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Fashola seeks N10trn bond to rebuild Nigeria’s infrastructure O T

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Glo subscribers suffer partial disconnection from MTN network

…over N10bn interconnect debt Jumoke Akiyode-Lawanson ver 46.5million subscribers on the Globacom network have been restricted from calling any number on the MTN network in Nigeria, as both telecommunications operators battle owed interconnect fees of up to N10billion.

BusinessDay confirmed from

OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja

he immediate past Minister of Power, Wo rk s a n d Hou sing, Babatunde Fashola has called for floating a N10 trillion infrastructure bond.

This, he said, would serve as alternative source of infrastructure finance in Nigeria and take care of the nation’s infrastructure issues and deficit going forward.

He lamented that the nation lacked the much needed funds to fix the alarming infrastructure deficit currently bedevilling the country.

Fashola, a former governor of Lagos State, and ex Minister of works, stated this on Monday at his ministerial screening in Abuja, while fielding questions

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Inside BusinessDay, Trinity University to partner on robust intellectual engagements P. 2

L-R: Oscar Onyema, CEO, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE); Bola Adesola, CEO, Standard Chartered Bank of Nigeria Limited; Temi Popoola, CEO, Renaissance Capital; Jumoke Oduwole, senior special adviser to the president on industry, trade and investment; Chiedu Osakwe, director-general, Nigerian Office for Negotiations, and Bismark Rewane, MD/ CEO, Financial Derivatives Company, at the special policy dialogue colloquium in Lagos, yesterday. Pic by Olawale Amoo

INEC fails to call witnesses in defense of Buhari’s P. 2 election

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news INEC fails to call witnesses in defense of Buhari’s election Felix Omohomhion, Abuja

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L-R: Isa Dutse, permanent secretary, Ministry of Finance; Donald Kaberuka, board chairman, African Development Bank (DBN); Tony Okpanachi, MD/CEO, DBN; Umaru Abdul Mutallab, chairman, Jaiz Bank plc, and Shehu Yahaya, chairman, board of directors, DBN, during the DBN lecture series, title ‘Surviving To Thriving: MSMEs as key the key to unlocking inclusive growth in Africa’ held in Abuja, yesterday.

Pic by Tunde Adeniyi

BusinessDay, Trinity University to partner on robust intellectual engagements KELECHI EWUZIE

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etermined to build a stronger industry partnership between the organisation and the University, Business Day Newspaper Limited, Monday paid a Business visit on the management of Trinity University, Lagos under the leadership of the vicechancellor, Charles Korede Ayo at the institutions permanent site located in Yaba.

The visit was to formally introduce the media house to the vice-chancellor and explore robust intellectual opportunities with the institution.

Trinity University is one of the four private universities licensed by the Federal Government in January, 2019 with a mission to equip students with knowledge, skills,

attitudes, competences and value through quality teaching, mentoring, learning and research, thus creating effective change agents and value-adding members of the society.

Patrick Atuanya, editor, BusinessDay, who led the delegation, said the Newspaper is the leading business daily in the whole of West Africa and the most read by people in the business community in the country.

Atuanya stated that having already established working partnerships with some leading firms within and outside Nigeria, BusinessDay is now desirous of cementing a mutually benefiting partnership with the University.

He pointed out that BusinessDay newspaper is always passionate about the economy and education coverage,

adding that the collaboration between both organisations present an opportunity for undergraduate students at Trinity University to tap into the huge resource that the newspaper offers to aid their learning.

He further stated that areas of partnership would include a free pass to the students of the institution to BusinessDay conferences, distribution of copies, internship opportunities for undergraduates from the university and media coverage of the university events.

BusinessDay has been working closely with some tertiary institutions by distributing it’s newspapers at a subsidised cost of N50 only to members of the University Community as against its actual price of N300.

In his response, the vice-

chancellor, Charles Korede Ayo commended the team for the visit and informed of Trinity University willingness to partner BusinessDay. Ayo stated that presently the university runs programmes in the faculty of science and art, business management and social sciences. Adding that in all the university is offering 15 programmes.

The professor of computer and information science pointed out that as a university administrator and professional, he noticed that the rise in youth unemployment is as a result of the disconnect between town and gown.

He further assured that as a newly licensed university, it is open to collaboration in the areas of resources, human and infrastructure, to make the idea a success.

Like Apapa, deplorable roads threaten business activities in Onne, Calabar Ports AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE

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imilar to the notorious traffic gridlock experienced daily by port users doing business in Apapa and TinCan Island Ports, their counterparts doing business in Calabar and Onne, are facing the same situation due to the deplorable state of East-West Road leading to Onne and Ibom-Ikon Road that leads to Calabar.

BusinessDay visit to Onne Port shows that it now takes an average of three to five hours to get to Onne from Port Harcourt due to the bad portions, portholes and gulley on the East-West Road.

With the bad portions, port users, cargo owners

and other motorists are now losing man-hour on the road, which many say, is affecting their businesses as the importers pay premium as demurrage to shipping companies for not taking delivery of their containers as and when due.

It was also discovered that several bulk cargo and empty container carrying trucks were parked indiscriminately on the East-West Road, leading to Onne Port from Port Harcourt.

Aamir Mirza, managing director, of the West African Container Terminal (WACT), the terminal operator in Onne, who solicited for government support in addressing infrastructural iswww.businessday.ng

sues limiting Onne Port, said that improving the state of the East-West Road and road connectivity to the port, will position Onne to become a leading port in West Africa.

Reacting to this, Umana Okon Umana, managing director, Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority (OGFZA), said in Onne that on resumption of office, he realised that the bad state of East-West Road compels shippers and other ports users to spend three to four hours on the road in order to have access to Onne Port.

According to him, the Niger-Delta Development Commission (NDDC) together with other private investors, had to come to

rescue the situation, but promised to ensure that the Commission would help to ameliorate the plight of port users in Onne and the entire Oil and Gas Free Zone.

Hadiza Bala Usman, managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), said in a recent interview in Lagos, the NPA, believed there is need to improve the fortunes of Nigerian ports, because the importers bring their cargoes to the ports through the shipping lines.

She said the state of the roads linking Eastern ports to the hinterland, is another issue people look at before

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urprisingly, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday failed to call any witness in the petition challenging the declaration of Muhammadu Buhari as winner of the February 23, 2019, presidential election.

Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party and his party are challenging the declaration of Buhari as winner of the election on the ground that it was marred by irregularities.

At the resumed sitting at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, on Monday, INEC said the petitioners were unable to prove their allegations of irregularities and favouritism in their petition hence it was needless to put up a defense.

Atiku and PDP had on July 19 closed their case after they called 62 witnesses and tendered over 50,000 documentary and video evidence to substantiate their claims that the election was rigged in favour of President Buhari and the APC.

INEC lead lawyer, Yunus Usman (SAN) in a veiled reference to nonpresentation of witnesses informed the tribunal that the electoral body has no defence to the allegations of series of malpractices that allegedly characterised the elections. The counsel merely said that part of the evidence adduced by Atiku and PDP as the two leading petitioners will be used to make its case.

According to Usman, the electoral body is satisfied with the testimony of the petitioners’ witnesses under cross-examination, to the extent that the election was validly held.

Yunus said calling on witnesses would amount to helping the petitioners do their case.

“We cannot help them to do their case. All their witnesses confirmed our position about the conduct of the election,” Usman said.

INEC had on February 28 announced Buhari as winner of the poll having scored majority of the votes cast in the election.

But Atiku and his party alleged widespread rigging,

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Telcos maintain earnings momentum amid fragile economy BALA AUGIE

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he largest telecommunication companies in Africa’s largest economy have maintained earnings momentum amid a slow growing economy as they continue to increase coverage of 4G network with a view to supporting growth in data revenue.

For the first six months through June 2019, the cumulative operating profit of MTN Nigeria Plc and Airtel Africa Plc increased by 46.69 percent to N233.92 billion from N159.21 billion the previous year.

Combined revenue was up 13.60 percent to N679.19 billion in June 2019, from N597.18 billion the previous year.

Airtel Africa, which became the third largest firm by market capitalization after raising $750 million in London, saw operating profit jump by 90.10 percent to N43.52 billion in the period under review from N22.71 billion the previous year.

Margins were buoyed by voice and data revenue as the telecoms giants add customers to their data bases @Businessdayng

while subscriber bases have improved.

Analysts also attribute the stellar performance to a stable exchange rate, thanks to the introduction of the Investors’ and Exporters’ FX window by the central bank in 2017.

“There are still opportunities for Telco’s to grow their earnings especially when they get the payment service licence from the regulator,” said Ayodeji Ebo, managing director and CEO of Afrinvest Securities Limited.

The cost control mechanism put in place by management and boards of directors yield fruit as cumulative average earnings before interest and taxation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) margin, increased to 53.30 percent in the period under review from 45.25 percent the previous year.

Analysts at CSL Stock Broker Limited view the growth potentials of telecoms giants’ business as huge considering mobile penetration rate of 86 percent in the first quarter of 2019, which could help in

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news

Brazil, key template for Nigeria on development banking - Kaberuka

… DBN advances N70bn loan to over 50,000 MSMEs Onyinye Nwachukwu & Cynthia Egboboh, Abuja

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igeria could learn from the Brazilian development bank template that thrives on the back of correction on market failures, infrastructure funding as well as good governance, Kaberuka Donald, former president, African Development Bank, said on Monday.

Speaking in Abuja at an inaugural annual lecture series of Development Bank of Nigeria, Kaberuka said for a development bank to succeed, it is important to identify and correct its market failures for SMEs in a friendly way as well as expand funding base without relying so much on the state.

He said another condition needed for development bank is good governance in terms of board, investment decisions and decisions made based on market principles.

“My model for development banks is the BNDS of Brazil,” he said.

“I’m not saying it is perfect, but they have done exactly what your country is trying to do with the DBN. The BNDS total assets is about $272 billion as at 2016, bigger than the total assets of the world bank.”

He said even though the

BNDS was being criticised for funding big corporations, not SMEs, Nigeria could pick tweak its own template to suit local situations.

He further stressed that it was important for the Nigeria to have a sustainable economic growth to fund it’s economic projects, adding the need to ensure growth in all sectors of the economy and expanded income base.

He said “Nigeria revenue to GDP ratio is still 7 percent, the average in southern Africa is 15 percent, Kenya is about 18 percent while morocco is over 21 percent.

There is need for Nigeria to do much better in terms of increased capacity and efficiency”. This he, said would help expand funding options for the small businesses, which are often challenged by financing, multiple taxation, delayed payment on sales of goods, technology, regulations, good rulesappliedinasymmetricalway Meanwhile, the DBN - which claims to be changing the country’s over 41m MSMEs narrative- has in the last 18 months advanced some N70bn loans, impacting over 50,000 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises - most of which are womenowned, its Chairman, Shehu Yahaya said

www.businessday.ng

This comes amid concerns that the viability of the MSMEs - Nigeria’s largest employers of labour and 50% GDP contributor - is still hugely threatened by lack of access to risk management tools,includingsavings,insurance and credit.

“Less than 5% of these businesses have access to credit in the financial system,” Tony Okpanachi, DBN CEO said in his opening remarks at the event.

Latest figures indicate that at the Micro level, about 90.5% do not have access to credit whilst the figure for SMEs is put at 67.9%.

According to Okpanachi, other pressing areas, which rank high for SMEs are assistance in power andwatersupply–83.5%aswellas tax rate reduction - 73.1%.

Development Bank of Nigeria was set up to alleviate financing constraints faced by the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the country by providing long term financing and partial credit guarantees to eligible financial intermediaries on a market conforming and fully financially sustainable basis.

Debt and capital available to the bank at commencement of operation last two years was about $1.3bn and 80 percent of has been expended, Okpanachi told BusinessDay on the sidelines.

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Tuesday 30 July 2019

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NEWS

Poor policy implementation inflates Nigeria’s poverty class - experts … coordinated approach needed in FG’s social safety initiatives HARRISON EDEH, Abuja

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here are rising concerns that the obvious disconnect between government policies and implementation is resulting in worsening multidimensional poverty in Africa’s most populous economy.

Those who spoke with BusinessDay say Nigeria’s federal and sub-national governments have good policies relating to youth and women empowerment, funding, employment and support for small businesses, but implementing them has been difficult basically due to lack of the much needed political will.

“The missing link is a disconnect between government policy and implementation,” Tony Ejinkeonye, executive director, Business Development, Esilknet Africa, said.

Another disconnect is where the different MDAs have interlinking roles that either complement or are incompatible with their primary mandates. “A case in point is where you want to enhance

competitiveness for business but at the same time pushing the FIRS and the Customs to collect more revenue,” he said.

The concerns come as the United Nations Development Programme recently tapped 98 million Nigerians as multi dimensionally poor, increasing from 86 million in a decade.

Mariam Uwais, immediate past senior special assistant in the Presidency on social safety programmes, called for more coordination in the overall ‎approach in the government’s social safety intervention schemes to achieve more results.

“Scaling up the impact of the social safety schemes of the government and the overall sustainability to achieve greater outcome is what we’ve been pushing through a bill to ensure there is long-term effect in what we do, given the rising poverty concerns in the country,” she told BusinessDay, noting a pending bill that would see to the sustainability of the programme for impact.

Joe Abba, country director, DAI and a public sector reform

expert, does not understand why programmes midwifed by the office of the Vice President cannot be domesticated in a way that relevant MDAs of government become a driving force to fast track sustainability and grow impact.

“There is also a need to further discuss in a kind of national dialogue on adoption of ‎state policy to drive the domestication of our social safety programmes to ensure greater impact.”

The UNDP report also notes that when compared to the national poverty line, which measures income/consumption, a larger proportion of Nigerians (51%) are multidimensionally poor than those that are income poor (46%).

Speaking with BusinessDay on the concerns raised by the report, Chijioke Ekechukwu, economist and former directorgeneral of Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, ‎said Federal Government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) was still weak and cannot address the kind of poverty levels in the country.

Petroleum executives in Nigeria to benefit from Africa’s first international management programme …set to start October 2019 in Cape Town STEPHEN ONYEKWELU

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frican Energy Chamber is collaborating with the InstituteforPetroleumDevelopment at the University Texas at Austin, to develop local skills and capacities across Africa’s energy value chain.

This will comprise a comprehensive international training programme from the University of Austin, which starts in Cape Town, October 14.

Registered participants represent companies operating in Algeria, Angola, Cameroon, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Senegal, South Sudan, Uganda, Ghana, Namibia, Gabon, Ghana, Libya, Mauritania, Niger Republic, Nigeria, South Africa, and Sudan.

The International Petroleum

ManagementProgramme(IPMP) is an industry reference and has been specially designed for leaders of international oil companies, the national oil companies, services companies, law firms and government agencies in addition to individuals with a background in engineering, economics, geology, finance, law, accounting and corporate planning.

It is based on the internationally renowned course delivered

by Krishan A. Malik, adjunct professor in the Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering, University of Texas at Austin. The course is a result of over three decades of experience and training, which has been delivered to over 250 CEOs and leaders of national and international oil companies, government officials, private and public institutions from the four corners of the globe.

“The oil and gas industry is

the backbone of most African economies and will continue to be for a long time. While we keep working with all players to unleash the full benefit of oil to Africans, training and developing executives is key as preparation prevents frustration. We have an obligation to develop African executives to be competitive with their international counterparts.

This is a global industry. As the voice of the African energy sector, it is natural that we lead on this,” said Nj Ayuk, executive chairman at the Chamber and CEO of the Centurion Law Group.

The training programme will offer a unique opportunity for African executives and dealmakers to receive training of high quality and international standard, which will ultimately benefit African exploration and production companies, governments and countries in building a robust hydrocarbons sector.

THT holds providers’ forum, assures of timely payment of claims SEGUN ADAMS

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health maintenance organisation (HMO), Total Health Trust Limited (THT), has assured its healthcare providers that it will continue to prioritise the timely processing and payment of claims while urging the providers to continue practicing evidence-based medicine.

The company disclosed this at its annual Providers’ Forum with this year’s edition focusing on sustaining the gains of health insurance in Nigeria.

The Forum, held in Lagos last week, challenged the over 400 delegates made up of medical directors, hospital administra-

tors and HMO officers of over 180 healthcare providers to recognise and celebrate the successes and gains of health insurance in Nigeria over the last two decades.

The Forum inspired healthcare providers to continue playing their respective roles in moving the industry to the next level, while providing a platform to exchange views on addressing issues of concern.

Speakers at the Forum were Nick Zaranyika, CEO, THT; Gideon Anumba, head, Provider Management, THT; Adeola Majiyagbe, general manager, Medical Services, THT; Kunle Megbuwawon, group head, commercial and strategy, www.businessday.ng

Mecure Healthcare Limited, and Kunle Adeyemi, CEO, Crystal Specialist Hospital, who delivered the keynote speech titled, ‘Staying Lean… from Surviving to Thriving’.

Zaranyika, who delivered the welcome address, said the company’s major investment in information technology was expected to enhance operational efficiency and client interaction significantly.

“We are excited by where our business is at the moment. As you would know we received the HMO of the Year Award for 2019, the 3rd time in 4 years we have received this prestigious honour of which we are immensely proud,” Zaranyika said. https://www.facebook.com/businessdayng

@Businessdayng

Tuesday 30 July 2019

BUSINESS DAY

news Babalakin harps on need for continuous legal education TEMITAYO AYETOTO

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agos chapter of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) on Monday held the groundbreaking ceremony of its Lagos Bar Centre in Lekki Phase 1, with Wale Babalakin, pro-chancellor of the University of Lagos and chairman of Resort Group, harping on the need for continuous education for lawyers.

The land for the project was donated to the NBA by the Lagos State government.

Speaking at the event, Babalakin, whoischairmanoftheProjectCommittee,said,“EverybodyinNigerianeedsto bemoreequippedandmoreeducated.

“Wehavetoimprovetheeducation of lawyers as well. That is the bedrock.

When you have good education, you’ll be able to decipher what is good and what is bad and you’ll be able to make your demands,” Babalakin said.

“So,fundamentally,legaleducation is continuous. It doesn’t end with your becoming a lawyer or a SAN,” he said.

On the Lagos Bar Centre, he said for a long time, the NBA Lagos chapter had wanted to provide for its members a comfortable Bar Centre that would be a centre “for ideas, meetings and coordinating the activities of the bar”.

He said he was proud that the project was taking off, adding that the project cost had been significantly “brought down without compromising integrity”.

“The selection of the consultants was done in a competitive way. We have brought cost down significantly without compromising quality. It is to the glory of God that we are able to lay this foundation on the last day

in office of the Lagos NBA chairman, Mr Chukwuka Ikuazom, and I think it is only fair for what he has done. We intend to finish this project ahead of schedule,” Babalakin said.

HesaidtheProjectCommitteehad put the two contractors, who emerged, through a serious test and had insisted that all committee members should visit their projects and take a decision on who should emerge.

“We have kept to the very high standardsofthebarandthereisnobody in the committee that has any interest in any consultant or contractor. The selection process was done with total openness, with capacity, diligence and integrity as the yardstick for choosing the consultants. We made it clear at every stage that we were expending the association’s money and it must be accounted for to the last kobo,” he said.

Paul Usoro, NBA national president, said he was proud to be at the event,addingthatasamemberofLagos branch, he had been involved in the plan to build a Lagos Bar Centre.

He said prudence was critical in project management and delivery, adding that at the national level, they were in the process of amending the constitution to make sure that corporate governance principles were put in place.

Ikuazom, who had earlier promised to deliver a Lagos NBA Bar Centre during his electioneering campaign, thanked all members for their support towards the project. He said his committee had set aside a substantial sum of money for the project and urged his successor to ensure that the centre becomes a reality soon.

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We have recorded substantial gains in fight against human trafficking in Edo – Obaseki … says no presidential directive to issue fresh proclamation

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overnor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State says the state government has recorded impressive gains in the fight against human trafficking, which include opening up economic opportunities for youths, building local capacitytodriveeconomicgrowth and strengthening institutional capacity to check the trend.

Governor Obaseki said this in Benin City in commemoration of the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons marked every July 30, by the United Nations and its sister agencies.

Obaseki expressed the state government’s appreciation to international development organisations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) working with the state to stem the tide of human trafficking.

According to Obaseki, “As we mark the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, I want to use this opportunity to appreciate all

those that have been supporting EdoStateGovernment’sunrelentingactionagainstthemenace.We have recorded impressive gains in the campaign to check human traffickinginEdoState.Wewillnot relent in our efforts.

“In fact, work is advancing on the institutions and structures we are putting in place to check the activities of human traffickers and also making the state conducive for youths to constructively contribute to development. These are evident with the uptake of activities at the Edo Innovation Hub, the Edo Production Centre and the influx of businesses to the state in recent months.”

The governor noted that the awareness campaign against the menace had also not waned, as there were ongoing programmes to galvanise parents in the state to desist from encouraging their children and wards to embark on dangerous journeys overseas.

With the year’s campaign

themed:“HumanTrafficking:Call Your Government to Action,” he saiditwasrefreshingthatthefocus has shifted to the need to task governments to take the front seat in effortstocheckhumantrafficking, noting that Edo State has championed the campaign in the state for years with the enactment of a law to give the fight a legal teeth.

According to the United Nations, “Human trafficking is a crime that exploits women, children and men for numerous purposes including forced labour and sex. Since 2003 the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has collected information on about 225,000 victims of trafficking detected worldwide. Globally countries are detecting and reporting more victims, and are convicting more traffickers. This can be the result of increased capacitytoidentifyvictimsand/or an increased number of trafficked victims.”

Meanwhile, Crusoe Osagie,

special adviser on media and communication strategy to Edo State governor, Monday, said, “Our attention has been drawn to the lead story published in the Vanguard Newspaper of Monday July 29, 2019, with the headline: “Edo Assembly crisis: Buhari directsObasekitoissuefreshproclamation – el-Rufai.”

We wish to state categorically that the story is false as there is no Presidential directive to the Edo State governor to issue a fresh proclamation,Osagiesaid,saying, “President Muhammadu Buhari that we know is a law-abiding leaderwhowillnotissuedirectives that contradict the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution.

“The Nigerian Constitution 1999asamended,mandatesstate governors to issue proclamation only once for the inauguration of their Houses of Assembly and the Edo State Governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki, has dutifully performed this function.”

Assembly sets to screen Sanwo-Olu’s cabinet nominees JOSHUA BASSEY

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he 40-member Lagos State House of Assembly is to begin thescreeningofthe25commissioner and special adviser nominees forwardedtothemforconfirmationby GovernorBabajideSanwo-Olu,about three weeks ago.

Ahead of the screening, which is likely this week, the House of Assembly on Monday set up a 16-man ad hoc committee to handle the exercise.

Recall that House had on July 22, read the list of the cabinet nominees the floor of the chamber.

Mudashiru Obasa, speaker of the state house of assembly, who read the listoftheadhoccommitteemembers, named Rotimi Abiru, a fourth-term lawmaker, representing Somolu constituency II, as the head.

Members of the screening committee include Jimi Mohammed (Ikeja I), Yinka Ogundimu (Agege II), Abiodun Tobun (Epe I), Setonji David (Badagry II), Victor Akande (Ojo I) and Mosunmola Sangodara (Surulere II).

Others are: Mojisola Alli-Macaulay (Amuwo-Odofin I), Rasheed Makinde (Ifako-Ijaiye II), Lanre Afinni (Lagos Island II), Noheem Adams (Eti-OsaII),andAdedamolaKasunmu (Ikeja II).

The rest are: Suraju Tijani (Ojo II), Olusola Sokunle (Oshodi/Isolo I), Olumuyiwa Jimoh (Apapa II) and Abdulsobur Olawale (Mushin II).

Obasa,thespeakerdirectedthead hoc committee to report to the House in a week, saying the House would ensure that only nominees ready to serve would be cleared.

NGO funds eye surgery of 20 children

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Massachusetts-based non-governmental organisation (NGO), IGo Corp, has partnered Ancilla Catholic Hospital Eye Centre, Agege, Lagos State, to fund the eye surgery of 20 children.

Speaking during the eye surgery in Lagos recently, a representative of IGo Corp,TaiwoTojun,saidthepurposeofthe organisationwastocontinuesupporting thevisionandeducationofchildren.

Tojun stated that the mission of the NGO was not specific to cataract, but anything version wise that prevents a childfromfunctioningwell.

He explained that the surgeries are cataractsurgeries,addingthatthechoice ofcataractwasprimarilybecausethehospitalidentifiedthattherewerechildrenon it paediatric surgery list, “and we taught thatwasagoodstart.”

Tojun remarked that this was the first mission IGo Corp was partnering a clinic where it funding surgeries for children, “But since 2016, we have been coming home yearly and we have been giving free eye examination to identify children with refractive error problems, sowefocusonvisualimpairmentdueto

refractiveerrors.”

According to Tojun, “Visual impairment is a refractive error, but cataract is also a cause of visual impairment and in fact it is a more serious condition. So this is the first time we are partnering with a clinic to support a more serious medical conditionforchildren.

“We believe in starting small and make an impact; we don’t have to go to other States. There could be other organisations that can step up in other States.Wehopetogrowthisinitiativeinto something that is beyond ancillary. This isjustonepartner;wehopetohaveother partnerswhocanconnectustothetarget populationwewanttoserve.

“There is always value in non-government and government partnership.

We hope that at the right time and as we continue to grow, government will appreciate what we are providing and we can partner to scale it up because it is easier with government funds than tryingtoraisefundstodoit.Fortoday,we are going to have a total of eight surgeries and a total of five children which means two children have bilateral cataracts and theireyesneedtobeoperatedupon.” www.businessday.ng

L-R: Patrick Atuanya, editor, BusinessDay; Charles Korede Ayo, vice chancellor, Trinity University; Adeola Ajewole, GM, advert, BusinessDay, and Shoaga Babajide, registrar, Trinity University, at the BusinessDay management team’s courtesy visit to Trinity University campus in Lagos, yesterday.

Pic by David Apara

Act Foundation lifts living standards of 220,000 Nigerians HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE

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nthecourseofimplementingits developmental programmes, the Act Foundation, a grant making non-profit organisation, has lifted the living standards of a total of 220,000 Nigerians.

Since inception, the Act Foundation has collaborated with 49 organisations implementing 75 unique initiatives in 36 states of Nigeria, the Federal Capital Territory and South Africa.

“Ourjourneytosocialdevelopment is guided by zeal to promote sustainability in programmes gearedtowardsbridgingsocialand economicdeficit,”TundeFolawiye, chairman of the Foundation, said at the third breakfast dialogue themed, “Social and Global Impact: Engaging for Growth,” held recently in Lagos.

Folawiye said the organisation

promotes broad-base participation and partnership with other institutions the building sustainable communities and providing innovative solutions to social, economic and environmental challenges.

He said the organisation provides grants to support local, national and regional non-profits, working to address challenges and associated vulnerabilities across the African continent.

“A considerable amount of our work cuts across the areas of health, entrepreneurship, environment and leadership, fully recognizing that these core areas directly impact the bulk of developmental lapses on our continent,” Folawiye said.

According to Folawiye, the landscape for non-profit organisation is constantly evolving, growing and developing, and that

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last year witnessed an increase in the number of organisations in the sector.

Speaking at the event, Herbert Wigwe, group managing director/CEO, Access Bank, said growth in the developmental sector plays an integral role in helping multi- sector organisations to thrive and find new growth prospect.

He said the bank through its polo tournament in the UK has taken 13,000 children off the streets, adding thatinthenexttwo years, the bank would have built 150 hostels and 300 classrooms.

Wigwe stressed that growth in the developmental sector plays an integralroleinhelpingmulti-sector organisations to thrive and find newgrowthprospect.Headmitted that strategic partnerships help to scale organisations, for example the partnership between Act @Businessdayng

Foundation and Access Bank as partneredwithwellover47organisationstodrivesocialimpactacross communities in the continent.

“Access bank is committed to ensuring that we realize Africa of ourdreamsandAfricainwhichthe futuregenerationsaresecured.The support that we are giving and will continue to give to Act Foundation is a way of showing the world that we are dedicated to improving the standard of living of Africans by contributing immensely to the economic and social growth,” Wigwe said.

Delivering a keynote address, Austin Okere, founder, Computer Warehouse Group, and entrepreneur-in-residence, the Asso Leadership Academy, identified five forces that drive sustainable growth. These include organisation, population, social political environment, power and profit.

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The foundation of sea power (2) STRATEGY & POLICY

MA JOHNSON

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he shipping industry has always been global and trade remains the foundation of sea power. African nations just signed the AfCFTA and you may wonder how they intend to transport their cargoes through the sea. Africa, for many years, has sought to participate more in the supply of shipping services. This remains an unfulfilled dream as the continent’s share of the ownership of global fleet is dismal -no African country was among the top 35 shipowning nations in 2017, according to a 2019 report by UNCTAD on “Maritime Trade in Africa”.

The same report had other interesting revelations: Africa-owned shipping accounts for only about 1.2 percent of world’s and about 0.9 percent of gross tonnage; 2.7 percent of global seaborne trade; and 7 percent of maritime exports and only 5 percent of imports by volume within the period under review.

Although one-third of African countries are landlocked, shipping remains the main gateway to global market. The African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA)- a trade agreement among AU member states, with the objective of creating a single market - is about to commence. The major challenge African countries will face is how to transport cargoes and provide maritime security, from one country to the other, within the continent. Shipping is the weakest com-

ponent of Africa’s sea power status, no thanks to the budget cuts that have hit most navies over the past few years.

Implementation of AfCFTA, therefore, presents an opportunity for African countries to participate effectively in the huge global sea trade and commerce and improve maritime security by curbing sea robbery and piracy, a phenomenon whichcontinues to make trade and investment in Africa riskier and expensive.

There are serious concerns about Nigeria’s maritime industry. How prepared is Nigeria’s maritime sector for AfCFTA? Nigeria’s shipbuilding industry is still in its infancy. This is also true for many African countries. Shipbuilding and repair yards which are vital components of the maritime sector have largely suffered neglect since Nigeria’s independence. While assessing the state of our shipbuilding facilities in 2012, a research paper revealed that Nigeria had about nineteen shiprepair yards, but 85 percent of these facilities were underutilized and neglected. By 2016, there were about ten ship-repair yards in the country, with only six of them operational.

Nigeria’s 2016 economic recession affected businesses in the shipbuilding and ship-repair industry. The available maximum capacity for ship repairs in Nigeria is 25,000 tons. This can be found at the graven dock of Niger Dock Plc, located in Snake Island, Lagos. This is closely followed by the graven dock of the Naval Dockyard Limited, Lagos which has a capacity of 10,000 tons. The remaining operational shipyards in the country are in Rivers State, with a combined capacity below 8,000 tons.

So, with low capacity of docking facilities in Nigeria, ships go to neighboring countries to dock their vessels.

Most indigenous ship owners often set sail for Ghana and Cameroon when they need to dry-dock their vessels, and this, experts say, costs Nigeria up

to US$100 million annually.

To cater for shortfall in docking capacity in the country, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has therefore procured a floating dock. Perhaps with an increase in tonnage and docking facilities, the Nigerian shipbuilding industry will find relevance in the marine environment despite the number of vessels operating within the nation’s territorial waters. We should not think that shipbuilding does not contribute to the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Shipbuilding and ship repair contribute about 5.6 per cent to Nigeria’s GDP, according to industry experts.

The few number of shipyards with their low capacity and poor state of facilities cannot repair over a thousand vessels operating within Nigerian waters. This is responsible for the poor performance of the shipbuilding industry within the economy.

Besides, most of the shipyards lack skilled workers to handle most aspects of maintenance required by ship owners. This calls for greater commitments by all stakeholders to reposition the shipbuilding industry for it contribute significantly to the national economy through job creation and revenue generation.

Although shipbuilding has remained an attractive industry in Nigeria, supporting industries such as steel mills, railroads and engine manufacturing are lacking. All these inadequacies affect the shipbuilding industry in Nigeria. Experts also argue that these inadequacies are further aggravated by the lack of an appropriate shipbuilding master plan, coupled with the absence of a relevant industry standard.

