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Maiden Edition

Africa’s most authoritative business journal

REVIEW AFRIKA A publication of Business Review Afrika // February

Nige a, IFAD

COLLABORATE ON VALUE CHAIN DEVELOPMENT SPECIAL REPORT Mining: Walking Africa out of poverty

NIGERIA IN FOCUS: Akeredolu hosts Niger Delta stakeholders in Akure

NIGERIA IN FOCUS: Ondo working towards post-oil economy -Deputy Gov

INDORAMA: Equipping Nigeria Farmers with appropriate fertilizer

ECONOMIC DIPLOMACY Revisiting US/NIGERIA Bi-National Commission

Nigeria: N1000 | South Africa: R65 | UK: £2 | Ghana: C8 | Kenya: Kshs580 | Canada: CS8.60 | Angola: K635 | CFA: CFA3,500 Euro Zone: I6 | USA: $3 | Mauritius: MUR 200 | Ethiopia: ETB 75 | Botswana: BWP 50 | Namibia: NAD 55 | Mozambique: 250 Mts

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CONTENTS

05 Editorial 15 Regional Integration

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26 36 39 41 45 51 59 72 76 80

ECOWAS parliament reviews $284.9 m community budget for 2018 Countries in Focus Nigeria Senegalese Ghana Cote' Divoire Gambia The Gambia Liberia Special Report Mining: Walking Africa out of Poverty Bits & Pieces

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Nigeria, IFAD Collaborate on value chain for development

Publisher /Editor –in-Chief Helen Okon Editorial Board . Dr. Friday Okpara .Prof. Okafor Chuma . Barr. Legborsi Nwiabu . Chris Oghenevwierhe Sodje . Dr. Omowumi Steve Ekundayo Chairman Editorial Board Sen. J.K.N. Waku fnipr,fcis,mnim Editor- Special Project Sule Awodi

Review Reviewing Africa Mining Sector Article Economy Diplomacy Revisiting the US-Nigeria Bi-National Commission Spotlight Indorama: Equipping Nigeria farmers with appropriate fertilizer Nigeria in Focus Akeredolu hosts Niger Delta Stakeholders in Akure Sector in Focus West Africa fertilizer Agribusiness Interview

Business Review Afrika

Legal Adviser RIOJASON CHAMBERS Printer VALID8 BIZPRESS LTD. Graphic Designer Femi Adebowale

82 86 90

Entrepreneurship Digital Economy Capital Market

Office Address N0. 12 Lebreville Street , Wuse 11, Abuja

Address Correspondence to : The Editor; Business Review Afrika N0. 12 Libreville Wuse 11.

Off Aminu Kanu Crescent Wuse 11, Abuja.

Energy Update Eliminating routine gas flaring for productive use

Email: info@businessreviewafrika.com

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News: W/Africa needs strong laws to combat arms proliferation - Dogara

15

Regional Integration

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BUSINESSREVIEWAFRIKA/FEB 2018

FEATURES

COVER Nigeria, IFAD collaborate on Value Chain for Development.

SPECIAL REPORT

Mining: Walking Africa out of poverty

ECONOMIC DIPLOMACY REVISITING THE US-NIGERIA BI-NATIONAL COMMISSION

BUSINESSREVIEWAFRIKA/FEB 2018

Spotlight Indorama: Equipping Nigeria Farmers with appropriate fertilizer

NIGERIA IN FOCUS Akeredolu hosts Niger Delta stakeholders in Akure

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EDITORIAL SUITE

BUSINESS REVIEW AFRIKA Showcasing Africa’s Potentials

Business Review Afrika, is a modest contribution to the realisation and harnessing of Africa's huge potentials.

Born amidst crunchy economic challenges, the Business Review Afrika, a monthly publication, is coming at a time the media industry is believed to be saturated.

However, we owe the Nigerian public, the West African sub-region and indeed the entire African Continent, an obligation of exposing the hidden and untapped potentials that could make a difference in the lives of our people.

This, we seek to achieve by reviewing the business as well as the business environments. We also need to add that we will equally be reporting major business developments to compliment the review.

In this maiden edition, the magazine captures recent efforts in the diversification of the Muhammadu Buhari's administration, especially through agriculture and mining. The seriousness of that well-thought-out programme was underscored by the presence of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the first ever 'National Mining Summit' entitled “Unearthing Nigeria's Mining Sector.”

The programme which was held in Abuja, from the 13 – 15th of June 2017, was put together by Afrocet Montgomery.

Similarly, the series of efforts by the Niger Delta Council to change the narrative of violence to that of development in the region is also underscored in this maiden edition.

Most importantly, Ondo State, which hosted the Council's meeting, grabbed the opportunity to market itself to the business world in terms of its endowment in mineral resources.

Among other things, the editorial team presents an evaluation of the economic milestones of Nigeria, Ghana, Cote D'Ivoire, Liberia and other ECOWAS member states in the last one year.

Above all, it is hoped that the rich editorial contents of news, feature stories and interviews will certainly make our readers' delight.

Business Review Afrika, is a modest contribution to the realisation and harnessing of Africa's huge potentials.

Helen Okon

Editor-in-Chief

Thanks

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NIGERIA, IFAD COLLABORATE ON VALUE CHAIN FOR DEVELOPMENT

The Federal Government of Nigeria and nternational Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), have supported Value Chain Development Programme in six states namely; Anambra, Benue, Ebonyi, Niger, Ogun and Taraba.

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ith an estimated 70 % of the total population of Nigeria living in rural areas, agriculture remains the nation's economic mainstay.

Also, about 70 % of the total farming population is composed of smallholder farmers, cultivating less than 5 ha and producing up to 90 % of the total national output.

Poverty remains largely a rural

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population considered poor. The livelihood of smallholder farmers has been constrained by a host of challenges: low productivity, paucity of opportunities for value addition; environmental degradation; limited access to productive assets and inputs; inadequate support services (extension and research); limited access to rural ďŹ nancial service; inadequate market and rural infrastructure (including water supply); post- harvest

constrained enabling environment.

To address these challenges, the federal government and IFAD contrived the VCDP, adopting the value chain approach, to enhance productivity, promote agroprocessing, access to markets and opportunities to facilitate improved engagement of the private sector, and farmers' organisations themselves, in the development eort.

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Effective date and goals VCDP became effective in October 2013 and disbursement effective in January 2015. The completion date for the programme is 31 December 2019. The goal of VCDP is to reduce poverty and enhance accelerated economic growth sustainably.

enhance service delivery for smallholder farmers; and by major off-takers (private sector produce buyers) such as Olam, Onyx, Stallion, and Popular Farms who provide co-funding in the form of cashless credit services to enable farmers have access to agri-inputs and enhance their productivity.

The specific programme development objective is that the incomes and food security of rural poor households engaged in production, processing and marketing of rice and cassava, are enhanced on a sustainable basis. The programme has a total budget of USD104.4 million, funded

by IFAD (USD 74.4 million), FGN (USD 9.9 million), State Governments (USD 10.4 million), Local Government Councils (USD

The programme has also facilitated an innovative Commodity Alliance Forum (CAF), which empowers smallholder farmers to engage and transact businesses with major private sector players in each state. The CAF compromises farmers, key private sector operators who meet quarterly to review stakeholders' engagement in selected commodity. Consistent with the

The goal of VCDP is to reduce poverty and enhance accelerated economic growth sustainably.

4.3 million), Complementary financing (USD2.8 million)[1] and Beneficiaries (USD 2.1 million).

Overall Achievements VCDP has made good progress in the last two years of effective implementation towards achieving the objective of sustainably enhancing the incomes and food security of poor rural households engaged in production, processing and marketing of rice and cassava. The programme has continued to invest in group and cluster development as a viable value chain business model. It has strength in (a) working with the private sector to facilitate service delivery to smallholder farmers; (b) identifying viable business opportunities within the commodity chains for youth; (c) arable land development to increase women and youth access to land; (d) sharing innovative agronomic practices with farmers to enhance their productivity; and youth engagement in agriculture.

Specifically, there is increasing buy-in by the state government, who have adopted some aspects of the value chain to

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programme market-led approach, crop production is based on business plans by participating groups that are prepared to respond to the off-takers' market demand.

The private sector-led CAF is already empowering smallholder farmers and restoring confidence between off-takers and the farming communities, and is considered a key pillar in the sustainability of VCDP. VCDP has also influenced strong state government ownership, demonstrated by payment of their counterpart funds and policy support in land development to enhance land access to youth and women, dry season farming, FO registration, equipment to youth, and adoption of standard weights and measures.

The off-taker arrangement has strengthened the use of Value Chain Action Plans (VCAPs) by participating FOs, which have facilitated cashless credit services for farmer inputs, in Benue and Niger states through the Olam and Onyx partnerships, respectively. Data from the 2016 wet season and 2016/2017 dry season indicated that VCDP contributed

cassava to the national food basket, representing a contribution of US$ 37.2 million to Nigeria's GDP. From the revenue of N38.5billion and the implementation cost of N14.7billion, the income-investment analysis (inclusive of overhead cost) indicated a benefit of N2.5 for each N1 invested from the sale of produce alone.

With respect to production and productivity, VCDP has: (I) promoted the establishment of group seed production enterprises by youth, through partnership with Africa Rice, NRCRI, IITA; (ii) introduced the use of private sector extension to promote good agronomic practices and enhance farmers' productivity; (iii) partnered with NCAM and TOHFAN to nurture agricultural mechanization at all levels including an enterprise for youth employment; (iv) introduced a protocol for the strengthening of FOs—though there is room for improvement in banking and mobilization of internal financial resources; and (v) promoted youth engagement in profitable agricultural enterprises, with 44 percent of the programme beneficiaries being youth. It has developed a number of knowledge products, including women inclusion strategy, youth involvement in agribusiness strategy, and package of best agronomic practices.

VCDP is on track and over the last two years has consistently demonstrated a profitable agribusiness model that can enable Nigeria achieve full import substitution. Through the success, VCDP has demonstrated that value chain is a sound economic investment model for Nigeria.

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ucc tories

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Michael Afune and his wife in front of their new house

ANAMBRA Empowering young people through agribusinessMichael Afune and his wife in front of their new house In line with the Nigerian government's commitment to reduce youth unemployment and poverty, the VCDP is creating a new generation of young farmers in Anambra state.

The programme is targeting and renewing young people's interest in agriculture by creating rural youth groups and providing them with training in techniques that generate new economic opportunities and income.

Michael Afune, a young rice farmer in Omor, Ayamelum Local Government Area of the State, has every reason to smile. He has just opened a small processing mill, thanks to the VCDP intervention.

His involvement with VCDP began with training on best agronomic practices.

He has farmed rice for years with poor yields, but learning modern methods of farming through VCDP led to better yields and thus better incomes.

“They taught me so many things. It was broadcasting we were doing before IFAD came. They told us about transplanting,” says Michael. “When you broadcast, the plant population is too compacted.

Breeze can't get to the farm. When you transplant, breeze and sun enter and the farm will yield well. When it is too compacted, the yield will be small.”

“It is very difficult to transplant but when you suffer yourself to transplant, you will get better harvest.”Michael (first leſt) with other youth trained as spray gang Michael farms on one hectare he

leases for his production. In July 2017, he is moving on to a much bigger farmland—five hectares leased and paid for with money he made from the first harvest as a result of his participation in VCDP. “Before IFAD, I got around 4 tonnes from my harvest, that's with broadcasting. But when IFAD came and taught me good farming practices and I applied them, I harvested 6 tonnes of rice,” says the young farmer.

“I sold the rice, paid for land rent, fertiliser and some of the chemicals I bought which I will use to work on my land. VCDP, of course, paid half of all. I also kept some money for my inputs for the next planting season and to pay my half of the fertilisers and other agro

inputs IFAD will provide.”

Michael has also become an indispensable part of agriculture in Ayamelum. Farmers hire him to spray their farms with herbicides. His knapsack sprayer is always on his back when he dons his spray suit. This was a skill he learnt when VCDP trained him and 59 other youths as spray gangs.

That has become an extra source of income for Michael.

“I opened a mill which I use to generate money to support my house, my farm and my family,” he says.

His mill charges N1,200 for every 300kg of rice milled. “My mill can handle 50 bags of 300kg rice a day,” he says beaming with smiles.

Michael (first left) with other youth trained as spray gang |9

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Laadi in front of her car

“ I am very grateful to VCDP for the linkage to Olam. “

Benue Connecting Smallholder Farmers to Markets In Benue, North Central Nigeria, smallholder rice and cassava farmers are engaging in new market opportunities and taking their first steps out of poverty through a contract farming scheme in which farmers are guaranteed markets for their crops.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) assisted Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP), has linked over 3,603 rice farmers in Benue to Olam international, a major off taker and key player in the Nigeria rice sub-sector, to buy paddy off rice growers.

“Last year, Olam bought around 997 tonnes of paddy from rice farmers in Benue, later processed and sold in the Nigerian market.

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The paddy Olam buys from farmers is processed and sold under the brand name ''Mama's Pride” says Kumar Gaurav, who manages Olam operations in Benue state.

“Our partnership is very good.

The paddy is housed in our warehouses, which is processed once it is full. Olam's product is sold across Nigeria, visible in any local market across the country. It is produced in Nigeria, we are selling proudly Nigerian rice” explains Gaurav.

The farmers and Olam were brought together in transaction meetings under a Commodity Alliance Forum facilitated

by VCDP to discuss the partnership, negotiate terms of engagement, define obligations of each party and draſt a MoU to guide their operations leading to a win-win outcome for all partners.Laadi in front of her car Olam provided the farmers with necessary inputs; certified seeds, fertilizers, and agrochemicals with a guaranteed “buy back” at prevailing market price at the end of the season. The company joined VCDP in farmer mobilization, validation, profiling and training events, bringing their experiences in out-growers schemes to bear. Olam also co-funded extension services using private sector providers to ensure that farmers meet productivity potentials of the preferred rice varieties. In addition, Olam extended financial credit to farmers to meet their equity contribution to the VCDP matching grant through a commercial bank.

Laadi Ngbegha is a rice farmer in Iye Community, Guma LGA in Benue State.

Thanks to her participation in VCDP's project she has doubled her yields in the last two harvests and has been linked to Olam who bought her entire paddy and her group-Dooshima Hemba Cooperative. Laadi has been able to buy herself a Nissan wagon and a cow from the profits.

“I am very grateful to VCDP for the linkage to Olam. Before, I use to worry on how I am going to sell my produce

VCDP matching grant through a commercial bank. aſter harvest, but now no worries, Olam is there for us” says Laadi as she poses proudly in front of her car.

Laadi's experience is just one of many success stories of the VCDP which provides rural families with the tools and techniques to better cultivate the land around their villages and links them to produce buyers such as Olam.

Olam Benue Operations Manager, Kumar Gaurav interacting with farmers The VCDP has so far supported smallholder farmers across the six programme states of Benue, Anambra, Ebonyi, Taraba, Niger and Ogun in negotiating and signing 1,106 MoUs with major off takers in rice and cassava value chains. VCDP is supporting these farmers to increase their production, which is a critical step to improving food security in Nigeria.

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COVER

Improved Access Road, Boost for Agribusiness

in Igbeagu

- Monarch

A new road and bridge running through Igbeagu community in Izzi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, has changed the social and agribusiness activities for residents in the community.

“It is one of the best projects ever in this community,” says HRH Eze Michael Ogbonnaya Ukwa, paramount ruler of Igbeagu. “The people of my community are enjoying. All of them dance along this road every day.”

a young boy.

In 1967 alone, the wooden bridge weakened and overwhelmed by rain, claimed the lives of three people, Ukwa remembers.

“One of them was Otoo from Amuzu clan, who leſt her child on the bed to go and fetch cassava from her farm. She was carried away by water,” he recalls.

In a separate incident, five children returning from school were killed in a

Igbeagu community members go about their farm activities on the newly constructed road by VCDP

The new road was constructed for easy access to farms by the Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP), a project of the government of Nigeria and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). 134.5 kilometres of farm roads are being constructed or rehabilitated across the six states where VCDP is implemented.

In Igbeagu, where communities farm cassava and rice, VCDP constructed the road, replaced the wooden bridge with concrete culvert and surfaced the bare earth with concrete and tar from Igbeagu to Ndinwayim.

The old bridge holds bad memories for Igbeagu, back to when its King, Ukwa was

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single day as flood washed away the wooden bridge.

Igbeagu community members go about their farm activities on the newly constructed road by VCDP “Nobody has walked on the bridge. This is the first time in history since 1967 anyone is walking on the bridge. IFAD has done the bridge and it is just like our floor. We are very, very grateful,” says Ukwa.

The primary purpose of the road under IFAD's VCDP programme is to create access for farmers to transport produce from their farms and for off-takers (bigger-scale produce buyers) to reach farm gates to buy the produce from the

HRH Eze Ogbonnaya Ukwa farmers.

“Without this road, our farming experience was horrible, we couldn't do much. We enjoy this road more than the expressway,” says Ukwa with a broad smile.

A road into the community also means easy access to go into town where Igbeagu's farming residents pick up the agrochemicals and other inputs they use on their farms.

“Before, even to go and collect something in Abakaliki (the state capital), you will have to drop it in town, carry one bag home because of the nature of the road. And thenHRH EzeOgbonnayaUkwa someone else can just steal the other bags before you return. Now we can bring our inputs directly.”

The inputs include certified rice seeds and chemicals subsidized by up to 50% and provided by IFAD to farmers, through their cooperatives.

“I harvested more than 200 bags of my upland rice, each 100kg (around 20 metric tonnes). IFAD has also made Ebonyi rich with cassava as a lot of us went into cassava farming too,” says Ukwa.

Now, he and his community are hoping to expand cultivation by planting rice in the dry season with the aid of irrigation. The chosen site is at Ominyi, a vast swampy area.

“That swamp, the whole Ebonyi can farm there. This road goes to Ndinwanyim, and we want it to be extended to Ominyi. There, we have very large area which we are preparing for dry season cultivation. Without this, if you reach there, even aſter harvesting, no way to bring produce out,” he explained.

“Let this road reach Ominyi. We are going to thank VCDP and our Governor, including Nigeria President with cows.”

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Niger.

“False Bottom” Technology Increases Local Rice Quality The “false bottom” parboiling technology introduced by VCDP is helping rice processors in Niger state to improve quality and market value of their rice.

“Before now, we have (Sic) to carry our rice to the market and even beg people sometimes to buy, for whatever price,” says a rice processor Hajara Mohammed, of the ZokoYegborolo multipurpose cooperative society in Bida, Niger state.

“Now, with the intervention of IFAD-VCDP teaching us false bottom technology, we don't have to look for buyers. People come to us even before we finish processing. We can't even meet their demand.”

IFAD's VCDP, through processors like Hajara, has improved local rice quality and increased national target for rice production by 55,513 tonnes since the project started implementation in 2015.

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The false bottom parboiling technology was introduced to make locally grown rice in Nigeria compete favourably with imported rice from such places as Thailand. Consumers have long since developed a penchant for the long-grain, clean, parboiled imported rice from Thailand.

VCDP introduced farmers to Faro 44, a rice variety known for its long grains.

Hajara's cooperative buys Faro 44 paddy from rice growers in Bida and uses false bottom technology to make the product market friendly that meets international quality standards.

Hajara and over 1,623 across the project six states were trained on the use of false bottom parboiling technique. The training changed how Hajara and others processed rice. Previously, she boiled paddy in large vats, which meant some of the rice got burnt, discoloured or broken,

reducing its market value and earning it the name “local rice”.Hajara using a destoner provided by VCDP False bottom technology refers to the use of a metal perforated sieve that prevents the paddy from direct contact with the vat bottom.

The sieve is placed at the bottom of the vat and a giant lid above it, with water in between. The paddy is placed on top of the sieve. Once the fire is lit and the water begins to boil, vapour goes upward through the sieve to steam the paddy.

The resulting parboiled rice is unbroken, clean and white. Hajara's cooperative uses a de-stoner provided by VCDP to remove stones from the processed rice, and a scale to weight exactly 25kg into bags. The cooperative has branded its product for sale. Each 25kg bag is sold for N8,000.

“When you look at our product, you can't tell the difference between rice from Bida

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“We've been in rice business for more than twenty years with nothing to show for it but within one and half years, IFAD VCDP made us rich. I don't know how to thank VCDP for helping us make impact in the rice market. I sit at home and buyers come to me. And now we are expanding our business and employing people to work and get paid because we need more hands to be able to meet market demand.

People want our rice now.'

and imported rice from Thailand,” says Hajara. “That's why our price has gone higher. It is more income for us, more business for us.”

Women processing rice using false bottom Use of false bottom technology has also helped Hajara reduce the cost of production. Her false bottom vat was modified to sit in a metal cylinder and requires less firewood to provide heat needed to parboil rice. A chute fitted to the vat takes smoke out of the parboiling area. The entire assemblage ensures that heat is conserved and transferred directly to the vat with little loss. A single stick of firewood is enough to parboil half a tonne of rice.

“Before now, we would have to buy firewood of nearly N800 just to parboil one vat of rice. Now, N100 firewood stick is sufficient,” says Hajara

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VCDP trains processors for cassava value addition The Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) has trained cassava processors in Niger to add value to their cassava by processing it into snacks by which they recorded increased incomes and enhanced livelihoods.

Victoria Michael of Albarka Gari Processors Cooperative in Bida, Niger state has been processing cassava for 15 years, but only into garri.

She was among 250 cassava processors from five local government areas of Niger—Wushishi, Bida, Katcha, Shiroro and Kontagora—selected for training on the production of cassava-based snacks using Vitamin A cassava flour. .

Albarka Cassava Snacks The training, at Harvest Plus, Ibadan, covered six different by-products of Vitamin A cassava—garri, fufu, custard, cereals, moimoi and snacks, referred to as combo bits.

Using a combination of classroom instruction and practical demonstration, the training facilitators explained to the participants the procedures for producing each of the six products, while two of the produts-moimoi and cassava snacks-were practically demonstrated.

