, CEO, NSE presenting the CEO award to Peter Folikwe, MD/CEO Berger Paints Nigeria Plc.

Alex Mbakogu(right) receiving the CEO award from Oscar Onyema, CEO, NSE on behalf of the MD/CEO C&I Leasing Plc.

Aderemi Saka, (right) CFO, Nascon Allied Industries Plc receiving the CEO award from Adenrele Adesina, commissioner for budget and planning,Ogun State on behalf of the CEO.

Olusegun Ajala, head marketing, Nascon receiving the CEO award from Adenrele Adesina, commissioner for budget and planning,Ogun State on behalf of the Ag GMD Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc .

Adenrele Adesina, commissioner for budget and planning. Ogun State presenting the CEO award to Uzoma Dozie, the GMD/ CEO , Diamond Bank Plc.

Adenrele Adesina, commissioner for budget and planning,Ogun State presenting the CEO award to Ade Ayeyemi, group CEO of Ecobank Transnational Incorporated Plc.

Adenrele Adesina, commissioner for budget and planning,Ogun State presenting the CEO award to Mahmud Tukur , MD/CEO, Eterna Plc

Haruna Jalo-Waziri,( left ) MD/CEO CSCS, presenting the CEO award to Urum Kalu Eke, GMD/CEO FBN Holdings Plc.

Obaro Odegbe, general manager, Fidelity Bank Plc, receiving the award on behalf of Nnamdi Okonkwo, the MD/CEO of the bank from Haruna Jalo-Waziri,( left ) MD/CEO CSCS.

Imokha Ayebae, corporate finance manager, Fidson Healthcare Plc receiving the CEO award from Haruna Jalo-Waziri,( left ) MD/CEO CSCS, on behalf Fidelis Ayebae the CEO of the company.

Haruna Jalo-Waziri,( left ) MD/CEO CSCS, presenting the CEO award to Joseph Umolu, company secretary representing Paul Gbededo, the GMD/CEO of Flour Mills Nigeria Plc

Tolulope Onipade of GTB receiving the CEO award from Haruna Jalo-Waziri,( left ) MD/CEO CSCS, on behalf of Segun Agbaje, the GMD/CEO of the bank.

Kennedy Uzoka, GMD/CEO, UBA Plc, receiving the CEO award from Anthony Osae-Brown . Pictures Okeosisi and Olawale Amoo

BUSINESS DAY

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BUSINESS DAY

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Monday 30 April 2018

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This is M NEY A daily guide to your Personal Finance

BUSINESS DAY

• Savings • Travel • Debt & Borrowing • Utilities • Managing your Tax

How to avoid greedy scammers when investing Kenneth

cammers are everywhere. They’re definitely closer than you think. Wherever there’s money you will find lurking around those who want you to part with it. This is rampant especially in places where there’s lots of poverty. People become desperate to the point of making false claims and pretenses just to fleece others. Now even though scammers abound, the question remains how prepared are you to avoid falling prey to them? Are you aware of how they operate? Do you certainly have what it takes to spot a scam? Your ability to answer yes to these questions is definitely beneficial. It’s most likely going to make a difference between being rich or poor. Investing is practically the only way to making serious wealth. And there are good and bad investments both competing for your attention and money. My aim is basically to provide you with some guidelines/checklists made up of things to look out for. Spotting these red flags should put you off from investing. You must always be one step ahead of scammers at all times. Now you’ve got some money and you want to invest it. You want it to grow and make even more money. Look out for scammers if you spot any of the signs below: High returns on investment This is probably the most likely red flag you should spot whenever you’re considering investing. It’s commonplace to see scammers promise a huge return on your investment. It should send alarm signals when someone promises that they can easily double your money. Have you ever wondered why someone who can easily double your money needs money from other sources? He/she should easily be able to double theirs and make everything themselves. High returns are clearly unrealistic and unsustainable. Scammers tout fast returns in the shortest time frame Hollywood is probably the only place where one

can sleep a pauper and become a millionaire overnight. There’s no such thing as fast money, except you win the lottery. And winning the lottery is usually not a proper wealth creation strategy. `Therefore be wary when someone presents you with a get rich quick opportunity to make millions. These opportunities are scams in disguise most of the time. This is because they really don’t need other investors if they can make money fast. The promise of wealth without work Mahatma Gandhi, leader of India’s independence movement, is credited with coming up with the “7 Deadly Sins of society.” The very first of which is, “wealth without work”. Many people seek for opportunities to make money without lifting a finger. Hence they end up a victim of scammers. True wealth and riches are the products of creating value and solving problems. Wealthy people work

to get wealth. Anyone asking you to bring money to receive massive returns in the shortest time is probably a scammer. Lack of clarity regarding the investment A sure recipe for disaster is to invest in anything that’s unclear or you don’t understand. How the investment makes money is usually the first thing you need to know. Anyone trying to convince you to invest must divulge all relevant information so you can effectively decide. Please do not invest in

anything you don’t understand. This is because you’re not likely to understand if you lose money either. Furthermore please ensure to consult people more knowledgeable before you invest. Venture lacks regulation Another detail to look out for before you invest is the presence of regulation. Is the business registered? And do they have a verified local business address? Who are those behind the opportunity? All these and many more

Scammers don’t like to leave traces. They definitely wouldn’t like to leave a paper trail, or a document like some form of written contract

questions must have answers before you invest. Any business devoid of regulation can easily fold up and quietly disappear after scamming people of their funds. Make sure to take time to pay an unscheduled visit to their office to see things for yourself. Poor ratings and reviews One way to know if an investment is good is to read what others are saying about it. The internet has made it very easy. Just search for reviews on any business opportunity. People who have been victims of scammers usually don’t keep quiet. They share their experiences online. Thus it makes sense to research extensively before you invest. This is so easy to do online. Just ask google. For instance the MMM Global scam caused 3 million Nigerians to lose 18 Billion Naira. Google searches would have shown that it was a scam . Perhaps Nigerians were just plain greedy. Lack of a specified product/service offering Another red flag any willing investor should look out for is the value the business opportunity is offering customers. Most people would rather focus on the returns without remembering that it’s the value potential that is paramount. No value equals no revenue. Scammers play on the fact that everyone wants to make money quickly. Let me quickly emphasize again that there’s nothing like getting rich quick. Don’t part with your hard earned money if what is being offered is unclear or doesn’t seem like what can generate good returns .Investment fails to receive expert endorsement Investing thrives on knowledge. It’s mostly the art of using financial information to your advantage. And there are thousands of investment advisers out there. Consult the best experts you can find before taking the plunge into any opportunity. In addition do not fail to take heed to their advice. It will surely save you from unnecessary losses. Experts must advise you on the viability and sustainability of the opportu-

nity. Pressure to invest in a hurry Be especially wary if you’re under pressure to invest quickly. Potential scammers sometimes want you to “invest before it’s too late”. Or they might tout, “this offer is for a limited time only”. Don’t be swayed by mere rhetoric. Investment experts usually posit that you must do your due diligence before you invest. And due diligence takes time. It’s probably for the best if you pass up on investments that want you to invest in a hurry. A good investment will attract interest without making people rush to invest. Absence of a written contract Scammers don’t like to leave traces. They definitely wouldn’t like to leave a paper trail, or a document like some form of written contract. They know that contracts can be vetted and terms checked. Their preference is to confuse you into releasing funds without doing the proper due diligence. Written contracts are usually full of details. For instance the details of the company, promoters, terms of contract, dispute resolution etc. It’s imperative that you insist on a written contract with favorable clauses before you invest. Please do not invest substantial sums without it. In conclusion financialmentor.com published an excellent article detailing 16 types of investment securities fraud you should avoid. You can never be too careful before investing. In fact, there are so many scams out there masquerading as legitimate investment opportunities. Furthermore, it pays to be guided by the timeless truth that, “if it’s too good to be true it probably is”.Don’t let your greed for quick and fast returns control you. Investing should be more logical than emotional. and not vice versa. Don’t forget to consult widely before you invest. Following this checklist of 10 things to look out for will substantially improve your chances of not getting scammed now or in the future.

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Live @ The Stock Exchange Domestic transactions at NSE reach new highs …increase to N497.15billion in first-quarter …as cumulative transactions at nation’s bourse increase by 48.29% to N878.97bn Stories by Iheanyi Nwachukwu

he cumulative transactions at the nation’s bourse from January to March 2018 increased by 48.29percent to N878.97 billion as against N454.48 billion recorded in corresponding period of 2017. Trading figures from major custodians and market operators on their Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) flows show foreign transactions reached a high of N381.82billion as against N211.06billion in the corresponding period of 2017. Foreign inflow stood at N206.35billion while outflow was N175.47billion. Domestic transactions increased to N497.15billion in the first three months of 2018, from N243.42billion

in the corresponding period of 2017. The FPI outflow includes sales transactions or liquidation of portfolio investments through the stock market, whilst the FPI inflow includes purchase transactions on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (equities only). Domestic investors who accounted for 56.56percent of total transaction from January to March outshined foreign investors who accounted for 43.44percent. Total transactions at the nation’s bourse increased by 28.50percent from N212.05 billion recorded in February 2018 to N272.48 billion (about $0.89 billion) in March 2018. Domestic investors outperformed foreign investors by 2.96percent in March 2018. Total domestic transactions increased by 8.88percent, from N128.83 billion in February to

N140.27 billion in March 2018. Foreign transactions increased more significantly by 58.87percent, from N83.22 billion to N132.21 billion within the same period. The institutional composition of the domestic market increased by 19.97percent, from N76.08billion recorded in February to N91.27 billion in March 2018. However, the retail composition decreased by 7.11percent from N52.75 billion to N49.00 billion within the same period. This indicates a higher participation by institutional investors over their retail counterparts There was a 55.29percent increase in foreign inflows from N44.89 billion in February 2018 to N69.71 billion in March 2018. Foreign outflows also increased by 63.06percent from N38.33 billion to N62.50 billion within the same period.

Consolidated Hallmark grows full year profit by 108% Modestus Anaesoronye

nderwriting firm, Consolidated Hallmark Insurance (CHI Plc) has reported a 108 percent leap in its profit for the financial year ended 31st December, 2017. In its results, which were submitted within the regulatory timelines and recently approved by all regulators, including the Capital Market, the company posted a profit after tax of N406.21 when compared with the N194.99 million of the 2016 Financial Year. Also, profit before tax grew by 74 percent from N368.13 million in 2016 to N641.05 million in 2017.

Further details of the results made available to shareholders of the company show appreciable progress in investment activities as well. Income from this arena grew from N472.3 million to N796.2 million in 2017. Meanwhile the Total Assets of the company have risen by 27 percent from the N7.44 billion of 2016 to N9.49 billion. Revenue reported for the period through Gross Premium Written was N5.680 billion, while a Net Underwriting Income ofN4.05 billion was recorded. The company continues to fulfil its obligations through prompt claims settlement as gross amount paid out in this regard during the year

under review was N3.35 billion. The positive result is an affirmation of the recent assurance by the Managing Director of the company, Eddie Efekoha to shareholders that they should expect more returns in the nearest future from Consolidated Hallmark Insurance even as recent capacity expansion and growth initiatives will help to grow revenue. Plans are already afoot to hold the Annual General Meeting, where in line with its policy of rewarding shareholders for their steadfastness, dividend payment will be proposedto shareholdersfor approval. CHI Plc has paid dividends seven times in the last ten years.

FCMB assures shareholders of enhanced performance

CMB Group Plc has assured its shareholders that it is on a stronger pedestal and will continue to provide superior performance that would add significant value to stakeholders in a sustainable manner. The assurance was given at the 5th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of FCMB Group Plc, a holding company comprising eight entities, namely First City Monument Bank Lim-

ited, FCMB Capital Markets, CSL Stockbrokers Limited, CSL Trustees Limited, Legacy Pension Managers Limited, FCMB (UK) Limited, First City Asset Management Limited and Credit Direct Limited, held on Friday, April 27, 2018 in Lagos. The financial institution added that its subsidiaries are well positioned to deliver more cutting-edge solutions that would provide the best customer experi-

ence in their respective target markets. Going by its audited accounts for the year ended December 31, 2017, FCMB Group Plc recorded a gross revenue of N169.9 billion and a profit before tax (PBT) of N11.5billion, while profit after tax (PAT) was N9.4billion. In addition, deposits grew to N689.9billion as at the end of December 2017, an increase of 5percent, from N657.6billion in the previous year.

Monday 30 April 2018

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BUSINESS DAY

Stocks

Currencies

Commodities

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Rates + Bonds

Economics

Nigeria records highest remittances to Africa with N7.9trn- World Bank

Funds

Week Ahead

Watchlist

Monday 30 April 2018

P.E

Beer War in key ratio, who takes the driver seat?

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ECONOMY

14 insurance firms’ claims up 23.15 percent to N85.84 billion in 2017 BALA AUGIE

he total amount of insured losses recorded by 14 largest insurance firms in Africa’s most populous nation has hit N85.14 billion in 2017, up 23.15 percent from December 2016, according to data compiled by BusinessDay. Claims expenses have been rising in the last two years as policies are increasingly fallen due, while a devaluation of the currency ballooned reserves that are in local currencies. According to the 2017 audited financial statement of these firms, average claims ratio or otherwise known as loss ratio increased 43.14 percent in December 2017 from 40.35 percent the previous year.

SHORT TAKES N3.18billion Sterling Bank Plc posts Q1 ended March 2018 group profit before taxation of N3.18 billion versus N2.03 billion year ago and Q1 group net interest income of N12.39 billion versus N13.51 billion year ago

41,244.89 points

This means for every N100 of premium earned in a given accounting period, N0.43 is paid back in the form of benefits (claims). The loss ratio is the ratio of losses to gains such as the ratio of paid insurance claims, including adjustment expenses, to premiums earned. “A lot of policies are maturing and insurers are mandated to honour such obligations,” said an actuarial scientist in one of the big insurance firms who doesn’t want his name mentioned. Some analysts attribute rising claims to

flooding in some parts of Lagos and increased incidence of fire. Peter Irene, interim Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, of International Energy Insurance Company Plc, said that there are claims that were in dollars in the reserves before the devaluation and when converted after the Naira weakened, claims spiked. “When there is a recession, people who don’t have claims will be looking for how to make money out of it,” said Irene. Drilling down the financial statement of these firms show AIICO Insurance’s claims expenses increased by 59.12 percent to N20.77 billion in the period under review from N13.06 billion

the previous year. FBN Insurance Limited’s claims expenses grew by 84.16 percent to N4.30 billion in December 2017 from N2.33 billion the previous year. Lasco Insurance’s claims expenses surged by 215 percent to N1.96 billion in December 2017 from N622.70 million in December 2016. AXA Mansard Insurance’s claims expenses increased by 40.25 percent to N9.53 billion in the period under review as against N6.81 billion the previous year. Experts are upbeat that the industry will benefit from the gradual economic recovery as more firms are expected to take up insurance. The gross domestic product of Africa’s largest oil pro-

ducer expanded for three straight quarters last year after a 1.6 percent contraction in 2016, with year-onyear growth reaching 1.9 percent in the final three months of 2017. An increase in crude prices and the introduction of a new foreign-exchange system that ended a crippling shortage of dollars helped attract more investment flows into the country, while improving liquidity for business. While high claims signals improved customer service, the industry’s contribution to the economy is abysmally poor. Nigeria’s insurance industry contributed less than one percent to a $430 billion economy.

The equity market closed the week on a positive note, as the Nigerian Stock Exchange All Share Index (NSE ASI) appreciated by 1.15 percent to close at 41,244.89 points, as at market close, Friday, 27 April 2018.

5 basis points Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTBs) rates decreased by an average of 5 basis points due to some sell-off, as compiled at the close of the week, Friday, 27 April 2018. A Bond price increased by an average of 30kobo from the day’s opening levels.

BusinessDay MARKETS INTELLIGENCE (Team lead: BALA AUGIE - Analyst: DIPO OLADEHINDE, ENDURANCE OKAFOR, BUNMI BAILEY Graphics: DAVID OGAR )

BMI provides in-depth analysis and data on industries, companies, stocks, currencies, fixed income/credit, economics, regulation and factors that influence investor’s decision-making Email the BMI team patrick.atuanya@businessdayonline.com

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BUSINESS DAY

Markets Intelligence ECONOMY

Nigeria records highest remittances to Africa with N7.9trn- World Bank ENDURANCE OKAFOR

igeria had the highest inflow remittances of N7.9trillion ($22.3 billion) in 2017 from its citizens living abroad (diaspora) compared to other African countries. The highest the country has remitted in more than two decades, as compiled by the World Bank’s Global Migration and Remittances Data. Last year’s remittance by Africa’s largest economy was up by 10.9 percent from $20.1 billion in 2016 to $22.3 billion in 2017. This excluded the volume of remittance that goes through informal channels which were mostly unaccounted for. Remittance to Nigeria came in as the fifth largest in the world and the largest when compared to its African peers, as Egypt remitted $18.1 billion, Senegal trailed at $2.3billion followed by Ghana with $2.1 billion, East Africa’s largest economy, Kenya got $1.8billion and South Africa remitted $765 million. This is following a period when the naira was very weak against the dollar, Euro and other foreign currencies, which resulted from low oil prices, lack of devaluation of the currency by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) lack of exchange rate policy and window. This could have led to the increase in the remittance, as Nigerians living abroad, knowing that a dollar was equivalent to as high as N480 as at the time would be encouraged to send in more money to the country. According to the World Bank’s remittances report, the funds remitted globally rebounded 3.8 percent or $22.14 billion in 2017 from $573.5 billion in 2016 to $595.6 billion in the year under review. Meanwhile, remittance inflows im-

proved in all regions of the world and the top remittance recipients were India with $69 billion, followed by China ($64 billion), the Philippines ($33 billion) Mexico ($31 billion), and Nigeria occupied the last spot on the top five countries. Remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) also accelerated 11.4 percent to $38 billion, supported by uptick in the global economy, especially in the high-income Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries with the stability in commodity prices providing further support.

However, the costs involved remained prohibitively high; in the first quarter of 2018, average global cost of sending $200 to SSA was 9.4 percent, far from the global average of 7.1 percent and the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal target of 3.0percent, as compiled from United Capital research, Lagos-base financial and investment services provider. The diaspora community could be a huge potential for domestic infrastructural development in Africa’s most populous nation, as this was explored in mid-2017 through the issuance of the first ever Federal Govern-

ment of Nigeria Diaspora bond which was oversubscribed by 130 percent. A further breakdown of the report shows that remittances to low- and middle-income countries rebounded to a record level in 2017 after two consecutive years of decline. The bank estimated that officially recorded remittances to low- and middleincome countries reached $466 billion in 2017, an increase of 8.5 percent over $429 billion in 2016. The World Bank projects global remittances to continue to increase in 2018, by 4.6 percent to $642 billion in 2018.

Beer War in key ratio, who takes the driver seat? DIPO OLADEHINDE

igeria Breweries (NB) might have taken early lead in the beer war for 2018 as the company recorded the most efficient rate in 2017 as the highest fixed assets turnover increased of 1.76 times in 2017 financial year. In 2017, Guinness Nigeria had an increase of 1.44 times while IB and Champion Breweries had 1 and 0.68 times respectively. The fixed-asset turnover ratio is, in general, used by analysts to measure operating performance, while a higher ratio means a firm is efficient, a ratio less than one per cent is considered abysmally poor, meaning that management should improve on its efficiency in managing company assets. Nigeria Breweries had an asset turnover of 0.9 times; International Breweries also had an asset turnover of 0.7times, while champion Breweries and Guinness Nigeria had an asset turnover of 0.46 and 0.86 times respectively. Asset turnover ratio measures the value of a company’s sales or revenues generated relative to the value of its assets. The Asset Turnover ratio can often be used as an indicator of the efficiency with which a company is deploying its assets in generating revenue. Furthermore, Nigeria Breweries had the highest average total asset of 374.6 times, followed by Guinness Nigeria which had an average asset of 141.5 times while International Breweries had an average asset of 39.2 times. Average Total Assets is defined as the average amount of assets recorded on a company’s balance sheet at the end of the current year and preceding year. This is a useful comparison, since a low asset level

in comparison to sales implies that the management team is making highly efficient use of its assets in running the business Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), the world’s largest beer maker fired the first shot in the triangular beer war between it and the other two beer giants (Nigerian Breweries and Guinness Nigeria), with the launch of its premium brand, Budweiser into the Nigerian market two weeks ago. “We believe NB’s negative volume growth in 2017 will move management to defend market share and given that AB Inbev’s upcoming capacity is a major threat to NB and Guinness Nigeria, we do not expect material price increases in 2018,” said Renaissance Capital’s consumer goods and retail analyst

Inbevs Trophy and Hero) could lead to pressure on margins. “We expect gross margins to decline by 180 basis points to 39.9% in FY18,” Ayeni said. The two major established brewers in Nigeria however seem not ready to be taken unawares and are already gearing up for the ‘beer war’. Jordi Borrut Bel, CEO of Nigeria Breweries (NB) said the company is used to competition as Nigeria has always been a very competitive market in the past with NB facing two strong competitors like Diageo and SAB and AB Inbev stepping into the market through SAB adds to that competitiveness. “In 2018 we expect the operating environment to remain challenging, although we remain confident that we have the right

Adedayo Ayeni in a recent report on the sector. “Management repeatedly identified the competitive risk from AB Inbev during the 2017 results conference call and while it appeared confident in its ability to protect market share (which we now estimate declined to 58% in 2017) its portfolio of mainstream and premium brands will still be dilutive to volume growth.” RenCap forecasts sub-inflationary beer price increases of 6.2 percent and 6.0 percent in full year 2018 and 2019, respectively for Nigerian Breweries, which together with growth of brands like 33 Export, Goldberg and Life lager (which are priced above AB

strategy, people, operations and brands to keep delivering value for our stakeholders and we are well placed to capture value when the economy recovers,” Borrut Bel said during the company’s conference call monitored by BusinessDay. The Nigerian Breweries CEO added, “If you look at our track record over the past years we have successfully engaged the competition and I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t be able to continue to do so in the future.” Nigeria is the second largest beer market in Africa and consumes some 16 million hectolitres of beer a year, about half as much as in South Africa, the continent’s biggest

beer market. The country’s per capita beer consumption is about 10 litres a year, compared to a global average of 35-40 litres, according to Morgan Stanley. An expanding Nigerian middle class and youthful population is helping drive beer demand, according to Euromonitor, which estimates the market was worth about N837 billion or $2.7 billion as at the end of 2016. A report published in December 2017 by BusinessDay Research Intelligence Unit (BRIU) titled “The Nigeria Brewery Industry Snapshot”, noted that the industry has revealed a somewhat zero-sum scenario in the last five years. According to BRIU analysis, NB shed 3 percentage points as its market share declined from 71.5 per cent in 2016 to 68.5 per cent in 2017, suggesting a waning position as the undisputed industry leader. Guinness Nigeria’s market share was 25 per cent in 2017 compared to 23.2 per cent in 2016, while that of AB InBev’s International Brewery stood at 6.5 per cent, up 1.2 percentage points increase relative to 2016. Performance in the brewery industry has mirrored occurrences in the macroeconomic space. The recession that hit the country in 2016 had a debilitating hit on the brewery industry as the ensuing liquidity crunch led to sharp drop in the disposable income of consumers who reduced patronage for their favourite beer brands, or shifted their tastes to more pocket-friendly substitutes. Following the exit of the country’s economy from recession in second quarter of 2017, brewers intensified their scramble for consumers’ loyalty and increased market visibility via strong marketing campaigns and expanded distribution outlets.

REAL SECTOR WATCH BUSINESS DAY

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Monday 30 April 2018

HQCF inclusion in confectioneries offers N3.5trn opportunity for processors ODINAKA ANUDU

nclusion of High Quality Cassava Flour (HQCF) into confectioneries offers N3.5 trillion opportunity for processors, farmers and other players in the value chain, experts say. This is because daily consumption of wheat-based confectioneries is estimated at N9.506 billion and an attempt to replace it with the more healthy cassava flour will yield N3.469 trillion each year for players in the value chain. “Nigerian population is 196 million. If 97 percent of the population is between the ages of 15-64 and 1-14, it implies that 190.12 million of the population eat any of bread, chin chin, wrapped sausage or noodles daily. Based on the assumption that a portion size is N50 on the average, the potential market per day in Nigeria is N9.506 billion,” said Folusho Olaniyan, programme director of Agra Innovate and CEO of Contact Consulting Nigeria Limited. The N9.506 billion daily potential will translate into N3.469 trillion each year, checks show. Olaniyan disclosed this at a stakeholders’ workshop en-

Gloria Elemo

titled, ‘HQCF in Confectioneries: Techniques, Prospects and Economic Viability’ organised by the Federal Institute of Industrial Research Oshodi (FIIRO) in collaboration with Cassava: Adding Value for Africa II (C:AVA II) in Lagos last Thursday. C:AVA is funded by Bill &Melinda Gates and is targeted at boosting value

addition in cassava and incomes of farmers. According to her, the use of cassava flour had the capacity to develop the economy and make farmers prosperous. “It is important we let people know that cassava has more health benefits than 100 percent wheat,” she stated.

Olaniyan said the next step was to develop an I-baking application that could be accessed on any android phone, adding that this would enable rural dwellers and key stakeholders to access the right information at the right time. She said implementation of the 10 percent cassava inclusion would be a welcome development as it would stimulate the use of cassava flour and enhance the health of the population. She pointed out that the worry of people concerning cassava flour was the use of different types; supply of partially fermented cassava flour resulting in poor product quality; presence of impurities such as sand, foul odour and shorter product shelf life, but added that these should rather be sources of encouragement Gloria Elemo, director-general of FIIRO, said cassava was answer to Nigeria’s food security and the country’s industrial evolution. Elemo, who is a scientist and professor, said Nigeria’s inability to utilise its God-given raw materials had cost it a lot in terms of development, foreign exchange earnings and industrial growth. She called for 10 to 20 percent cassava inclusion in confection-

eries, stating that Nigeria was no longer facing quality-related issues in cassava, given the level of research and technologies done by FIIRO. “It is my prayer that the legislation of cassava flour inclusion in wheat flour for bread and confectioneries will become a reality given the investment and commitments that has been made by all stakeholders,” Elemo said. She stated that researches over the years had confirmed that HQCF inclusion in wheat flour was safe and had F X, wealth, job and growth potential. Adebosola Oladeinde-Opeodu, deputy director, CAVA II, said: “When we started Phase II we realised we were limiting ourselves. As much as HQCF is important, there are other areas we could use cassava within Nigeria. In CAVA II, we also focus on cassava as starch, cassava as ethanol, cassava as animal or livestock or poultry feed. With that, we are telling Nigerians that there are many opportunities and areas where they can use flour. There are other areas where they can get income from cassava outside the traditional use of it for ‘fufu’ and ‘garri’. It is an opportunity to confectioneries to uptake over N9bn in this country.”