The development of shipping is capitalintensive and in Nigeria, it may not be built throughregular budgetary allocationswithout disrupting other sectors of the economy. The federal

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Although shipbuilding has remained an attractive industry in Nigeria, supporting industries such as steel mills, railroads and engine manufacturing are lacking

government should workout modalities for a public-private partnership in order to strengthen shipping in the country. Nigeria needs a viable merchant fleet to sustain her economic activities. It is not only in the acquisition of ships that shipping is enhanced.

Support facilities for shipping must be operationally effective and backedup with sustainable policies. Some harbor entrances like Calabar, Port Harcourt and Warri must be dredged to maintain passage by deep-draught vessels. It is imperative that Apapa ports’ gridlock must be cleared to enhance economic growth.

For some time, experts in the maritime business have observed that, apart from petroleum resources, maritime affairs are not drawing deserving attention at the Federal Executive Council. It is observed that shipping and maritime affairs are too vast and complex to be handled as part of the Transport Ministry.

As a new federal cabinet is about to be formed, may I humbly suggest that a Ministry of Maritime Affairs should be established to oversee shipping, shipbuilding, inland waters, harbor and port development and maintenance, fishing and other related maritime activities -but excluding oil and gas exploration. This is vital for any maritime nation intending to evolve capacity to draw value from the blue economy.

This suggestion may be considered in the light of the large workforce in the nation’s maritime sector and the benefits of rapid development it portents.

If the maritime sector is not repositioned for effectiveness in preparation of the commencement of AfCFTA, the trade agreement may likely not promote the much-desired economic growth in Nigeria. Thank you!

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

Apprenticeship, traineeship and the death of Precious Owolabi

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can figure; our consciences are now seared.

We no more feel shocked at the news of death, especially of a young vibrant man, whose love for his profession consumed

him.

This is a perspective about something bigger than the young Channels Tee Vee reporter, Precious Owolabi, who was gunned down covering a protest that turned violent, in Abuja.

Oh! Spare me of the other issues around it: the emergency response, Police crisis-management strategy, government negligence and, of all, Channels TV’s unprofessional coverage of a potentially violent assignment. Other writers are on it and you can take them on, if you wish!

The late Owolabi embodied one of the last bastions and, perhaps, most-neglected job creation and security system the world has known; traineeship. And the little left of it could have been gunned down with him.

Today, no doubt both apprenticeship and traineeship still hand down better and stronger skill set for the marketplace than the school system, at least the Australian National Skills Institute confirms. There may not be a formal proof of this at home, but it is too clear to be seen if you can hear the HR community’s cries about their experience in trying to recruit graduates.

Australia Skills Institute has also been worried that interest in apprenticeship and traineeship has dropped by 30% in the last five years; only truck driving licensing has spiked during this period.

Just like in most part of the world, recruitment for vocational education has dropped

drastically but Nigeria has a unique reason to pay double attention to the system. It may be the only nerve left that can kick the economy back to life.

Of course, back here some of the top professionals in most fields have been lost to bad management of the economy and emigrated, leaving the national skill index in its worst state perhaps comparable only to South East Nigeria after the civil war.

Last week, a popular medical practitioner shared how the whole country is now left with only 15 specialist neurosurgeons. That is criminal, even though truths around that cannot be ascertained.

With the median age of 18.4 for 201.2million population (http://worldpopulationreview. com/countries/nigeria-population/) and an alarming school dropout rate, incentivizing apprenticeship and traineeship could be the saving plan from the obvious implosion.

National Bureau of Statistics will need to be empowered along with other necessary organs of the government to document and have a working policy that would make it attractive for corporates and SMEs to absorb apprentices and trainees.

Skill to skill pathway has failed for too long that further slip may worsen the multi-dimensional crises Nigeria is presently grappling with.

This goes to back up the failings of the University/Polytechnic job model that we have relied on to feed the job market.

If there is any place to spend the so called “subsidy” on, it is to breathe life to this sector www.businessday.ng

that can in turn get our economy off its knee.

One key signpost along the way is the interesting attribute of the generation we are trying to pull into the system; they are impatient to be mentored. In Australia where there are clean numbers to work with, of the remaining 60% still in vocational net, less than half of them see it through.

It can be worked on, if we have the will to pursue growth from this perspective.

For starters, there are green shoots in this field, but most of them are from Multinationals whose parent companies have policies that encourage mentorship as,perhaps, a way to empower its host economy.

The effect can be deepened. If school funding for Universities is tied, for instance, to verifiable statistics from the NBS or National Career Development Agency, it will compel institutions to be more creative about the value their product (students) have in store for the workplace.

Since it will be tied to funding from government, the schools may see reasons to take it serious.

For the corporates, operating licenses, renewals and tax incentives (in fact the chunk of ‘ease of doing business’ incentives) maybe the compelling reason to want to take a dive into the vocational spectrum. For everyone, it will be a win-win.

Overtime, this pathway has led to good employment outcomes than the theoretical model and it still should, if given priority and the result can be repeated. In some climes, a documented 90% success rate of absorption

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Sam Emehelu has been recorded with this.

Nigeria presently has a shameful job-loss statistics that won’t be worth anyone’s headache. On the flipside is the touted “Igbo apprenticeship” business model, which though has no numbers to back it, can be seen as struggling over the past decade. My research is word of mouth and experience of relatives.

Employment is a mirage and job loss and unemployment is more real for graduates and the teeming youthful Nigerians making their way through the social ladder. This is the reason for the rise in crime and other ills.

There, however, is another set of the group; the underemployed. And unfortunately, this set which Karl Max referred to as the “Reserve Army of the Unemployed”, outnumber the employed, As Precious Owolabi is laid to rest, can we once again give life to the chief reason why he became a sacrificial lamb?

Sam Emehelu is a public commentator based in Lagos.

He can be reached at sam.emehelu@gmail.com

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Mobile phones, internet and jobs in Africa (2)

Rafiq Raji

M

y column this week is the second part of my recent paper for the NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies at Nanyang Business School, Singapore, where I am a research fellow. References are in the original article.

Digital IDs would be key It is not certain that Africans, when availed of low-cost internet, would use it for productive economic activities, say, to earn income. According to a recent study, most Africans use the internet for online social activities.

However, this is not unique to African countries. Most of the world’s poor use the internet for leisure. That is not as bad as it seems.

With about half a billion Africans without official identification, online social activity could become a credible source of information for personal identification, address, and credit scoring. This is not a pie-in-the-sky idea; visa applicants to the United States are now required to submit their social media account details. While opening bank accounts and lending money, banks could easily do the same for know-your-customer (KYC) documentation.

In any case, African countries are beginning to establish digital iden-

tification systems. With digital IDs, Africans would be better positioned to participate in the estimated $300 billion continental digital economy by 2025.As is already the case in India, there is evidence of economic benefits in the aftermath of digital ID schemes.

In Ghana, physical addresses have been digitalized. Kenyans began registering for digital identification numbers in April2019.

In Nigeria, all mobile phone subscribers undergo biometric registration and all bank account holders have a socalled “Bank Verification Number”. So, there is a positive trend towards some form of national digital identification system in a host of African countries.

Progress is admittedly slow. There are ongoing multilateral efforts to help African countries pick up the pace in a sustainable way.

Africa is leading global mobile money adoption 79 percent of the growth in global e-commerce transactions in 2018 was via mobile money. As shown in Table 4, 66 percent of the $40.8 billion mobile money transactions in 2018 were in sub-Saharan Africa. Africa’s lead in mobile money makes it well-placed for

an e-commerce boom. There is a rising trend towards cashless transactions on the continent.

Banking via mobile phones (or mobile banking), is now ubiquitous and normalised. And with the unbanked able to use digital payment systems like mobile money, they are also increasingly financially included. In other words, both formal and supposedly informal economic agents in African countries are increasingly able to participate in the digital economy.

If the trend continues, as it seems likely, much of the informal economy would become formalised in due course. The ubiquity and increasing affordability of mobile phones make the potential of mobile money to formalise the over 300-million adult Africans currently financially excluded (without any accounts) great indeed.

Of the more than 866 million registered mobile money accounts in 90 countries around the world, Africans own 46 percent. 54 percent of the adult population in Ghana, Cote D’ivoire, Benin and Senegal use their mobile money accounts regularly. The same cannot be said of the three most populous African countries; Nigeria, Ethio-

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The ubiquity and increasing affordability of mobile phones make the potential of mobile money to formalise the over 300-million adult Africans currently financially excluded (without any accounts) great indeed

pia, and Egypt. In these countries, only 30-40 percent of their combined 242 million adult population have mobile money accounts.

Perhaps, that’s about to change. It is expected that more than 110 million mobile money accounts could be created in the three continental behemoths over the next five years. There is good reason for this expectation. In October 2018, for instance, Nigeria’s central bank issued guidelines for the licensing and regulation of non-bank firms (including telecommunication firms) as “Payment Service Banks” (PSBs).

Still, there are constraints. Taxation, KYC requirements, cross-border remittances and data regulation are some of them. Almost all African mobile money service providers pay three layers of taxes: value-added tax, general tax, and mobile sector-specific tax. For instance, Uganda, Kenya, Zimbabwe, and Gabon tax mobile money transactions specifically. Digital IDs allow for electronic KYC (e-KYC). But not all African countries have digital ID systems.

Although it is still expensive to remit funds across borders, the cost is reducing. For instance, the average 1.7 percent a mobile money customer is currently charged to send $200 across borders is 40 percent less than the rate in 2016. More internationally-compatible operating models would almost certainly push the cost down even further.

New data regulation frameworks, while welcome, add to costs. Still, objective collaboration between regulators and other stakeholders could allow for just the right balance between strong regulation and unbridled innovation.

“Dr Raji is chief economist at Macroafricaintel.

He was previously an Africa Economist at Standard Chartered Bank, London, UK. (Twitter: @ DrRafiqRaji)”

Base transceiver station, critical infrastructure and threat to national security

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he information age brought with it, rapid shift from traditional market system to an economy based on Information and Communications Technology, especially the use of computers and telecommunications for storing, retrieving, and sending information.

Information and Communications Technology (ICT), according to techopedia.com, refers to all the technology used to handle telecommunications, broadcast media, intelligent building management systems, audiovisual processing and transmission systems, and network-based control and monitoring functions.

In our interconnected world, the significance of Information and Communications Technology in our daily lives cannot be over emphasised. There is no gainsaying that modern advancement in information technology has influenced every aspect of human endeavour, causing us to develop new habits in order to adapt to this trend of interconnectivity in a rapidly changing world. It is perhaps for this reason that Marshall Mcluhan in his book, The Gutenburg Galaxy: The Making of Typographic (1962) and Understanding Media (1964),described the world as a ‘Global Village’ being shrunk by electronic media and information technology. Such advancements in information technology have opened new markets to businesses and broken territorial barriers, resulting in huge savings and ease in operations, especially with the introduction of video conferencing.

Also, irrespective of the distance, communication as well as connection with family and friends has been made easier. Technology has made a very big change in the education

world- with the invention of technology gadgets and mobile apps, it is easier than ever for students to learn.

The advent of online shopping and epayment platforms is also worthy of mention.

Same goes for the changes in the agriculture industry, facilitated by machines which replace human labour and are operated or controlled by people or other machines. The use of technology in banking is the backbone of society today. Most banks now offer online banking facilities. Millions make use of this service daily to manage their finances. Most businesses also use this feature to pay employees and transfer money.

The preceding paragraphs have successfully established that the importance of Information and Communication Technology in our daily lives is numerous. In fact, the list is inexhaustible. However, there are some grey areas; the use of telecoms, the fundamental human right to information, and how breach of this right can constitute not just a breach of fundamental human rights, but also a threat to national security. This Information and Communication Technology in the telecommunications industry largely rests on the infrastructure known as Base Transceiver Station.

At this Juncture, it is important to establish the significance of base stations (to the use of ICT especially within the telecommunication space) in our corporate and personal lives.

According to Wikipedia, a Base Transceiver Station (base stations) is a piece of equipment that facilitates wireless communication between user equipment (UE) and a network.

UEs are devices like mobile phones (handsets), WLL phones, and computers with wireless internet connectivity.

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The network can be that of any of the wireless communication technologies like GSM, CDM, wireless local loop, Wi-Fi, WiMax or other Wide Area Network (WAN) technology.

The base stations handle transmission and reception of signals; sending and reception of signals to or from higher network entities.

In Nigeria, base stations are procured by several service providers wherein masts are erected by these service providers, through the tower companies in order to ensure continuous availability of reception to users. Hence, the sase stations which house the masts are the lifeline to information and communication technology. As soon as the base station serving a particular community or neighbourhood is non-functional or damaged, there is a serious threat to the communication needs of that community. Clearly, the base stations play a very important role in accessing Information Technology, and going by Wikipedia’s definition, it will be correct to say that without such base stations in place, information and communication technology gadgets such as mobile phones and computers won’t be utilised optimally.

Wikipedia defines National Security as “the security of a nation state including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government.”

According to section 157 of the Nigerian Communications Act 2004, Telecommunication is “any transmission, emission or reception of signs, signals, writings, images, sounds or intelligence of any nature by wire, radio, visual or other electro-magnetic systems.”

Originally the term “National Security” was conceived as protection against military attack.

National security is now widely understood to

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Daniel Ade-Peters include non-military dimensions e.g. security from terrorism, food security, communication breakdown, information technology security etc. Information Technology security also known as cyber security refers to the security of computing devices such as computers and smartphones. Hence, the above background leaves the mind to wonder how national security can be preserved when access to information is breached.

In 2013, for instance, during the terrorist attack on Marte Local Government Area of Borno State, all base stations or telecommunication masts within the council headquarters were burnt down and this led to bad connectivity, if not total blackout of communication reception. The internet could hardly be accessed while worried relatives across the country could not reach their loved ones to ascertain their safety. The intention of the terrorists were simply to cause a breakdown of communication.

Note: the rest of this article continues in the online edition of Business Day @https://businessday.ng Ade-Peters wrote in via danpetade@gmail.com

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

Commendable positive advocacy on gender violence by First Ladies

U

nelected and unconstitutional, the office of First Lady at Federal, State and Local Government levels continues to divide citizens and attract criticisms. They get commendations, however, when they channel their enormous backseatdriving powers to good causes. On this note, we commend the First Ladies for their vigorous advocacy for ending sexual violence and better treatment of women generally.

Wives of Governors rose up to defend their gender and speak up for better treatment of the fair sex on July 23, against the backdrop of various reports on rape- even of minors- and domestic violence in the country. They followed the path of the wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Buhari, in speaking up against any proclivity of the Police to treat with levity allegations against alleged perpetrators of rape, domestic violence and sexual harassment of women.

In the “Statement from the Wives of Governors of the Federal Republic of Nigeria concerning violence against women and children in Nigeria”, the First Ladies decried the “intense levels of violence against women and children in the country”. They em-

pathised with and urged survivors “to be courageous in speaking up, no matter how long it takes”.

They noted: “It is also worrisome that women and children with special needs have also become targets of sexual violence. We note with concern that in spite of the existence of laws at the federal level such as the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act of 2015 as well as legislations at State level to protect the well-being of women and children, perpetrators continue their despicable acts with impunity. On the rare occasions when incidences of rape are reported, victims are intimidated and shamed into silence.”

Erelu Bisi Fayemi, wife of Chairman, Nigerian Governors Forum, Dr Amina Abubakar, Chair, Northern Governors’ Wives Forum, and Mrs Betsy Obaseki, Chair, Southern Governors’ Wives Forum signed the statement. Their statement contained nine appeals and points of action targeted at the Inspector General of Police, the Justice and Health ministries, State Governors and their attorney generals, civil society and advocacy organisations as well as the citizenry.

They called for the creation of Rape and Sexual Offences desks at police stations, asked the IG of Police to direct his men to treat rape and defilement cases with

despatch while being “tactful and supportive” in handling alleged sexual offences. The Wives of Governors also want Attorney Generals at Federal and State levels to fast track cases on sexual violence, and the setting up of Special Offences Courts for such cases. They want the Minister of Health to ensure medical facilities have Rape Kits and Post-Exposure Prophylaxis equipment to prevent rape victims from contracting HIV. Finally, they want the National Assembly, Governors and State Houses of Assembly “to facilitate the passage of laws to protect women and children from violence and abuse”.

They also assigned roles to civil society organisations, religious leaders and the citizenry to speak up against violence against women and children. They pledged, “As wives of Governors, we are committed to using our positions to support all efforts aimed at mitigating this scourge. Nigerian women and children deserve to live their lives free from abuse of any kind.”

The strong agenda-setting statement of the Wives of Governors follows on the uproar that has attended the matter of Mrs Dakolo versus popular Abuja Pastor, Biodun Fatoyinbo. Mrs Dakolo and her musician husband ratcheted up the issue by alleging that rather than attend to

their complaint, the Nigeria Police tried to muzzle them into recanting their allegations.

The call of the Wives of Governors is timely and appropriate. It sets a broad agenda for discourse and action. It is also in line with the global trends on the issue as the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly declared on 5 October2018, that the world faces a “moment of opportunity” to end violence against women.

Many issues come up in the discourse on violence against women.

They include female genital mutilation, rape and stigmatisation of victims, domestic violence, and online sexual harassment. There is also the trafficking of women for prostitution in foreign shores.

We support the Wives of Governors in lending their moral authority to the issue. Their suggestions are sensible. Concerned authorities could easily actualise them. For instance, the Nigeria Police can set up Rape and Sexual Offences desks starting at the level of the divisional police and then cascade down because of the human and fiscal resource implications.

Nigeria should join the global movement to elevate the status of women by doing away with harmful practices, some of which are misrepresentations of our culture.

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Stand up for food safety

Nnimmo Bassey

R

ecently, there were reports that the world’s population would soon hit 10 billion. Then the point was made that the only way to feed that population would be none other than by genetically-modified(GM) crops. Presenting GM crops as the solution to future food shortages is raw propaganda.

That style of messaging has been used to make people accept productions that may actually be against their own interest.

Why is the claim that GM foods will be the main global source of food mere propaganda and an assumption that consumers believed hook, line and sinker? First, researchers have shown that at present, food enough to feed 13 billion persons is already being produced. This means that feeding 10 billion is already possible and the numbers in themselves should be the reason for agitation.

Records also show that up to 30 percent of food produced globally is wasted. In Nigeria, it is believed that up to 50 percent of food produced gets damaged before reaching the cooking pots or dining tables. There are many reasons why harvests go

bad in Nigeria and genetic engineering cannot solve that problem.

Clearly, food waste is a major factor in the prevalence of hunger in the world today. Another reason is the use of food products in industrial production rather than to feed people. There are other reasons why people go to bed hungry at an increasing rate today. We must, however, admit that people are not hungry for lack of food but due to other factors.

The peddling of falsehood is the crux of propaganda. And because GMOs are relatively new, stories about them easily make news. Otherwise, why would anyone raise an alarm about feeding 10 billion when there is already enough food to feed more than that number? There is a simple answer to that question; if the current 7.7 billion cannot be fed at a time when almost double the amount of needed food is being produced, what will happen when the population rises by an additional 2.3 billion?

This question is why we insist that our food future must be approached from multiple routes, with a key point being protecting our biodiversity, lands, and farmers and preserving our harvests. What is urgently needed includes investment in resilient social infrastructure, building processing and storage facilities, and preserving our indigenous seeds.

Resilience is built in the preservation and propagation of crops that have been selected and developed by our farmers through the millennia.

Producing enough food to meet increasing needs is achievable through food sovereignty. There is more to feeding than just the inges-

tion of food items. We are what we eat. Food is life and culture. It is absolutely important that we consider the politics and economics of food, including ownership of seeds and access to land. Food sovereignty defines the right of peoples at all times to access safe, nutritious, healthy and culturally-appropriate food, produced using methods that are ecologically sound and sustainable. It ensures the rights of farmers to preserve and share seeds and to keep them from contamination by genetically engineered varieties. The industrial system of farming today, which is characterised largely by genetic engineering of seeds, monocultures, high chemical inputs and dependence on fossil fuel resources, threatens those rights.

Our food narratives must question the logic behind the propaganda that GMOs are safe and good for us. We have the right to question an attempt to overturn our food systems, promote mono-cropping and project accompanying toxic chemicals as safe.

We have a duty to emphasise that just as food choices and preferences have strong cultural foundations, so do the distribution and marketing systems.

Part of the GMOs’ propaganda is that they would be labelled and so Nigerians would have the liberty to choose if they want to buy them or not. That claim is fatuous when we consider that our largely informal food distribution system does not offer room for labelling. All you need to do to grasp this truth is to look at the way foods are sold around us. Who will label GMO roasted corn or ogi? How about akara or moimoi made from

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How can our food narratives question the logic behind the propaganda that GMOs are safe and good for us?

GM beans? Who will label GM garri?

We must dialogue and critically examine the implications of genetic engineering of foods to our health, environment, food and farming systems in Nigeria. We must consistently defend our food sovereignty as the best way forward for agricultural productivity and food supply.

How much do we know of the genetically-modified beans that has been approved for commercial release? Or of the GM cotton which failed and was abandoned in Burkina Faso but has been approved for commercial release in Nigeria? What do we know of GM cassava experimentations and applications that are ongoing?

The time for lazy acceptance of techno fixes as the silver bullets to every problem is over. Our agricultural researchers and scientists should be supported to improve local systems working with indigenous knowledge and practices. It is very dangerous when science is not in the interest of the people. Just think about the propaganda with which cigarettes were sold to the unsuspecting public.

The deadly effects linger and the factories are still churning out the poisons. It is time to do the needful concerning the foods we eat. No flippant assurances of safety should be accepted.

We all have a responsibility to get the right information with which to defend our farmers as well as our food systems and to speak up against the forces that threaten our right to safe food, environment and livelihoods.

Nnimmo Bassey is Director of Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF)

Addressing mental health issues in organizations

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ccording to a report by The Nation on May 26, 2019, the World Health Organisation stated that 24 million Nigerians are at risk of mental disorder. This is serious. It is an issue that should be addressed urgently. This should not only concern the government, it should also be a source of concern to employers of labour. This is rightly so because the World Health Organization reported that the global economy loses US$1 trillion yearly (in lost productivity) as a result of depression and anxiety. In context, depression and anxiety are both classified as mental disorders. Before addressing what a mental disorder is, it is important to look at the concept of mental health, a dimension of health.

The World Health Organisation defines mental health as “a state of well-being in which every individual realises his or her own potential, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community”. This definition makes it clear that mental health is central to productivity and has implications for the realisation of organisational objectives. Besides this definition, I believe it is common knowledge that work requires mental and physical effort.We cannot dismiss the importance of mental health.

In addition,, it is necessary to quickly explain the meaning of mental disorder, an aberration from mental health. Basically, a mental disorder is a mental health condition characterised by subjective distress, impairment in normal daily functioning et cetera. In the context

of work, anyone who suffers from a mental disorder not only experiences distress but is also unable to concentrate and discharge their duties effectively. This will manifest through varied symptoms that may come in the form of depression (a mood disorder), panic disorder (an anxiety disorder) and so on.. It is crucial I mention that seeing someone show signs of distress or inability to function at work for a day or two is not enough to conclude that the individual is suffering from a mental disorder.

There are globally approved minimum duration that qualifies a mental phenomenonas a disorder and it is usually advisable to leave mental diagnosis to mental health professionals. You can learn about these and more from my social media awareness campaign on mental health which will end on the third week in August 2019.

What are those organisational (i.e. workplace) factors that can negatively impact mental health? According to the World Health Organisation, the following are risk factors for mental health issues at work: inadequate health and safety policies, poor communication and management practices, limited participation in decision-making or low control over one’s area of work, low levels of support for employee, inflexible working hours, and unclear tasks or organisational objectives.

In addition to these risk factors stated by the World Health Organisation, it is important to keep in mind that work environments with the following characteristics do not promote mental health: office politics that ‘destroy’ some organisation members in the process,

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‘Us versus Them’ organisational culture, silencing divergent and/or unpopular (yet progressive and practical) opinions of some organisation members, sacrificing merit on the altar of favouritism and nepotism, discrimination and injustice; subtle and tactical endorsement of physical & sexual harassment.

These practices, which are the norm in some organizations, promote toxicity. The average worker out there craves a safe and supportive work environment where they can gainfully work while fulfilling their modest or lofty aspirations. The average worker does not crave a workplace that compromises their mental health. Organisations owe their employees a safe workspace.

Here are my recommendations for promoting mental heath in the workplace. Before I begin, I will like to state that sanctions, queries, suspensions and so on do not correct mental disorders. That said, let’s focus on the recommendations. I will start by recommending that personality tests be part of employee selection process in order to ascertain individual characteristics which must align with job characteristics and demands. When there is no alignment between an individual’s personality and a job, work stress will set in and too much stress breaks down one’s coping abilities. In addition to carrying out personality assessments to ensure proper job placements, organizations should put in place stress management mechanisms. Have an inhouse psychologist and a safe space for staff to discuss their private struggles. Organisations should also have flexible working hours, nap

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Jude Adigwe rooms, games an so on. Also, it is important to draft and enforce a robust occupational health policy that factors in mental health.

This policy will signal the seriousness of a company’s management. Go a step further to have regular (quarterly or biannual etc.) sessions on mental health so as to discuss these issues and deepen awareness. When symptoms of mental illness are observed in employees, endeavour to make referral to mental health professionals. Such cases should not be handled by non-professionals so they do not cause more harm to the mental health of the affected employee(s).

In conclusion, it is important to always remember that paying employees monthly salaries does not mean you have the license to wear them out and compromise their mental health. Show some concern. Show genuine care.

Adigwe is a certified Human Resource Management (HRM) professional and an Industrial-Organizational Psychologist. He is the Human Resources and Administration Manager at Sharemind Lagos. adigwejudeobi@gmail.com

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Tuesday 30 July 2019

BUSINESS DAY

Media business

Does Nigeria’s IMC industry have agenda for incoming minister?

Daniel Obi

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arketing communication is a crucible element in the fabric of any business and nation.

The practitioners, with deep insight, garnered through research and experience, assist in the movement and consumption of products and services. In the production value chain, the job of marketing communication experts is key as without consumption, businesses will record huge inventory of pile up of unsold goods. This will eventually result in job losses and final closure of business which will affect GDP. Their job also involves creating traction for products and for countries aimed at attracting tourists and FDIs through well designed messages and campaigns.

Many companies and countries have employed the services of these experts and have equally reaped the favourable outcomes. In Nigeria, while some companies understand the significance of this industry, Nigerian government is arrogantly obstinate to maximally engage the industry in marketing government services and for branding the nation.

Though, in the past, some efforts were made in creating a working business relationship between the industry and nation’s course but this was not sustained and the aim jinxed. In the last five years, Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria, AAAN, a body of the segmented IMC industry has made effort in building a relationship, but this effort has not been well received by

government. This is either due to lack of understanding of the industry by government officials or government does not see immediate gains or the industry has not made enough efforts to promote its relevance.

This explains why for more than four years, government has not appointed chairman of Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria, APCON, the apex regulatory agency in advertising business in spite of calls to do so to avert the continuous dangers this has for the industry.

After the 2019 elections and before the appointment of next Cabinet by Muhammadu Buhari, it is therefore expected that the mar-

keting communication industry, comprising all the sectoral groups, NIMN, ADVAN, AAAN, OAAN, MIPAN, EXMAN, NIPR and the apex body, APCON should have come together, chart a course, lobby and present a common front to government on why marketing communication industry that has over two million direct employment should be supported and wax stronger, recognised and patronised by government.

First, it should start by determining that a professional in public relations, communication and branding becomes the next Information minister who oversees the marketing communication industry. With this achieved, the minister will strongly

push for a lot of things including the re-constitution of APCON council.

Steve Babaeko, the CEO of X3M Ideas and current Publicity Secretary of AAAN told BusinessDay that lack of APCON council is a big problem for the industry. “IMC industry without APCON board is like an aircraft flying without a control tower”.

Operating without a board for over four years is severely affecting APCON. For instance, APCON is waiting for a re-constitution of its board to push for the review of APCON law to accommodate digital Ad monitoring and regulation.

APCON acting CEO, Ijedi Iyoha told BusinessDay recently that “It is a difficult challenge for us now but the only thing we do is look at the social media and those we know we write to them on any infringement.

When we have a council, we will push for the review of APCON law” she added.

On other functions that APCON cannot perform well without a board, Iyoha said the issue of installing new fellows had not been done, stressing that there are so many people on the queue. Also, APCON has not held Advertising Day, which is a big forum for all stakeholders in the advertising industry. The day involves the delivery of lectures by renowned practitioners and the giving of awards.

Thirdly, there are no disciplinary committees to sit on the cases of practitioners. “What we do in this instance is to write to the defaulting members.

The Buhari administration in July 2015 dissolved the board of APCON alongside the boards of other agencies and parastatals. However,

up until now, APCON, which regulates Nigeria’s Advertising industry, does not have a council.

In his view, Mike Umogun of Kantar Nigeria, a brand strategy consulting, advertising and brand equity research company agreed that it is important for stakeholders in the integrated marketing communication industry to make themselves relevant and visible by presenting a sector position and guidance paper for any in coming information minister.

“The ideal situation should actually be the lobbying of government to make one of the many egg heads in the industry minister of information.

“First, the minister should be guided in terms of genuine dissemination of information to the populace to ensure authentic information about the activities of government gets to the people as soon as possible. Second, the re-branding of the country should be re-visited to ensure we tell our own stories and the West do not overwhelm us by their own narrative”.

Umogun also said the industry position will be to ensure that head of parastatals in the ministry are all seasoned professionals dedicated to moving the ministry and the government to the next level.

For Udeme Ufot, the Group CEO of SO&U, the marketing communication industry needs as minister of information, somebody who understands the industry, knows the tools for his job and how to use them.

“The individual must have requisite background and capacity to deliver on the job”. The question is, does the industry have articulated position for the next minister?

Coca Cola Nigeria, Stanbic IBTC keep agencies eager on accounts’ pitch results Daniel Obi

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tinational company was said to have expired last two months.

Industry source said the pitch process is on the second round of

selection of the winner. “The pitch process is progressing” said another reliable source as Coca Cola is on the final stage of announcing the winner

igeria’s Public relations industry is waiting for the result of the recent media pitch by Coca Cola Nigeria and IBTC. The two companies recently invited agencies to pitch for their public relations accounts.

For Coca Cola, three agencies, Brooks and Blake, Integrated Indigo and BHM are said to have qualified for the second round of the multimillion Naira PR account.

It was not immediately clear whether Africa Practice, another PR agency participated in the pitch as the agency’s contract with the mulwww.businessday.ng

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based on various factors including competence, experience, professionalism and fee which is based on negotiation.

Coca Cola, the global foremost beverage brand, early this year completed the acquisition of Nigeria’s Chi Limited, top juice company.

The value of the complete acquisition was put under wraps but in 2016, Coca Cola made initial equity investment of 40 per cent in the company estimated to be in the range of $300 m to $400 million while analysts as at 2016 put the value of Chi at about $1 billion.

On the other hand, Stanbic IBTC, according to industry source is yet to release the result of its PR pitch which it conducted recently. @Businessdayng

Industry investigation showed that agencies that participated in the pitch included XLR8 which has handled the PR account of the bank for over 10 years. Others were Chain Reactions, MediaCraft, TPT International and H&K. Industry sources said the bank may be looking for a new agency, perhaps for new ideas and negotiation of new fees. The bank is yet to announce the winner of the new account after few weeks of the competitive bidding.

Marketing communication budget cuts by many companies in recent time due to increasing operational cost has forced some companies to begin to re-negotiate fees with their agencies or engage new agencies.

