THE GUARDIAN, 31 OCTOBER, 2011

Conscience, Nurtured by Truth

www.ngrguardiannews.com

Monday, October 31.2011

Vol. 29, No. 11,996

N150

G'Wealth summit I1nds, to boost food ,;ecurity. others r rom Madu OnLlOl"ah , Perlh, IWSlrab 'THE Co mmonwea lth Heads l or Government Meeting cCHCX;M)endM In l'enh,AuslTiIlia, yesterday, agreeing tool ,U'W se! of reforms and new" oommlunems on food securl.y. child vaccinations and c1i·

mate change.

BUi lhe welk>rganised and at·

tended ceremonywas marred

cowards lhe end by the killing of th rte Ausrralian soldiers serving with the imematiollil SecuriLy Au islance Force and the grou nding of the entire liter of Ihe Austr.!.Iian nation-

al carrier. Qa nlU, leavl ng hun·

dreds of world leaders and delegale5 ilnendln, lhe

OiOCMconferencewll houl iI hom~

way

The grounding of the emire

neet has been -enumelyem..

b.m'lSSlnJ( for lhe govern-

mem of Prime Minister lulia

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CiliardAsatSaturdaynlghl,l7 Commonwe.ahh leaders who booked Qamas flights we re srnnded in Penh, though lhe Ausrrallan govemment says il Is worki ng wi th lhe delegates to get lhem home.

Brirish Prime ~linisrer David CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

KoIa..l.iunoOJ oIlAAN

Harsh clime orees firm into sharp practices

By Rosa1ina Okue

'l'1iIS is nOI me ben of times ~ for rhe real sector in Nig~ ria as manufacnJring ilnd construction finns, weighed down by hu~ecostof production, a re domg the unethical 10 survlve_ Unknown to unsuspecting Nigerians, especially those who relish some bevef"ilges.

Underwriters explore retail market strategy to grow life assurance Inaurane8 /24

Label goods produced abro d 'madein Nigeria' Shut production lines, sack Nigeritms cosmedcs, household Ilems andcenaindrugs,theyarebeIngg1ven leiS than the \\fhol~ some pictuR of lhe goods they consume.

In their allq;ed bid 10 remain In business under Nigeria's

L.atos 8j1\l8al8 l.6Idd Iandad prClplllty HOillas & Prnpfll1y lal

'How 10 make Nigeria a choice Investors'

destination' 8'IntillVi8w/5lHiT

countries or parent companies In Asian and some European blocs..

Ordi naril~Lhissurviva l srra t­ ~ often adopted by compa-

mes world\VJde would nOi have anracted any curiosity

labelled such {'Opular brands as ·Packaged In Nigeria, rr~ part'd In Nigeria- or-Made in Ghana for Ni~rian market.Except in a lew cases, [he goods are of poor quality Ir was also le.rnt lhat th~ goods are brought imo Nigeria from Europe and Asia through irs porous borders and some national gare\vays

CONTINUED or~ PAGE 2

Govt agencies cI~sagree on deregulation From Tert.mhaOab.Abuja ~OUGH

/OdlD!Wl! as tI1S6S rook

ha rsh operatlng environmenl,aslzeable numberoflocal flnru ilnd conglomerales ha ve RSO ned looutsourctng Ihe production oflheir goods £0 theu subsidiaries In some neighbouring West African

but for the way and manner Ihe affected comp.lnles go It. Across the country, The Gwrd/an learnt that most Industrial concerns, which outsourced the production of their goods to foreign firms, bring t.hem imo the country as ~Made in Nigeria..- Olhers, which are morC' sophiSlIc:ated In this ignoble rude, simply about

the Federal Inla nd ~ Rfvenue Service (ARS) and Ihe Nigerian National Perroleurn Corporat:Jon (NNPC) agree on die need (O jJenerate revenues for the nanon, they have ap~ rent.ly differed on lhe plan ned deregulatio n or the downstream secrof ofthe oil and gas ind usD)L While the ARS rears that lhe removal of subsidy on petrOleum products may aggr<lvale the nation's economic woes, the NNPC Is hopeful tha t the policy will incrt'.u e

AM: Policy may worsen economic woes NNPG: It will create investments, jobs investmentl and jobopponunilles across all SKlOrs of the econom)l.