ABC, Kimberly-Clark seek partnership to expand Nigeria’s manufacturing capacity BUNMI BAILEY

he American Business Council (ABC) and Kimberly-Clark, makers of soft Huggies diapers and Kleenex tissues, are seeking partnership with the Nigerian government with a view to making the country a manufacturing hub. At a media parley organised by the ABC for the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods Group (FMCG), salient issues and challenges affecting the manufacturing sector were discussed. “There is an aspiration that we will become a manufacturing hub in West Africa. And one of the ways we are doing this is by working around partnerships and driving social economic reforms with these panthers,” Margret Olele , executive secretary, ABC, said at the media parley, which held in Lagos. Industry players in the FMCG industry said Nigeria was an attractive platform and destination for manufacturers, and if the chal-

lenges and bottlenecks were tackled, the country would become a major hub in West Africa. They pointed out the need to fix the power sector to reduce high energy costs incurred by local manufacturers.

Apart from power, the group called on the government to put up infrastructure such as good roads and railway system across the country to enable players in the real sector to move around their products.

The players also stressed the need to make the business environment attractive to investors and convivial for manufacturers. The FMCG contributes about 45 percent to the manufacturing sector. The FMCGs are mostly

L:R: Girish Sharma, chief operating officer, Dufil Prima Foods Plc; Oluwakemi Saliu, marketing manager, Kimberly Clark; Tayo Fagbamigbe, senior legal counsel, Kimberly Clark; Margaret Olele, chief executive officer/executive secretary, American Business Council; Okusanya Adebisi, HR manager, Kimberly Clark West, East & Central Africa; during a media parley with FMCG group in Lagos last Tuesday.

over-the counter products that are sold quickly. They include noodles, beverages, packaged foods and toiletries, among others. “Nigeria is very attractive to manufacturers around the world, but the challenges and the bottlenecks are affecting us, especially in terms of profit- making. The government has to do more to ease these challenges and the quicker they do that, the better for us,” said Oluwakemi Saliu, marketing manager, Kimberly-Clark. “That is why we need increased partnership with the government,” Saliu further said ABC is an affiliate of U.S chambers of commerce, working with the U.S mission and other partners to drive trade and investments opportunities between Nigeria and America in the interest of its member companies. “We have about 40 members running across different sub sectors in FMCG, structure, energy and critical sector investments and we have at least 30 percent of our members in the ICT space,” Olele said.

Monday 30 April 2018

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BUSINESS DAY

REAL SECTOR WATCH ‘We want to replicate cashew model on entire non-oil sector value chain’ Olusegun Awolowo is the executive secretary of Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC). He spoke with Harrison Edeh on plans to improve Nigeria’s non-oil exports with a 30- year Zero Oil Plan and diversify the economy. What are your immediate plans to grow the non-oil sector and diversify the economy? he Immediate step is to align ourselves properly to the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of the federal government. The Zero Oil Plan is also mentioned there and we are at the stage of implementation now. My strategy has always been: Policy, Legislation and Implementation. Having done with the policy, which is the strategy, you get the buy-in of stakeholders and look at where you need backup of legislation and push it on from there. This period, also, we would be looking at the National Assembly, to really modernise the NEPC Act, to bring it up-to-date. Also, we shall be working more closely with the state governors because most of the work is going to be done in the states. So, we are talking and working more closely with the state governors on the Zero Oil Plan. The vice president’s committee on the Zero Oil Plan is also working more closely and guiding us in these plans.

Do you have collaborations

with other key agencies such as Nigeria Customs Service? The non-oil export committee has all the key relevant committees in it, comprising the Nigeria Customs Service, the Nigeria Office for Trade Negotiations, the Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission, the Ministry of Solid Minerals, and the Ministry of Agriculture. We are working very closely with these agencies and there is already appreciable progress in this regard. I say it all the time that the Nigerian economy is already diversified, and in fact, it is already diversified up to 80 percent. But the problem is that we are not earning foreign exchange from it yet. Our foreign exchange is still largely from export of crude oil. Let me tell you the success story we have on cashew. We took cashew four years ago from 130, 000 metric tonnes (MT) to over 200, 000 MT. In that way, we worked on a two-legged approach: Plant the cashew and also go into processing. We have raised production, earned more foreign exchange, had backward integration and employed more people in the value chain. This is the way to go and we are working hard to replicate the cashew model on all sectors of the non-oil

Olusegun Awolowo

sector value chain. You may recall that the vice president recently commissioned a cashew processing factory in Ilorin. The idea now is to replicate the cashew success story in the products we have chosen under the Zero Oil Plan. More so, another strategy that is becoming a success story just like we had in the cashew industry is on petrochemicals. When we say zero oil, it does not mean we are not looking at oil. We are looking at processing that oil, hence we are looking at building more refineries to facilitate exportation of the

oil we have so that we also harvest values and benefits from the export of petrochemical products. That is what Aliko Dangote is doing currently in Lagos, building that refinery and taking advantage of the oil. The target is to add more value in the Nigeria’s oil sector while also harvesting the benefits therein. Are you going to roll out incentives for export of commodities that have added values? That is the whole essence of what we are working on in respect of the Zero Oil Plan.

People are already taking advantage of the Zero Oil Plan. You just have to visit so many of our departmental stores now and I tell you, it is a flood of Nigerian goods. People are trying; the packaging is improving. That is the way forward. For a long time, we only operated the Export Expansion Grant (EEG) and that is expanding now, as we have the Export Development Fund now that the government is supporting us with. There are also baskets of incentives being worked on, where we are looking at incentives regarding each product. We are looking at such incentives to give to manufacturers and industrialists to grow their businesses and production. In your own assessment, how soon will the Zero Oil Plan begin to make appreciable impact on the economy? Different products have different timelines. For instance, you look at cocoa and you could say boldly within the next four years that this is where we could be. This is the same as sesame. If you look at Ivory Coast, for instance, their major source of export is cocoa. In that country, cocoa is their own oil. We encourage farm-

ers in the cocoa belt to grow it with the right seedlings. Also in the sesame, cashew and cotton belts, we are assisting them with the right kind of seedlings. This is what the National Committee on Export Promotion is working on. We are looking at the alternatives to the oil as the main base of our economy, as most developed countries are already finding alternatives to it. So, we need to develop other sources of market from non-oil to generate revenue. It appears foreigners are dominating our export markets? Let me tell you, there are several industries in Nigeria, although operated by expatriates but are fully indigenous. Also, we are encouraging investors to come in. The investment we want in Nigeria now is investment that targets manufacturing and Industry. These are kinds of investments that drive economic growth and that is what we are targeting. The Nigeria Office for Trade Negotiations is looking at how possibly we could benefit from our trade agreements and explore more advantages of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) of the United States of America to export more commodities.

SON pushes harder to rid Nigeria of substandard lubricants, cables ….raids markets, warehouses in Lagos ODINAKA ANUDU

he Standards Organisation of Nigeria (S ON ) has embarked on a nationwide mop-up of substandard lubricants, cables, textiles and other products, describing the move as part of its mission to safeguard the country and increase the capacity utilisation of local factories. The SON raided markets in Oshodi, Idumota, Alaba international market and Abule Osun with a view to eliminating harmful, uncertified and substandard products from Nigeria. “This raid is targeted at anywhere suspected substandard product is seen and that is why we embarked on the raiding of warehouses

and markets of where substandard lubricants are sold to consumers in this country. We are looking at cables and textile materials. We want to make this country a place where indigenous manufacturers can come and produce. We want Nigerian factories to have more capacity utilisation,” said Osita Aboloma, directorgeneral of SON, who was represented by Bede Obayi, director of monitoring and compliance, SON. At an enforcement exercise to raid different markets and warehouses in Lagos in search of adulterated and uncertified lubricants, Aboloma said the agency had been reinvigorated thanks to its new SON Act 2015 to remove all non-complying products from the nation’s market. “We do not want these

Osita Aboloma

unscrupulous importers to flood this country with substandard products. We want the capacity utilisation of Nigerian companies to improve so as to employ the teeming unemployed Nigerian youths

and it can only be so when these substandard products are removed from the nation’s market. This is why we have stopped at nothing in getting everything that is suspected to be substandard

out of the markets.” ‘’This is just the starting point and we have not gotten to where we want to be. This is a fight that we are not going to stop until we finish removing most of the substandard products in circulation. It is the mandate of the organisation to ensure that Nigerians enjoy safe and non-hazardous products whenever they buy products. Today, you have seen that made-inNigeria products, especially cables, have become the order of the day where these importers go abroad to buy imported products and clone them as if they are made in this country and this is what we cannot allow to continue to happen in this country,” he said. He said the nefarious act discouraged genuine businessmen to invest in the

country, stressing that it also posed danger to Nigeria’s economy while also increasing the unemployment level. “Once we remove these substandard products, the Nigerian products would take over and that is when we will be talking of made-in-Nigeria products for the world. We want Nigerians to enjoy made-in-Nigeria products so that once they see madein-Nigeria products, they will be proud of it and we do not want other countries to dump substandard products on us and that is the essence of this raid,” he stated. He said SON had done so much in the cable industry to ensure that made-in-Nigeria cables were the best all over the world, adding that dealers who specialised in cloning established brands would be prosecuted.

BUSINESS DAY

Monday 30 April 2018

Live @ the Stock exchange Prices for Securities Traded as of Friday 27 April 2018 Company

Market cap(nm)

Price (N)

Change

Trades

Volume

Company

Market cap(nm)

Price (N)

Change

Trades

Volume

PRICES FOR MAIN BOARD SECURITIES (Equities) BANKING ACCESS BANK PLC. 328,332.48 11.35 -0.44 107 2,414,608 396,713.29 11.60 2.20 216 26,597,934 UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC ZENITH INTERNATIONAL BANK PLC 860,263.93 27.40 -0.18 297 32,175,056 620 61,187,598 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FBN HOLDINGS PLC 446,896.40 12.45 5.96 422 36,077,163 422 36,077,163 1,042 97,264,761 BUILDING MATERIALS DANGOTE CEMENT PLC 4,174,924.31 245.00 - 42 75,984 364,283.99 42.00 - 45 110,303 LAFARGE AFRICA PLC. 87 186,287 87 186,287 EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LTD 450,160.09 765.00 - 7 2,720 7 2,720 7 2,720 1,136 97,453,768 CROP PRODUCTION FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC 440.00 0.20 - 4 5,120 OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. 73,594.16 77.15 - 25 86,642 PRESCO PLC 69,300.00 69.30 - 5 18,572 34 110,334 FISHING/HUNTING/TRAPPING ELLAH LAKES PLC. 511.20 4.26 - 1 100 1 100 LIVESTOCK/ANIMAL SPECIALTIES LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. 2,310.00 0.77 -1.28 15 416,400 15 416,400 50 526,834 DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIES A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. 1,456.01 0.55 - 0 0 JOHN HOLT PLC. 214.03 0.55 -3.51 4 189,280 2,111.93 3.25 - 3 112 S C O A NIG. PLC. TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC 69,101.58 1.70 -0.58 72 2,414,435 U A C N PLC. 49,558.30 17.20 1.78 35 335,900 114 2,939,727 114 2,939,727 BUILDING CONSTRUCTION ARBICO PLC. 711.32 4.79 - 1 100 1 100 INFRASTRUCTURE/HEAVY CONSTRUCTION JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. 35,508.00 26.90 4.87 13 230,525 165.00 6.60 - 0 0 ROADS NIG PLC. 13 230,525 REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CO. LIMITED 6,392.05 2.46 - 21 244,520 21 244,520 REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS (REITS) SKYE SHELTER FUND PLC 2,000.00 100.00 - 2 125 11,300.89 45.20 - 0 0 UNION HOMES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST (REIT) UPDC REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST 26,682.70 10.00 - 0 0 2 125 37 475,270 AUTOMOBILES/AUTO PARTS DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC 1,574.98 0.33 - 0 0 0 0 BEVERAGES--BREWERS/DISTILLERS CHAMPION BREW. PLC. 18,634.20 2.38 - 6 7,534 GOLDEN GUINEA BREW. PLC. 242.22 0.89 - 1 500 GUINNESS NIG PLC 225,609.43 103.00 - 31 19,817 INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. 445,265.65 51.80 10.21 15 220,217 NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. 1,039,597.27 130.00 2.36 175 1,832,635 228 2,080,703 FOOD PRODUCTS DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC 70,000.00 14.00 - 78 1,099,839 DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC 256,800.00 21.40 1.18 51 9,912,793 FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. 144,333.36 35.20 - 58 240,803 HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC 21,649.44 2.73 -1.44 23 461,369 MULTI-TREX INTEGRATED FOODS PLC 1,489.00 0.40 - 0 0 N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. 1,220.67 6.85 - 0 0 NASCON ALLIED INDUSTRIES PLC 53,651.13 20.25 - 15 43,194 UNION DICON SALT PLC. 3,676.41 13.45 - 0 0 225 11,757,998 FOOD PRODUCTS--DIVERSIFIED CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. 25,919.19 13.80 -4.83 18 155,687 NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. 1,280,139.85 1,615.00 2.98 70 109,225 88 264,912 HOUSEHOLD DURABLES NIGERIAN ENAMELWARE PLC. 1,680.31 22.10 - 0 0 VITAFOAM NIG PLC. 3,231.35 3.10 - 14 172,856 14 172,856 PERSONAL/HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. 89,335.73 22.50 - 37 317,867 UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. 315,400.80 54.90 - 29 158,803 66 476,670 621 14,753,139 BANKING DIAMOND BANK PLC 46,783.99 2.02 3.59 45 2,372,451 ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED 368,825.98 20.10 1.77 41 771,680 FIDELITY BANK PLC 73,016.49 2.52 1.61 124 10,873,379 GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. 1,305,272.80 44.35 1.37 126 2,003,060 JAIZ BANK PLC 20,919.62 0.71 2.90 63 6,338,247 SKYE BANK PLC 11,243.04 0.81 3.85 158 15,627,062 STERLING BANK PLC. 46,064.67 1.60 1.27 27 960,469 UNION BANK NIG.PLC. 182,004.70 6.25 - 38 217,674 UNITY BANK PLC 11,689.34 1.00 -4.76 46 3,029,814 WEMA BANK PLC. 32,402.55 0.84 -4.55 66 5,311,812 734 47,505,648 INSURANCE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES AFRICAN ALLIANCE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC 4,528.70 0.22 - 0 0 AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 4,851.14 0.70 -4.11 36 1,373,907 AXAMANSARD INSURANCE PLC 24,675.00 2.35 - 7 171,905 CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE PLC 2,240.00 0.32 6.67 13 674,900 CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC 15,766.57 1.52 4.83 12 358,649 CORNERSTONE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC. 5,155.33 0.35 - 3 1,220 EQUITY ASSURANCE PLC. 4,060.00 0.29 - 0 0 GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC 2,411.47 0.53 - 0 0 GREAT NIGERIAN INSURANCE PLC 1,913.74 0.50 - 0 0 GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. 2,456.00 0.40 - 4 7,100 INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE COMPANY PLC 590.68 0.46 - 1 100 LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. 2,709.67 0.37 - 11 2,433,508 LAW UNION AND ROCK INS. PLC. 3,351.14 0.78 - 2 2,000 LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC 6,800.00 0.85 3.66 6 1,988,000 MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. 1,920.00 0.24 -4.00 12 112,966,672 N.E.M INSURANCE CO (NIG) PLC. 15,049.43 2.85 - 17 296,554 NIGER INSURANCE CO. PLC. 2,321.84 0.30 - 4 27,850 PRESTIGE ASSURANCE CO. PLC. 1,946.88 0.51 - 7 334,742 REGENCY ALLIANCE INSURANCE COMPANY PLC 2,000.63 0.30 - 6 184,000 SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC 1,918.39 0.23 4.55 8 5,355,611 STANDARD ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC. 5,422.63 0.42 - 0 0 STANDARD TRUST ASSURANCE PLC 4,483.72 0.48 - 0 0 516.46 0.20 - 0 0 UNIC DIVERSIFIED HOLDINGS PLC. UNIVERSAL INSURANCE COMPANY PLC 8,000.00 0.50 - 0 0 VERITAS KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC 3,882.67 0.28 3.70 2 200,000 WAPIC INSURANCE PLC 7,628.16 0.57 - 40 1,343,254 191 127,719,972

MICRO-FINANCE BANKS FORTIS MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 11,799.67 2.58 - 0 0 NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 4,001.62 1.75 -4.89 19 564,608 19 564,608 MORTGAGE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES ABBEY MORTGAGE BANK PLC 5,460.00 1.30 - 2 300 7,370.87 0.50 - 0 0 ASO SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC INFINITY TRUST MORTGAGE BANK PLC 6,005.46 1.44 - 1 10,000 5,664.87 0.50 - 0 0 RESORT SAVINGS & LOANS PLC UNION HOMES SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC. 2,949.22 3.02 - 0 0 3 10,300 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AFRICA PRUDENTIAL PLC 8,400.00 4.20 - 27 434,591 31,409.15 5.34 - 15 61,320 CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED PLC 720.00 0.48 - 0 0 DEAP CAPITAL MANAGEMENT & TRUST PLC FCMB GROUP PLC. 48,912.70 2.47 -1.20 53 2,741,854 411.91 552.20 - 0 0 NIGERIA ENERYGY SECTOR FUND ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. 1,492.16 0.29 - 5 75,000 3,312.39 103.20 - 0 0 SIM CAPITAL ALLIANCE VALUE FUND STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC 497,448.55 49.50 1.23 14 1,487,974 UNITED CAPITAL PLC 20,040.00 3.34 1.21 67 1,840,134 181 6,640,873 1,128 182,441,401 HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS EKOCORP PLC. 1,680.29 3.37 - 0 0 1,705.51 0.48 -4.00 1 2,000,000 UNION DIAGNOSTIC & CLINICAL SERVICES PLC 1 2,000,000 MEDICAL SUPPLIES MORISON INDUSTRIES PLC. 544.04 0.55 - 0 0 0 0 PHARMACEUTICALS EVANS MEDICAL PLC. 366.17 0.50 - 0 0 8,190.00 5.46 - 11 354,124 FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. 28,701.04 24.00 - 24 71,071 MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. 2,646.00 2.70 - 27 1,388,084 1,346.68 0.78 - 3 11,500 NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC 556.71 3.62 - 0 0 NIGERIA-GERMAN CHEMICALS PLC. 487.85 2.25 - 4 2,000 PHARMA-DEKO PLC. 69 1,826,779 70 3,826,779 COMPUTER BASED SYSTEMS COURTEVILLE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS PLC 745.92 0.21 - 4 25,122 4 25,122 COMPUTERS AND PERIPHERALS OMATEK VENTURES PLC 1,470.89 0.50 - 0 0 0 0 IT SERVICES CWG PLC 6,413.06 2.54 - 1 1,000 NCR (NIGERIA) PLC. 680.40 6.30 - 2 270 435.56 0.88 - 0 0 TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. 3 1,270 PROCESSING SYSTEMS CHAMS PLC 2,160.19 0.46 - 2 2,100 E-TRANZACT INTERNATIONAL PLC 19,950.00 4.75 - 0 0 2 2,100 9 28,492 BUILDING MATERIALS BERGER PAINTS PLC 2,724.34 9.40 - 10 32,921 27,125.00 38.75 - 13 41,641 CAP PLC CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC 24,505.22 19.50 - 14 25,815 FIRST ALUMINIUM NIGERIA PLC 1,034.08 0.49 - 3 100,100 MEYER PLC. 361.24 0.68 - 0 0 PAINTS AND COATINGS MANUFACTURES PLC 467.82 0.59 - 1 5,000 PORTLAND PAINTS & PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC 1,626.50 2.05 - 1 900 PREMIER PAINTS PLC. 1,279.20 10.40 - 0 0 42 206,377 ELECTRONIC AND ELECTRICAL PRODUCTS AUSTIN LAZ & COMPANY PLC 2,256.91 2.09 - 0 0 CUTIX PLC. 2,474.66 2.81 - 5 55,688 5 55,688 PACKAGING/CONTAINERS BETA GLASS PLC. 37,747.89 75.50 - 7 28,522 GREIF NIGERIA PLC 388.02 9.10 - 5 1,770 12 30,292 59 292,357 CHEMICALS B.O.C. GASES PLC. 1,914.73 4.60 - 1 100 1 100 METALS ALUMINIUM EXTRUSION IND. PLC. 2,023.60 9.20 - 3 163 3 163 MINING SERVICES MULTIVERSE MINING AND EXPLORATION PLC 852.39 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 PAPER/FOREST PRODUCTS THOMAS WYATT NIG. PLC. 77.00 0.35 - 0 0 0 0 4 263 ENERGY EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC 3,131.35 0.50 4.17 56 6,918,811 56 6,918,811 INTEGRATED OIL AND GAS SERVICES OANDO PLC 113,747.42 9.15 0.55 301 6,303,881 301 6,303,881 PETROLEUM AND PETROLEUM PRODUCTS DISTRIBUTORS 11 PLC 62,887.81 174.40 2.59 26 26,699 CONOIL PLC 22,067.68 31.80 - 17 37,055 ETERNA PLC. 8,607.35 6.60 - 29 461,069 FORTE OIL PLC. 58,872.15 45.20 -4.94 78 739,259 MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. 7,200.58 28.35 - 13 17,155 TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. 75,577.56 222.60 - 18 6,214 181 1,287,451 538 14,510,143 ADVERTISING AFROMEDIA PLC 2,219.52 0.50 - 0 0 0 0 AIRLINES MEDVIEW AIRLINE PLC 20,866.39 2.14 - 1 1,000 1 1,000 AUTOMOBILE/AUTO PART RETAILERS R T BRISCOE PLC. 564.65 0.48 - 0 0 0 0 COURIER/FREIGHT/DELIVERY RED STAR EXPRESS PLC 3,242.23 5.50 - 8 61,947 TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. 403.21 0.86 - 1 100 9 62,047 HOSPITALITY TANTALIZERS PLC 1,188.30 0.37 - 0 0 0 0 HOTELS/LODGING CAPITAL HOTEL PLC 4,878.66 3.15 - 0 0 IKEJA HOTEL PLC 3,700.26 1.78 - 0 0 TOURIST COMPANY OF NIGERIA PLC. 7,862.53 3.50 - 0 0 TRANSCORP HOTELS PLC 56,623.01 7.45 - 0 0 0 0 MEDIA/ENTERTAINMENT DAAR COMMUNICATIONS PLC 5,760.00 0.48 - 0 0 0 0

Monday 30 April 2018

C002D5556

BUSINESS DAY

C002D5556

Monday 30 April 2018

Need for financial inclusion for women as gab widens …only 27% of Nigerian women have bank accounts in 2017 BUNMI BAILEY

here is need to bring in more Nigerian women into the financial circle as only 27 percent of women in the country have access to bank accounts, according to the World Bank’s Global Findex Database released in April 2018. According to the data, 51 percent of Nigerian males had bank accounts in 2017 compared to the 27 percent recorded for females. This shows a 24 percentage gap between the male and female This was however bigger than the 20 percentage points gap that was recorded in 2014 when the total male with account was at 54 percent with females was at 34 percent. Industry players in the financial industry attributed the gab to the poor education and lack of awareness of women in understanding financial services “The quality and access of edu-

cation to women is not encouraging. Basically, some sectors of the country, women do not have the same access as men and you need basic education today in Nigeria to think of having access to financial services,” Johnson Chukwu, Chief Executive Officer of Lagos-based financial advisory firm, Cowry Assets Management Limited, said. According to the report, the growth in account ownership since

2011 has not benefited all groups equally as Women still are less likely than men to have an account. Globally, 72 percent of men and 65 percent of women have account, a gender gap of 7 percentage points. “We have a masculine society where women do not engage in formal businesses and those who engage in informal businesses do not have the compelling need to have access to financial accounts.

So it is partly cultural and partly uneven access to education system which is manifesting in a lot of women not having access to financial services,” Chukwu added. The gender gap is similar in developing economies, with 67 percent of men but only 59 percent of women having an account. Similarly the poor access of education to women also reflects in the Global Gender Gap education index data in 2017, of the World Economic Forum (WEF). Nigeria slipped to 135th position scoring 0.813 out of 144 countries in 2017 from 134th where it scored 0.814 in 2016 (Score of 0.00 means unequal and 1.00 means equal) “ We have traditional drawbacks after many centuries that still plays today in our society telling women what we are only good for which is domestic activities and these drawbacks still makes it difficult for the girl child to be educated,” Edobong Akpabio, executive director, Living Green Farms and Garden Foundation said to BusinessDay in a phone

interview. Bankers in the sector said that the poor access of women to financial accounts makes most of the women miss out on the bank packages especially in the area of loans. “The banks are encouraging them to have bank accounts. For example in my bank, a woman can get a loan for 28 percent than a man that gets a loan for 30 percent that means you are getting 2 percent off,” Stephen Nejo, a banker at Sterling Bank said. Stakeholders in the financial sector are of the hope that more women will be educated which will help achieve the CBN target of 80 per cent financial inclusion for the adult population by 2020 “Women need to be given equal opportunities to access educational facilities like the men so that they will have the competence to access financial services like the men,” Chukwu said. Nejo also added that more awareness and enlightenment should be done especially for women.