Combo bits are tiny chops made of Vitamin A cassava flour that have become popular in markets, since processors like Victoria began making them.

are staying idle, if they can learn this, at least they will use it to make money and reduce joblessness” says Victoria.

Since returning from the training, Victoria has continued making combo bits for sale in Bida. The product is regarded as a novelty; thereby it has begun grabbing growing shares of the snack market.

“The training changed many things for me. Aſter the training, I started using cassava flour to produce combo bits. I made a lot of money from it. It added more income to my business” said Victoria as she proudly displays her product label.

“The profit I made from it, I used it to buy school things for my children and used the rest to support my business. I also sell garri and frozen fish at the new market in Bida”, says Victoria.

Albarka cooperative has 30 members who meet monthly. Upon her return, Victoria stepped down the training she received, introducing other members of her cooperative to the six by-products of vitamin A cassava flour, to enable them diver sify beyond just garri and fufu.

At the training, she purchased an extruder—a machine used to squeeze cassava flour dough into shapes for snacks—and made some to sell to participants.

She sold the packaged snacks for N50 a packet. “I made N1,300 that day selling to the participants alone,” she said.

One of the participants, Faith Ijeoma, who bought four packets for N200, testified to the fine taste of the snack.

“So many young people

Victoria displaying her product label

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OGUN

Improving farmers' access to land for

rice, cassava production

S

purred by the need to create more arable land to produce more food, VCDP is helping farmers in Ogun to develop land for rice and cassava cultivation.

“There has been increase in the number of people having access to land, especially women and youth,” says Samuel Adeogun, VCDP Ogun state programme coordinator.

“Land development has also provided room for farm mechanisation. We believe the use of farm mechanisation increases efficiency, reduces cost of production and improves on the yield of the farm.”

In Ogun State, farmers usually open up virgin land by slashing and burning the vegetation. The density of rainforest vegetation limits the area of land they can farm. And at the end of the planting season, they move on to fresh land, leaving the former to fallow.

Land clearing in Ogun “Opening up land involves a lot of physical labour, and hiring tractors is too expensive for farmers to bear. The intervention of the programme on land development came as a result of the fact that a lot of the farmers are not having access to land, and when they do, most of

this land is not tractorable.” adds Adeogun Mrs Folashade Arijogbade, a cassava farmer in Aiyetoro community in Yewa north local government area, has every reason to smile. She used to farm on 0.5 hectares but thanks VCDP intervention on land development, she and her group now farm on 30 hectares on lease.

The land development support from VCDP requires land owners or communities to sign a leasing agreement for a minimum of 10 years. The lands are sourced from either the communities or government. “By this, they will be able to recoup the cost of investment on the land, because land development is a huge investment beyond the capacity of the average smallholder farmer,” says Adeogun.

For Folashade, it's a dream come true. “I never imagined that we could have access to vast land like this but VCDP made it possible for us. I am amazed each time I look at the 30 hectares. The programme aside from providing us with land, gave us cassava stems, fertilisers and herbicides.

We have planted cassava stems and are looking forward to a bumper harvest,” she says

Land development under VCDP has created a culture of increased mechanisation among farmers working with the programme—creating services for farmers and jobs for mechanisation service providers.

“Those farms were planted using mechanical planters, which would have been very difficult in a normal farmer's work. There has also been a kind of demonstration that when you are able to open up land, you are able to bring in tractor and mechanise farming to increase profit and enhance efficiency.”

“By the time you see farms cleared, developed and planted, you see the plant population are doing very well and we expect to get a higher yield,” says Adeogun.

So far, VCDP has developed 1,292 hectares in its six participating states and provided mechanisation and paid half the cost to enable the farmers to afford them.

The programme targets increased agricultural income by at least 25% for 45,000 smallholder farmers and indirectly benefit up to 320,800 people from the production of rice and cassava along the two value chains.

Land clearing in Ogun

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REGIONAL INTEGRATION

ECOWAS Parliament reviews

$284.9m community budget for 2018

L-R: Vice President Edward Singhatey, Speaker ECOWAS Parliament Moustapha Lo, President Sall and Interior Minister Abdulrahman, Dambazau

T

The ECOWAS Parliament has reviewed its Community Draft Budget of

$284.9 million for the 2018 fiscal year.

ECOWAS was set up as an Assembly of representatives of the citizens of the subregion and became operational with the inauguration of the first legislature in 2011

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he exercise was one of the highpoints of the Second Ordinary Session of the body, conveyed on the 21st of November to 9th of December, in Abuja, Nigeria.

During the session, the parliament reviewed the 2018 Community draſt Budget of 284.9 million dollars.

The draſt budget was presented before the parliament by the Administration &Finance Committee (AFC) during the second ordinary session.

The Parliament's Ad-hoc Committee on the consideration of the document convened to begin consideration of the budget.

In 2012 fiscal year the commission cuts its budget by 6% within all its departments over the 2011 fiscal figures.

ECOWAS spent $197 million out of its $230.2 million expenditure for 2017, with its total income for the year's budget put at $267.9million Of the expenditure, the commission spent $145million, its parliament

spent $19.86 million; the Community Court of Justice $17.2 million; West African Health Organisation,$33.1 dollars; and Intergovernmental Action Group Against Money Laundering in West Africa spent $13.65 million.

The fiscal year is still in the fourth quarter, and 65 percent of the budget has so far been implemented.

The body generates funds from the community levy, and this comes either on a quarterly or monthly basis depending on who is paying at a particular time.

It is important to note that this is the first time the parliament was reviewing the overall budget of the ECOWAS Community.

The parliament's review of the community budget is a new m a n d a t e fo l l ow i n g t h e Supplementary Acts by the Authority of Heads of States in December 2016.

The Supplementary Act on the Enhancement of the Powers of the parliament was

implemented by the fourth legislature in 2016.

The endorsement of the Supplementary Act on the Enhancement of the powers of t h e E C OWA S C o m m u n i t y Parliament was endorsed by The Minister of Justice of the ECOWAS, Edward Sinhateh.

The endorsement came during a two-day meeting which ended December 7, at the ECOWAS Commission in Abuja.

The Enhancement of Powers Act is meant among others, to permit the ECOWAS Parliament to be involved in the process of budget as well as the oversight of activities of the ECOWAS institutions.

The adoption of the Act by the Authority of Heads of States enables the parliament to move from an advisory body to assuming legislative functions to achieve the ECOWAS Vision 2020.

The approval of the Supplementary Act is what formed the operations of the fourth legislature and the enhanced parliament.

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The

52ND

Ordinary Session of the

ECOW Authority of Head of States and Governments’

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President Buhari addressing the 52nd Ordinary Session of ECOWAS in Abuja

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The 52nd Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of States and Governments' summit was held on Saturday, the 16th of December 2017, and declared open by President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja, Nigeria's Federal Capital Territory.

The discussion amongst the West African leaders focused on Morocco's membership and the security situation in Guinea Bissau, the observer status of Tunisia and an association agreement with Mauritania. The Mauritanian President, Mohamed Abdel Aziz and the Tunisian counterpart Beji Caid Essebsi were special guests at the Summit.

ECOWAS Parliament Morocco had made its request to be a member of ECOWAS while Tunisia requested to be an observer country. The 51st Ordinary Session held in Monrovia, Liberia in 4th of June 2017 agreed in principle to Morocco's membership of the sub-regional bloc and directed the commission to consider the implications of the country's membership. The commission confirmed that study on the impact of Morocco's membership was carried out and the outcome would be submitted to the Authority. Morocco was however not invited for the 52nd summit. Its Foreign Ministry reportedly said that the country had to wait until the first quarter of 2018 to know the decision of the ECOWAS Heads of State which would be announced at an extraordinary session. Tunisia has, however, been granted an observer status by the authority and the commission has further directed to take necessary measures to ensure all procedures relating to an observer status are implemented.

At the end of the summit a communiqué was issued.

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COUNTRIES IN FOCUS

Country Report at the nd

2 Ordinary Session of the

ECOWAS Parliament

“

The Report provides an update on the general socio- economic and political situation in the ECOWAS sub-region. It also analyses the status of implementation of ECOWAS programme as well as the human right, democracy and good governance situations in the member states.

and an improved situation in the Niger Delta, as well as steady oil prices. Oil production GDP grew very strongly by 25.9 percent in 03 2017 compared to 3.5 percent in Q2 2017, and a contraction of -23.04 percent in Q3 2016.

As regards the general price level, inflation continues to fall from a peak of 18.7 percent in January 2017 to 15.9 percent at the end of October 2017.

Similarly, Nigeria's foreign reserves reached about $35 billion early November 2017 while the exchange rate regime has been stabilized.

“

SENEGALESE Focus on some member states and their Economic Growth Report

NIGERIA The economic focus and direction of the Buhari administration is set out in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan, the ERGP. The plan is based on a set of principles and key action points, including eliminating corruption in government procurement and processes, prudent management of resources, social inclusion, overcoming constraints such as power, petrol and skills shortages, promotion of the private sector, and use of the market mechanism where possible.

The decline in economic growth which started in 2014, has been reversed with the third quarter 2017 GDP figures released showing that the economy has truly exited recession with the growth of 1.4 percent.

The recovery was driven largely by the performance in agriculture, industry, solid minerals and crude oil and gas production.

Agriculture grew strongly throughout 2016 despite the contraction in the overall economy and continued to grow in 2017 recording a 3.1 percent growth in the third quarter of 2017.

The oil sector also grew strongly, partly due to actions of government which have led to stable oil production

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Senegal's economy has been evolving for a few years.

Senegal has, in recent years, significantly improved its Doing business Efficiency rating (Er).

Using statistics on the World Economic Outlook of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) , the World Economic Forum has indicated, in document published on its website, that Senegal, with a growth forecast of 6.6 % is among the 3 countries that will record the best economic growth rates.

These good results in Senegal are the result of public policies in the infrastructure and consumption of the country's emerging middle class. The policies implemented in the Emerging Senegal Plan (PSE) are beginning to bear fruit. With the PSE, major structuring projects have emerged, including a new urban centre 30km from Dakar, the extension of the toll motorway to AIBD airport, a second toll highway under construction, a new airport being finished 50 km from Dakar, the impending launch of a Regional Express Train line linking Dakar to the future airport and three new solar power plants with a cumulative capacity of 70 MW, already operational.

Other major economic facts In the second quarter of 2017, trends in domestic economic activity excluding agriculture and forestry, as measured by the General Activity Index (GIA), showed an increase of 6.5 % compared to the previous quarter.

On an annual basis, respective growth rates (excluding agriculture and forestry) of 6.5 % and 5.6 % are also recorded in the second quarter of 2017 and cumulative over the first six months of the year.

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With regard to the increase in activity observed in the second quarter of 2017, year-on-year ( 6.5 %), it reflects a good overall evolution of the tertiary (+ 6.2%), primary (+ 8.5 %), public administration (+ 9.4 %) and secondary education (+ 3.1 %). For it: part. cumulative growth (excluding agriculture and forestry) of 5.6 % recorded in the first half of 2017, is particularly driven by the tertiary (+5.3 %) and secondary (+3.7 %) sectors; taxes on domestic goods and services are up by 13.7 % over the period.

In the Primary Sector, the livestock sub-sector variation contracted slightly by 0.6 % in the second quarter of 2017, in quarterly variation. This counter-performance reflects a 4.3 % decline in controlled beef production, mainly due to a significant drop in cattle entries,, particularly from Mali .

As for the secondary sector in the second half of 2017, a slight strengthening of the secondary sector (+ 1.2 %) is recorded, compared to the first quarter of 2017.

Indeed, the performance of the extractive activities (+12.9 %), furniture manufacturing (+ 11.2 %), chemical industries (+ 15.7 %), meat and fish canning (+ 6.5 %) and energy production (+5 2 %), were largely offset y the weak results of "cotton ginning and textile manufacturing" (-53.0 %) and the manufacturing of cereal products (-33.3 %).

However, year-on-year, the sector posted a positive increase of 3.1 %, in line with the good performance of extractive activities and the resumption of oil mills production.

On the other hand, the evolution of economic activity in the tertiary sector shows strengthening of 4.4 % between the first two quarters of 2017, particularly supported ' port and telecommunications (+ 16.4 %), real estate activities (+ 30.3 %) and financial (+l6.4 %). Business activities, however, fell by 1.1 % over the period.

Finally, in the second quarter of 2017, consumer prices dropped by 1.4 %, quarter-on-quarter, in relation to food and non-alcoholic beverages (-3.4 %).

As regards price competitiveness of the Senegalese economy, this improved by 1.7 %, in quarterly variation. This result reflects a favourable inflation differential in (-2.0 %), in a context of appreciation of the CPA franc against the currencies of trading partner(+0.3 %).

With regard to the UEMOA Zone member countries, the favourable inflation differential led to a strengthening of the competitiveness by 2.0 %, on a quarterly basis.

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GHANA The Ghanaian economy is in transition. As at June 2017, the projected real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth (year-onyear), was 7.8 %, an increase from 5.6 % registered for the same quarter of 2016.

The industry sector recorded the highest growth rate of 17.7 %, agriculture recorded a growth of 4.3 %, and the service sector having a high growth 4.7 %.

The performance of the industry sector was largely driven by the mining and quarrying (which includes Petroleum) subsector, that had contracted over the corresponding period in 2016.

Underpinning the year-on-year improvement in agriculture has been strong growth performance in crops and cocoa and substantial improved performance in the fisheries sub-sector.

The year-on-year slowdown in the growth of the service sector however reflects a corresponding slowdown in the growth of the key subsectors of Information and Communication, Finance and Insurance

COTE'DIVOIRE The performances at the end of December 2016 were satisfactory. In respect of 2017, following the external shocks, caused mainly by the decrease in price of cocoa and the rise in the price of petrol, an update of the economic and budgetary projections became necessary.

However, there was a sustained high growth rate in 2016 (7.9 %) and the economic outlook remains positive even though we cannot rule out the existence of risks in a weak global and regional context. Inflation is contained at 1.8 % and the exportation sector supports the balance of payments.

A particular attention should be paid to budgetary management and the risk of deterioration on the terms of trade.

Sustenance of the medium term economic dynamic can be achieved through a significant improvement in the business climate and the continued implementation of structural reforms to enable the private sector investments take over public expenditure.

The country's growth rate was 7.9 % in 2016 and a 7.8 % forecast for 2017).

These performances, which were initially as a result of the gradual waning of the catching-up effect , are hinged on such structural factors as political and monetary stability (belonging to the franc zone), diversification of the economy and improvement in the business climate.

The Ivorian economy also enjoys a favourable external environment: the cocoa prices were on the increase until August 2016, combined with the reduction in oil prices and the depreciation of the franc CFA as against the dollar (currency in which the main exported products are priced). This translated into a 30 % improvement in the terms of trade.

The debt relief obtained through the PPTE initiative also enabled Cote d'Ivoire to gain some financial leeway to implement its public investment programme through its recourse to the regional (bonds and treasury bonds) and international (Eurobond) financial markets.

The Ivorian economy is diversified. The agricultural sector is now at 28 % of the GDP and Cote d'Ivoire has remained the world's largest producer of cocoa (more than 35 % of the market). The secondary sector (accounts for 25 %of the GDP) concerns mainly oil refining, energy, agrofoods and construction. The tertiary sector (accounts for 47 %of the GDP) is dominated by telecommunications, transports (port and air), distribution and financial activities.

The recovery is supported by public investments (transports, energy, health, education) and the Private sector (mines, agriculture, energy and housing), as well as household consumption.

The inflation rate is slow because of the lined exchange rate, which could be attributed to its membership of the franc Zone. It was 1 % in 2016, aſter the 1.2 % of 2015 and 0.4 % of 2014. The average inflation rate by the end of August 2017 was 0.5 % below the Community convergence threshold of 3 % as fixed by ECOWAS. The budget deficit climbed to 4 % of the GDP in 2016 (as against 29 % in 2015), due to the implementation of the national development plan (2016-2020 NDP), which provides for major public investments and lower tax receipts than expected. The 2017 financial law provides

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COUNTRIES IN FOCUS

for an improvement to the (3.7%) deficit.

Nevertheless, there are still some uncertainties as a result of the budgetary impacts of the beginning of the year strikes and growth in the price of cocoa.

Taxation Regarding taxation, there are progress mechanisms that will strengthen the tax burden ration (16. 8 % in 2016 and 2017}, particularly by improving the recovery rate (through computerisation, improved tax and customs administration) and widening tax base ( reduction of exemptions) Public debt rose to 48.3 % of the GDP (17.3 billion in USD) end of 2016. A gradual reduction in the public debt generated by C2D, the ratio of public debt as compared to the GDP increased from 45 % (34 % excluding C2D) in 2012 to 48.3 by the end of 2016 (43.2 % excluding C2D). Cote d'Ivoire is still among countries with moderate risk of debt distress.

The debt is mainly bankrolled through the financial markets and Asian donors. There is regular recourse to the FCFA markets, the last was in March 2016 (184 Million Euro in 12 years).

The balance of payment is slightly negative in 2016 (0.3 % of the GDP) due to a current account deficit. This deficit widened in 2016 to 2 % (as against 1 % in 2014), because of the decline in balance of services and contraction in the surplus of the trade balance (8.4 % of the GDP in 2016 as against 9.9 % in 2015). The balance of the capital and financial burden was positive because of the FDI. The foreign exchange reserve remained at 2.9 months of importation of goods and services.

The continued improvement in the business climate is essential for maintaining a high growth rate in the medium term. Much progress was made in 2016 and 2017, in terms of legal (investment codes, mining, electricity, telecommunications...) and institutional (establishment of the commercial court, single window...).

Nevertheless, there is still room for improvement in terms of implementation of the texts, in particular as regards tax, customs, lands and public markets.

Cote d'lvoire successfully completed a reform programme, with IMF, at the end of 2016. At the request of the Authorities, a new three-year Programme (2017-2019), supported by an extended credit facility and an extended credit mechanism, was concluded with the Fund. This programme is structured along the following main lines:(i) safeguarding the merge of

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manoeuvre of the budget of the State, (ii) reinforcing public finance and enterprise management,(iii) private sector development,(iv) consolidation and development of the financial sector and (v) strengthening of the statistic machinery.

PPA Also, a seminar on the Priority Plan of Action (PPA) 2017-2020 of the Government was held, on Tuesday 11 April 2017, under the chairmanship of the Head of State. This seminar enabled the government to adopt the Priority Plan of Action, Which will serve as the common base of the work of government for the period 2017-2020, This programme of action, which takes into account the 20162020 NDP and the main guidelines of the President of the Republic, is aimed at providing concrete and diligent responses to the expectations of the populace in terms of improving their living conditions.

On 2nd June 2017, the World Bank approved a $US120million dollar loan to Cote d'Ivoire to finance the Urban Infrastructural Development and the Secondary Cities Competitiveness Project (FIDUCAS). This project will contribute towards the establishment of a more conducive environment for the development of local businesses and making the target cities more attractive to investors and workers. These interventions, combined with direct support to the SMEs, are essential for fostering investment growth and for medium and long term job creation.

The beneficiaries of the project would be mainly State organisations and the Bouaké and San Pedro Municipalities. But, beside the public sector, the project will also benefit the private sector because individuals, businesses and cooperatives will also benefit from the entrepreneurship support programme in the two towns and their environs ; particularly the women who are very active in small trading and production activities.

According to the Ivorian presidency, President of Cote d'Ivoire, Alassane Ouattara and his Ghanaian counterpart, Nana Akufo-Addo, took part in the signing of a Strategic Partnership Agreement (SPA) and three Memorandums of Understanding between the two countries, on Tuesday, at the presidential palace of Ghana. The three MoUs between Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana were mainly on the industrial sector, eradication of pollution from illicit gold mining in the Bia and Tanoé river basins, shared by the two countries and on the cooperation in the

areas of geology and mineral resources.

GAMBIA The Gambian economy is expected to grow by 5.3 per cent in 2017 compared to an actual outturn of 2,2 percent in 2016.

The agricultural sector, a major force of economic growth, is expected to rebound to a 5.5 per cent in 2017, compared to 05 per cent in the preceding year.

Crop production is also forecasted to grow by 7.6 percent, whilst livestock is projected to grow by 3.8 per cent compared to -3.4 per cent and 3.2 per cent respectively in 2016. Similarly, forestry and fishing are anticipated to expand by 3.0 percent and 5.3 percent respectively, as against 3.0 percent a year ago.

Industry is also expected to experience a positive growth of 6.5 percent, contributing to the positive outlook in the economy, compared to contraction of 3.1 percent in 2016. The mining and quarrying subsector is projected to grow by 5.7 per cent, compared to the contraction of 10.3 percent in 2016. In addition, construction sector is also anticipated to record 11.7 percent growth in 2017 compared to the 5.9 percent registered in 2016.

Service growth is anticipated to experience a small set back with growth falling from 5.1 percent in 2016 to a forecast of 4.5 percent in 2017. Hotel and restaurant sector is anticipated to record 5.0 percent in 2017 compared to 19.7 percent in 2016.

The substantially low performance of the sector is due to the negative impact of the December political impasse that affected the tourism sector, leading to zero occupancy over the period January–March 2017, as tourism constitutes the biggest share of the service sector. This invariably led to the contraction in the growth of the sector.

Communication sector growth in 2017 is expected to register 13.5 percent compared to 9.3 per cent in 2016, while all service sub- sectors are anticipated to experienced to 2016.

LIBERIA The outlook of Liberian economy appears gloomy premised on the outcome of the presidential election and enhancement of investments in infrastructure developments as well as implementation of agricultural programmes. In this regard, the economic activities are expected to improve by the end of the first half of 2018.

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Vice President

OSINBAJO addressing the

4TH ASSEMBLY of the Heads of State and Government of Guinea Commission

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4th Assembly of the Heads of State

and Government of

GUINEA Commission The Gulf of Guinean is the north eastern most part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean between Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The Intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian is the gulf.