This is coming on the heelsof a disclosure by theComptrolIe.r-Genef"illofCustoms,A1hajl Abdullahi DUtko Inde, thaI the counny loSt N5 0J 04 billion be[Wetn January and September this year due to conceuions and exemptions.

Also at the weekend, !.he Of· Ike o( the "'udltor~nera l for the Feder-uion said that it

did not at anytime.llege that the NNPC did not submit audifed accounts 10 Its office. II said tharthe reponsubmitted (0 lhe rubllc Accounts Commillet of Ihe House of Representatives on OCtober 14, 2011 concerning the Sta tUS of the a udited accoun ts, showed that the NNI'C submined its audited accounts up to 2010.

The Exectltlve Ch.ilrman of ARS, Mrs. lfueko OmoiguiOlcauru, who spoke at an in-

teractlve session with lhe House of Representatives CommltteeonAppropriarion at the \vetkt-nd said the security situation In the counny Which had remaiflt!d volatile may likely affect foreign direct inveSDnt.nl, industrial capacity expansion and generaleconomkandsodal wellbeing.

Presenting the FIRS revenue generation projection for 201l, 10 the John Enoh-Ied House Committet., theexecutive chairman stilred: "The planned remova.l of oil subsidy by the Federal Govern-

mentis IIketylOaffea dom~ ric coSI or production o( goods and services with nega· tive Impact on employment and incomes.

'On Ule other hand, the gO\'ernmem's dedared intention 10 invest the money-to be real· ized from removal of oil subsidy In inhasrrucru re. health ana education Is expected to dri\'e business in those art~S with POSifi ve efft'fts on w revenue: She said thar the Petroleum Ind ustry Bill when paiStd would stabilise me N1gerlan

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

11-ff: GUARDIAN, Monday, October 31. 201l

C' Wealth summit ends, 10 boost food security CQlffitlUEO FROM PAGE I Cilmernn left ~slerd ay mOn!Ing on his own gcwemmem 'eL President Good Juck o na t han a lso left }'l'sterday afternoon on his oOidaj aircraft, NAF 001 of the Pr~<;identlal A.lr Fleet rrime fo,lin ' , ter Gillard left Ptrth ~sterd .. y a fternoon on her own gO\'frnment Jet. ahead o f parUamlOntsitting In unbern tod.1Y. Though th: reforms failed to m~t lfie expect;'ltio nsof those who wantro th.. establishmentof a Commonwealtll human rights wa[chdog. Office of th e Commissioner for Democr.lC)', tI. e nu le of Law and Human Rlj!h'.s - the leaders ,'greed to "'reronn of lhe Co mmonwealth to ensure tllat It is a more etJecd~ InstJ. tutlon, re~Mi~ to members' needs. and apable o f adding the signifia nt g lOb.ll challenges of tfte 2ISlCe ntUf}t~ Thecreatlon of lhe office was a keyrecommend-1tion of a 10m ember Commonwealth-appoim~ Eminelll Persons Group.

Other Iss ues endnrsed by the leaders o f lhe 5'1 member-nations Include: • To actively prnm:ne. uphold, pr~I'\'t.' and deffOd the fu ndamenta l \';llues. pr1ndpltl and aspiraHons d tile Commoll\\'t.'alth; • revitillisit.& thr Commonlvealth's developnem prioriti es to ensure il effectively .l!tlculates a nd m~ts lhe d~ velopmcn t needs 'If memberStiltes today and I" tile future: • to this end, headsofgovcmment lviOI global r~nnerswl1l work togetJ,er to secure tl,e glob"l ~onomic ~ovcry and ensure a strongel. more sustainable and OO1a!lced global ~onom lc syste lT that will benefit all Commonwealth countnes; • providing'!greilt ! rvolce ilnd more effective role foryouth In tile COmm ollweal' h. who rel~ resellt over 50 pel cent of the Commonweilllh oop ulatlon; • malntallllnJZ t hf ir co mmit· mellttoastabl eandsecure nainternational tional and environment, as a foundatIon

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for sustainable gl"O\\th and resillence for Co mmon· we.1lth countries and the brO;'lder InternatIonal com· munl ly.