World Bank’s IFC & Fidor partner to boost financial inclusion in Africa ENDURANCE OKAFOR

he Germany-based online bank, Fidor, an innovative provider of digital banking services, signs a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with IFC (International Finance Corporation), a member of the World Bank Group, to identify opportunities to expand digital banking services in Africa to boost financial inclusion. As part of the agreement, both IFC and Fidor will attempt to grow financial inclusion by identifying financial institutions and partners to introduce or expand digital bank joint ventures, as signed in Munich, 11th April 2018. Fidor will provide its own proprietary technology platform, the Fidor Operating System (fOS) which is for Application Programming Interface (API) bank-

ing to deliver financial services in a cost-efficient manner, in addition to share its knowledge in running a digital bank from the ground up. Meanwhile, Nigerian experts in the financial inclusion sector see the partnership as one of the catalysts to achieving the nation’s set target of including 80 percent of the Nigerian adults into the financial circle by 2020. This is following the slum in financial inclusion rate in Africa’s largest economy. Nigeria was reported to be lagging in the global trend of rising financial inclusion, as reported in the World Bank’s Global Findex Database. According to the report, Nigerian adults who are 25 years and above with bank accounts declined by 5 basis points from 49 percent in 2014 to 44 percent in 2017. This was not different with account holders over 15 years, as

their numbers fell 4 percentage points from 44 percent in 2014 to 40 percent in 2017. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) however, sees the set target of 20 percent financial exclusion rate in the country by 2020 to be ambitious but remains optimist towards achieving it. Although that deadline is less than 3 years away and the gap continues to widen. Meanwhile, between 2014 and 2017, the World Bank noted that there has been a significant increase in the use of mobile phones and the Internet to conduct financial transactions which contributed to a rise in the share of account owners sending or receiving payments digitally from 67 per cent to 76 per cent globally, while developing countries recorded 57 percent to 70 per cent. The mobile money initiative, which involves the collaboration

between the telcom companies and the financial service providers, is yet to be implemented in Nigeria, owing to better balance between the market and the regulatory structures that is required. According to the World Bank, mobile money drove financial inclusion in Sub-Saharan Africa, as only eight countries in Africa which included Burkina faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Kenya, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe recorded 20 percent or more adult using only a mobile money account. “Apart from encouraging the collaboration between the telecoms and banks, through mobile money to spur financial inclusion, there is need to reduce the cost of financial transactions, as mobile money is more expensive than core banking,” Wale Okunrinboye, a Lagos-based Investment Researcher said.

Experts therefor cites the need for innovation and technology in the financial sector, to help reduce cost of providing financial services and as such spur financial inclusion in the country. This perhaps must be why many commercial banks have been remodelling their operational strategies to deemphasize focus on increasing footprint via branch network expansion and steadily moving towards digitization and mobile solutions. With this MOU, Fidor will work with IFC to introduce similar innovations to both Africa and Latin America to help bridge the financial inclusion gap. This MOU leverages Fidor and IFC’s expertise, existing portfolio of investments, franchise, industry relationships, co-investors, and other relevant stakeholder relationships in the emerging markets.

BUSINESS DAY

Monday 30 April 2018

Start-Up Digest

In association with

How Dayo Tinkerman raises new generation of digital marketers registration and to get a decent laptop. And so far since April 24, 2016 when he started, his firm has been able to diversify and create new services, attracting more clients and building sustained presence. “There are a couple of contributory factors to business failures, some of which are inadequate funding, high cost of production and maintenance of facilities. However, I am of the view that most start-ups fail due to inadequate knowledge and skills to keep the business running,” Dayo said in a mail interview with StartUp Digest. “As a start-up, there has to be constant improvement in terms of seeking innovations and platforms that would enable a smoother and cheaper business process. Furthermore, the general understanding and acceptance of the need for solid branding and strategy among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is still a bit low.

BUNMI BAILEY

ayo Tinkerman is the CEO of Brandiegroup, a brand strategy and digital marketing outfit based in Lagos. He is a lawyer with keen interest in copyright law. He studied in Harvard Law School. He started as a graphic artist, having acquired the training prior his legal studies. Dayo did graphics as a pastime while he was in the University of Lagos. His inspiration to start Brandie came after a couple of internships with advert and brand agencies. It was his exposure to brand strategy and digital marketing during his time at Identita Nigeria that led him to set up this business. Today, he trains young entrepreneurs on branding, digital marketing and business development. He started his business with N100, 000, which was for business

Dayo Tinkerman

Registration, enforceability of contract major challenges facing entrepreneurs ANTHONIA OBOKOH

egistration and enforceability of contract are critical challenges faced by Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria, said DIYlaw. DIYlaw is a company that uses technology to create access to legal services in Nigeria and Africa as a whole. The start-up is currently in its public beta stage and allows users to purchase registration packages online. “In Nigeria, the processes for performing many business re-

lated registration are shrouded in mysteries and complexities,” said Odunoluwa Longe, co- founder, DIYlaw. Speaking at the DIYLaw flagoff of Market Circuit, a CSR initiative aimed at providing free legal consultation for market traders held at Alade Market in Lagos recently, Longe said “A lot of SMEs in Nigeria are facing challenges with sustainable development occasioned by several factors, prominent of which is registration and enforceability of contract.” “Nigerians need legal structure for their businesses and even when these structures are

L-R: Damilola Ani, managing partner, The Different Practice; Odunoluwa Longe, co-founder, DIYlaw; T.O. Idowu, secretary, Alade Market Traders Association and Ngozi Oladipo, admin/growth rep., DIYLaw, at the flag-off of Market Circuit, a CSR Initiative of DIYLaw at Alade Market in Lagos recently.

Stakeholders task policy makers on practical measures for MSMEs funding HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE, SEYI JOHN SALAU

...as DIYlaw flags off market circuit there, it will help an individual to have seamless business registration process, increas ed formalised business, ability to access to finance, conflict mitigation and also legally empowered and enlightened entrepreneurs, that is what we do in this platform.” “Access to legal service is a major problem. This forum is to impact the Nigerian entrepreneur using 360 degree approach. Ee can provide a one-stop hub for all thing legal,” said Bola Olonisakin, co- founder, DIYlaw. Onyema Seyi, legal practitioner and a consultant, said the platform would bring access to legal services for illiterates, noninternet users and low income earners. According to her, most Nigerians are scared of going to lawyers or even having issues that involves lawyers. “I see this initiative as an opportunity to inform, educate and let people know their right and it brings legal services to everyone’s door step.” Some of the services or products offered by DIYlaw.ng include DIY Registrations, and DIY Documents product lines active. DIY Registrations automates businessrelated registration processes for users through the completion of a questionnaire, while DIY Documents automates business and personal legal documents for users also by completing a questionnaire.

To solve this problem, I am having a brand master class for SMEs, to enable them compete effectively in the marketplace,” he said He said that government’s involvement in helping entrepreneurs in the country is not encouraging; pointing out that it should create platforms to encourage entrepreneurship in the country to reduce unemployment. “What the government can do is to create platforms where young people can access digital skills, especially in rural areas and further include basic digital skills in core curriculum in schools. Also, the government’s support for SMEs should go beyond access to funding to empowering the business owners with relevant business knowledge that would give them competitive advantage,” he said. He advised other young Nigerians and upcoming entrepreneurs to be bold and take risks to achieve what they want in life.

takeholders in the financial service sector of the economy have called on policy makers to come up with practical measures for funding the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sub-sector of the economy. The measures are to be demand driven considering the importance of the sub-sector to the economy and the number of people that play in that space. Funding SMEs, according to stakeholders, is a strategic way of deepening financial inclusion in Nigeria, bridging the existing huge financing gap to grow the economy. The stakeholders who converged in Lagos at the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) for a business forum on ‘Contemporary and Strategic Financing Options for the SME Sector’ opined that financial experts and policy makers should take up the challenge currently faced by the sector to design de-risking packages for MSMEs lending. Uche Olowu, first vice president, CIBN said it is clear that SMEs contribute greatly to economic growth and development, but pointed out that they are faced with the challenge of accessing fund for their business development.

“SMEs are the building blocks for any growing economy, as they generate employment opportunities with indigenous innovation and contribute to national income,” said Olowu. Dikko Radda, director-general, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) in his keynote address said non-access to funding by MSMEs constrains the sector from contributing meaningfully to national development and the GDP, and therefore urged the government to promote venture capitals in Nigeria to open up access to funding. Radda, who was represented by Wale Fasanya, a director in SMEDAN, opined that MSMEs must put structures in place for effective management. “We must unbundle the core structure of the MSMEs,” said Radda, as he calls for a more simplified process in MSMEs financing. Peter Bankole, director, Enterprise Development Centre (EDC), who moderated the panel discussion, said historically, MSMEs access business finance through personal savings from families and friends, cooperatives, hire purchase, banks, and other financial institutions. He however opined that emphasis must be placed on attainable financial models through adapting existing financial options to suit MSMEs.

BUSINESS DAY

C002D5556

Monday 30 April 2018

Start-Up Digest ‘Any business that is not online will soon go into extinction’ Tolu Craig is the founder and business lead at PTwebs, a digital solutions firm based in Lagos. Tolu has B.sc in Mathematics & Statistics from the University of Lagos. In an interview with BUNMI BAILEY, he shares his vision, experience and how he encourages young people like himself to embrace entrepreneurship.

Tell me about your business. e offer services ranging from website design, website hosting, website management, digital marketing, social media management, to corporate digital branding, training and consulting. PTwebs as a business started in February, 2015. However, before then, I had found myself as an enterprising and industrious person while growing up. I was always busy that I barely had time to catch fun like my other age mates. At a point on the university campus, some close students started calling me ‘Jackopreneur’ which I defined as ‘Jack of few trades, master of all’. And even as a student, I encouraged as many young minds as I could to embrace entrepreneurship. I remember leading a team of students then to several youth entrepreneurial empowerment programs. I see entrepreneurs as solution providers that pave the way. So, whether you are an employee or an employer, if you don’t have an entrepreneurial mind, you will soon be kicked out of business. What inspired you to go into this business? I saw that in the nearest future, every business that is not online will soon be out of fashion. So I saw an opportunity in the industry and decided to drop other businesses I was doing to focus on PTwebs. I have different sources of inspiration as a young entrepreneur in Nigeria. Firstly, at the age of 14, I heard my pastor and mentor (Bishop David Oyedepo) make some statements that sank into my head. “We are not backward in Africa because we are blacks; we are backward because our mind-sets are backward.” Really, I was almost becoming a victim so I decided to liberate myself by reading books, attending seminars, connecting to mentors, and I made up my mind not to build friendship with anyone who has no sense of purpose. Secondly, I discovered that every country has ‘the poor’ and ‘the rich’, so against the norm amongst young people, I told myself that I didn’t need to travel out of Nigeria to make

Tolu Craig

it— that I will make it here. If foreigners are travelling into our country to do business, it means that they are seeing what the Nigerians who are travelling out are not seeing. A lizard in Nigeria will not become an alligator in America. I made up my mind to stay here and be part of the transformation that my country needs. Thirdly, I discovered that successful people today that we envy are people who were able to see opportunities in problems that other people complained about. So instead of complaining, I developed the attitude of first telling myself that ‘there must be a solution’. And this alone has turned me into a young man that does a lot of thinking on how things can be better than they are presently. Indeed, we are in the thinkers’ world. Why do you think most startups fail after five years of being birthed? It is discovered that 90 percent of every business fails in the first five years of establishment and I have discovered that the reasons for the failure hangs on two legs, which can either be the business itself or

on the founder(s). It is important for market research to be done before investing so much into any business. Sometimes people run out of cash. Just as blood is to the body, so is cash to every business. Cashflow keeps every business robust. Sometimes, it is not having the right team of people to work with. People are also kicked out because of competition. You must be innovative enough to stay relevant in the market. There are also issues around poor product or service delivery, lack of a workable business model and poor marketing. If you don’t effectively communicate what you do, your sales will drag and that will affect your cashflow. Again, Warren Buffet once said, “Always keep your customers excited”. When your customers are happy with you, they will bring you more customers. And on the part of the founder(s), what causes early business failures are, among other things, lack of focus, motivation, commitment and passion; pride, resulting in unwillingness to see or listen.

How much did you start the business with? Just as I share to motivate young minds whenever I’m privileged to speak at seminars or conferences, my start-up capital was my head. The key is that, “If you can think well, what you have is enough to launch your business idea”. In more direct terms, I started my business with customers’ money. I strategically sent out my message that I designed websites, someone believed in me, gave me the first job, and I delivered promptly and professionally. That was how I started building my business profile. Today, over 70 percent of our new clients were referred by those we’ve worked for in the past. No matter what your business model is, don’t just sit because you don’t have money. Most of the time, it does not happen that way, especially if you are from an average home like me. My advice is to start with what you have and then what you don’t have will come as you begin to take steps. Build credibility with your moves and integrity. The investor you have been looking for has also been waiting to see that you are faithful with the little you have in your hands today. How would you say your business has grown since starting? PTwebs has been able to grow from the idea stage into an established firm. We have come not just to stay but to make a difference. We have come to help Nigerian businesses have a strong and yet professional online image, which will translate into increased sales and profits for our clients. From one client, we have been able to maintain a sustained growth to having over fifty clients. And from a one-man business into business an eight-man team. We are not there yet. Personally, I will describe PTwebs as a seed that was planted at inception and is now trying to break the ground in order to shoot out. I believe that it can only get better in the future. What are the challenges confronting your business? I will say having the right team to work with has been a major chal-

lenge to me. Other challenges are minor if you have the right people around you, because the solution to every other challenge is inside your team as a business lead. At one point or the other, I have suffered from wrong staffing, but I learnt my lessons and still have to keep moving. As a business, you need a team that will understand your vision, speak your language, be self-motivated, skilful, creative, faithful, and loyal and can relate well with your customers. How can government address some of those challenges? Two things I want our government to look into, which I am sure also affect other businesses, are electricity and tax policies. Businesses spend a lot trying to generate electric power for operations. The efforts of the government are quite commendable, but dispensing funds for electricity projects is not enough. The right company should be awarded the contract and the right personnel should be appointed to supervise those projects till completion. We need results. The second is tax policies. Government should review tax policies to encourage young entrepreneurs. The SMEs in Nigeria represent the larger portion of the country’s business community and hence policies that threaten the existence of these businesses should be reviewed. What would you tell your younger self? I will say; “Tolu boy, put God first in all you do. Take things one step at a time. Have a clear set goal for what you are doing, take your time to strategise and plan your actions. Seek sound counsel and make necessary research, and pursue your dream with all sense of commitment. Don’t try to always play it safe. Dare to leave your comfort zone. If you think you can, you are correct and if you think you can’t, you are also correct. If you are not different, then you are not needed. On a final note, Tolu, bite more than you can chew, and then trust your invisible teeth to chew the rest.”

Mega City Fair 2018 to create market hub for start-ups, SMEs SEYI JOHN SALAU

mall and medium enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups in Lagos have been asked to tap into the opportunities provided by the forthcoming Megacity Fair 2018 to create a market hub for their businesses to thrive as well as boost the bottomline (profits) through sales at the fair. The trade fair, which is currently in its second edition, will take

place at the Festival Mall Arena / Carpark, Festac Town and aims to bring together start-ups and SMEs closer to a ready-made market that the fair environment provides, based on the facilities available. Vendors at the fair will benefit from the market traffic the presence of Shoprite, Golden Tulip and Festival Mall provides. Ifeoma Nora Emenani, event coordinator, in a statement, said the fair aims to create a market hub for SMEs, adding that Mega City fair is about bringing the market

to the buyers. She said the fair will hold on Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th May, at Festival mall, beside Shoprite Festac town Lagos. “The trade fair brings together corporate organisations, brands, government functionaries, captain of Industries, entrepreneurs, NGOs, celebrities, diplomats and media executives under a colourful ambience for an irresistible day of discounted sales, music, comedy, presentations, wine and dine with soulful music”. She opined that the local trade

fair is expected to bring visitors, including local and international buyers, together and assured that vendors are willing to sell their goods at a discounted rate. “In addition to this unfettered access to end buyers, vendors will have the opportunity to meet with key industry players. “It’s an opportunity to network, mingle, get new ideas, and open new opportunities. The fair is open to business vendors in fashion, household, books, kiddies, and cosmetics and Hair,” she stated.

Nkonye Egonu, branch manager, Diamond Bank, said the bank is partnering with the organiser based on the conviction that it will create market for local vendors within the host community and boost SMEs market penetration. Ada Obiorah, marketing manager, Jordana USA, a cosmetics manufacturer that represents L.A Pride USA, the main sponsor of the fair, said the American company believes in the Nigeria market, hence the support given to the fair in the last two years.

BUSINESS DAY

Monday 30 April 2018

Start-Up Digest

Chibuzor and Victoria: Studententrepreneurs redefining service delivery JOSEPHINE OKOJIE

n t r e p r e n e u rship in Nigerian universities is booming currently and this is as a result of confluence of some factors ranging from introduction of entrepreneurship in the curricula to growth of technology. As a result of these factors, some undergraduates have started businesses that are addressing societal needs. Amongst them are: Chibuzor Kingsley Ofulue Chibuzor Kingsley Ofulue is the co-founder and director of Africlaim, a start-up business dedicated to enforcing airline passenger rights which are usually neglected within the African continent and Nigeria in particular. Chibuzor is a final year student of International Business at the Loughborough University, the United Kingdom. He co-founded Africlaim with his friend Ifeanyi Ezechukwu after a not-too-good experience from an airline. Ifeanyi’s flight from Nigeria to the United Kingdom was delayed and eventually cancelled yet there was no form of compensation given to passengers despite the fact that the flight disruption was within the control of the airline. In trying to ensure that Ifeanyi was compensated by the airline, Chibuzor (and his friend) began to do a lot of research on global aviation laws. In their quest, they discovered that there was a European regulation which was drafted in 2004 and passed into law in 2005, stating that passengers were entitled to a financial compensation when they were denied boarding or the flights were delayed or cancelled if the cause of the fight disruption was within the airline’s control. The law also states that passengers are not entitled to any form of financial claims when it is out of the control of the airline such as in cases of extreme weather conditions, war, natural disasters and the like. As a result of the information and determination to fight for compensation, Chibuzor’s friend was fi-

nally compensated by the airline and to change this for other passengers who would encounter similar issues, Chibuzor and his friend established Africlaim in 2016. “So to change this for other people, we were inspired to establish Africlaim. The air passenger rights are usually neglected in Nigeria and Africa. We have been learning a whole new thing and still trying new things to ensure that people get their claims,” Chibuzor said. Both founders of Africlaims went into partnership with some lawyers to be able to effectively and efficiently speed up the claims recovery processes for their clients. According to the young entrepreneur, their initial start-up capital for the business was obtained from personal savings, which was used in designing the organisation’s website to create a platform for customers to submit applications for their compensations. “We started the business with our personal savings. We spent the money on building our website and making sure it was running promptly. Our website was to create a platform where customers can check their eligibility without making any upfront cost and submit their claim forms online,” he said. The undergraduate stated that the company had been able to recover over 40 claims since starting operations last year with hundreds of claims still under processing. He told Start-Up Digest that Africlaim did not charge its customers upfront until the claims were recovered. “The process is free until the claims are recovered. This motivates us to chase the claims harder because we don’t get paid until the claims are fully recovered. And so far since starting last year, we have recovered over 40 claims with many still in the process,” Chibuzor said. Chibuzor told StartUp Digest that the biggest challenge confronting their business since starting was the attitude of the Nigerian airlines. He stated that their process of requesting a claim was cumbersome and

Chibuzor Kingsley Ofulue

very slow. He also stated that the lack of passengers’ protection law was also a big challenge to their business. “The response time of Nigerian airline is four times the response time of an EU carrier. There are no laws protecting the Nigerian passengers,” he said. He likewise stated that the organisation was yet to start processing claims for domestic flights owing to the lack of passenger’s protection law in the country. Chibuzor called on the government to put in place a policy framework that would ensure that passengers were protected and also to bridge the infrastructural gaps in the aviation sector in the country, stating that this would ensure efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery in the sector. He said that the organisation currently had 10 employees and also outsourced some of its work, disclosing that the company was planning to start helping passengers with issues of missing luggage to be compensated by airlines through the luggage tracker. According to him, the tracker would help passengers trace their luggage all through their flight. When asked how he was able to grow his business despite recession, Chibuzor said that despite the economic downturn in the country, Nigerians were still travelling and that the cost of the flight ticket did not determine their charges but the duration in which a claim could be recovered. He stated that the busi-

ness had grown tremendously since starting. “We have plans to start looking into missing luggage. We are planning to manufacture baggage tracker which will make it easy for passengers to monitor and track their bags to know where they were before eventually being lost in transit,” said Chibuzor.

in baking and catering. The 500-level undergraduate of Federal University of Technology, Akure, was inspired to establish Vickkypearl Cakes by her strong passion for designs and creativity. Oke likewise had a passion for recreating beautiful cake decorations seen in parties and events she attended. According to her, she had been baking cakes for family and friends for free before making it a business in 2015 after undergoing company registration procedures. “I believed in my artistic, creative mind. I believed I could make cakes as beautiful as those ones seen at parties and events and I could make exactly what others wanted or dreamed about. Entrepreneurship, for me, is in-born as I never did it basically to augment my allowance,” the baker said. Before establishing her business in 2015, Oke had attended a catering school to learn designs and gain more knowledge of cakemaking from professionals. After some time, she started

Oke Victoria Onyekachukwu

Oke Victoria Onyekachukwu Oke Victoria Onyekachukwu is the founder and chief executive officer of Vickkypearl Cakes, a start-up that specialises in the production of fresh cakes in Lagos and its environs. Oke, who is also the founder of Pearlie Fashion, a fashion business that produces and sells both female and male accessories, has over five years of experience

taking online courses to learn global trends in the two areas. Most clients prefer to pay upfront for cakes, which often enables her to buy the ingredients needed for baking and decoration. When asked about challenges confronting her business, the young entrepreneur said the country’s huge infrastructural gaps had remained a major impediment to her business.

“Bad road is really a big challenge to my business. It is really affecting delivery. Where I could have taken a taxi, I will, sometimes, walk for fear of pot-holes that can cause cracks on the cake,” she said. “Poor power supply is also a big challenge to my business. I do most of my baking at night. The poor power supply has affected my business and increased my production cost because most times I have to make use of a generator or lamps. “Another challenge facing my business is the rising cost of baking items in the market and the unwillingness of customers to pay more. Most of them want good cakes for cheaper prices despite high cost of production,” the young entrepreneur said. She urged the government to provide critical infrastructure such as steady power supply and good roads, stating that Nigeria cannot drive its industrialisation strategy in the absence of infrastructure. Oke said that despite the challenges, her business had grown since starting, as patronage from new customers increased tremendously. “Overtime since starting, I have got contracts to supply cakes at the places I buy ingredients to make cakes for my customers. The business has grown dramatically such that I now have enough resources to buy modern baking equipment for the business. When asked how the country’s low consumer purchasing power had impacted on her business, she said, “The business at a point had a decline because customers couldn’t afford to buy the size of cake they wanted. So they ended up requesting smaller sizes or cupcakes but this period happens to be my good moment because I suddenly became the cupcake mistress.” “I made more cupcakes than ever. There was a time I made 300 cupcakes and sold them in less than a week. During Valentine period last year, I was wowed. Most orders now are cupcakes. I now remind people that I still make eight, ten and twelve inches cakes,” she further stated.

BUSINESS DAY Harvard Business Review

C002D5556

MondayMorning

Monday 30 April 2018

In association with

How to lose your best employees WHITNEY JOHNSON

hen your employees (and maybe e v e n you, as their manager) aren’t allowed to grow, they begin to feel that they don’t matter. They feel like a cog in a wheel, easily swapped out. If you aren’t invested in them, they won’t be invested in you, and even if they don’t walk out the door, they will mentally check out. How do you overcome this conundrum? It starts with recognizing that every person in your

company is on a learning curve. That learning curve means that every role has a shelf life. You start a new position at the low end of the learning curve, with challenges to overcome in the early days. Moving up

the steep slope of growth, you acquire competence and confidence, continuing into a place of high contribution and eventually mastery at the top of the curve. But what comes next,

as the potential for growth peters out? The learning curve flattens, a plateau is reached; a precipice of disengagement and declining performance is on the near horizon. I’d estimate that four years is about the maximum learning curve for most people in most positions; if, after that, you’re still doing the same thing, you’re probably starting to feel a little flat. The human brain is designed to learn, not just during our childhood school years but throughout our life spans. When we are learning, we experience higher levels of

brain activity and many feel-good brain chemicals are produced. Managers would do well to remember that. Every organization is a collection of people on different learning curves. You build an A team by optimizing these individual curves with a mix of people: 15% of them at the low end of the curve, just starting to learn new skills; 70% in the sweet spot of engagement; and 15% at the high end of mastery. As you manage employees all along the curve, requiring them to jump to a new curve when they reach the top,

you will have a company full of people who are engaged. You and every person on your team is a learning machine. You want the challenge of not knowing how to do something, learning how to do it, mastering it, and then learning something new. Instead of letting the engines of your employees sit idle, crank them: Learn, leap, and repeat.

blocks and begin working on solutions in advance, and so avoid some of the problems that other people run into. TAKE INITIATIVE. The most productive people start quickly, and they never wait to be told to begin. They ask for forgiveness, not permission. BE COLLABORATIVE. In

today’s complex organizations, very little gets done by someone acting alone. Everything is highly interdependent. The most productive people in our study were highly collaborative and worked well with others. The most productive people might seem to get it all done through magic —

or cutting corners — but it turns out that extreme productivity is just a set of skills. Skills that more of us can acquire and use.

(Whitney Johnson is an executive coach, speaker, and innovation thinker.)