On 24–25 June 2013, a summit took place in Yaoundé, Cameroon, with government representatives from 25 states in West and Central Africa in attendance.

Their discussion centred on or revolved around (take one of these) Maritime Security in the Gulf of Guinea, and the first summit in Africa to be devoted exclusively to maritime security.

The aim of the summit was to adopt measures to combat the increasing maritime insecurity (piracy) in the Gulf of Guinea.

The inter-regional framework was particularly noteworthy, bringing together members of the West African Economic Community (ECOWAS) and the Central African Economic Community (ECCAS).

Piracy has long been a problem beyond Nigeria's borders, as the Gulf of Guinea has now become one of the most severely affected regions world-wide.

The intensification of what hitherto has been only rudimentary regional and interregional cooperation is being driven decisively by external actors with strategic interests in the region, primarily the United States and France. It remains open, however, how much local ownership there is.

Resolutions The resolutions made at Yaoundé include a commitment to a joint strategy to

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combat piracy, to be developed within three years. In the meantime, national policies and legislation to combat this cross-border phenomenon are to be harmonised. Operational military plans are also to be developed.

The exclusively security-policy and repressive focus of the resolutions means that no structural solution to the problem is to be expected. Given the overwhelming prevalence of authoritarian governments in the region, political and socio-economic causes are also unlikely to be addressed.

Basic Situation The Gulf of Guinea is the coastal region running south from Senegal in West Africa to Angola. The strategic significance of the region is undeniable. On the one hand, a large number of container ships headed for Europe and the United States navigate the waters of the Gulf.

On the other hand, over the past decade, the Gulf has become one of the most important regions in the world for oil and gas production. Oil production stands at around 5.5 million barrels a day. The high growth potential of oil and gas; their development at sea or in coastal areas; the proximity of the European and North American markets; the instability of the Middle East; and, finally, the growing demand for fossil fuels in emerging countries all contribute to the heightened importance of the Gulf of Guinea.

In the perception of external actors, however, its strategic importance has also

Surface Area : 2.35 million km² Ocean/sea source: Atlantic Ocean River Source: Niger River Basin Countries: Liberia, Cote d'lvoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Islands: Bioko, São Tomé Island, Príncipe Island, Ilhéu Bom Bom, Ilhéu Caroço

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increased markedly, leading to an enhanced military and diplomatic presence, especially on the part of France and the United States. The expansion of organised crime and terrorism has also contributed to the increased concern.

“

The aim of the summit was to adopt measures to combat the increasing maritime insecurity (piracy) in the Gulf of Guinea.

The downside of economic development is that criminal activities have become more lucrative in recent years. The proliferation of maritime insecurity has been fostered above all by the region's political context and adjacent states. This is because despite or rather even because of the abundance of natural resources, poverty, corruption and conflict are virulent. Most states in the region are not in a position to establish a monopoly on the use of force.

Security organisations and law enforcement agencies are ineffective, in coastal regions and at sea in particular. In Nigeria, Africa's biggest oil producer (around 2.4 million barrels of oil a day), these problems are particularly pronounced and thus, it is not surprising that the country is the epicentre of maritime insecurity.

Increase in maritime insecurity Maritime insecurity has increased in recent years in West and Central Africa. Its geographical scope has also expanded.

Measured in terms of recorded attacks in 2012 it extended from Guinea in the west to Angola in the south

Nigeria on the 21st -23rd of November, 2017, hosted the 4th Assembly of the Heads of State and Government of Guinea Commission in Abuja, with the theme “ A vibrant Gulf of Guinea Region for sustainable Development.”

Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari emerged as the new Chair of the Gulf of Guinean Commission.

Buhari who was represented by the Vice President, Prof.Yemi Osinbajo, called on member states to urgently address the socio-economic and security challenges facing the commission.

He listed the challenges to include hike in maritime insurance premiums for vessels coming into the Gulf of Guinea, as well as unregulated and unreported fishing along the Gulf of Guinea.

President Buhari urged member states to collaborate on efforts towards tackling violations of domestic and international treaties in the Gulf of Guinea and reducing pollution and environmental degradation.

The president also urged member states to fulfill their financial obligations to the commission in order to ensure effective operation and performance of the Gulf of Guinea Commission.

“

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MINING:

Walking AFRICA out of POVERTY HELEN OKON writes on the renewed effort of the federal government of Nigeria to make mining a major plank of its economic diversification programme.

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I

n June 2017, the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development, partnered Afrocet Montgomery to organise the first ever 'National Mining Summit' titled “Unearthing Nigeria's Mining Sector.”

The event was put together as part of efforts by the President Muhammadu Buhari's administration at diversifying the nation's economy from the oil to non-oil productive sectors.

The gathering, believed to be the largest in the history of mining in Nigeria, brought together stakeholders, experts, exhibitors and visitors from the West Africa region, at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, Nigeria, from June 13th -15th.

The ConMin West Africa is a private sector-driven consciousness to engage governments in the sub-region for a dramatic expression of the ultimate drive to diversify the sub-region's economic potentials, prospects and opportunities towards institutionalising acts of engagement.

This is necessary when viewed against the backdrop of the present global economic challenges. Most countries in this divide had in the past glorified in the fortune of oil deposit.

Those at the backyards of this economic advantage, have all along strived striven to explore in their states. At present, more

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So, among the gains of this summit is the amplification of the need to diversify economy and explore more avenues of agricultural and mining prospects towards achieving economic stability and job creation.

This event brought together major captains of industries and stakeholders in the West Africa sub-region, a high yielding and result-oriented summit.

Expectedly, Vice President Yemi Osinbanjo, who was the Chief Guest of Honour at the elaborate gathering, expresses his delight for being part of the event.

He says, “The theme of the conference “Unearthing the Nigeria Mining Sector,” shows that even miners have a sense of humour. But more importantly, it underscores the earth is moving fast before us and the enormous opportunities.

Yes, we need to unearth incredible source of these growth and development, for us and for our continent. ”This summit marks another step in the journey towards delivering the Africa Mining Vision, that vision adopted by African Heads of States back in 2009, aimed at achieving Africa's vast mineral resources to liberate the continent from the shackles of poverty and perpetual underdevelopment.”

countries are prospecting wishing for oil discovery in their domains territories.

However, the anti-climax of the falling oil fortune is treading on a dangerous economic precipice threatening to crash on nations, mostly the developing nations.

Therefore, ConMin West Africa, in collaboration with other conscious agencies, engages this sub-consciousness to partner with the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel to organise the maiden edition of the summit.

It's It is mainly targeted at r evolutionizing the mining industry as possible intervention in to the ugly “promise” of likely oil glut in the very near future. More so, Moreover, there is the

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He also describes the forum as one that would help change the narrative of Africa, being perceived as a continent where the abundant resources are all about degradation and marginalisation of the host environment, “to one of sustainable growth and socio-economic development underpinned by transparency, equitable and optimal exploitation of resources and exclusive development.”

“For us in Nigeria, this summit is also a key step in implementing our Economic Recovering Plan, launched in April, by President Muhammadu Buhari. The mining sector is a priority for the Nigeria government and crucial part of our economic growth and diversification agenda.

“The President has seized every opportunity in the last two years to highlight the diversification of vision and the central growth of the mining sector.

The argument for diversification is of course a straight forward one. We are all

witnesses to the impact of recent drop in our revenues, resulting mostly from the decline in oil prices. This is so for many countries such as ours that is one commodity-based. We suffer depletion by eternal reserves, and by extension, resort to our foreign exchange for our businesses, and the economies went into recession. This is the consequence of our over dependency on one product.”

“Giving what running a mono economy has done to us, there is the urgent need to therefore tap into our abundant mineral resources. There is therefore no better time to make that long overdue transition from an oil-based economy into

“

For us in Nigeria, this summit is also a key step in implementing our Economic Recovering Plan

“

challenge of unemployment amidst numerous mineral deposits yearning to be explored.

truly diversified global competitive one creating tens of thousands of jobs and promoting industrialization in the process,” Osinbajo explains.

Providing insight into further plans on how the Buhari administration hopes to actualise this, the Vice President stresses that “the federal government is determined to achieve this goal for the mining sector in spite of the many legacies that we inherited including the no funding, lack of due geological data, weakness and supervising ministry limited infrastructure , low productivity , limited cooperative federalism, low productivity, illegal mining, weak framework for managing host communities' difficulties in doing business , and protected litigation and legacy asset. “We have started tackling this issue head-on and we are pleased to know that the substantial success we have achieved through the combined effort of the Federal Ministry of Mines and Steel Development and other ministries and agencies of the government. and our development

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partners and other stakeholders, we published comprehensive roadmap for the growth and development of the Nigeria Mining Sector to guide and to drive the restructuring of the Nigeria Mining Sector over the next 10 years.

“We have also secured funding from both domestic and international sources for investment in the solid minerals industry from the public purse. The Ministry of Mines and Steel has been granted access to the mining sector potential of our natural resources development fund for a sum of 360 billion naira approximately a US$100m and intervention fund from the federal government. This is partly to help provide cheap loans and grants to industry participants as well as providing for investments in foundational infrastructure.”

”the ministry of mines and steel have been granted access to the mining sector potential of our natural resources development fund for a sum of 360billion naira approximately a US$100m

”

“We are currently working with the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority, the Nigeria Stock Exchange and others, to assemble, as we just heard from the Director General Stock Exchange, a US$600million investment fund for the sector. Internationally, we have secured over US$150 million in funding from the World Bank for the numerous Sector Support for Economy Diversification MSCD OR PED. “This will provide technical assistance for restructuring and operationalisation of the Solid Mineral Development Fund which will make finance available for artisans and small scale mining operators through micro finance and leasing institutions.

“Financial investment aside, we are also addressing the challenge of the lack of geological data. The Nigeria Geological

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Survey Agency is undertaking the additional ground investigation nationwide to operate a national data base so that we can all easily attract financial investment as well as assure operators of the scope of operation required for further exploration and mining.

“We have also signed Memorandum of Understanding and technical cooperation agreement with the China Geological Survey, Shandong Mineral Exploitation Agency and the national office of hydrocarbon of mines of Morocco. Two collaborations are intended to leverage on the expertise and state of the art technologies of those organisations in existing generating investor-friendly geosciences data,” the VP stresses amidst a thundering ovation.

Continuing, Osinabajo says, “further to encouraging more entrants and more investors, federal government is working to ensure implementation of a three-year tax-free for new investor and the mining sector.”

“We have also signed memorandum of understanding and technical cooperation agreement with the China Geological Survey Shandong Mineral Exploitation Agency and the National Office of Hydrocarbon of Mines of Morocco”.

On how the mineral is to fit into the broader economy, the nation's number two man explains thus: “The recent relaunched of our Economic Recovery Growth Plan targets a 7% growth rate for the Nigeria economy by 2020, but sets a more aggressive growth rate of 8.54% for the mining sector. Our long term goal is to grow the mining sector to GDP by US$27billion in 2025, which is roughly 3% of our current GDP. “This plan is to be realised principally by creating an enabling environment targeting large scale investors to institutionalise world class production standard in the country solid mineral sector.”

for business is a critical feature in our Economic Recovery Growth Plan. This is our ease of doing business agenda, aimed at ensuring that Nigeria is as better place to do business in order to unleash the immense potential of private capital and private enterprise.

“We are incredibly excited about what it portends business and the economy in general, including existing and intending businesses and players in the mining sector. It kicked off in 2016 with setting up of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council by President Muhammadu Buhari. The council which I am privilege to chair, has a mandate to oversee the implementation of the reforms which are to substantially improve the Nigeria business environment.”

While expressing confidence that the economic diversification agenda of the APC-led government is working and will walk Nigeria out of the woods, Osinabjo lauds Minister of Mines and Steel, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, and the Minister of State, Hon. Abubakar Bawa Bwari, and the entire team “for the ground breaking achievements of the ministry in the last two years.

“And a special thanks to the Australia government for the excellent support they have given our ministry of mines and steel, and the government of Nigeria and the entire West Africa mining sector over the years.”

“Our long term goal is to grow the mining sector to by US$27billion in 2025, which is roughly 3% of our current GDP” Speaking on how business can flourish in the Nigerian environment, Osinbajo reels out government's plan in this regard. “The plan to create an enabling environment

Fayemi on tackling poverty Making his remarks at the event, Dr. Fayemi recalls that the African Mining Summit Vision (AMV) was adopted in

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February, 2009, during the African Union (AU) Summit.

The adoption, according to him, “was in furtherance of the October, 2008 meeting of African ministers responsible for mineral resources development. The AMV is by far one of the most promising instruments that unite the whole of Africa towards achieving particular objectives.

"It is Africa's own response to tackling the paradox of great mineral wealth existing side by side with pervasive poverty, through building economic and social linkage that benefits Africa.”

On the AMV, the Minister tells the audience that “for us in Nigeria, in view of present realities, we have found our bearing from the AMV, and domesticated its provisions in our "Road map for the Development of the Nigerian Mining Sector".

“Accordingly, one of the priority goals of our government is to position our mining sector to play a greater role in sustainably diversifying our country's revenue base, creating jobs, and fast-tracking industrialization.

“This is not a tall order, as we are evidently endowed with an abundance of mineral resources. We however realize

that we cannot go very far with our agenda if we do not feature community as a serious mining destination. We are enlisting strongly in the reckoning of the international mining community as a serious mining destination. We are enlisting critical stakeholders domestically and globally as enabler of our vision, while providing the conditions for the creation of shared value for all stakeholders and participants in our jurisdiction.

“...one of the priority goals of our government is to position our mining sector to play a greater role in sustainably diversifying our country's revenue base, creating jobs, and fast-tracking industrialization.”

The minister also says there is a synergy among African countries, disclosing that “we have reports of the achievements that are already being recorded under the stewardship of my ministerial counterparts.

A

ccording to him, “ConMin West Africa has been launched to serve the growing construction, machinery, infrastructure and mining equipment in West Africa region.

Afrocet Montgomery has its footprint in every continent in the world and been existing since 1895.Currently, there are very few forums in West Africa that offer a platform for the key stakeholders, both regionally and internationally to interact and conduct business in this way.

George Pearson, Exhibition Director, Afrocet Montgomery

Also speaking, Exhibition Director, Afrocet Montgomery, George Pearson, digs into reasons his company put together the summit.

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The event, Pearson says, was put together by “highly respected Afrocet Montgomery Exhibitions and Events”, and IMAG GmbH, both of which have a combined 145 years of experience.

Giving further lowdown on Afrocet Montgomery, he describes it as a “joint venture business which specialises in running high-end exhibitions and events in West Africa. The company's extensive knowledge and experience of the

“The AMV prescribes integrating mining into industrial and trade policy at regional level, and encouraging collaboration and healthy competition amongst countries .We therefore consider it important to have a platform for bringing stakeholders in the subregion together, to share ideas and compares notes on how to collaborate in making our resources work for our people. Asides sharing similar geological formations, we have similar objectives and face comparable challenge, which make it imperative for us to work together.

“This is why our ministry has prepared with Afrocet Montgomery, working with Deloitte, to host CONMIN West Africa, in demonstration of our commitment to signalling the renaissance of our mining sector, and to naturally take the lead in driving the achievement of the objectives of the AMV, collectively and at country level. It is our vision to use this platform to place Nigeria prominently in the international mining calendar, and beneficially attract greater attention to our country and sub-region.”

African market has enabled the team to develop a strong portfolio of shows, which cover a wider range of sectors.

IMAG GmbH is a subsidiary of Messe Munich, and its portfolio includes around 30 trade fairs in 20 countries.

Since the company's foundation in 1946, the organisation has already participated in over 5,000 international exhibitions – as an organiser, cooperation partner or Implementation company for official trade fair participation.

Stakeholders at the event are of the view that the various resolutions arrived reached at the summit must be seriously considered if Nigeria, the West African sub-region and indeed the entire continent, is to make a leeway in the global economy. This, they further argue portend, is one surest way of walking the continent and its people out of the poverty cycle.

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We can't do MINING SITTING IN OFFICE - Bwari

In this interview, the Minister of State for Mines and Development, Hon Abubakar Bawa Bwari, speaks on how best to tap into the abundant mineral resources spread across the country.

Excerpt:

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hat is your overview of the mining sector

With the down turn, most countries turn to other sectors to see how best they can harness more revenues. Nigeria is not leſt out when it comes to diversification. We were known as the oil and gas destination, and still known as the oil and gas destination but we thought now that oil has gone down, we needed to diversify to solid minerals and agriculture.

Nigeria is not new to mining but we ignored mining. Mining started as early as 1920, when we have the coal production

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in Enugu, tin and columbite in Jos. Shortly aſter, we found oil and ignored mining sector. Now we want to focus our attention on mining, we want to return Nigeria to the mining map. In doing that, we decided to look at the issues on ground. We discovered that there are activities of illegal minings. In fact, the form a greater population of what is happening in mining now they are the illegal miners and artisanal miners .The level of mining today IN NIGERIA is low.

“We want to return Nigeria to the mining map”

For the government to really harness the needed revenue and create some jobs, we need to bring in the big players, and to get the big players, there are certain things that have to be on ground-infrastructure, data, security and so on. These are things that the government have been addressing and are part of trying to get us among the mining countries. That we decided to do a summit now so that we can discuss, share experiences, and tell them what we been doing and learn from bigger players and other countries in mining like South Africa , Australia and so on. And I have seen from those who are here, we have learnt so much, we have

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SPECIAL REPORT

Any possibility to have this kind of summit in states, that is the host communities, where the mining activities really take place?

Infact you have just hit the nail on the head .Right now that is what we are doing. We been going on tours, we are in Nasarawa, Enugu, Ebonyi, and so on. And Kaduna It was quite enriching and interactive with those who are in it and those who are intending to come into mining and I realised that mining is not something you sit down in the office to do. Going down to where it is happening, you will really appreciate what is going on –you will appreciate their problem , you will appreciate the potential we have in this country and I did not realise this , until we went there.

“I realised that mining is not something you sit in the office to do “ We know that there are problems, particularly that of infrastructure, because to get to the mining site the road. The roads we need to get to the mining site Then investors are facing problems, with the host communities charging them multiple taxes, particularly local government and states. Some of them tax them more than what the federal government is getting from them. So these are the kind of reaction and information we get when we go there. We are putting together an aggregate of all the things we were able to get there together, to see how best we can improve relationship with the miners and the host communities, so that we can create an enabling environment that will be the investors' delight to come to Nigeria.

Because there are so many places that are looking for investors, if we don't create an enabling environment it won't work. Interacting with them is key so they know what you are doing; we know what they are doing. So we all are on the same page. That is exactly what we are doing right now, the next place we are going is Plateau we have issues there of late in a

Funding mining business

place in one place Wasa and zura. These are areas very difficult to access, We have no choice, we have to go there .So mining is a field work and we are now on the field .

“We are putting together an aggregate of all the things we were able to get there, to see how best we can improve relationship with the miners and the host communities, so that we can create an enabling environment that will be the investors' delight and attraction.”

”

seen so much we are so inspired despite the modest achievements we had in the country. We can see that our roadmap and our programmes are on the right path. All we need to do now is to work hard to be able to get there. For me, my take in this conference is that of inspiration. I am really inspired and I am excited for the success recorded at this conference.

We want to return NIGERIA to the mining map

”

in Nigeria is a Big Challenge – Sani

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lhaji Shehu Sani, President, Association of Nigerian Miners, bares his mind on the opportunities and possible challenges facing the mining sector in West Africa. .

Excerpts: What are the opportunities in the mining sector?

The opportunities are great as all the minerals deposited in the West Africa region readily have their markets. When there is market for product, the opportunity is there. The major aim of producing is to sell. Generally, West Africa has a market for these products, so that we can sell and make money.

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What are the challenges in the mining sector?

The challenge in summary is funding, funding for the latest technology for mining to grow to the level we are aspiring. We have to produce modern technology, and modern technology cannot not be acquired without money.

So funding is a challenge, and also, the artisanal operation is also a challenge, because a successful mining is supposed to be based on formal operation where all the criteria are formal. Criteria such as cognisance , exploration, mines design, exploitation All these things should be followed, and unless these criteria's are followed, it is not likely that mining will translate to that potential as aspiring to have

What did you refer to as practical demonstration in the mining sector during your presentation?

It is just what other speakers have said.

We have been attending conferences over the year, resolutions are being passed, decisions are being taken. But from that time to date, what are the practical actions so far taken? You will notice none. So, what we are saying is, this summit should have a difference from others. Let us celebrate the implementation of what we agreed here.

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S

he is a nature lover who aspires to add value to the beautiful and unique gemstones found in Nigeria and other African countries. She began to design with gemstones in her first year at the university and went ahead to set up a gemstone jewellery design studio in Abuja, Nigeria's capital city. In this interview, Lotanna Amina Egwuatu, Creative Director, MINA Stones, discusses her work and the gemstones industry Tell us about MINA stones..

Mina Stones is a gemstone manufacturing company. We manufacture local gemstones found in Nigeria and we set them on metal and steel gold. That is the main thing we do for now.

During your presentation, you spoke on difficult business environment. How do you mean?

A: Coming back to Nigeria, the main issues I faced were lack of Information. It was difficult in that sense. When you have to do your work, you have to actually source for the stones yourself, you have to cut the metal yourself, you find out that they are not enough people that have the good skills to be able to do these things, so you find out that you do every thing yourself which of course is very stressful. The last one was finance; it was difficult to get subsidised forex to buy equipment. The bank frustrates you, you end up spending a lot on this equipment and there is no support from the government or anybody. It's difficult in that sense.

But like I said, it was the passion that kept me going and still keeps me going. And thankfully, I am here today, it's been well. It has been generally good.

ere 're huge opportunities in

gemstone business

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- EGWUATU

You spoke about government setting up a global lab. Is it government's responsibility?