• co n11>.1tlng people smuggHug and human lrafficldns by clamrlng down on lllicit crimina organisations and b ringing the perpetrators of these crimes to justice. while protecting and supponlng the viaims of mffickfng; and • lopromole the futureofdu,' COmmon ....oealth through the strong and Imporunt voice or Its people. lhe leaders also re-affinned ~prevlous OIOGt-." Communlq ues on Cyprus a nd exp ress fu II sur,portTor the SO\'t.'H·'gl1ly. 1m ep:ndence. territoflal integrity and unity of the Republic o f Cyprus and the d· lorts o f the leaders of t he two communities. under the ilUSees of the United Nations UN) SecretalJG.eneral's Offices Mission. to bril.gaboutilcomprehensive Cypru s settlement. b.lsed on tf.e UN Otarter and the rele-

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va nt UNSCRs for a State of

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persollillity and a single dtitenship, in a bl<ommunai. bi7.on.ll federaLion with polltleal equality as descrl~ inw lhe relevotnt UNSCRs.

Itillso\\'ekollledthe hll~1 6t

shown by the Government of SoUlh Sudan In joining the Commomvealth. requesting lhe Commonwealth Seae(ariu to pursue the esta!>'ished procedures in this regard.

The I ~aders sa.ld they looked fon.vard totheconditions being cn:,u~ for the return of Zim babwe to the Commonwea lth. encouraging the parties ro Implement the Global PolitiCClIAgreement faithfully and effectivt!l)t Ahead of the Diamond Jubileeof theHeadoftheCommonwe.llth, Queen Elizabeth lIin2012.theCommonweahh leaders co ngratulaled her while welcoming thl' wproposed Co mmomvt!alth IllItia(h'es to mark this historic occaslol1,ln particular the es-

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F'Irrns Iab i d s pro duce d abroa d r " e goo rnade'In N'Igena CONTIN UED FROM PAGE 2 He added: "In the other flvt! warehollses. they have 1m. ported products from other African coun rries.. Eleven 40feetcont.1lnerswereomoaded u .1 1 the time I visited the warehouse.s. I headminlstra. tive block was not in opera· tlon. e:u:epl one office that Is wed as customers' waiting room. Nlt heworkers In the company ne Chln~: nle officiill illieged that SON and NCS did not Intervene in the siruation when it was reported 10 them b«ause "th e FTZ where the company operales Is outside thecir jurisdictlon: When conlilcted, the Dlreclor-Ge:neral o f SON. Joseph odumoclu. confirmed this. when he said: -rllere are la\vs guiding the activities of the operators In Free Trade Zones, wl,ic h do not pennit us to monitor their activities wl thIn the lones: lie ildded that the ilgency

would not hesitale to emba rk on n~essary measures Ihat would ensure that any product brouxht into the country, which falled to meet the required standard. was .seized and the perpet.r.ltors proseruted.

Also, the Director.(;eneral of MAN. jlde Mike, said that the assodatlon was)lt.'t 10 get any report of such aruvities bY some manufacturers.

Its J>r6ldent. Kolil jamodu. saldlt h3dnot~nbroughtto his knowledge that wme manufacturers we re engilft.ed In such ilct.s. ilddlng that the assodiltion Is srrongly against such practices.· But the OIalnnan. Phann.... ceutlcal ManufacturersGroup of MAN. Runml Olilopa. who exonerated his membi.-rs from the shadydeals.said:'hls situatlon appl1es 10 Imponen.

Nigeriiln phannaceuLical lIlanu fa cturers are not outsourcing production IIntl rather~havt' e;,ceS5capaclty.

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[ablls/unen! of aQueen Elizabeth Diamond jubilee Trust. which wou ld lie Il..lllded by private do naUons and volun· tary (o ntriburlons from governments. nils \vi1J support charitable projects ana organisations across the Commonw~alth, fOCUSing on artassuch as tacklln~ curable diseases. the promotIOn of all forms of aluC<ltion and culture and o~r Commonwealth prioriUes.~ TI.e meeting also endorsed the re-appointment ofMr_ Kamalesh Sharma ilS Co mmon· wealth Secretary-General for a furtherfo ur-yeartenn stilrttng April 2012.