Seven traits of super productive people JACK ZENGER AND JOSEPH FOLKMAN

s there someone on your team who seems unusually productive? Someone who gets a huge amount done — without working longer hours? How do they do it? That’s what their coworkers usually wonder. We wanted to know too. We collected data on over 7,000 people who were rated by their manager on their level of their productivity and 48 specific behaviors. We identified the specific behaviors that were correlated with high levels of productivity, the top 10% in our sample, then performed a factor analysis. Seven consistent clusters emerged that identified the skills that the most productive people regularly practiced: SET STRETCH GOALS. A big project encourages you

to pick up your pace and eliminate all distractions. The people in our study who got the most done made setting stretch goals a habit. SHOW CONSISTENCY. In our study, the most productive people figured out how to consistently deliver results, week after week and month after month. There was a cadence and a rhythm to their work that seemed to keep them going. HAVE KNOWLEDGE AND TECHNICAL EXPERTISE. The most productive professionals in our study didn’t hesitate to ask for help when they needed it. But they didn’t need it that often. They also intentionally acquired new skills and worked to expand their expertise. DRIVE FOR RESULTS. There are some people who have a great desire to accomplish results sooner and quicker. They’re competitive,

and they compete not only with their colleagues but also with themselves. They like to set new records for performance and then beat their own best. ANTICIPATE AND SOLVE PROBLEMS. The most productive people are great problem-solvers. They also tend to anticipate road-

(Jack Zenger is the CEO of Zenger/Folkman. Joseph Folkman is the president of Zenger/Folkman.)

Monday 30 April 2018

C002D5556

BUSINESS DAY

Monday 30 April 2018

INTERVIEW

‘Tony Elumelu Foundation has put aside $100m to support entrepreneurs and SMEs’ At the just concluded spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank in Washington DC, Nigeria’s Tony Elumelu, Founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation featured as a panelist in one of the sessions titled, ‘Digital Economy for Africa’. In this interview, he urged more entrepreneurial development for African youths, among other issues. BusinessDay’s Onyinye Nwachukwu was there. Excerpts… You have deployed so much resources helping African youths to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams, are you getting any support from the government or development partners? hat we are doing is private sector driven and our own contribution to the development of our country. We do carry government along by way of information but like I said in the plenary, we can’t keep depending and relying solely on the government to do even the quota that we can do. Since we started, the Tony Elumelu Foundation has supported young Nigerians. Every year, we have about 50 percent of the 1000 we select coming from Nigeria. It’s not by design, but somehow it speaks to the energy and entrepreneurial spirit of our people. This is the fourth year, this means that we have 2000 Tony Elumelu entrepreneurs across Nigeria in every state. They are people that I don’t even know, they apply and through Accenture, they are selected and put through the seed programme, so I don’t put anyone. I am happy that Nigerians are very well represented in the programme and that they are doing well. I hope it’s only a matter of time for their impact to begin to manifest. I’m also happy that the International Red Cross has come in to support what we are doing. They have now committed to supporting 200 people every year, 100 from the Niger Delta and another 100 from the North Eastern part of Nigeria, so that increases the participation of Nigeria from 500 to 700 every year. The UNDP has also come in and has committed to supporting another 40, about 10 of them are from Nigeria. Collectively, we are making progress. This is how the private sector and development partners can also play their own role to develop Nigeria.

tough operating environment kill these companies, we need to encourage this sector, they are the ones that create employment not the big companies. In your writing, let’s keep calling on the relevant parties to create the environment for these entrepreneurs to succeed. Imagine you were in an environment where you don’t have to worry about electricity, water, then you can do things.

You had a meeting with the IFC, mainly on de-risking the environment to encourage inflow of funds to the young entrepreneurs which is also a major challenge in Nigeria. Why are banks not lending to SMEs? First, I was a bank CEO and today, I am an investor in a bank and I continue to have interest in that sector. Two is, I don’t speak for the banking sector; but it is so easy to blame banks about not lending to SMEs but if banks go under, the same public will say the banks were reckless, that’s

Tony Elumelu

the dilemma. Nobody will say this bank went under because it tried to support SMEs. SME is a difficult sector to fund but those who have managed to develop the skills to support that segment are doing so. I speak from personal conviction that we need to support the SMEs and that is why the Tony Elumelu Foundation has put aside $100 million to support entrepreneurs and SMEs. And I just spoke about the fact that 2000 of them are from Nigeria and if I didn’t say it today, you wouldn’t have known that I was with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and not just the IFC but also the CEO of IDA talking about how to support entrepreneurs in Nigeria and other African countries. We spent hours theorizing about risk mitigation, risk guarantee so that they can come into that sector. I do hope that all these efforts will begin to yield the desired result which is to make sure that money gets to the small and medium scale enterprises. The government has a role to support this initiative with incentives and policies that will make SMEs grow because if SMEs succeed, they will impact the economy but if they die, nobody will want to invest in SMEs. One thing about SMEs is that they don’t have enough collateral to provide banks and if they go under, what will banks hold on to? We need to see more success in that sector and all of us need to work together to make them succeed. What can Africa do to move from digital consumption? We have young Africans who

are intelligent who can do great things but if they don’t have internet connectivity, there is a problem for them. If they don’t have access to electricity, they cannot make it; so if we can create the right environment for them, then they will come with creativity, ideas that will reverse the trend of things happening in Africa. There is no two ways to that. We need to prioritize this sector, we need to create the right environment. Let me say that the press has a role to play in calling up all stakeholders to see how they can play their own role in creating the right environment for people to succeed. Unnecessary taxation,

Poverty does not have any regional colouration, it also does not care about religion; it affects everybody; so, we need to fix issues so that our country, continent can make progress

Why do you think it’s hard for African countries to invest in human capital development? I think it’s about alignment of interest, I think it’s about understanding. We need leaders who are focused on results who want to make a difference, who understand how the system works. Just like the question they asked me before about the challenges. Some people will look at it from a different perspective but for me, internet connectivity is a major issue also, electricity; you can’t fix connectivity without electricity. Leaders who understand these things can connect the dots and then know what to tackle and do it in a transparent fashion. For me, poverty does not have any regional colouration, it also does not care about religion. It affects everybody. So, we need to fix issues so that our country, continent can make progress. Like you said, it’s something anyone should be able to understand. How do we then align with the direction that the world is heading? Follow your passion, I think people who have made great strides in life are people who follow their passion and anything you do, do it very well. Oprah Winfrey became a billionaire just by talking, organizing people and having fun, so to me, it doesn’t matter what you do because passion makes you keep improving at anything you do. If you are not passionate about a cause, you can’t make progress. If Oprah Winfrey regarded the talk show as something to get by and make a living, she wouldn’t have refined and made the kind of improvements she made. I’m sure my grandmother sang more than some artistes today that Beyonce would want to go on a show and the whole world world was locked down. She’s passionate about what she does, and she keeps improving. You said Africa should stop going cap in hand to beg, Africa must develop Africa, how is that

playing out? In my closing remarks, I said African private sector leaders should invest in Africa, mobilize resources that we have a lot of resources. I also called on development partners, I said please don’t relent, keep engaging in areas of advocacy and channel more resources to Africa. It is more about Africa, we should play a role in Africa, we won’t say no to people that want to help us. But just sitting down with this mentality that you owe it to us to help us should go. The countries that are helping us did not have the kind of resources we have when they started. That mentality is one of the reasons we are where we are. One time I travelled to the UK and visited the town where Shakespeare was born. What you see there, you’ll see it in villages in Nigeria, like benches and kitchens with old steel pots, they still dry meat like we fire with coal, and I was surprised. But that environment is a cold environment, so I am not surprised that they made progress faster than we are doing. If we don’t help ourselves, nobody will help us. So it’s not a call that we don’t need help, we just have to do away with that mentality thinking someone will come and change our situation for us otherwise why are some leaders succeeding and some are not. It’s that laid back mindset. How do we get funds to build infrastructure in the face of rising debt risk, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa? The key thing is that, are we getting funds for consumption purpose or are the funds for investment purposes so that the returns on those investments can offset the debt? People who take loan for consumption purposes almost go bankrupt in life and it applies to countries too. If Nigeria as a country wants to borrow, debt to GDP is okay but there are other indices people look at not only debt to GDP. If those indices are okay, no problem. Then they look at your revenue and now the types of revenue. Is it revenue in local currency or foreign currency to be able to offset your liabilities. Leaders must borrow for sectors that are productive and you must honour obligations to attract more borrowings because you need capital and you must be credit worthy to attract it and have the discipline to meet obligations and the purposes for which you are borrowing is fulfilled and not that the funds are diverted.

Monday 30 April 2018

C002D5556

BUSINESS DAY

ABUJACITYBUSINESS COMPREHENSIVE COVERAGE OF NATION’S CAPITAL

Chams seeks FCTA’s partnership on ICT solutions CYNTHIA EGBOBOH, Abuja

hams Plc, Nigeria’s leading provider of ICT intelligent business solutions and services, has indicated interest in partnering with the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) as a strategic option for deepening ICT solutions deployment in the nation’s public sector. The proposed collaboration would enable the company to support the FCTA’s drive towards good governance in the territory, Femi Williams, managing director, Chams Plc Group said. Williams was speaking when he led the group’s team on a courtesy visit to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Muhammad Musa Bello, in Abuja. According to Williams, the visit was an opportunity for the company to introduce its services and suite of solutions and also present possible areas it could partner with the FCT Administration. He restated the company’s commitment to offering cost-efficient and functional solutions to all its clients at all times.

“Most of our solutions are built and managed by Nigerians. We don’t sell solutions, we adapt them. We are very good at understanding challenges. We do intelligent business solutions that add value to our customers,’’ he explained. In his remarks, the Chief of Staff to the Minister, Bashir Mai-Bornu, who received the Chams Plc team

on behalf of the minister, commended the company on its laudable achievements in the ICT Sector over the years and urged it not to relent in its efforts of delivering quality ICT solutions and services. He said that the company was free to write the FCTA regarding the ICT solutions it is interested in delivering to the FCT Administration

and that such letter would be directed to the appropriate departments for assessment. Chams Plc, now a conglomerate with subsidiaries offering ICT solutions and services in diverse sectors of the economy, commenced business in Nigeria in 1985 as a computer hardware and maintenance company and is quoted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

he National Assembly has recommended the establishment of agricultural villages in the six geopolitical zones of the country. This, it submitted, will not only create jobs but also boost food security. The National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) - a research arm of the National Assembly - made the submission in Abuja at a two-day agroinvestment policy dialogue with federal legislators, researchers and relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). Director General of the Institute, Ladi Hamalai, a professor, noted that there has been some growth in the agricultural sector in the past years.

LAIDE AKINBOADE-ORIERE

National Security Adviser (NSA), Major General Babagana Moguno (r), with his Russian Counterpart, Nikolai P Patrushev, after the pair held bilateral meetings on the side-margin of the Summit, at the IX International Meeting of High Ranking Officials Responsible For Security Matters, in Sochi, Russia.

... to distribute 18.4m mosquito treated nets in 2018

he Federal Government said over N198 billion has been committed to the fight against malaria in the last 10 years. Isaac Adewole, Minister of Health stated this at the commemoration of the 2018 World Malaria Day with the theme: ‘Ready to beat malaria, Together we can’, in Abuja, said the government has concluded arrangement to distribute over 18.4 million mosquito treated nets to six states. He lamented that despite the efforts being made by the government, malaria still remain the number one cause of deaths among the under 5 children in the country and this is unacceptable. According to the Minister: “It is estimated that in the last decade,aboutN198billionhas been committed to the fight

OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja

She, however, lamented that the growth, as little as it may be, has not translated into job creation, adding that Nigeria must take fast steps to translate such into job creation and increased food production. According to Hamalai, the establishment of agricultural villages will not only attract youths and create jobs but will also help provide adequate food especially in view of the projected population growth by 2050. “Nigeria may be the world’s most populous country in 2050 and we stand a huge risk if we don’t grow agriculture through agric villages so as to create jobs. “The Federal Government should partner donor agencies to create agricultural villages to attract youths to come into agriculture.

FG needs $2.7bn to buy vaccines by 2028

Nigeria spends N198bn to combat malaria in 10 years – Health minister LAIDE AKINBOADE-ORIERE

National Assembly recommends creation of agriculture villages

againstmalaria withattendant scale up of interventions. “The result of the 2015 NMIS showed that 69% of households own at least one Insecticide Treated Net (ITN) and 35% of households have at least one ITN for every two people who stayed in the house the previous night. In order to ensure continuous access to mosquito nets, government and partners embarked on replacement campaigns. In 2017 about 16,199,953 Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINs) were distributed in seven states - Sokoto, Edo, Kwara, Osun, Imo, Ondo and Adamawa. “This year, we plan to distribute about 18.4 million nets insixStates-Nassarawa, Ogun, Jigawa, Katsina, Gombe and KebbiStates.Netsarealsobeing distributed through antenatal clinics for pregnant women and routine immunization of children. It is common knowl-

edge that a lot of the LLINs distributed are not used. “In 2015 National Malaria Indicator Survey report showed that 37 percent of the household slept under an LLIN the night before the survey. We are working hard to ensure that net use increases considerably. 59 million mosquito treated nets have been distributed in the last five years and about 30 million more will be distributed. “This is similar to the results of the 2015 Nigeria Malaria Indicator Survey (NMIS) which showed a remarkable reduction in malaria prevalence from 42% to 27% which is a commendable stride in government’s efforts to stem malaria. “The result of the 2015 NMIS showed that 69% of households own at least one Insecticide Treated Net (ITN) and 35% of households have at least one ITN for every two people who stayed in the

house the previous night. In ordertoensurecontinuousaccess to mosquito nets, government and partners embarked on replacement campaigns. In 2017 about 16,199,953 Long Lasting Insecticidal Nets (LLINs) were distributed in seven states - Sokoto, Edo, Kwara, Osun, Imo, Ondo and Adamawa. This year, we plan to distribute about 18.4million nets in six States - Nassarawa, Ogun,Jigawa,Katsina,Gombe and Kebbi States.” Nets are also being distributed through antenatal clinics for pregnant women and routine immunization of children. It is common knowledge that a lot of the LLINs distributed are not used. In 2015 National Malaria Indicator Survey report showed that 37 percent of the household slept under an LLIN the night before the survey. We are working hard to ensure that net use increases considerably”.

he Federal Government has said it would need about $2.7 billion for the procurement of vaccines in the next 10 years, to be able to reach 84 percent immunization coverage by 2028. Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Faisal Shuaib stated this in Abuja, while speaking at a breakfast meeting with donors and partners on immunization financing, in Abuja, he said it will also help the agency to attend to the over 4.3 million unimmunized children in the country

Shuaib said, the country’s immunization coverage is 33% but the agency has set a target of 84% coverage by 2028. The meeting with donors is part of activities marking the 2018 Africa Vaccination week, which is celebrated every last week of April, will begin from 23rd through 29th of April with the theme “vaccines work, do your part.” The Africa Vaccination Week is a week set aside to make sure children gets the vaccines they need. According to him, “Nigeria will require about $2.72 billion to procure vaccines and devices from 2018 to 2028.

Investment & Securities Tribunal restores 20,731 PZ shares to Thomas Kingsley Investment CYNTHIA EGBOBOH, Abuja

nvestment and Securities Tribunal (IST) has ordered First Registrars Limited and Thomas Kingsley Securities Limited to restore 20,731 units of PZ shares to Thomas Kingsley Investment Limited. The claimant, Thomas Kingsley Investment Limited had in the originating application filed before IST, accused the defendants: First Registrars Limited and Thomas Kingsley Securities Limited of arbitrary merger of its PZ shares account No. 44894 with that of Thomas Kingsley Securities Limited with Account No. 54708, while its Oando shares Ac-

count No.88720 with eleven transactions in it was also merged with account of Thomas Kingsley Limited. According to the Claimant, the “mergers were done by First Registrar Limited without its knowledge, consent, approval and authority. “The Claimant alleged that the 1st defendant started the merger of its PZ shares account with that of Thomas Kingsley Securities Limited in 1997 and that as at 5Th March 2014, its shareholding had been eroded from 20,731 units to 15,764 units. Claimant alleged that the shortfall of 4,967 units were sold by the 1st defendant without its knowledge.

BUSINESS DAY

Monday 30 April 2018

C002D5556

NEWS

BoI puts total loan disbursement to entrepreneurs in 2017 at N112bn HARRISON EDEH, ABUJA

ank of Industry (BoI) said a total loan disbursement of N112.5 billion was provided to entrepreneurs to enhance their operations and grow the economy in the 2017 financial year. Chairman of the bank, Aliyu Dikko, gave the figure during a presentation at the 58th annual general meeting

of the bank in Abuja, saying despite the challenging operating environment, the bank recorded huge improvement in its financial performance. For instance, he said total assets improved by 4.5 percent from N682 billion to N713 billion between 2016 and 2017, respectively, while the group’s total equity also rose to N241 billion in 2017 from N219 billion in 2016. Similarly, he said profit before tax also increased to N26.3 billion from N16.9 bil-

lion in the same period representing a growth of 55.6 per cent. He said, “The bank’s disbursement profile in the year also improved significantly to N112.5 billion from N65.9 billion that was achieved last year. “Lending to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises also increased significantly to N29.5 billion, when compared to N8.2 billion in 2016.” Also speaking at the event, managing director, BoI, Olu-

kayode Pitan, said the bank doubled its loan disbursement rate to the industrial sector. When asked what has been the rate of loan repayment in view of the huge nonperforming loan portfolios in the banking sector, he said BoI had one of the least NPL ratios in the industry, saying, “In the last one year, we doubled the amount of loans we gave out to small and medium enterprises. “We also basically inter-

vened in a lot of industries and they benefitted from the loans of the BoI in the last one year and we have given out over N100bn in the loans. “The repayment of our loans is very good. If you look at our annual report, you will see that our non-performing loans are less than five per cent and there are many reasons that are responsible for that. “We give out loans that are secured by bank guarantees. In the SMEs space,

World Safety Day: JC International advocates inclusive OSH workplace strategy

Aig-Imoukhuede charges stockbrokers to drive capital formation with technology, capacity DAVID IBEMERE

igboje AigImoukhuede, immediate past president of the Nigerian Stock Exchange(NSE),haschallenged stockbrokers to leverage technology and adapt to new and rapidly changing economic, regulatory and business environments. He said this will aid the stockbrokers to effectively perform their roles expected of them in Nigeria’s journey towards economic development. AccordingAig-Imoukhuede, Nigeria’s economy depends to a large extent on the strength of the capital base of a typical stockbrokingfirm,anditscapacity to play the required role in the funding development projects. “In any model of economic development, capital occupies a position of crucial and strategic importance,” he said on Wednesday, Last week, during the official opening of the office complex of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) in Ikoyi, Lagos. “Stockbrokers must help set the tone for capital formation since economic developmentofanysortwillnotbe possibleunlessthereisadequate degree of capital formation in the country.” In his keynote address entitled “The Role of Stockbrokers in the process of Capital formation”, Aig-Imoukhuede, said the role of stockbrokers in the economy is critical to the Nigerian financial system. According to analysts, stockbrokers are crucial in the activities leading to the public offer of securitiesintheprimarymarket, and that this calls for strong ties among the stockbrokers, registrars, and investors in an emerging capital market such as Nigeria. Aig-Imoukhuede, a former Group Managing Director (GMD) of Access Bank Plc, said that an average stockbroker must be knowledgeable since his traditional role implies

understanding the intention of issuers regarding how they plan to create value through effective deployment of the funds they raise. “Based on this understanding, a stockbroker is expected to convince the holders of savings at both the institutional and retail level of the viability of the plan and defend the price at which these securities are being offered to the public”, he said. “Stockbrokers catalyse the velocity of the capital formation processandcreateeverexpanding capital markets.” He challenged stockbrokers tomakeconsciousefforttodrive capitalformationintheNigerian Capital Market just as their colleagues in the other parts of the world do. According to him, members of the stockbroking profession rank among the wealthiest citizens in advanced market economies. “For context, let us compare ourselves to Europe, North America and Asia. hate them or love them, the significantly higherearningsofyourcontemporaries in these markets are a reflection of the societal value of the profession,” he told the stockbrokers.“Thegeographical area known a ‘Stockbroker belt’, which is a wealthy residential suburb in Britain, can shed some more light on this”. He called on stockbrockers to ensure they emulate Olasubomi Balogun, the oldest living Stockbroker who created tremendous wealth for himself in the Stockbroking business in Nigeria, who was also present at the occasion. Aig-Imoukhuede further advised the stockbrokers not to limit themselves to stockbroking business, but to also direct their attention to other wealth creation activities. “There is need to increase your financial capacity and embrace technology to be able to competewithyourcounterparts in other parts of the world,” he challenged them.

their repayment has been good and we are working very closely with the Central Bank of Nigeria and the ministry of finance to ensure that we put something in place that can be like a guarantee so we can reduce the risks in that space and make more banks to lend.” He described the outlook for 2018 as very positive, as the bank was even ready to give out more loans to boost the country’s industrial sector of the economy.

L-R: Carol Chwaeurah, assistant marketing manager, Mikano; Mayssaa Hermes, marketing manager, Mikano; Gabriel Oyediji, president, Compassionate Orphanage, and Wura Orimolade-Akinnagbe, senior advertising manager, Mikano, as Mikano celebrates 25th years anniversary with Compassionate Home in Lagos.

Silicon city coming at Rivers-Akwa Ibom boundary

… Akwa Ibom makes case for attention IGNATIUS CHUKWU

silicon city has been proposed to sit between Rivers and Akwa Ibom states astride the Imo River. The city, a private initiative, is to be built around a proposed private tertiary institution to be called Ollor University, which may be a leader in environment and climate change sciences, among other disciplines. Already, Akwa Ibom State has made strong bids for attention in the proposed city, showing various projects and programmes underway to advance to a silicon city status such as a 24-story administrative building with smart functionality, a deep sea port with double channels (that can admit two ships at same time), modern roads, etc. The design of the silicon city model was presented by a consulting architect, Duboye Graham-Douglas, in Port Harcourt on Tuesday. It is powered

by the Walter Ollor Foundation established by a foremost professor of banking and finance in the Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State. Ollor is also a board member of Elano Investments Limited, pioneering the first-ever community equity ownership scheme in any multinational corporation in Nigeria (Indorama- Eleme Petrochemicals Limited, near Port Harcourt). The Akwa Ibom State governor, Emmanuel Udom, a private sector player, made a case for the silicon city, showing how close the state was to achieving such a feat, thus proving that the Akwa Ibom side of the new city would find strong infrastructural support. Represented by his commissioner of information, Charles Udo, the governor said four companies including those in pencil making and toothpick had been established while the environment in the state had been made a priority.

At the event, a representative of the Rivers State government said the state would definitely support the silicon city idea with land permits, roads and other infrastructural facilities. The professor, who initiated the silicon city project, Ollor, said in a welcome address that the presentation event was a kind of consultation going on to harvest ideas, test ideas, and win support. He said the city would be driven by knowledge, education, research and innovation. He said, “We think that the silicon city approach offers the vehicle for implementing the desired transformation and socio-economic development of the Niger Delta region. There is no magic bullet for achieving sustainable development.” A Ghanaian scientist and inventor, Thomas Mensah, showed how technology drives a silicon city and unveiled a magic wristwatch that could control one’s environment.

C International, a leading inspection, rope access and training company, has appealed to organisations to adopt an inclusive Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) workplace strategy that allows employees play active roles in preventing and mitigating workplace accidents. In a statement signed by Austin Joseph, managing director of the company, in commemoration of the 2018 World Day for Safety and Health at Work, stated that safety required active commitments of all concerned parties. Joseph also urged Nigerians to make conscious efforts toward ensuring safety at home and workplace, noting that most accidents happen as a result of ‘I didn’t see. I didn’t think. I didn’t know,’ saying people need to think of safety in a more conscious and active manner that allowed them to anticipate, see, think and know that safety was life. According to safety manager, JC International, Peter Nkemdirim, “Safety is one of the core values of the company. We have a very strong safety culture that is built on an inclusive OSH framework. Our operations strictly conform to national and international safety standards. “With our strong commitment to ensuring a safer work environment for employees and customers through anticipation of risks, accident prevention programmes, compliance to safety laws and regulations as well as our 15-year weekly safety awareness initiative for staff and customers, JC International was able to attain zero incidence and zero fatality record in 2017.” Adopting an inclusive OSH workplace strategy does not only allow an organisation to prevent and mitigate hazards but also elicit employees’ participation towards achieving zero accidents at workplace, he said.

Monday 30 April 2018

BUSINESS DAY

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businessday market monitor Commodities Brent Oil

Biggest Gainer

$74.85

Nestle N1615

Cocoa

US $2,828.00

Biggest Loser

2.98pc

Everdon Bureau De Change

Bitcoin

NSE FO N45.2

41,244.89

-4.94pc

3,318,239.84

+3.52pc

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$-N 360.00 363.00 £-N 501 .00 511.00 €-N 437.00 447.00

Access Bank, NSE, Dangote Flour, FBN, Nestle CEOs receive BusinessDay awards ENDURANCE OKAFOR

wenty five Managing Directors of various listed companies in the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) grabbed recognition from the 2018 BusinessDay top 25 CEOs award. The first top five MDs that were recognized in the 4th edition of the BusinessDay CEO awards were ; Herbert Wigwe, CEO and group manging director, Access bank, this was followed by Peter Ashade, MD of Africa Prudential Plc, Peter Folikwe, MD of Berger Paints Nigeria, fourth on the list was Ibrahim Aminu, MD of Cement Company of Northen Nigeria Plc and closing the first set of winners was Andrew Otike-Odibi, MD C&I Leasing Plc, the awards were presented to the various MDs by Oscar Onyema, CEO, Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE). The special award of this year’s edition was given to Oscar Onyema, CEO of the NSE and the prestigious presentation was done by Bamaga Tukur. Presenting the awards to the

next five top MDs that made the list of BusinessDay top 25 CEOs was Adenrele Adesina, Ogun state governor, who was however represented by the commissioner for budget and planning, and the awardees were; Thabo Mabe, Group CEO, Dangote Flour Mills, Abdullahi Sule, Ag. Group MD, Dangote Sugar, Uzoma Dozie, CEO Diamond Bank, Ade Ayeyemi, Group CEO, Ecobnak Plc and Mahmud Tukur, MD of Eterna Plc. The next category of awards was presented by Haruna JaloWaziri, MD of Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) and those that swept the awards were; Urum Kalu Eke, CEO, FBN Holdings, Nnamdi Okonkwo, MD of Fidelity Bank, Fidelis Ayebae, CEO, Fidson Healthcare,Paul Gbededo, CEO, Flour Mills of Nigeria and Segun Agbaje, CEO, Guarnty Trust Bank. The next set of MDs recognized were; Olanrewaju Jaiyeola, MD of Honeywell Flour Mills, Pius Apere, MD of Linkage Assurance, Nnamdi Okafor, Md of May & Baker Nigeria Plc, Paul farrer, MD NASCON Al-

lied Industries Plc and Tope Smart, CEO of NEM Insurance Plc. The last set of awardees who were definitely not the least were; Mauricio ALARCON, MD of Nestle Nigeria Plc, Graham Hefer, MD of Okomu Oil Palm Company, Yinka Sanni, Chief Exceutive of Stabic IBTC Holdings, Kennedy Uzoka, CEO of United Bank for Africa and Peter Amangbo, CEO of Zenith Bank Plc. This category of award was presented by Ambibola Ogunbajo, president, NSE. BusinessDay celebrated the above awarded top 25 CEOS who added significant value to their respective organizations, the capital market, their shareholders and the overall economy. The Top 25 CEOs were conceptualized to recognize and commend the managing directors whose companies outperformed the market in any given year. Parameters employed in the selection of the winners included share price appreciation and sustainable growth in profit after tax (PAT).