I also talked about the government partnering with the professionals and private individuals in this industry. It's very key for this marriage to happen, because many things will be gotten out of it. The lab is one of them. Ii is not necessarily the government's duty to set up the lab, but it is its duty to create the enabling environment for that to happen and work with the people who are already in the field like professionals, that are DI trained, who are trained to establish that because you want to have a lab that when the stones go through it, it is the same worldwide. Whatever result you get, you will transfer to anywhere in the world and you get the same result.

What are the potentials in the gemstones industry?

Like I mentioned, there are opportunities. It is such a huge industry, even just the gemstone. So huge, because you have the people to buy, you have the people to source , you have the middle men, that educate, that appraise, you have the processors so there is a lot of opportunity. People just need to get identify where they are interested and just key in.

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SPECIAL REPORT

Africa MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION ON MINING

Mr. Antony Benham, is the Chief Operation Ofcer International Geosciences Services Limited, an independent commercial company spurned out from the British Geological Survey (BGS). He was a participant at the recent mining conference in Abuja. HELEN OKON takes him on after the conference

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hat is your general opinion about the conference?

I am really pleased to be here. I can only thank the organisers for inviting me to this event to be a panellist. Yes, this is my first time in Nigeria and I think it is a fantastic opportunity for this country to develop its mineral resources which, unfortunately had suffered for some time. I think the roadmap the minister rolled out is an excellent opportunity of the government's vision for taking Nigeria and developing its mineral resources

If you look through Africa as a whole, there are significant differences in obtaining data. There are some geological survey organisations where data is freely

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“

But as it is now, African is going in the right direction. I would say that speech emphasises that the governments of many countries, not just Nigeria, are moving in the right direction. They do have abundant untapped natural resources. What they need to do is to ensure that the information about these resources is opened up to potential investors.

“

How germane is data to prioritising mining as a major economic source in Africa?

Data is the most important thing any indigenous exploration company looks at when it wants to go into any country for exploration.

So, if data is not available at all or if he can't get the data in the right format, then there is significant problems there.

exploration companies coming and doing their work. If an exploration company can't get data, it goes elsewhere.

Mr. Antony Benham,

available and in the right format, which is exactly what exploration companies are looking for. However, there are unfortunately some companies where data is very difficult to get a hold of.

Those are countries that unfortunately, are less inclined and pay less attention to

So, as they are coming, they can do their work and the resources can be realised and developed. So, today, the positive news is that all the ministers are saying they want to develop their resources to remove themselves from the so- called resources-curse. The ministers have realised things have to be done the right way.

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Dearth of data, bane of mining industry

in W/Africa

–Pearson

In this interview, Jamie Pearson, Marketing & Operation Manager, Afrocet Montgomery, organisers of the first mining summit in Nigeria, gives an assessment of the event and also speaks on how best to make the sector work towards eradicating poverty.

T

he need to have growing map in place working is key to the rise of the mining sector,

Excerpt; What's your impression of this event?

We are very happy with the turnout, being the first year. We have been working in Nigeria for quite some years before now.

This is the first time working on a large scale event that involved government.

The turnout was very strong, we are excited the Acting President was able to come down to the event. That is a boost, a major one at that, especially with the right stakeholders. It wasn't just government, there were commercial stakeholders as well, and I think the discussion that took place hopefully will start showing results in the next 6 months in terms of what comes out.

Any plan to have this summit at the grassroots?

Being first year, everything had to be centralised, every thing had to come together in one place. I think now seeing is believing, and in going forward, we can look at these ministry working with others at the sub-level within the country and bringing in more delegation within Nigeria. We have Ghana, Niger, Kenya, so, it is more of international event, from that side. But I think going forward and looking at the potential, it is important to bring the grassroots that can assess themselves and speak with the government and ministers to speak with their counterpart in those states and bring delegates and may be see how that could be funded or promote the innovation.

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Do you think African countries are ready to harness the potentials and opportunities in the mining sector?

I think it is on the verge of it for sure. I think people know that the opportunities are there and learning from those countries such as, South Africa, Kenya, where they are a bit further up in terms of industry and could speak with and influence Nigeria. Nigeria as the largest economy in West Africa, can through that learning and knowledge sharing, pushes out plan to other countries for further gains among themselves.

Let me also add here that mining is capital intensive and its success depends hugely on the quality and breadth of data available. Above all, data availability remains a major constraint to the development of the mining sector in West Africa.

In diversifying the Nigeria economy, what can government do to increase activities in the mining sector?

I think the key platform is the ease of doing business in the sector. In the oil sector that happened years ago. It should been much regulated, but it understanding the land ownership issue. Maybe presenting the would-be investors with a level-playing ground for them to buy the land without having to chase land owners also increases stability I guess. That is my guess. So, the people know it is not a cheap industry; they have to invest some money to make it go somewhere. So it all about understanding the sector and being able to plan ahead. Having a road map in place and working is key to the rise of the mining sector

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SPECIAL REPORT

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BITS & PIECES

Minerals

Awards AfDB President Adesina becomes 6th African world food laureate President of the African Development Bank, Akinwunmi Adesina, in Des Moines, the capital city of lowa, United States of America, became the sixth African to be awarded the World Food Prize in a ceremony witnessed by two former African Presidents.

An elated Adesina said he will used the award prize money of $250,000 to set up a foundation for African youth development in agriculture.

Energy Rwanda, World Bank partner on increased access to electricity Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Claver Gatete, and World Bank Country Manager for Rwanda, Yasser El Gammal, have signed a $ 48.9 million Scaling-Up Energy Renewable Programme Financing Agreement.

The deal is to help the government of Rwanda increase electricity access through off-grid technologies and to facilitate private-sector participation in renewable off-grid electrification.

As a support to the recently approved Rural Electrification Strategy, the Rwanda Renewable Energy Fund Project will help provide 445,500 new off-grid connections which will give about 1.8 million people access to off-grid electricity.

Around Africa Angola (Angola- Angola Cables collaborates with Microsoſt to drive digital transformation in Africa)

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Sierra Leone: 709 –Carat 'peace diamond' goes for $6.5m 709-Carat diamond found in Sierra Leone has been sold for more than $6.5million.

This diamond is said to be the 14th-largest ever discovered in the country's history, according to the Rapport Group, which auctioned the stone in New York on behalf of Sierra Leone's government.

The company says 59 percent of the money will go to the government of the West African nation, while 26 percent will benefit the artisanal diggers who found the diamond.

The diamond was discovered by a church minister, Pastor Emmanuel Momoh in Koryardu located in the country's eastern Kono district.

The Rapaport Group has dubbed the stone the “peace diamond” and says its sale “will provide vital life saving infrastructure to the area where the diamond was found” According to the BBC, the government is expected to use the money to introduce a fresh supply of water, electricity, medical care and roads in the village of Koryardu.

Infrastructure IMF approves further funds for Cote d'Ivoire The International Monetary Fund has approved a $136.5m payment to Cote d'Ivoire following a review.

It said that performance under the extended credit and extended fund facilities-supported programme was strong in the first half of 2017, with all performance criteria and indicative targets observed and structural benchmarks met.

Cote d'Ivoire had implemented sound policies, which helped to secure the confidence of the international financial markets, enabling a successful Eurobond issue in June.

The IMF noted that economic activity remained strong in 2017; with real GDP growth expected in excess of 7 % in 2017-19. Inflation was expected to remain subdued.

Cote d'Ivoire's fiscal budget deficit was expected to be contained to 4.5 % of GDP in 2017 and fall to the West African Economic and Monetary Union norm of 3 % by 2019.

Culture

Entertainment

Angola, Algeria want cultural cooperation strengthened Luanda - Angola and Algeria have stressed the need to strengthen cultural cooperation in the field of cultural heritage, film and audio-visual, cultural industries and museums, with particular emphasis on the training of cadres.

During a meeting that the Minister of Culture, Carolina Cerqueira, held with the ambassador of Algeria, Larbi Latrach, the duo agreed on the need for the search of experience in the various domains, but always with the training on focus, taking into account the need of Angola in the areas of restoration of monuments and sites.

Carolina Cerqueira also requested Algerian support for the application process of the Kwanza Corridor, Tchitundu Hulu and Cuito Cuanavale to world heritage.

iflix and NBC Universal team up to offer iflix users a huge slate of everyone's favourite TV shows and movies. iflix adds hundreds of hours of NBC Universal's most highly acclaimed TV shows and movies to its vast library, including Mr. Robot, Grimm, The Magicians, Bridesmaids and many more CAPE TOWN, South Africa, December 20, 2017/ -- iflix (www.iflix.com), the world's leading Internet TV service for emerging markets, offering subscribers unlimited access to thousands of TV shows, movies and more, today announced it has entered into major multi-year content licensing agreement with NBCU niversal (NBCU) to add a huge selection of the studio's most popular and critically acclaimed titles to iflix's extensive library.

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BITS & PIECES

Development Lagarde seeks economic diversification in Africa Economic diversification can boost growth in sub-Saharan Africa, IMF Managing Director, Christine Lagarde, has said.

On Tuesday, Lagarde said even minor increases in export diversification could help African countries to increase GDP growth by up to one percentage point.

During a speech at the Chamber of Commerce in Benin, Lagarde said that economic diversification would not only kick-start growth, but will also make economies more resilient in the long term: “Think about it: relying heavily on one sector—be it oil, or an agricultural commodity—means a single shock can devastate an economy, stopping growth in its tracks, causing unemployment to rise and wages to fall, and sapping revenue so that critical public investments go wanting as debt levels rise.”

African countries should also prepare for the influx of young Africans entering the job market in the coming years, and diversification might help with this, she said.

“By 2030, half of the annual increase in the global working age population is expected to come from sub-Saharan African,” the IMF boss added.

Rwanda, Botswana and Mauritius had successfully diversified their export economies, she said.

“Rwanda has encouraged a rapid shiſt of employment and output from basic agricultural production to higher-value activity, especially services.

“Botswana has built on its comparative advantage in diamonds by expanding along the value chain into diamond trading, cutting, polishing, and retailing,” she said.

She added that Mauritius had “shiſted its focus from singlecrop farming in the 1960s to more sophisticated agriculture and from there to tourism and to manufacturing and financial services”.

According to the latest figures from the World Bank, Botswana's unemployment rate is 18.6 %, Mauritius is at 7.6% while Rwanda is only 2.4 %.

Lagarde said that, while there is “no typical diversification pattern”, diversification “is driven by openness and trade integration, as well as foreign direct investment”.

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Solid Minerals Barite : Africa's untapped mineral resources Barite is the principal ore of barium used as a weighing agent in drilling mud. Drilling mud is a mixture of different types of chemicals in water or oil, which is used in water, solid minerals or petroleum drilling and is mostly used by the oil companies If properly harnessed, Barite is one mineral that will set the Nigerian economy on top.

Barite is basically used by the oil companies for drilling, and if the oil companies operating in Nigeria can patronize the local content which is contained in the Nigerian Mining Mineral Act, Nigeria will have no business experiencing economy downturn.

In the area of barite natural mineral resources, Nigeria is one of the African countries that can boast of vast deposits. The numerous mineral resources in Nigeria has provided the nation with a lot of opportunities for both local and foreign investment, even though the Nigerian mining sector is still not fully developed with many of these resources like barite being imported from other African countries and regions of the world.

However, there are still chances of positive turn around if only the Nigerian Government will ensure that the oil companies begin to patronise this rich mineral.

The highest quality and quantity in the state. The mineral can be found in commercial quantities in Obubra, Yala, Biase, Ikom, Obanliku, Yakurr, Plateau and Benue.

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Reviewing Africa mining sector

D

r. Kojo Busia is the Acting Coordinator, African Minerals Development Centre (AMDC). He also leads the governance and participation team under the Africa Mining Vision, an African Union mining flagship for sustainable development. He led the AMDC in the design and development of the Country Mining Vision Guidebook which is now being rolled out in a number of African countries for the domestication of the Africa Mining Vision.

He spent nearly a decade leading the United Nation Economic Commission on Africa's support to the African Peer Review Mechanism for the African Union/NEPAD, helping the flagship programme to gain traction and institutional support throughout Africa and globally.

BUSINESSREVIEWAFRIKA/FEB 2018

In this role, he facilitated the adoption of the Peer Review Mechanism as the major framework for addressing natural resource governance challenges in Africa.

His career spans a range of additional assignments at the international, multilateral and ODA level throughout Africa and globally including design and implementation of a Regional Democracy and Conflict Prevention Program in West Africa. He is a frequent lecturer on business, economics, governance and development at major events in Africa and globally.

In 2009, the African Mining Vision (AMV) was adopted by African Heads of State and Government. The AMV offers a unique

Dr. Kojo Busia, African Minerals Development Centre

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REVIEW

pan –African pathway to finally reverse the old paradigm regarding the management of our mineral wealth. It seeks to use Africa's natural resources sector to transform the continent's social and economic development. AMDC is the lead institution that supports AU member States sector development to the vision, to achieve better development outcomes.

undertaking exciting work with stakeholders across Africa to leverage this approach to encourage investment in the minerals sector and greater economic diversification across AU member States.

The goal of AMDC's linkages, investment and diversification work stream is to unlock the transformative potential of mineral resources to foster diversified, vibrant and globally competitive industrial The vision is designed to support the economies in African resource-rich governments in addressing the complex countries. linkages that must be unlocked to make AMDC's linkages, investment and mineral resources truly developmental. diversification work stream was established to address a number of key AMDC's seven work streams reflect the challenges highlighted in the African priorities identified by African member States as requiring strategic governments, and work together to support to unlock opportunities thus far support African mineral economies to under-explored. The work stream develop consistent development addresses economic, social, fiscal and –oriented mineral policies and knowledge barriers that prevent African regulatory fra countries from achieving the full potential mework of their mineral resources. Linkages s; between the African minerals industry and Africa is well other economic and social sectors are generally not sufficiently developed, endowed with mineral reflecting the industry's with limited resources. It harbours the value addition to overseas markets.

The export of minerals in their raw world's largest mineral forms, means that opportunities for creating much needed job and

reserves of platinum, gold, transforming economies are lost. diamonds, chromites, A number of challenges inhibit development of economic linkages in manganese, and the sector, such as externally-focused mining company procurement, significant vanadium1. mak e effective use of geological and geospatial information for governance and developmental outcomes, diversify their economies by unlocking economic linkages; establish a knowledge–driven and well–governed African mineral- sector that is socially and environmental accountable , and contributes to broad–based growth and development , and build a viable and sustainable artisanal and small –scale mining sector to provide decent quality of life for rural communities.

It is no surprise that the word 'linkages' is prominent in AMDC's core mission. The vision stresses the importance of a holistic approach to minerals development that adds value by: developing upstream linkages into mining capital goods, consumables and manufacturing, and side stream linkages into infrastructure (power, logistics, communications, and water) and skills and technology development. AMDC is

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skills gaps across Africa and infrastructure deficits.

products and generating new technology options.

The AMV encourages African minerals sector stakeholders to think but not out of the mining box. AMDC's linkages team puts this into practice, working with AU member states, the private Sector and other stakeholders to create and strengthen production, trade, knowledge, social and spatial linkages. It is a particular focus on support to countries in domesticating the AMV by harmonising or developing related policies and strategies, including by supporting implementation and monitoring of progress. AMDC also aims at accompanying the development of benchmarked programmes and incentives to support.

Africa is well endowed with mineral resources. It harbours the world's largest mineral reserves of platinum, gold, diamonds, chromites, manganese, and vanadium1.

Table 1 illustrates Africa's mineral potential and production in global terms.

Yet these statistics are probably underestimated due to limited geological mapping of the continent. In addition, the continent produces about 17 per cent of the world's uranium.

Most of these minerals are exported as ores, concentrates or metals without significant downstream processing to add value. This has led to the persistent belief that the untapped mineral potential can act as a springboard for Africa's industrialization.

Africa's large infrastructure deficits limit the potential for increased minerals exploitation, especially in transport and energy. Perceptions of political risk, sovereign credit ratings, and technical risk also deter investment in mining and infrastructure projects.

Moreover, neither domestic sources of capital nor the private sector participation fully in infrastructure projects, lead to a failure to unlock shared mineral project opportunities.

Mining, by nature, is inherently unsustainable in that the life of the mine is limited and will eventually come to a close. However, its sustainability can be ensured by the linkages (downstream, upstream and side stream) it forms with other sectors of the economy. Sustainable development as defined by the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) in its Brundtland report - Our Common Future.

With some exceptions, the African minerals sector generates little new knowledge in terms of mining –related products, processing technology and services. There is limited domestic funding for technology and research, and generally weak partnership between research institutes and mining companies. This dearth of research and development (R&D) is a major challenge to sector competiveness. Home –grown R&D is vital for creating value added to mineral

(WCED, 1987) is “development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. However, this widely used definition focuses on intergenerational equity and a further expansion of the standard definition was made during the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, using the three pillars of sustainable development: economic, social, and environmental

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ARTICLE

ANTONY BENHAM, Chief Operation Officer IGS (International Geoscience Services) Ltd, Geoscience Innovation Hub, British Geological Survey Environmental Science Centre, writes on mining potentials that abound in West Africa

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est Africa is well endowed with mineral resources, and there remains significant potential for the discovery of additional resources in the region. A carefully managed and sustainable plan to exploit mineral deposits is essential to ensure that countries and their populations can all benefit from the undoubted wealth which mineral resources can provide.

The benefits to countries from mining are well known and include not just revenue from the sale of minerals, but also from potential downstream benefits from the beneficiation of these raw materials into more valuable products. For example, uncut gemstones can command significant premiums if they are processed and transformed into cut and polished gems before they are sold. Furthermore, mining also attracts service industries into a region, which brings additional income and personnel into the area, potentially transforming a previously sparsely populated province into a region with prosperous new towns.

However, the adage of the 'Resource Curse' is something that always needs to be considered when developing the mining sector in a region. It is, of course, not the mineral resources themselves that are the curse, but when exploitation is mismanaged and the benefits are not passed onto the communities, they become potential sources of tension and unrest.

There are countries which have successfully developed their mineral resources peacefully and to the benefit of the nation, for example Ghana. However, there are also countries which are still struggling to see the benefits from their undoubted mineral wealth, for example the Democratic Republic of Congo.

It is hoped that the governments of the West African region will look at how mineral resources can be successfully managed and apply these principals here, rather than progressing down the painful road of economic mismanagement and misery.”

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Federal Government of Nigeria Foreign Direct Investment FDI in the last 5years

NEWS

RT. Hon. Yakubu Dogara at the parliamentary conference on Legislative actions for containment of small arms proliferation and terrorist ďŹ nancing in

ECOWAS

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NEWS

W/Africa needs strong laws to combat arms proliferation –Dogara

He made the remarks at the opening session of the Parliamentary Conference on Containment of Small Arms Proliferation and Terrorist Financing in ECOWAS, which held in Abuja.

“

“The sub-region has suffered from intra- and inter- communal feuds, local war, armed insurrections, armed rebel activities and terrorism, all of which have led to the proliferation of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW). “ SMALL Arms and Light Weapons are dangerous tools of violence in West Africa for a number of reasons, small arms are durable, highly portable, easily concealed, simple to use, extremely lethal and posses legitimate military, police and civilian uses. In addition, the weapons are lightweight and so are used by child soldiers, who played a significant role in some countries in the sub-region.

“As legislators, one area we need to address our minds to is the enactment of laws making gun possession difficult.

It has been observed that during conflicts, some ECOWAS Member States liberalized laws on gun possession in order to stimulate gun possession by civilians.

“Arms were directly distributed to paramilitary groups by governments in order to fight rebel forces. In addition, gun possession legislation was liberalized. This development, therefore, enhanced diffusion of small arms in the sub-region. |43

“However, aſter conflict, small arms are recycled for use in new conflicts and crime at home, or sold to other West African countries for use in new conflicts or to prolong ongoing conflicts. “When the war ends, the guns remain”, is a common refrain among our people in the West Africa.”

As legislators, one area we need to address our minds to is the enactment of laws making gun possession difficult.

“

Speaker of the Nigeria's House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, has called for the enactment of laws to combat the proliferation of small arms and making gun possession difficult across the West African subregion.

He also identified the high rate of youth unemployment and its attendant consequences, like mercenary trading, insurgency and illegal mining as contributory factors.

Small Arms and Light Weapons , he maintained, are not supposed to flow into or circulate within West Africa. This, he said, is in direct contravention of a Declaration on a Moratorium on the importation, exportation and manufacture of small arms and weapons in West Africa, adopted by the Authority of Heads of States and Government of ECOWAS on October 31, 1998 in Abuja, and became a legally binding and permanent convention on June 14, 2006.

“Eleven years aſter the adoption of the convention in 2006, the issue of containment of small arms proliferation remains a challenge. It is unfortunate to note that there is a thriving trade of mercenaries in West Africa, aiding the circulation and proliferation of small arms in the region, especially along the Sahel area.

“Levels of youth unemployment are high and there are many able-bodied, disgruntled persons available, ready and

willing to be trained and armed to fight,” the further noted.

He said some of the youth who do not serve as mercenaries, illegally migrate to Europe through the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea, citing the recent case of Libya where youth from West Africa are being used in thriving slave trade business.

Highlighting the link between terrorist financing and proliferation of small arms, Dogara stressed the need for all parliaments to ratify the ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons, Their Ammunition and Other Related Materials.

Earlier in his welcome address, Speaker of Parliament, Moustapha Cisse Lo, stated that the illicit circulation possession of small arms and light weapons have contributed to nurturing hotbeds of tensions and conflicts in Africa.

He noted that the gradual emergence of terrorist groups, such as Aqmi, armed bandits and drug traffickers in the ECOWAS region, has exacerbated the uncontrolled circulation of arms, thereby violating the rules of lawful possession and use of small arms, and light weapons.

“The current global order justifies the importance and timeliness of such a parliamentary workshop. He said their Parliament has to be the guarantor of peace and security in the ECOWAS region,” Lo added.