Tuesday 30 July 2019

BUSINESS DAY

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Branding Chinese smartphone manufacturer, Xiaomi introduces 2 devices to assist business operations in Nigeria Daniel Obi

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hina businesses have continued to expand to Africa with Nigeria as first destination because of the Nigeria’s big market. The latest is Xiaomi Corporation, a Chinese electronics company headquartered in Beijing.

Attracted by Nigeria’s market, the company which invests in smartphones, mobile apps, laptops among other products recently launched two smart phones in Lagos; the devices which it says will assist businesses in their operation.

The company founded in April 2010 and it’s currently the 4th in global smartphone market, introduced Mi 9T, the latest smartphone

in its highly popular flagship Mi 9 family for upward mobile Nigerian consumers and Redmi 7A for average class consumers.

Mi 9T has 6.39-inch full screen display and has a 20MP pop-up front camera and a rear 48MP triple camera

setup. The phone also comes with pressure gorilla glass and holographic back cover. It sells for N119.500.

The company marketing director, Shomoye Habib told BusinessDay that the phone comes with speed processor.

“Mi 9T features the best-inclass Qualcomm SnapdragonTM 730 mobile platform, offering an increase of 35 percent for CPU performance, and of 10 percent for GPU, as well as twice the AI performance, compared to its predecessor SnapdragonTM 710– all enabled an octa-core KryoTM 470 chip processor based on the 8nm process for extreme power efficiency, along with the 4th generation AI smart engine for delivering powerful AI performance”.

The smartphone comes with the

new Game Turbo 2.0 for an ultimate gaming experience by optimizing touch response, display, sound quality, network and in-game calls. It also features a large 4000mAh battery and an AI energy saving mode to automatically adjust screen brightness and for activating sleep mode at night, Mi 9T has power to last through a day of heavy use, says Shomoye Habib, at the launching of the phones in Lagos.

He said the Redmi 7A has quality design and good battery that can last for 19 days standby. It also comes with good camera. The phones sells for N33,500. He said all the phones are of global version.

Shomoye further said that the Xiaomi has come to Nigeria to assist businesses and to create value for them.

Hubmart Stores expands operations Chivita 100% clinches outstanding in Nigeria’s competitive retail market fruit juice brand of the year award … Employs over 500 people Daniel Obi

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ubmart Stores Limited, a fully Nigerian owned retail shopping chain has launched its forth store, located at Omole Phase 1, Lagos Nigeria.

Established in 2015 and known for providing international standard products and high quality fresh food categories, Hubmart stores now operates in four different locations in Lagos alone with plans to open more stores in the city. The Omole store sits on a 1,250 square metre space and boasts of modern facilities to provide an overall fulfilling shopping experience. The retail chain offers varying grocery and non-grocery categories, household and sub brands including – HubDeli, its fast food eatery and bakery and HubCare which caters to its beauty and health segments. The brand is also known for its provision of ultra-fresh food produce and butchery across all its outlets in Nigeria.

“The customer is at the centre of what we do and we want to ensure that we are able to provide satisfaction across all our product offerings” says Anthony Atuche, Chief Executive Officer, Hubmart Stores, during the opening ceremony. “The launch of the

Omole store is part of our expansion plan, to ensure that more consumers are able to access our products and the uniqueness of our customer service. With an ever evolving consumer lifestyle and buying behavior, good quality and value for money, is priority for us, which is what we have succeeded in offering consumers over the last couple of years.

“Since we began operations in Nigeria, we have also continued to invest heavily in providing employment with over 500 Nigerian staff members.

By expanding our operations, this also gives us the opportunity to employ more people and ensure active human capital development to provide consistent customer service for all our consumers. Our goal is to continue to deliver an utmost shopping experience because we are happy to help always” he added.

The brand prides itself in the revolutionalising of the retail industry in Nigeria, with a long term goal to remain a one stop centre for all shopping needs. For consumers who require a full suite of products ranging from grocery to fresh produce, Hubmart stores provides the direct convenience for busy working class, entrepreneurs or stay at home customers.

Prima Garnet restructures, appoints Yetunde Adesina CEO

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rima Garnet Africa (PGA), one of Nigeria’s foremost Advertising Agencies, has restructured its management with Yetunde Adesina becoming Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the business.

According to a statement, Ye-

Yetunde Adesina

tunde, hitherto, an Executive Director in the Agency replaces the founding CEO of Prima Garnet, Lolu Akinwunmi, who has assumed a new role as Group CEO of the Prima Garnet Group, comprising, Prima Garnet Africa, Nitro 121 (formerly 141 Worldwide), Media Share and Lampost.

Adesina’s appointment is a reward for a combination of things, including experience, hard work, business development capacity and loyalty.

She has served in various capacities and positions in the company and has devoted 16 of the 28 years she has sojourned in the Nigerian Advertising industry to growing Prima Garnet’s business. www.businessday.ng

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or the second year running, Chivita 100% won the highly coveted Outstanding Juice Brand of the Year Award at the prestigious Marketing Edge Awards for Excellence.

Chivita 100% Fruit Juice was adjudged winner of the highly competitive category because of its outstanding brand equity, segment leadership, customer engagement and innovative integrated marketing communications – across traditional and digital.

Made from real natural fruits with no added sugar or preservatives, according to a statement, Chivita 100% is a convenient, delicious, healthy and nutritious 100% fruit juice. It offers health-conscious consumers a range of refreshing and nourishing fruit

choices as an addition for a complete breakfast diet.

According to organizers of the Awards, the selection of Chivita 100% was as a result of painstaking industry reviews and assessment of the patriotic contributions of the brand to the growth, development and continuing evolution of the juice segment in the country.

“The brand has demonstrated robust commitment to excellence as well as the enthronement and sustenance of global best practices in the industry.

Chivita 100% has also shown an uncommon innovativeness for market leadership, and this is why our jury decided that Chivita 100% was deserving of the recognition and celebration,” the organizers stated.

Speaking after receiving the award, the Marketing Director, CHI Limited, Probal Bhattacharya, in the statement commended the organizers of the Awards for recognizing Chivita 100%’s strides as a market leader in the juice segment.

Governor visits Bawbaw Fishery Farm, urges Kwara youth to be resourceful

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n his bid to support youthful resourcefulness and entrepreneurship in Kwara state, the state Governor, Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq made a surprise visit recently to Bawbaw Fishery Farm, a growing fish farm located at Pampo, off OgeleAfon Road in Asa Local Government Area of the state .

Speaking during the visit, the Governor commended the founder of the fish farm, Musbau Alasirin, for being a model to other youths in the state, urging other youths to be enterprising in order to improve the economy.

Abdulrazaq further said “I’m very impressed with what I have seen here today and I want to commend Musbau for his entrepreneurial spirit.

The government will intervene in supporting agric-business in the state

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through Anchor Borrower Scheme of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

“Our focal point is enterprise and we’ll get more youth involved. It is a win-win situation. We will support them so that they can also pay taxes to the government”, he said.

The Governor, who assured private sector of enabling environment, promised to support them in expanding their businesses. The Governor made a tour round the seven-hectare farm while assuring Kwarans that his government will begin immediate intervention in the SMEs to boost youth empowerment and employment in the state.

Musbau Alasirin, the founder of Bawbaw Fishery thanked the Governor for his word of encouragement and described Fishery as a very lucrative business in Nigeria @Businessdayng

Coca-Cola Nigeria appoints Yebeltal Getachew as Managing Director Daniel Obi

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oca-Cola Nigeria Limited has announced the appointment of Yebeltal Getachew as the company’s new Managing Director, effective June 2019. Getachew is an international business professional with multi-industry and country experience in top management positions across Africa.

Getachew replaces Bhupendra Suri as Managing Director and will be responsible for leading and optimizing profitable revenue and volume growth of Coca-Cola’s business in Nigeria under the West African Business Unit (WABU).

According to the company statement signed by the Public Affairs and Communications Manager, Coca-Cola Nigeria, Nwamaka Onyemelukwe, “Getachew brings to the company in-depth knowledge and wealth of experience having worked across Africa in senior leadership positions within the Coca-Cola system. We are pleased to have him join Coca-Cola Nigeria and leverage his experience for our total beverage portfolio in Nigeria.”

Until his recent appointment as the Managing Director, Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited, he was the General

Yebeltal Getachew

Manager, Stills and VEB, responsible for overall leadership of the Stills Beverages business for the West Africa Business Unit across 33 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Getachew joined The Coca-Cola Company (TCCC) in July 2000 as the Marketing Manager for the Horn of Africa territory of the Central, East and West Africa Business Unit (CEWABU). Since then he has worked at various roles across several countries including Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Mauritius, Tanzania, Eretria, Uganda and Mozambique.

Prior to joining The Coca-Cola Company, Getachew worked at Urgent Cargo Handling (K) Limited, Nairobi, Kenya, where he served at various roles and rose to the position of Operations Director between April 1998 and January 2000.

Getachew holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Business Administration (Economic Development & International Trade) from United States International University (African Campus), Nairobi, Kenya. He also holds a Postgraduate Certificate and MBA from Edinburgh Business School – Heriot Watt University Scotland.

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Tuesday 30 July 2019

BUSINESS DAY

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BUSINESS DAY

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18

Tuesday 30 July 2019

BUSINESS DAY

COMPANIES & MARKETS

COMPANY NEWS ANALYSIS INSIGHT

AGRICULTURE

Weaker sales trim Okomu Oil’s half-year profit SEGUN ADAMS

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eak sales at the start of the year, w h i c h l i ng e re d into the second quarter, cut the profit of palm oil maker, Okomu Oil, by 57 percent in the first half of the year.

Okumu Oil posted a profit of N2.53 billion for six months to June 30, about half of the N5.94 billion announced as profit in the

same period last year.

In the six-month period, the palm oil maker saw sales drop to N8.57 billion as against N12.94 billion last year. Revenue has weakened some 34 percent in the review period.

The decline was on the heels of slower sales in the domestic market as export of its agric products improved marginally in the half-year. Sales in Nigeria dropped 38 percent.

Cost of sales declined by 6 percent owing to a de-

crease in the direct cost of the Oil palm segment.

Notwithstanding, the sharper plunge in sales trickled to gross profit which pared by 38 percent, resulting in weaker gross margin.

Okomu Oil retained N80.25 from every N100 sales after deducting the cost of production. Last year, gross margin was N86.11 per hundred naira sales.

Operating income decreased by 58 percent to N2.91 billion compared to

N6.97 billion last year owing to Okomu Oil’s N3.96 billion net operating expenses.

The interest of fixed deposit account and exchange gains saw a big decline which resulted in the Oil plan producer recording N24.79 million finance income whereas it made N232 million last year.

The company’s finance cost decreased by 60 percent also. Gross profit plunges to N2.84 billion, 59 percent lower than N6.94 a year ago.

Net margin, a measure of how much Okomu Oil was able to retain as profit out of every N100 revenue show the company kept 29.52 percent in 2019 half-year down from 45.93 percent it retained same period last year.

On the heels of weaker performance earnings per share fell to N2.65 from N6.23 year-on-year in H1 2019.

Shares of Okomu Oil plunged 6.81 percent on the Nigerian Stock Exchange

(NSE) to close at N52 per share on Friday, worsening its loss since the beginning of the year to 31.76 percent.

Okomu Oil is an Edobased palm oil manufacturer with primary activities in the development of oil palm plantation, palm, oil milling, palm kernel processing, and the development of rubber plantation.

Products of Okomu Oil are palm oil, palm kernel oil, palm kernel cake, Banga (package) and rubber cup lumps.

AGRICULTURE

Nestle’s capacity to settle long-term debt strengthens in H1 …firm’s liquidity ratios fall to 3-year lows despite 22% profit growth OLUWASEGUN OLAKOYENIKAN

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estle Nigeria Plc, the largest consumer g o o ds fir m listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), demonstrated greater solvency in the first half of 2019 on the back of reduced debt profile.

This implies the firm was better positioned to settle its long-term obligations.

However, if Nestle’s shortterm debts were all due at once, the firm cannot covert all its financial resources to pay off the commitments.

This implies for the company to pay its debt due within a year, despite a 22 percent growth its posttax profit to N26.25 billion in the first half of 2019, it would have to sell an asset, raise more capital through long-term debt or most likely go bankrupt.

Checks on Nestle Nigeria’s balance sheet in its unaudited financial results for the half-year 2019 show the company’s debt-to-equity ratio, a financial metric that measures the ability of shareholders’ fund to cover all liabilities, fell to 2.56x in the review period when all liabilities are considered, but stood at 0.14x when its debt is considered.

These are lower values when compared to 2.57x and 0.39x recorded in the first half of 2018, respec-

tively.

Nestle Nigeria ensured it lower external funding and increase internal financing.

This became evident after the debt-to-assets ratio was used to gauge the company’s financial leverage and the percentage of its assets that were financed by creditors.

In the first half of 2019, Nestle’s debt-to-assets ratio fell marginally to 0.71x from 0.72x recorded in the same period of 2018, this shows that 71 percent of the company’s assets was funded by its owners’ fund. This signals lower risks when compared with the previous year.

Further findings revealed that both short and long-term debts have been declining in the last three years. Long-term debt halved in the first half of 2019 to N5.48 billion com-

pared with N10.98 billion achieved in the same period of 2018, and N15.8 billion in 2017.

Short-term debt fell off the billion-naira threshold in the review period to N933 million, bringing both debt obligations to N6.41 billion, the lowest since 2013, according to available data.

While it remained solvent to meet its long-term obligations, the company could not sustain its impressive liquidity performance for the half-year 2018 in the review period on the back of waned near-cash assets.

An acid test ratio conducted on Nestle’s financials shows a significant portion of its current asset was trapped in lesser liquid assets like inventory and prepayment as the ratio stood at 0.59x in the first six months of 2019 as against 0.69x a year earlier.

Acid test ratio, also known as quick ratio, is a liquidity ratio that measures of the ability of a company to translate its assets into cash within a year to meet its current liabilities. The higher the better for the company.

A company’s currents assets include its cash and cash equivalents, receivables, inventories, are other assets that can easily be turned into cash within a year, while its current liabilities include payables and other shortterm obligations.

When its current ratio, a liquidity ratio which measures a company’s shortterm liquidity position and ability to pay obligations due within a year using its current assets, was examined, it was discovered that the ratio fell to 0.86x, the lowest level in three years.

This indicates the firm

would only be able to cover 86 percent of its current liabilities with its near-cash assets as against a 100 percent current ratio recorded in the corresponding period of 2018.

Meanwhile, Nestle Nigeria continued to maintain steady growth in its top line since 2015 largely driven by sales recorded from the Nigerian market. Revenue grew 4.89 percent to N141.9 billion as against N135.3 billion.

“The principal activities of the company continue to be the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of food products including purified water throughout the country,” the company said in its financial results for the period. “The company also exports some of its products to other countries within and outside Africa.”

Nestle demonstrated im-

proved efficiency in turning every naira generated from sales to higher profits as margins rose to new highs triggered by its cost-cutting strategies.

Cost of goods sold fell some 4.88 percent to N75.8 billion from N79.7 billion, pushing its gross margin to 46.6 percent from 41.1 percent. Operating margin, a profitability measure that gauges the return on sales generated for a business, rose to 18.5 percent from 15.9 percent.

Also, Nestle recorded its first positive H1 net finance cost of N2.42 million since 2012, contributing to a 26.87 pre-tax growth.

Shares of Nestle closed unchanged at N1,300 per share on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Friday.

The stock lost 12.46 percent off its market value yearto-date.

Editor: LOLADE AKINMURELE (lolade.akinmurele@businessdayonline.com) Graphics: David Ogar

Tuesday 30 July 2019

COMPANIES&MARKETS

BUSINESS DAY

19

Business Event

INDUSTRIAL GOODS

CCNN’s net margin advances to 8-year high as revenue spikes …firm loses N102bn yearlong to market rout ISRAEL ODUBOLA

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ement Company of Northern Nigeria Plc, the country’s third-largest cement producer by market value, improved efficiency in turning each naira in revenue to higher profit, as net margin rose to its highest level in eight years. Thanks to a surge in top and bottom-line.

Figures from the company’s financial results for mid-year 2019, revealed that net margin grew to 22.7 percent in the review period, compared to 21.5 percent in the previous comparable period. This is the highest since 2012.

Net margin is a key indicator of a company’s financial health that measures how much profit is generated as a percentage of revenue. Investors use this

yardstick to assess if a company’s management is generating enough profit from its sales and whether operating and overhead costs are contained.

Sales revenue of the cement maker nearly tripled to N32.1 billion in the first six months of 2019, representing 166 percent surge over N12.1 billion, slightly underperforming direct cost of production that grew 168 percent to N17.8 billion.

Consequently, after-tax profit appreciated in three folds to N7.3 billion in the review period from N2.6 billion last year.

Between April and June 2019, the cement maker realized N15.3 billion, expended N8.6 billion on production cost, paid N1.4 billion on administrative expenses and retained N3.6 billion as profit after taxation.

Meanwhile, the rout on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE)

fuelled by investor weak sentiment over the growth potentials of the economy as well as listed corporates has pushed some stocks to fresh lows.

And the cement maker is no exception as its shares are trading at their lowest price of N11.6 since January 2018.

Year-long, it shed 40.21 percent equivalent to a monetary loss of N102.4 billion, to underperform the Lagos benchmark index that is down 11.17 percent. Shares of CCNN has declined the most compared to other cement makers – Dangote Cement (-10.38%) and Lafarge (+15.66%).

Despite interest on loans and bank charges surged 17 percent and 137 percent respectively, net borrowing costs contracted 18 percent on the back of N43.8 billion interest earned on deposits with the bank.

Mr. Jibril Aku, Vice Chairman, FMDQ Securities Exchange PLC; Mr. Bola Onadele. Koko, Managing Director, FMDQ Securities Exchange PLC; Dr. Okwu Joseph Nnanna, Chairman, FMDQ Securities Exchange PLC; Mr. Ajibola Asolo, Company Secretary, FMDQ Securities Exchange PLC, at the 7th Annual General Meeting of the Company in Lagos on Friday

MANUFACTURING

LAC Autos & Spares partners Asia-Africa to deliver affordable trucks to Nigerians …extends footprint to Lagos ENDURANCE OKAFOR

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AC Autos & Spares Ltd, a Nigerian automotive company has partnered Asia-Africa, a Chinese firm that assembles trucks in Nigeria to deliver durable and affordable trucks to Nigerians.

Established in August 2009, LAC Autos & Spares offers a total solution in trucking services which cut across sales of new and fairly used trucks and after sales maintenance services.

In his remarks, Femi

Olushakin, MD of LAC Autos & Spares said the partnership with the Chinese company is another milestone for LAC, “because Asia-Africa is a brand that is rivaled by no other brand in the Nigerian truck industry and the products we have is a fusion of European quality and the durability of China which we have put together to provide Nigerians with hybrid of trucks.”

The Nigerian auto company regards itself as one that is redefining truck solutions; this is due to the services it renders-sales of DAF trucks,

IVECO Genylon Services, injector & pump unit reconditioning, specialized truck & equipment maintenance, diagnostic services, genuine spare part, repaid and fleet management.

“We are very happy to have partnered LAC Autos & spares to enable us deliver the hybrid quality trucks that we assemble here in Lagos to Nigerians at an affordable price,” Li Yong, Managing Director of Asia-Africa said at the unveiling of the LAC Auto & Spares new office which held recently in Lekki, Lagos.

CSR

FCMB rewards customers in second draws of ‘millionaire promo season 6’ MICHAEL ANI

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nother set of 644 customers of First C i t y Mo n u m e n t Bank (FCMB) have emerged winners in the ongoing bumper reward scheme of the Bank tagged, ‘’FCMB Millionaire Promo Season 6’’ after a successful draw ceremony on July 24, 2019.

The exercise which is the second since the season 6 of the promo began in March this year, was held at the regional and zonal levels of the Bank across Nigeria. It was witnessed

by officials of Consumer Protection Council (CPC), National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC), community leaders, customers of FCMB and other dignitaries from all walks of life.

The latest lucky customers to win N1 million each at the regional draws are Chimelue Nwamarabi(Lagos);SadiAbdullahi (Abuja & North); Amusanya Oluseyi (South-west) and David Tariah Mary (South-east & South-south). In addition, 640 other customers of the Bank smiled home with various exciting gift items, ranging from LED televisions sets, power generating sets, decoders, tablets, smart

phones and other consolation prizes at the electronic selection exercise that took place in Lagos, Kaduna, Ado-Ekiti (Ekiti State) and Enugu.

The ‘’FCMB Millionaire Promo Season 6’’, which is still on till November 2019, has been designed to provide extra empowerment and create value for customers of the Bank, while encouraging financial inclusion and savings culture. The promo is targeted at all segments of the society, especially existing and potential savings account customers of the Bank. This, however, excludes salary and domiciliary account holders.

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L-R: Head, Equity Sales, Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited (SISL), Akinbamidele Akintola; Chief Executive, SISL, Titi Ogungbesan; President, Centre for Destitute Empowerment International Lagos, Samson Okoliko; and Executive Director, SISL, Bunmi Olarinoye, at the donation of food items, household essentials and relief materials to the Centre by SISL in Lagos, recently.

Former Inspector General of Police, Dr. Solomon Arase; ASIS Regional Vice President, Seyi Adetayo; Senior Regional Vice President ASIS, West Africa Region, Musa Adedeji Balogun; Nigerian Ex-President, His Excellency, Dr.Goodluck Jonathan; Secretary To Rivers State Government, Tammy Danagogo; ASIS Port Harcourt Chapter Chairman, Felix Obaze; Group Managing Director, Halogen Group, Wale Olaoye and Former Director, Department of State Security, Mike Ejiofor at the 13th Annual ASIS African Region Security Conference 2019 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State where Halogen GMD was a Guest Speaker.

L-R: Herbert Wigwe, GMD/CEO, Access Bank plc; Osayi Alile, CEO, ACT Foundation; Austin Okere, founder, Computer Warehouse Group plc/keynote speaker, and Tunde Folawiyo, chairman, ACT Foundation, at the 3rd ACT Foundation breakfast dialogue with the theme ‘Social and Global Impact: Engaging for Growth’ in Lagos.

Pic by Olawale Amoo

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BUSINESS DAY

21

property&lifestyle

How economic condition pushes urban slum settlers into living on throes of squalour TEMITAYO AYETOTO

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hen Lagos is tossed in the air like a coin and it dances far into highbrow edges in Lekki, Victoria Island or Ikoyi, before rolling back to another edge in Ikeja, Magodo or Surulere, it could eventually settle on a flip side in IjoraBadia - a swampy and waterlogged settlement occupied by low-income Lagosians.

This is where living is on the throes of squalour and it is a daily struggle to nod ‘yes’ to life. Mostly makeshift, the houses on Baale Street, for instance, are not the sorts that enjoy lush display on the cover of a fancy real estate magazine which might be tucked in the seat of an airlift to London. Neither do these buildings qualify for listing on property marketing websites.

Here, there are blocks of multiple rooms constructed from patches of planks and the foundation is built from strong round woods that can endure the pressure of water.

The streets are tarred and adorned with heap of trash as a measure to strengthen the soil against water.

Consequently, residents usually don’t set foot on ground. They move around on a long stretch of flat wooden stand (makeshift bridge) that travels along central paths linking various homes.

At some disconnects, medium-size stones are set for stepping before the journey continues again.

Residents rely basically on open well-water for washing, bathing and cleaning, while they resort to sachet water or tap-water for consumption.

When there is electricity supply from the national grid, Abiodun Gafar, a nursing mother, spends at least N800 on water, which she has to lift onhead.

Call it a shantytown, slum or an irritant of a sprawling metropolis, this is where Olasoji Oladunni, a contract staff of the biggest telecommunication company in Nigeria, by subscriber base, MTN, raises his three boys alone. As a cost control measure, Oladunni has a bicycle that takes him every day to SakaTinubu, Victoria Island, where an MTN mast is located. He generally maintains security and monitors engineers who have to work on the server room.

For him, it’s a sharp con-

trast to work during the day in an environment surrounded by asphalt-laid roads, exquisitely furnished buildings and people with polished disposition but eat, bathes and sleeps in filthiness at night. The reality pierces his emotion more profoundly when a harmless question of where he lives comes up.

“Friends who want to know more about me ask me where I stay. But then I say God, if I tell this person that I’m from Ijora, he will say I’m one of those people

who throw bottles. So I find it hard to say this is where I stay because I know what the area means is not nice,” Oladunni explained to BusinessDay. Unlike other plank-made buildings, Oladunni’s home is built from cement which makes the leasing rate higher at around N2, 500 and N3, 000 monthly per room. For makeshift apartments such as the one in which Matilda Temiotan, 50, lives in, renting dangles around N1, 500 and N2, 000, monthly depending on the bargaining strength of

the taker.

Typical of slum structures in the vicinity, the bathroom at Temiotan’s residence is assembled from a few pieces of planks, without any roofing and it’s cited some distance away from the 10-room bungalow. Oddly, yet commonplace, there is no toilet. The unwritten but general rule is to defecate and dispose openly in the nearby canal.

Lagosians in this type of dwelling desperately seek good housing but want it inexpensive. They want ba-

Architecture, uncommon masterplan earn Alaro City regional lead, recognition CHUKA UROKO

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or its architecture and uncommon masterplan, Alaro City, an upcoming city sitting on expansive land area in the Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ) in Lagos has earned the recognition of an internationally acclaimed rating body with the Architizer A+ Popular Choice Award.

The Architizer A+Awards, already in its seventh year, is an internationally acclaimed programme focused on promoting and celebrating the year’s best architecture, and according to the organizers, the popular choice winners were selected through public online voting after a 10day campaign. More than 400,000 votes from over 100 countries were submitted.

They explained further that the city’s masterplan, the only entrant from the African region, was shortlisted and eventually nominated from a range of largescale international complex projects that included the

Amazon HQ2 supersite in Dallas and the 5M project in San Francisco.

Alaro City’s masterplan was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) LLP Europe. SOM is an influential collection of architects, designers, engineers and planners, responsible for some of the world’s most technically and environmentally advanced buildings, and significant public spaces.

From a strate gic regional plan to a single piece of furniture, SOM’s designs anticipate change in the way we live, work and communicate, and have brought lasting value to communities around the world. This, largely, informed the choice of Alaro City for the Architizer A+Awards.

“Alaro City masterplan is designed in a way that protects and enhances the unique conditions of the site while enabling longterm resilience for the future city,” explained Daniel Ringelstein, a director at S OM City Design Practice, adding that the city www.businessday.ng

helps strengthen Lagos’ position as the economic and cultural hub for West Africa by creating a new mixed-use model sustainable community - a place for people to work, make, live, and learn.

The director noted that plan was structured a ro u n d s i x g re e n w ay s, aligned nor th-to-south with the prevailing winds and existing topography, and spaced 800 meters apart to ensure that all residents and workers are no more than a five-minute walk from open space The city is planned in such a way that transport infrastructure supports local connectivity and allows for higher density, walkable mixed-use districts and neighbourhoods.

Larger industrial and logistical development plots are located in the south, while neighbourhoods for residential, mixed-use, and commercial development are located to the north, oriented towards the lagoon.

“We were honoured to be nominated alongside

complex projects such as the Amazon HQ2 supersite in Dallas and the 5M project in San Francisco,” said Odunayo Ojo, CEO of Alaro City, in his reaction to the award.

To him, “the award is a testament to the fact that we are building a city that Nigeria will be proud of, in such a vibrant and unparalleled metropolis like Lagos.”

Alaro City is planned as a 2,000-hectare mixed-use city that was launched in January 2019. It will include industrial and logistics locations, complemented by offices, homes, schools, healthcare facilities, hotels, entertainment and 150 hectares of parks and open spaces. The project is a joint venture between the Lagos State Government and Rendeavour, the largest new city developer in Africa.

Recently, the city, which is a mixed-income, cityscale development with master-planned areas, announced the start of phase two of its residential ‘buy and build’ plots, after selling all phase one plots.

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sic facilities like electricity, good water supply, healthy ventilation, good drainages and roads. In fact, the financial weakness that plunge people under this poor living condition is such that makes them care less about colour themes, brands of furniture or latest interior furnishings.

Some of the inhabitants, like Oluwagbotemi Samuel, a casual staff of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) in Apapa, has earned less than N15, 000 monthly for 13 years. Yet, he caters for six children.

At 58 Baale Street, just behind Oladunni’s home, 64-year-old Justus Owowa’s single room has been converted to a school named ‘Olu Nursery and Primary School’.

There, the passionate teacher and indigene of Igbokoda, Ilaje local government area of Ondo state teaches about 100 kids. And in what highlights the poor state of their household economies, Owowa only charges parents N50 each for teaching them to read and write. He believes it is not enough for the pupils to speak in English. They should possess the ability to identify, interpret and write what they Continues on page 22

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property&lifestyle

Experts’ insights into financing options raise hope for housing sector growth in Nigeria …Senate assures on legislative intervention; Shelter Afrique to invest $180m Stories by CHUKA UROKO

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hen Nigerian housing sector prof e s s i o n a l s, experts and sundry stakeholders gathered in Abuja for the just concluded four-day International Housing Show, the focus and centre of discussion was on innovative and sustainable financing model that could lift Nigeria out of the abyss of housing deficit.

The housing show, which saw about 500 participants from different parts of the world, is an annual event, already in its 13th edition, organized by a housing sector promotion and advocacy firm, Fesadeb Communications Limited.

The show has become a veritable platform for provoking thoughts on solutions to the myriad of housing problems and challenges in Nigeria. Festus Adebayo, convener and CEO, Fesadeb Communications, said in his opening remarks that the show provided opportunity for stakeholders to proffer practical solutions to familiar problems.

“We are out to realize a housing sector that will not only shelter man, but also contribute to GDP, provide jobs and create economic opportunities for those on the demand and supply sides

of the housing value chain,” he said.

Consistent with the theme of the event, ‘Driving Sustainable Housing Finance Models in the Midst of Global Uncertainty’, expert opinions, ideas, insights and possible solutions were offered on how public and private capital could walk into the sector to deliver decent and affordable housing.

Finance, it is said, is the bedrock of housing anywhere in the world. Besides the private equity and debt from lenders, co-operatives, public and private partnerships which have not fared well in Nigeria due to policy inconsistence and trust issues, other finance and funding models were highlighted.

Institutional funding and Diaspora remittances are also other major finance sources and models for delivering housing with reduced risk and cost. According to the experts, there is a direct correlation between the availability or otherwise of financing for housing and risk.

Diaspora remittances into Nigeria is quite huge and has increased significantly in the last couple of years. Robert Honsby, Co-founder and CEO, American Homebuilders of West Africa (AHWA), estimates Diaspora remittances into Nigeria at $24 billion. It is also estimated that only 10 percent of this figure

is deployed into real estate.

Hornsby noted that risk in Sub-Saharan Africa was generally over-priced relative to market fundamentals, pointing out that those who understood that could earn outsized returns. According to him, public sector, bilateral and multilateral donors, NGOs, resident citizens and the Diaspora all wanted solutions to the housing sector.

“Private sector actors who can deliver quality and value, and build a trusted brand will find significant opportunities for decades to come. Diaspora investors hunger for a partner to trust with their money and they dream of a home in the land of their birth,” noted Hornsby who spoke on ‘Diaspora Housing and Financing: Opportunities and Challenges’.

Micro-finance is another model that the experts considered to be of potential help. Debra Erb, MD, Real Estate Project Finance at Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) raised hope in this connection when she disclosed that they were already seeing more attempts to adopt that model to the lowest income housing needs and incremental demand, particularly in live and work developments.

Significant hope was also raised on institutional funding. It is expected that over the next five years, about $180

A cross section of participant at the international housing conference million will be invested in the sector by Shelter Afrique. The continental housing finance institution will be disbursing this money through credits to financial institutions, mortgages, construction finance for public private partnership projects.

Andrew Chimphondah, the CEO, who disclosed this also revealed their intension to assist Nigeria to raise bonds as soon as the country’s macro-economic environment stabilized, adding that the institution was planning to partner with the federal housing authority (FHA) on affordable housing for low income earners under the Affordable Nationwide Housing Project (ANHP) scheme.