FMDQ Close FOREIGN EXCHANGE Market

Spot $/N

I&E FX Window 360.41 CBN Official Rate 305.65

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Oando posts fifth consecutive quarterly profit as FY 2017 PAT hits N19.8bn BALA AUGIE

ive quarters in a row, Oando PLC has sustained its trend of positive results. The company once again boosted shareholders confidence by reporting N19.8bn in after tax profits in its twelve months ended December 31, 2017 financial results. Despite the challenging environment that ensued after the company’s 2014 FYE loss including a global oil glut, forex volatility, recession and pipeline vandalism, Oando was able to swiftly develop and execute an alternative strategy to ensure it was able to successfully navigate these headwinds. According to the Group Chief Executive, Wale Tinubu; “This comes in the wake of oil prices on an upward trajectory, an improved operating environment, the exit of a 13 month long recession and most importantly the continued strengthening of our business model through the effective implementation of our strategic initiatives of Growth through our dollar earning upstream portfolio and deleveraging through asset divestments and the expansion of our oil export trading business.” Oando’s management team

Nigeria urged to de-risk agriculture, adopt ... Continued from page 1

practising farmers become too old to continue farm work. At the same time, the country’s food requirements continue to expand, opening up new opportunities for wealth creation, jobs, and revenue generation for the country. Discourse at BusinessDay 2018 Agribusiness and Food Security Summit with the theme ‘Evolving Actionable Models to Make Agribusiness More Viable’ which held on Friday, indicated potential investors are indeed gradually increasing their foot hold in the country, but the trend would have been at a faster pace, but for the operating environment which is not encouraging. This, it was noted can be adequately addressed through innovations, and adoption of creative ways in addressing agribusiness. Audu Ogbeh, minister of agriculture and rural development, who was a special guest of honour at the BusinessDay Agribusiness and Food Security Summit, stated that “the current average age of farmers in Nigeria is 65 years old, at that age we can no longer do so much, especially because agriculture is still crude; executed using cutlass and hoe.” This, he said makes it imperative for more young people to get into agriculture. “I see large numbers of young people interested in agriculture but limited by resources. But if you don’t get involved, who will feed you? “By 2050, Nigeria’s population will be about 450 million, which will be equivalent to 5 percent of world population which is estimated to be 9 billion at the time,” said Ogbeh. He further said that with access to credit being one of the biggest challenges facing agric today, the

government is currently “pushing for agric lending rates to drop to 5 percent. Because, unless and until we do so, we will go nowhere. Worldwide the interest rate on agriculture is 2.5 to 3 percent.” Segun Ojo, director general, National Agricultural Seeds Council, buttressed the need for concerted efforts in increasing food production, saying “this population boom will be accompanied by increased strains on our food supply and resources, causing increased pressure on already delicate political and ecological systems, as well as threats to global security. “To feed our ballooning population, global food production must increase by an estimated 70 percent, and almost double in developing countries (like Nigeria)… As a result, the need has never been greater for innovative solutions that will lead to significant improvements in our food and nutritional security, including greater investment in science and technology. “Plant breeding, the science of optimizing a plant’s genetic makeup to produce desired characteristics, can be accomplished through a number of techniques, including hybridization and more complex molecular techniques,” said Ojo. Michele Deleen, deputy ambassador and head of Netherlands Representation in Lagos, on his part, highlighted the importance of increased private sector engagement, and the interest of foreign entities to invest in Nigeria, given the right conditions. “As we speak, negotiations are going on to foster a better structure for the relationship between both countries, and this has working groups for different sectors which includes agriculture. “Rabo bank (in the Netherlands) has done its first agriculture

FGN BONDS

TREASURY BILLS

have made concerted efforts to return the business to profitability - reassuring shareholders and investors alike that their investment in the company was a good one. Some notable actions the company has taken include significant debt and liabilities reduction and a focus on its upstream and dollar earning trading businesses. In 2016 the company was able to get 11 banks led by Access Bank to give it a N108 bn, 5 year Medium Term Loan, the focus being on medium term and Naira loans which is more manageable and not affected by forex volatility. Many would have thought that the company’s challenges in 2017; Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) investigation into the company, technical suspension of the company’s shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), and the full suspension of free trading of its shares on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) in 2017 would negatively impact operations and in turn the financials of the company but this hasn’t been the case. In its FYE 2017 results, Oando achieved a turnover 13 percent lower than the comparative period Continues on page 50 L-R: Babatunde Fowler, executive chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service; Mairo Zakari, wife of the president, The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria; Kemi Adeosun, minister of finance; Isma’ila Zakari, president, ICAN, and John Evbodaghe, registrar/CEO, ICAN, at the ICAN 2018 annual dinner and awards in Lagos, at the weekend. Pic by Olawale Amoo

investment in Nigeria, something it wouldn’t have done few years ago. The Dutch Good Growth Fund is also investing in agriculture in Nigeria. Things are happening, things are moving forward,” Deleen said. Deleen also emphasised the need for cooperation between the government and private sector, explaining that with the infrastructural challenges in the country, it is important that an enabling environment is created to ensure agribusiness really thrives in the country. “The private sector has all the answers to the challenges of agriculture,” he noted. Hans-Willem Van Der Waal, managing director, Agrofair Europe BV in his keynote address said that Nigeria can only stabilise its food prices when farmers’ risks are stabilised and reduced. “In Nigeria it is easy to talk about the value chain but it is not easy to identify them because the value chains are fragmented,” Van Der Waal said.

“A fragmented supply chain increases risk for farmers and with effective supply chain such risks would be de-risked,” he added. He stated that risks in the sector can be reduced through investment in infrastructure to aid reduction of wastages in perishable commodities and make agriculture interesting and more rewarding. Godwin Obaseki, governor of Edo State, who was a special guest of honour at the summit, stated that government has to rethink its role in agriculture, by serving as an enabler, while also emphasising the importance of a private sector driven agric sector that will guarantee food security an economic prosperity in Nigeria. Demonstrating his commitment to agriculture, Obaseki said the state is earmarking one-third of the state’s total land mass for agricultural purposes. According to him, the young people are being actively encouraged to embrace agriculture and

make it a business that can keep them gainfully employed. The issue of herdsmen-farmers clashes was also addressed by different speakers, with a consensus which suggests ranching is the favoured position of the federal ministry of agriculture. “We have to confine Nigerian cows in ranches. The day we begin this massive ranching, we will achieve sufficiency in dairy and beef production,” said Ogbeh in his remarks. “When your cow marches from Adamawa to Lagos that has gone beyond exercise,” he said, highlighting the counterproductive culture of moving cattle across hundreds of kilometres in search of food and water. Obaseki, the Edo state governor, also explained that in some local governments where the state government had to order herdsmen to leave following violent clashes, negotiations are ongoing for their return but this will only be done through a ranching model.

50 BUSINESS DAY NEWS

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FG, GE sign $45m interim agreement for...

South Africa’s PIC, banks may lose out as...

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signed by Yewande Thorpe, head of communications, GE Nigeria, , the interim phase will include “light remedial civil and track repair works” on the narrow gauge rail line. “Additionally, a joint operation will be established between the consortium and the Nigeria Railway Corporation with a supply of 10 locomotives and 200 wagons provided to augment the existing rolling stock in Nigeria,” the statement read. Other companies involved in the agreement are SinoHydro, an infrastructure construction company, Transnet, a logistics infrastructure management company, and APM Terminals, a ports services provider. The concession agreement, which will be negotiated after the interim phase, will expand the rail service to up to 200 locomotives and rehabilitate the entire rail system. “GE is committed to the sustain-

Oando posts fifth... Continued from page 4

in 2016, N497.6 billion versus N569.2 billion. Despite this slight decrease in turnover the company was able to achieve positives on all other indices. The company’s gross profit increased by 81 percent to N88.1billion compared to N48.6 billion in FYE 2016; its net debt reduced to N217.1 billion from N230.6 in the comparative period of 2016; and a profit-after-tax of N19.8 billion, 405 percent increase from N3.9 billion in same period of 2016. The first half of 2017 was challenging for the country as a result of the economic recession, Forcados terminal shut-in which reduced oil production, volatility in oil prices and increased inflation rate. However, in the second half of the year, the economy improved. Nigeria recorded a real GDP growth of 1.90 percent year on year (YoY) in Q4 2017, up by 50bps from 1.40 percent recorded in Q3 2017; the country’s foreign reserves grew by 19.4 percent quarter-on-quarter from $32.5bn recorded at the end of Q3 2017 to $38.8bn recorded at the end of Q4 2017; inflation moderated to 15.37 percent YoY in Dec. 2017, representing a 53bps decline from the preceding month. In the oil and gas sector which is still the mainstay of the country the nation’s oil production increase to an average of 1.9m bpd in Q4 2017 from 1.8m bpd recorded in Q4 2016; whilst the sector grew by 8.4 percent year-on-year and the non-oil sector grew by 1.5 percent - driven largely by activities in the Agriculture Sector (specifically crops), which grew by a decent 4.2 percent YoY in real terms. Speaking further on Oando’s FYE 2017 financials, Wale Tinubu said; “The business recorded a year-end profit of N19.8 billion; a culmination of 4 consecutive quarters of positive results, validating our promise to shareholders of returning to and maintaining profitability.” Despite the challenges the company experienced in 2017, Oando recordedsomeoperationalhighlights.In the upstream sector, Oando recorded an average production of 40,188 boe/ day in the 12 months ended December 31, 2017 compared to 43,503 boe/ day in the comparative period of 2016. This was primarily due to significant reductions in gas production and deliverycausedbytherupturingofGas TransmissionSystem(GTS-4)gasline and pipeline and terminal constraints at its OMLs 60 to 63. •Continues online at www.businessdayonline.com

able development of Nigeria and as suchwearedelightedtohavereached this crucial stage of the project to revamp and revitalize the country’s legacy rail infrastructure system,” Lazarus Angbazo, GE CEO, said. “The consortium looks forward to commencing execution of this interim phase with the continued support of the federal government and the ministry of transportation. As operationsbegin,ourstrongpartners, such as Transnet and SinoHydro, will bring their strong operating and development skills to the forefront.” Rotimi Amaechi, minister for transportation, described the project as unprecedented commitment on the part of the federal government. “This milestone project is an unprecedented commitment by the FederalGovernmentofNigeria,which, combined with the GE-led Consortium’s drive to modernizing Nigeria’s rail infrastructure, will add immense value to Nigeria’s long term economic growth and productivity,” he said. “This will be an important catalyst for small and medium enterprises and a key provider of almost incalculable socio-economic benefits for the many Nigerian towns and villages through which the rail network passes.”

ployees Pension Fund (GEPF) invested $270-million (nearly R3-billion) in Erin in 2014 and took a 30 percent stake and a seat on the board. Erin Energy has a substantial level of debt with its third quarter 2017 balance sheet showing current liabilities of $366.2 million (N131.8 billion) and current assets of $55.4 million while capital deficit stood at $310.7 million. “We will work diligently with all parties involved to complete the restructuring as quickly as possible so as to restructure all of the company’s debt obligations in order to achieve financial stability and reposition Erin Energy with a strengthened liquidity position to execute on our extensive asset development opportunities,” saidFemiAyoade,CEOofErinEnergy. According to the bankruptcy court filing (reviewed by Kallanish Energy), Erin Energy has between 200 and 999 creditors; has total assets of $247.54 million and liabilities totalling $628.72 million. “Subject to the approval of the Court, Erin Energy plans to file a Reorganization Plan with the Court in the near term with a goal to work expeditiously with all parties

involved to put together a plan that will result in Erin Energy’s emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as soon as practically possible,” Erin Energy announced. Erin Energy Management had previously indicated publicly that it is pursuing multiple actions including restructuring its debt with lenders, seeking deferment of debt, reducing operating costs, minimizing projected capital costs for the upcoming exploration and development campaign, pursuing additional public or private funding, and finding additional farming-out opportunities. Previous reports indicates the financially struggling energy firm, whichchangeditsnamefromCamac EnergytoErinEnergyin2015,entered into a credit facility with Nigeria’s leading tier one Zenith Bank Plc for a five-year senior secured term loan providing initial borrowing capacity of up to $100 million in 2014, as net balanceasat31stDecember2015was $98.1million while accrued interest was $2.5 million. Erin Energy announced sometime in 2016 it obtained a waiver to the funding requirements of the Debt Service Reserve Account associated with the Zenith Bank Note as the company was also granted a

L-R: Omotola Jalade Ekeinde, actress; Funke Smith, group head, retail banking, FirstBank; Ibukun Awosika, chairman, FirstBank; Nneka Moses, managing director/presenter, Goge-Africa, and Folake AniMumuney, group head, marketing and corporate communications, FirstBank, at the Women in Entertainment Wealth Management Series organised by FirstBank in Lagos.

US report on human rights in Nigeria signals... Continued from page 1

priorities: promoting economic growth and reforms, fighting terrorism and other threats to peace and security, and building on Nigeria’s role as a democratic leader in the region,” the White House said in a statement. But the meeting may turn out to be an unhappy one for President Buhari and his handlers if the recent report released by the United States Department titled “Nigeria 2017 Human Rights Report” detailing human rights infractions, abuse of power, extrajudicial killings, corruption and transparency issues in Nigeria since 2015, forms part of the discussions. The report affirmed that human rights generally remained appalling in Nigeria. It listed significant human right issues in Nigeria in the period under review to include: extrajudicial and arbitrary killings; disappearances and arbitrary detentions; torture, particularly in detention facilities, including sexual exploitation and

abuse; use of children by some security elements, looting, and destruction of property; civilian detentions in military facilities, often based on flimsy evidence; denial of fair public trial; executive influence on the judiciary; infringement on citizens’ privacy rights; restrictions on freedoms of speech, press, assembly, and movement. Other abuses the report catalogues include official corruption; lack of accountability in cases involving violence against women and children, including female genital mutilation/cutting and sexual exploitation of children; trafficking in persons; early and forced marriages; criminalization of status and same-sex sexual conduct based on sexual orientation and gender identity; and forced and bonded labour. In support of its damning verdict and as evidence of the impunity with which the Nigerian government operates, the report noted that the Nigerian government does not take steps to hold to account officials who perpetuated impunity whether in the security

forces or in civil society. The report cited atrocities committed in the Northeast by members of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF), the army, police and officials who systematically abuse inmates in the various Internally Displaced People’s camps scattered across the region. It also cited the case of the extrajudicial murder of over 348 Shia group Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) and other civilians by Nigerian armed forces in Zaria, Kaduna State and the current unlawful detention of its leader even after the courts have ordered him released. It also cited the extrajudicial killings of members of the secessionist group, IPOB, the continued unlawful detention of Sambo Dasuki and many other such infractions. The report also took aim at the government’s supposed war on corruption. It avers that “although the law providescriminalpenaltiesforconviction ofofficialcorruption,thegovernment did not implementthelaweffectively, and officials frequently engaged in corrupt practices with impunity. Massive, widespread, and pervasive corruption affected all levels of gov-

Monday 30 April 2018

90-day deferment of the principal and interest repayment of $9million previously due on March 31, 2016, whilst re-modification discussions of the loan structure continued. “The total exposure then was just about 1 percent of Zenith Bank’s total loans as at full year 2015 and 14.5 percent of the bank’s exposure to the upstream oil and gas sector,” Cardinal Stone research analysts said in a report then. Nigeria is the sixth largest producer of crude oil in the world and oil revenueconstitutesmajorityofitsrevenue, however the Nigerian banking industry has been passing through a difficult period since the middle of 2014 when oil prices slumped, triggering a sharp rise in lenders’ NonPerforming Loans (NPLs). The situation got tougher when the country’s economyslippedintorecessioninthe second quarter of 2016 as banks had toadoptdrasticcostcuttingmeasures and restructuring of some loans to stay profitable and in business. BusinessDay investigation into the financial books Erin Energy showed it recorded an increase in loss to $151.9 million in 2017 from $142 million in 2016. Erin Energy’s average net daily production for 2017 was approximately 4,900 barrel of oil per day (bopd) compared to approximately 4,800 bopd for 2016. For the fourth quarter 2017, net daily production was approximately 4,000 bopd compared with 5,800 for the comparative period in 2016. Net production volumes for the year were approximately 1.7 million net barrels of oil compared to approximately 1.8 million net barrels in 2016. The Company’s crude oil inventory was approximately $3.6 million at December 31, 2017. Erin Energy announced on Friday that it received notification from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) that the NYSE has commenced proceedings to delist the Company’s common stock as a result of the Company filing voluntary petitions under Chapter 11 of the United States Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, Houston Division on April 25, 2018. The NYSE suspended trading in the Company’s common stock effective April 26, 2018. •Continues online at www.businessdayonline.com ernment and the security services.” The report presents an unflattering picture of Nigeria under Buhari, puncturing virtually all the supposed achievements of the administration especially in the war against corruption and insecurity and lays bare the series of abuses, impunity, corruption and disregard for the rights and freedoms of Nigerians. The country-specific annual human rights report, which must be produced by the US executive, is a statutory requirement of Congress since the 1970s to know the exact state of human rights situations in the countries they are dealing with and will determine the kind and nature of the foreign, security and trade assistance the US can offer to Nigeria and agreements to be reached. Given Nigeria’s size and population and its status as the largest black nation in the world, the United States has always held the hope that Nigeria will play a leadership role not only in Africa but in the world.

•Continues online at www.businessdayonline.com

Monday 30 April 2018

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FG happy with pace of work at OPAC Refinery

n furtherance of the Federal Government’s commitment to improve domestic refining capacity and ongoing efforts in the support of the establishment of third party financed modular refineries, a team from the office of the Vice President and the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources led by Rabiu Suleiman, senior technical adviser to minister of state for petroleum on refineries and downstream infrastructure, visited the OPAC Refinery site located at Umuseti, Kwale, Delta State on Tuesday. The site visit, which covered all relevant activities, facilities and equipment on the refinery project site, as well as performance monitoring and evaluation of the refinery project, was conducted to among others obtain first-hand information, review the level of progress of work, evaluate key technical aspects of the project, encourage the proponent’s commitment to the project completion and delivery time as well as identify areas of challenges, if any, for appropriate government’s intervention. Speaking, the senior special assistant to the Vice President in charge of Niger Delta Affairs, Edobor Iyamu, said the Federal Government had created an enabling environment for ease of doing business, a situation

where there are no deferrals in endorsements. He gave assurances to the promoters that government support would continue till the project completion, and everything within government capacity would be done to ensure that the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and its agencies support OPAC Refinery and other investors to ensure the sustainability of jobs creation. Messer’s Susuluwa Sunday, the project engineer and the Russian chief engineer, Elberd Albogachiev, who conducted the team round the facility, assured the visitors that the project would not only be delivered on time but would be built to meet with international standards on the construction of modular refinery. Other members of the team were Isa Baba, director - Oil Services, Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources; Jide Awolowo, Technical Assistant to the Vice president on Petroleum Matters; Christopher Ilukhor, Technical Assistant to the Hon. Minister on Refineries and Downstream Infrastructure, Tahirah Ikharo, special assistant to the Vice President on Niger Delta New Vision and Paya Godwin. This is aside other top officials from DPR offices in Port Harcourt, Warri and Benin.

GE partners Lagos, others to host tech confab for start-ups

n line with its commitment to skills development and the empowerment of entrepreneursinNigeria,GeneralElectric (GE), the world’s premier digital industrial company, is partnering Lagos State government and others to host a technology conferenceforNigerianstart-ups in the US. The conference, which was a result of collaborative efforts between the Lagos State, John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Microsoft and GE, held in Washington DC from April 23 to 26, with over 15 leading Nigerian tech entrepreneurs and start-ups in attendance. Governor of Lagos State, Akinwumi Ambode, delivered the keynote speech entitled ‘The Role of Technopreneurs in Lagos: An Emerging Smart City’ at the conference which further affirmed GE’s commitment to skills training programmes for young Nigerian entrepreneurs. A key highlight of the conference was a training workshop facilitated by GE Ventures, the venture capital subsidiary of General Electric, which shared valuable insights on how to position a startup to win with investors. There was also a roundtable discussion with key stakeholders around the theme: ‘Harnessing technology to catalyze Africa’s future.’ Jay Ireland, CEO/president, GE Africa said that the conference was a continuation of the ongoing partnership between GE and the Lagos State government aimed at developing the skills of young entrepreneurs in the state. “GE remains committed to supporting skills development in Nigeria, and across Africa.

We see ourselves as partners in building a sustainable future for Africa, and we believe that fora such as this create a platform for necessary conversations and learning. Lagos is a major economic hub in Africa populated by thousands of young people who when equipped with the right skills, can create positive change.” Ireland said. GE’s most visible commitment to skills development in Nigeria is the Lagos Garage, a hub launched in 2016, for advanced manufacturing-based innovation, strategy development, idea generation and collaboration. Co-located with the GE Lagos offices in Victoria Island, the Lagos Garage offers year-round series of skills training programs focused on building the next generation of Nigerianentrepreneurs.Tilldate, 229 entrepreneurs have graduated from the program having been trained to use the latest in advanced manufacturing technologies; 3D printers, CNC mills, and laser cutters as well as in business development. Last year, the company partnered with Lagos State Ministry of Employment and Wealth Creation to train 20 final year students and 5 instructors from the five Government Technical Colleges in Lagos state in an intensive one-week training on advanced manufacturing at a pop up Garage set up at the Lagos State VocationalandEducational Board (LASTVEB) HQ. GEalsorecentlycollaborated with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) in Lagos State for the Start & Improve Your Business(SIYB)trainingprogramme to equip Youth Corps members with valuable entrepreneurial skills.

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BDCs to launch Naijabdcs.com live rate portal May 2 HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE

ureau De Change o p e rat o r s w i l l on May 2, 2018, launch www.naijabdcs.com, a live rate engine room created by the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) to promote transparency and price discovery in the foreign exchange (forex) market. Speaking with financial journalists ahead of the portal launch in Lagos, Aminu Gwadabe, president, Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), said the group had secured the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) no-objection approval on the engine room. The approval, he said, reaffirmed the regulator’s commitment to a transparent and viable forex market where stakeholders’ interests were protected. Gwadabe said the world was going digital, and Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators

under his leadership were committed to staying ahead of the competition by deploying time-tested technology to deliver effective services to their numerous customers. The objective is to make www.naijabdcs.com a household name in financial reporting, coverage and first choice for investors and tourists in accessing quality and reliable information on forex market and rates, he said. According to Gwadabe, the new engine room – www. naijabdcs.com will sustain transparent transactions in the BDC corridor, boost the morale of its members and ensure their continuous operations. The ABCON chief said the group had fully upgraded its ICT platforms, to achieve full digitisation of BDCs operations in line with its goal of sustaining transparent operation and prompt rendition of weekly returns to operators. He said the www.naijabdcs. com would serve as a reliable platform for local and international investors, who will rely

on it to access uniform forex rate across states, regions and markets nationally. He said the Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kano and Onitsha markets always have different forex rates, which will be captured by the live-rate engine at all times. “The new live rate engine will provide buying and selling rates across different cities and also average national rate for the country. All the CBN-approved BDCs will key into this revolution meant to transform the forex market, and keep speculators out of the market,” he said. The ABCON boss also said the portal will contain BDCs location, and their numbers thereby giving forex buyers direct access to genuine operators to reinforce operatorcustomer confidence in the market. He said the live-rate engine will also serve as an information site, where investors and general public will rely on to get and read reliable and timely financial market reports. He said that in the era of `fake news’, financial journal-

ists would find the engine room the first point of call in sourcing for data on the forex market and rates. “The www.naijabdcs. com is expected to be a flagship website for news on the economy, banking & finance and business. The website is expected to be an agenda setting outfit, meant to amplify developments in the economy, particularly the financial services sector, through informed reporting and coverage,” he said. Gwadabe said ABCON is working with the Nigeria Interbank Settlement System (NIBSS) to ensure that BDC operations and their systems remain transparent, adding that operators will continue to render their weekly returns as in line with CBN’s guidelines. He said the partnership with NIBSS is to promote verification and validation of data identity in transparency of forex deals and sustain confidence among investors, tourists and anti-money laundering compliance in the country.

Edo’s drive for sustainable investments spurring our expansion –Okomu MD

anaging director, Okomu Oil Palm Company plc, Graham Hefer, says Edo State government’s unrelenting drive for sustainable investment is paving way for the company’s numerous expansion projects. Hefer made the submission during an interview with journalists in Udo, Ovia South West Local Government Area of Edo State. Hefer said the focus on institutional reforms and infrastructural development by the Governor Godwin Obasekiled administration provided a window of opportunity for the company to expand its portfolio and push for more investments in the state. Noting that the drive will create jobs and improve the state’s economy, he said the company had been able to expand its oil palm plantation by over 11,000 hectares. He said, “In the last three years, the company has expanded by 10, 000 hectares in Ovia North West Local Government Area. With the expansion we expect to double our current volumes in the next five years. “The company has commenced construction of two new oil mills. The first mill will be completed in year 2020 while the second will follow up a year after.” He explained that the company’s present mill was being expanded to produce 75 tons of palm oil per hour from its current 60 tons capacity, noting, “All of these are as a result of the increased production expected from the recent extension II project. The state government’s investment drive for sustainable development aided our expansion project.