He stated that as lawmakers, they have essential role to play in helping to expedite the integration process of an ECOWAS of peoples, which is the key to building a true, stronger and sustainable union based on fraternity, peace and solidarity in our sub-region.

In his presentation, Chair of the Committee on Political Affairs, Peace, Security and African Peer Review Mechanism of the Parliament, Yaya Sangare, took a critical look at the legal framework guiding small arms control, its scope and effectiveness.

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ECONOMY DIPLOMACY

Minister of Foreign Affairs, and

Geoffrey Onyeama John J. Sullivan, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of State, United States of America exchanging documents on the Bi-national commission in his ofďŹ ce.

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ECONOMY DIPLOMACY

Revisiting the US-Nigeria Bi-National Commission At a meeting on November 13, 2015, between an inter- ministerial group led by Nigeria's Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, (Ambassador Bulu Lolo) and the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. James Entwistle the two sides underscored the need to reinvigorate the BNC as a forum for focused and high-level discussions. They identified three areas of focus: namely; security cooperation, economic growth and development, and governance and democracy.

The two sides subsequently developed a detailed agenda and added a working bilateral lunch on Multilateral Cooperation.

As a follow-up, the United States-Nigeria Bi-National Commission (BNC), met on November 20, 2017, in Abuja, Nigeria. The BNC was co-chaired

by Nigeria's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama and John J. Sullivan, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of State, United States of America.

This year's BNC focused on advancing U.S.-Nigerian shared prosperity, including discussion

on three areas of focus: Security Cooperation, Economic Growth and Development, and Governance and Democracy .

Prior to this time, the BNC in their February 13, 2017 call and their September 20, 2017 lunch at the opening of the United Nations General Assembly, President Donald J. Trump and President Muhammadu Buhari, recalled the enduring

bonds between the people of the two countries.

They reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthening the U.S.-Nigeria partnership in a manner that promotes a future of shared prosperity for both nations.

In their February 17, 2017 call, President Buhari and U.S. Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson, decided to utilize the BNC as the

high-level strategic platform through which to advance the nations' shared goals.

Joint Goals Recognizing Nigeria's strengthening democracy, its large population and dynamic economy, and its importance as a peace builder and peacekeeper, both nations seek to capitalize on areas of shared interest. The United States is expected to benefit from Nigeria's leadership in promoting security, stability, and democracy on a continent brimming with emerging opportunities for U.S. trade and

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ECONOMY DIPLOMACY

investment; Nigeria is expected to benefit from U.S. political support, security cooperation, technology, financial resources, and humanitarian and development assistance. The two countries developed a detailed agenda to guide discussions on a proposed goals paper, which would identify bilateral efforts for the next year. The November 20 BNC directed existing working groups for each of the three focus areas to finalize individual goal papers within one month.

Security Cooperation

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rights, ensuring credible investigations, and prioritizing accountability for instances of security force abuses; ending the use of child soldiers and implementing a United Nations-backed action plan on this matter in a timely manner; and addressing the long-standing concerns of citizens in the Northeast, including with respect to economic opportunity.

The BNC discussed the unsustainable situation of internally displaced persons in Nigeria and refugees in the region, and the Governments committed to work together to create conditions for their safe, dignified, and voluntary returns. The BNC acknowledged the significant contributions of the United States in supporting humanitarian assistance. The BNC discussed Nigerian efforts to help those affected by the violence begin to rebuild their lives, and the announcement of $45.5 million in additional U.S. assistance to support stabilization and early recovery work in Nigeria's Northeast region. This effort is expected to include the creation

“

and launch of a specialized stabilization police unit trained and equipped to be capable of accomplishing higher-risk policing tasks for civilian security in former terrorist-controlled territories.

The BNC discussed longer-term security cooperation goals, including Nigeria's efforts to modernize its security institutions and U.S.Nigerian partnership on improving maritime security.

The BNC discussed peacekeeping as well, and Nigeria underlined its intention to maintain its significant contributions to international peacekeeping in Sudan, Somalia, Mali, The Gambia, and Guinea-Bissau.

The BNC directed the Working Group on Security Cooperation to meet within six months to review progress on joint goals.

The BNC jointly determined to take further actions to advance U.S.Nigeria security cooperation to promote peace and security in Nigeria, especially in North-east Nigeria and the broader Lake Chad region.

“

The BNC's discussion on security cooperation was co-chaired by Minister of Defense, General Mansur Mohammed Dan Ali Leads, Federal Republic of Nigeria; Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary Michelle Lenihan, U.S. Department of Defense and Brigadier General Frank Stokes, U.S. Africa Command.

The BNC noted the continued threat to peace and security posed by Boko Haram and ISIS-West Africa. The United States reaffirmed its support for Nigeria and its Lake Chad neighbours in countering these threats.

The BNC noted that U.S.-Nigeria bilateral security cooperation focuses both on immediate threats and medium- and long-term security and stabilization objectives. The BNC discussed progress toward the sale to Nigeria of A-29 light attack aircraſt and associated training, and other areas of enhanced security cooperation.

The BNC jointly determined to take further actions to advance U.S.-Nigeria security cooperation to promote peace and security in Nigeria, especially in North-east Nigeria and the broader Lake Chad region. Both sides recognized that this cooperation includes, but is not limited to, military cooperation.

The BNC discussed the coordinated, comprehensive response that is needed to bring sustainable peace to Nigeria's Northeast region, including the humanitarian response; restoring civilian security, establishing effective governance to deliver essential services, and reviving moribund economies in areas liberated from terrorists; encouraging defections from Boko Haram and ISIS–West Africa; transferring military detainees to civilian correction facilities; eliminating terrorist financing; expanding intelligence sharing; conducting integrated planning for the restoration of full civilian authority, resettlement, and reconstruction; protecting civilians, safeguarding human

Economic Growth and Development The BNC's discussion on economic growth and development was co-chaired by

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ECONOMY DIPLOMACY

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment Dr. Okechukwu Elenamah, Federal Republic of Nigeria; Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Peter Haas and Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator Christopher Runyan, U.S. Agency for International Development.

Both sides decided to hold the next U.S. Trade and Investment Framework Agreement talks in the first part of 2018 and to work to finalize an agenda for that meeting, to include a decision on a joint work plan on intellectual property protection. The two sides finalized a Memorandum of Understanding establishing a Commercial and Investment Dialogue signed by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment Okechukwu Enelamah as a way to strategically engage the private sectors of each country in strengthening commercial ties.

Both sides acknowledged the importance of and potential for increased bilateral trade and investment through enhancing the business climate, policy predictability, and transparency. The two sides discussed the importance of implementing World Trade Organization-consistent trade measures, as well as the Trade Facilitation Agreement.

“

The BNC noted that U.S.-Nigeria bilateral security cooperation focuses both on immediate threats and medium - and long-term security and stabilization objectives.

“

The BNC noted the Governments' decision to take further actions to promote inclusive prosperity and growth, economic diversification, and job creation through policies that are expected to improve the environment for doing business together.

In this respect, the BNC recognized that sound fiscal and monetary policies, complemented by structural reforms and

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clear and transparent regulations, are important to managing the challenges of volatile global oil prices. The BNC also noted the importance of further diversifying the sources of government revenue.

The BNC noted the Governments' pledge to work together to ensure maximum utilization of available tools to promote mutually beneficial trade and investment, including the African Growth and Opportunity Act. The BNC recognized the importance of infrastructure development for Nigerian economic growth, noting particularly the importance of ensuring open and transparent bidding procedures for infrastructure projects. The BNC also noted the importance of increasing access to electricity, including through the continued modernization of the power sector, and noted continued U.S. assistance in this area. With respect to economic diversification, the BNC noted the potential for expanded agricultural investment and production, in particular through strengthening agro-business value chains. The extractive industries, including solid minerals, petroleum, and natural gas, also continue to play a role in economic diversification.

The BNC directed the Working Group on Economic Growth and Development to

meet within six months to review progress on joint goals.

Governance and Democracy The BNC's discussion on governance and democracy was co-chaired by Attorney General and Minister of Justice Mr. Abubakar Malami Leads, Federal Republic of Nigeria, and Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Stephanie Sullivan.

The BNC noted the historical importance of Nigeria's 2015 elections and the peaceful transition that ensued. The United States noted its intention to support Nigerian efforts to improve the quality and transparency of elections, particularly in the lead-up to the 2019 elections, and looks to Nigeria to continue to support democracy and peaceful transitions of power across Africa.

The BNC decided to strengthen U.S.Nigerian joint efforts in support of good governance, respect for human rights, accountability, anti-corruption, and the effective use and delivery of public services, including efforts to reinforce peace building and conflict management in Nigeria.

The BNC concurred that the Government of the United States should continue its support for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and other anti-

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ECONOMY DIPLOMACY

corruption agencies, as appropriate. The BNC discussed Nigeria's participation in the Open Government Partnership (OGP) and its potential to complement Nigeria's anti-corruption eorts. Nigeria expressed its dedication to robustly implement its 2017-2019 OGP commitments and respond to an outstanding invitation to join the Partnership on Illicit Finance in due course.

The BNC noted the Governments' decision to intensify their work together to help Nigeria trace funds and assets stolen through corruption and other illicit activities and seek to recover the assets.

The BNC decided to expand people-topeople contacts between the two countries, including continuing eorts such as the Young African Leaders Initiative.

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The BNC discussed multilateral cooperation, through ECOWAS, the United Nations, and other international organizations, and Nigeria's role as a leader on the continent and a critical partner to the United States on a range of global issues.

The BNC directed the Working Group on Governance and Democracy to meet within six months to review progress on joint goals.

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ECONOMY DIPLOMACY

SWISS President

Mrs. Doris Leuthard during a working visit to Accra, Ghana

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Ghana, Switzerland Ghana is Switzerland's main cocoa supplier, on July 14 , 2017 at the Kempinski Hotel Accra Ghana, the President of Switzerland, Mrs Doris Leuthard, was in Ghana on a working visit .

The main aim of her trip was to further deepen Switzerland's traditionally close relations between these two stable democratic countries.

Switzerland and Ghana recognised the quality of their bilateral relations. Ghana is Switzerland's main trading partner in Africa.

A cooperation strategy for 2017 to 2020 was launched in the presence of Mrs Doris Leuthard and Ghana President , Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

Ghana is Switzerland's main cocoa supplier. One of the reasons for the meeting was to increase Ghana's economic competitiveness.

Trade between Switzerland and Ghana was worth CHF 2.38billion in 2016, a significant increase over the previous years.

There was a particular shape rise in gold imports from Ghana to Switzerland (+81.6 percent) .

Ghana has been Swtizerland's

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trade relations hit

CHF2.8bn

main African trade partner since 2016, ahead of South Africa.

During her visit, President Leuthard spoke at an event themed “Governance in the age of social media,” organised by IMANI Centre for Policy & Education , a think –tank based in Accra at the Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City.

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SPOTLIGHT

Indorama: Equipping Nigeria farmers with appropriate fertilizers Surendra Kumar Srivastava

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SPOTLIGHT

Night view of Indorama Urea Plant at Port Harcourt - World largest single 1.5mmt per annum capacity

In the past, it was a herculean task for farmers to get adequate fertilizer and chemicals at all seasons. Indorama Eleme Fertilizer & Chemical Limited (IEFCL) has changed all that, putting smiles on the faces of Nigerian farmers.

Indorama Fertilizer and Chemicals is changing the face of the Agriculture in Nigeria. It is making farming a successful business by making fertilizers available to Nigerian and ECOWAS country farmers, making them well informed through their Agricultural Training Programmes.

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Introduction Agriculture remains one of the key sectors in Nigeria. It is to ensure mutual complementarity between efďŹ cient, effective, and productive agricultural production, system and processes, on the one hand, and environmental sustainability, on the other hand.

Indorama has keyed into Presidential Agricultural Programme as a partner to drive the initiative. It has identiďŹ ed agriculture as a sure means of diversifying the Nigerian economy. It has taken the driver's seat in the Present Administration's efforts to change the economic landscape through Agricultural reforms.

The Nigerian farmers are seeking more availability of fertilizer, timely application of research ďŹ ndings, adoption of best Crop Management Practices and technology for all-year-round farming enterprise. Indorama

remains a strong partner. Huge potential exists for increased agricultural output.

Out of about 82 million hectares of the total arable land available area in Nigeria that can support agricultural activities, only 34.44 million hectares (42%) are currently under cultivation. Similarly, only 7% of the estimated area (3.14 million hectares) of irrigable land area is put under cultivation.

Access to improved technologies has been highly limited while appropriate information on production technology including cultivation, fertilizer products applications and other modern crop husbandry practices are not readily available to Nigerian farmers (Mgbenka et al, 2015). As shown in Figure 1 Nigeria trailed other countries such as Brazil, Indonesia, Malawi, South Africa and Zimbabwe in terms of fertilizer usage.

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SPOTLIGHT

Source: World Bank, 2016

Figure 2: Comparative yields Tons per hectare

Source: FMARD, 2011

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SPOTLIGHT

Indorama: Equipping Nigerian farmers with appropriate fertilizers The small scale farmers have little or no knowledge of improved farm techniques. Even though, the knowledge is constrained from applying the techniques due to poor access to fertilizers (PrOpCom, 2011; Opara, 2010).

A major reason for the low yields in Nigeria is the poor soil condition which is deficient in key nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and Sulphur and therefore cannot support healthy crops. The modernization of agricultural practices through the use of fertilizer, improved seeds, crop protection products and extension services have been found to adequately address the problem of nutrient deficient soils and improve yields significantly in other countries such as Brazil, South Africa, etc. Nigerian soils continue to lose precious nutrients, for instance, studies showed that about 30-60 kg/ha of nutrients were lost from Nigerian soils between 2002 and 2004 (Ayoola, 2010).

Indorama committed to make Nigeria and West African Countries self-sufficient in fertilizer availability and food production Nigeria's indigenous Fertilizer Company, Indorama Eleme Fertilizer & Chemical Limited (IEFCL), has reaffirmed its commitment to continue to impacting on socio-economic activities in the country.

A product of the 2006 privatization program, the Port Harcourt based company commissioned its world-class fertilizer plant in 2016 as a statement of its readiness to propel industrial and agricultural revolution in Nigeria.

Indorama's fertilizer plant in Port Harcourt with capacity for 1.5 million metric tons of granular Urea is the world's largest singleline Urea facility. Since June 2016, IEFCL has been supplying world class Indorama Granular Urea 46 % in Nigeria which is

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over 250 Agro Dealers, Distributors, Blenders, Commercial farms, State Government Centers spread all over the country.

In the area of fertilizers, Indorama Eleme Fertilizer and Chemicals Limited (IEFCL) has become Nigeria's prime fertilizer solutions provider through supplies of its granular Urea to over 20 million farmers across all the Federation, as well as giving free agronomy extension services and training to the farmers.

IEFCL is poised to contribute in no small measure to eradicating hunger in Nigeria, taking a cue from the President Buhari's agricultural innovation.“All these efforts are aimed at boosting food production and food security in the country thereby alleviating hunger and poverty — which are among the Agricultural Change Agenda of the Muhammadu Buhari administration. This is in alliance with the Sustainable Development Goal of “end

poverty in all its forms everywhere.”

As part of its projections, Indorama export surplus production will be exported to earn foreign exchange for the country aſter satisfying all local demands for fertilizer. Nigeria and West African countries is the top most priority for the Indorama to satisfy the need of the farmers and make the country selfsufficient for the availability of fertilizer.

IEFCL will continue to pursue its vision of making Nigeria a fertilizer hub of Africa by the year 2020. Top government officials including ministers, regulators and members of the National Assembly have declared Indorama as a success story of privatization in Nigeria, considering its numerous achievements that have helped to power Nigeria's economy. In November 2016, Minister of State for Agriculture & Rural Development, Senator Heineken Lokpobiri visited Indorama. His assessment was that of excellent performance, especially in the area of providing fertilizers for farmers across the country. He also noted that the Federal Government relies so much on Indorama fertilizer to realize its goal of bumper harvest and food security in the country.

In July 2017, the then Acting President of Nigeria, His Excellency Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, visited Indorama complex and dedicated Indorama Fertilizer Plant to the Nation, He says Indorama is true as a success story of privatization in Nigeria, considering its numerous achievements that have helped to power Nigeria's economy. Indorama is helping Nigerian farmers by providing best quality of Urea Fertilizer which will help to boost food production in the country and reduced the dependency on importation.

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SPOTLIGHT

Fully Automated World Class Technology Urea bagging and handling system serving Nigerian farmers.

Participation in Presidential Fertilizer Initiative (PFI) Programme Indorama is very aggressively participating in Federal Government Program i.e. Presidential Fertilizer Initiative ( PFI ) to provide Indorama Urea as raw material to make NPK fertilizer ( 20:10:10 ) through various blending plants.

This programme is highly successful in reviving the blending plants and to achieve self-sufficiency in local NPK fertilizer production and also to make NPK fertilizer available to farmers in time annually for both wet and dry season farming at affordable price.

Indorama Granular Urea- Best Granular Urea Fertilizer in the world Lower Biuret: The International Standard on the Biuret is 1 to 1.5 % for urea, depends on country to country regulatory and registration policy, Granular Urea have biuret less than 1 % is considered best, more than 1.5 % may be toxic to sensitive crops eg citrus.

Agronomic Advantage: In high concentrations, biuret interferes with internal N metabolism and hinders protein formation in plants, urea having more than 1.5 % Biuret it is very harmful for certain crops like pineapple, Citrus, Tobacco and coffee which are sensitive to Biuret, urea with a lower Biuret content of 0.5 to 0.8 % is preferable for application as a foliar spray.

Low Moisture Content: The International Standard on the moisture is 0.5 % Max for urea (Granular Urea have less than 0.5 %

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moisture), higher moisture may increase caking, and further moisture absorption from environment due to hygroscopic nature will impact quality due to loss of contents e.g. Volatilization.

Agronomic Advantage: Urea is highly soluble fertilizer, water solubility (1,080 g/L at 20o C), may result in poor product and crop efficiency, will create difficulty in field application or broadcast. Significant product quality and agronomic efficacy issues will arise if moisture levels increases.

Higher Crushing strength: The International Standard on the crushing strength is 2.5 to 3 Kgf (Granular Urea have crushing strength 3.0, considered the best), less crushing strength will increase possibility of granule breaking and dust formation and faster dissolution in soil solution will increase nutrient leaching and volatilization.

Agronomic advantage: If a fertilizer particle is not hard enough it will shatter when it is hit by the spreader vanes and the harder they can hit it the further it will go. A cloud of dust following a fertilizer spreader is a sure sign the spread pattern will not be very accurate and will negatively impact fertilizer agronomic efficacy and ultimately crop yield, fertilizer handling and application as well.

Optimum formaldehyde Level: UF85 is an anti-caking agent that improves the crushing strength, minimizes dust generation and finally reduces caking tendency (Granular Urea have Formaldehyde 0.45 to 0.55 %, considered the best),. Formaldehyde is recommended in amounts of 0.01 % to 10 % by weight of urea and preferred range is 0.8 to 2 %

for slow release /volatilization of Ammonia.

Agronomic Impact: Formaldehyde is used in urea to control release of nitrogen. Formaldehyde's rate of decomposition into CO2 and NH3 is determined by the action of microbes found naturally in most soils. The activity of these microbes and, therefore, the rate of nitrogen release is temperature dependent.

Iron: High Iron indicates deterioration of Urea plant equipment, No effect to farmer.

Free Ammonia: High Ammonia essentially leads to agglomeration or lumping of produce. Indorama Granular urea is less hygroscopic and doesn't make lumps and cake so it's better than others in application n handling, performs better in low rate of application due to slow and consistence nitrogen release and doesn't damages fertilizer application implements so better for large land holding where big and sophisticated machinery is used, can be stored in average storage facilities and better for developing and emerging economy countries where storage facilities are not advanced.

Uniform Granule Size: Uniform Granular size fertilizers are easier for use due to easy handling of the product (either by hand or with machinery), size uniformity allow equal distribution in field result better nutrient use efficiency. Uniform application of fertilizer (Broadcasting and Incorporating) reduces chances of uneven growth of crop, reduces labor requirement and ultimately gives better return on investment. Each granule contains

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SPOTLIGHT

conventional and slow release technology to provide a consistent and sustained Nitrogen release pattern. The slow release Nitrogen brings real benefits for biomass development and stress tolerance. The granules are formulated to allow even distribution at low rates of application.

Indorama Fertilizers is aggressively engaged in Farmers Education through Indorama Agricultural Development Program to increase the Farm Productivity and Improve the Social and Economic Status of Nigerian Farmers.

Educating farmers on the best crop management practices and fertilizer management to help in reducing the waste/losses, rationalizing the input costs and ultimately in the achievement of higher crop yields are the top priority of Indorama Agricultural Development

Program (IADP). Indorama Agronomy and Extension activities are done by a team of highly qualified and experience team.

Activities under the Agricultural Development program are as under:

Regulatory/Institutional Bio Efficacy Trials for efficient and climate friendly Agriculture Agronomy Mobile app to get connected with Farmers

Extensive farmer training & educational programs in the Nigeria.

Development of training materials in English, Hausa and French to train farmers in Nigeria as well as other countries in the West Africa region.

Soil testing and Weather advisory Services Field Demonstrations & Filed Day activities Farmer training events on regular basis.

Farmers' Service centers for agricultural advisory and suggestions.

Crop Management Practice Folders distribution Activities with International Development Agencies & Media

Indorama has trained around 200,000 Nigerian farmers on the best crop management practices in 2017.

Indorama agronomy services are extended to WA countries like Senegal, Cote De'voir, and Ghana as well as through institutional trials, training and other developmental activities.

Training to women's on best crop management practices and business entrepreneurship is the priority activity of Indorama Development Program.

Farmers Training Program is the Main Activity of Indorama Agricultural Development Program.