To create an enabling en-

vironment for all these to happen, the Senate has assured of legislative intervention in the housing sector, disclosing that the land use act and the national housing fund (NHF) were captured in the legislative agenda of the 9th Senate.

“The importance of housing cannot be overemphasised,” noted Ahmed Lawan, the Senate President, adding, “our needs are enormous while resources are lean. But the good thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.

Today presents us with the opportunity to consolidate on what we have built and to start new projects where necessary.”

Continuing, Lawan said,

“I am aware that there are critical areas that require legislative intervention like the Land Use Act, the National Housing Fund (NHF), housing regulations, and many more enabling policies. It is in the legislative agenda of the 9th Senate to see it that all policies required to get us closer to our dreams are achieved.”

Both the land use act and NHF are major impediments to housing development in Niger ia and it is hoped that the intervention by the Senate, if it sails through, will improve housing accessibility and affordability, and ultimately lead to the growth of the sector and the economy at large.

Creating modern, affordable kitchen experience with GROHE system solutions Urban slum settlers living in squalour...

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eading brand for bathroom solutions and kitchen fittings, GROHE, recently unveiled individual system solutions for every requirement in the entire kitchen sink work area.

The company says it is committed to providing quality, functional and well-designed kitchen sink portfolio at affordable cost.

GROHE brings colour accents to the kitchen with selected faucets and sinks. The technology originates from the aerospace industry and has set a new standard for the quality of kitchen finishes. The kitchen colours also include GROHE blue and red water systems as well as accessories in a range of colours, injecting into each kitchen an individual, colourful look.

Also, there is a range of kitchen sinks which include composite sinks in granite black and granite grey, offering the perfect match to faucets with chrome and super steel finishes.

“The features of the modern-looking composite sinks leave nothing to be desired, even for kitchen professionals.

The surface is exceptionally

Continued from page 21

resistant and withstands temperatures up to 280 °C. Even sharp knives cannot harm the sink’s scratch-resistant finish when preparing food,”. Explained Renu Misra, GROHE’s president for Middle East, Africa and East Mediterranean.

The GROHE Individual System Solutions includes the noise-reducing GROHE whisper insulation that reduces, to the barest minimum, noises that occur when doing the dishes in the sink. In five different designs, the composite sinks come with either one, www.businessday.ng

one and a half or two basins and with or without drainer..

“GROHE’s simple cleaning requirements make for a convenient wash-up after eating, making it easy to clean even large casserole dishes, thanks to the sinks’ generous size.

Our kitchen skin comes with finishes that are three times harder compared to chrome and 10 times more resistant to scratches which makes faucets and sinks not only look good, but also be capable to withstand the toughest everyday kitchen use,” Renu

disclosed.

These solutions offer more advantage with the waste systems. The practical and functional work area of the kitchen sink waste system remains fully intact and offers maximum convenience for your busy everyday life. Available for sink cabinets with a width of either 60 or 90cm, one, two or three waste containers can be used. Depending on the waste cabinet’s width, capacity combinations of 16 to a maximum of 40 litres are available.

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speak.

“You will discover most of them can speak well, but to put it into writing is zero.

I prefer they can put into writing what they are saying.

I group them into classes according to their ability,” Owowa said.

Amid this squalor, a few new buildings are also sprouting along the canal lines right in Ijora-Badia. But these property investors are not considering residential use. The bungalows function as bars and inns - bubbling with blistering echoes of latest Nigerian hiphop hit songs, young men and ladies in catchy outfits.

Many there say it is the fastest moving business, found more profitable than investing in residential buildings.

Already, history records Ijora-Badia as one of Lagos’ underserviced and high density areas. Many early inhabitants of Ijora-Badia were people who resettled from Oluwole Village, when it was acquired by the government for the construc@Businessdayng

tion of the National Theatre.

The resettlement brought more people to live close to the railway tract.

According to a 2015 World Bank report on Lagos Metropolitan Development and Governance, a project that cost $205 million, Nigeria has been urbanizing at an average annual growth rate of 3.75 percent since 2010 and with the trend continuing, the share of Nigerians living in urban areas is expected to rise to 55 percent of the total population by 2020.

Non-inclusive housing schemes exclude millions of Nigerian urban residents like Oladunni, Owowa and Temiotan who earn less than N20, 000 salaries from access to formal affordable housing.

They constitute about 60-80 percent of urban Nigerians estimated to live in squatter settlements where they suffer from limited access to services, unhealthy living environments and exclusion from economic opportunities that urban areas offer.

To be continued

Tuesday 30 July 2019

BUSINESS DAY

INTERVIEW

23

‘Nigeria needs to liberalise the downstream petroleum sector to drive investments’ Huub Stokman is the chief executive officer of OVH Energy. In this interview with journalists, he spoke on the problems militating against having a thriving and competitive downstream subsector and what can be done to address the issues. Josephine Okojie was there. Excerpts: Oil Marketers have been calling on government to deregulate the downstream sector for its efficient running for a while now, what do you think is responsible for the delay in implementation by government? would not say it’s a delay because government is fully aware of the merits in implementing the deregulation policy; but the president believes in pursuing policies that will be beneficial to the Nigerian people, and he is consulting widely with all key stakeholders to arrive at the most ideal approach to the implementation as there are different views and arguments surrounding the method of implementation.

There are also several micro and macro market dynamics that need to be fully evaluated before taking these decisions. First will be price control, and then the effect of the global market.

Government understands that it’s in its best interest of Nigeria in the long term to liberalise the downstream petroleum sector so it can free itself from the burden of under-recovery - monies that can be reinvested into infrastructural development, education and health care among others to enhance the living standards of the average Nigerian. Truth be told, subsidizing consumption over production is detrimental to any economy. You will recall that a recent newspaper report puts the fuel under-recovery NNPC incurred as at December 2018 to over N600bn, for an 11-month period. That money can be put to better use. All these factors make the implementation appear delayed.

released in 2018 that the NNPC was incurring an average of over 55billion monthly that gives you an idea of what can be saved. These monies can boost our health care, education, electricity and other critical sectors of the economy.

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Huub Stokman

How is the downstream sector presently faring in the face of low margins for operators?

The sector is struggling amid thinning margins which is hampering investment opportunities that will boost operational efficiency, global standard health & safety practices, and improved customer service delivery amongst other things. We will not fail to acknowledge the efforts of the National Assembly to resolve the long outstanding subsidy payment but this delay has greatly impacted major marketers’ operational liquidity.

What is the solution to the myriad of issues facing the sector?

The common factor underling the issues in the downstream sector of the petroleum industry: be it health & safety, operational efficiency, customer service delivery or other inefficiencies is the inadequate investment in the industry. This can only be solved via a liberalised market where investors feel comfortable to inject the required capital to improve the value chain. A lot of stakeholders have been calling for deregulation as the current under-recovery is not sustainable considering the contraction being felt in the economy, so the solution would be deregulation including pump pricing. www.businessday.ng

Why does it appear difficult to get the government to deregulate the oil sector despite its contribution to GDP? The point has been made in my earlier response. The government is looking to implement this while mitigating the impact on the Nigerian customer.

How much do you think can be saved by the Nigerian government if it stops subsidy and how can the money be used to drive economic growth?

If we extrapolate based on the report

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If Government supports the call to deregulate, the country will experience monumental development in most, if not all spheres of the economy

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Most IOCs have divested from the sector and exited the country. Why are they in a rush to leave, what do you think is the cause?

Most IOCs with the exception of Total exited their downstream activities several years ago. I cannot say why an IOC left, however the level of (price) regulation in the industry coupled with the fact that the government is both a regulator and a player in the same industry, could have played a role. Price regulation ensures that marketing companies cannot charge cost-reflective tariffs at the pump. Price regulation also means that when product price fluctuates with global crude oil price, marketer margins are the easiest to sacrifice to attain the stipulated pump price.

What is your view about NNPC being the dominant player in the sector and does it not suggest that it is tactically squeezing oil marketers out of business?

Marketers have had to stop fuel importation because of the accumulated debt owed to them from earlier imports and banks were no longer willing to offer credit lines to marketers anymore due to the huge debt profile of marketers. So it became imperative for NNPC to lead the charge. Currently, the regulated petrol pump price of N145/litre leaves an import deficit considering today’s FX rates. With the current rate, the actual pump price of petrol should be over N180, hence only the NNPC can afford to import petrol and cushion the effect of the deficit on the industry.

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There is the perception that oil marketers are behind the present call to increase the price of PMS that they are milking the system and getting free money through subsidy. Is it true?

Well, if you have been following the media landscape, you would have noticed that analysts, notable economists, civil societies and labour unions have seen the merit in deregulation and have joined voices in this discourse, so it is not a case of push from petroleum marketers.

In a recent submission by the Emir of Kano, he referenced his time as the CBN governor where he stated that as far back as 2011 before NNPC commenced the underrecovery initiative, Nigeria made $16billion from petroleum sales, spent $8billion importing petroleum and another $8.2billion subsidizing the product and he asked, if this was sustainable? Even the average Nigerian thinks subsidy does not benefit the masses and must be removed. This is not just a call by the petroleum marketers, this is for the good of everyone who is interested in a prosperous nation.

How can Nigeria’s downstream sector align to global best practices that will guarantee investments and the development of the country’s oil and gas assets? @Businessdayng

Regulators and industry associations like Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) have a huge role to play here. In South Africa for instance, SAPIA plays a strategic role in ensuring compliance with regulatory standards as well as industry transformation and skills development. MOMAN is treading that path already – ensuring regulatory health, safety, environment and quality, corporate governance, and customer service standards at the minimum are implemented.

There are opportunities in advancing technological innovation in the downstream sector. If we are able to attract investment, we can revolutionize the way trucks are receiving and delivering products with minimal losses; we can efficiently run an integrated system from the depots to the forecourts where the products are sold to the delight of the Nigerian Customer which will guarantee the quality and quantity of every litre sold at our retail stations.

Has government finally paid all debts owed oil marketers?

The government recognizes the impact that the debts have had on businesses and has made immense and commendable progress towards making the monies available. We have received promissory notes for some of the monies owed; the Debt Management Office is processing the balance which we hope to receive within weeks.

How is MOMAN engaging the government to fashion out a way out of all the issues?

We have engaged government through strategy sessions, presenting our cases in the most transparent way; we have also demonstrated our capabilities to transform the industry despite the challenging business environment. We recently presented our sustainability report to the government to demonstrate our corporate citizenship initiatives.

What’s your message to the government and the public as regards the way forward to develop the downstream sector?

There is a symbiotic relationship between deregulation and development. If Government supports the call to deregulate, the country will experience monumental development in most, if not all spheres of the economy. In the downstream sector, the Nigerian customer will be able to access quality fuels at competitive prices.

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Tuesday 30 July 2019

BUSINESS DAY

Plutocrat donors are shaping agenda at our elite universities Big donations such as Oxford Schwarzman gift come with big dangers Brooke Masters, FT

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ack when I attended Harvard University, one of the odder graduation requirements I faced was a mandatory swim test.

We were told the demand was a legacy of Eleanor Widener, who had donated the school’s main library in honour of her son, class of 1907, who drowned on the Titanic.

The story turns out be apocryphal, but we believed it.

Our lives were shaped by the hands of dead donors. We slept and ate in halls built to realise Edward Harkness’s dream of replicating Oxford in America.

We took classes in a science building funded by Polaroid camera inventor Edwin Land, that resembled his creation.

We even swam the required 50 yards in a pool named after donor John Blodgett.

Since then the influence of plutocrats on US universities has only grown and it is expanding to the UK. This week, Blackstone boss Steve Schwarzman gave £150m to Oxford university not long after quant investor David Harding handed £100m to Cambridge.

Given how much money has been concentrated at the top

of our societies in recent years, it is very good news that some billionaires are starting to give back.

Mr Schwarzman’s donation set a modern-era record for Oxford, but it doesn’t even make the top 50 on the list of global gifts compiled by the Chronicle of Higher Education, dwarfed by the $1.8bn that Michael Bloomberg gave to Johns Hopkins in 2018.

It isn’t even Mr Schwarzman’s biggest outlay: he gave $350m to Massachusetts Institute of Technology last year.

In this, the private equity titan is following in the footsteps of the robber barons whose 19th and 20th-century donations helped transform higher education institutions as farflung as Chicago and Makerere in Uganda.

Many research universities are great today thanks to the munificence of the Rockefellers, Carnegies and Vanderbilts of yesteryear.

But with big cheques come big dangers and hard choices.

Alumni loyalty and a desire to set the agenda means that donated money clusters at universities that are already well funded and serve the elite.

Giving often exacerbates inequality rather than easing it.

Business schools are invariably www.businessday.ng

better endowed than teachers’ colleges.

And Harvard has $39bn, 60 times as much as Howard, the US’s best-funded historically black university.

Some big donors are trying to solve the problem by targeting poor students rather than endowing buildings.

Mr Bloomberg ’s donation will allow Johns Hopkins to admit students without regard to ability to pay, meeting their financial needs in full with grants rather than loans.

Robert Smith, another private equity billionaire, recently promised to pay off the loans of the entire graduating class at Morehouse College.

Hong Kong tycoon Li Kashing is funding the entire incoming class at Shantou Uni-

versity in Guangdong province.

But most donors want something concrete to point to: a building, a programme or a professorship in a pet subject.

In some cases, they want their children to be admitted, which perpetuates the unfairness.

Mr Schwarzman is shelling out for MIT’s new Schwarzman College of Computing and a new humanities hub and an institute on artificial intelligence at Oxford.

Most university administrators believe they can direct donations into things that they already want. But how useful will some of this stuff be in 20, 30 or 60 years?

We should remember the experience of Philadelphia’s Barnes Foundation, which end-

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The greatest challenge of our time is whether we will have a planet in a decade. That’s where we have got to be focusing our attention

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ed up going to court to break restrictions put in place by its founder in 1922.

Critics worr y whether we should be letting business moguls shape our intellectual agenda. Tech entrepreneur Martha Lane Fox objected to the Oxford gift on Twitter this week, saying that the money should be used for climate crisis work.

“Something is broken with these models of philanthropy,” she told me.

“The greatest challenge of our time is whether we will have a planet in a decade. That’s where we have got to be focusing our attention.” We should not forget the wider backdrop.

Many universities are desperate for donations in part because of government cuts to higher education funding.

And those governments are cash-strapped precisely because many companies and billionaires do ever ything in their power to cut their tax bills.

Mr Schwarzman is a particularly vocal defender of the “carried interest” tax break that enriches companies like his.

And don’t forget, many of these donations are tax deductible. So we are all helping to pay to put Mr Schwarzman’s name in lights at Oxford. Perhaps it would be fairer if he paid more tax.

Tuesday 30 July 2019

BUSINESS DAY

25

What next for new graduates with no career plans?

Five steps that college leavers can take now to be better-prepared for the future

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fter the relief of graduating comes the dreaded question: what next? It can be hard to be (seemingly) the only person in your social group without a job lined up, while your parents keep asking about future plans.

Do not be pressed into signing up for a career you do not want.

Start instead by taking experts’ advice to help you navigate the first few months after graduation: 1. Make your CV stand out Use this time to update your CV. Jonathan Black, director of the careers service at the University of Oxford, says it is important to make sure that your CV has impact. You can test this by asking others to read your CV. “Give them two seconds only,” he says. “What are their impressions?”

This exercise reinforces the importance of making a good first impression quickly: “Think about the person [recruiting] on the other side.

It could be a wet Wednesday night and they’ve got a column of 80 of these things to get through.

They’d really rather go home now than be in the office.” Recruiters spend on average just 6.25 seconds reading a CV, according to a report in 2012 by the online recruitment agency The Ladders.

“The CV is only to get you the interview, not to get you the job,” says Mr Black in the Financial Times video series How to kick start your career. “What it should do is contain just enough to intrigue the reader that the next thing they want to do is actually meet you. So the three points you’re trying to get over in a CV are that you take responsibility, you achieve things, and that you’re nice to have around.”

2. Look at what is out there If a traditional career does not interest you, it can be hard to know what other options exist. Online job listings are one way to get a sense of the positions available.

Some well-known websites include Milk round, Prospects and TARGETjobs, or specialist platforms such as Gradcracker for Stem graduates. Debut, a recruitment app, includes a “talent spotting” feature where employers can contact you directly and fast-track the application process.

You could also try real-life networking. Career Curious offers London-based meetups for women.

Liz Seabrook, co-founder, describes it as “a community to get ideas, to meet other people and . . . bring together women to talk about professional life”. “Every session we have a panel of three women who have different jobs.

We get them to talk for 10 to 15 minutes about what they do and I think that part of that has been really good at making people aware of jobs that they hadn’t really realised exist.”

The Career Curious sessions also help build a community where women can help each other to advance their careers.

Ms Seabrook says it is important to hear about the challenges people have faced as it “affirms the fact that whilst you may be in the middle of a difficult patch now . . . it will work out”.

3. Be productive with your time A gap year (or two) can give you space and time to work out what you are interested in and build your experience.

Unless you are proactive, however, you may come to the end of the year just as uncertain as you were at the start.

Even if your plan is to travel or work, it may also be worth trying to build in time for work experience or www.businessday.ng

internships.

Websites like GoAbroad.com list global volunteering and internship opportunities, as well as scholarships to help cover the cost.

Dimple Agarwal, deputy chief executive at Deloitte UK, the accountancy firm, says it is not important whether an applicant has taken a year out or not.

“For us, it is what they can bring to Deloitte, how they can complement our firm, and what impact they might have here that counts.”

She adds: “We wouldn’t differ in our perspective by role, or how the individual has chosen to spend a year out, but rather how the applicant has developed.”

4. Use your network Ask friends, family and contacts about their jobs and the best routes into that sector.

“Make sure you are super professional when you reach out to people and be willing to do the legwork,” advises Otegha Uwagba, author of the Little Black Book: A Toolkit for Working Women, which provides practical advice for people starting out on their career.

“It’s important to be conscious of how busy people are.” She says this can be as simple as offering to call instead of meeting up in person or being flexible about when you

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are free.

“It was only as I got more experienced that I realised how important networks are,” Ms Uwagba says.

Helping other women to realise this is part of the reason that she started Women Who, a community for female professionals. It has both free and paid-for resources, such as help with building your personal brand.

If you are based in a big city and could afford the fees, private members’ clubs are enjoying a revival.

London’s AllBright and The Wing, which has branches in big American and Canadian cities and is now open in London, are for women.

Others, like The House of St Barnabas, are open to all. The annual fees are expensive but some offer big discounts for younger members.

Many university career services also provide continuing support to students beyond graduation and have databases of university alumni who are happy to offer advice about your first career steps.

5. Do not panic Taking time to choose a career path pays off long-term, says Emma Rosen, author of The Radical Sabbatical: The Millennial Handbook to the Quarter-life Crisis.

Unhappy in her secure civil @Businessdayng

service job she quit and set out to try 25 careers in the year before she turned 25.

“I went straight from university into a high-profile grad scheme because that was what everyone did,” says Ms Rosen. It seemed like the “dream job” but she had very little idea what it actually involved.

Finding opportunities to try different careers was easier than she initially thought and she secured places at four companies in just a week, leading her to commit to her 25before25 project.

“I was partly so successful because I was targeting small businesses,” says Ms Rosen. “It’s much easier to get a decision in a small company and I was able to offer something in return.”

Most graduates are “tech savvy” and can benefit businesses, particularly when it comes to social media, she says.

FEEDBACK What do you think? What advice would you give new graduates with no idea what to do next? Please share your thoughts with other Businessday readers by emailingcareers@businessdayonline.com.

We hope to showcase the most helpful tips and strategies in a follow-up feature.

26

Tuesday 30 July 2019

BUSINESS DAY

EDUCATION Weekly insight on current and future trends in education

Primary/Secondary

Higher

Human Capital

‘Tackling malaise of teacher quality should top education ministers’ to-do list’ KELECHI EWUZIE

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hoever Muhammadu Buhari decides to give the portfolio of the minister of education must as a matter of urgency tackle the malaise of poor teacher capacity. Education stakeholders have advocated.

They observed that one reoccurring decimal in the education sector in Nigeria over the

past two decades has to do with the consistent decline in the quality and quantity of professional teachers in the country.

Modupe Adefeso-Olateju, an education expert and managing director of the education partnership centre (TEP) observes that to strengthen teacher performance; decisionmakers must take a long view by identifying and attracting potentially high-quality teaching talent into the classroom and creating systemic pathways to ensure that they remain and perform well.

“We can identify better teaching talent by raising the entry requirements into the teach-

ing profession, so that higher performers apply says, Adefeso-Olateju adding that test prospective teachers for non-academic qualities essential to students’ learning including enthusiasm, flexibility, and creativity.

To her, “Recruitment policies should allow for non-traditional but high-potential teaching talent to be embedded into the civil service by allowing for professionals with interest in teaching to combine reduced teaching hours with simultaneous participation in teacher training”.

Industry experts maintain that until our teachers are better trained and well-

motivated, all efforts to improve the quality of the education system will be severely compromised. In the quest to increase teacher quantity, all manner of persons and all manner of part-time and sandwich programmes are part of the current menu of teacher training.

In striving for the production of quality teachers not just qualified teachers. Educationists are of the opinion that recruited teachers when employed should not go into classrooms without undergoing induction.

On his part, Osaretin Olurotimi, an education researcher in Lagos said to strengthen teacher performance; Government would play a role in implementing solutions to improve teacher quality by raising entry requirements and investing in quality preparation programmes.

Olurotimi further said that community organisations and citizens should take on the role of facilitating collaborations between teachers’ in-school efforts and broader community development imperatives.

According to him, “These will give teachers voice and recognition and ensure that teaching is no longer viewed as a profession for those without better alternatives “A programme to manage teacher performance must include an investment in the capacity of school administrators to handle an evaluation system appropriately; deliver feedback; discover training needs; and design or customise reward or disciplinary incentives for the teachers,” he said.

While industry experts in the education space acknowledged that Nigeria’s education sector is faced with a plethora of problems such as underfunding, deteriorating infrastructure/equipment, dearth of quality teachers, they however are of the view that with the right collaboration between all stakeholders in the sector the threatening effect of teacher’s capacity would be resolved.

A cross section of Greensprings school IB diploma graduates

Greensprings students beat world average in IB diploma examination KELECHI EWUZIE

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reensprings School students have surpassed the world average in twelve (12) subjects in the International Baccalaureate diploma programme (IBDP) examination. A published worldwide statistics of the May 2019 IBDP examination has revealed.

The statistics by the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO), which is the international body in charge of the sixth-form programme, stated that the average scores of the Greensprings students in the twelve subjects exceed that of the 1,214 schools in 94 countries that did the examination.

According to the publication, “Some of the subjects in which the students beat the world average are English Language and Literature, Mathematics, Biology, Computer Science, Business Management and Psychology.

In his reaction to this latest statistics released, Abidemi Arimoro, the IB Diploma

Coordinator of Greensprings School, said he was thrilled by the fabulous results achieved by the students.

Arimoro said that the publication of the statistics reveals that, if given a quality education, Nigerian students can compete with their counterparts all over the world.

He also remarked that the students showed a lot of determination and put in a great deal of work. Therefore, all of their achievements are well-deserved.

It will be recalled that not long ago, the same set of Greensprings school students won a total of $1.3 million in scholarship and gained admission into top universities all over the world.

The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme is a post-secondary school programme designed to prepare students for life in tertiary institutions. It is administered by the International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO), and students admitted into the programme are expected to have a minimum of 5 credits in their O’ Levels (GCSEs, IGCSEs or WASSCE) including English and Mathematics.

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ASUU urge Sanwo-Olu to constitute visitation panel to resolve LASU crisis KELECHI EWUZIE

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he academic staff union of universities (ASUU) Lagos zone has called on the governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu to constitute a visitation panel to Lagos State University (LASU) to unravel sundry issues, which the union believes are undermining the smooth running of the institution.

ASUU insists that the governor need to address the issues of the continued cover up and mismanagement of over 1.3 billion naira of NEEDS assessment funds by the administration of Olanrewaju Fagbohun, vice chancellor of LASU. Olusiji Sowande, coordinator, ASUU Lagos zone stated this in Lagos during a press conference calling on the governor to also intervene concerning the clamping down on the union leaders in the school.

Sowande stated that in the last three years, the Union in Lagos State University (LASU) has been seriously involved in engaging the LASU Administration over the illegalities and arbitrariness that have become a pattern in the administration of the University.

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According to him, “Many of the issues as we have highlighted in the past have to do with abiding with the laws and regulations of the University in appointments, promotion and general administration”.

“It also has to do with the continued cover up of the mismanagement of over 1.3 billion naira of NEEDS Assessment funds by the preceding administration, which our Union continues to demand its probe”.

He said that the Union has also been very consistent in agitating for the payment of the accrued Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) of its members, which has accumulated for ten years, adding that there is no other public university in Nigeria aside LASU that has not commenced the payment of the EAA. Sowande further said the Union drew the attention of the former visitor Akinwunmi Ambode to many of these developments via about 30 official letters, adding that in spite of assurances from many quarters in government, including the Ministry of Labour and Establishment, as well as the Head of Service, that the issues will be looked into, nothing was done. The indifference of the Past Visitor, we must say, has encouraged the continued impunity of the Vice Chancellor in LASU.

@Businessdayng

Tuesday 30 July 2019

BUSINESS DAY

27

EDUCATION How to engage children over the holidays

OYIN EGBEYEMI

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hildren of nowadays seem to be busy, even busier than adults. Over the course of the year, they spend about 75 percent of their time at school.

Even outside the classrooms, they learn and engage in many other educational activities that keep them pretty much occupied for nearly 100 percent of that 75 percent time slot. So during the holidays,

having absolutely nothing to do could come as a bit of a shock to them, especially if they really enjoy the time they spend at school or doing their extra activities over the course of the academic term.

So what should parents do with them during the remaining 25 percent of their time?

This is an area where anxiety may begin to creep in for parents because, as much as they may want their children to enjoy the break over vacations, particularly the summer holiday, which could last over two months, idleness may set in. So they have to find ways to keep children engaged while they also enjoy their welldeserved rest.

The norm for middle-upper class families is to travel abroad for the summer holiday. However, since economic conditions may hit bank accounts, many of parents are beginning to rethink their children’s summer time activities.

Fortunately, there are many creative and inexpensive ways to engage children over the holiday.

For instance, many schools run summer school or summer camp programmes. The great thing about these is that teachers are really beginning to think outside the box and coming up with fun, creative and educational activities; such that summer school offers something different from what the children would normally get from the regular school curriculum. Many summer schools offer a broad range of activities that span from literacy to languages and cooking; while others specialise in specific areas such as science or specialised languages (such as Yoruba, Igbo or even Mandarin). Parents have many options to select from…and what makes these programmes even more attractive is their affordability, as they would not cost as

much as logistics for travelling abroad or the equivalent of school fees (at private schools) for that period of time would.

If parents want a little more flexibility in their children’s schedules over the long summer holidays, they could actually plan fun and educational activities for them. Fortunately, Lagos State is packed with a lot of recreational activities that many people may not even be aware of. It is a State bursting with a lot of history and life, so parents could arrange for visits to sites such as the Slave Museum in Badagry and the Museum in Onikan.

Such visits would expose children to some of the history of Lagos State and Nigeria. Other recreational activities that parents may consider are visits to art galleries and recreational centres such as the Lekki Conservation Centre.

Parents may also consider building specific skills in their

Covenant university team projects adjudged best at 2019 Enactus national competition …To represent Nigeria at World Silicon Valley KELECHI EWUZIE

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ovenant University team projects Pet city and Toles have been adjudged the best at the 2019 Enactus National competition held in Lagos.

Their winning projects focused on solving the health problem of tetanus especially among young children in their rural community who couldn’t afford foot wears.

Their solution was to provide affordable foot wears for these families. The team’s

second project focused on managing waste problem and also creating building bricks out of trash.

Covenant University by emerging National champion for 2019 will represent Nigeria at the prestigious Enactus world cup holding at the Silicon Valley, San Jose, California, USA in come September 2019.

Michael Ajayi, Country director, Enactus in his speech at the event, congratulated the team and also encouraged them to double their efforts in preparations for the ENACTUS world cup coming up in September, in the

United States.

According to him, “Enactus is an international and non-profit organisation that is improving the quality of life of people around the world, providing business solutions to social, economic and environmental challenges in their communities. “Enactus is a community of Student, academic and business leaders committed to using the power of entrepreneurial action to transform lives.

Ajayi said further that since its inception in Nigeria in 2001, the Enactus programme was structured to build the capacity of the participating students

Year six class of Chrisland School, Abuja during their graduation ceremony, recently. www.businessday.ng

(irrespective of gender and other forms of biases) - in the areas of skills, knowledge and more importantly, character such that they are able to populate the market place with the entrepreneurial mindset and personal leadership required to create real and sustained value for their businesses or the organisations they work for.

“Today, owing to their increased capacity and commendable work ethics and drive, testimonies abound about how Enactus Alumni are positively impacting the market place, leading change and making significant contributions to organizational growth and national transformation.

Uwa Osa-Oboh, a council member of African Capital Alliance during her keynote address also charged ENACTUS students to strive to imbibe what she calls the 5C to succeed in life.

According to her the 5 Cs are Communicate, Critical reasoning; Creativity; Conviction and Character, adding that these steps would forge them into great men and women in future.

ENACTUS is presently in 36 countries including Nigeria, active in over 1,730 tertiary universities with over 72,000 student members and over 550 corporate, organisations and individual partners.

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children over the summer holiday. So they can enrol them in sports lessons (e.g. swimming, golf, tennis) at various gyms and country clubs around them; or even some other alternative arts which are becoming more popular such as painting, acting and music.

Another way of engaging children over the holidays is through volunteering or giving back. Getting them involved in some light community development activities could go a long way. An example is visiting homes of the motherless and less privileged. They could even get directly involved by coming up with initiatives to help out: it could be something as simple as getting old books, clothes and shoes together and giving them away to the less privileged.

This is a good way to instil some values in the children and also exposes them to the realities of the environment

that we live in.

Finally, it is worth mentioning that children should get some free and quiet time over the holiday. Some of this time should be allocated to free play, thereby allowing children to be children and really just enjoy themselves while they are young. The other portion of time should be deliberately planned, such that children engage in light activities such as reading, which would allow them to reflect and build some discipline and character.

Putting together activities for our children during the holidays may seem like a daunting task, but with careful and deliberate planning, we can make the most of the free time they have before going back to school.

Oyin Egbeyemi is an executive administrator at The Foreshore School, Ikoyi, Lagos.

Meadow Hall Foundation bags award for innovation in education

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eadow Hall Foundation has won the award for innovation in education at the Nigerian Education Innovation Summit (NEDIS) event in Lagos.

Modupe Adefeso-Olateju, managing director at The Education Partnership Centre (TEP Centre) and convener of the NEDIS said the Foundation received the award for innovation in education because of its contribution to the continuous professional development of Nigerian teachers through one of its initiatives called the Teacher Professional Development Training (TPDT).

Adefeso-Olateju said the award was given to the foundation in recognition of its efforts in ensuring teachers access quality trainings and opportunities for professional development.

Kehinde Nwani, Founder of Meadow Hall Foundation was delighted that the Foundation received the award for innovation in education.

Nwani reaffirmed that Meadow Hall Foundation has played a big part in improving the quality of @Businessdayng

education for the Nigerian Child, by partnering with individuals, public and private organisations to implement sustainable initiatives, projects and programmes designed for the advancement of the educational outcomes of the Nigerian Child by enhancing teaching quality, changing mindsets about teaching and advocating for the teaching profession.

According to her, “These initiatives includes; School Adoption Program (SAP), Core Centre, Inspirational Educator Awards (INSEA), Education Convention (EC) and Teachers Resource Centre (TRC).