On account of all these, people are now taking us seriously.” He commended the governor for the drive to attract investors to the state, highlighting the governor’s spirited efforts to sell the state to investors across the globe. “I commend the governor who has been busy interfacing with potential investors visiting

the state. Things are looking promising for investors in the state,” he said. He added that with the institutional reforms being implemented, “the state government ministries, agencies and department are now looking more professional in dealing with private investors in the state. We are now having

a better relationship with the government officials. “We are experiencing a two-way communication with government officials in ministries, which we have not had in the past. When there are issues we don’t understand, we pick up the phone and talk with the officials to get clarification.”

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A2 BUSINESS DAY NEWS Anambra seeks foreign partnership to develop tourism sector EMMANUEL NDUKUBA, Awka

nambra State government says it is seeking partnership with foreign investors in the development of tourism sector of the state. Sally Mbanefo, commissioner for indigenous artworks, diaspora affairs, culture and tourism in Anambra, said this when she visited Owerre Ezukala Cave and Water Falls in Orumba South Local Government Area of the state on Friday. Mbanefo said the state government had set put amenities in place at the UNESCO heritage site to make it a first place destination for tourists. She said the facelift works at the site would be completed within the first 100 days of Governor Willie Obiano’s second term, adding that the funds for the project had been provided for in the budget. “We want to invite international community for them to see what we have to offer and then we can partner with them in developing these natural tourist sites, in terms of building hospitality and recreational facilities. “We have the full support of the governor; he has shown commitment in the growth of this sector and he is ready to back up our plans with finances because it has been provided for in the budget. “His Excellency governor has approved the construction of staircases in Owerre Ezukala, plans are already at top gear because we want to conclude this within the first 100 days. “So, we are drumming up awareness in the state and the country so others people will know what we are doing and come here to enjoy themselves,” she said. In his remark, Evans Ihesi, the prime minister of Owerre Ezukala, said the heritage site had suffered neglect from past governments of the state and expressed happiness with the renewed interest. Ihesi, who said the existing infrastructure were those built by foreigner before independence, said the community was willing to make land available to the government to enable it develop the place. “This place has suffered neglect for a long time because past governors have not shown interest as governor Willie’s administration. “We have had international visitors from Canada, Australia and Isreal but government have promised to develop the place without fulfilling them. “The community is ready to donate lands for the government to build anything but our major challenge is access road. The community is blessed with a lot of mineral. “The white men built these streams and some facilities here as far back as 1950s but no further development ave been added to it since then,” he said.

Okpekpe Road Race: Edo assures of world-class outing … promises adequate security, other support

do State governor, Godwin Obaseki, has assured of the state government’s preparedness to put up a world-class event with the upcoming edition of the Okpekpe Road Race billed to hold on May 12. The governor, who noted that adequate preparation had been made to ensure visitors to the state have the best of time, stressed that the new security architecture put in place by his administration would provide a soothing atmosphere for local and international athletes to compete for the star prizes. According to Obaseki, “As a silver-label International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) event, we are putting all structures in place to ensure we have a successful event. “It is noteworthy that the Okpekpe Road Race has become the toast of sponsors, who have all lined up behind the promoters of the event. This is a confirmation of the growing profile of the event and the increased visibility it has brought to the state. “We will continue to provide the structures to sustain this trend and even provide more avenues for the state to exploit the benefits of its rich topography and sports talent,” he said. Following the commitment to ensure the event meets international standard, the state government will ensure that all necessary support structures required for the successful hosting of the event are provided, he said. “The Okpekpe race for us, comes with a lot of benefits and we want to ensure that our people tap from these offerings. The sports event has opened the state up for sports tourism and our people now have an opportunity to benefit from the ancillary activities that come with this kind of competition,” he said. The Okpekpe Road Race is open to world-class runners and presents a mix of activities for recreational and professional runners. The race starts from Apana Road and ends in Okpekpe, Edo State. Participating athletes often hail from Nigeria, Kenya, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Uganda, Morocco, Israel, Bahrain, Morocco and Nigeria. The invitation is extended to all Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) member federations. The military and para-military have sent in entries.

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Buhari in US to hold talks with Trump, others

resident Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday arrived Washington DC ahead of a four-day working visit to the United States. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the presidential aircraft carrying President Buhari and members of his entourage left the presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja on Saturday at about 11.35pm. A Presidency twitter handle tagged; @NGRPresident, confirmed the arrival of the President in Washington on Sunday at about 4.20pm (Nigerian time). It said, “President Muhammadu Buhari arrived Washington DC ahead of his working visit to the United States. He will meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday.’’ President Muhammadu Buhari will left Abuja on Saturday on an official working visit to the United States of America, on the invitation of President

World Day for Safety and Health at Work: Safety, major component of our workplace reforms – Obaseki

overnor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, says the ongoing reforms in the state’s critical institutions place high premium on workers’ safety. According to Obaseki, “Safety is a critical component of our overall work design and execution and it is a major point of reference by our local and international partners in project analysis. We have intensified the safety campaign because it is essentially about the life of a worker.” The governor stated this on the occasion of the World Day for Safety and Health at Work, celebrated on April 28 each year, by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to promote safe, healthy and decent work. According to the United Nations, “A national occupational safety and health culture is one in which the right to a safe and healthy working environment is respected at all levels.” The global body notes that such culture includes “where governments, employers and workers actively participate in securing a safe and healthy working environment through a system of defined rights, responsibilities and duties, and where the highest priority is accorded to the principle of prevention.” Obaseki explained that the state government’s multi-sector reforms have commenced with institutional framework being strengthened to ensure safety rules are adhered to at construction and other project sites. “We are committed to a bouquet of robust health and safety rules as well as the regular retraining of safety and health officers that monitor and supervise jobs to ensure that laid down safety rules are not compromised at the work place. We will blacklist contractors that fail to adhere to safety rules.”

Donald Trump. President’s special adviser on media and publicity, Femi Adesina, had on Friday in a statement in Abuja, said Buhari while in America would hold bilateral meeting with President Trump and would later have a working lunch on April 30. According to Adesina, the meeting is to discuss ways to enhance the strategic partnership between the two countries. He said the meeting would also advance shared priorities, such as: promoting economic growth, fighting terrorism and other threats to peace and security. “The meeting will further deepen the US-Nigeria relationship as the United States considers Nigeria’s economic growth, security and leadership in Africa to be critical aspects of their strategic partnership. “Later in the day, President Buhari will meet with a group of business persons in agriculture and agro-processing,

dairy and animal husbandry,’’ he added. He said that ahead of the visit by the President, meetings had been scheduled on April 26 and 27, between senior Nigerian government officials and executives of major US companies in the areas of agriculture, aviation and transportation. He said that in the area of aviation, the Nigerian officials would be meeting with Boeing, the largest aircraft manufacturer in the world, on the National Carrier Project. The presidential aide said: “On agriculture, they will meet with large equipment manufacturers with focus on harvesting and post harvesting equipment. “In the area of transportation, the officials will meet with the GE-led consortium for the implementation of the interim phase of the narrow gauge rail concession. “In the interim phase, a substantive concession agreement will be negotiated and finalized to provide the con-

sortium the opportunity to invest an estimated two billion dollars to modernize the rail line from Lagos to Kano (Western Line) and from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri (Eastern Line). “During the meeting, the concession framework and the interim phase framework agreements are expected to be signed.’’ He further disclosed that Nigerian officials would also meet with US-EXIM Bank and the US Overseas Private Investment Corporation to explore competitive financing arrangements. “It is noteworthy that in 2017, Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and the United States Department of Commerce signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote and encourage commercial and investment ties between Nigeria and the United States. “This is with initial focus on infrastructure, agriculture, digital economy, investment and regulatory reforms.” (NAN)

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Texem plans workshop on planning organisational change in a tough environment

n assessment of the current socio-economic landscape in Nigeria will reveal rising inflation, weak growth, declining consumer demand, high-interest rates, and organisations struggling to survive. It is evident that every Nigerian at each level needs to implement a strategic change. While senior executives know that this strategic change for organisational renewal has to begin with the leaders occupying influential positions in the nation (ministers, commissioners, CEOs, MDs, DGs, directors, senior managers, etc.), the million pound question is how could this be done successfully? To ensure that leaders, teams and organisations in Nigeria successfully harness the limited opportunities in these tough times, stimulate innovation and emerge as winners, Texem UK, a reputable consulting firm in the United Kingdom, offers a solution that will help leaders achieve this and more. With many years of partnering with Nigerian executives to develop more effective and efficient organisations, TEXEM presents a tailored executive development program titled “Building Successful Organizations that Endure: Aligning Purpose, Process, Performance, and People” to be delivered by Professor Pawan Budhwar, Editor in

Chief of British Academy of Management-the world’s leading management Journal. Professor Pawan has offered consultancy services to hundreds of firms globally. This programme is specially designed to ensure that every organisation in Nigeria successfully succeed, create longlasting organisations, which win and ultimately achieve a sustainable competitive edge. For more information, please visit www.texem.co.uk or email exec@texem.co.uk According to Pawan, “Leaders can learn how to create enduring success by attending the forthcoming programme coming up on the 2nd and 3rd of May at Eko Hotel, Lagos, Nigeria. But in brief, a successful organisation can be defined in a variety of ways depending on a given stakeholder’s viewpoint. “It can be defined regarding market leadership, profitability, and reputation, achievement of action/target/goal in a given period, monetary rewards, or positive impact on others, amongst others. “There are few ways of building an enduring organisation; these include: by embedding resilience in their businesses, can act fast to respond to forces of change (e.g., competition, demands, technological advancements, etc.), continuously transforming by developing new competence

to obtain their PVC, go out and vote and protect their votes, as this will serve as automatic red card to bad representation in government. While making the announcement, former official of the World Bank and civil rights activist, Oby Ezekwesili, said: “We have a mandate which is to mobilize over 30million Nigerians to participate in the general elections come 2019. The office of the citizen has been activated and everyone has resumed office. We will go from door to door, cities to cities, and we will be heard. With our PVCs we will send off bad government.” The Red Card Movement was formed to help citizens understand the essence of

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T Professor Pawan Budhwar

and capabilities. “Others are by minimising the gap between intention and needed actions, having proactive and agile leadership, having a strong culture aligned to a clear vision, providing extraordinary returns of key stakeholders on an ongoing basis, amongst others.” This training will also enable executives network with key stakeholders while receiving world-class training from world renowned Pawan Budhwar. It is worth emphasising that Professor Pawan Budhwar has decades of research on world-class organizational best practice principles which he plans to share with executives at the forthcoming training to ensure attendees build and maintain organisation that will last beyond a lifetime.

voting and their right to take part in political activities, especially elections and electoral processes. Ezekwesili further stressed that a key goal of the Movement is to increase the level of women and youths’ participation in the electoral process from 15million to 62million, as well as target national legislative positions in a process that is devoid of inducement and coercion. The group will take its activities across the country with a view to creating genuine awareness for electoral participation and due process at all levels. The slogan remains ‘Your PVC, Your Red Card to Poor Governance. Get it Today!”

PENGASSAN decries soot menace in Port Harcourt

etroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), on Sunday called on the Federal Government and Rivers State government to urgently put an end to illegal refineries causing the soot in Port Harcourt. A statement issued by Fortune Obi, the National Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the association, said the soot was responsible for the thick black smoke that had covered the entire city. According to the union, the soot could be the cause of some of the respiratory problems being experienced by residents of the city. The union said that the health implications of the endemic black soot in Port Harcourt could be worse than Ebola if evaluated on the long-term

effect. “This soot is not getting any serious attention because most of the people affected are still performing their daily tasks while they swim in this soot that has been confirmed by experts to be carcinogenic. “The black soot settles on everything and finds its way into the corners of living rooms no matter how hard people try to stop it. “Food items in Port Harcourt markets are as well not spared from getting mixed with this deadly soot that is ever present everywhere,” it said. The union said PENGASSAN, in collaboration with other concerned bodies, had severally created awareness to call the attention of the government to act swiftly and put an end to whatever was the source of this killer soot.

Egbin Power plant attains full 1320mw capacity, faces grid, distribution challenges ... only able to wheel out 560mw

Red Card takes North Central launch to Jos uilding on the momentum of the Abuja launch on April 18, The Red Card Movement is set to launch in the North Central zone and it is happening in Jos, the Plateau State capital. The North Central take-off is scheduled to take place May 3, at Fototek Building, Abattoir Road, Jos. The Movement, aims at rescuing Nigeria from bad governance as well as promoting electoral due process against the 2019 general elections, will pave way for new credible representation in governance. Its mandate remains to mobilise and encourage citizens who are eligible to vote,

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“Majority believe that the source of this soot is due to incomplete combustion of hydrocarbons as well as asphalt processing, burning of barges used for oil bunkering and illegal artisanal refinery operations in some parts of the state. “There is need for collaboration among all stakeholders to end this environmental hazard. We therefore call on the State and the Federal Government to put strategic action in place to finally address this black soot and put an end to whatever is the source. This is not the time to play politics with people’s lives. “The Federal and State Governments, security agencies as well as all agencies in charge of environment and other agencies handling related issues, should toe a defined and safe path in handling illegal oil vessels.

he euphoria of Egbin power plant reaching full capacity of 1,329 megawatt (MW) thereby boosting power supply in the country is going to be short lived as industry sources said not all that is generated can be sent out because of grid and distribution constraints. This is despite the claims by the government that the national grid has the capacity to wheel 7,000 mw. Currently, the power plant which is Nigeria’s largest is generating 1000 megawatts of electricity but it has not been able to send out more than 560 megawatts maximum thereby wasting the remaining capacity while several millions of Nigerians remain in darkness. The 1,320 megawatts capacity plant will by tomorrow officially be certified as having attained full generation capacity as all its six steam turbines with capacity of 220mw each are currently operational. Steam turbine (ST-5) that had been down due to some technical problems is now fully rehabilitated and is up and running, a source close to the plant said.

Kola Adesina, chairman of Egbin Power told BusinessDay that the plant is ready to go full blast as it has what it takes for the benefits of Nigerians. However in response to the issue of grid inability to take power generated, the Transmission Company of Nigeria , TCN blamed the problem on electricity distribution companies (Discos) for not having the capacity to take up the power generated by generating companies (Gencos) Ndidi Mba, Principal Manager, (TCN) said the TCN can only transport what the distribution companies can take, adding that doing anything to the contrary may destabilise the grid. According to her, what is taken out of the grid should be what is sent in from the generation plant for now. “If the distribution companies can take 7000 mw we are ready to supply them. The grid has unutilised 2000 mw,” she said. She insisted that the TCN has capacity to wheel 7140 mw presently but that Discos did not have the capacity to receive more than 4000 mw or a little above that. However, industry analysts

observed that transmission in the last 12 months experienced some limitations. Reports indicate that the maximum wheeling capacity reached by Transmission Company of Nigeria has been 5,074.7 Megawatts, MW (attained February 2nd, 2016) versus its claims of increased capacity from 5,500 MW to 6,000 MW, wholly untested and unproven. There is a target transmission capacity of 8,200Mw by 2018 and 10,000Mw by 2019. The Association of Nigeria Electricity Distribution (ANED) companies only recently attributed the poor state of the country’s power supply to the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN describing it as the weakest link in the power supply chain. According to them “It is not clear that TCN has received, nor will it receive, any funding that comes close to enabling it complete projects –a continued legacy of limited and poor funding of a vital aspect of power infrastructure.” They argue that considering the importance of power as the fundamental ingredient for the growth of any economy, getting all the parts to work in sync is crucial.

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PENGASSAN tasks FG, Rivers as concern grows over soot JOSHUA BASSEY

etroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has called on the Federal and Rivers State government to urgently address the impact of illegal refineries in the Niger Delta region and cancerous effect of soot being experienced in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital. The senior staff union said the soot, in the form of thick black smoke covering the city of Port Harcourt, could be the cause of some of the respiratory problems to inhabitants of the city, and might be caused by the activities of illegal refineries. “The current endemic black soot in Port Harcourt could be worse than Ebola if evaluated on the long-term effect on the citizens,” Fortune Obi, national public relations officer of the union said at the weekend. According to the union “This soot is not getting any serious attention because most of the people affected are still performing their daily task while they swim in this soot that has been confirmed by experts to be carcinogenic. “The black soot settles on everything and finds its way into the corners of living rooms no matter how hard people try to stop it. Food items in Port Harcourt markets are as well not spared from getting mixed with this deadly soot that is ever present everywhere.

“The union said both governments must act fast in collaboration with other concerned bodies and citizens put an end to whatever may be the source of “this killer soot. “Majority believe that the source of this soot is due to incomplete combustion of hydrocarbons as well as asphalt processing, burning of barges/vessels used for oil bunkering and illegal artisanal refinery operations” in some parts of the state. “There is need for collaboration among all stakeholders to end this environmental hazard. We therefore call on the State and the Federal Government at all levels to put action in place to finally address this black soot and put an end to whatever is the source. “This is not the time to play politics with people’s lives. The federal and state governments, security agencies as well as all agencies in charge of environment, law enforcement and other related issues should tow a defined and safe path in handling illegal oil vessels as well as the criminal act of illegal refining of crude oil that are said to be the key reason of this menace. “The governments should also involve the locals and possibly constitute them into environmental councils to monitor their areas for any possible illegal refining of the crude and such other dangerous acts that are inimical to human existence.”

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Why we want Buhari’s job and how we plan to take it – presidential aspirants

Only 3.36m out of 8m billed electricity consumers have meters …as Moghalu takes #ToBuildANationTour to Abeokuta in Nigeria - NERC

hree presidential aspirants have spoken on why they want President Muhammadu Buhari’s job and how they plan to remove him from office in February 2019. The three of them – Kingsley Moghalu; Omoyele Sowore, and Datti Baba-Ahmed – spoke in the current edition of The Interview, in their most detailed interviews yet. Moghalu, a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, said Nigerians would remember Buhari, “for his record of failed performance on his campaign promises on security, the economy and corruption.” He said his presidency would reposition Nigeria for economic prosperity, “by creating an enabling environment for a productive, innovation-led economy, with a better approach to taxation that will reduce dependence oil revenues.” Sowore, the publisher of Sahara Reporters, said, “Buhari is done,” as he laid out a threepronged policy covering security, power and infrastructure, which he said would lift the country from its present state. He promised to create at least 250,000 new jobs in the agricultural sector, with commercial ranching operations that would cover 20 million cows. Baba-Ahmed, the prochancellor of Baze Unversity,

Abuja, said, “Buhari’s second term will destroy Nigeria and unsettle the rest of Africa.” He promised that his government would stabilise the naira by tackling the current high risk factors, reduce interest rates and “flood the capital market with investible funds.” Two of the aspirants, Moghalu and Sowore, have not yet announced their party platforms, while Baba-Ahmed was a member of the House of Representatives and a senator on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Azu Ishiekwene, MD/editor-in-chief of The Interview, described the edition as “the most comprehensive window yet on aspirants who could be the biggest disruptors in the 2019 presidential race.” The interviews covered campaign funding, the incumbency factor, and the antecedents of the aspirants. Also in this edition, a faculty member of the Enterprise Development Centre of the Lagos Business School, Helen Emore, spoke extensively on the problems of SMEs in Nigeria, while Interview Confidential provides the inside story of the travails of Senator Dino Melaye. Meanwhile, building on his promise to engage citizens and votersacrossthecountryonpolicies and ideas to build Nigeria, Moghalu held a town hall meeting with residents of Abeokuta,

the Ogun State capital. Themed ‘The Role of Women and Youth in Governance,’ the event was attended by traditional rulers, women leaders, student activists, among others. Emphasising the need to drastically reduce poverty and create employment for youths in the country to avert dissatisfaction and conflict in Nigeria, he called for urgent and effective policies to promote entrepreneurship, innovation and support small businesses. He later promised to address unemployment prevalent among Nigerian youths, when he emerges as president. “Our population currently stands at about 200 million with unemployment rising from 8.2 percent in 2015 to 18.8 percent. Nigeria currently stands as the poverty capital of the world, with 152 million Nigerians – about 80 percent of our citizens - meet the criteria of absolute poverty. When you think about thestatisticsandapplythistothe economy, we cannot continue this way,” he said. The former CBN deputy governor stated that zoning of political posts among Nigerian leaders had not led to national development, but explained that 2019 elections had been zoned to competence as it provided opportunity for citizens to elect technocrats with experience in solving practical economic problems.

igeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) says only 42 percent, translating to 3,360,000 out of 8 million billed electricity customers, have meters in the country. Nathan Shatti, NERC commissioner in charge of finance and management ser vices, gave this information at the monthly NEXIER Power dialogue for the month of April held in Abuja. Shatti said the figure was the latest as of December 2017, while speaking with BusinessDay on the sidelines of the NEXIER Power dialogue. The commissioner said NERC’s effort to ensure proper billing of the electricity sector was to address concerns of liquidity threatening the sector, while ensuring a more efficient and transparency collection system and billing of electricity consumers. The NERC came up with the idea of Meter Asset Provider (MAP) regulation to ensure wider coverage of electricity consumers in the billing system, while removing the burden off the Discos who had also raised concern on lack of cost-reflective tariff to address the concerns of proper billing system, he said.

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A10 BUSINESS DAY NEWS FG to extend establishment of oil, gas park projects beyond N/Delta … as Kachikwu performs groundbreaking of Bayelsa Oil/Gas Park OLUSOLA BELLO

inister of state for petroleum resources, Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, has performed the groundbreaking of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Park being developed by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) at Emeyal-1, Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. The park will generate about 2,000 jobs when it begins full operation and create a regional low-cost manufacturing hub that will produce equipment componentsandsparepartstobeutilised inthenation’soilandgasindustry. The Board is working to establish oil and gas parks in five oil-producing states, with the Emeyal-1 project the second to take-off. A similar groundbreaking event was held early March at Odukpani, Cross Rivers State. The other sites are located at Oguta in Imo State, Ikwe-Odio in Akwa Ibom State, as well as in Delta State. Speaking at Emeyal-1, the minister stated that the Federal Government planned to develop similar projects in other parts of the country so as to extend the

benefits to more Nigerians. According to Kachikwu, “We will work with the Board and provide everything that is needed for the projects. After the development of the five pilot parks in the Niger Delta states, we will extend this very innovative idea to other parts of Nigeria where oil has either been found or is being explored.” Heaffirmedthat“thisinitiative will send a message to investors that Bayelsa is ready for oil and gas business and drive home the point that the park will bring about localisation of indigenous companies, where fabrication, pipe milling, procurement hubs and oil and gas related technologies will flourish.” Simbi Wabote, executive secretary, NCDMB, in his welcome address, confirmed that the “park occupiesatotallandmassofabout 25 hectares which will comprise various warehouses, manufacturing shop floors and factories, training centre, hostels, administrative block, mini estate, security posts, firestation,includingtruckparking and holding areas.” He informed that the park would be provided with uninterrupted power supply to address the electricity challenge, which oftenbesetsmostNigerianmanufacturers and businesses.

The executive secretary described the groundbreaking as a great step towards achieving one of the Board’s key mandates, adding that “this project will positively impact Bayelsa State in general and Emeyal community and its environs in particular. Citizens of thehostcommunityandenvirons will also benefit from on-the-job training opportunities.” Wabote appealed to the host communitytosupportanddefend the project so it will be completed on schedule, warning that it will be relocated if it faces unreasonable demands and disruptions. Inhisremarks,theGovernorof BayelsaState,HenrySeriakeDickson, represented by the secretary to the state government, Kemela Okara, commended NCDMB for siting one of the oil and gas parks in the state. He acknowledged thatNCDMBhadbeenaveritable partner of the state government andhadcontributedtothegrowth and development of Bayelsans. Okara asserted that the Government was determined to industrialise the state and will support every effort designed to complement its efforts. “As a state we will support the execution of this project and ensure there is peaceful and conducive environment to aid the speedy completion as planned.”

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Directors urged to embrace digitalisation as enabler SEYI JOHN SALAU

or cooperate organisation to perform optimally and meet shareholders demand of increased bottom line (attracting profit to the business), directors and board members have been urged to embrace digitalisation as business enabler. Digital advantage resides largely in the opportunity to customise not only products and services but also organisational strategy and structure. This position was stated at the Institute of Directors (IoD) Nigeria new members induction held in Lagos recently, where it was revealed that rather than search for a blueprint to guide directors and board members through digitalisation, firms should define their own digital road map. Victor Eburajolo, group deputy MD, Afprint plc, guest speaker at the induction, said there was no border anymore between the pre- and postdigital worlds. According to Eburajolo, digital is business and business is digital. Eburajolo said while for some executives, digital was about technology, for others, it was a new way of engaging customers, as it also represented an entirely new way of doing business. “Business leaders in em-

bracing a digital agenda must ensure clarity of vocabulary and sharpen language, thus they must have a clear and common understanding of what digital means to them and consequently, what it means to the business. Digital should be seen less as a thing and more a way of doing things. “The environmental shift caused by digital may challenge the very existence of individual companies, even entire industries. Boards and executives will need to question all pre-existing assumptions about the firm’s mission and industrial positioning, as well as the sustainability of its business models and methods,” he said. According to Eburajolo, digital road map is both a strategic document and a canvas that helps to visualise the future. “It is a distillation of a company’s vision, objectives and strategy. A well-crafted roadmap is like a GPS that aids a business in navigating the digital landscape,” he stated. Ahmed Rufai Mohammed, president/chairman of Governing Council, IoD Nigeria, said adapting to the changes of digitalisation posed immense challenges to businesses more as a result of the fast pace of developments in information technology. He opined that improved technology has redefined approaches to busi-

ness competition, resource management and customer engagement. “The future of business has also become less predictable because of the burgeoning impact of disruptive technology, artificial intelligence and digital currencies, amongst other novel interventions that have characterised this digital age. “The implication of this for directors is that they have to continually engage and increase knowledge to be able to take full advantage of the opportunities provided by digitization, while making farreaching business decisions that sustain their organisations and give competitive edge. “IoD Nigeria is conscious of the development, and in providing capacity development services to directors, has emphasized the need for members to educate themselves and embrace digital technology to avoid being obsolete and archaic,” he said. Speaking further on the new inductee, Mohammed said the quality and quantity of membership organisations defines the influence and relevance of such organisation. “For the leadership of any membership organisation, welcoming new members into the fold is always a great pleasure. The strength of any membership organisation is its membership,” he stated.