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SPOTLIGHT

Indorama Farmer's Field Day Program is Unique Activity to Show the Farmers

Nigerian Agriculture community is dominated by women farmers, who are actively involved during the entire crop cycle from sowing to harvesting. Indorama is highly focused on training women on best crop management practices, fertilizer application, weeding, etc

Farmers Training Program is the Main Activity of Indorama Agricultural Development Program.

Indorama Soil Testing Services reached at Farmers Field to know the Soils Health Status.

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On the Farm Training to Farmers is the Regular Activity of Indorama Team

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NIGERIA IN FOCUS

Akeredolu hosts Niger Delta stakeholders in Akure BUSINESSREVIEWAFRIKA/FEB 2018

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NIGERIA IN FOCUS

O

ndo, the Sunshine State and a place of pride, was created from the defunct Western State of Nigeria on 3rd February, 1976. The State covers a land area of 15,500KM2 6,000sq miles, of the Northern, Central and Southern Senatorial districts. It is bounded by Ekiti and Kogi States in the North, Edo in the East, Osun and Ogun in the West and Atlantic Ocean in the South. There are numerous dialects of Yoruba spoken in Ondo State. they include; (Akoko, Akure, Apoi, Idanre,Ijaw, Ikale, Ilaje ,Ondo and the Owo).

The State, which has Akure as its capital city, is a land of immense possibilities. Its economy is the sixth largest in Nigeria and is dominated by oil and crop production. The state is endowed with abundant natural resources ranging from favourable climatic conditions for crop production to huge mineral deposits, rich forest resources and with the longest coastal line of over 180km in Nigeria.

These abundant resources coupled with the state's location and safety, make it attractive to investment in a number of areas. The state also has great potentials in mineral resource exploitation, agriculture and agro-processing, tourism and infrastructure provision. It is the most peaceful among the OilRich Niger Delta Region in Nigeria .

Akeredolu's impact Since coming on board, the Oluwarotimi Akerelou-led Government has embarked on programmes that will accelerate economic growth and development of the State.

His focus has been on transforming the state from being a civil

servant state to a more industrialised and investment destination. He has since unveiled the blueprint on Strategic Development for the State, as well as Investment and Opportunities Development of the State and many other projects and initiatives.

All these are geared towards attracting investors to the Sunshine State. And not long ago, the state hosted the 2nd National Council on Niger Delta in Akure, from 7-14 of September, 2017, at the Dome Event Centre Akure , Ondo , which brought together investors and stakeholders in the nine states in the Niger Delta to brainstorm on the development of the region. This event recorded a huge success as Vice President Yemi Osinbanjo was at both the Council meeting and the Town Hall meeting with the Chiefs in Aigbokoda, Ileja Local Government Area. His visit provided an ample opportunity for representatives of different interest groups, stakeholders, youths, women, and community leaders to make presentation on their demands. They unanimously called on the federal government to be more proactive and committed to issues confronting the region.

Without doubt, the town hall meeting was a demonstration of the commitment of the Buhari administration to further develop the Niger Delta, and also ensure continuous dialogue with all stakeholders in the oil producing communities. The town hall meeting was another milestone of the Akeredolu administration, as the people believe that constant dialogue and interaction with the government is a sure way towards the development and progress of the state.

Since coming on board, the Oluwarotimi Akeredolu-led Government has embarked on programmes that will accelerate economic growth and development of the State. His focus has been on transforming the state from being a civil servant state to a more industrialised and investment destination.

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NIGERIA IN FOCUS

In Ondo, we're working towards post-oil economy –Deputy Governor

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NIGERIA IN FOCUS

I

n this interview, Hon. (Barr) Agboola Ajayi, Deputy Governor of Ondo State, harps on the great potentials and opportunities in the oilrich area of the state.

He captures this in a chat with HELEN OKON

here in large quantity, oil, we have so many things and we are working very hard to see that bitumen deposit are tapped, they are unlocked potentials, and our governor is working hard to see that those unlocked treasure are finally open, and we are finally there.

When should we expect the construction of the Araromi Seaport?

Your Excellency, please tell us about the natural and mineral resources in Ondo State and how the government of Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu intend harnessing the great potentials?

Let me thank you. You have been part of the Niger Delta activity that just ended yesterday. That activity has already answered your question. That is exactly why we are trying to let the whole world know that Ondo State has a lot of potentials, bitumen, lime deposited in commercial quantity.

So, I am sure investors are beginning to realise that Ondo State is a place to invest. In the past, it might be difficult to access Ondo State. We are trying to provide the enabling environment in terms of security, in terms of transportation, mobility and create atmosphere that can allow investors strive, and sure, let say in the next few weeks, you will see how people will troop in so that they can tap into our Godgiven natural resources.

“That is exactly why we are trying to let the whole world know that Ondo State has a lot of potentials, bitumen, lime deposited in commercial quantity. So, I am sure investors are beginning to realise that Ondo State is a place to invest.”

The just concluded Niger Delta Council is enough for you to know that we have been able to let the whole world know that we have this in Ondo State. Bitumen is

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I am happy; you said you visited that place, if not because of the season we are now, we are already set for constructing a road to link that beach.

The federal government of Nigeria is also set to give Ondo State license so that we can have a deep sea port there. Apart from that, I am happy you said you were there. Once more, our beach is far better than what they celebrate in Lagos. By the time we construct that road that will link Lagos, give it to us that Ondo State will be a tourist centre. We already have a master plan to turn Ondo State, especially that Araromi beach to a tourist attraction site, where the whole world will come and enjoy themselves.

Will this Seaport Resort promote local and international trade when completed?

A: It's not just local, it is for the whole Africa. So, you right to have said that

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international trade, social and economic activities will strive. I told some people that just give us few years, a lot of our youth will become emergency clearing and forwarding agents, because there will be no need for them to go to Lagos again. Like I said, we are not afraid of anything that there will not be oil. Lagos is living without having any oil and they are living very well and bigger than any state in Nigeria, and I can assure you that Ondo State has the largest coastline. By the time we ďŹ nally key into all these programmes, we will not be bothered whether oil is there or not. It will be additional natural resources. So, what we have is enough for us to survive and make people around us happy.

How soon should we expect the implementation of the report from the 2nd Niger Delta Council?

Well, I am quite sure they have taken some far-reaching decisions that will not only assist Ondo State, but the entire Niger Delta region. The Council will meet appropriately and then take a decision and publish their white paper, and with what the Chairman reported to us, all our requests and requisitions were accepted for consideration. I am also happy that Ondo State hosts this edition, so we should be expecting. I can't tell you tomorrow or next, we will come out with our white paper soon.

That is exactly why we are trying to let the whole world know that Ondo State has a lot of potentials, bitumen, lime deposited in commercial quantity.

So, I am sure investors are beginning to realise that Ondo State is a place to invest.

Niger Delta

Is about people not race, religion - Edema

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NIGERIA IN FOCUS

Please tell us about the 2nd National Council on the Niger Delta?

This is the second National Conference on Nigeria Delta which Ondo State is hosting and we are the Local Organising Committee. It is a rare privilege to be able to host the entire Niger Delta in Ondo State. Just like I said, it is an opportunity to showcase the opportunities, though we have challenges too.

We appreciate the fact the Council on Niger Delta is the highest decision making body for the entire Niger Delta Region. The decisions reached in this Council are supposed to be implemented in the council which form the major development plan for the Niger Delta. It is indeed a rare privilege to be able to host the forum.

The Council on Niger Delta is the highest decision making body for the entire Niger Delta region.

Again, we are using this opportunity to also showcase Ondo State so that the whole world will be knowledgeable to the extent that they will know that Ondo State is a member of the Niger Delta family. I have also said that Niger Delta is not about race, creed, not about religion, it is about people. We share, the same ecosystem, we share the same fauna, the same oral as Niger Deltans.

We should appreciate the fact that Ondo State ranked 5th even in terms of bitumen production when it comes to list of the oil producing states in Nigeria.

With all this, the world should know that we are in the Niger Delta since we share in the pains, we should share in the gains, that's why I am delighted that we are actually hosting the Niger Delta.

It will help open and broaden their horizon, those who are myopia about it before, they will be well educated now as to the status of Ondo State in the Niger Delta family. And as people in the Niger Delta family, I have always preached we should build bridges rather than building fences around ourselves. Let us interweave ourselves together, let us synergies, let us get ourselves netted since we suffer the pains together, so we can get the gains together.

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Will you say this conference will help fast-track development?

There is no way we synergise without coming together, there is no way we can know what is happening to other friends except you open up together and begin to share ideas. The essence of this conference is to come together as a region, to look at those things that bind us together and will trigger development. For instance in the past, you realise that NDDC will do its own separately, Ministry of Niger Delta will d o i t s o w n s e p a r a t e l y, s t a t e government doing their own separately, developmental partners will do their own differently, interventionist agencies will do their own differently.

You will be surprised that in some communities you might see four and ďŹ ve primary schools been erected there, whereas there are other places without any. If there is synergy, we will know the requirements of a particular community in terms of developmental needs. So, we have begun to duplicate or replicate the same projects in certain community to the detriment of others.

That is the essence of the conference, so we can now share and compare notes, it will help us to synergise by so doing.

When you share ideas you achieve more.

What other things should we expect?

Ondo State in general, Akure is just the state capital. Like our governor will say, without development in the region of Ondo state, the entire state cannot develop. We will continue to be an administrative state for civil servants and that is why the emphasis is moving from here to the costal part. Ondo State is so blessed, especially in the southern part of the state. For instance, we have the longest coastline and the deepest, which means being the deepest, it allows big vessels to berth there, where we have our wharf or jetties.

Ondo State is so blessed, especially in the southern part of the state. For instance, we have the longest coastline and the deepest, which means being the deepest, it allows big vessels to berth there..

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You see, we are thinking of deep seaport in Ondo State. We even want the federal government to come to our aid by giving us the appropriate license so that we can have our seaport ready.

Government is tenured and being tenured, we also want to put in some structures in place for successive administration. You also want to showcase what you can do for your people. So, without the Niger Delta part of Ondo State being developed, development is going to be difďŹ cult. For instance, there are so many countries in the world like Singapore, Greece, they developed their maritime capabilities and depend on them.

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If we have the longest coastline and the longest sea line, it is apt that we should have been able to have a seaport there.

Yo u c a n i m a g i n e h o w m u c h o f employment you would have generated in those places.

You also know that Ondo State is blessed with bitumen. Bitumen is used for Asphalt) and with other things. Now, when we explore our bitumen and we export it-you will expect some level of evacuation. How can they be evacuated except we have a deep seaport? So the government of Ondo State under Akeredolu is really thinking that the best way is to develop the

southern part of our coastal capability and by so doing, you develop the entire state.

Only recently, we recorded that Ondo State has signed an MOU with the NDDC linking Araromi, that is the western side of Ondo State to Lagos.

And within 30 minutes, you will be in the Lekki area of Lagos State, which is a b o u t 5 2 k m s a w a y. T h e s e a re potentials that have been there latent and nobody, though it could be tapped and these are things we have to put in place to develop the place and the people. By the time you come to Akure 4-5 years from now, you will not only

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have Akure as a cluster.

Only recently we recorded that Ondo State has signed an MOU with the NDDC linking Araromi, that is the western side of Ondo State to Lagos.

And within 30 minutes, you will be in the Lekki area of Lagos State, which is about 52kms away.

But we will have other cluster development, especially in the southern area. We have in Ore, we have in Araromi seaside, and by so doing, we extend development along the entire Ondo State.

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Ondo State is blessed with bitumen

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Araromi

Seaside Resort has great potentials - Edema In this interview, Hon. (Barr) Gbenga Edema, Chairman, Local Organising Committee of the 2nd Niger Delta Council, discusses the development of the Araromi Sea Resort.

HELEN OKON reports.

Bush track leading to Araromi Sea Resort

Tell us why we are at this sea resort?

A: This is Araromi Seaside Resort. We are here as part of the Conference on the Niger Delta Council. We have seen the potential that is embedded in this resort, and we are very optimistic that with the council's approval, the Araromi Seaside Resort will be taken as part of the medium term project of the Council on the Niger Delta. When this resort is well developed, it will rank with any sea beach resort anywhere in the world, whether in Miami or Akoboko, whether in Lekki, anywhere over the world. This is a potential that if well harnessed, is going to be a haven for tourism in Ondo State in particular, and Nigeria in general.

Helen Okon, publisher Business Review Afrika facing the camera, Araromi Sea Resort in the background

When do we expect the development of the Seaside resort?

A: Let me thank the council on the Niger Delta for approving our memo that this resort be developed as part of the resolution and communiquĂŠ arrived at the council meeting.

We are hoping that the next thing is implementation. I am sure they are going to send people to do the evaluation ďŹ rst, following due process. We hope that by 2018-2019, we should be able to commence work on this project.

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Barr. Gbenga Edema speaking with newsmen at Araromi Sea Resort

Water pollution resulting from oil spills in Araromi |67

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FG to focus more on Niger Delta in 2018 -Osinbajo

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Constant dialogue between the people and government is required for lasting progress, peace and development to be achieved in the Niger delta region, Nigeria's Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo has said.

He stated this at a town hall meeting with people of the oil producing communities of Ondo State in Igbokoda, headquarters of Ilaje Local Government Area.

Osinbajo who had earlier gone round the communities, urged stakeholders in the region to key into the new vision of government to develop the Niger Delta.

According to him, the Niger Delta programme scheduled to end in December, 2015, has not only been extended, but also got additional N35billion in 2016 alone, in 2017 budget as well as 2018 for greater impact on the beneďŹ ciaries .

.the Niger Delta programme scheduled to end in December, 2015, has not only been extended, but also got additional N35billion in 2016 alone, in 2017 budget as well as 2018 for greater impact on the beneďŹ ciaries.

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“The Presidential Diversification Economic Initiative (PEDI) spearheaded by the Ministry of the Niger Delta Affairs focused on mobilizing private capital to revive industries, especially in the Agricultural value chain, is kicking off in the Niger Delta Region.

“Interestedly in the inaugural investment forum initiative took place barely a month and half ago in Ondo State that this initiative was launched.”

“As you are all aware, one of our plans for the Niger Delta is to support the establishment of privately Owned Modular Refineries. Many of the Licences handed out by previous administrations have since expired.

“The biggest challenge is that these

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licenses have been facing is financing, and as a government that is committed to enable the private sector strive, we are now working on the creation of Refinery Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) to support this investment.

“The modular Refinery project is supposed to be private sector-led, but with the collaboration of the federal government and the state government, we have done a fair amount of work on this Modular Refineries.

“We have released guidelines for the establishment of Modular Refineries. I have met with several interested parties from various parts of the Niger Delta Region with the investors, in

some cases with the state governors.

This is a project that we are committed to.

“We want to urge the state governments also to work with the local communities so that we can draw up the timeline of a commercially viable plans that will be useful in sustaining those modular refineries when they are eventually established .

“In addition, we are training young people who are previously involve in artisanal refinery on attentive means of their livelihood, including skills that will enable them to participate in the modular Refineries when it takes off,” the vice president further explained.

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Wealth of Niger Delta extends beyond oil -Aiyedatiwa

In this interview, Hon. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, Ondo State Commissioner- designate in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), discusses developments in the Niger Delta region and the need to diversify the economy of the area.

Managing Editor, HELEN OKON reports

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hat is this conference all about?

The conference is based on the findings that development of the Niger Delta has been very slow, considering the huge amount of funds allocated to various missions and agencies in the Niger Delta region, and the states of the Niger Delta region came together to brainstorm and chart the way forward .

The first edition took place in Uyo, Akwa Ibom and this is the 2nd edition as I rightly said. After the first edition of the conference, execution was very slow, probably because they could not revisit some of the resolutions reached at the time. Now, we are saying, we need to fast track development in this region. That is why one is coming up

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at this time in Ondo, as one of the Niger Delta States, in fact the 5th largest oil producer in the Niger Delta Region.

What area of development are you referring to in the Niger Delta region?

It is all encompassing. They are looking at modern infrastructure to diversify the economy, by stimulating the economy in the areas of agriculture, energy and power, oil and gas, creating industries which are catalysts for economic development anywhere in the world. They are looking at all of that, it is all embracing.

What does it take to achieve peace in the region?

We are the core Niger Delta Area, when we talk about the riverine area.

Peace is relative, peace has been achieved and presently we believe it can be sustained. Ondo State has been adjudged to be the most peaceful state in the Niger Delta Region. Every other part of the Niger Delta region they are having retentive peace right now, which can be sustained. The federal government is doing a great job at this time .The neglect is been addressed right now and the youth are being carried along.

The Vice President said he is going to stay in Akure, but will go to the local areas where oil is being produced to meet with the people. That is the type of engagement they need, continued interaction with the people so that they will have interpretation that will make meaning to them that government has come to meet them.

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And from such engagement, there will be interaction, and promises will be made, as they continue to fulfil their own part of the bargain based on the position that will be presented by the people from the Niger Delta Region Area. Once the government has the political will to execute some of those things, definitely the peace can be sustained and the Niger Delta will be very peaceful and atmosphere will be good for investment, and that is what they want.

Diversifying Niger Delta's economy Apart from oil and gas which have always been the main industry in the area, exploration and the rest of them, Niger Delta region is looking at other sources like agriculture. Agriculture is the main thrust that can be used to diversify the economy.

“

Apart from oil and gas which have always been the main industry in the area, exploration and the rest of them, Niger Delta region is looking at other sources like agriculture.

Agriculture is the main thrust that can be used to diversify the economy

“

In fact, not just producing the agricultural produce and consuming or importing raw agricultural products, they should take a step further by

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processing some of the produce and turn them into light processed food if you like, they call theme light manufacturing.

Light manufacturing industry is small scale industry that could produce the agricultural products and turn them into another kind of raw materials or consumable goods like chocolate. You produce cocoa and then exporting raw cocoa the way it is harvested, you can actually turn them into chocolate, which you can also export to some other parts of West Africa countries that you can earn foreign exchange from.

By the time we begin to have these light manufacturing industries on small scale, they begin to grow the economy. That means you are growing your middle class and your foundation and the strength and the capacity you build from there, can now be used to go into heavy manufacturing industry.

When you now begin to go into steel and the rest of them,that is the foundation. You move from there gradually from agriculture into light manufacturing, and move on from there, that is the way to go.

How do we produce what we consume and consume what we produce?

The Niger Delta Ministry, Niger Delta Commission at the federal level, OSOPADEC are supposed to ensure that farmland is everywhere in the state. The present government is actually doing something about that already, Investors are coming in under a kind of arrangement where land will be given to them, and then they will encourage the farmers and bring tools and fertilizers to help the farmers grow the produce and. They will in turn set up some processing factory, so that as the farmers are producing, they are already off takers. They will buy back the products from the farmers and process them for export and local consumption. So that is already happening, but more of that should be coming up in the Niger Delta region.

“ The present government is actually doing something about that already, Investors are coming in under a kind of arrangement where land will be given to them, and then they will encourage the farmers and bring tools and fertilizers to help the farmers grow the produce and they will in turn set up some processing factory, so that as the farmers are producing, they are already off takers.”

And the government should also provide support in terms of funding to those who want to engage in farming.

The youth need to go back to the farm that is the way forward, not to be idle, not to wait. The era of free money from oil and gas has gone .We should begin to rethink about that and encourage our youth to go back to the farm, that is the way and that is how we can grow the economy.

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West Africa Fertilizer Agribusiness

24bn

T

he world loses more than 24 billion tonnes of fertilizer each year, according to the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) through erosion, compaction, chemical pollution and nutrient depletion.

But the global population is rapidly growing as the demand for food, 95 percent of which is directly or indirectly produced on the local soil.

The West Africa Fertilizer Agribusiness Conference was the second special Collaboration between CRU Events and The African Fertilizer and Agribusiness Partnership (AFAP).

The event took place in the Movenpick Hotel Accra , from July 1012, 2017.

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tonnes of fertiliser lost annually to erosion globally -UN

It brought together regional government heads and International industry leaders to discuss opportunities for West Africa fertilizer and agribusiness trade.

This event comes at a time when the Ghanaian fertilizer and agribusiness sector is undergoing an incredible boost from the country's new leadership, making it the perfect time to explore the region's rich potential.

The three-day conference and networking event attracted over 250 attendees from West Africa and beyond.

It featured specialist workshops, keynote presentations, interactive panel discussions, breakout sessions, Gala Night and a site visit to the Nestle Tema Factory.

Sessions focused on critical issues such as how the cost of fertilizer for West African farmers can be subsidized or at a reduced rate, and how the supply chains of agricultural inputs can be improved.

Discussions also centred around how local government and international suppliers of fertilizer can work in partnership to build strong agribusiness in order to boost fertilizer supply to the farmers .

The conference also looked at how innovation in area of ďŹ nance or communication can be used in West Africa agribusiness, ďŹ nancing tools to enable fertilizer trade and investment in the agribusiness value chain and how to encourage youth participation and support women in agribusiness .

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Young Africans not community, agriculture-inclined –Haffer

Anis Haffer,............., wants African countries to start inculcating in their youth the culture of agriculture, saying that is the best way of identifying the talents in them and moving the continent forward.

HELEN OKON reports .

Anis Haffer , Founder GATE (Gifted And Talented Education

Sir, what really is the level of youth involvement in Ghana?

The first thing you have to realise in Ghana is that we have a school feeding programme. We have about 14,000 basic schools in this country, and each of them has students in it and they all have to be fed. Sometimes, it is difficult to feed them, and the question is that how come with our strong support base in agriculture, we have difficulty feeding our children? So, that is where

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the opportunities are. Then, the key provision of the funds for feeding our youth comes from the government. So, we are looking at where each district can be self-sufficient in food production. Yesterday, I was talking of the 10 regions in Ghana. In the 10 regions, we have about 200 districts and every district has to have some kind of autonomy so they can learn to manage their affairs without depending

on one or two people in a bureaucratic setting. That is the key concern How do we get the youth involved in agribusiness?