The Teacher Professional Development Training (TPDT) is a programme initiated by Meadow Hall Foundation to empower teachers (especially those in the public and low income earning private schools in Nigeria), with the necessary soft and technical skills required to positively impact 21st century teaching and learning outcomes in the Nigeria child.

Through the Teacher Professional Development Training (TPDT), Meadow Hall Foundation has trained over 1,600 teachers for free.

28

Tuesday 30 July 2019

BUSINESS DAY

AVIATION GUIDE

in association with

Finchglow CEO seeks FG’s support in reducing capital flight in aviation downstream sector Stories by IFEOMA OKEKE

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ernard Bankole, the managing director of Finchglow, one of Nigeria’s top travel agencies have called on the federal government to support the downstream sector by creating deliberate policies that will help reduce capital flight in the country.

Bankole, who is also the president of the National Association of Nigerian Travel Agents (NANTA) said the downstream sector should be left to Nigerians to manage so as to create employment opportunities and generate internal revenues for the sector.

“The downstream sector of the aviation industry covers the travel agents, the ground handlers and the catering companies amongst others. What foreign direct investment in the aviation downstream sector does most of the time is that you are never concerned about the growth of that downstream sector; they are more interested in returns

Bernard Bankole

and investments.

“Some of the foreigners can come in and partner and this creates growth and develop-

ment but the government should not let them come and operate and take back to income generated to their countries, as this will lead to capital flight,” he said.

The NANTA president explained that if there are no proper regulations, it means that a foreigner with financial strength can come into my country and completely push indigenous companies out because he has a lot of support from where he comes from.

“If I want to take loan in Nigeria, I’m being asked for collateral. In some countries around the world, they don’t need collateral to get loans. When foreign direct investment is being expected, there are other areas that they can invest in. Some of these areas include aircraft leasing, Maintenance Repair Overhaul (MRO) and training academy, amongst others. These areas will benefit the country. So, why must it be the downstream sector? MRO is not a downstream sector,” he queried.

Bernard also expressed concerns over lack of harmonised data in the aviation

How to address challenges of transport infrastructures to ease travel, cargo movement - Lawal

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raham Lawal, managing director, Grolla Port Services, sole partner of the Ports and Rail evolution forum have said that there is a need for the federal government to address bureaucratic red tapes in Africa delaying the processes of transportation development, which is affecting the imports and export of cargo.

Lawal added that there are internal processes, procurement processes and approval processes for some of these reforms which hampers the rate of development of the transport sector.

Speaking during the just concluded two days West Africa Ports and Rail evolution forum held at the Land Mark event centre, Lagos, he said “If some of the solutions we have proffered in this forum are implemented, there will be a rapid acceleration in the way processes are being developed and implemented and that will also speed the development of these reforms that need to be in place for a lot of these projects to come in and these are big businesses.

Graham Lawal

“To develop a new rail way network system, we talk about billions of dollars. The problem with Africa is that big businesses are only being carried out by government. We need private sector partnership. We still rely

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Turkish Airlines adds Indonesia’s world-famous holiday island, Bali to its flight network

on government, who don’t have the money.

The government run down to China or EU to borrow money which comes with some detrimental scenarios, some may have to mortgage the future of generations or mineral resources just to be able to access long-term loans.”

On his perception of commitment of the federal government’s commitment to development transport infrastructure, he said the government is showing a lot of knowledge in this regard but noted that the way they are going about some of the things are questionable.

He cited example of the port expansion business going on right now in Nigeria where some key questions are being raised on how profitable the lines are.

He said “Are there more profitable lines to be developed than the ones currently being developed? Why is Lagos South-East line which is more profitable for freight and passengers not the first, instead of the LagosKaduna and Lagos-Kano lines? At times, you can have a win-win situation where we balance the equation in the development of these infrastructures whether it is ports or rails.”

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sector, adding that there is a need to have a central data system that will be managed by an independent body to coordinate the entire aviation industry.

“Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) always come up with different data. Have we been able to build a car park that will meet the need of the future influx of passengers? This will be addressed with the provision of proper data, which will also help people carry out a research that will lead to development of infrastructures to suit the industry.

“What I am proposing is a centre data system which is autonomous, independent of other units, just like what the International Air Transport Association (IATA) is doing for different countries. The data can become a source of income and they will sell it to willing investors, so that people can make analysis using the data. Our industry is vital to the growth of this economy. Data will help us to attract investors into the country,” he added.

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lying to more countries and international destinations than any other airline in the world, Turkish Airlines inaugurated its direct flights between its home base Istanbul and world-renowned tourist destination, Bali (Indonesia) on July 17, 2019.

Having operated with the airlines’ first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, which joined to its ever-expanding fleet a few weeks ago, TK 066 coded first flight conducted with 84 percent load factor and carried 250 passengers.

Commenting on newly commenced Istanbul-Bali flights, Kerem Sarp, Turkish Airlines Senior Vice President Sales (2nd Region), said; “While our new generation aircrafts are continuing to join our fleet, we feel highly encouraged to launch new direct flights to farther destinations in the world. By inaugurating direct flights to Bali, our second destination in Indonesia, we keep strengthening our mission to reach all corners of the world.”

Bali, Indonesia’s most popular holiday island, is flooded by tourists and explorers from all around the world every year. Welcoming its guests with its exotic nature, the city offers cultural richness with its historical temples and palaces.

@Businessdayng

Tuesday 30 July 2019

BUSINESS DAY

BDTECH

29

In association with

E-mail: jumoke.akiyode@businessdayonline.com

Multinationals, SMEs identified as drivers of innovation, as government lags Stories by Jumoke Akiyode Lawanson

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he 2018 GE Global Innovation Barometer has identified multinationals, small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurs as the leaders of innovation globally, while there is a decrease in governments driving innovation.

The Nigeria report titled ‘From Chaos to Confidence: Emerging players, emerging technologies, emerging challenges,’ which sampled 80 innovation business executives, explores how Nigerian business leaders perceive the barriers and opportunities for innovation in the country. It was presented at an event held at the GE Nigeria headquarters in Lagos, as part of events celebrating over 120 years of GE operations in Africa.

One of the findings of the report, which was presented by Patricia Obozuwa, chief communications and public affairs officer, GE Africa, shows that multinationals continue to take the lead in driving innovation, which conforms to the global narrative.

Obozuwa stated that 36 percent of Nigerian business executives say multinationals drive innovation compared to the global figure of 23 percent. Likewise, SMEs are also viewed as a key driver of innovation over-indexing against the global figure by 12 percentage points (Nigeria 23 percent, Global 11percent).

However, since the GE GIB 2016, Nigeria has seen a 1 percentage point

L-R: Nitika Rosa; senior HR leader, GE Africa, Joyce Shyngle-Wigwe; executive director, government affairs & policy, GE West Africa, Folasade Jaji; secretary to Lagos State Government, Farid Fezoua; president and CEO, GE Africa and Patricia Obozuwa; chief communications and public affairs officer, GE Africa, at the official launch of the Nigeria report of the GE Global Innovation Barometer as part of events marking GE Africa’s 120+ years anniversary in Lagos on Thursday July 25, 2019.

increase in innovation championship in 2018, compared to 0 percent previously. This places Nigeria in 21st position, in-between Malaysia and Brazil.

“Innovation and technology are fundamental for Africa to be able to compete in a global frame work.

Localisation is also important - innovation needs to be tailored to the specificities of local needs. We need to develop home-grown solutions for Africa.,” Fezoua, president and CEO, GE Africa, said in his opening remarks at the event. He added that training programs like the GE Lagos Garage, aimed at Nigerian entrepreneurs,

helps support local innovation in the country.

The Nigeria Report is part of the Global Innovation Barometer that surveyed 2,090 business executives across 20 countries. This is the sixth edition of the survey since 2010.

Amongst other findings, the survey reveals that attitudes towards 3D printing are positive in Nigeria.

Almost nine in ten business executives believe 3D printing will have a positive impact on businesses (88 percent).

The results of the survey were further explored and discussed by

a panel of experts which included Akintoye Akindele, partner, Synergy Capital Managers; Solape Hammond, Co-founder, Impact Hub; Thelma Ekiyor, Co-Founder & CEO, Afrigrants and Olumbe Akinkugbe, director, Ondo State Information Technology Agency. The panel recommended several strategies to encourage SME innovation in Nigeria including close collaboration between the public and private sector.

In his key note speech, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Lagos State Governor who was represented by Folasade Jaji, the secretary to State Government,

said: “Through its activities, GE has supported economic growth in Africa within a period spanning over 120 years. It has also been a key partner in progress in Nigeria where it has operated for over four decades. We are delighted to note that GE is providing support that will enable us leverage on the emerging potentials of the 24/7 economy of Lagos mega city and a location of first choice for investors.”

Sanwo-Olu commended GE on the success of the GE Lagos Garage initiative which he noted, has empowered young people through training and capacity building in areas of business development and advanced manufacturing-based technology enterprise, among other skills.

“As our partner in progress, Lagos state government will continue to collaborate with you, especially in the critical areas of power and healthcare, as well as skills development” he added.

With its Lagos Garage, GE is leading efforts to drive the adoption of 3D Printing in Nigeria. Created as a hub for advanced manufacturing-based innovation, strategy development, idea generation and collaboration, the Garage offers year-round series of skills training programs focused on building the next generation of Nigerian entrepreneurs.

Till date, over 400 entrepreneurs have graduated 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.

Airtel deepens mobile internet penetration, introduces affordable 4G smartphones

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n its effort to accelerate mobile internet uptake as well as enrich the data experience of telecoms consumers across the country, Airtel Nigeria, has announced the introduction of two new affordable 4G Smartphones, namely: Airtel Diva and Airtel Top Notch.

With just N20,000 and N23,000, respectively, for the Airtel Diva and Airtel Top Notch smartphones, telecoms consumers can

now enjoy the Airtel 4G experience at a much more affordable price on the Airtel network.

Also, Airtel says that customers who purchase any of the new 4G smartphones will enjoy its Double Data offer, which gives a 100 percent bonus data on every data bundle from N500 and above.

Commenting on the new smartphones, Dinesh Balsingh, chief commercial officer of Airtel Nigeria said Airtel is committed in

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its drive to extending the 4G experience to more telecoms consumers as well as enriching the lives of more Nigerians.

“It is our hope that the Airtel Diva and Airtel Top Notch, both very affordable Smartphones, will help crash the barrier of enjoying the 4G experience. We are committed to empowering more Nigerians as well as connecting more telecoms consumers to their dreams,” Balsingh said.

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On purchase of the Airtel Diva and Airtel Top Notch Smartphones, customers are required to insert their Airtel SIM cards in the devices and send the keyword, ‘get’ to the Shortcode, ‘141’, to start enjoying the Airtel 4G experience.

The Airtel Diva comes with a 5 inch display screen size, a 5mp back camera and a 2mp front camera plus an 8GB + 1 GB storage capacity. It has an android Go

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operating system and a battery capacity of 2000 mAH (milliamps per hour).

The Airtel Top Notch has a 5.5 inch display screen size, 5mp back camera and a 2mp front camera; an 8 GB + 1GB storage capacity, and an android Go operating system. It has a battery capacity of 2500 mAH. Both phones are dual SIM smartphones with the first SIM slot locked to the Airtel network.

30

Tuesday 30 July 2019

BUSINESS DAY

BDTECH

E-mail: jumoke.akiyode@businessdayonline.com

‘We must leverage technology to empower people for a digital economy, end extreme poverty’ Leading IT and networking company, Cisco has signed a three-year partnership with international advocacy organization, Global Citizen, to power the movement to end extreme poverty. In an exclusive interview with BusinessDay’s Jumoke Lawanson, Cisco’s executive vice president and chief people officer, Francine Katsoudas and Global Citizen CEO, Hugh Evans, both talk about plans to leverage technology to end world poverty by 2030, and the role that both organisations play towards achieving the United Nations Global Goals for Sustainable Development. Excerpts: Why has Cisco decided to focus on the goal to end poverty (SDG1)? And are there any other global goals that the company is working to help achieve? ran: At Cisco, we believe we have a part to play to support those left behind. We need to think about how to make growth inclusive, extending it to those who most need opportunities to improve their lives, educate their children, access health care and benefit from the digital economy.

For more than 30 years, Cisco has focused on making an impact in our communities around the world. We have done this by leveraging technology, along with the technical and intellectual capabilities of our employees, and a thoughtful use of financial contributions. We have committed that by 2025, we would like to positively impact one billion people.

As part of that, we made a pledge at the Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100 in December 2018, to prepare 10 million students worldwide, including one million in Africa, over the next five years, to work and thrive in the digital economy.

F

Nigeria recently overtook India in extreme poverty rate in the world. Are there any deliberate programmes targeted to help end extreme poverty in Nigeria?

Fran: Extreme poverty is a hugely complex issue, and education is one important part of the solution. In Nigeria specifically, Cisco has a strong focus on supporting education and skills building. To this end, we have established 200 Cisco Networking Academies in Nigeria where, beyond teaching IT skills, we match students to career opportunities and connect businesses with highly trained and motivated talent, all

Francine Katsoudas, EVP and chief people officer, Cisco

Hugh Evans, CEO, Global Citizen

to help build a workforce ready to grow the economy.

What will the 3-year partnership between Global Citizen and Cisco entail?

Hugh: Through this partnership, Global Citizen will incorporate Cisco Collaboration technology to connect engaged activists across continents and allow them to build support for their projects. With ten years left to achieve the Global Goals and end extreme poverty by 2030, we are at a critical moment for the world’s poor and for our campaigns, and we’re so thrilled to have Cisco’s invaluable support. We will be able to continue to invest in essential programmes like ‘Food 4 Education’ in Kenya, who was the recipient of the 2018 Global Citizen Prize for Youth Leadership which was presented by Cisco at our Festival.

What will be the ripple effect for Nigeria and the world economy at large if we can reduce poverty rate to a minimal level?

Fran: If we can reduce the www.businessday.ng

poverty rate to a minimal level, it means we have succeeded in a full transformation to modernization and urbanization. For Nigeria, it will mean better opportunities for the citizens and an improved standard of living. And of course, if each Country is economically stable, it will be easier to achieve all our sustainable development goals.

This is exactly what we aim to do at Cisco. Through all our programmes and technology solutions applied in various communities globally, we are working tirelessly to help build a world that will thrive with innovation and technology – ultimately we see the world transforming to become a ‘smart planet’.

Hugh: Reducing the poverty rate will transform lives, communities, and countries as we improve the overall standard of living. For Nigeria, it will mean better opportunities and an improved standard of living for millions of Nigerians, and allow the country to be more economically stable. As one of the youngest and most

populous countries in the world, investing in education and health to improve outcomes for Nigerians is a critical part of ending poverty worldwide and creating a future where everyone can thrive.

Cisco announced during the Global Citizen Festival in December 2018, that it would train 10 million people in the next five years to thrive and work in a digital economy.

How far have you gone with your plans to do this, and what are your short terms goals to ensure that you achieve the five-year plan?

Fran: This commitment was made in respect to our Cisco Networking Academy, which we are extremely proud of. Since its inception 20 years ago, we have trained over 9 million students in 180 countries by providing education and mentorship. In Nigeria, we recently celebrated the establishment of 200 Networking Academies and we couldn’t be more thrilled about the potential these students exhibited

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with their various inventions. We have a variety of e-learning courses that our students take globally including networking, security, internet of things, programming and much more.

Why was it important to have Cisco as a partner, how can technology help to achieve the SDG to end poverty?

Hugh: In my years of pushing for global change, one major thing I have come to learn is that global collaborations and partnerships foster direct impact.

Having Cisco as a partner, is the right step in fostering such direct impact.

Since inception, we have constantly channeled all efforts to ending poverty; we made it a movement for people to take action to end poverty. I happily say that this movement has extended to millions of people across the world who are taking action to support this goal. With technology, there is an even greater potential for actions against poverty to be taken to the next level; be it via tweets, emails, @Businessdayng

online petitions, etc. The idea is that technology has the potential to amplify the voices of global citizens taking action. Thanks to this new three-year partnership with Cisco, we are assured that this movement will be powered in an even greater way because of access to funding and technology. We are looking forward to using Cisco’s technology which will definitely allow us access to people whom we can engage to make an impact.

We are leveraging Cisco’s expertise with innovative technology to push the initiative in a more effective way. The partnership is going to make the user experience at Global Citizen Festivals much richer for our global citizens because they’re going to be able to use the Cisco Collaboration and Wi-Fi technology tools to connect with other global citizens around the world. With the power of technology, education, opportunities, jobs, will become better and those are definitely required to achieve the SDG to end poverty.

How can other wellmeaning organisations tap into the opportunity to help achieve global goals?

Hugh: Everyone has a role to play in the fight to end extreme poverty. If you’re working in the private sector, find ways that your organisation can support and amplify the work of non-profits or commit to making an impact like Cisco has. I’d encourage individuals to sign up at globalcitizen.org to become a part of the movement and advocate directly to world leaders on behalf of the world’s poor. We are all in this race together and the year 2020 is the beginning of a 10-year countdown to end extreme poverty by 2030. We need everyone’s support if we want to make lasting change.

Tuesday 30 July 2019

BUSINESS DAY

31

Investments

ENERGY INTELLIGENCE

Market Insight Companies Commodity Tracker Policy

OIL

GAS

PETROCHEMICALS

POWER

NPDC may take over operatorship of blocks as licence renewals near STEPHEN ONYEKWELU

S

ome oil exploration and development licences held by international operators in the Niger Delta near their expiration but the Federal Government of Nigeria does not seem in any hurry to renew them.

Mele Kyari, the group managing director of state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) told a delegation from Italy’s Eni that the government would prefer to have the NNPC’s E&P arm, Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), take on operatorship of several of these blocks, industry sources say.

A total of 42 oil block licences held by some international and indigenous operators will expire this year, data obtained from the Department of Petroleum Resources as of January 2019 showed.

Thirty-five Oil Mining Leases and seven Oil Prospecting Licences will expire at different times this year, with most of them falling due for renewal in June.

In May, the Federal Government had revoked six oil mining leases of independent indigenous producers for nonpayment of royalties and some industry watchers had accused the FG of applying double standards as it applied different and milder sanctions on other com-

Justice O. Derefaka, Program Manager, Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialization Programme (NGFCP), Ministry of Petroleum Resources (MPR).

panies that committed the same offence, some claim.

“In terms of correctness the government acted within the scope of the laws governing the petroleum sector and each breach has a corresponding penalty. Remember also that the minister possesses discretionary powers to revoke or withdraw oil licences” said Ayodele Oni, an energy partner at Bloomfield Law Practice.

At the peak of the controversy,

an industry source close to Pan Ocean Oil Corporation had told BusinessDay that a meeting was slated for stakeholders to have discussions with then Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu on the way out the situation.

But in this case with international operators, the NNPC has owed its major partners accumulated arrears in cash calls to the tune of $5 billion. The stateowned oil company has paid off

the bulk, leaving some $3 billion outstanding. These major partners include Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Total and Eni. Kyari assured Eni that cash call prepayments for key projects that had been suspended for the past three months would be released once “pending issues” were resolved.

“The money is there, it is ready and we will pay as soon as the issues are resolved by the end of the week,” Kyari said.

The NNPC owns 55 per cent of the Joint Ventures with Shell, and 60 percent of all the others and the JVs are jointly funded by the private oil companies and the Federal Government through the corporation.

Nigeria’s oil and gas production structure is split between JV (onshore and in shallow waters) with foreign and local firms and Production Sharing Contracts in deep water offshore.

In the last eight years, Nigeria’s oil reserves and daily production have stagnated, hovering in the region of 37 billion barrels and two million barrels of production per day (bpd) respectively in the last five years, as data from the Organisation Petroleum Exporting Countries show.

A 10-year target set by the Federal Government to boost crude oil reserves to 40 billion barrels and daily production to four million by 2020 is becoming unrealistic as analysts says corruption and government shenanigans have decreased growths in the sector.

“Just like savings and earnings, the oil reserves, and daily production are vital to creating energy security, increasing the income from crude oil, boosting economic development and showcasing an index that is capable of wooing investors into the country,” Adeoluwa Martins, Lagos based oil and gas analyst told BusinessDay.

ExxonMobil joins Shell, Seplat in Nigeria rig hunt STEPHEN ONYEKWELU

E

xxonMobil has joined super oil major Shell and indigenous independent producer, Seplat Petroleum in the hunt for oil rigs to carry out drilling campaigns in Nigeria.

Shell and Seplat are hunting for land rigs but ExxonMobil is prequalifying rig owners for what could be a five-year deep-water drilling campaign in Nigeria.

The supermajor also has interest in onshore oil assets and has started a tender exercise covering four-year construction and installation services contracts. The offshore bid exercise entails a contract that may run

for up to five years, comprising a firm period of one year plus four 12-month extension options, The US supermajor plans to begin deployment of the deepwater rig in the fourth quarter of 2020 on production sharing contract acreage that it operates in partnership with state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

The chosen rig will have to drill, complete, test, temporarily abandon and workover wells in water depths ranging from 1000 to 1800 metres.

The active rig count in Nigeria had fallen by half year-on-year but recent hunt for land rigs by Anglo-Dutch supermajor Shell and Nigerian independent Seplat Petroleum probably showed exwww.businessday.ng

ploration and production activities were about to pick-up again.

Shell is getting ready for a major drilling programme on its acreage in Nigeria and has gone to the market for two jack-ups and a pair of land rigs, one of which will have to handle highpressure, high-temperature wells. Seplat Petroleum is also searching for a land drilling rig for work on Oil Mining Licence (OML) 53.

Seplat Petroleum, as part of a joint venture with state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation had announced the pre qualification of contractors for a two-year contract, with a one-year extension option, that was due to begin this quarter. Responses were due for submission

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on 10 July. Seplat did not specify exactly where in OML 53 the rig would be working.

As of June 2018, Africa’s largest crude producer had 32 oil rigs according to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR). But this has fallen to 14 rigs as of June 2019, according to the oil cartel’s latest July MOMR. This is more than a 50 percent decrease.

According to Iain Esau, an analyst at upstreamonline.com, a pre-qualification exercise is underway, with responses due for submission to Lagos-based ExxonMobil Exploration & Production Nigeria Ltd (EEPNL) by 7 August.

EEPNL operates OML 133, @Businessdayng

which hosts the Erha and Erha North fields that have been developed via a floating production, storage and offloading vessel.

Erha located in a water depth of 1000 metres came on stream in 2006 with its floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) able to handle 150,000 barrels per day of oil and 315 million cubic feet per day of gas. OML 133 is estimated to host about 500 million barrels of recoverable oil.

Rig count is a function of the level of exploration, development and production activities occurring in the oil and gas sector. A drop in active rig count means oil exploration and production activities in Nigeria have decreased.

32

Tuesday 30 July 2019

BUSINESS DAY

ENERGY INTELLIGENCE FEATURE

4yrs of publishing operations report, NNPC’s image problem persists Four years after the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) began publishing its monthly financial and operations report, ISAAC ANYAOGU finds that the corporation has been unable to shake off the perception that it lacks transparency.

S

ince August 2015, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigeria’s state-owned oil firm has published 42 monthly operations and financial reports as part of its claim to transparency.

Yet a shroud of opacity covers the organisation.

The NNPC’s Monthly Operations and Financial report sheds light on Nigeria’s crude oil and natural gas production, lifting and utilisation, refinery operations, petroleum product supply and distribution, budget performance and scant details on oil and gas revenue.

The NNPC opens the report each month with a disclaimer. It cannot guarantee the report’s accuracy nor be held liable for errors it contains.

Findings show that financial reports of other national oil companies including Saudi Arabia’s Aramco, Russia’s Rosneft, Norway’s Equinox, Venezuela’s Petroleos de Venezuela and Kuwait’s Petroleum Corporation do not contain a disclaimer.

Unlike other financial reports from half a dozen national oil companies reviewed, only the NNPC’s reports are not signed by a company representative hence no one can be held accountable.

Analysts criticise the report because it contains unaudited figures.

It is merely a record of the NNPC’s financial and operational activities that have not been subjected to the rigour of examination. This means that claims of crude oil lifting cannot be backed by records and transactions including oil sales are not supported by relevant documentation.

The report obscures while trying to tell. Though it reveals how much refined petroleum products are imported and volume of crude oil lifted, it does not disclose details on off-takers and the beneficial owners operating in commodity trading in Nigeria.

The report is also silent on the contentious issue of fuel subsidy operation including details about shipping and storage costs. It measures performance of refineries against previous month’s performance rather than output and often presents data with limited context.

Considering where Nigeria was coming from, however, industry observers say that it is a sea change in a review of NNPC’s monthly publications between 2015 and 2018.

“From being the poster-boy for opacity, NNPC is voluntarily embracing openness and providing near real-time information about the state of play of our oil and gas sector today,” said Waziri Adio, executive secretary of the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, the Nigerian arm of the global Extractive Industries Transparency

Initiative.

Adio further said, “This is commendable, but also deserving of close and critical examination. For example, what do the reports, looked at together, tell us about our petroleum sector today and what is the implication of that for the public, for public finance and for petroleum sector reforms? That is the rationale for this special report,” NEITI in its first Occasional Paper Series, released in December 2016 however, cautioned, “The figures examined here do not represent the sum total of all revenues from the sector, as other payment streams like royalties and taxes from JVs, signature bonuses, transportation rental fees, NESS fees, penalties and others are not covered by the NNPC financial and operational reports.”

Analysts believe information omitted from NNPC reports is crucial to understanding how Nigeria’s oil and gas resources are managed. “The more things change, the more they remained the same,” said Olufola Wusu, energy lawyer at Lagos-based Megathos Law Practice.

Wusu also said that from the perspective of making an attempt, publishing these reports is commendable, but companies that attract investment and reduces losses are those that are transparent.

Publishing accurate details of crude oil management in Nigeria is critical because the oil and gas sector represents about 65% of government revenues. The total revenue flow to the Federation, other tiers of government and sub-national entities from all sources (including crude oil sales, taxes, royalties and other incomes) came to USD 17.055billion in 2016, a 31 percent decline in 2014 revenue figures of USD 24.791 billion according to NEITI’s report.

Poor oil sales affect budget funding and the possibilities of constructing roads, schools and hospitals.

Without open, transparent data, lawmakers cannot hold the NNPC to account for how it manages the country’s revenue.

Under NEITI rules, the NNPC ought to disclose the identity of the beneficial owners of commodity traders operating in the Nigerian Oil & gas sector.

Nigeria is also required to develop a well-defined framework and suitable methodology for mainstreaming commodity trading reporting in the Nigerian Oil & gas sector.

Africa’s biggest oil producer is further obligated to design a detailed framework and structure for commodity trading reporting in accordance with the EITI requirements.

The NNPC’s monthly financial and operations report do not currently address these standards.

This compares poorly with other national oil companies who routinely publish audited financial statements. Norway’s Equinox and Saudi Arabia’s Aramco provide citizens and investors accurate information on their operations including details of income earned by their subsidiaries.

Recommendations The Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI) in its 2017 study titled “Inside NNPC Oil Sales: A Case for Reform in Nigeria counselled that to reduce perceptions of impunity, the Federal Government should commission independent performance audits of critical areas including oil-for-product swaps; NPDC oil sales and related operations; NNPC’s oil trading subsidiaries; the refinery crude oil transport arrangement; and the JV cash call account.

“The government should require NNPC to regularly disclose detailed and prompt cargo-by-cargo data on all its crude oil liftings, and issue a 2015 annual report that includes its audited financial statements, operational data, the financial positions and earnings of its subsidiaries, and disclosures on quasi-fiscal spending.

Independent audits should occur regularly, and NNPC should publish the resulting reports.

The NRGI also recommended that NNPC establish clear work programs and performance benchmarks, so that oversight actors like the National Assembly, auditor-general, and others can then assess whether it is living up to its obligations.

Nigeria’s president Muhammadu Buhari came into office saying fighting corruption was a major plank of his administration but even under

Dislaimer

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@Businessdayng

him, the NNPC has not agreed to publish its petroleum contracts, a critical requirement to make the oil and gas sector transparent and end corruption in the sector.

Petroleum contracts set out the legal framework for oil and gas projects. When they are published, it allows for public scrutiny but previous governments have balked at disclosing them claiming it could expose company secrets, giving undue advantage to the competition and violate contract terms.

Ayodele Oni, partner at Bloomfield Law firm said there is need to balance morality and Nigerian law.

Oni cited section of 5 of the Petroleum Profits Tax Act, which states: “Every person having possession of or control over any documents, information, returns or assessment lists or copies of such lists relating to tax or petroleum operations or the amount and value of chargeable oil won by any company, who at any time communicates or attempts to communicate such information or anything contained in such documents, returns, lists, or copies to any person- (a) other than a person to whom he is authorised by the Minister to communicate it; or (b) otherwise than for the purpose of this Act or of any Act or law, relating to a tax upon income, in force in any part of Nigeria, shall be guilty of an offence.

He further said, “But I agree, the people who own the oil have a right to know the terms of the contracts their government signs with oil companies.”

In 2017 Nigeria formally joined the Open Government Partnership— a multilateral initiative to strengthen governance. In the country’s first National Action Plan, Commitment 3 on fiscal transparency contains language committing to “disclose oil, gas and mining contracts in the area of exploration and production, exports, off taking and swap on a publicly access portal in both human and machine readable formats.”

Prodded by the World Bank, Nigeria began a framework for disclosing public private partnership projects on the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) website to be accessed by the general public. It contains information about project title, type, government agency responsible; name of private concessionaire, contract sum and progress reports but petroleum contracts which Nigeria relies upon for fiscal planning was not included.

Contract disclosure however is becoming a best practice globally.

African countries including Liberia and Ghana have opened up their contracts allowing citizens, parliamentarians and oversight actors to monitor and analyse the public benefit from contract deals.

Tuesday 16 April 2019

BUSINESS DAY

OFFGRID BUSINESS

33

INTERVIEW

$800m in private sector financing is required to complete Energising Economies initiative - Ogunbiyi As the managing director of the Rural Electrification Agency (REA) Damilola Ogunbiyi is responsible for implementing the off-grid electrification plan for Africa’s biggest economy. She tells BusinessDay’s ISAAC ANYAOGU how the organisation is collaborating with the private sector in the Energising Economies Initiative (EEI), to improve energy access for 500,000 shops and over 1 million SMEs.

C

ongratulations on the great stride that you have made in such a short time.

REA has now become a key party in the push to electrify Nigeria. What do you think is accountable for this success?

Thank you. The Federal Government of Nigeria’s commitment to provide electricity access across the country birthed the Rural Electrification Agency. Our mandate as the implementing agency of this government intervention is to increase energy access to unserved and underserved communities in Nigeria.

Our successes are made possible because of the extraordinary collaboration among of the Federal Government, public sector, private sector and development partners.

Under the leadership of the immediate past Minister of Power, Works and Housing, we have nurtured strong partnerships and alignment that has facilitated REA’s access to funding, technical assistance, private sector investment as well as policy initiatives that collectively facilitate REA mandate.

To fast pace this work, it will be crucial to get critical stakeholders especially state governments and financial institutions to be fully engaged. How do you think they can all be brought to the table?

Bringing diverse stakeholders together to work towards a common goal is always a challenge.

However, I believe access to electricity appeals to our stakeholders for a multitude of reasons. Some are interested in the social benefits of decentralized electricity; while others seek to transform their state with sustainable energy.

REA has been very successful in designing programmes that address their respective needs, this is due to our focus on data. We carry out extensive energy audits and baseline surveys that capture the actual energy demands of the consumers. This, in turn, allows us to highlight the economic and social viability of decentralized power.

We see ourselves as facilitators who bring together stakeholders. We arm ourselves with information that speaks to the specific needs of our stakeholders in order for them to realize the benefits of working with

Damilola Ogunbiyi

us to achieve our common goals.

The REA launched the minigrid and solar home components of the Nigeria Electrification Project in May. The mini grid component aims to extend electricity services to 300,000 households and 30,000 enterprises in rural areas by 2023.