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Best of Yoruba, Benin cultures on display as Oba Ewuare visits O’oni BOLADALE BAMIGBOLA, Osogbo

he best of traditions and culture of Benin and Ile-Ife kingdoms were on display during the visit of Oba Ewuare II, Oba of Benin, to O’oni of Ile Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi on Saturday. This is coming as the Palace sources recalled that the immediate past O’oni, Oba Okunade Sijuade and late Oba of Benin, Oba Erediauwa both exchanged visits at different times of their reigns. But, the Saturday’s visit was the first Oba Ewuare would pay to the present O’oni, after the latter witnessed his coronation last year. From music to appearance of palace messengers, it was clear that Ife and Benin kingdoms have a lot in common, even as various cultural troupes from Ile Ife and Benin added colours to the historical visit. In his address, Oba Ewuare, commended President Mohammadu Buhari for giving good attention to

security challenges facing the country, but expressed concern about incessant herdsmen/farmers clashes, illegal migration and human trafficking, kidnapping and armed robbery, the development complicated by the porous border, especially in the North East. He urged President Buhari to do more in tackling the issues to ensure peaceful coexistence among Nigerians of various ethnic background and beliefs. He averred that the visit to Ife was to foster better understanding between the two kingdoms, even as he called for emphasis on what united the Ife and Benin kingdoms. Oba Ogunwusi, in his remarks, declared that Ife and Benin kingdoms belong to the same family, adding that gains of the visit would be built upon, to foster more cordial relationship between the two kingdoms. The O’oni added: “If not for the time constraint, I would have loved us to visit where Oranmiyan was buried. He was king in Benin,

Oyo and Ile Ife, where he died and was buried. “This visit will be used to solidify our relationship. Ife will continue to protect what belongs to us as people of similar heritage. I thank you for keeping Benin culture and tradition intact. Without culture, we can’t grow as a nation.” Reacting to what Oba Ewuare said about security challenges in the Northern part of the country, Oba Ogunwusi said royal fathers must assist the political leaders in the country the more, in tackling security infractions across the country. He added that community policing should be adopted with royal fathers playing a prominent role, using their subjects to monitor their domain. The two monarchs later visited “Orun Oba Ado,” in order to pay homage to all Benin kings believed to have been buried in the place, the culture that only ceased in about hundred years ago, when the practice was stopped by the British Colonial masters.

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Mikano celebrate 25th anniversary, donates to orphanage home

ikano International Limited, a global organisation undertaking the business of sales, servicing, maintenance, overhauling and rentals of diesel and gas power generating sets, has donated food items and several other materials to the Compassionate Orphanage Homes in Lagos. The company, with other divisions as steel factory, product and lighting solution, Hyundai heavy duty equipment, said the visitation was one of the many activities lined up to celebrate its 25th anniversary in Nigeria and also to scale up its corporate social responsibility. Speaking at the visit in Lagos, Maysaa Hermes, head of marketing, Mikano International Limited, said apart from the donation to the Compassionate Orphanage Homes, the company had also donated several items to the Blind School in Lagos, adding that it would reach out to 25 more non-governmental organisations (NGOs) across Nigeria. According to Hermes,

NGOs in Nigeria have many expenses regarding feeding, and the first demand for Mikano is to provide them with food items because it is priority, as the company will move on to other plans for the orphanage home in the future. “Every year in Mikano, we have a plan to give out generators. We will also consider giving this orphanage home a generator in the near future. We already have a plan that we are following, as we have already donated generators to many other associations,” she said. She explained that for its 25th anniversary, the company had other activities lined up like raffle draw, car donations and giveaway of various gift items for the people coming to buy from the company. On the company’s other CSR activities, she said, “We have other CSR activities for students in university from June to August. We have a competition for engineering students and the winners who will be rewarded with money and prices. The best student will get a chance to be an

employee at Mikano.” Gabriel Oyediji, founder of Compassionate Orphanage, who also spoke during the occasion, said the donation by Mikano was a very good gesture and was a step in the right direction. “We appreciate their gifts and wish the company more successful years of operations. Our relationship with Mikano has just started and we hope to work with them better going forward. On behalf of the children, we appreciate them and congratulate them on their Silver Jubilee,” Oyediji said. The orphanage home operates in a very tight environment, where demand exceeds supply, he said, stressing that if not for social visits like what Mikano and other philanthropies are doing, it will be difficult for them to operate. He discussed the challenges the orphanage had been having as he emphasised on power supply as the greatest challenge, and called on Mikano to help address the challenge.

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Publication of financial result: CBN to remove defaulting chairmen, MDs from office … to suspend FX dealership licence HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE

he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will remove the chairmen and managing directors of defaulting banks, discount houses (merchant banks) from office if their accounts remain unpublished for 12 months after the end of the bank’s financial year. The regulator made this clear in its Monetary, Credit, Foreign Trade and Exchange Policy Guidelines for 2018 and 2019, released on Friday. Other sanctions to be meted in this regard are suspension of the foreign exchange dealership licence of the bank and its name sent to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (in the case of a public quoted company); and barring the

managing director or his/her nominee from participation in the Bankers’ Committee and disclosing the reason for such suspension. The Guidelines directed that banks to, subject to the written approval of the CBN, publish not later than four months after the end of each financial year, their audited financial statements (statement of financial position and statement of comprehensive income) in a national daily newspaper printed and circulated in Nigeria. The Guidelines maintain that all banks, discount houses and their subsidiaries shall continue to adopt December 31, as their accounting year end. Moses Tule, director, Monetary Policy, CBN, explained that biennial publication was

designed to assuage policy ambiguity, demonstrate the direction and policy continuity of the bank as maintained over time, and to provide prudential guidelines to financial institutions to avoid regulatory capture. The guidelines permit charging of penalty by noninterest financial institutions. The CBN’s Financial Regulation Advisory Council of Experts (FRACE) resolved that “charging of penalty is only permissible when the customer wilfully delays payment that is due.” However, any income derived from the imposition of such penalty must be given to charity. “Under no circumstance shall the bank, its shareholders or staff benefit there from,” according to the Guidelines.

We support global movement to reduce cancer mortality rate – Irvine

n a bid to reiterate its commitment to corporate social responsibility (CSR) values within the communities it operates, environmental utility group, Visionscape Sanitation Solutions, in partnership with the Dorcas Cancer Foundation, expanded its CSR initiative to patients and survivors of child cancer. Speaking at the Visionscape Day CSR courtesy visit to a children’s cancer ward, John Irvine, CEO, Visionscape, said the volunteer scheme was one of the many ways the company was giving back to its host community. “The fight against child cancer is real and remains an important conversation, now more than ever. We support the global movement to reduce cancer mortality rate. We want these children and their loved ones to know that they are not alone in this fight; and that in the midst of

the battle, there is hope. “Our goal is to work with NGOs and other organizations to actively make a positive impact in the lives of every child living with cancer so they can have a chance at brighter future. We are excited to partner with the Dorcas Cancer Foundation and we look forward to helping these children have a healthy and sustainable support system,” Irvine said. Buttressing Irvine’s statement, Maimuna Maibe, head, sustainability and CSR, Visionscape, said, “To mark World Cancer Day on 4th February 2018, the World Health Organisation (WHO) revealed that cancer is responsible for almost one in six deaths globally. However, with 21st century equipment and proper treatment, cancer no longer needs to be a death sentence. “We now have the capacity to reduce its burden and im-

prove the survival and quality of life of people living with the disease. We are proud to join the movement in combating child cancer as we believe that children are the leaders of tomorrow, and deserve the right to have a tomorrow to look forward to.” Excited about the partnership, Adedayo Joseph, director, Dorcas Cancer Foundation, applauded Visionscape for joining the fight against cancer, and implored that more was done to sensitise Lagosians on early detection and proper treatment. “We are very happy to have Visionscape on board as we play our part in providing proper care and treatment for the children living with cancer. We urge other organizations to join the fight and assist with the provision of adequate treatment and medication to help provide a long and happy life for every cancer patient,” Joseph said.

Be fully involved in 2019 election, ULC urges workers

nited Labour Congress (ULC) has urged Nigerian workers to collect their Permanent Voter Card (PVC) and be fully involved in 2019 general election in order to chase out any anti-labour government. Tokunbo Korodo, the chairman, Lagos chapter of the union, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos. According to Korodo, such votes can go a long way to change any government that is not workers friendly, if only workers have their Permanent Voter Cards. “We cannot imagine a situation in which political class are smiling home with cash while workers are languishing in poverty. “A situation whereby some state governments cannot pay the minimum wage of N18,000 salaries of their workers while the Federal Government is planning to increase the workers’ salaries is very sad.

“Some state governments are even owing their workers salary while they are living like kings; this is pathetic,” he said. Korodo said that there was nothing to showcase for the coming May Day Celebration on May 1. According to him, all ULC members will gather at Ojuelegba Bus Stop, walk to Alaka, and from there move to National Stadium to march to mark the celebration. The Federal Government Tripartite Committee on the new National Minimum Wage, days back, held public hearing across the country to gather inputs from stakeholders on a new minimum wage. In Enugu on Thursday, Nigerian workers and pensioners urged both Federal and State Governments as well as private employers to facilitate payment of the new minimum wage to reduce the suffering of workers. They made the plea at a public hearing organised by

the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage for the South-East. In Abuja, Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun advised the organised Labour to demand for fair, just and implementable National Minimum Wage for the Nigerian workers in the country. Aregbesola spoke during the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage Public Hearing in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Thursday in Abuja. The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that the organised labour had submitted a Memorandum to the Tripartite Committee, demanding for a monthly National Minimum Wages of N66,500. Aregbesola, who is also the chairman, Tripartite Committee on the National Minimum Wage, North Central Subcommittee, said the cost of living in any economy must influence the wages paid to the workers.

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Time running out for global steelmakers in US-China trade dispute Many producers so far unscathed but temporary exemptions given to allies are set to expire MICHAEL POOLER

he first grenade lobbed in the brewing trade war between the US and China looks as though it may go off with more of a whimper than a bang. President Donald Trump’s decision in March to impose heavy tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium has triggered a protectionist tit-for-tat between the world’s two biggest economies, with threats of duties on goods ranging from soyabeans and surgical instruments to cars and cotton. But Washington has since signalled it is prepared to narrow the scope of its offensive against the two metals that symbolise the dispute — at least for some countries. This means that steelmakers in many regions, who had feared being caught in the crossfire of trade hostilities, could emerge relatively unscathed, say analysts. Even so, the unexploded ordnance could yet detonate on Tuesday with the expiry of temporary exemptions granted to selected allies. Mexico, Canada, Argentina, Brazil and the EU all have until then to negotiate alternative arrangements to the tariffs, pegged at 25 per cent on steel and 10 per cent on aluminium, that address what the White House sees as a threat to its national security from excessive imports. White House mixed messages on China trade dispute With the clock ticking down on the deadline, there are hopes for extensions if bilateral deals are not reached by then. “What was first presented as a broad-based tariff applied to all US steel imports has morphed into

a far more nuanced policy that will be developed over the coming weeks and months, through bilateral negotiations with key trading partners,” says Seth Rosenfeld of Jefferies. Favourable final settlements would come as a relief in parts of the global steel industry, which is just getting back on its feet following a period of turmoil caused by oversupply. Companies including ArcelorMittal, Posco of South Korea and Tata Steel’s UK arm suffered steep losses after prices for the metal crashed in 2015. The prospect of a blanket tariff initially caused alarm in some quarters of the steel sector, with warnings of potential harm not only to overseas exporters but also from shipments originally destined for US shores flooding other markets. Yet since the nations granted a reprieve were collectively responsible for almost two-thirds of the 34.5m tonnes of steel imported by the US last year, those risks now appear lower. Australia had claimed it has obtained a permanent exemption, while Japan and Turkey have also made requests. “Other than China and Russia, it is extremely difficult to predict which exporters are subject to the tariff in the long run,” wrote Anthony J LaPlaca of the law firm Seyfarth Shaw. A possible model for the other countries is a deal that South Korea has already struck with the US. In place of tariffs, the Asian nation will cap its US-bound exports at 70 per cent of the average levels over the past three years. If a similar quota system is applied widely, US imports could fall 10 per cent to 23 per cent on 2017 levels, according to estimates by Jefferies.

China and India push to improve strained ties Rivals agree to ‘peace and tranquility’ on disputed border as Modi and Xi conclude talks AMY KAZMIN, DELHI AND BEN BLAND

hina’s President Xi Jinping and Indian prime minister Narendra Modi agreed to maintain “peace and tranquillity” along their disputed border and enhance “strategic communication” to prevent tension from escalating, during a summit intended to improve fraught relations between the Asian neighbours. During two days of talks, the leaders also agreed to “handle all our differences through peaceful discussions”, said Vijay Gokhale, India’s foreign secretary, adding that they would offer “strategic guidance” to their respective militaries to avoid

further friction. The informal summit was intended to clear the air and infuse a positive energy into ties between the Asian neighbours after one of the worst years in their bilateral relationship since 1962, when Chinese troops invaded India. But despite the overt display of mutual goodwill, analysts expressed scepticism that the growing strategic rivalry between the two ascending Asian powers would be fundamentally altered. “The outcome was long on symbolism and vague promises, but short on tangible results,” said Brahma Chellaney, a senior fellow at New Delhi’s Centre for Policy Research. “The atmosphere was friendly; the Continues on page A22

President Donald Trump’s decision in March to impose heavy tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium has triggered a protectionist tit-for-tat between the world’s two biggest economies

BP sees no let up in pressure on global oil prices Departing chairman Svanberg says there will be no return to ill-disciplined spending ANDREW WARD

il will be in plentiful supply and prices are likely to remain under pressure in the long term, according to the outgoing chairman of BP, who said there must be no let up in the company’s efforts to lower costs. Carl-Henric Svanberg, the Swede who is due to step down at the end of this year, said BP was “still working with the assumption that this is going to be a world with an abundance of oil” despite recent tightening in the crude market. Brent crude, the international benchmark, has climbed to more than $75 a barrel for the first time in four years, reflecting increasing demand, supply curbs from Opec producer nations and Russia, and concern about geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. This is fuelling a resurgence of profitability for the world’s largest oil and gas companies, several of which announced sharp increases in firstquarter profits last week. BP reports its

results on Tuesday. However, Mr Svanberg, who has been chairman for eight years, said there would be no return to the illdisciplined spending that characterised the industry until oil prices crashed from more than $100 a barrel in 2014. “The fundamental [assumption] is that this is not going to be an easy price situation,” Mr Svanberg told the Financial Times. “Therefore the team is extremely focused on making sure that, this time, if the oil price creeps up, not to let costs rise, but to stay alert.” BP has cut its unit production costs by 46 per cent since 2013 and reduced capital expenditure by a third. Bob Dudley, chief executive, has set a target to lower the group’s break-even point — the oil price needed to cover dividends and capital investment — to less than $40 a barrel within five years, from about $50 last year. BP’s rivals, such as Royal Dutch Shell and Total, have made similar cuts, allowing them to make as much profit at current oil prices as they did

at $100 a barrel. Most of the big oil and gas groups are echoing Mr Svanberg’s rhetoric about the need to maintain spending discipline, given the prospect of growing US shale supplies and long-term curbs on oil demand from the rise of renewable energy and electric vehicles. However, Mr Svanberg saw little threat of a precipitous decline in oil demand, highlighting forecasts from the International Energy Agency that, even if the world delivered on the Paris climate agreement, there would still be a need for 95m barrels of oil a day in 2040. “Even more than 20 years out, the world market for oil and gas will be similar to what it is today,” he said. “It is not disappearing in front of us.” Responsibility for guiding BP through this changing energy landscape will be handed over next January to Helge Lund, the Norwegian former chief executive of BG Group and Statoil, who was announced last week as Mr Svanberg’s successor.

Australia pledges A$500m towards saving Great Barrier Reef Scientists welcome funding boost but warn climate change poses biggest threat JAMIE SMYTH

ustralia will spend an extra A$500m ($380m) to boost water quality, tackle coral-eating starfish and promote scientific research to try and halt the destruction of the Great Barrier Reef, Canberra said on Sunday. The funding package, the largest single investment to protect the World Heritage-listed natural wonder, was cautiously welcomed by scientists. However, some experts warned it would do little to tackle climate change, which poses the greatest threat to the world’s largest reef system. “The money for research is very welcome as we try to buy time for the reef while the world tries to cut CO2 emissions,” said John “Charlie” Veron, a marine scientist who catalogued and named about a fifth of the world’s coral species. “But climate change is the big issue facing the reef and it will remain on death row until greenhouse gas emissions are lowered and water tem-

peratures fall.” The funding pledge follows a study in the journal Nature this month that concluded almost one-third of coral on the Great Barrier Reef died during bleaching events between March and November 2016. Bleaching occurs when corals are exposed to higher than normal water temperatures and sunlight during heatwaves. But in some cases in 2016, corals were “cooked” and died almost immediately during the heatwave, rather than dying of starvation as a result of bleaching, said the study. In 2012 a separate study found the reef had lost half its coral cover since 1985 due to factors including higher ocean temperatures, increasing storms, predatory starfish and declining water quality. Canberra’s funding package includes A$201m for measures to improve water quality such as changing farming practices, including cutting fertiliser use and adopting new technologies and land management practices. A further A$100m will go towards research aimed at science

that supports reef restoration; A$58m on fighting the coral-eating crown-ofthorns starfish and a further A$85m on monitoring and community engagement programmes. “We are looking at a whole range of new initiatives, taking best advice of the experts, working closely with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority to ensure that the reef has its best chance into the future,” said Josh Frydenberg, Australia’s environment minister. “Millions of dollars will go into science and to better data management and to be able to test the impacts on the reef.” But the Liberal-National coalition government is being criticised for its promotion of thermal coal — one of Australia’s most valuable exports and the biggest source of fuel for domestic electricity generation. The fossil fuel is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and critics want the government to stop encouraging the development of new coal mines, including a A$16.5bn new mine proposed by Indian company Adani.

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Land reform stirs political passions in South Africa President Ramaphosa must balance risk of economic damage with need to tackle JOSEPH COTTERILL

n jeans and a hoodie, Zandile Cewu shows photographs of her 100 or so head of cattle as she drives her pick-up truck along a muddy track in Eastern Cape, one of South Africa’s poorest regions. The 42-year-old farmer has ambitions for her 444-hectare property

that grew from the plot her late father bought cheaply as part of a redistribution programme run by the African National Congress after apartheid fell. “I want to be a commercial farmer, even a stud breeder,” said Ms Cewu, a star of Farmer’s Weekly, the country’s top agricultural read. “I don’t want to be a smallholder for the rest of my life.” A parliamentary committee will

re-examine a constitutional clause on land reform in the coming months, possibly amending it to allow expropriation without compensation. This would be a radical step aimed at tackling a racial economic divide and reflects the fact that land has become one of most contentious political issues in South Africa. “Land was the rock on which the

ANC was founded,” Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa’s president, told the Financial Times. “What you now want to do is to unlock the utilisation of our land by spreading it among our people — so that the land can be properly and usefully utilised for the majority of our people.” Mr Ramaphosa has to balance fears that expropriation will damage the

Kenya bans ‘lesbian romance’ film ahead of Cannes debut

China and India push to improve strained ties... Continued from page A21 two leaders displayed bonhomie. Yet in terms of substance, this meeting begs the question as to what has been achieved. “It’s China’s increasingly aggressive behaviour — and its determination to contain India — that is at the root of tension,” he added. Zhang Baohui, a professor of political science at Lingnan University in Hong Kong, said that Beijing tended to exaggerate the success of its diplomatic initiatives and that reducing bilateral tension — and the “trust deficit” between Mr Modi and Mr Xi — would take time. “These conflicts are deeply rooted in the unresolved border disputes and the legacies of the 1962 war,” he said. “Long-term strategic mistrust and rivalry need more time to be sorted out.” Relations between China and India have soured in recent years, despite Mr Modi’s initial warm overtures to Beijing after his 2014 election. Last year, Indian and Chinese troops were locked in a 72-day stand-off on a disputed Himalayan plateau claimed by both Bhutan — India’s tiny neighbour and de facto protectorate — and by Beijing. While the stand-off was defused without shots being fired, New Delhi is alarmed at Beijing’s growing economic influence over India’s neighbours such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives and Nepal, and its increased strategic presence in the Indian Ocean. Beijing, meanwhile, has bristled at New Delhi’s critique of Mr Xi’s signature Belt-and-Road initiative, and is suspicious of India strengthening strategic ties with China’s big rivals, the US and Japan. C. Raja Mohan, director of Carnegie India, a think-tank, said Beijing now wants better relations with India — along with other neighbours such as Vietnam and Japan — to hedge against the growing unpredictability of its relations with Washington under President Donald Trump. “The geopolitical context has changed with the US threatening and demanding a reorganisation of the China-US economic relationship,” Mr Mohan said. “The Chinese have woken up and said: ‘At least keep our periphery a little calmer’.” Many Indian analysts feel Mr Modi is also eager to change the tone of engagement with India’s more powerful neighbour to ensure no repeat of last year’s border confrontation or other public spats, with a general election looming. In Wuhan, Mr Xi and Mr Modi toured a provincial museum together, strolled along the picturesque banks of Wuhan’s East Lake — where Mao Zedong had a holiday villa — and then engaged in a traditional tea ceremony during a boat ride on the lake.

economy against frustrations about stubbornly high levels of post-apartheid inequality in Africa’s most industrialised democracy. By contemplating land expropriation a year ahead of national elections, the ANC is also protecting its flank from the Economic Freedom Fighters, the leftist breakaway group that is pushing for nationalisation of all land.

‘Rafiki’ is first Kenyan movie to premiere at festival but censors say gay scenes are illegal

JOHN AGLIONBY

North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un, left, shakes hands with South Korea’s president Moon Jae-in at the military demarcation line that divides their countries © AFP

North Korea pledges to close nuclear site in May Pyongyang offers disarmament in exchange for security guarantees CHARLES CLOVER

orth Korea has promised to close its nuclear test site next month and invite foreign inspectors to verify the closure, South Korean officials said on Sunday, as the two sides sought to build on the momentum of their historic summit. Officials in Seoul said the North’s supreme leader Kim Jong Un made the pledge at Friday’s summit with the South’s president Moon Jae-in. The talks aimed to end the seven-decade-long Korean war and achieve nuclear disarmament. The two leaders’ joint statement, which vowed “complete denuclearisation” of the Korean peninsula, has been criticised for lacking detail or specific steps. In an apparent effort to address such concerns, Yoon Young-chan, Mr Moon’s press secretary, said Mr Kim had agreed to provide more details about the closure of the nuclear test site and to permit foreign inspections of the facility. Mr Yoon also cited comments Mr Kim made on Friday that reiterated North Korean suggestions that the hermit state could disarm if the US provided security guarantees. Mr Kim said the North “would conduct the shutdown of its nuclear test facility in Punggye-ri in May” and “invite experts and

journalists from South Korea and the United States to the North soon in order to transparently reveal it to the international community”, according to Mr Yoon. Mr Kim’s promise to close the test site may be met with scepticism, particularly given claims that it has already collapsed and is unusable, making it a concession of dubious value, experts said. Two groups of Chinese scientists have said the testing site, 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, which houses the facility, they said. “Some claim we are closing down an unusable test site, but if they come and see, they will understand that there are two bigger tunnels than the existing test facilities and that they are in a very good condition,” Mr Yoon quoted Mr Kim as saying during Friday’s summit at Panmunjom. The US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies last week questioned the Chinese scientists’ claims, saying it was wrong to conclude that the test site had been destroyed and was inoperative. Mr Kim had announced before the summit that he would halt nu-

clear tests and close the Punggye-ri test site, without giving any details about timings. Mr Yoo added that Mr Kim had told his summit hosts to be optimistic about further talks. “The United States, though inherently hostile to North Korea, will get to know once our talk begins that I am not the kind of person who will use nuclear weapons against the South or the United States across the Pacific,” Mr Kim said, according to Seoul. “There is no reason for us to possess nuclear weapons while suffering difficulties if mutual trust with the United States is built through frequent meetings from now on, and an end to the war and non-aggression are promised,” he added. Mr Moon spoke by phone with Donald Trump for 75 minutes on Saturday night, with the US president telling his counterpart he was pleased that the Korean leaders had reaffirmed the goal of denuclearisation during their summit, South Korean officials said on Sunday. In a statement, the White House added that the two leaders had agreed to remain in close contact “in coming weeks”. They also discussed three potential locations for a summit to be held between Mr Kim and Mr Trump, as early as next month, the South Korean side said.

enya has banned the country’s first feature film invited to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival because its “clear intent to promote lesbianism in Kenya is contrary to the law”. The Kenyan Film Classification Board said in a series of tweets on Friday that Rafiki — which means “friend” in Swahili — has “homosexual scenes counter to the law, the culture and the moral values of the Kenyan people. It seeks to legitimise lesbian romance.” Gay sex is illegal in many African countries. In Kenya it is punishable with up to 14 years’ imprisonment. Rafiki is an adaptation of the awardwinning short story “Jambula Tree” by Ugandan author Monica Arac de Nyeko. Set and shot in Nairobi by writer/director Wanuri Kahiu, the 80-minute movie depicts how a friendship between two women blossoms into romance. It has been selected to show in the Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes festival next month. The KFCB added that consultations with Ms Kahiu “concluded that the film be edited and submitted for reclassification”. But Ms Kahiu said that the only concern raised by the board with her was “that the ending was too positive and . . . [not] a reflection of society”. “They didn’t say anything about other scenes that included kissing,” she added. “I’d have thought they would have given it an 18 rating because it’s not only curtailing the rights of creatives but it’s not respectful to an adult Kenyan audience to ban a film,” she told the Financial Times. “Adults can make informed decisions about a film and what they think about the content.” Ms Kahiu said she considered the ban as being “more about freedom of expression than gay rights”. The classification board’s tweets included the hashtag #KFCBbanslesbianfilm, which was quickly picked up by people who supported the decision. Uhuru Kenyatta, the Kenyan president, said earlier this month in a CNN interview that gay rights were “not an issue of human rights, this is an issue of society”. “I will not engage in any subject that is not of any major importance to the people and the Republic of Kenya,” he said. The controversy comes as the Kenyan high court hears a case on whether certain elements of the country’s penal code target the lesbian, gay and bisexual community. Previously, Ezekiel Mutua, chairman of the Kenyan Film Classification Board, praised Ms Kahiu, the film and its controversial content. “It speaks about our reality and the challenges our kids are facing and we’re trying to sweep it under the carpet and make it look like it’s not happening,” he said earlier this month on Hot96 FM, a local radio station.