The issue is that our educational system is all about the economics and we have been told that since 1957 when Ghana became independent, and that's about 60 years ago. But then, what we have done is this, we just focus on reading

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“

We m u s t m a n a g e t h e schools so that ever y

school becomes an oasis of excellence. In that oasis of excellence, we are going to grow gardens, we are going to grow trees....

“

and writing to do mathematics and then go on to the university and get into some profession. Our people are not community-inclined all the time. There are some young people who are not community-inclined at all, but their hands are active, they need skills, they are kinds of learners. These are learners, they do all this in the classroom, they don't want to move from one lecture hall to the other.

Like what I was saying yesterday, our educational system is downsized, such that we have 3 years of lower primary; 3 years of upper primary, making that 6years; 3 years of Junior High that is 9 years, 3 years of senior high that is 12 years, and 4 years of university that is 16 years.

Now, when some of these young people come out, you want them to go into agriculture. No, it is too late because we have not infused that culture in the educational sector. So, they don't take it seriously. What I was then suggesting yesterday is that we have to now begin to do incubating, even planting that culture of communality in them.

We must manage the schools so that every school becomes an oasis of excellence. In that oasis of excellence, we are going to grow gardens, we are going to grow trees, we are going to grow green grass, so that every school is large.

It was a concerted effort making sure our young people are directed in the right place. Now, what I am saying is this, agriculture takes many forms.

Agriculture, at the end of the day, means putting the seed in the ground and watch it grow. So, what I am saying is that we can use the same premise on the youth.

For instance, it might interest you to know that some young people think trees grow by themselves or tomatoes grow by themselves. In this regard, we can begin to look at the seedling and show to them.

Also, in these days of modern technology and even with the research that have been proved worldwide, agriculture can be done even where we have very small amount of water in some location. There is so much we can do even in small containers of good soil and the right amount of water and nutrients, this country can flourish. For example, I grow mint in my house, I grow parsley, I grow coconut, I grow avocados and so on small scale. But can you imagine what would be achieved with that done within 14,000 schools where everyone is growing something. That is where we begin to understand something.

One thing that is very clear is that it's not everyone that will be interested in agriculture, it is not everyone who is going to be interested in medicine or law, or accountancy. But there are always some people who are going to be interested in some of these professions.

So, what I am saying is this, if you have a class of about 30 students, chances are that 2 or 3 might be interested in agriculture. But how do we know, because we have not created the enabling environment to help us recognise what the interests of the students are? Basically, these are the issues, and we need to understand that we have to create opportunities where, for the first time, we begin to recognise those who are really interested in agriculture.

But the education that we provide should be able to recognise this specific talent. That is what I was talking about, because being interested in agriculture and knowing what to do is a talent in itself. “...being interested in agriculture and knowing what to do is a talent in itself” What I was saying yesterday in essence is that chances are some of the African countries are in the same situation as we are. May be Nigeria, Benin, Cameroun and Sudan, we have the same problem. But then, we cannot give up on the young. The fact that we in the lder generation are not interested in agriculture does not mean the younger people are not interested too.

Address our soil's health or face food crisis, Chude warns Africans An estimated 83 percent of rural population in Africa depends on their land for livelihood, yet 40 percent of the continent's land is currently degraded.

As a result, food production is hampered and it could get worse, and until Africa urgently addresses the health of its soils, it is delaying a major economic, social and food crisis, says Prof. Victor Chude, a leading soil scientist.

Chude, who is the President, Soil Science Society of Nigeria and Chairperson of the African Soil Partnership Steering Committee, was a key panellist at a session on soil and nutrient needs during the 2017 West Africa Fertilizer Agribusiness Conference in Ghana.

The university don shared some insights on why the soil fertility is an integral part of Africa's agriculture transformation.

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INTERVIEW

AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK intervenes in Minerals Development

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Alhassane Haidara is the Chief Investment Officer, Head of Mining and Manufacturing Team African Development Bank (AfDB) . In this interview with HELEN OKON, Haidara talks about the Bank's engagement in the mineral resources development in Africa

few years a down cycle with the decline in commodity prices and we are now seeing the beginning of a small recovery in prices.

Africa accounts for approximately 30% of all global mineral reserves, 10% of the world's oil, and 8% of the world's natural gas. Minerals account for some 70% of total African exports by value. We estimate that Africa's extractive resources will contribute more than USD 30 billion annually in government revenues over the next 20 years, so we foresee good long term prospects from this sector. However, most of these resources are unprocessed and the challenge for Africa is to start processing more of its resources domestically in order to create more jobs, generate more value, and integrate better in regional and international value chains – AfDB wants to help in that process.

The Private Sector Department of the Bank has always been open to look at opportunities in the mining sector and our approach has always been a selective one with a focus on the economic viability, development impact, and environmental and social sustainability of each project we consider for investment. As you know, the sector has experienced in the past

How is AfDB supporting the Development of the Mineral Resources industry in Africa?

AfDB is supporting the mineral resources industry from several angles: Through our private sector window, we provide finance to commercially viable projects in the extractive sector which have the potential to deliver additionality and development outcomes;

hat is the Philosophy behind the formation of Africa Development

Bank?

The overarching objective of the African Development Bank (AfDB) G ro u p i s t o s p u r s u s t a i n a b l e economic development and social progress in its Regional Member Countries (RMCs), thus contributing to poverty reduction. The Bank Group achieves this objective by mobilizing and allocating resources for investment in RMCs; and providing policy advice and technical assistance to support development efforts.

It is worth mentioning that AfDB has two financial lending windows: (I) a public sector window aimed at governments and state owned enterprises providing sovereign guarantees and receiving lending on concessionary terms; and (ii) a private sector window aimed at privately owned enterprises and state owned enterprises autonomously managed & financially strong.

Now that efforts are being redirected to the mining sector, does AfDB foresee good prospects coming from this sector? We are not sure we understand what you mean by “now that efforts are being redirected to the mining sector”.

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INTEVIEW

Through our public sector window, AfDB has supported the transparency agenda, helping 15 African countries to join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative; Through a facility we helped set up – the African Legal Support Facility (ALSF) – AfDB provides legal advice to its clients on how to negotiate better terms on concessions, contracts and licenses for natural resources exploitation; Through the African Natural Resource Center (ANRC) established in 2013, AfDB is delivering capacity building programs to African countries in natural resources management covering both renewable (water, forestry, land and fishery) and non-renewable (oil, gas and minerals) resources. ANRC's mandate is to assist African countries maximize development outcomes derived from Africa's natural resources by boosting their capacity to achieve inclusive and sustained growth from natural resources.

What would AfDB do to encourage the emerging African mining sector – given that the mining technology and technical knowledge might be a challenge?

From the private sector window, AfDB will continue to explore investment opportunities in commercially viable and environmentally and socially sustainable projects. From a development outcome perspective, we will seek to support well established industry players who can bring new technology and know-how that can benefit Africa's mining sector through technology transfers and trainings for local employees.

What are the mining prospects in Africa?

Kindly refer to answer to question 2 above.

The AfDB has invested in the New Africa Mining Fund II. It is important to distinguish between the Africa Mining Fund I and a follow up Fund (the New Africa Mining Find II) in which the Bank is involved. The New Africa Mining Fund II is an equity fund that invests in mining projects throughout Africa. It focuses on the upstream stages of the mining investment cycle where value creation is highest, i.e. primarily exploration and pre-development activities by junior and intermediate companies. AfDB made an investment of USD 25 million in the

Exploiting Africa's opportunities for industrialization involves adding value to domestic products, soft and hard commodities and developing forward and backward linkages to the regional and international value chains.

Fund II. The Fund is expected to positively influence private sector development, create local permanent and short-term jobs, increase government revenues through balanced revenue sharing, ensure compliance with environmental standards and promote transparency through the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). However, the New Africa Mining Fund II was closed in 2015 due to the substantial down cycle in the commodities and its impact on the sustainability of the Fund II.

All over Africa, there are cases of illegal mining in natives and their foreign collaborators .What would AfDB do to enable this trend halts?

AfDB will not support projects involving illegal mining.

What indices or basic rational does AfDB apply in the distribution of projects to African States?

AfDB does not apply indices for the distribution of projects in Africa. The Bank tries to be responsive to demands coming from all its regional members' countries.

What is the New Africa mining Fund all about? And what impact has it made in the mining industry in Africa?

Now that there seems to be less emphasis in the sector owning to falling price and the UN initiative to

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phase out gas emitting locomotive , what is the priority of AfDB towards the mining sector?

The Bank is responding to the challenge of supporting inclusive growth and the transition to green growth by scaling up investment and implementation of its Ten Year Strategy (2013-22) and focusing on a blueprint of five operational priority areas, referred to as the High 5s, which also constitute the Bank's long-term vision for Africa's economic transformation.

Launched by the Bank in June 2016,

these are i) Light up and Power Africa, ii) Industrialize Africa, iii) Integrate Africa, iv) Feed Africa, and v) Improve the Quality of Life for the People of Africa.

Thus, one of AfDB's high 5s is the industrialization of Africa whose countries need to embark on a bold agenda driven by private sector-led investments in industrial t r a n s f o r m a t i o n . T h e re i s a re a l opportunity, for Africa to create jobs and promote inclusive economic transformation through domestic manufacturing and a commoditybased industrialization process, capitalizing on the continent's resources and opportunities presented by the changes in the structure of global production.

Exploiting Africa's opportunities for industrialization involves adding value to domestic products, soft and hard commodities and developing forward and backward linkages to the regional and international value chains.

Are individual investors free to aspire to obtain loans or incentives from the AfDB?

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INTERVIEW

Individual investors are free to aspire to obtain financing from AfDB. Kindly refer to the below link providing details on “how to work with the Afdb”. https://www.afdb.org/en/topics-andsectors/sectors/private-sector/howto-work-with-us/ What is AfDB doing to promote the untapped opportunities in the mining sector in Africa?

The Bank will support RMCs' extractive industries to build upstream and downstream linkages that offer substantial prospects to develop clusters of manufacturing and service activities around the extractive sector in order to bridge the industrial gap. It will also support policies that create incentives for skills and technology transfers and leverage dual use of infrastructures anchored on natural resources projects to develop resource corridors and clustered growth poles.

The Bank will strive to provide advice on the optimal trade-offs in use of competing resources, especially between the extractive industries and agriculture, since the two often compete for the same resources.

Coherent policies will be needed to ensure that the two sectors work together to achieve sustainable developmental objectives. Sharing of infrastructure is particularly important.

The Bank will seize the opportunity to support the creation of dynamic agricultural growth corridors and hence improve the efficiency of agricultural production.

Mining Indaba, the world's largest investment conference was sponsored by AfDB from February 69, 2017 in Cape Town, South Africa.

What was this conference aimed to achieve, and how important was this conference to the Africa mining sector?

The Mining Indaba is Africa's largest mining investment conference and attracts leading mining companies, industry suppliers, financiers, African Cabinet ministers of mines, bi-lateral/ multi-lateral agencies and the global media. It is primarily an investors' forum whose success over the last two decades has transformed it into a onestop-shop for deal making, advertising,

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and networking as well as providing opportunities for mining companies and governments to dialogue on issues of common interest in the mining industry.

This year's conference was said by the organizers, to have attracted more participants than the previous year signifying an improved confidence in the recovery of the commodity prices.

The Bank's participation features several objectives of which the most important is to position the AfDB as an important player in the mining sector and promote Africa as a prime destination for investment in mining.

Secondary objectives include promoting the Bank as a thought leader, financier, assisting RMCs in promoting mining, promoting transparency and civil society involvement, identifying projects and providing a platform for governments, mining companies and financial institutions to dialogue c o n s t r u c t i v e l y. I n a d d i t i o n , t h e conference presents an opportunity to mobilize resources, both financially, technically and to establish partnerships with development agencies, bilaterals, the private sector and civil society organizations.

isolated, for all African citizens and countries, not just for some. It also aims to bring about growth that is not just environmentally sustainable, but also economically empowering.

The new leadership of the Bank is stepping up the pace by sharply focusing the Bank's efforts to scale up and accelerate the delivery and developmental impacts of the Bank's Ten Year Strategy. The sharper focus is articulated around five priority areas we have come to call the 'High 5s': 1. Light up and power Africa — About 635 million Africans still live without electricity and demand for energy is rising rapidly. Through the New Deal on Energy for Africa, the AfDB is working to unify efforts to achieve universal access to energy. Its new Energy Strategy aims to increase energy production and access, and improve affordability, reliability and energy efficiency.

2. Feed Africa — More than 70% of

Is there any African country where AfDB has invested to promote the mining activities?

The private sector department has invested in a number of mining projects ranging from North Africa, South, East and West Africa.

How long has AFDB existed and what is its operational scope?

The Bank was established in 1964 – it consists of the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF), and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF). As indicated above in question 1, its mission is to spur sustainable economic development and social progress in its Regional Member Countries, thus contributing to poverty reduction.

The operational scope of the Bank is articulated in its Ten-year strategy designed to place the Bank at the center of Africa's transformation and to improve the quality of Africa's growth. It aims to broaden and deepen that process of transformation, mainly by ensuring that growth is shared and not

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Africans depend for their livelihoods on agriculture. If its full potential were unlocked, agriculture could vastly improve the lives of millions. The Bank is framing its agricultural operations within a business-oriented approach, based on a deeper understanding of the obstacles, potential and investment opportunities.

3. Industrialize Africa — A persistent lack of industrialization is holding back Africa's economies. Over the next 10 years, the Bank will invest US $3.5 billion per year through direct financing and leveraging to implement six flagship industrialization programs in areas where the AfDB can best leverage its experience, capabilities and finances.

4. Integrate Africa — Through its Regional Integration Policy and

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Strategy, the Bank is focusing its integration efforts not just on movement of goods and services but also on mobility of people and investment.

Would you say that AfDB has lived up to its expectation in terms of its involvement and investment into the mining industry in Africa?

5. Improve the quality of life for the people of Africa — Africa's economic growth has not been rapid or inclusive enough to create enough jobs and improve quality of life. The Bank is committed to building up the availability of technical skills so that African economies can realize their full potential in high-technology sectors.

Acknowledging the urgent need to address climate change, the Bank will nearly triple its annual climate financing to reach $5 billion a year by 2020.

How is the AfDB helping in developing Mineral Resources in Africa?

Kindly refer to answers to question 3 above.

The Bank has a long track record of investing in the mining industry across Africa. The cyclical nature of the industry has generated mixed results so far – some projects have done well while others have suffered from the decline of commodity prices or other factors. The Bank will continue its involvement in the industry, adopting a selective approach to support wellstructured and viable projects with established industry players. The Bank will also focus on infrastructures anchored on natural resources projects to develop resource corridors and clustered growth poles.

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ENERGY UPDATE

Eliminating routine

Gas flaring for productive use PIERCE RIEMER

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ENERGY UPDATE

Director General of the, World Petroleum Council, PIERCE RIEMER writes on the issues around gas flaring in Africa, and how well it can be translated to maximum economic gains.

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n the 1990s, I worked on a methane venting flaring reduction programme with the IEA, World Bank and industry partners. At that time, just Africa and mainly Nigeria, flared and vented more natural gas than Europe consumed every year. The project only lasted a few years, but satellite photographs showed some significant early results (SEE BELOW).

But we remain concerned about the waste of flaring and its impact on the climate. Although the emissions are now only the equivalent of 25 per cent of what Europe consumes, Europe is consuming much more than it did in the 1990s. Thousands of gas flared at oil production sites around the globe still burn approximately 140 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually, causing more than 300 million tons of CO2 to be emitted to the atmosphere To try to phase out this habitual flaring of gas for other than safety or technical reasons, the United Nations and the World Bank, last year introduced the “Zero Routine Flaring by 2030” initiative.

This has now won the endorsement of some 20 governments, an equal number of oil companies with the active encouragement of the WPC, and more

than a dozen leading development aid agencies.

By way of explanation of the problem, it should be remembered that natural gas is a mixture of several hydrocarbon gases, including methane (normally around 90 per cent), ethane, propane, butane and pentane, as well as carbon dioxide, nitrogen and hydrogen sulphide. The composition of natural gas can vary widely, depending on the oil or gas field. Natural gas is referred to as “wet” when hydrocarbons other than methane are present, “dry” when it is almost pure methane, and “sour” when it contains significant amounts of hydrogen sulphide.

During conventional and unconventional oil production, associated gas is produced from the reservoir together with the oil. Much of this gas (mostly methane) is now utilised or conserved because governments and oil companies have made substantial investments to capture it.

Nevertheless, some of it is flared because of safety, technical, regulatory, or economic constraints.

Flaring of gas contributes to climate change and impacts the environment through emissions of CO2, black

carbon and other pollutants. It also wastes a valuable energy resource that could be used to advance the sustainable development of producing countries. For example, if this amount of gas were used for power generation, it could provide about 750 billion kWh of electricity, or more than the African continent's current annual electricity consumption. While associated gas cannot always be used to produce power, it can often be used in a number of other productive ways or conserved (for instance, re-injected into an underground formation).

The “Zero Routine Flaring” brings together governments, oil companies, and development institutions which recognise the flaring situation described above is unsustainable from a resource management and environmental perspective, and who agree to cooperate to eliminate routine flaring no later than 2030.

The Initiative pertains to routine flaring and not to flaring for safety reasons or non-routine flaring, which nevertheless should be minimised. Routine flaring of gas is flaring during normal oil production operations in the absence of sufficient facilities or amenable geology to re-inject the produced gas,

Satellite photographs before and after, Algeria 1997

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ENERGY UPDATE

utilise it on-site, or dispatch it to a market. Venting is not an acceptable substitute for flaring, because noncombusted methane is an even more powerful greenhouse gas than flared gas..

Governments that endorse the Initiative will provide a legal, regulatory, investment, and operating environment t h a t i s c o n d u c i v e t o u p s t re a m investments and to the development of viable markets for utilisation of the gas and the infrastructure necessary to deliver the gas to these markets. This will provide companies the confidence and incentive as a basis for investing in flare elimination solutions.

Governments will require, and stipulate in their new prospect offers, that field development plans for new oil fields incorporate sustainable utilisation or conservation of the field's associated gas without routine flaring.

Furthermore, governments will make every effort to ensure that routine flaring at existing oil fields ends as soon as possible, and not later than 2030.

Oil companies that endorse the Initiative will develop new oil fields they operate according to plans that incorporate sustainable utilisation or conservation of the field's associated gas without routine flaring. Oil companies with routine flaring at existing oil fields they operate will seek to implement economically viable solutions to

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eliminate this legacy flaring as soon as possible, and no later than 2030.

Development institutions that endorse the Initiative will seek to facilitate its implementation through the use of financial instruments and other measures, particularly in their client countries. They will endeavour to do so also in client countries that have not endorsed the Initiative.

Governments and oil companies that endorse the Initiative will publicly report their flaring and progress towards the Initiative on an annual basis. They also agree to the World Bank aggregating and reporting figures on flaring.

Representing the WPC, we were in Paris for the COP21 climate conference to put forward our point of view. We support and encourage governments and all stakeholders in their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and manage the risks of climate change. We also appreciate that they have a challenge ahead to meet their growing population's energy demands and support economic development in their countries.

Our global membership will have a role to play in the transition to a low-carbon future. With oil as the main fuel for transport around the world, it will remain a key part of the energy mix while alternative technologies continue to be developed further. We also must not forget all of the oil and gas based items,

a r o u n d u s e v e r y d a y, s u c h a s pharmaceuticals, clothing, polymers, fertilisers - the list is endless.

In cooperation with the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), WPC is working to showcase how the oil and gas industry is helping to bring people out of energy poverty in order to achieve the Sustainable Energy for All goal of the UN. This fits in nicely in an environment, particularly in Africa, where any methane saved from flaring could be utilised for power generation, for use as a compressed or liquefied gas or converted to chemicals.

We were also in Paris to lend our support to this World Bank initiative. The well-attended COP side meeting highlighted the high number of WPC member countries that have already signed up to the initiative and illustrated how well this fits in with our energy poverty alleviation work.

The oil and gas sector has the technical knowhow to develop solutions which will have an important part to play in contributing to a sustainable energy, future and we will help all stakeholders meet the challenges ahead. For hundreds of years, energy has enabled growth which has led to economic and social wellbeing. Our challenge for the future is to achieve this in a clean and sustainable manner. We are all committed to playing our part.

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Entrepreneurship education and employment generation, the SMEDAN model DIKKO UMARU RADDA, PhD, Managing Director, SMEDAN writes on the entrepreneurship education and employment generation using the SMEDAN example

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he current unemployment situation in the country is alarming particularly among s c h o o l l e a v e r s . T h e i n c re a s i n g incidence of lack of employment and remunerative jobs for a large proportion of the labour force of which young people make up the majority is indeed the main cause of social unrest.

Economic development in Nigeria is driven by the oil and gas sector. This sector is mainly capital intensive with limited opportunity to drive employment. The labour force in Nigeria is continuously increasing with little job opportunities. This portends danger for the social and economic stability of the country. All efforts by the various tiers of Government in addressing the situation appear not to be yielding the desired result. Entrepreneurship Education should be aggressively supported and encouraged.

To d a y ' s e d u c a t i o n s h o u l d b e predicated on the philosophy of creating jobs, i. e transforming the students from job seekers to job creators. The cardinal objective should be the creation and management of new and existing enterprises.

Entrepreneurship has continued to gain more recognition as both a viable academic discipline and a significant force to transform the economy through creativity and innovation. There is something fascinating about entrepreneurship, “it is initiating… and building an enterprise rather than … watching one.”

It is the knack for sensing opportunities

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where others see chaos, contradiction and confusion. It is the ability to exploit and explore business opportunities. It is the willingness and ability of an individual to seek out investment opportunities, establish and run an enterprise successfully as well as bear calculated risk.

