ENERGY WOMAN
“Let’s debunk the prototype or paradigm that says, the woman should only be seen, not heard; I went to Mayflower School...hardwork is part of our DNA”. - ‘Toyin Aina
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l u w a to y i n A i n a i s the Group Head , Energy covering D ownstream and I n te r n a ti o n a l O i l Tr a d i n g w i th i n C o r p o ra te B a n k i n g D irec tora te - Firs t B an k o f Ni geria L im i ted . Wi th 18 years professional experience within the Banking/ Finance in d us tr y, s he presen tly ha s concurren t oversi ght for D o w n s t r e a m / O i l Tr a d i n g b u s i n ess wi th i n th e B a n k’s C ommercial and Retail segments across Nigeria while fosterin g b usiness synergies across the UK and A frican subsidiaries ( G hana, Guinea, Gambia, DRC, S en ega l a n d S i erra L eon e) u n d e r th e G l o b a l A c c o u n t Mana gem en t s truc ture. In this interview with Jerome Onoja, she bares her thoughts on a couple of topical issues th a t p e r ta i n s to f i n a n c i n g t h e o i l i n d u s t r y, a n d t h e place of a woman in the mi x. E x cerp ts . You moderated a panel at the
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Majorwaves Energy Report
la s t NO G con ference. Wha t a r e th e h i g h l i g h ts o f y o u r d eli b era tion s? My s e s s i o n h a d to d o wi th the Ni gerian C on ten t F un d and how much of it was available and accessible. T hankfully the E x ecutive S e c r e ta r y o f th e N i g e r i a n C o n te n t D e v e l o p m e n t a n d Monitoring Board ( NCDMB), E n g r S i m b i Wa b o t e w a s aro un d an d he p u t forward the a genc y’s p osi tion on i t. Some felt it takes a long time to access the fund. They said, the condi tions for accessin g it were too stringent; as Bank o f In d us tr y ( BOI) , which happ en s to b e the cus to dian o f th e f u n d , w o u l d n e e d a Bank Guarantee ( BG) from the commercial banks. Accessing th e f u n d s w o n’ t h a p p e n i f th e c o n tra c to r d i d n’ t h av e a credi t faci li ty or B G lin e wi th any com m ercial b an k . S e c o n d l y, th e b a n k s d o n’ t f in d the margin s a ttrac tive enough for their investment, hence thi s could accoun t for the low up ta k e o f these
SEPTEMBER 2019, Vol 2 No 6
tran sac tion s . T he E x ec u tive S ecre tar y p r o m i s e d to l o o k i n to t h e processes, to see how BOI and the C en tral B ank of Ni geria ( C B N) can colla b ora te to en s ure b etter incen tives are p u t in place to mo tiva te the commercial banks to respond in the affirmative. Yes, some p eople a ttes ted to havi n g benefitted from the fund , but a larger number were having i ss ues accessin g i t. We a l s o d e l i b e r a t e d o n l e v e r a g i n g th e p r o v i s i o n s/ incen tives o f tra din g wi thin the free trade zones and how i t helps the ease of doin g business in Nigeria from a tax an d d u ty - free p ersp ec tive. Do you have a special p a c k a ge e i th e r d i r e c tl y o r as a syndica te of b ank s wi th a pool of funds by which you support indigenous companies who work for in terna tional oil companies ( IO C s) ? www.majorwavesenergyreport.com