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Bonds and oil prices worry investors Rising yields and crude prices have hit confidence, but will not cause a bear market yet GAVYN DAVIES

he 10-year yield on US Treasuries moved above 3 per cent for the first time since 2013 last week. Although there is no solid evidence that this psychological threshold has any big significance, technical analysts argue that the rising yields have now punctured the long-term downtrend, confirming the start of a big bear market in bonds. Take that with a pinch of salt, but the narrowing equity risk premium is certainly adding to the volatility of risk assets, which remains very high. Furthermore, oil prices have been rising as well. A combined oil and bond shock could spell danger for the global economy and asset prices. But is that really the main narrative that explains recent moves in the financial markets? There is no doubt that oil prices and bond yields have been closely connected in recent years and this correlation has worked in both directions. One explanation is that large shifts in oil prices, caused by supplyside events in the energy markets, trigger big changes in inflation expectations that are then reflected in bond markets. On this hypothesis, rising oil prices could force the Federal Reserve to become more hawkish, threatening an unpleasant end to the economic cycle. However, some of the links here are very dubious. It is not obvious why oil price increases should cause changes in long-term inflation expectations. The Fed and the markets normally assume that such energy shocks will have only temporary effects on the rate of change in consumer prices, provided that the credibility of the central bank’s 2 per cent inflation target remains intact. So far, that is not in any danger. A different explanation for the recent link between bond yields and oil prices is that both of these

variables have been driven by a third factor, such as demand shocks in the US or global economy. An upward demand shock is likely both to raise oil prices and to increase bond yields simultaneously. But that explanation would have less pessimistic implications for equities, because the benefits to profits from higher demand would offset the damage done to valuations from higher bond yields. It is not completely clear which of these explanations is the more compelling at present. The rise in oil prices In the oil market, the IMF’s latest World Economic Outlook was emphatic that 80 per cent of the oil price rise since last September had been due to supply factors (notably the drop in Venezuelan output and the extension of the Opec production restrictions to the end of 2018), leaving only 20 per cent to be explained by the rise in global demand. However, in complete contrast to these calculations, the New York Fed’s widely watched report on Oil Price Dynamics calculates that about half of the recent oil price rise has been due to demand side factors, with the rest due to supply factors and a very large unexplained residual. It is not clear why these estimates differ so much. If we take an average of the two estimates, they imply that about one-third of the oil price rise is due to the demand side, about half is due to the supply side, and the rest is unexplained. Overall, the rise in oil prices since last autumn has been about $25 a barrel, a significant part of which has been due to demand side factors. This is a fairly minor oil shock, reversing only a fraction of the $85 a barrel decline in oil prices in 201415, most of which was due to supply side factors. This is quite unlikely to do much lasting damage to the global economy or markets, unless the supply shock becomes much larger from here.

Deripaska turns to UK Tory peer in race to save EN+ and Rusal Former energy minister Greg Barker at heart of talks to help oligarch respond to US sanctions HENRY SANDERSON, NEIL HUME AND DAVID SHEPPARD

hen Oleg Deripaska was preparing a $1.5bn listing of his holding company on the London Stock Exchange late last year, the Russian oligarch turned to a man who has served as a linchpin between Moscow and the UK establishment for at least two decades. Gregory Barker, a Russophile Tory life peer, former UK energy minister and one-time employee of Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich, was hailed by the company as the man to chair EN+ and assuage corporate governance concerns among potential international investors. Six months on, Lord Barker of Battle will need to draw on all his political skills as he tries to push through a deal to save EN+ and Rusal, the Russian aluminium producer it controls, from crippling US sanctions that have upended the global metals market. The plan, which will see Mr Deripaska reduce his stake in the aluminium-

to-hydro electricity producer from 70 per cent to below 50 per cent, has to win the blessing of both Washington and the Kremlin. More immediately, Lord Barker needs to persuade the US Treasury to extend a May 7 deadline to end Mr Deripaska’s control of the company, otherwise shares in EN+ could be delisted from the LSE, causing further pain for investors. Only then will the former MP be in a position to start sounding out buyers for the shares Mr Deripaska has agreed to sell. Lord Barker has to convince the US Treasury that Mr Deripaska has genuinely severed his ties to the company, which will require finding a buyer who is not connected to the oligarch. A Russian company or businessman could buy his shares but only with the approval of Washington. “There’s a difference between Russian ownership and [selling the company to Mr Deripaska’s] friends and family,” a person familiar with the matter said. The sale has to pass “the sniff test” in Washington.

CEVA joins rash of Swiss IPOs with plan to raise SFr1.2bn Global logistics group seeking to take advantage of Europe’s recovering economies RALPH ATKINS

EVA, a global logistics group owned by private equity investors, has become the latest of a wave of Swiss companies to prepare for a stock market listing, extending a flurry of flotation activity. The company had revenues of $7bn last year and hopes to raise SFr1.2bn from its initial public offering, which will be used to reduce debt. It is the sixth company to launch or announce flotation plans on the Swiss stock exchange so far this year, according to Dealogic. The surge in Swiss stock market debuts follows the delisting of Syngenta, the Swiss agribusiness, following its $43bn takeover last year by ChemChina. But it also highlights investor interest in Europe as the continent’s economies recover and central bank actions keep bond yields low. “Portfolios are shifting into equities — and the European economic recovery story is behind the US,” said one Swiss banker. “It is global money flowing into Europe — and IPOs have

been performing well.” Swiss IPO activity would have been higher if it had not been for two aborted listing projects. In March, Gategroup, the airline catering company owned by Chinese conglomerate HNA, pulled plans to list a 65 per cent stake just hours before the shares were due to start trading. HNA and Gategroup blamed “current market conditions” for differences over the valuation of the shares. The decision to pull the float, however, also suggested investors were wary about taking stakes alongside HNA, which is trying to strengthen its finances. Two weeks later HNA abandoned plans to float Swissport, the air services group it also owns, again blaming “current market conditions”. HNA ran into controversy in Switzerland last year when the country’s takeover watchdog ruled that the Chinese group had provided “untrue or incomplete” information regarding its ownership when it acquired Gategroup for SFr1.4bn in 2016. Other Swiss companies making stock market debuts this year have

been Sensirion, a sensor maker, and Medartis, which makes medical devices. Apart from CEVA, three other companies have plans to list soon on the Swiss stock exchange, according to Dealogic. Last year, Swiss IPO volumes reached $4.7bn — the highest since 2011, Dealogic data show. Trading in shares in CEVA, which had adjusted pre-tax operating profits of $280m in 2017, is expected to start on May 4. It is telling investors it expects to benefit from “structural growth” in the global logistics industry and from deleveraging. Its three largest shareholders are Apollo, Capital Research and Management and Franklin Advisors. The listing plan will also lead to CMA-CGM, the container shipping group, investing between SFr380m and SFr450m and eventually becoming a strategic shareholder with a 25 per cent share. After the transaction, up to 62 per cent of the shares will be freely floated. Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley are acting as joint global co-ordinators.

Apple expected to boost shareholder returns by at least $100bn Record expansion could win over investors concerned about slowing smartphone sales TIM BRADSHAW

pple plans to return an extra $100bn at least to shareholders, analysts predict, as it prepares to redistribute its repatriated overseas profits. A record-breaking expansion to Apple’s capital returns scheme, set to be announced alongside its latest quarterly earnings this week, could help win over investors who have become preoccupied by concerns of a global slowdown in smartphone sales. Apple said in February that it planned to eliminate what was then a $163bn cash pile, net of debt, after repatriating capital accumulated overseas following recent US tax reforms. Wall Street analysts expect the vast majority of those profits to be given back to shareholders in the coming years, in a move that could take Apple’s cumulative capital returns since 2012 to as much as $450bn by 2020. After resuming dividend payments and instituting a share buyback scheme in 2012, Apple has added between $30bn and $50bn to its capital returns programme at around this time every year. At its current pace, ahead of this week’s eagerly anticipated announce-

ment, all those buybacks and dividends will total $300bn by March 2019. Analysts at Morgan Stanley estimate that Apple could announce a $150bn increase to that sum on Tuesday. “This would imply Apple repurchases $210bn in shares and pays $52bn in dividends over the next three years,” the bank said in a recent note to clients, adding that this would still leave about $30bn available for acquisitions. Other Wall Street analysts are not quite so optimistic but their estimates still amount to a record-breaking sum. Citigroup expects a $100bn increase while RBC Capital Markets predicts an extra $80bn-$90bn over four to five years. Luca Maestri, Apple’s finance chief, in February told investors the company was aiming “to become approximately net cash neutral over time”, but provided no deadline for doing so. Neil Cybart, an analyst at Above Avalon, said a dramatic increase in capital returns was the only way for the iPhone maker to achieve that goal, given it is still churning out more than $50bn of free cash flow a year on top of its substantial existing reserves. “Assuming Apple maintains its

current share buyback pace and cash dividend payouts, it would take Apple close to 10 years to spend $325bn of excess cash,” he said. “Big changes are needed in order for Apple to reach an optimal capital strategy in a reasonable amount of time.” When Apple reports its latest quarterly earnings on Tuesday, the world’s most valuable company is expected to reveal revenues of about $61bn, after selling an estimated 54m iPhones in the three months to March. However, the company’s shares have softened following a succession of gloomy trading updates from suppliers such as Qualcomm, Samsung and TSMC, which have warned that iPhone sales are slowing down. Investors will be watching Apple’s outlook closely for any signs of weakness. Morgan Stanley recently slashed its forecast for iPhone sales in the June quarter to 34m, implying a 17 per cent year-on-year decline, which its analysts fear could overshadow the long-awaited decision on what to do with all that overseas cash. “Apple’s capital return announcement could amount to a ‘sell the news’ type of event, especially if forward estimates are revised materially downward,” Morgan Stanley said.

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CITYFile 2 Cameroonians jailed over Nigerian passports

A submerged vehicle as floods continue to wreak havoc in Nairobi, Kenya. NAN

Insecurity: Chinese expatriates flee Lokoja-Okene road project VICTORIA NNAKAIKE with Wire Report

he growing insecurity around the country has taken a toll on Lokoja-Benin road dualisation, being handled by CGC Nigeria Limited, as Chinese expatriates supervising section one of the project have fled the site due to fear of kidnapping. Yaba Abubakar, the project manager, section one, Lokoja-Benin road dualisation project, confirmed this on Friday in Okene during a media tour of some federal projects in the state. Abubakar said that four of the company’s expatriates had been kidnapped in the past and the company was forced to pay ransom before they were released. According to him, the fear of insecurity and further attack had made the expatriates to abandon the site. “Four of our Chinese expatriates have been Kidnapped and released after payment of ransom and because of fear of further attack, the expatriates had left

the site. “We have reported the case to the relevant security authorities and as you can see, we are presently being secured at the present site by the police. “But till, the security agents at the site cannot guarantee enough security for the Chinese to return to the site,” he said. Abubakar said the absence of the expatriates at the site has, however, not affected the execution of the project. The project manager pledged that with adequate funding, phase one of the section awarded to his company would be completed in December as scheduled. He said that section one of the LokojaBenin road dualisation project was divided into two phases with phase one, Okene bypass covering from Itakpe Junction to Ajokuta Junction. Abubakar added that the phase two of the project awarded to his company covered Obajana Junction to Itakpe Junction. Eleweke Ndubuisi, of the federal ministry of power, works and housing, who supervises the section one, said the

project was awarded 2012. He blamed the delay in the completion of the project on the economic recession, adding that phase one of the project was earlier awarded as Okene bypass to ease traffic in Okene town. Ndubuisi said the phase two was later awarded but that the contractor is currently concentrating on the 18 kilometre phase one of the project. He said the phase was 70 per cent completed, adding that the injection of Sukuk fund to the project had facilitated its execution. “With the Sukuk fund released to this project, we were able to execute and complete seven kilometres of the project,” he said. He blamed the incidences of kidnapping at the site on the fact that the road was a virgin project being constructed inside forest. The supervisor said the kidnappers were taking advantage of the large forest surrounding the project to perpetrate the criminal act.

Ondo NSCDC arrests illegal miner YOMI AYELESO, Akure

igeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Ondo State command has arrested a man identified as Madabuchi for alleged involvement in illegal mining activities in the state. Pedro Awili, NSCDC state commandant, who paraded the suspect before newsmen in Akure, the state capital, said that he was arrested at Laoso in Ondo west local government area of the state. Awili alleged that the suspect had been involved in illegal mining, ignoring several warnings by the community “The suspect was making money from the illegal activities which ought to have

gone to Federal Government. He had a forged document to back his illegal activities. “We all know that solid minerals are exclusively for the Federal Government and there is a federal ministry that regulates and grants licenses for such to be extracted. “The illegal miners have been warned many times to desist from such activities. They have been told that those who have interest in mining should apply for license from Federal Government and not to go through any enterprise somewhere,” he said. The NSCDC commandant quoted the suspect as saying that he had permit from a particular ministry in the state

since 2012. He added that the command also arrested a drug dealer with mask while riding a motorcycle loaded with two bags of cannabis. Awili said that another set of suspects was arrested with locally made rifle and cartridges but two out of them escaped. “Though one of them said to be farmer but the bottom line is that he has confessed to be dealing illegally with government forest reserve facilities in Ala, Akure. “Our men who are guarding the forest arrested them and investigation is ongoing. I believe that these are the people terrorising Ondo State residents, engaging in armed robbery, kidnapping and other crimes,” he said.

wo Cameroonians Ebwe Michael and Ngu Tiku have been sentenced to 18 years imprisonment or a fine of N500,000 each, by Justice I. M. Sanni, of the Federal High Court sitting in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, for illegally acquiring Nigerian passports. Sanni while sentencing the convicts on Friday said that the court was lenient on them because apart from being first offenders, they pleaded guilty and did not waste the time of the court. The judge said that if the convicts failed to pay the fine, they would serve their sentences in Nigeria and would be deported after completion of their sentences. Speaking to newsmen after the ruling, the prosecution counsel, David Babale, said the first convict, Michael, 43, in 2012 acquired a Nigerian passport without being detected. Babale said luck, however, ran out on him when he came for re-issue in March 2018 with the second defendant, Tiku, 35, when they were caught by a vigilant Immigration officer in Uyo. Also speaking, the defence counsel, Mfon Uyoh, said he was satisfied with the judgment. According to him, the judge was lenient with the accused because they pleaded guilty and did not waste the time of the court. “It was a good judgment in the sense that the judge has to be lenient on the convicts. He did not impose the maximum sentence on them. They are remorseful, pleaded guilty and did not waste the time of the court,” he said. (NAN)

Police arrest operator of fake WAEC centre JOSHUA BASSEY

agos police command says it has arrested a 48-year man suspected to be the operator of a fake West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) examination centre in Igbogbo, Ikorodu. Edgal Imohimi, Commissioner of Police (CP) in charge of the command, said the suspects were arrested following a complaint by a senior member of staff of WAEC office, Ogba. “The complaint was that there exists a fake WAEC centre at El-Supreme Private School located at No. 3, Oseni Adekogbe Street, Igbogbo Ikorodu. “Operatives of the command attached to Area ‘G’ Ogba, were mobilised to the above address where one Pastor Adeniyi Joshua of El-Supreme Church was arrested. “WAEC question papers and answer sheets suspected to be forged were recovered from the suspect.” Imohimi said. Similarly, four suspects who specialise in solving examination questions and circulating the answers through various websites and Whatsapp numbers were also paraded by the police. Imohimi said the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) decoy team traced and arrested the suspects from Edo, Osun and Ondo State. “Some other suspects had been traced to Ghana. We are working with Interpol to make sure they are arrested as soon as possible. “We are also working with the examination bodies involved to make sure we get to the bottom of this. This is something of national interest and a great embarrassment. We will ensure that this does not repeat itself.” The police chief warned parents, guardians, tutors and WACE candidates to be guided or faced the law.

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NEWS YOU CAN TRUST I MONDAY 30 APRIL 2018

Opinion Integrating Africa’s economies: The Osakwe factor GLOBAL PERSPECTIVES

OLU FASAN Dr. Olu Fasan, a London-based lawyer and political economist, is a Visiting Fellow at the London School of Economics. e-mail: o.fasan@lse.ac.uk, twitter account: @olu_fasan

hen I arrived as a doctoral researcher at the World T ra d e O rganisation (WTO) in Geneva in May 2005, I immediately learned that a Nigerian, Dr Chiedu Osakwe, was a director in the organisation. I sought an audience with him, and we met. He was personable and engaging. I stayed in touch throughout my time at the WTO. Several years later, in 2013, the Commonwealth Secretariat asked me and a colleague at the London School of Economics, Dr Stephen Woolcock, to produce a paper on the WTO Doha Development Agenda. Dr Osakwe, former director of the DDA at the WTO, was one of our go-to persons. At his office, he welcomed us warmly as he fielded our questions authoritatively. He was intelligent, articulate and eloquent, as he always is. As we left, Dr Osakwe, who has published widely on trade issues, gave us a copy of his most recent article. His insights were helpful as we wrote the paper, which we later presented in London and Geneva at events organised by the Commonwealth Secretariat. The paper is on the reading list for the LSE’s Economic Diplomacy Master’s programme! I have said all this just to make the point that Dr Osakwe is a great asset to Nigeria and Africa. Few Africans boast his impeccable credentials and wealth of experience in leading and managing the processes of economic and trade policy reforms, and trade negotiations, involving developing countries. At the risk of boring you with granular detail, let’s consider some of his achievements. In his nearly two decades at the WTO, Dr Osakwe had been special coordinator for the least-developed countries (LDCs), heading the inter-agency working group for the Integrated Framework for LDCs; director, technical cooperation division, delivering capacity-building programmes for developing countries; director, textile division; director, Doha Development Agenda, leading on the DDA negotiation process; and director of the WTO Accession Division, helping several developing countries through the difficult accession process, including negotiations, reforms and technical

assistance, for becoming WTO members. Indeed, Dr Osakwe has traversed the entire universe of global trade governance, covering the technical, policy and diplomatic spectra. It’s a no-brainer: A person of such talent would certainly be sought after by governments and organisations. And, thus, it turned out: a call to serve Nigeria and Africa beckoned! First, Nigeria. After leaving the WTO and following a stint as an adjunct professor at the International University of Geneva, Dr Osakwe was appointed as trade adviser to the Nigerian trade minister, Dr Okechukwu Enelamah, and later, in June 2017, as Nigeria’s chief trade negotiator and director-general of the newly established Nigerian Office for Trade Negotiations (NOTN), which obviously has his imprimatur, as he helped to birth it. Then, almost in tandem, Africa called. On 5 June 2017, in Niamey, Niger, the African Union (AU) elected Dr Osakwe as chairman of the Negotiating Forum for the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). Although the AfCFTA negotiations were launched in 2015, little progress was made for nearly two years. But with Osakwe’s appointment, Nigeria was put at the forefront of the negotiations and tasked to bring the talks to successful conclusion. International trade negotiations are a function of technical expertise, diplomatic efforts and political will. The first two were fully covered by Dr Osakwe, who is also an ambassador, and the trade minister, Dr Enelamah, who was the chairman of the African Union Ministers of Trade, with

despite this, we must not underestimate the significance of the two levels of approval that were secured – the technical and the ministerial. They involved building consensus among Africa’s 54 disparate countries, a credit to the negotiators and the trade ministers, led, respectively, by Osakwe and Enelamah! Well, it’s worth noting that Dr Osakwe went ahead full throttle on the AfCFTA project driven not only by a technocratic zeal, but also by historical and ideational convictions. First, he blames colonialism for the fragmentation of Africa’s economies and sees AfCFTA as “an unravelling process”. As he put it in November 2017, AfCFTA “is about shedding the colonial legacy of a divided continent and fragmented markets”. Secondly, he is convinced about the huge geo-political implications of AfCFTA as, potentially, the largest free trade area in the world, given Africa’s population, estimated to be about 4bn in 2050 and its GDP, which, according to the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), could reach $29 trillion by 2050. Then, thirdly, he believes AfCFTA would help Africa to be fully integrated into the global economy, into global value chains. But is Osakwe like Hannibal, who won battles but lost the war, given that Nigeria, his own country, refused to sign the AfCFTA treaty? Well, the converse, I would say, is true. He won the war but lost some battles. I will analyse the AfCFTA agreement and give my view on its scope in another column. But I can say, even now, that it is hugely significant, indeed epochal, that,

But I can say, even now, that it is hugely significant, indeed epochal, that, for the first time, Africa has a free trade agreement, signed by 44 countries. If the agreement is ratified by the requisite number of countries and enters into force, it could take on a life of its own, just as other trade agreements in history responsibility for the AfCFTA negotiations at the ministerial level. The AfCFTA treaty and two annexes on goods and services were agreed at the technical level and approved at the ministerial level by African trade ministers. Of course, the political end of the spectrum proved more difficult. Ten out of the 54 African heads of state refused to sign the AfCFTA agreement in Kigali on 21 March, with Nigeria and South Africa as the two notable refuseniks. Yet,

for the first time, Africa has a free trade agreement, signed by 44 countries. If the agreement is ratified by the requisite number of countries and enters into force, it could take on a life of its own, just as other trade agreements in history, such as the old GATT, that started off rather inconsequentially but, as they gained more acceptance, became very successful: great oaks from little acorns grow! So, Dr Osakwe may have lost some battles, he seems to

have won the war! Yet, let’s face it, Nigeria’s refusal to sign the AfCFTA agreement is extremely embarrassing. Nigeria has, at least symbolically or rhetorically, been at the forefront of efforts to integrate Africa economically. Think of the 1980 Lagos Action Plan for an African common market or the 1991 Abuja Treaty establishing the African Economic Community. What’s more, a Nigerian was the chairman of the Negotiating Forum for AfCFTA and Nigeria’s trade minister was responsible for the AfCFTA negotiations at the ministerial level. Nigeria was even bidding to host the AfCFTA Secretariat. Yet, when it came to the underlying trade-liberalising agreement, Nigeria retreated! Why? Well, I will adduce three reasons. First is the failure of Nigeria’s new negotiating body, NOTN. Obviously, Dr Osakwe could not effectively be, simultaneously, Nigeria’s chief negotiator and chairman of AfCFTA’s Negotiating Forum. But, apparently, while he was building consensus across Africa for AfCFTA, none in NOTN was managing the domestic political side of the negotiation in Nigeria. Any serious trade negotiating body must have political strategists, who actively manage the domestic politics through proactive public outreach and engagement with critical stakeholders, including the media. According to the famous negotiation theorist, Robert Putnam, every international negotiation is a “two-level game”, played at the domestic and international negotiating tables. And, as another negotiation expert, John Odell, puts it: “If negotiators take the domestic political landscape for granted, they can step on a landmine”. Nigeria’s AfCFTA negotiators took the domestic political landscape for granted! But here is the second reason for Nigeria’s behaviour. There is a strong protectionist sentiment in Nigeria, so strong that even if there was proactive public outreach, it probably wouldn’t have mattered. Finally, there is lack of political will. President Buhari is a Marxist, who instinctively believes that capitalism and free markets are a conspiracy against the poor. So, it’s not surprising that he impetuously ducked out of attending the AfCFTA signing event in Kigali. As The Economist rightly said, “Free trade runs counter to political currents in Nigeria”, and Buhari provides political cover for the anti-free trade sentiments. Yet if AfCFTA succeeds, if it leads to one African market, well, while Nigeria missed the historic significance of being among its first signatories, a Nigerian, Dr Chiedu Osakwe, would go down in history as the architect of Africa’s economic unification. A great honour indeed!

fivethings for your new week

Fascinating business facts $5m

The penchant of Nigerians for rice, that white grain is now legendary. It is estimated that Nigerians consume $5m worth of rice every day, translating to about 7 tons yearly. As the nation’s population rises unstoppably, has any one figured out where the rice they will eat will come from?

1 litre There appears to have been an explanation why the milk yield from cow in Nigeria is so abysmally lower that what cattle owners around the world are used. An average daily milk yield in Nigeria is a mere litre a day when average yield can rise up to 10 litres elsewhere. A cow needs about 40 litres of water daily but where will a cow in Nigeria get that amount of water. How about the grass they feed on. With the introduction of Napia grass in Kaduna state it is now thought that milk yield can rise to 3-4 litres a day.

5 tons

Still on farm ield. A maize farmer is Iowa in the United States harvests roughly 14 tons of maize per hectare while his counterpart struggles to attain 5 tons per hectare. What are all the research institutes in Nigeria doing you may ask?

N500bn That is the total value of credit to agriculture in Nigeria yearly. Not enough you might say. However, it is five times what it was ten years ago. It is believed this figure can get even bigger soon if the CBN will facilitate the redefinition of agriculture in its prudential guidelines under which banks must operate.

30m

Brazil boasts about the same population as Nigeria’s but that is where the comparison ends. One state in Brazil has the same land area as Nigeria and boasts 30 million heads of cattle for its 3 million population.

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