And d espite the rt'.Sen.';)tion of some cri!1cs of Sri Lanka who wilmed It denied the hosting o f next: rnCX;M, the meeling [Nffinneti "their decisions to meet na t in Sri lanka In 20ll and thereafter In Mauritius in20lS.a.swelias to ~Jcome the offer by Malaysia to host the 20\9

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The next steps 15 to increase conuaCl manufilcture for Imponers by 10Gll1 manufacturIng to InouSt" apiidty utIlisation from current level of fourpercentils wellastechnology transfer: Sitn ll,1rly,t heE:A;ecutiveSecr~ tary. Pilinu Milnufilcturers Assodiltion of NI~riil. Jude Maduka said: - I am not aware of such praClice by pillnt manufacturerS. lt does not exist In the sub-sedor.nle Impact of the oUl5OurcIng style Is already felt in the country is m,lny comp.1nies ha~ scaled down operations ilnd restricted their activities towhat lheydescrlbedilS~core a~as. lhe victims of this deve lopment are usually Ni~eri;lnS who lose their JOb.s.

Recently. FrieslandCamplna WAMCO Nlger1a. makers of I't.'dk, T111ft' Crowns ilnd Frlso brands of milk terminated 56 W

membersors!arfandun~i1et1

plans to oUl5ource 115 non· cole ope raLions to e.~rt.s. lila stiltemem, thecompanys Corporate Affairs Manilger.

Mrs. Ore Filmurewa, $,1id thil t the finn ensured thilt due negotlatlon was done;md tile resuucturing fu lly aligned \\ith the Niltional Union of Food.

8everageilndTobaccoEmployees as well as the Food. &-\'('r..se and Tobil«o Senior Starr Association on \'!dundancy

ernor. Prof. Chukwumil Sollldo. said at the yearly general m~tlng of Nigerian Associa· tlon of fndustrial Pltannilcists (NAlP)11l Lagos that the · ph.1rmaceut k al sector Is iI snuggling Indusfl)'. Some of the nlsilngHrnuhil\'t.'resonedto anum6erof·survh'illist str.llegltl' by joining the 'tr.Iding traln'-,1$ milrketers for foreign finns orhal'eoutsourcedthelr producllol110 Indian ilnd Chi· nese manuf~cturers while th ey a re more ;:Imply rewardetI u happy Imponers, ~I will not ~ surpriSftllf out of )'Our ]00 corporate mem~rs.. more than 60 ~r cent are in the marketlngttlistribution ~ment. wLocal manufacture has ~n consistently losing milrket shares In tf.e local milrke! let alonebeingcompetith't.'inthe Internalional m~rkeL If you adjust forlhcoulsourcetl pro· ductlon 10 foreign firms. the 100 or SO largely smilll and fragmented companies ill tlle Industry account for aooutlO percelltofdomtltlcdrug consumptlo n. ~ he saId. . f'resldenl.Nlgeri.1n-AmericHi Chamber of Commerce. Mazi Sam Ohuabull\\'iI. said a regime of robust Incenti\'t's. garnished \vith rule of law, un· aer an ope n economic systelll • holds the ace in illtTilCllng investors to Nigeria.

p.:!ckage.~.

The re-organis,llion. according to Famureo...........,ould enable the company focus on iu [ore dairy business.

1\0.'0 ..... eeks ago, former Centrill Bank of Nigeria (CBN) goy.

Rock Hommers

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NNPC says deregula1i011'11 create jobs CONnNUEO FROM PAGE 2 He said the trend all CI\'t'r the ~\'011d Is tlMt gO\oemmenl no longer su1Jsidises consumption but rather subsidises the production sector In order to boost production in the econ-

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He said lhat dereguiatiull of the dowmtream sector of the petroleum industry \vould ellcourat/.c pri vate In\lt.'stors robulld mon;~ refineries in th e counuy to com plement the four existing gOlo'!'mmentowned refineries illon~ide tl.e tluer pl"llIled Greenfield reflner1es to be built by the NNPC In conjunction \\ith some Ollnese Im1'SIOrs. which ,1fe envisaged 10 come on strealll in few yt'ars.

"It Is our hope Ihilt in iI few }'l'ars from now. Nigeri" wouldtransfom,froma mere e.'poner of crude 011 to a major exporter of petroleum products like petrol. kerosene. diesel and even ..... hite products like lubricants.. We must we the enLire oil and gas Ind~ value chain to employ and em l!O ...... er our t~'"lng }'ouths. he sairl