Can you elaborate on the progress so far?

First of all, REA conducted an extensive community engagement exercise across 5 states in 2018. We sensitized the rural communities on solar mini-grids as well as obtained their collective support on the project in collaboration with the state government.

REA has also secured funding for all four components of the Nigeria Electrification Project (NEP).

Specifically, from the World Bank ($350m) and the African Development Bank ($200).

A technical workshop was conducted for the Mini Grid and Solar Home Systems components to educate prospective developers on the procurement guidelines as well as to sensitize the public on the opportunities for the private sector to participate in the available funding windows (Minimum Subsidy Tender & Performance-based Grant Programme) of the NEP. We recently published an Initial Selection Document (ISD) for the Minimum Subsidy Tender. The

ISD provided detailed information about the programme and submission requirements for the first stage of prequalification for the Minimum Subsidy Tender. The huge response to the published tender affirmed the robust growth of the Nigerian off-grid market. In addition, the Mini-Grid PerformanceBased Grant and Solar Home Systems Output based Funds were published simultaneously. These funding streams have also received high response rates from local and international firms and are all currently in the evaluation stage.

We expect construction of the mini grids to commence by the end of 2019 and in 2020.

The EEI programme seeks a shift to a decentralised approach to electrification that is economically viable, demanddriven, market-oriented and private sector-focused. What are your plans to sustain the programme and build on its success thus far?

The Energizing Economies Initiative (EEI) was launched in September 2017 to increase energy access and economic growth by providing clean, reliable and affordable power to economic clusters; such as markets, shopping complexes and agricultural/industrial clusters. EEI is fully private sector funded, which means the investor can only ensure return on

ANALYSTS: Isaac Anyaogu (Team Lead), Stephen Onyekwelu, Dipo Oladehinde

investment by providing adequate power to the SMEs within these economic clusters. Each customer has a dedicated meter installed under a Pay-as-You-Go model.

This private sector-led approach ensures the sustainability of the programme.

The Federal Government under the Nigerian Electrification Project successfully secured funding from international developmental organisations, please update us on the application of the funds and what progress have you recorded with projects being funded?

Funding for the REA’s Nigerian Electrification Project (NEP) is comprised of $350m from the World Bank and $200m from the African Development Bank. The funds are to be utilized to support the private sector in embarking on off-grid power solutions for underserved and unserved households, enterprises, universities and teaching hospitals institutions across Nigeria.

These will be primarily through mini-grids, deployment of solar home systems and captive power solutions in the case of the Energizing Education Programme (EEP).

How much of it has been secured by Nigerian companies?

The process is still at the early stages of procurement, however about sixty percent of applications we have received are by Nigerian companies.

What is the future of the R.E sector in Nigeria when donor funds/grants dry up?

Through programs like the NEP, which focuses on a private sector-led approach, sustainability and viability of future off-grid projects can be guaranteed, as sole dependence is not on donor or government funds. Private sector investors are given a pilot to realize the potential of the sector and its likelihood for growth.

In Nigeria, electricity is an important resource for development and as such, both urban and rural areas need reliable electricity access to grow. As long as Nigeria maintains the opportunities for significant productive capacity, renewable energy will continue to act as the catalyst for business growth, job creation, and wealth redistribution.

Thirteen markets were slated to be powered under Phase 1 Energizing Economies Initia-

tive (EEI); I understand 6 have been covered, which are the six already covered and what timelines are you looking at to complete the rest?

Under Phase 1 EEI - 6 markets Iponri market – Lagos State; NEPA 1 market – Ondo State; NEPA 2 market – Ondo State; Isikan market – Ondo State; Ita-Osun market – Ogun State and Edaiken market – Edo State are supplying power to customers while the remaining 7 markets are at different stages of construction.

What is the overall cost of implementing the EEI according to the phases?

Total funding needed by the private sector for all phases amounts to approximately $800m. The completion of all phases provides clean, safe, reliable and affordable energy to 500,000 shops and over 1 million SMEs. Based on the applications received for grants or loans under the REA programmes, how would you rate the technical competence of Nigeria’s off-grid operators to deliver power to rural communities?

The technical competences of Nigerian firms that have participated in the Minimum Subsidy Tender and Performance-based Grant Programme windows have been very impressive. The firms have exhibited an understanding of the projects with backed expertise to deliver. The process of evaluation is still ongoing and is at sensitive points of procurement, however, we are pleased with the responses so far.

In your view, what are the prospects for off-grid investments in Nigeria and how better can the sector be positioned and supported?

The off-grid market in Nigeria is still new but rapidly growing, so investments are still in early stages of funding. REA is pleased to have facilitated (with support from the Central Bank of Nigeria) a five (5) year facility worth N446m to Virtus (a private sector solar developer) from Sterling Bank for the deployment of distributed energy solutions across selected economic clusters in Nigeria.

The opportunities for off-grid are vast given Nigeria’s population and productive use. As part of President Buhari’s administration, off-grid development has become a priority and the necessary funding will follow.

Feedback: 07037817378, 08137433034, 08135447789

email: isaac.anyaogu@businessdayonline.com, stephen.onyekwelu@businessdayonline.com, oladehinde.oladipo@businessdayonline.com

34

Tuesday 30 July 2019

BUSINESS DAY

Markets + Finance

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

MTN Nigeria records strongest Q2 customer growth in years .....Increased airtime and subscription underpins profit BALA AUGIE

T

hitherto investors were increasingly perturbed that the Nigerian market was becoming problematic because of the heavy fines slapped on MTN Nigeria- a subsidiary of MTN Group-by local authorities.

However, MTN Communication Nigeria, which became the second largest company by market capitalization after it listed shares on the floor of the bourse, has surmounted the temperest storm as it continues to propel Group revenue.

The largest carrier by subscriber in Africa’s largest economy just released its second quarter financial statement that showed improvement in key performance indices as it continues to leverage on the country’s rising young population that crave for smart-phones.

Increased Airtime and subscription underpins revenue Revenue increased by 21.12 percent to N566.94 billion in June 2019 from N505.67 billion in June 2018 due to an uptick in voice data revenue.

A breakdown of revenue figures shows airtime and subscription segment, which makes up 63,30 percent of top line figure, was up 9.72 percent to N359.03 billion in the period under review as

against N327.20 billion the previous year.

The data revenue was up 29.48 percent to N103.32 billion in June 2019 from N79.79 billion the previous year.

MTN Nigeria has been magnifying its data base. It added 3.3 million, subscription to its network, increasing its subscriber base to 61.50 million.

Impressively, data subscribers increased by 2.10 million to 20.70 million in the period under review.

Cost curtailment bolsters profit margins.

Total production costs (direct and indirect cost) were down 9.51 percent to N407.14 billion in June 2019 from N368.41 billion the previous year.

A breakdown of expense figures show direct network operating costs fell by 20.14 percent to N117.87 billion in the period under review from N149.44 billion the previous year.

MTN Nigeria is spending less to produce each unit of products as total cost of sales ratio fell to 71.80 in the period under review from 72.85 percent the previous year. This means the company spent N0.718 on production cost to produce each unit of smart phones.

The cost control measures put in place by management and boards of directors has yielded fruits as operating performance improved.

Earnings Before Interest and Taxation Depreciation

and Amortization (EBITDA) increased by 39.93 percent to N304.86 billion in June 2019 from N217.73 billion the previous year.

Earnings before interest otherwise known as EBIT moved by 39.48 percent to N190.40 billion in the period under review from N136.50 billion the previous year.

EBITDA Margins improved to 53.80 percent in June 2019 from 43.10 percent the previous year; a higher EBIDTA margins means the company has lowered cost whilst boosting operating performance.

EBIT margin followed the same growth trajectory has it increased to 33.58 percent in the period under review from 27 percent the previous year.

Efficient utilization of shareholders’ resources bolsters returns MTN Nigeria is increasing its ability to generating profit without needing as much cash and it is also deploying shareholders’ resources in generating higher profit.

Annualized return on average equity (ROAE) moved to 123.40 percent in June 2019 from 112.90 percent the previous year while the annualized return on average assets increased to 16.30 percent in the period under review as against 14.70 percent the previous year.

The largest telecoms company in Nigeria has turned each Naira generated in sales into higher profit as net profit margin increased to 17.45

percent in June 2019 from 14.51 percent the previous year.

Pretax margin-another measure of profitability and efficient-moved to 25 percent in the period under review from 21.45 percent the previous year.

MTN Nigeria’s profit after tax increased to 34.79 percent to N98.98 billion in the period under review from N73.40 billion the previous year while profit before tax was up 30.86 percent to N141.79 billion in June 2019 from N108.14 billion the previous year.

MTN Nigeria’s operating income can cover interest expense as its times interestcoverage ratio of 3.22 times is above the international bench mark of 1.50 times.

The telecom giant’s capital expenditure (CAPEX) spends was up 63.83 percent to N105.80 billion in June 2019 from N96.10 billion as at June 2018.

The company made sig-

nificant network investment to improve network quality and improve and expand its 4G network coverage. It said the recent work to revamp its data prices and accelerate its 4G network has put it in a strong competitive position to offer more value to its customers.

Despite the settling a N110.0 billion fine imposed on it by the regulator authorities for failure to disconnect 5 million customers, MTN Nigeria has an operating cash flow of N25 billion. This means it has the cash to settle its debt, pay dividend to shareholders, and fund future expansion plans.

The company has an attractive valuation- as price to earnings ratio stood at 12.86 times as at the time of reporting- and investors could swoop on its shares on the expectation of growth in future earnings as the country’s environment remains a benign environment.

The growth potential of

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

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@Businessdayng

MTN’s business is huge considering mobile penetration rate of 86 percent as at the first quarter of 2019 (as at Q1’2019) which could help in driving voice (accounting for 74.9 percent of revenue as of Q1 2019) and data revenue (accounting for 16.6 percent of revenue as of Q1 2019).

Nigeria’s population demographics evident in its youthful population also serve as an opportunity for growth in data revenue given the growing usage and acceptability of social media and internet surfing for communication.

Development of advanced technology such as the 5G technology as well as increasing coverage of 4G networks should also support growth in data revenue in the medium to long term.

A rebound in consumer spending, which is also a boost for data bundle consumption, will help underpin MTN Nigeria’s earnings.

Tuesday 30 July 2019

BUSINESS DAY

35

Live @ The Exchanges Market Statistics as at Monday 29 July 2019

Top Gainers/Losers as at Monday 29 July 2019 LOSERS

GAINERS Company

Company

Opening

Closing

Change

N127.5

N114.8

-12.7

N8.45

N8

-0.45

N6

N5.8

-0.2

ACCESS

N6.55

N6.4

-0.15

MAYBAKER

N2.4

N2.3

-0.1

Opening

Closing

Change

NESTLE

N1300

N1310

10

DANGFLOUR

N17.95

N19.6

1.65

ETI

CILEASING

N5

N5.5

0.5

NCR

VITAFOAM

N3.72

N4.09

0.37

GUARANTY

N28.45

N28.7

0.25

TOTAL

ASI (Points) DEALS (Numbers) VOLUME (Numbers) VALUE (N billion) MARKET CAP (N Trn)

27,950.36 3,056.00 93,112,415.00 1.108

Global market indicators FTSE 100 Index 7,686.61GBP +137.55+1.82% S&P 500 Index 3,018.24USD -7.62-0.25% Generic 1st ‘DM’ Future 27,211.00USD +62.00+0.23%

13.621

Deutsche Boerse AG German Stock Index DAX 12,417.47EUR -2.43-0.02% Nikkei 225 21,616.80JPY -41.35-0.19% Shanghai Stock Exchange Composite Index 2,941.01CNY -3.53-0.12%

Nestle, Dangote Flour, other stocks spur market’s positive start …Dangote Cement grows half-year profit to N119.24bn Stories by Iheanyi Nwachukwu

T

he Nigerian stock market opened this week on a positive note, driven by increased demand for stocks like Nestle Nigeria Plc, Dangote Flourmills Plc, C&I Leasing Plc, Vitafoam Nigeria Plc, and that of GTBank Plc. The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All Share Index (ASI) gained 0.11percent on Monday July 29, 2019, which helped moderate the record negative month-to-date (MtD) return to -6.73percent and the negative year-to-date (ytd) returns to -11.07percent.

The NSE All Share Index closed at 27,950.36 points against preceding trading day low of 27,918.59 points, while the value of listed

equities at N13.621trillion represents N15billion increase as against N13.606 trillion recorded last Friday July 26.

In 3,056 deals, equity traders exchanged

93,112,415 units valued at N1.108billion. Zenith Bank Plc, Transcorp Plc, LASACO Plc, GTBank Plc and Access Bank Plc were actively traded stocks on the Nigerian Bourse.

H1’19: Oando posts N7.2bn profit after tax

O

ando Plc has released its unaudited results for the six months period ended June 30, 2019.

Highlights of the results of the leading indigenous energy group listed on both the Nigerian and Johannesburg Stock Exchange show 8 percent production increase in first-half (H1) of 2019, at 40,873boe/day compared to 37,814boe/day in H1 2018.

It also recorded 6 percent turnover increase to N315.4 billion compared to N297.3 billion (H1 2018). ProfitAfter-Tax (PAT) decrease by 16percent to N7.2 billion compared to N8.5 billion (H1 2018).

“Half year 2019 was a positive period for us as we achieved strong top and bottom line earnings despite our overall performance being tempered by a one-off N14 billion charge”, Wale Tinubu, Group Chief Executive, Oando Plc said.

Commenting further on the results, he said “Our crude oil and natural gas

production grew by 15percent and 8percent respectively compared to the similar period last year while we also achieved a significant reduction in our Reserve Based Lending facility to approximately $0.4 million from $450 million at inception- a 99percent reduction”.

“We also concluded the divestment of our residual interest in Axxela for US$41.5 million, in line with our strategy of divesting from non-strategic assets and remain on track to deliver on all our initiatives for the year.

Looking ahead, our focus will be on achieving further growth and profitability by delivering on our production growth initiatives through strategic alliances and partnerships,” Tinubu noted.

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The company recorded 5percent decrease in total group borrowings at N200.7 billion compared to N210.9 billion (FYE 2018). During the six months ended June 30, 2019, production increased by 8percent at 40,873boe/day, compared with 37,814boe/day in the same period of 2018. Oil production in particular increased by 15percent from 14,675 barrels per day (bbls)/day in H1 2018 to 16,876bbls/day in H1 2019, whilst natural gas production increased by 8percent from 118,866mcf/day in H1 2018 to 128,533 mcf/day in H1 2019.

Capital expenditure of $62.3 million (N22.5 billion) was incurred in the six months of 2019 compared to $24.7 million (N8.9 billion) in same period in 2018.

This consists of $59.7 million (N21.6 billion) at OMLs 60 to 63, $1.9 million (N686.2 million) at OML 56, $0.04million (N14 4 million) at OML 13, and $0.8 million (N288.9 million) on other assets.

The share price of Nestle increased by N10 or 0.77percent, from N1300 to N1310, followed by that of Dangote Flourmills which increased by N1.65 or 9.19percent, from

N17.95 to N19.6.

Also, C&I Leasing share price increased from N5 to N5.5, adding 50kobo or 10percent; Vitafoam Plc rose from N3.72 to N4.09, adding 37kobo or 9.95percent; while GTBank Plc moved up from N28.45 to N28.7, adding 25kobo or 0.88percent.

On the laggards table, Total led others after its share price declined from N127.5 to N114.8, losing N12.7 or 9.96percent; ETI followed from N8.45 to N8, down by 45kobo or 5.33percent; Access Bank Plc lost 15kobo or 2.29percent, from N6.55 to N6.4.

Dangote Cement Plc, Africa’s leading cement producer reported profit after tax (PAT) of N119.24billion in the halfyear (H1) ended June 30 as against N113.16billion in the corresponding H1 period of 2018. This indicates

5.4percent increase.

The company, which among others released its result at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Monday July 29 reported revenue of N467.730billion in H1’19, representing a decline of 3percent as against revenue of N482.439billion recorded in H1’18.

Though, its pre-tax profit at N155.48billion in H1’19 against N185.53billion in H1’18 represents a decline of 16.2percent.

Dangote Cement share price was unchanged at N170 per share on Monday July 29. This represents a decline of 10.4percent yearto-date (ytd) outperforming the NSEASI with negative return of 11.07percent in the same period.

In the review half year period, the group’s earnings per share (EPS) increased by 6.2percent to N7.01 from N6.60 in H1’18.

NAHCO repositions for growth as shareholders get N406m dividend

T

he Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) Plc has assured its shareholders that the ongoing implementation of a strategic five-year growth plan will lead to a more agile and profitable company.

At the annual general meeting held last weekend in Kano, directors of NAHCO outlined strategic growth objectives, key implementation drives, challenges and transformational initiatives being taken to sustain the company as the leading ground handling company with sustainable returns to shareholders.

At the first general meeting by the new board and management of the company, directors of the company outlined that it has launched a new fiveyear strategy and transformation plan that covers between 2019 and 2023,

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which is expected to drive growth, service improvement, improved profitability and also ensure that NAHCO maintains its leadership position, despite increasing competition in the ground handling business.

The assurance came as shareholders approved the distribution of N406 million as cash dividend for the 2018 business year, representing a dividend per share of 25 kobo.

Seinde Fadeni, Chairman, Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) Plc said the new board and management have reset the company’s group structure and operations and have started implementing key initiatives to address cost structure, realign products and interface with customers and other stakeholders with a view to ensuring optimal performance in the years ahead. @Businessdayng

He said the company has started modernization of its warehouses in order to position itself for global changes in cargo handling and management noting that NAHCO is currently investing in warehouse refurbishment, facility and equipment upgrade to ensure leadership in all areas of air cargo within the West and Central African region.

He pointed out that while increased costs of operations and administrative expenses impacted the company’s performance in 2018, the new management has been addressing these cost centres to ensure improved efficiency and competitive returns.

“It is my belief that our company will grow more rapidly in the coming years in light of the measures and innovations being implemented,” said Fadeni who assumed office in December 2018.

36 BUSINESS DAY

Tuesday 30 July 2019

NEWS

Air Peace cancels flights to Enugu airport over runway flooding IFEOMA OKEKE

N

igeria’s largest carrier, Air Peace on Sunday, July 28, cancelled all its flights to Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu, over flooding in its runway.

The airline, which operates two flights from Lagos and two flights from Abuja to the destination, was unable to operate into the airport, as the runway was not safe to land or take off as a result of the flood.

Reacting to the incident, John Ojikutu, Aviation Security Consultant and secretary general of the Aviation Safety Round Table Initiative (ASRTI), said he was not aware of any maintenance on the runway between 1977 and 2014 when Ethiopian Airlines was given clearance to fly to the airport.

“Enugu airport was not designed for the traffic it is being forced on it. We’ve had two repairs on that runway in two years and I can see accusing fingers and hear mob actions on ‘government’.I served and worked in that airport more than seven years,

and aside from the old B737 and irregular C130 flights, no bigger aircraft flew to that airport,” Ojikutu said.

He explained that the previous road to Abakaliki was a down slope from the Orthopaedic hospitals through the airport and the market and Ekulu River flows on the opposite direction, adding that the result of this as a conflict of flood movement reconfigured by the various constructions in the airport.

“When last had Enugu experienced this type of flooding or what is the rain measurement if compared to previous that made the airport flooded? What are the effects of the present and various constructions that are restructuring the landscape of the airport?

Even if I don’t know the airport, what are the consequences of all these,” he inquired.

Oluwatoyin Olajide, Air Peace chief operating officer, confirmed the development to newsmen on Monday in Lagos, while apologising to the airline’s guests for the cancellation, said Air Peace would continue to prioritise their safety.

N2trn investment in auto assembly threatened over MIKE OCHONMA

F

ollowing President Muhammadu Buhari’s rejection to sign the Automotive Industry Bill, Oscar Odiboh, a lecturer at Covenant University Otta, Ogun State, says an estimated N2.1 trillion in local investments by local auto assemblers may be threatened.

Speaking further on the topic: “Zero Patronage, Zero Tariff and the Redefinition of Patriotism by Nigeria’s Automobile Industry,” at the 2019 training workshop of Nigeria

Auto Journalists Association (NAJA) in Lagos, Odiboh observed that resources so far deployed in the sector might go down the drain due to alleged refusal of the Federal Government to endorse the National Automotive Industry Development Plan (NAIDP).

The sector is strategic to economic growth and development, Odiboh said.

The Federal Government under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan had in October 2013 announced the concept of NAIDP as part of measures to stimulate investment in local

vehicle production.

Pointing out that those who have started should be encouraged, government cannot force assembly plants into reality, Odiboh said.

The automotive consultant said, “Even some stakeholders are not comfortable with the policy and there have been too much ado in doing nothing.

Nothing is working.”

He also advised the Federal Government to allow auto assembly plants to evolve: “Let the industry move on. Revolution is not by force. It starts with evolution. We must evolve to revolve. Let our auto industry

evolve, then, it can revolve.”

He called on the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) to increase tariff on used imported vehicles from 30 percent to 80 percent, reduce tariff on brand new imported vehicles from 70 percent to 30 percent as well as consider the introduction of zero percent tariff on locally CKD assembled vehicles.

The National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC), according to Odiboh, should restrict itself to design, development of infrastructure and campaigns on patronage of Made-In-Nigeria vehicles.

World Friendship Day: “33” Export connects long-lost friends ISRAEL ODUBOLA

3

3” Export is leveraging commitment of its fan fellowship in promoting connections and brilliantly crafted consumer engagement activities to connect long lost friends to celebrate the 2019 World Friendship Day. The brand, whose popularity among beer lovers across Nigeria isapparentbyitsmanynicknames, has maintained a loyal following, despite the plethora of lager beer brands in the market.

Loversofthebrandarequickto fill up arenas to interact with “33” Export’s signature blend of wit and gamification. This is done so well thatmanyconsumersnowassume games such as Jenga and Connect 4 are proprietary staples of the “33” Export brand experience.

Some of the brand’s unforgettable experiential activities include the highly appreciated “City of Friends” initiative and the recently introduced “33” Export Connect parties. The Connect experience took to the road with a mammoth series of parties, making 33 stops across Nigeria while exciting and rewarding consumers.

Omotunde Adenusi, the portfolio manager, Mainstream Lager,

Nigerian Breweries Plc, said the brand sells experience. ““33” Exportisknownforgivingconsumers unique exciting experiences. We will provide friends and lovers of the brand opportunities to bond andsharegreatmoments,through activities that create a positive and enjoyable ambience for everyone present,” said Adenusi.

According to Adenusi, few brands have stood the test of time like “33” Export has, and a huge part of this success, is owed to the following the brand has been able to sustain. “Not only is this deserving of commendation but it is also a lesson to newer, younger brands looking to build lasting connections that will transcend the times,” he concludes.

“33” Export is unapologetic in its commitment to celebrating friends all over Nigeria, and it repeatedly emphasizes this through its advertising campaigns, as well as its experiential platforms. This year, the brand pledged to help pop superstar Kcee connect with hisfriendwithwhomthesingerlost touch over 20 years ago. Not only did “33” Export find the friend, but it also rewarded two of Kcee’s fans byhelpingthemconnectwiththeir long lost friends as well.

Lori hires experts in move to expand footprint across Africa Anthony Nlebem

L

ori Systems, a pan-African logistics firm that seamlessly connects cargo owners to transportation, has announced the appointment of Uche Ogboi as the company’s chief operating officer and Efayomi Carr as head of strategic finance, effective July 29, 2019.

Ogboi served as the principal, Investments, at EchoVC Partners, a Pan-Africa and tech-enabled venture capital firm where she helped grow the firm’s portfolio both across the region and globally. She has invested in companies across various sectors including logistics, healthcare, fintech, telecoms and agriculture.

She also worked at Citi for 8 years as an Investment Banker where she managed the bank’s SME fund and was involved in structuring the bank’s agriculture lending initiative.

“Lori embodies the spirit of opportunity on the continent for high-growth startups, and I am so impressed by the strong team and what the company has achieved in a short amount of time,” Ogboi said.

“I am delighted to see where this challenge takes me and how we will grow this company together to drive value for customers and help Lori achieve its mission of lowering the cost of goods in Africa,” she added. www.businessday.ng

Babatunde Fashola, former minister of power, works and housing, during his Senate Confirmation Screening following his renomination by President Muhammadu Buhari as a minister of the Federal Republic at the Senate Chamber, National Assembly, yesterday.

Inlaks gives N4.5m to tech start-ups with innovative insuretech solutions

Excitement as Spotlight Africa, LAWMA reward 150 street sweepers for diligence to service

…builds ‘thehatch’ innovation lab to nurture techprenuers, grow local software development

ENDURANCE OKOAFOR & ISRAEL ODUBOLA

Jumoke Akiyode-Lawanson

I

n a bid to spur local innovation, Inlaks, a technology systems integrator, has given N4.5 million to three winning technology start-ups with incredible solutions, particularly for the insurance sector, in its maiden Insurtech Hackathon themed, ‘Shaping the future of insurance.’

Following the launch of “thehatch,” an innovation Lab set to build, scale and provide a nurturing environment for Fintech Start-ups by ensuring a level playing field for domestic technological ideas, Inlaks organised a contest where entrepreneurs with technologically-enabled solutions that addressed significant challenges in the insurance sector could come and pitch their solutions to Judges comprising of CEOs, CIOs and experts from insurance, technology and Fintech industries. The three leading teams with top-notch Insurtech solutions carted away the prizes.

As one of the foremost ICT companies in Sub-Saharan Africa, Inlaks continually upholds and spearheads projects/ideas that will birth cutting-edge ICT products and solutions. The launch of

thehatch reinforces Inlaks 2.0’s vision to identify, promote, support, and encourage home-based technology entrepreneurs.

Expressing his utmost delight and optimism for the futuristic and long term significance of thehatch Innovation Lab in Africa, Olufemi Muraino, the executive director (Innovation and Business Transformation) said, “With thehatch launch and the maiden Insurtech Hackathon, we have been able to bring together a host of brilliant African tech minds who has innovatively invented solutions tailored to the insurance industry. I am elated at the launch of our tech hub as we are focused on opening up new markets while also introducing innovative information technology products into the sub-Saharan African markets.”

Femi Adeoti, MD, Africa operations, Inlaks in a statement explains the motive, vision and plans for thehatch: “Inlaks has been thriving favorably in the ICT space for over three decades now.

We, no doubt, are aware of the immense contributions of technology to mankind from that time till this present moment.

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I

t was an exciting moment for some street sweepers at the weekend as Spotlight Africa, a Lagos-based non-profit organisation, in partnership with Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), rewarded 150 of those sweepers in recognition of their efforts to make Lagos clean.

The event with the theme, ‘LAWMA Women Making a Difference Community Awards Ceremony’anddescribedasthefirstof itskind,washeldinIkeja,theLagos State capital.

In her remarks, Nonye MikeNnaji, president of the NGO and managing partner at HSPG Realtors,extolledthevirtuesofthestreet sweepers for their exceptional delivery, saying that despite the riskassociatedwiththejobandlow remuneration, they still remained dedicated to duty.

According to Nnaji, the objective of the event was to celebrate the women who were making a difference by keeping the highways and communities clean.

“What these women are doing is incredible. Some of them wake up as early as 4am to sweep the streets of Lagos. What they did during the Ebola outbreak in Nigeria was magnificent,’ Nnaji said.

She posited that their good work prompted her team to be the first to celebrate them. “The day I sawoneofthemworkingtirelessly, @Businessdayng

I began to think what it meant to clean the dirt in Lagos. I met some corporatestocomeandsupportus to celebrate them, and the turnout is overwhelming,” she said.

Shesaidplanswereunderway to organise a Yuletide party for them, and called on coporates to partner with them to make it successful.

In his address, Oladimeji Oresanya, CEO of LAWMA, urged the street sweepers to maintain the tempo, saying it gladdened his heart to see them making impact in the community.

“The last four years was tough for them. But we are happy that theglowintheireyesandfaceshas been restored,” he said.

“You can recall, 10 years back, we did celebrate them annually. They had a handshake with the state governor to boost their morale, but all of a sudden, that stopped. But now, these ones are back on the streets, interestingly, Lagos is getting cleaner,” Oresanya enthused.

TheLAWMAbossmaintained that the event went beyond celebration of refuse collection, to devisingwaystoenablethemhave access to cheap loans, so they can do other things for themselves considering the job is part time.

Amaka Onyemelukwe, head of public affairs and communication,Coca-Cola,saidhercompany wasgladtopartnerSpotlightAfrica tochampionthecourseofwomen in the society.

Tuesday 30 July 2019

BUSINESS DAY

37

news Dangote Cement’s profit rises 5.4% to N119bn in H1 2019 on lower tax expense Israel Odubola

P

ost-tax profit of Dangote Cement plc, Nigeria’s most-capitalised company, grew 5.4 percent for the six months to June 30, 2019, buoyed by a 50 percent decline in income tax expense, the company said Monday.

Profit after tax rose to N119.2 billion in the review period, from N113.2 billion in the same period last year, despite a 3 percent decline in revenue, the company said in a statement to Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

Proceeds from sale of cement dipped 3 percent to N467.6 billion, compared with N482.3 billion reported a year earlier, while receipts from the sale of other products contracted some 19 percent to N126 million. Sales volume also pared slightly by 0.66 percent to 12.3 million tonnes.

“The numbers are mixed and fairly impressive,” said Ambrose Omordion, Chief Research Officer at Lagos-based

InvestData Consulting Limited by telephone.

“The fact that the company was able to manage its tax pay out was the saving grace, otherwise it would have moved to a loss position,” he added.

Gross margin of the cement maker dropped to 58.7 percent in the review period, from 59.04 percent a year earlier as the company’s revenue contracted more than direct production cost which tanked 2.2 percent.

Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) dipped 15 percent driven by higher operating expenses (selling & distribution plus administrative), which surged 21 percent, reducing EBIT margin by 5.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the rout on NSE has pushed a number of stocks to fresh lows and the cement giant is no exception, as its shares are trading at their lowest price in more than two years.

With its price-to-earnings ratio at 7.32, investors are willing to pay about seven for each naira earnings compared with competitor – Cement Company

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of Northern Nigeria (CCNN) Plc trading 4.7 times.

“The market is unresponsive to the numbers churned out by companies because liquidity is low,” Omordion said, adding that the low price of equities is a boon for bargain hunters.

Finance cost and income were down by some 9 percent and 29 percent respectively to N19.6 billion and N4.6 billion, slightly elevating net borrowing cost by 0.19 percent.

The substantial decline in tax expense helped strengthen net margin by 2 percent, which consequently elevated earnings per share by 6 percent. This means that the cement giant kept N255 as profit from each thousand naira earned in revenue in the first half of 2019, compared with N235 last year.

Between a six-month period spanning between December 31, 2018 and June 30, 2019, the cement maker’s total assets depreciated some 2 percent or N380 billion spurred by a decline in the value of current assets.

Imo begins rehabilitation of abandoned Statistics Bureau HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE

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mo State government, under the leadership of Governor Emeka Ihedioha, is making plans to speedily rehabilitate the long abandoned Imo State Bureau of Statistics (SBS).

The state is committed to transforming the SBS into a world-class body that would meet the statistical data needs of the state and that of other national and international establishments.

Enyinnaya Amadikwa, newly appointed directorgeneral, gave this commitment during the first interactive session with the staff of the Bureau in Owerri, the state capital. The new directorgeneral whose appointment was approved recently by the Governor, resumed office barely 48 hours after his appointment, meeting an overwhelmingly dejected and distressed 145 work force idling away in the grossly

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dilapidated office complex.

Assuring of government’s commitment towards the urgent rehabilitation of the agency which would act as the main source of data and other statistical information that would support government’s concerted effort towards the rebuilding of the state, he revealed his plans to “reform the agency into a full IT driven bureau that would provide timely, complete, accurate and reliable statistical data that is critical for creating and sustaining an environment which fosters strong, equitable development.”