Here, entrepreneurship is perceived as a craft, which has to be learned and demonstrated. Knowledge is not only

power, but the positive use of the knowledge is even greater power.

Entrepreneurship is the skill to unleash the knowledge.

We are in a dynamic world, and the role of the individual has become increasingly important, with individual initiative becoming ever more necessary for economic success.

Individuals like Mike Adenuga, Aliku Dangote, Frank Nneji, Tony Elumelu,

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ENTRPRENEURSHIP

Stella Okoli, Folarunsho Alakija, Opeke, Raymond Dokpesi, Jim Ovia, and thousands of others. These are men and women who took their destiny into their hands by engaging in the act of entrepreneurship and today are celebrated world-wide. It was the entrepreneurial spirit that inspired and powered these men/women of vision.

The spirit is the energy of creativity and innovation that d r i v e entrepreneu rship.

O u r educati o n a l model should b e adapti ve; it should b e practically b a s e d , focusing on both soft and hard skills. It can simply be a tool for securing employment and emancipation of people through the provision and acquiring of necessary knowledge and skills to make lives more flourishing. One practical strategy towards employment generation and poverty reduction is by scaling up investments in infrastructure and human capital. Human capital development is further facilitated through a well-structured curriculum that is skill and entrepreneurial focused.

Entrepreneurial-focused educational system therefore plays a critical role in the transformation of the economy of any nation.

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business to achieve set objectives. To be an entrepreneur, one has to possess some psychological traits which are either latent and could be aroused through training or manifest which training could be built upon. Thus to qualify as an entrepreneur, it is not sufficient to be a businessman just managing an enterprise. The entrepreneur has to be an originator of profitable business ideas. The entrepreneur must possess the ability to g a i n command o f a n d combine resources in a new way that will be profitable.

S h e / h e must be prepared to risk personal energy and financial resources to achieve unpredictable results.

The practice of entrepreneurship should, therefore, be well rooted in the individual, if he/she wants to become an entrepreneur.

An individual who succeeded in selling refrigerators to the Eskimos to prevent food from freezing would be an “innovator” quite as much as if he/she had developed brand-new processes or invented a new product. To sell to the Eskimos a refrigerator to keep food cold is finding a new market; to sell a refrigerator to keep food from getting too cold is actually creating a new product. Technologically, there is, of course, only the same old product, but economically there is innovation.

Entrepreneurship instils the enterprise culture into the individuals. Enterprise here is defined as resourcefulness, initiative, drive, imagination, enthusiasm, zest, dash, ambition, energy, vitality, boldness, daring, audacity, courage, get up and go.

Entrepreneurship, therefore, encompasses all the productive functions that are not rewarded immediately by regular wages, interest

Today's education should be predicated on the philosophy of creating jobs, i. e transforming the students from job seekers to job creators.

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Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship is the term used b ro a d l y i n c o n n e c t i o n w i t h t h e innovative and creative moder n industrial business leaders. It is defined by reference to the functions of an entrepreneur as the man who perceived business opportunities, takes advantage of the scarce resources to use them profitably and directs the human and material resources in his

and rent and non-routine human labour.

It is also not investing capital funds alone. It is actually, the functions of seeking investment, production opportunity, organizing an enterprise to undertake new production process, raising capital, hiring labour, allocating resources, and creating new enterprises.

Employment generation The statistics of unemployment in Nigeria is very scary as compared with other countries. In comparison with some emerging economies such as Brazil, India and Malaysia, employment statistics show that unemployment rate is on the decrease, it fell massively by 29% in Brazil, recently, and is still expected to fall further in subsequent years. In Brazil also employment and purchasing power have been in the increase since 2003. This has led to a wealthier society as the number of the poor has been halved. More than 50% of Brazilian has attended middle class status.

India has transformed itself through Agricultural and ICT revolution. Total output of grain has risen from 10 million tons in 1964 to 280 million ton annually recently leading to increase in rural income as well as enhanced nutritional status. Her achievement in ICT has been phenomenal accounting for 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2014/2015. Technical, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Education at tertiary level has been the driving force behind Indian ICT revolution and employment generation.

Similar situation is been experienced in Malaysia through vast investment in education, health and employment generation. A healthy and educated work force has been the driving force behind most industrializing economies in Asia and elsewhere. Great opportunities abound for Nigeria to create employment, engender economic growth, reduce poverty and promote the wellbeing of her citizens through entrepreneurship education.

Entrepreneurship education The acquisition of knowledge which is a product of education is the most potent instrument for developing and empowering individuals, not only in

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about extreme social change and changing pattern of society in return creates congenial infrastructure for the rapid development and advancement of entrepreneurship in the country. A flexible educational system that will emphasis all vital areas of business management, economics, politics, marketing, accounting, psychology, etc, this is necessary because such knowledge will equip the would be entrepreneurs with the dynamics of the management of human and material resources.

Today, knowledge is the foundation and measurement of economic potential and economic power. It has become a necessity that since we are living in an age of information technology, the place of ICT need not be overstressed. If our future entrepreneurs are to be abreast of modern business management, they must be integrated into the information superhighway as active participants and not as spectators.

The fundamental philosophy guiding today's education should centre on “developing the man/woman that will develop his /her society. The concept is designed to inculcate into the

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necessarily be the ultimate. Today's e d u c a t i o n s h o u l d t h e re f o re b e predicated on the philosophy of creating jobs, i.e. turning the students from being job seekers to job creators.

The solution to unemployment is Entrepreneurship. It has to be instilled into the students while in school, to reactive, reinvigorate and re-orientate their individual skills. Hence converting these skills to entrepreneurial skills and also inculcating entrepreneurial habits and culture capable of transforming them into a “complete entrepreneur”.

They will be better equipped to translate their vision into a mission, from dogmatism to dynamism in the affairs of men/women revolving around entrepreneurialism: a departure from knowledge to empowerment; a departure from a job seeker to a job provider; a departure from dream to reality; and a departure from dependent to independent.

The knowledge and skills to be acquired in today's schools should be built on the philosophical platform of being mentally resourceful, intellectually independent, futuristically visionary and responsibility – sensitive to the changes demanded for the leadership role and the emerging challenges in the market place.

Clearly, a country which is unable to develop the skills and knowledge of its people, and utilize them effectively in the national economy, will be unable to develop anything else

I m p o r t a n c e o f entrepreneurship education Drucker (1978) emphasized the importance of entrepreneurship education.

He regards the emergence of knowledge as the new capital, as the central resources of an economy, and of the men of knowledge, that is the managers of institutions, as become central capital, the cost centre, the primary industry, the central factor of production, and the crucial resource of the economy of developed countries of the world. In these countries, knowledge industries, produce and distribute ideas and information rather than goods and services.

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achieving their potentials, but also in particular to master their social and material environments, as well as compete for survival in the global economy. Education is, therefore, central to one's ability to respond to the opportunities that development presents. Entrepreneurship Education is the foundation for developing the flexible skills needed to participate in knowledge intensive economic activity.

The significance of entrepreneurship in the economic transformation of any nation, particularly in a developing economic like ours, is aptly captured thus: “Entrepreneurship constitutes the ultimate basis for the wealth of nations; capital, land, and labour are passive factors of production; entrepreneurship is the active agent who accumulates capital, exploits natural resources, builds social, economic and political institutions, and moves forward national development. Clearly, a country which is unable to develop the skills and knowledge of its people, and utilize them effectively in the national economy, will be unable to develop anything else” (Daisi,1999).

Our schools should be more educational. They should be transformational. They should challenge the students mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.

That is what our educational system should do…inspire the student to learn more and become more.

Our schools should prepare students for the future. The world of the future belongs to those who can embrace change, see the future and anticipate its needs, and respond to new opportunities and challenges with creativity, innovation, agility and passionbeing an entrepreneur.

Qualitative and adaptive education should be the major concern of Government in the present reforms to make the students fit into the dynamic global challenges and the real world. Moreover, such education should be guided taking into custody science and technology. Technology in this sense is the art of converting the natural resources into goods and services more beneficial to the society in general and consumers in particular.

Thus, technological innovation brings

stu dents the intellige nt and intellectual consciousness of his/her environment to enable him/her maximizes his/her existence and potentials. It is functional and an adaptable education that will prepare them for self-employment which must

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ENTRPRENEURSHIP

Entrepreneurship Education focuses on the following four critical principles as noted by Perumal (2003): to prepare individuals for assuming their roles as responsible citizens; to develop in them scientific outlook, awareness of the process of development; to sensitize them to ethical, social and cultural values which go to make an enlighten entrepreneur; and to impart to the local people training, knowledge, skills and attitudes which would enable them to be successful and potential entrepreneurs SMEDAN strategy The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) was established in 2003.

Vision: To establish a structured and efficient micro, small and medium enterprises sector that will enhance sustainable economic development of Nigeria.

Mission: To facilitate the access of micro, small and medium entrepreneurs/investors to all resources required for development.

Conscious of our mandate and the strategic position we occupy in fostering a viable and vibrant MSMEs in Nigeria as well as advancing entrepreneurship/enterprise development. The Agency's approach centre on the following areas to ensure the long term growth and development of the Nigerian MSMEs: Sourcing, Processing and Disseminating Business Information

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Establishing Zonal and State Offices to enhance her outreach The Conversion of the IDCs to Cluster Parks Capacity Building and Promotional Services Enhancing MSMEs Access to Finance VI. Enhancing Market Access VII. Enhancing Access to Modern Equipment/Technology VIII. Networking, Mentoring and Counseling Provision of Business Development Services to MSMEs IX. The National Policy on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Implementation of One Local Government, One Product (OLOP)Programme Entrepreneurship Development Programmes Seminars, Conferences and Workshops Trade Fairs and Trade Exhibitions Partnership with State/Local Governments, Business Membership Organisations, etc SMEDAN E-College-The College is another avenue for SMEDAN to make existing and potential entrepreneurs and business operators in Nigeria proactive and smart as global players in local markets.

RECOMMENDATIONS Entrepreneurship education is very weak in our school curriculum. The courses we undertake are nonqualitative and the school curriculum are old and obsolete. The Regulatory authorities are not proactive and lack

holistic coordination. The following should be vigorously realigned in our schools to drive the new vision and the expected paradigm shift: The Educational curriculum Entrepreneurship education Entrepreneurship courses Entrepreneurship Development Centres National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development Entrepreneurship Associations Entrepreneurship Clubs These recommendations are already being implemented in schools. All universities and higher institutions in Nigeria offer Entrepreneurship courses compulsorily and some universities even have the Department of Entrepreneur in the Faculty of Social or Management Sciences. So, these recommendations are behind time. I suggest that the writer quickly revise this work to make the recommendations current and feasible.

CONCLUSION There is a paradigm shift, it is no more “go to school, get good grades and get a good job.” it is now “go to school, get good grades and acquire skills of starting your own business.”

This can only be achieved through an efficient Entrepreneurship Education.

The era of brilliant curriculum vitae is over, it's now an era of crafting a bankable business plan to launch your enterprise.

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Addressing the

Dark Side of the New Media

MACAULAY OLUSHOLA, National Profession Ofcer for Communication and Information with UNESCO Regional Ofce, Abuja, Nigeria writes on how to address the challenges of the new media.

We are at a critical time where the call to double-check all the information we receive, no matter where it is coming from, is necessary. This is a call to for all citizens, to decide whether we should jump on the bandwagon to perpetuate and fuel crisis with our pens and devices as a citizens. It is easy to destroy than to build. Many of the violent and destructive conflicts in our society today are the results of unfounded news, fake news or hate speech that has no root or foundation.

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According to Mark Twain, “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” Fake n ew s, is m isi n form ati on that is packaged for self-motivated advantage- a story that is not genuine, information that is customized to deceive people, create bias or destroy a man or the entire society. It is also used as a political propaganda to pull down an opponent or enhance a politician's image or as a means of bending the truth for political gains.

Fake news or hate speech is not new. It is as old as man is, but what is new is the proliferation of it. As the evolution of the Internet and social media will continue to change the nature of information gathering and dissemination, all information providers and users need to rise to the prevailing changes.

The evolution has given room to the “unprofessional journalists” to thrive.

Everyone with a small device sees himself as a journalist, with a token of 100-naira data in one's his device, ready to broadcast to the world.

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DIGITAL ECONOMY

Over the years, the number of reported attacks perpetrated by violent extremist groups has risen. Young people are, however, most at risk. They are the main targets of recruitment strategies who fall victims extreme violence through the Internet.

No doubt, the Internet and social media are strategic tools for enhancing the visibility and influence of various underworld groups.

According to a school of thought, it is an accelerator of fake news, hate speech and radicalization. It is constantly altering how people communicate, enabling and challenging human rights, freedom of expression, universal access to information, peace building, sustainable development, democracy, and good governance. Therefore, it is important for the society to create effective tools to tackle the wrong usage use of modern communication gadgets, as the opportunities provided by the Internet greatly overshadow the challenges.

According to UNESCO's former Director-General Irina Bokova "Our task must be to empower a new generation of digital citizens at the global level – starting with education, new intercultural skills, and deeper media and information literacy.” The youth equation holds the key to the future of many countries – especially those experiencing tensions or emerging from conflict.

This response can be powered by a global propaganda campaign, targeting young, radicalized youth and increase their knowledge to take informed decision on the use of the Internet and social media platforms. This will unleash the power of the new media to share alternative narratives to advance human rights and dignity, to mobilize all young women and young men for inclusive society.

To these ends, UNESCO promotes greater investment in access to quality education for all young women and men – including education for global citizenship as well as new intercultural competencies, to advance mutual respect between among different

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cultures and communities. Media and Information Literacy (MIL) programmes are essential here, to assist help the youth in better identifying and rejecting extremist propaganda.

At the heart of media and information literacy lies the need to empower citizens with essential knowledge about the functions of the media and information systems in democratic societies.

Against this backdrop, the youth needs to be equipped to deal with the vast amount of information that circulates in the media-rich environment. It is in this perspective that media education as an intellectual and critical engagement

helps people to make a better sense of the different media products available.

The above approach includes raising awareness about hate speech, fake news and extremism, their causes and consequences, and the creation of new platforms and networks for dialogue and mutual understanding.

Role for journalists What is the role of the professional media journalists to curb these social media mayhems? Professional news media act as guardians of public interest. It is an important component of the checks and balances that form part of a democracy. By disseminating information to citizens, the news media enable civic participation in sustainable development and ensure that the crucial information and knowledge, which well-trained journalists are best

placed to provide is accessible to the public.

Though As journalists, we need to be inquisitive in getting information and broadcast same to the public, but we should also be ready to search for the originality of such information before rushing to the newsroom. The need to want to publish a rumour as news could arise from wanting to be the first journalist or media house to publish the information that has all the information.

If caution is not taken, you may possibly find yourself or the organisation you represent in big problem. In the midst of this, journalists should learn to find,

provide and share stories that are credible and consistent. This is where investigative journalism takes its root. It is better to stay out of problem than to be in a hole, for trying to impress no one!

The obligation is on all of us to become smarter, more skeptical and more critical in what we receive and give as news. This is not the era of garbage in garbage out. Now, critical thinking is the answer. We are all responsible for the information we consume and share.

However, the media must consider the calls to fight fake news and hate speech with a critical perspective- to build a nation and bring the people together.

According to the UNESCO preamble, “Since wars begin in the minds of men and women, it is in the minds of men

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and women that the defences of peace must be constructed.” We must all speak to ourselves in building a society free of rancour – a place where people acknowledge their cultural differences, discover their humanity, and advance shared goals together.

Capacity building of journalists is a key priority to the Communication and Information sector of the UNESCO; in staying with the rules and the code of conducts of the profession.

The recent publication of UNESCO “Countering Online Hate Speech”, which is part of the ongoing UNESCO Series on Internet Freedom, is of note to read. The publication provides a global overview of the dynamics characterizing hate speech online and some of the measures that have been adopted to counteract and mitigate them, highlighting good practices that have emerged at the local and global levels.

While the study offers a comprehensive analysis of the international, regional and national frameworks, developed to address hate speech online, and their repercussions for freedom of expression, it places particular emphasis on social and non-regulatory mechanisms that can help to counter the production, dissemination and impact of

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fake and hateful messages online.

Of note, UNESCO is continually developing knowledge on Media and Information Literacy to build critical minds, together with her partners and other relevant stakeholders. UNESCO's mission is to stimulate media and information literate societies, encouraging the Member States to adopt a comprehensive strategy, with different resources and initiatives.

Media and Information Literacy tries to equip people to be more discerning and probing of the world around them, giving them power to separate genuine n e w s f ro m f a k e n e w s , t h e re b y becoming more self-aware, liberated

and responsible people to themselves and the society. This is essentially relevant, as the world is witnessing an unprecedented increase of fake news, hate speech and radicalization. MIL will empower the people to be curious, to search, and to evaluate before accepting the information at their disposal.

Therefore, MIL has the potential to become a powerful and positive force in Nigeria's difficult transition process to peace, democracy and development. It has the ability to reach across the country's many cultures and help to bridge its economic, social and political gap.

BUSINESSREVIEWAFRIKA/FEB 2018

CAPITAL MARKET

CAPITAL MARKET Equity sustains recovery as ASI grows by 3975.64

T

ransactions on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange closed last on an upward trend, soaring by N 1.517 trillion.

Market capitalisation of listed equities grew by 10.95 per cent to N15.368 trillion from N13.851 trillion recorded in the preceding week. The NSE All-Share Index also grew by 3975.64 basis points or 10.21 per cent to 42,898.90 from 38923.26 reported two weeks ago.

Similarly, all other indices finished higher during the week with the exception of the NSE ASeM Index that closed flat.

The Premium index increased by 345.93 to 2895.20, the NSE main board index grew by 246.88 to 1,914.81, NSE 30 index added 177.83 to 1,967.40, NSE Banking rose by 65.12 to 570.63 points, NSE Insurance Index went up by 9.48 to 155.35 points, NSE Consumer Goods Index added 55.48 basis points to 1,045.95 p o in ts , N S E O il an d G as in d ex appreciated by 24.92 to 358.76 , NSE Lotus II grew by 176.60 basis points to 2715.34, NSE Industrial Goods index advanced by 265.41 to 2309.94 while NSE Pension Index improved by 162.22 to 1611.95 points.

Investors during the week traded a turnover of 5.021 billion shares worth N68.974 billion in 41,542 deals were traded this week by investors on the floor of the Exchange in contrast to a total of 2.417 billion shares valued at N18.813 billion that exchanged hands last week in 20,874 deals.

The Financial Services Industry led the activity chart in volume terms with 3.417 billion shares valued at N31.649 billion traded in 24,375 deals, contributing 68.06 per cent and 45.89 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

BUSINESSREVIEWAFRIKA/FEB 2018

The Conglomerates Industry account for 894.357 million shares worth N2.180 billion in 3,032 deals. The third place was occupied by Consumer Goods Industry with a turnover of 380.493 million shares worth N26.243 billion in 7,408 deals.

Trading in the top three equitieTransnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc, Diamond Bank Plc and FBN Holdings Plc accounted for 1.975 billion shares worth N7.473 billion in 8,549 deals, indicating a 39.33 per cent and 10.83 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

Available figures showed that 66 equities appreciated in price during the week, against 55 of the previous week. The result showed that seven equities depreciated in price, compared with 12 firms reported in the previous week, while 99 listed companies remained unchanged lower than 105 reported two weeks ago.

Honey Well Flour Mills Plc led gainers table during the week, growing by 39 68 per cent or N1.00 to close at N3.50 kobo, Skye Bank Plc followed with a gain of 37.70 per cent or N0.23 kobo to close at N0.84 kobo, while Champion Breweries Plc grew by 36.57 per cent or N0.79 kobo to close at N2.95 kobo.

Other companies appreciated in price were Sterling Bank which gained 35.46 per cent. Conoil Plc 34.05 per cent. FCMB group Pic 33.68 per cent, Cement Company of Northern Nigeria Plc33.40 per cent and Unity Bank Plc 32.26 per cent.

On the contrary, Meyer Plc recorded the highest loss for the week, declining by 2.86 per cent or N0.09 kobo to close at N0.61 kobo, Glaxosmith Kline Consumer Nigeria Plc trailed with a loss of 2.71 per cent or N0.60 kobo to close at N21.50 kobo, Dangote Sugar Refinery Nigeria Plc fell by 2.65 per cent or N0 58 kobo to close at 21.27 kobo. Other firms depreciated in price were UAC Property

Development Company Ltd 2.28 per cent, Flour Mills Nigeria Plc 1.66 per cent, Nestle Nigeria Plc 0.67 per cent and Nigeria Aviation Handling Company Plc 0.22 per cent N S E p l a c e s 7 U P s h a re s o n f u l l suspension The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has placed trading in the shares of 7-Up Bottling Company Plc on full suspension.

The suspension took effect from Friday, 12th of January 2018.

The Exchange said the action will help determine the shareholders that will qualify to receive the Scheme consideration following the decision of the company's majority shareholder, Affelka S.A (“Affelka”), to acquire all outstanding and issued shares of 7-Up Bottling Company Plc that are not currently owned

by Affelka.

The company's shareholders had passed a resolution to this effect at the Court Ordered Meeting of the company held on Thursday, 11 January 2018.

The Scheme will result in the voluntarily delisting of 7-Up Bottling Company Plc from the Daily Official List of The Exchange.

The majority shareholder of Seven Up Bottling Company Affelka SA had earlier unveil plan to review upward scheme consideration to N125 per share.

NSE explained that the proposed scheme consideration represents 22.6 per cent premium to the last traded share price of the company in January 9, 2018 and a 27.6 per cent premium to the price on August 10, 2017 which was the last business day prior to the date the initial proposal was received from Affelka.

Affelka SA, had last year declared it's first intention to buy all outstanding shares held by minority shareholders in the company, in a move reminiscent of a similar decision by its competitor, Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC).

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ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

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BUSINESSREVIEWAFRIKA/FEB 2018