“This is an essential ingredient for formulation of sound economic development policies, by which the decision making and development plans of the government becomes concentric,” he noted.

Lamenting the abandonment of the Bureau by the immediate past administration of Rochas Okorocha, he wondered how a sane

@Businessdayng

government would abandon an agency such as the State Bureau of Statistics, which should be providing it with the reliable statistics that describes the reality of people’s everyday lives.

Enyinna Amadikwa is an experienced, tested and inventive computer analytical program inventor who his system and ideas have been acknowledged by important individuals and governments.

He was until his appointment as Director General of the State Bureau of Statistics Administrator General in institutions and establishments where extensive, sensitive and strategic data have been collected and stored.

The Bureau set up by the Imo State Statistical Law 2010 was very active with the collation, compilation, analysis, storage, publication and dissemination of other information until it was abandoned by the last administration of Rochas Okorocha.

38

Tuesday 30 July 2019

BUSINESS DAY

news Infrastructure deficit: Fashola calls for N10trn bond Continued from page 1

from lawmakers.

Fashola is the thirty-second Ministerial nominee to be screened by the Senate.

The nominee, however, pointed out that the infrastructure bond should have legal backing from the National Assembly and guaranteed by the Federal Government.

“I propose that we should consider something like a N10 trillion infrastructure bond backed by parliamentary support and secured by the Federal Government with a reasonable coupon, and issued in tranches each year, as we need to fund infrastructure,” he said.

In April this year, the Federal Government had disclosed that a minimum of $3 trillion investment would be needed if the country is to bridge the infrastructure gap in the next three decades.

The Director General of

the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Alex Okoh, had said the country would require an average of $100 billion per annum for the next 30 years to meet the target.

Fashola noted with regret that several attempts by the Federal Government to tackle the challenge through borrowing had failed to achieve the desired results as the loans accessible to the country was a far cry to address the menace.

He also said that attempts by the past governments to address the deplorable state of some of the nation’s highway through the Public-PrivatePartnership (PPP) arrangement ended up in a disaster as the concessionaires failed to meet the stringent conditions contained in the law.

Fashola said budgetary allocations to infrastructure, especially highway construction over the years have made mockery of the nation’s at-

tempts to achieve meaningful progress.

He explained that the Federal Government has been finding it extremely difficult to fund the projects due to poor fund releases, a situation he said, was forcing the contractors to abandon their various sites.

He said: “I think there is some opportunity and one of the ways I think is for Nigeria to leverage from the large pool of fund with the ordinary people looking for secured investment. And some of them are not even in the banking sector keeping their cash.

And I propose that we should consider something like a N10 trillion infrastructure bond backed by parliamentary support and secured by the Federal Government with a reasonable coupon issued in tranches each year, as we need to fund infrastructure.

“And broken up into even very small denominations that

people can invest as much as only N1,000. Those who want to invest in billions can do so.

And in my view, if we don’t try this, we wouldn’t know whether it has worked. But I am convinced that we can do something along this line based in the interest that I saw in the SUKUK that was oversubscribed, which meant that there was an appetite for it.”

The ministerial nominee therefore suggested three fundamental strategies to save the country from experiencing a total infrastructure collapse.

He suggested the prioritisation of the major highways that are crucial to most Nigerians and raising an infrastructural bond to fix them. He also suggested the suspension of the award of new road contracts for at least two years to enable the government to adequately fund the critical ones that are nearing completion.

The former governor also urged senators to look at the

most important major highways that are very critical to the socio-economic development of their area and jointly agree to present them as their priorities for the purpose of budgetary allocation.

He noted that Nigeria currently lacked enough money to execute road projects, hence its decision to prioritise its projects.

He listed roads facing funding constraints to include the Eleme-Port Harcourt Road, Lagos-Ibadan Express Road, Bodo-Bonny Bridge, Yenagoa-KoloOtuoke Road among others.

On the use of PPP to fund road projects, he explained that private investors are more interested in airports and hospital projects where they are able to make quick returns.

“PPPs are complex. They take time to negotiate. Even here in the Federal Government, we need to go through the ICRC to advertise. In a government that has four

years to show results and in a country where there is high expectations for results, we must be more skilful on how we use them.

“Let me also say that PPPs are not attractive for all projects. I have learned to distinguish between social projects like roads and commercial projects like airports, hospitals where there is a daily cash count. And those are easier for private investors to want to put their money into than roads and the risk of construction that it requires.”

“And there are so many modules. To use policies like the Nigerian Tax Credit Initiative Policy which we are now using to build the ApapaOworonshoki Expressway which Lafarge has also used to build a factory in Calabar.

And a couple of others are showing interest. And I think at a time I left, there were about 28 roads on the shortlist for the committee set up to review and hopefully approve for implementation,” he said.

Glo subscribers suffer partial disconnection...

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sources at MTN Nigeria that there has been a partial restriction of calls and texts from Globacom subscribers to customers on the MTN Network since last week.

“MTN customers are still able to call Glo lines, however, customers of Glo are unable to call the MTN network since we disconnected them for owing about N7 billion to N10 billion in piled up interconnect fees. Apart from owing, the network operator is arrogant and will not attend meetings or respond to notification letters,” the source said.

Recall that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in December 2018 gave approval to mobile network operators (MNOs) to disconnect their debtors over continued rise in interconnect debt and facility charges and failure of the affected operators to pay the huge interconnection fees owed. A 21-day window was given by the NCC to the companies to make amends or risk disconnections.

In a notification letter, NCC asked MTN, Airtel and IHS to disconnect, on partial basis, services to mobile network operators such as Globacom, Ntel and interconnect exchange points including Breeze, Exchange, Solid, Medallion and Niconnx.

Interconnect debt in Nigeria’s telecom sector stands at over N165billion according to NCC. Henry Nkemadu, director of public affairs, NCC, confirmed that indeed, the regulator is aware of the recent disconnection of Glo subscribers from calling the MTN network.

“NCC is aware and the commission gave approval for the owed companies to partially disconnect service

to their network,” Nkemadu said.

“These MNOs were notified of the applications made

by MTN, Airtel and IHS, and were given opportunity to comment and state their respective cases. The commission having examined the applications and circumstances surrounding the indebtedness determined that the debtor MNOs do not have sufficient reasons for non-payment of interconnect and facility charges,” NCC stated in its pre-disconnection notice.

Industry analysts say that millions more of subscribers will face service disruptions over the coming weeks, if other owed operators follow through with partial disconnection, as millions of voice and data passes through the affected exchanges on daily basis.

“MTN and Globacom need to reconcile their interconnect debt so that subscribers can be reconnected.

Otherwise, the ripple effect of this partial service disconnection will negatively impact the telecoms industry, as subscribers will resort to using overt the top (OTT) applications like Whatsapp to make calls. This will not be good for the industry because a lot of the voice revenues of operators come from local/domestic calls,” Olusola Teniola, president, association of telecommunications companies of Nigeria (ATCON) told BusinessDay. Arinze Anapugars, public relations manager of Globacom refused to respond to BusinessDay’s questions on the issue, as at the time of publication. However, sources familiar with the issue say that MTN and Globacom are currently holding discussions to resolve the disconnection. www.businessday.ng

L-R: Kelechi Nwaoba, divisional head, operations; Abubakar Suleiman, managing director/CEO; Lateet Aliu, group head, Channel Operations, and captain of Operations and Services FC; Fatai Tella, chief data officer, and Moronfolu Fasinro, chief client engagement officer, all of Sterling Bank, during the finals of the bank’s MD/CEO’s in Lagos.

Telco’s maintain earnings momentum ...

INEC fails to call witnesses... Like Apapa, deplorable...

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violence and substantial non-compliance with the Electoral Guidelines and have dragged the electoral umpire, President Buhari and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) before the tribunal, seeking nullification of the election.

The tribunal had also on that same July 19 adjourned to July 29 for INEC to open its defense on the allegations made by Atiku and PDP against the conduct of the February 23 presidential election.

Meanwhile, the tribunal adjourned to Tuesday July 30 for President Buhari to open his defense.

Following INEC’s decision not to call witnesses, Buhari’s lead lawyer, Wole Olaipekun (SAN) informed the tribunal that they are prepared to go on with their own defense.

deciding the port destination of their cargoes.

She said a major reason the NPA recently made the decision to give 10 percent discount to selected ports in the East was to improve the ease at which cargo owners get their cargoes to their final destination.

“We have identified all the roads linking our ports to the hinterland, and have written the Ministry of Works for them to prioritise rehabilitating those roads. From geographical calculation, Calabar is closer to the NorthEast and the North-Central part of the country, but there is a bridge (in bad state) that does not permit movement of containers,” she noted.

She added that the Ministry of Works, last year, approved the contract for fixing of the Ibom-Ikon Bridge in Calabar to ease movement in and out Calabar Port.

driving voice and data revenue.

The country’s rising population that comprise of over 60 percent youth is an opportunity for growth in data revenue given the growing usage and acceptability of social media and internet surfing for communication.

Nigeria has a population of 200 million people and the World Bank projects that it will hit 400 million by 2050.

Also, the proliferation of smartphones is expected to help underpin the data revenue growth of telecommunication companies.

The number of smartphone users in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest economy and most populous country, is forecast to grow to more than 140 million by 2025.

A rebound in consumer spending is expected to underpin data bundle con-

sumption, which is premised on lower Average Revenue per User (ARPU) for Nigeria compared to South Africa.

MTN Nigeria, which became the second largest listed firm by market value after listing 20.30 billion of shares at N90, plans to raise N200 billion from a variety of sources including bank loans and bonds to expand operations in its biggest market.

The largest carrier by subscriber base recorded a 12.12 percent jump in revenue to N566.94 billion in the period under review while net margins moved to 17.49 percent in June 2019 from 14.75 percent the previous year.

The telecommunications sector which contributes 12 percent to GDP and recorded a strong growth of 9.65 percent in full year in 2018 still holds growth prospects given Nigeria’s impressive demographic.

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Tuesday 30 July 2019

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POLITICS & POLICY INEC fails to call witnesses in defence of Buhari’s election Felix Omohomhion, Abuja

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urprisingly, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Monday failed to call any witness in the petition challenging the declaration of Muhammadu Buhari as winner of the February 23, 2019, presidential election.

Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party and his party are challenging the declaration of Buhari as

winner of the election on the ground that it was marred by irregularities.

At the resumed sitting at the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, on Monday, INEC said the petitioners were unable to prove their allegations of irregularities and favouritism in their petition hence needless of putting up a defence.

Atiku and PDP had on July 19 closed their case after they called 62 witnesses and tendered over 50,000 documentary and video evidence

to substantiate their claims that the election was rigged in favour of President Buhari and the APC. INEC lead lawyer, Yunus Usman (SAN) in a veil reference to non presentation of witnesses informed the tribunal that the electoral body has no defence to the allegations of series of malpractices that allegedly characterised the elections. The counsel merely said that part of the evidence adduced by Atiku and PDP as the two leading petitioners will be used to make its case.

According to Usman, the electoral body is satisfied with the testimony of the petitioners’ witnesses under cross-examination, to the extent that the election was validly held.

Yunus said calling on witnesses would amount to helping the petitioners do their case.

“We cannot help them to do their case. All their witnesses confirmed our position about the conduct of the election,” Usman said.

INEC had on February 28

announced Buhari as winner of the poll having scored majority of the votes cast in the election.

But Atiku and his party alleged widespread rigging, violence and substantial non compliance with the Electoral Guidelines and have dragged the electoral umpire, President Buhari and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) before the tribunal, seeking nullification of the election.

The tribunal had also on that same July 19 adjourned to

July 29 for INEC to open its defence on the allegations made

by Atiku and PDP against the conduct of the February 23 presidential election.

Meanwhile, the tribunal had adjourned to Tuesday July 30 for President Buhari to open his defence.

Following INEC’s decision not to call witnesses, Buhari’s lead lawyer, Wole Olanipekun (SAN) informed the tribunal that they are prepared to go on with their own defence.

He said that as a democrat, his is challenging that election in the right arena, the courts. He said however, that leadership does not just entail getting justice for the past. “A real leader knows that in terms of justice, prevention is better than cure,” he said.

He added that Nigeria’s electoral system needs not just to be brought up to date, by the acceptance of the amendments to the Electoral Act

passed by the eight National Assembly, but also needs to be up to tomorrow, by taking steps today to ensure that the lapses that made it possible for the 2019 elections to be manipulated or rigged are addressed.

“This recommendation may seem like a small change, but my experience in life has taught me never to underestimate the big difference small changes can make.

Credible elections: Atiku calls for more critical role for judiciary Innocent Odoh, Abuja

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ormer Vice President and Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 general elections, Atiku Abubakar, has called for more a more critical role for the judiciary towards a credible election in Nigeria.

The former Vice President, made this call on Monday

in a statement he personally signed which was made available to BusinessDay by his Media Adviser, Paul Ibe even as he insisted that the 2019 elections were several steps down from the 2015 elections in terms of credibility and obvious lapses.

“One way of addressing these lapses is to implement the salient recommendations of the National Electoral Reform Committee (NERC)

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headed by former Chief Justice of the Federation, Justice Mohammed Lawal Uwais.

The second is the creation of Electoral Crimes Commission.

“One of such recommendations, which will enhance the independence of the supposedly Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), is the recommendation that the power to appoint the Chairman and board of the INEC be taken away from

the President and given to the Judiciary,” he said.

He said that of all three arms of government, the Judiciary is the least affected by elections, meaning that it has the highest objectivity in matters relating to the INEC. He said that it is therefore in the best position of the three arms, to appoint a Chairman and board members for the electoral body that are impartial, competent and patriotic.

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Tuesday 30 July 2019

NEWS FBN Holding posts N294.2bn gross earnings in H1 2019 Endurance Okafor

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irstBank Holdings of Nigeria has announced a profit before tax of N39.9 billion in the first-half of 2019.

This is an increase of 2.6 percent over N38.9 billion made a year ago.

In the six month period ended June 30, 2019, gross earnings of FBHN stood at N294.2 billion, up 0.3 percent year-on-year from N293.3 billion in the corresponding period of 2018.

Net-interest income slowed by 2 percent to N146.7 billion year-on-year, however, FBHN was able to improve its non-interest income by 3.6 percent from last year. The lender recorded 63.6 billion non-interest income, up from N61.3 billion in H1 2018.

Net interest margin, a measure of the difference between interest income banks make and the interest paid on depositor funds, rose to 7.7 percent in H1 2019, as against 7.1 percent in the same period last year.

In H1 2019, FBHN noted an

impairment charge for credit losses of N22.1 billion, down 58.1 percent y-o-y from N52.8 billion.

Post-tax return on average equity, a gauge of how well shareholders fund is utilised in creating net income, improved to 11.6 percent compared to 10 percent in H1 2018. However post-tax return on average assets of declined to 1.1 percent.

FBHN’s Non-Performing Loan ratio dropped to 14.5 percent as of June 30, 2019. The bank’s NPL was higher at 25.9 percent in December last year.

Liquidity ratio for H1 2019 was 40.3 percent for FirstBank (Nigeria) , down from 45.2 percent in December 2018, while its Capital Adequacy Ratio stood at 15.6 percent.

For FBNQuest Merchant Bank, the unified brand name for the Merchant Banking and Asset Management businesses of FBN Holdings, CAR improved to 13.4 percent from 12.2 percent in December 2018.

In H1 2019, total assets of the bank rose 1.8 percent to N5.7 trillion, from N5.6 trillion

in December. Customer deposits increased by 2.8 percent to N3.6 trillion while customer loans and advances (net) also rose 3.5 percent to N1.74 trillion from N1.68 trillion in December last year.

Recall that Chapel Hill Denham, a Lagos-based independent investment bank projected that First Bank will sustain its earnings recovery amid further clean-up.

It expects profit After Tax (PAT) to of the lender to grow 19.2 percent year-on-year to N71.22 billion in full year 2019.

“Our higher earnings forecast is hinged on non-interest income growth (+10.0 percent year-on-year) and sustained decline in impairment changes (-13.4 percent yearon-year).

In first quarter of 2019, PAT grew by 6.9 percent year-onyear as non-interest income increased by 21.8 percent year-on-year and impairment charges fell by 45.3 percent year-on-year, offsetting the impact of the 26.3 percent yearon-year growth in operating expenses on earnings.

Information technology stakeholders call for improved government focus, incentives in ICT … ITAN to tighten government partnership David Ibidapo

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takeholders within Nigeria’s information technology space under an umbrella named Information Technology Association of Nigeria (ITAN) have raised concerns over the need for government to pay more attention to ICT sector of the economy.

This is an official call for the government to learn from other developed nations towards using technology to drive economic growth and create enabling environment where tech companies can thrive amid headwinds.

“Today, if you are not investing in technology, irrespective of the industry you are playing, then you are not moving. Hence, the call for the government to create the enabling environment for the IT companies to take up the challenge of our environment

and create solutions to them,” Bonny Mekwunye, vice chairman, Kecam Technologies Limited/chairman of Lagos chapter of ITAN. A look into activities within the ICT sector as collated by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reveals in Q1 2019, the industry recorded a slowdown in real GDP growth by -0.17 percentage points to 9.48 percent quarter-on-quarter against 9.65 percent in Q4 2018, the lowest in the last four quarters.

In addition, data collated from the World Bank Data Index (WDI) show that Nigeria’s ICT goods imports as a percentage of total goods imports in 2017 plunged to 3.27 percent, down from all time high of 9.48 percent in 2008.

To buttress more on the dilapidated state of the sector, ICT goods exports as a percentage of total goods exports in 2017,

continued an 18-year trend to stand at 0 percent, contributing almost nothing to exports.

“There should be tax holidays for new IT companies that are innovative with new products and services. Apart from TSA, which is local, to what extent do we have the Federal Government maintain local contents in terms of ICT deployment,” Mekwunye told BusinessDay. To this end, the president announced the body’s move to tighten partnership with the Federal Government to help unlock hidden potentials among IT companies within the ICT industry of the economy.

Speaking on the impact of the recently signed African Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement bill by President Muhammadu Buhari, the stakeholders within the ICT space speak on challenges this might pose to businesses within the sector.

Media rights body threatens to drag organisations undermining FOIA to court

Daniel Obi

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edia Rights Agenda, a non-governmental,notfor-profit organisation that promotes and protects media freedom and freedom of expression, has threatened to take legal action against every public institutionunderminingtheeffectiveness oftheFreedomofInformationAct. Thebodyhadin2017launched FOI Hall of Shame where it lists public institution or official every week that undermines the act. So far, it has inducted over 68 public institutions and two high court judges into the list.

In a statement issued in Lagos, MRA’s programme manager for Freedom of Information, Ridwan Sulaimon, said: “When we first launched the FOI Hall of Shame www.businessday.ng

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in 2017, the intention was to call out public officials and institutions undermining the effectiveness of the FOI Act in the court of public opinion and thereby shame them into complying with the Act. “Wehavesincerealisedthatthe capacityforshameamongmostof our public institutions is unfortunately very limited as most of our public officials do not really care what citizens think of them. It was for this reason that we suspended the initiative at the end of 2018 to re-evaluate our strategy.”

According to Sulaimon, “The outcome of our assessment was that the first iteration of the Hall of Shame brought about only very modestimprovementsinthelevel of implementation of the FOI Act and compliance with its provisions by public institutions across the board. Therefore, in addition @Businessdayng

to naming and shaming defaulting public institutions, we now proposetousetheinstrumentality of the Law and the judicial process to enforce compliance.”

Explainingsomeofthechanges to the initiative, Sulaimon said: “This time around, MRA will regularly undertake a rigorous assessment of every Federal public institution’s implementation activities with regards to the FOI Act to establish how they are implementing the Act. “Based on our findings from such assessments, every month, MRA will induct a public institution that is failing in its duties and obligations under the Act into the Hall of Shame. We will then follow this up with a law suit to compel that institution to comply with the provisions of the Act that it is in breach of.”

Tuesday 30 July 2019

FT

BUSINESS DAY

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FINANCIAL TIMES

World Business Newspaper

ARASH MASSOUDI, RICHARD HENDERSON AND RICHARD BLACKDEN

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ust over 18 months ago, London Stock Exchange Group faced one of the most fraught moments in its long history.

Brussels had quashed its high-profile merger with Deutsche Börse, the exit of its longstanding chief executive Xavier Rolet had triggered a bust-up with one of the group’s largest shareholders and Brexit threatened London’s role in global finance.

Now the exchange, more than 300 years old, is trying to get back on the front foot with a plan for its most ambitious acquisition, one that will shape the direction of the group for years to come. It is the most striking demonstration yet of the charge among exchange operators into the business of supplying the data that is at the heart of markets.

The LSE on Friday confirmed a Financial Times report that it was in talks to buy data and trading venue group Refinitiv for $27bn including debt, from a consortium led by private equity group Blackstone. If an agreement is reached for a company best-known for its Eikon desktop terminals, it would transform the LSE into a provider of financial market infrastructure and data with the scale to take on US exchange industry heavyweights Intercontinental Exchange and CME Group as well as Michael Bloomberg’s financial information empire.

“This would be a bold move in the shift among exchanges

London Stock Exchange lays $27bn bet that data are the future

Ambitious Refinitiv acquisition will set group against likes of Bloomberg and shape direction

The deal would be a defining move for LSE chief David Schwimmer just a year after the relatively unknown former Goldman Sachs banker was parachuted in to steady the ship © Dreamstime/Bloomberg

away from the matching of buyers and sellers and into the business of selling information,” said Kevin McPartland, head of market structure research at consultancy Greenwich Associates. “Data are

so valuable and so is having the network of traders and investors to access that data — that’s all at play here.”

The deal would also be a defining moment for the LSE’s chief

executive, David Schwimmer, just a year after the relatively unknown former Goldman Sachs banker was parachuted in to steady the ship. Its scale will bring considerable risk in execution alongside

the need to convince LSE shareholders that taking on Refinitiv’s $12bn of debt will prove worth it.

Industry analysts see the strategic logic of the deal for the LSE, best known for its UK stock exchange and derivatives clearing house LCH. While revenue from initial public offerings can be more volatile, spending by everyone from asset managers to hedge funds on financial data and the analytical tools to make use of it has been going in one direction.

It hit a record $30.5bn last year, according to a report from Burton Taylor Consulting.

Refinitiv, which was carved out of Thomson Reuters by Blackstone only last year in the biggest leveraged buyout since the financial crisis, will give the LSE the Eikon terminals that aggregate financial data and news for customers and compete with Bloomberg. Refinitiv’s data offering includes scores of standalone products from common market data to compliance services and trading tools, like the REDI platform previously owned

by Goldman Sachs.

Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexei EU candidates for IMF job Navalny poisoned, says lawyer narrowed down to three Putin critic was rushed to hospital after suffering from a severe allergic reaction HENRY FOY IN MOSCOW

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ussian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been poisoned by an “unknown chemical agent”, while serving a prison sentence for encouraging people to take part in a prodemocracy protest, his lawyer and doctor said on Monday.

Navalny, a prominent critic of president Vladimir Putin’s regime, was rushed to hospital from a detention centre on Sunday after suffering from a severe allergic reaction.

He was discharged on Monday afternoon and escorted back to the detention centre, despite protests from his longtime doctor, Anastasiya Vasilyeva.

“It scares me and it is alarming that there are no attempts to find out what the substance was.

Alexei himself also believes that it was some kind of toxic agent,” Ms Vasilyeva told reporters after leaving the hospital.

“He has not fully recovered. He should have been left under medical supervision,” she added. “Who is going to watch over him at the detention facility?”

Both Ms Vasilyeva and Olga

Mikhailova, Navalny’s lawyer, said the source of the potential poison was not clear. Navalny was sharing a cell and food with five other inmates who were not affected.

Navalny is the face of grassroots opposition to Mr Putin’s two-decades long regime and is no stranger to prison time or threats to his life.

His organisation of mass protests against the Kremlin saw him banned from competing against Mr Putin in the 2018 election, hit by countless convictions and incarcerations and the victim of a 2017 chemical attack by a pro-Kremlin activist that left him partially blind in one eye.

He was sentenced to 30 days in jail lastWednesdayforencouragingpeople to attend a protest calling for opposition politicians to be allowed to run in Moscow’s upcoming local elections.

Despite the pre-emptive detention of Navalny and five other prominent opposition activists, thousands of people attempted to join the demonstrations on Saturday but were met with a violent crackdown from riot police, who beat protesters with batons and arrested more than 1,400 in a sign of the Kremlin’s desire to crush a tide of popular discontent that has risen in recent months. www.businessday.ng

European negotiators rush to secure a consensus on who should succeed Lagarde MEHREEN KHAN IN BRUSSELS AND VICTOR MALLET IN PARIS

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he EU has narrowed down its field of candidates to replace Christine Lagarde at the IMF to three names as European negotiators rush to secure a consensus on who should be the next managing director of the fund.

On Friday, the French finance ministry, which is leading negotiations on behalf of the EU, shortlisted five European names for the job but failed to reach a consensus on any candidate.

Of the five, Mário Centeno, Portugal’s current eurogroup chair, and Nadia Calviño, Spain’s finance minister, have now been ruled out, according to two senior officials briefed by French negotiators.

That leaves Jeroen Dijsselbloem, former Dutch finance minister; Kristalina Georgieva, Bulgarian chief executive of the World Bank; and Olli Rehn, a former Finnish EU commissioner

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for the economy and current head of Finland’s central bank, still in the race.

The French finance ministry denied that a decision had been taken. “Consultations are ongoing,” said a spokesperson for Bruno Le Maire, French finance minister.

The IMF has set a deadline of early September for countries to nominate candidates. European negotiators have been spurred into action to find a replacement to replace Ms Lagarde wary that a failure to agree on a single candidate will introduce rivals for the position from large emerging markets.

European nationals have dominated the leadership of the fund as part of an informal agreement where a US national takes the helm at the World Bank.

The process to select the next managing director is expected to be completed on October 4. The vacancy has provoked a flurry of backroom diplomacy in the EU, which is determined to keep its claim on the job in the face of challenges from emerging mar@Businessdayng

kets like India, Brazil and China.

But Europe’s negotiations have been bogged down by divisions between southern and northern eurozone countries which have objected to the next managing director coming from opposing camps. One diplomat said that France was positioning Ms Georgieva to emerge as the compromise candidate.

Ms Georgieva has been backed

by France but her candidacy would require a change to an IMF rule which prevents a managing director over the age of 65 applying for the job. Despite France’s push for a change in the rules, it has been resisted by a majority of EU countries.

Mr Dijsselbloem is known to have the support of northern European capitals and Germany.

He was chair of the eurogroup of finance ministers in the later stages of the eurozone crisis and emerged as an early frontrunner in the race.

Mr Rehn has a similar profile to Mr Dijsselbloem and is likely to gain the backing of northern states.

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NATIONAL NEWS

Rise in extremist violence puts Germans on edge Both hard-left and hard-right behind spate of attacks in increasingly shrill political climate GUY CHAZAN IN BERLIN

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ver since the attack on his car last year, Ferat Kocak has been noting down vehicle number plates he sees on the streets. He has frequently moved house and sleeps badly. “I wake at the slightest sound,” he said. “The fear is ever present.”

Mr Kocak, an official of the leftwing German party Die Linke, said his life changed one night in February 2018 when unknown assailants set fire to his car. The flames spread to the house where he and his parents were sleeping. If he had not woken up in time, he said, his family could have been killed.

Two men from the hard-right scene in Berlin’s working-class district of Neukölln were detained over the attack but released due to lack of evidence.

In June, Germans were shocked by the killing of Walter Lübcke, a local official in the central region of Hesse and the first German politician in the country’s postwar history to be assassinated by a rightwing extremist.

Such attacks are rare. But they are the product of a changing political culture that has become increasingly brutish in recent years.

The appearance of a wooden gallows marked “reserved for Angela ‘Mummy’ Merkel”, the German chancellor, at a far-right demonstration in Dresden four years ago, drew widespread condemnation at the time. But since then, such menacing displays of hostility towards mainstream politicians have become routine.

Germans were once renowned for sober debate. But the influx of nearly 1m migrants in 2015 and the rise of the nationalist Alternative for Germany (AfD) has led to increased polarisation and a shriller, more aggressive tone that has alarmed the political establishment.

President Frank-Walter Steinmeier recently bemoaned the “provocation, noise and daily outrage” in social media and said Germans needed to “relearn how to argue without foaming at the mouth”.

The authorities’ concern is that verbal attacks have sometimes tipped into something worse.

There were 2,098 acts of violence by extremists on the right and left in 2018, compared with 1,678 in 2012 — an increase of 25 per cent.

The AfD itself is not immune.

“Who has had to endure the most attacks?” asked Andreas Kalbitz, the party’s head in the east German state of Brandenburg. “It’s the offices of AfD politicians that are routinely destroyed.”

Georg Pazderski, the AfD’s leader in Berlin, has had his car smashed and his house and windows pelted with paint. The AfD official Uwe Jung broke his cheekbone in an attack in 2016. Frank

Magnitz of the party’s Bremen branch was hospitalised with concussion in January after being jumped by unknown assailants.

Mr Pazderski has blamed what he calls “the lack of linguistic inhibitions” in modern German politics. “There are no boundaries any more, either on the left or the right,” he said.

Civil servants and other officials have been targeted. “You’re seeing a real increase in verbal and physical violence against public officials, mayors, even administrative staff,” said Andreas Hollstein, mayor of the west German town of Altena.

He experienced the brutality first-hand in 2017, when he was stabbed in the neck by a man who opposed his liberal approach to refugees. Then in late May, he said, an anonymous caller told him that “there would be another attack on me very soon, and this one would be more successful than the first”.

A recent survey found 2 per cent of the 11,000 mayors in Germany had been physically assaulted in the past four years, while more than a quarter of local councillors said they had suffered personal abuse over the government’s refugee policy.

The city of Berlin is a particular hotspot for violence. According to Mobile Counselling against Rightwing Extremism (MBR), a non-governmental organisation, there have been 55 politically motivated attacks in the city in the past three years, mostly against leftwing politicians or pro-refugee activists. That is up from 50 such incidents between 2009 and 2015.

The authorities’ failure to solve Mr Kocak’s case and similar incidents seems to have emboldened rightwingers, said Bianca Klose, head of MBR: “Now it’s not just arson attacks, it’s death threats too — a massive campaign of intimidation.”

The authorities deny they are not taking rightwing attacks seriously enough. “Incidents of arson are very hard to solve because the culprits often leave no trace,” said a person familiar with the investigation into the attack on Mr Kocak’s car.

But he confirmed that searches at the homes of the two original suspects, one of whom had connections to the neo-Nazi scene, had unearthed a “hit list” of 26 politicians and police officers, with their private addresses.

Germany’s interior ministry flagged up the issue of such lists last week, saying dozens had appeared containing data on “tens of thousands of people” — ranging from journalists, public officials and activists to private individuals active in the fight against rightwing extremism. The aim of the lists, said Horst Seehofer, interior minister, was to “sow insecurity and fear”. www.businessday.ng

US president Donald Trump’s relations with Dan Coats, above, were often strained © Reuters

Trump replaces national intelligence director Dan Coats US president says he will nominate John Ratcliffe, a key congressional supporter JAMES POLITI IN WASHINGTON

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onald Trump has moved to replace Dan Coats as US director of national intelligence after more than two years of strained relations, saying he would nominate John Ratcliffe, a Republican ally in Congress, for the post.

Mr Coats, 76, had repeatedly challenged Mr Trump’s claims on some of America’s biggest national security matters — from Russia to North Korea and Iran — since taking the top job in US intelligence in March 2017, triggering angry reactions from the US president on several occasions.

The departure of Mr Coats, a former Indiana senator and US ambassador to Germany, could raise fears of a loss of political independence at the top of the intelligence community. Mr Ratcliffe, a congressman from Texas, has been an ardent defender of Mr Trump, levelling harsh criticism of Robert Mueller, the special counsel who investigated Russian interference in the 2016 election, at a hearing last week.

“You wrote 180 pages about

decisions that weren’t reached, about potential crimes that weren’t charged,” Mr Ratcliffe told Mr Mueller. “I agree . . . Donald Trump is not above the law. He’s not . . . But he damn sure shouldn’t be below the law, which is where your report puts him.”

Mr Trump described Mr Ratcliffe as a “highly respected” former US attorney who “will lead and inspire greatness for the country he loves”. Mr Trump added that Mr Coats would leave his position on August 15. “I would like to thank Dan for his great service to our Country,” Mr Trump wrote in a tweet.

Mr Trump’s disapproval of Mr Coats has boiled over on several occasions, most conspicuously in January this year, after the intelligence chief told Congress that Iran was not “undertaking activities we judge necessary to produce a nuclear device”.

Mr Coats’ assessment was sharply at odds with Mr Trump’s view of Iran as a rapidly rising threat to its Middle Eastern neighbours and the US. Mr Trump said “intelligence people seem to be extremely passive and naive” regarding Tehran, adding: “Be care-

ful of Iran. Perhaps Intelligence should go back to school!”

In the same hearing, Mr Coats also warned that it was “unlikely” that North Korea would abandon its efforts to build an arsenal of nuclear weapons, even as Mr Trump was touting the success of his own diplomatic relationship with Kim Jong Un, the leader of the regime in Pyongyang.

A split between Mr Coats and Mr Trump was also apparent in July 2018, following a controversial summit in Helsinki with Vladimir Putin, the Russian president. After the meeting, Mr Trump appeared to accept Mr Putin’s denials of interference in the 2016 presidential race, which stood in stark contrast with the US intelligence community’s assessment that Moscow had attempted to sway the contest.

Mr Coats’ departure comes amid growing concern that Russia could try to interfere in next year’s presidential contest. Mr Trump’s Republican allies in the Senate this month controversially blocked legislation passed

by Democrats in the House of Representatives that would make it harder for foreign actors to meddle in US elections.

Sterling sinks 1% to under $1.23 on no-deal Brexit rhetoric Boris Johnson’s new government hardens its position on EU departure PHILIP GEORGIADIS, MICHAEL HUNTER AND GEORGE PARKER IN LONDON

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he growing chance that new prime minister Boris Johnson could trigger a chaotic UK exit from the EU sent sterling tumbling to its weakest point in two years on Monday.

Sterling dropped as much as 1.3 per cent to $1.2230, a level not touched since mid-March 2017 in the aftermath of the triggering of Article 50. It fell by the

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same margin against the euro to below €1.10, its lowest level since January, as investors repriced the chances of a disruptive exit from the EU. Downing Street added to the air of pessimism when it said Mr Johnson would not meet EU leaders to discuss a revised deal unless they accepted his preconditions: that the withdrawal treaty be reopened and the controversial Irish backstop scrapped.

Mr Johnson’s spokeswoman @Businessdayng

said he would not sit down to be “told that the EU cannot possibly reopen the withdrawal agreement, and that is the message he has been giving to leaders when he has spoken to them on the telephone so far”.

The prime minister has yet to speak to Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar since he entered Downing Street last Wednesday, nor has he accepted invitations to meet French president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Angela Merkel.

Tuesday 30 July 2019

BUSINESS DAY

47

FINANCIAL TIMES

COMPANIES & MARKETS

@ FINANCIAL TIMES LIMITED

Deutsche Bank probes access of fired workers to lender’s systems

Compliance blunder allowed former equity salesperson to send 450 messages via remote access

STEPHEN MORRIS IN LONDON

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eutsche Bank has launched an investigation into whether confidential client data were compromised after it failed to deactivate the accounts of dozens of fired staff when it closed its global equities business earlier this month.

Around 50 traders in the London and New York offices were still able to access the bank’s systems and their emails for weeks after the first round of lay-offs started on July 8, according to people briefed on the compliance blunder. One equity salesperson sent 450 messages via remote access after she was let go.

The failure comes at a sensitive time for the German lender, which faces a steep task to convince investors it can execute one of the most radical bank restructurings since the financial crisis after multiple failed attempts at an overhaul in recent years. Christian Sewing, chief executive, is cutting 18,000 jobs and hiving off €288bn of assets as the bank abandons its 20-year attempt to break into the top ranks of Wall Street.

Deutsche’s global head of compliance surveillance, Jeremy Kirk, is leading the investigation, which is examining whether price-sensitive data were accessed or if there had been any collusion between current

staff and those made redundant.

“Access to trading systems was turned off immediately for employees being put at risk of redundancy,” the bank said. “A small number of employees continued to have access to their work emails through personal devices for a limited period.

“We have reviewed nearly all emails sent and have so far found no evidence of any price sensitive information being communicated or of any other wrongdoing,” he added.

“Access to work emails has now been fully revoked.”

One of the people with knowledge of the compliance mishap said: “A lot of the decisions seem to have been made on the hoof, things haven’t been thought through properly, which is causing a huge compliance headache.” The person added: “We should have been more aware ahead of time and brought in more tech people to cope.”

The equities traders are part of the 900 staff already let go of a planned total of 18,000 — around a fifth of the workforce. The company has also created bad bank to dispose of toxic or unwanted assets.

As part of the overhaul, Deutsche has committed to spending €4bn to improve its controls over the next three years and will combine its risk, compliance and anti-financial crime functions in an attempt to reduce errors.

Shrinking Chinese car market sparks fears over foreign groups’ future Ford and PSA plants running at fraction of potential output due to falling sales TOM HANCOCK AND WANG XUEQIAO IN SHANGHAI AND QIAN’ER LIU IN SHENZHEN

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hina’s shrinking car market is hitting foreign manufacturing groups hard, with some companies operating at a fraction of their potential output, sparking fears a number will be forced to quit the world’s biggest market.

Ford and Peugeot owner PSA have suffered the most, with their factories running well below full capacity at historic lows because of plunging sales after last year’s reversal in the Chinese auto market — the first in almost three decades.

Ford’s plants in China operated at 11 per cent of their potential output in the first half of the year, according to a Financial Times analysis of production data from its joint venture partner Chang’an Auto. Ford’s China sales fell 27 per cent year on year in the first half.

PSA’s plant with Chang’an produced just 102 cars in the first half of the year, according to China’s official auto industry

association, meaning capacity use fell below 1 per cent. Its other joint venture with Dongfeng Auto ran at 22 per cent capacity.

The group said China sales were down 62 per cent in the first half.

Factories generally need to operate at above 80 per cent capacity to break even, highlighting the extent of the problems facing Ford and PSA, analysts say.

“Some OEMs [car groups] will need to consider their position in this market in the not-too-distant future,” said Robin Zhu, an analyst at Bernstein, predicting “very weak” earnings for major foreign groups in China due to overcapacity.

For some automakers, especially those selling vehicles priced below Rmb150,000 ($22,000), China is “a lost cause”, said Jochen Siebert of consultancy JSC Automotive.

However, Patrick Yuan, an analyst at Jefferies, said overseas groups would try and tough it out.

“China’s car market is the largest single market, which is too big to give up,” he said. www.businessday.ng

Deutsche Bank’s compliance blunder comes as Christian Sewing, chief executive, is attempting an ambitious bank overhaul © AFP

Five banks face civil lawsuit in London over forex dealing Case follows €1bn European fine for manipulating currency rates EVA SZALAY AND JANE CROFT IN LONDON

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he European version of a class-action lawsuit that resulted in $2.3bn of settlements in the US is being filed in London on Monday, as lawyers move to bring a civil case against five banks claiming that dealers manipulated foreign exchange markets and caused investors significant losses on currency trades.

The civil case comes after European competition authorities fined Barclays, Citigroup, Royal Bank of Scotland, JPMorgan and Japan’s MUFG a combined total of more than €1bn in May for manipulating currency rates, after a five-year probe. Allegations about various banks colluding to fix currency benchmarks and exchange rates first surfaced in 2013 and have since resulted in more than $12bn of fines from global regulators.

The lawsuit, which is likely to seek billions from the banks and is being brought by the same legal firm that led the US class-action case, Scott + Scott, is one of the few large court cases to have been brought under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 that

allows US-style, class-action lawsuits to be pursued if there have been breaches of competition law.

The claim alleges that Barclays, Citibank, Royal Bank of Scotland, JPMorgan and UBS unlawfully manipulated the foreign exchange market prices between 2007 and 2013. While UBS avoided a fine from the European regulator in exchange for whistleblowing, the bank is not exempt from facing civil claims, said David Scott, managing partner of Scott + Scott.

As part of the settlement with European authorities, the banks acknowledged their participation in a cartel and their liability for it.

Barclays, Citi, JPMorgan and RBS declined to comment, while UBS has yet to respond to the case.

The lawsuit, which is being spearheaded by Michael O’Higgins, former chairman of The Pensions Regulator, allows UK resident investors and non-UK investors to join if they participated in institutional foreign exchange trading. Mr Scott said he could not put a figure on the compensation being sought from the five banks, but estimated that it

would be in the billions given that the UK accounts for 37 per cent of the $5.1tn-a-day currencies market.

“The conduct has been pretty egregious,” he told the FT, adding that the lawsuit had been filed at the earliest opportunity after the European Commission findings. The litigation is being kept “very focused and very narrow”, he said. “We are fully prepared to go to trial and we have spent two to three years on this,” he added.

Unlike the US, the UK does not have class-action lawsuits but the Consumer Rights Act legislation was introduced in 2015 to make it easier for companies to pursue financial compensation if antitrust law has been broken.

The regime permits collective actions on behalf of large groups where a representative can bring a lawsuit on behalf of a whole class of claimants — except those who actively choose to opt out of participating in the legal action. The claim is being funded by Therium, one of a new breed of litigation funders that provide financing for legal action in return for a slice of the eventual compensation.

Beijing backs Hong Kong chief Carrie Lam as protests rage Territory reels after three consecutive days of clashes between police and activists CHRISTIAN SHEPHERD IN BEIJING, SIDDARTH SHRIKANTH AND NICOLLE LIU IN HONG KONG

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eijing said it stood by embattled Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam on Monday, even as it warned that the territory’s protest movement had gone “entirely beyond the scope of peaceful demonstrations” following a weekend of violent clashes between activists and police.

In the first press conference by the Beijing office charged with overseeing Hong Kong since Britain handed the territory back

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to China in 1997, officials condemned what they called “evil and criminal acts committed by radical elements” in the protests.

The spokesman for the Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office in Beijing, Yang Guang, said China maintained its “firm support” for Ms Lam and praised the territory’s police force. He called on “people from all walks of life to oppose and resist violence”.

His colleague, spokeswoman Xu Luying, said the Hong Kong government had “conscientiously reflected” on “inadequacies” in the extradition bill drafting process.

The comments came amid @Businessdayng

rising signs the political crisis is hitting the territory’s economy, with international business groups calling for the Hong Kong government to offer further concessions to protesters to defuse the tension.

Hong Kong’s mass demonstrations began over an extradition bill that would allow criminal suspects to be sent to mainland China for trial.

The scope of the protests then widened to cover alleged police brutality, violence by suspected triad gang members, and what is seen as the Hong Kong government’s mishandling of the issue.

48

Tuesday 30 June 2019

BUSINESS DAY

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@Businessdayng

Tuesday 30 July 2019

BUSINESS DAY

49

Live @ The STOCK Exchanges Prices for Securities Traded as of Monday 29 July 2019

Company

Market cap(nm)

Price (N)

Change

Trades

Volume

Company

Market cap(nm)

Price (N)

Change

Trades

Volume

PRICES FOR MAIN BOARD SECURITIES (Equities) BANKING ACCESS BANK PLC. 227,489.44 6.40 -2.29 150 6,330,530 UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC 201,776.59 5.90 3.51 164 3,482,312 ZENITH BANK PLC 579,265.31 18.45 -0.27 321 11,259,403 635 21,072,245 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS FBN HOLDINGS PLC 202,808.40 5.65 0.89 181 3,089,807 181 3,089,807 816 24,162,052 TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES MTN NIGERIA COMMUNICATIONS PLC 2,585,023.16 127.00 - 116 355,616 116 355,616 116 355,616 BUILDING MATERIALS DANGOTE CEMENT PLC 2,896,886.26 170.00 - 40 581,773 LAFARGE AFRICA PLC. 231,952.26 14.40 - 65 333,734 105 915,507 105 915,507 EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PLC 288,337.83 490.00 - 21 12,631 21 12,631 21 12,631 1,058 25,445,806 REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUSTS (REITS) SKYE SHELTER FUND PLC 1,710.00 85.50 - 0 0 UNION HOMES REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST (REIT) 10,175.81 40.70 - 0 0 UPDC REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST 14,408.66 5.40 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS NIGERIA ENERYGY SECTOR FUND 411.91 552.20 - 0 0 VALUEALLIANCE VALUE FUND 3,312.39 103.20 - 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 CROP PRODUCTION FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC 440.00 0.20 - 0 0 OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. 49,603.32 52.00 - 15 249,436 PRESCO PLC 44,800.00 44.80 - 8 53,563 23 302,999 FISHING/HUNTING/TRAPPING ELLAH LAKES PLC. 8,520.00 4.26 - 0 0 0 0 LIVESTOCK/ANIMAL SPECIALTIES LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. 1,350.00 0.45 2.27 3 217,000 3 217,000 26 519,999 DIVERSIFIED INDUSTRIES A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. 847.13 0.32 - 3 1,510 JOHN HOLT PLC. 179.01 0.46 - 2 14,542 S C O A NIG. PLC. 1,903.99 2.93 - 0 0 TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC 40,241.51 0.99 -1.98 80 9,990,497 U A C N PLC. 16,711.52 5.80 -0.85 58 882,566 143 10,889,115 143 10,889,115 BUILDING CONSTRUCTION ARBICO PLC. 711.32 4.79 - 0 0 0 0 INFRASTRUCTURE/HEAVY CONSTRUCTION JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. 23,892.00 18.10 - 20 60,014 ROADS NIG PLC. 165.00 6.60 - 0 0 20 60,014 REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT COMPANY PLC 2,936.19 1.13 -5.04 35 1,406,059 35 1,406,059 55 1,466,073 AUTOMOBILES/AUTO PARTS DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC 954.53 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 BEVERAGES--BREWERS/DISTILLERS CHAMPION BREW. PLC. 13,231.85 1.69 - 2 6,088 GOLDEN GUINEA BREW. PLC. 242.22 0.89 - 0 0 GUINNESS NIG PLC 100,757.61 46.00 - 51 186,232 INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. 107,448.27 12.50 - 5 27,848 NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. 479,814.12 60.00 - 60 201,085 118 421,253 FOOD PRODUCTS DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC 98,000.00 19.60 9.19 193 2,361,522 DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC 127,200.00 10.60 - 49 261,094 FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. 60,890.64 14.85 2.02 77 1,214,622 HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC 7,850.90 0.99 2.06 18 438,040 MULTI-TREX INTEGRATED FOODS PLC 1,340.10 0.36 - 0 0 N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. 766.26 4.30 - 2 3,290 NASCON ALLIED INDUSTRIES PLC 35,899.89 13.55 - 17 77,496 UNION DICON SALT PLC. 3,321.07 12.15 - 0 0 356 4,356,064 FOOD PRODUCTS--DIVERSIFIED CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. 21,411.50 11.40 - 10 12,029 NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. 1,038,379.69 1,310.00 0.77 66 176,088 76 188,117 HOUSEHOLD DURABLES NIGERIAN ENAMELWARE PLC. 1,680.31 22.10 - 2 1,995 VITAFOAM NIG PLC. 5,115.95 4.09 9.95 20 694,600 22 696,595 PERSONAL/HOUSEHOLD PRODUCTS P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. 23,822.86 6.00 - 33 309,660 UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. 183,840.17 32.00 - 26 117,805 59 427,465 631 6,089,494 BANKING ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED 146,796.41 8.00 -5.33 46 588,460 FIDELITY BANK PLC 46,939.17 1.62 1.25 57 4,994,810 GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. 844,674.84 28.70 0.88 118 6,893,408 JAIZ BANK PLC 12,374.98 0.42 -4.76 12 1,063,500 SKYE BANK PLC 10,687.83 0.77 - 0 0 STERLING BANK PLC. 66,217.96 2.30 - 40 1,627,922 UNION BANK NIG.PLC. 199,477.16 6.85 - 35 480,593 UNITY BANK PLC 6,779.82 0.58 - 5 70,499 WEMA BANK PLC. 23,916.17 0.62 -1.61 30 2,938,200 343 18,657,392 INSURANCE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES AFRICAN ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC 4,117.00 0.20 - 0 0 AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 4,366.03 0.63 5.00 18 854,885 AXAMANSARD INSURANCE PLC 17,325.00 1.65 - 0 0 CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE PLC 2,682.90 0.33 - 1 40,000 CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC 19,811.94 1.91 - 1 100 2,945.90 0.20 - 8 29,950 CORNERSTONE INSURANCE PLC GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC 909.99 0.20 - 0 0 GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. 1,228.00 0.20 - 0 0 INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INSURANCE PLC 487.95 0.38 - 0 0 LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. 2,709.67 0.37 5.71 12 7,967,790 LAW UNION AND ROCK INS. PLC. 2,019.28 0.47 - 3 27,000 LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC 4,080.00 0.51 - 0 0 MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. 2,234.55 0.20 -4.76 7 882,300 NEM INSURANCE PLC 11,353.08 2.15 - 4 31,000 NIGER INSURANCE PLC 1,547.90 0.20 - 0 0 PRESTIGE ASSURANCE PLC 2,422.15 0.45 - 4 5,050 REGENCY ASSURANCE PLC 1,333.75 0.20 - 1 10 SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC 1,668.16 0.20 - 15 197,559 STACO INSURANCE PLC 4,483.72 0.48 - 0 0 STANDARD ALLIANCE INSURANCE PLC. 2,582.21 0.20 - 0 0 SUNU ASSURANCES NIGERIA PLC. 2,800.00 0.20 - 3 4,500 UNIC DIVERSIFIED HOLDINGS PLC. 516.46 0.20 - 0 0 UNIVERSAL INSURANCE PLC 3,200.00 0.20 - 0 0 VERITAS KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC 2,773.33 0.20 - 4 979,798 WAPIC INSURANCE PLC 5,353.10 0.40 5.26 21 6,037,283 102 17,057,225

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MICRO-FINANCE BANKS FORTIS MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 11,799.67 2.58 - 0 0 2,949.76 1.29 - 5 3,050 NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 5 3,050 MORTGAGE CARRIERS, BROKERS AND SERVICES ABBEY MORTGAGE BANK PLC 4,158.00 0.99 - 0 0 ASO SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC 7,370.87 0.50 - 0 0 5,796.93 1.39 - 0 0 INFINITY TRUST MORTGAGE BANK PLC RESORT SAVINGS & LOANS PLC 2,265.95 0.20 - 0 0 2,949.22 3.02 - 0 0 UNION HOMES SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC. 0 0 OTHER FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AFRICA PRUDENTIAL PLC 7,400.00 3.70 - 28 115,967 CUSTODIAN INVESTMENT PLC 35,879.37 6.10 - 6 20,000 660.00 0.44 - 0 0 DEAP CAPITAL MANAGEMENT & TRUST PLC FCMB GROUP PLC. 32,476.45 1.64 -0.61 43 1,479,561 ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. 1,131.98 0.22 - 0 0 390,677.09 38.15 0.13 17 141,141 STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC UNITED CAPITAL PLC 12,900.00 2.15 0.47 59 1,323,193 153 3,079,862 603 38,797,529 HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS EKOCORP PLC. 1,680.29 3.37 - 0 0 UNION DIAGNOSTIC & CLINICAL SERVICES PLC 781.69 0.22 - 0 0 0 0 MEDICAL SUPPLIES MORISON INDUSTRIES PLC. 494.58 0.50 - 0 0 0 0 PHARMACEUTICALS EVANS MEDICAL PLC. 366.17 0.50 - 0 0 FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC 8,554.08 4.10 - 1 5,000 GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. 9,567.01 8.00 - 8 8,800 3,968.04 2.30 -4.17 3 117,513 MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC 1,044.54 0.55 - 5 14,737 NIGERIA-GERMAN CHEMICALS PLC. 556.71 3.62 - 0 0 PHARMA-DEKO PLC. 325.23 1.50 - 1 250 18 146,300 18 146,300 COMPUTER BASED SYSTEMS COURTEVILLE BUSINESS SOLUTIONS PLC 710.40 0.20 - 2 14,000 2 14,000 COMPUTERS AND PERIPHERALS OMATEK VENTURES PLC 1,470.89 0.50 - 0 0 0 0 IT SERVICES CWG PLC 6,413.06 2.54 - 1 20 NCR (NIGERIA) PLC. 626.40 5.80 -3.33 27 417,055 346.47 0.70 - 0 0 TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. 28 417,075 PROCESSING SYSTEMS CHAMS PLC 1,220.98 0.26 -7.14 11 1,019,100 E-TRANZACT INTERNATIONAL PLC 9,996.00 2.38 - 3 170 14 1,019,270 TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES AIRTEL AFRICA PLC 1,215,762.01 323.50 - 11 16,228 11 16,228 55 1,466,573 BUILDING MATERIALS BERGER PAINTS PLC 1,825.89 6.30 - 7 9,115 CAP PLC 17,325.00 24.75 - 24 33,003 CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC 154,436.14 11.75 1.29 69 1,465,156 FIRST ALUMINIUM NIGERIA PLC 844.14 0.40 - 0 0 313.43 0.59 - 1 188 MEYER PLC. PORTLAND PAINTS & PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC 1,959.74 2.47 - 1 20 PREMIER PAINTS PLC. 1,156.20 9.40 - 0 0 102 1,507,482 ELECTRONIC AND ELECTRICAL PRODUCTS AUSTIN LAZ & COMPANY PLC 2,256.91 2.09 - 0 0 CUTIX PLC. 2,747.66 1.56 4.00 12 458,874 12 458,874 PACKAGING/CONTAINERS BETA GLASS PLC. 33,173.14 66.35 - 1 100 GREIF NIGERIA PLC 388.02 9.10 - 0 0 1 100 AGRO-ALLIED & CHEMICALS NOTORE CHEMICAL IND PLC 100,754.14 62.50 - 0 0 0 0 115 1,966,456 CHEMICALS B.O.C. GASES PLC. 2,110.36 5.07 - 4 5,200 4 5,200 METALS ALUMINIUM EXTRUSION IND. PLC. 1,781.64 8.10 - 1 30 1 30 MINING SERVICES MULTIVERSE MINING AND EXPLORATION PLC 852.39 0.20 - 1 10,000 1 10,000 PAPER/FOREST PRODUCTS THOMAS WYATT NIG. PLC. 92.40 0.42 - 2 4,125 2 4,125 8 19,355 ENERGY EQUIPMENT AND SERVICES JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC 1,440.42 0.23 9.52 13 545,540 13 545,540 INTEGRATED OIL AND GAS SERVICES OANDO PLC 48,482.51 3.90 -1.27 49 501,967 49 501,967 PETROLEUM AND PETROLEUM PRODUCTS DISTRIBUTORS 11 PLC 56,974.05 158.00 - 13 22,401 CONOIL PLC 14,052.53 20.25 - 30 46,256 ETERNA PLC. 4,368.88 3.35 - 12 163,340 FORTE OIL PLC. 23,444.66 18.00 - 21 70,602 MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. 6,354.80 20.85 - 5 1,142 TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. 38,977.11 114.80 -9.96 105 187,824 186 491,565 248 1,539,072 ADVERTISING AFROMEDIA PLC 1,820.01 0.41 - 0 0 0 0 AIRLINES MEDVIEW AIRLINE PLC 17,551.17 1.80 - 0 0 0 0 AUTOMOBILE/AUTO PART RETAILERS R T BRISCOE PLC. 341.14 0.29 - 0 0 0 0 COURIER/FREIGHT/DELIVERY RED STAR EXPRESS PLC 3,112.54 5.28 - 9 51,985 TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. 328.19 0.70 - 1 23,168 10 75,153 HOSPITALITY TANTALIZERS PLC 642.33 0.20 - 0 0 0 0 HOTELS/LODGING CAPITAL HOTEL PLC 4,723.78 3.05 - 0 0 IKEJA HOTEL PLC 2,785.59 1.34 - 5 21,000 TOURIST COMPANY OF NIGERIA PLC. 7,862.53 3.50 - 0 0 TRANSCORP HOTELS PLC 41,042.18 5.40 - 0 0 5 21,000 MEDIA/ENTERTAINMENT DAAR COMMUNICATIONS PLC 4,800.00 0.40 - 0 0 0 0 PRINTING/PUBLISHING ACADEMY PRESS PLC. 241.92 0.40 - 2 12,380 LEARN AFRICA PLC 1,080.03 1.40 - 3 7,714 STUDIO PRESS (NIG) PLC. 1,183.82 1.99 - 0 0 UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC. 776.54 1.80 - 7 88,893

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leaderSHIP

BUSINESS DAY Tuesday 30 July 2019 www.businessday.ng

CEO in focus

John Obaro: The man driving the success of TSA Endurance Okafor

L

ess known in the public domain, but John Obaro is the face behind Remita, the financial management power house, which powers the most successful financial management policy in Nigeria, the Treasury Single Account (TSA), making it a source of national pride.

Twenty-seven years ago, John Obaro established the indigenous fintech trailblazer; SystemSpecs. The Kogi State born tech aficionado bet on himself at a time when the business landscape was not particularly receptive of technology, but he was unwavering in his beliefs and eventually emerged on the winning side.

Obaro studied Mathematics and Computer Science at the Ahmadu Bello University because the name was “fancy’’ and he felt it would be more prestigious to graduate with double honours. He subsequently graduated with a SecondClass Upper degree before embarking on his Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree at the University of Lagos.

At the completion of his MBA, Obaro secured a job as a computer salesman at Leventis Group. Subsequently, he commenced his sojourn in the banking industry with the United Bank for Africa and later the International Merchant Bank of Nigeria. The innate yearning to champion the adoption of technology in Africa precipitated his resignation from IMB, thereby leaving a life of relative comfort to establishing the 5-man SystemSpecs.

At incorporation, SystemSpecs entered a partnership with Systems Union, now Infor, as a value-added reseller of SunSystems- an accounting package.

Notwithstanding the deal, the company needed a sum of N1million to actualise the plan developed by its founder. Knowing that banks would not be favourably disposed to loan out such an amount to a start-up, the innate creativity of Obaro once again came to fore.

Having been a participant of a training programme at Cranford University in the United Kingdom, Obaro swiftly wooed the organisers into partnering his firm to bring the training to Nigeria. The first edition drew 19 participants at a fee of N5,000 which summarily provided the operational cost of running the business.

Things got even better for SystemSpecs as the participants of the programme requested a follow-up engagement, which bolstered the firm’s coffers.

Gradually, the growth of the firm gathered momentum with the development of unique solutions such as SpecMan and SpecPen that later resulted in the development of its human resource payroll technology called HumanManager. The software received positive reviews not only in Nigeria but across the African continent, with firms in Ghana swiftly adopting it.

Similarly, following the enactment of the Pension Reform Act of 2004, the firm identified a void in the market pertaining to payroll processing and schedule preparation for different Pension Fund Administrators, and this precipitated the

development of Remita. The first version of the application not only seamlessly transferred salaries from companies’ accounts to employees’ but also delivered pension schedules to Pension Fund Custodians and Pension Fund Administrators while handling taxes for all parties.

Thereafter, the scope of the application expanded following a pitch at a multinational where a director expressed uneasiness with the salary payments being automatic whilst payment to vendors and partners remained manual. According to Obaro, the contract was lost but the company acquired something infinitely greater than the financial loss; an insight

(MDAs).

President Buhari, in 2015, appraised the success of the pilot TSA scheme conducted with just over 100 MDAs under the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan and deemed it worthy of continuity thereby instructing all MDAs to fully comply with it.

Trouble lay in wait for the company when a member of the Senate was alleged to have wrongly accused the company of being a vessel of corruption and making billions of naira for private pockets on a daily basis. The accusation resulted in a succession of unsavoury events leading to the company fielding multiple ques-

John Obaro, managing director, SystemSpecs Limited

for an even bigger platform. Obaro and his team then incorporated vendor payments into Remita and till date, it is continually equipped with innovative features.

Since development, Remita has been a trailblazer, setting trends that other fintech apps have but followed. Remita was hugely popular amongst corporates but to a lesser degree of popularity in the public domain prior to 2015. Still, it is imperative to touch on the process that led to the emergence of the application as the preferred platform for the Treasury Single Account policy.

In 2010, CBN visited SystemSpecs during a customary inspection of electronic payment companies and discovered the prowess of Remita to facilitate the policy.

The apex bank consequently invited the company to make a presentation at its Abuja office. The presentation went according to plan and SystemSpecs was adjudged the preferred technology provider, subsequently conducting the pilot scheme of the policy with just over 100 Ministries, Departments and Agencies

tions from the members of the senate at the House of Assembly and also affirming its innocence in a letter to the President.

Whilst the controversy raged, Obaro and his team were instructed to return the funds it had made via commission for running the policy, which they obliged without fuss despite not being legally compelled to do so.

The act of reimbursing the national treasury with its revenue for using its technology to drive a policy represents one of the most nationalistic and iconic acts in the history of the nation. The truth came to bear, and the company was cleared of the allegations but not without a downward review of its commission, which was discernibly lower than the industry standard at the time and global benchmark. According to Obaro, the commission mattered not so much as the significance of the project to the economic advancement of the nation.

Despite the success recorded in its dealings with the government, SystemSpecs remains unrelenting in its ser-

vice to the corporate sector. The firm’s data referencing solution remains the software of choice for banks willing to grant loans to its customers with steady sources of income.

Also, the brand’s payroll and human resource management software, HumanManager, enjoys high patronage by corporates and multinationals alike.

Predictably, the company teamed up with Access Bank, Ghana, in 2018, to introduce Remita Payroll in the country.

The payroll system is designed to make it extremely easy for businesses, NonGovernmental Organisations, and the Small and Medium Enterprises to effortlessly manage monthly salary processing.

Also, in a bid to further assist the growth of small and medium-sized organisations grappling with the harsh realities of running a business, Obaro’s SystemSpecs in 2018, announced the launch of Remita SME Suite.

Remita SME Suite helps enterprises to reach immediate and larger markets, get paid easily for goods and services through multiple channels, including bank branches nationwide, electronic banking, debit/credit cards and mobile wallets; boost profit margins; seamlessly manage employee affairs; keep organisational and transactional records; and ultimately access SME loans.

Similarly, the firm’s payment infrastructure & gateway has received high uptake by the developer community and online merchants to ensure optimum user experience whilst surfing their sites.

Just like other inspiring individuals making waves around the globe, John Obaro has received-and is still receivinghis fair share of awards and accolades.

In 2018, Obaro joined the ranks of Aliko Dangote, Ibukun Awosika among others when he received the Annual FATE Model Entrepreneur Award organised by the renowned FATE Foundation.

On the technology scene, Obaro was inducted into the Beacon of ICT (BoICT) Awards in April. He is no stranger to getting recognised by BoICT as he emerged Software Personality of the Year in 2016 and ICT Man of the Year in 2018. Additionally, in 2016, he was inaugurated as a Fellow of the Centre for African Research & Development Scotland.

He was also adjudged winner of Engineer Simeon Agu Prize for Best Software Entrepreneur at the National Information Technology Merit Award (NITMA) in 2015.

The business terrain is uniquely characterised by dynamism and paradigm shifts mandating companies to constantly adapt their modes of operation or run the risk of getting antiquated.

John Obaro has led SystemSpecs for close to three decades in the rapidly evolving and challenging technology sector, cementing the brand’s status as industry thought leaders while pioneering innovation in the field.

His organisation has little to no ethical disputes on account of his moral standards that permeate his business. Obaro’s rise to prominence via sheer persistence and invention nullifies the pervasive belief that success in the Nigerian business environment only comes by way of inducements and graft.

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